9: Chapter 0009 Bait

Sven gripped the hilt of the short sorcery dagger at his waist, suppressing the urge to beat the two of them to a pulp. His temples throbbed: "Gelia, stop messing around!"

The sorcery hourglass in the corner of the office rustled, casting his face in shifting light and shadow.

After scolding Gelia, Sven spread his hands toward Li Size to explain:

"Our operational funds are also tight, so there's no bonus. However, as an external staff member, I can apply for 1 merit point for you."

He took out a merit points exchange list, which detailed the requirements for trading various sorcery props.

Seeing Li Size scratch his head with a look of disdain, Sven patiently explained:

"Don't underestimate 1 merit point. It can already be exchanged for some low-level sorcery props.

For example, an energy detector only costs 3 merit points. After all, you aren't facing any real danger."

He picked up the energy detector from the desk and shook it; the runes on it flickered.

After explaining, Sven pointed to the glowing Duchy sorcery map on the wall and continued:

"Rice's whereabouts are now untraceable. It seems the Feiting Federation's infiltration into Gele City is severe!

Right now, the only people who have seen him are you, Li Size, and Felina.

What's fortunate is that the other side doesn't know about our involvement yet."

The Gele City area on the map was marked with suspicious points using red runes.

Speaking of this, Sven paused, his eyes lighting up slightly as he said with a hint of excitement:

"If we can use this news to set a trap and capture Rice this time, maybe we can plant a spy within Feiting's 'The Lurkers'.

Therefore, Gelia, Li Size, we must go all out this time."

He tapped the desktop, and the communication node on the desk emitted a faint hum.

Gelia nodded in cooperation, but Li Size frowned in confusion:

"Didn't I just need to fake my death? What cooperation do I need to provide?"

He touched the silver coin in his pocket, feeling a bit uneasy.

Sven glanced at Gelia, who, seeing this, leaned close to Li Size and gave him a mysterious smile:

"We interrogated Felina all night. You might not believe it, but Felina never intended to kill you from the start."

"What!?"

He slapped his forehead, feeling somewhat muddled.

Li Size's brain worked rapidly, and some doubts were resolved. For instance:

If Felina wanted to kill him, it wouldn't make sense for her, as his mentor, to go home with Li Size to discuss purchasing equipment; the logic wouldn't close the loop.

But if she didn't intend to kill him, it made sense.

He looked out the window; the light from the sorcery streetlamps shone through the glass.

However, the fact that Felina attacked twice was undeniable, causing Li Size's brow to furrow deeply.

He gave up thinking and looked at Gelia, who clearly already knew the correct answer.

Gelia, dressed in a fiery red uniform, took out a scroll made of ancient animal hide. A large character for 'Slave' was inscribed on it:

"This is a slave scroll. She planned to knock you unconscious and forcibly sign a slave contract with you."

The runes on the scroll faintly glowed with black light.

Gelia then explained the slave contract to Li Size. It was a sorcery prop prohibited from circulation on the market, and every scroll had to be registered with the Civil Affairs Bureau.

The slave contract could forcibly establish a master-servant relationship between living beings.

The enslaved person's mind would be twisted by the power of the runes on the scroll, making them completely obedient to the master, even if the master ordered them to commit suicide and die. The registered price at the Civil Affairs Bureau was 1 gold coin.

She pointed to the forbidden runes on the scroll, drawing Li Size's attention.

Upon hearing this, Li Size's expression became complicated. The entire sequence of events was basically clear. Combined with Gelia's psychological profile of Felina, everything made sense:

He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

Felina's younger sister suffered from an Innate heart condition and was nearing the end of her life...

Felina found a high-level Necromancy System Apprentice specializing in human research through multiple connections.

That person could induce and cultivate healthy heart organs using Felina's spinal cord stem cells and had successful organ transplant cases, costing a hefty 100 gold.

He remembered the sister Felina had mentioned earlier and felt a pang of sympathy.

If she had enough time, Felina, as an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice, would still have a chance to slowly save up 100 gold.

Unfortunately, the high-level Necromancy System Apprentice examined Felina's sister's condition and stated plainly:

Her heart was failing and in its terminal stage; the heart would inevitably fail within ten years, and five years was the maximum timeframe for organ transplantation.

If it exceeded five years, her sister's physical functions would no longer support the completion of the surgery.

And inducing heart organs using Felina's spinal cord stem cells was not a simple matter; if successful, it required 3 years.

"If it's not smooth, it will take 4 years to cultivate a heart organ compatible with her sister," Sven added, his voice somewhat low.

In short, she needed to pay 100 gold in installments within five years, or her sister would be beyond saving.

Felina initially intended to sell her body to earn the 100 gold:

She was young and beautiful, in addition to being an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice, and many people were paying attention to her, harboring ill intentions.

Many rich, fat men thought their chance had arrived, but they backed down upon seeing the 100 gold price tag.

However, the news spread within the circle of the wealthy, eventually reaching Rice, who had just arrived in Gele City.

100 gold was indeed a bit expensive.

But for Rice:

Felina, being an Intermediate Wizard Apprentice, a college mentor, and well-connected, was undoubtedly an excellent target for developing a spy.

Li Size nodded, agreeing with this assessment.

Rice, eager to establish himself locally, secured 5 years and 100 gold in sorcery operational funds to recruit Felina. Felina, having nowhere else to turn, fell into Rice's clutches.

Li Size accidentally witnessing the two meeting previously wasn't a major issue in itself.

But Rice, to test and twist Felina's mind, ordered the killing of Li Size to prevent the news from leaking, serving as Felina's pledge of allegiance.

He clenched his fist, feeling angry at Rice's actions.

Felina, having just connected with Rice, was resistant to killing an innocent student, especially one of her own.

But Rice's test had to be completed. After much thought, she decided to simply use the slave contract.

This way, she would achieve the goal of preventing the secret from leaking, and perhaps she could explain it to Rice.

After hearing the whole story, Li Size's mood became even more complex...

The image of a pitiful, tearful Felina being captured involuntarily surfaced in his mind. For a moment, he couldn't distinguish whether becoming her slave or being killed was the more egregious fate.

He rubbed his eyes, feeling a bit weary.

Of course, according to Gelia's explanation, under Duchy law, if it was only forced enslavement, as a Wizard Apprentice, the maximum penalty was 10 years in prison.

"From a legal perspective, forced enslavement is clearly a lesser crime than murder," Gelia spread her hands and explained.

From another angle, this was also Felina's desperate attempt at self-redemption; her situation was pitiable, but her actions could not be forgiven.

Li Size sighed, agreeing with this statement.

Gelia took the initiative to sell this slave scroll to Li Size at a discounted price of 60 silver.

On one hand, Li Size was about to receive over ten gold coins, giving him the purchasing power. On the other hand, 'tools for the crime' like this had to either be turned in or destroyed; it was better to treat it as compensation for the victim.

She patted the scroll, and the runes on it dimmed.

Li Size thought for a moment and decided to buy it on credit, as it was a valuable item unavailable on the open market.

Although the Duchy had usage restrictions, if he encountered something like an unregistered person, under reasonable circumstances, he could bypass the supervision of Duchy law.

He nodded, making his decision.

He tentatively asked a question:

"In a similar situation, if I counterattack in legitimate self-defense and use the slave scroll to contract Felina instead, would that be illegal?"

He looked at Gelia, awaiting her answer.

Gelia rolled her eyes at Li Size but still provided him with timely legal information:

"According to the right to equivalent self-defense, there is no issue.

Your mentor is so pitiful, can't you pity her?"

She pointed in Felina's direction, her tone softening slightly.

Sven also intervened appropriately to dispel some of Li Size's less favorable nascent thoughts. He shook his head:

"She is a member of the upcoming 'counter-espionage' plan. A person who has signed a slave contract is not allowed to become a secret agent. You should give up that idea.

However, she is also very sorry for the harm she caused you and promised me and Gelia that she will compensate and help you in the future, and will no longer harm you."

He pushed up his glasses and added.

Although it was difficult to accept that an enemy was walking free for now, Li Size currently had no choice but to remain silent.

Moreover, for his own safety, he had to cooperate well with the trap set by the Internal Affairs Department to lure out Rice.

He clenched his fist, feeling somewhat unwilling.

Sven's plan was to continue Felina's plan:

Pretend that Felina had successfully enslaved Li Size and completed the mission, then invite Rice over to discuss the next steps and demand the first installment of 20 gold coins.

Now that Felina was a special operative for the Internal Affairs Department, she could not only use the mission as an excuse to swindle funds from the Feiting Federation for her sister's treatment,

but also use this mission to clear her criminal record and avoid treason. For her, this was already quite perfect.

Of course, becoming a spy planted inside the enemy lines, facing various sorcery tests and extreme missions, wouldn't be easy.

Li Size rubbed his newly sprouted stubble, muttering to himself:

This young girl, could she handle a mission that required frequent exposure to risk?

Li Size scratched his head, still unable to figure out:

Why did he have to be involved, and what relevant cooperation did he need to provide?

Sven pointed to the glowing sorcery map on the wall, where the area where Rice might appear was circled in red runes, and explained:

"Both you and Felina are this bait.

Because Rice is extremely cautious, he was quite insistent about the 'killing you' matter.

To keep Rice stable, Felina sent a message through the sorcery communication node Rice left behind the day before.

She said she had successfully enslaved you, so we speculate Rice will appear soon.

Moreover, given his cautious nature, he might first use a sorcery invisibility cloak to secretly observe you and Felina, only appearing after confirming there are no abnormalities."

His finger lightly tapped the runes on the map, which immediately flickered.

Gelia scoffed, slapped the sorcery interrogation record scroll on the table, the runes on which were still slightly warm:

"I didn't realize Felina would also lie about military intelligence.

Of course, normally, Felina should have easily dealt with an ordinary person, but she unexpectedly messed up."

She rolled her eyes, recalling the failed binding spell Felina had used earlier.

Li Size spread his hands, looking helplessly at Sven and Gelia, having roughly pieced together the entire situation:

"So, I don't need to fake my death anymore, but rather play the role of Felina's slave?

And I have to cooperate with her in doing things a slave should do, like serving her?"

His tone carried a hint of reluctance.