Can't I raise myself?

The rot starts at the top. If the Director is like this, how can the people below be any good?

However, Norman's case led to the arrest of quite a few people from the General Bureau. Those who acted as Norman's lackeys were either arrested or demoted. The Deputy Director and several Captains were gone. As a result, Ryan found himself holding the highest rank in the vast General Bureau.

"You there, fetch me some tea!"

"Captain Ryan, this is your office."

A police officer led Ryan to his office.

It was an independent office for the Criminal Investigation Captain, a room of about ten square meters with all the necessary amenities. Ryan spent two hours basically getting acquainted with the situation.

With the leadership arrested, the case still needed to be solved. Furthermore, with issues in public security management, both the first and second-in-command were absent, forcing Ryan to issue orders himself.

Fortunately, having followed Jonathan during this time, he had learned the ropes of management work.

Ryan sat in his office, directing the affairs of the state.

As the workday neared its end, things were finally arranged. Although the leadership had been severely shaken, the core team remained. As long as the people who got things done could continue doing them, that was enough.

"Let's play a game first."

He had to go to the bookstore later, so Ryan wasn't in a hurry to leave. He decided to open his game.

Empress Online, launch!

He switched to the character interface for 'Shyarly'.

[You've dug through the prison.]

"Huh... huh?"

In the game, 'Shyarly's' head poked out of the hole she had dug. She couldn't see anything else, except for a large, gleaming golden box that caught her eye.

A treasure chest!... Ryan's eyes lit up instantly.

Chapter 39: Treasure Chest

It was a dark golden treasure chest. Dust had settled on it due to the passage of time, but it couldn't conceal the radiance the chest emitted in Ryan's eyes.

"A treasure chest? It's my first time seeing one. Are there even treasure chests in this area of the game?"

He couldn't remember at all.

But as a player, seeing a treasure chest meant he had to open it.

If you don't open treasure chests, what's the point of playing the game?

The problem was.

"How do I get down there?"

The hole was only big enough for her to stick her head through, which was definitely not enough. Moreover, she had to consider how she would get back up after going down.

"I need a rope."

Ryan pondered for a moment, then had 'Shyarly' continue digging. He then found a long rope in the bureau and tossed it into her backpack.

About half an hour later, the hole expanded again, reaching a size that was barely enough for her to descend.

'Shyarly' tied the rope to the prison bars and dropped the other end into the hole. Just as she was about to go down, she suddenly looked up and saw Edward staring at her with a completely bewildered expression.

His expression seemed to say, 'How did you dig such a big hole? Where did you get the rope?'

The person imprisoned in the opposite cell the previous day had been taken away, leaving only the one in the adjacent cell. Edward had occupied the area near 'Shyarly's' cell, so 'Shyarly' had plenty of time to dig without much worry of being discovered.

But she had been discovered nonetheless, by Edward.

'Shyarly' raised her index finger, signaling him to stay quiet.

Then she moved closer and whispered, "I dug a passage. I'm planning to go down and take a look."

'Are you trying to escape?' Edward's expression was strange. 'But the prison is underground. Aren't you just digging deeper?'

That wasn't the right escape route.

'I can't dig upwards either.'

'That's true... Then I'll help you keep watch. If anyone comes down, I'll cough to warn you.'

Edward had placed all his hopes on 'Shyarly'. Even if he couldn't escape himself, if she could get out, she could at least deliver a message to his daughter.

'Shyarly' made an 'okay' gesture and returned to the hole.

Actually, there wasn't much need to keep watch. As long as she didn't make too much noise, no one would pay attention. After all, the people imprisoned here had lost all hope and didn't care what you were doing.

"Treasure chest, here I come~"

Ryan rubbed his hands together and gave 'Shyarly' her orders.

It didn't really matter what she got, the important thing was the act of opening the treasure chest. It was strange, he just loved opening treasure chests. He felt uneasy if he didn't find all the treasure chests on the map in a game.

At this moment.

'Shyarly' grabbed the rope with both hands and slowly lowered herself down.

As soon as she emerged from the hole, her character was inexplicably hit, and more than half of her health was gone!

She quickly scrambled back into her cell.

Edward next door, who had been staring, looked confused.

"What's going on?"

Ryan was also puzzled. It wasn't until 'Shyarly' peered down into the cave entrance again that he saw something completely black.

[Harrier Guard Lv. 10]

"..."

The good news was that it was a normal monster.

The bad news was that it was level 10.

A level 1 character absolutely couldn't defeat this thing, and Ryan quickly saw there was more than one Harrier Guard.

These things roamed the room below, guarding the treasure chest, which gave Ryan a big headache.

Fortunately, they didn't seem to intend to come up from below. Otherwise, 'Shyarly' trapped in the cell, a cell, wild monsters, and a female assassin? It was game over.

"I need to find a way to take them down," Ryan frowned.

Although he wasn't afraid of death, and 'Shyarly' could rebuild her character even if she died in the cell, it was just level 1 after all. Karut's Blade wouldn't disappear, and he could always lead an army to attack later.

But charging in now would be futile.

After thinking it over, Ryan didn't act impulsively. He covered the cave entrance, deciding it wasn't too late to explore after finding a solution.

"Sigh, my hands are itching."

In the office.

Ryan regretfully closed the game interface.

The treasure chest was right in front of him, but he was powerless.

The next moment, the phone rang.

"Hello, this is Ryan."

"It's me, Jonathan," the voice on the other end said. "How does it feel to be a leader at the General Bureau?"

"What leader? I'm just a small captain."

"That's not small at all. Keep up the good work. Who knows, you might get promoted to Director someday. Then you'll outrank me, haha."

Jonathan hoped for this. His identity was somewhat obvious, and reaching this level was his limit unless the imperial government intervened, which was highly unlikely.

So, it was better to hope for Ryan's advancement. He was part of the League of Fire anyway. Once the League and the Governing Bureau united, the public order in Berman City would be largely stabilized.

Adler: "Exactly, that's what I was thinking too."

"Right, there's something I need to warn you about. If Princess Cassidy tries to recruit you, absolutely refuse."

"Why would she try to recruit me out of the blue? I have neither strength nor power."

"Who knows? That princess has a long-term vision and might enjoy nurturing promising newcomers. But the League of Fire protects the Empire, not some prince or princess. Our helping Princess Cassidy this time doesn't mean we belong to her, understand?"

"Understood."

"Succession disputes have historically led to bloody battles and imperial turmoil. In the end, it's the imperial citizens who suffer. Behind all that glamour, countless heroic souls have died."

Jonathan's tone was filled with emotion.

Aside from the League of Fire's regulations, he also didn't want to see someone as promising as Ryan die in the conflict.

A genius?

If they haven't grown, they're nothing.

He didn't even plan to recommend Ryan to the League of Fire headquarters. The imperial political center was too much of a vortex, not a place for ordinary people.

At least not until Ryan could protect himself later.

"Just remember what I said. I have something else to attend to, so I won't chat anymore."

Jonathan was about to hang up when Ryan quickly said, "Director, is there anything that can allow an ordinary person to defeat a Transcendent?"

"What do you need that for?"

"I just became a formal investigator, didn't I? I'll have to deal with Transcendent beings in the future, and I feel very insecure."

"How come I feel like you're incredibly secure... Never mind. If you really want something, it would be a Magic Scroll with inscribed spells."

"Do we have those things?"

"We used to."

"And now?"

"They've all been used up long ago."

"Damn."

"Don't curse. It's the same everywhere," Jonathan said leisurely. "It's not just extraordinary items; even the distribution of Soul Jades has decreased significantly over the past two years. The root cause is the unstable imperial situation, and resources need to be sent to more critical areas."

"Imperial Capital?"

"You know, it's better to see without saying."

Ryan knew magic scrolls were useful, of course, but he couldn't get his hands on them. He'd only managed to get one after a big fight before, and the drop rate was terrifyingly low.

"Can I buy one?"

"It depends on your luck. If you want to try, you can find Jack. There's a Transcendent trading post in Berman City, and he knows the location."

"Oh?"

"But I don't recommend buying too many, even if you do. One is enough. Transcendent power ultimately comes down to your own strength. You have high talent, so it's more cost-effective to save your Soul Jade to improve your abilities."

The master leads you to the door, but cultivation is up to the individual. Jonathan only offered some advice, but how Ryan acted on it was up to him.

Everyone in the League of Fire had come through this.

"I don't lack Soul Jade, though."

After ending the call, Ryan glanced at the nearly nine thousand units of Soul Jade in his inventory. Two thousand of those were from Jonathan. Originally, he only got a thousand a month, but Jonathan personally sponsored another thousand, saying that newly awakened Transcendent beings had high demand.

The rest was what 'Lin Qi' had farmed from monsters.

The drop rate for this item was quite high, so Ryan wasn't worried about not having enough.

He took out a piece from his inventory and tried to absorb it using the method Jonathan had taught him. As mana flowed into his body, the Soul Jade was gone in no time.

His magic strength increased, but it was very slight. Ryan couldn't see an experience bar, but it definitely wasn't even 1%.

Leveling up was indeed a process of accumulation.

At this moment, Ryan felt a bit envious of his alt characters. It was so much faster to level up with the system's help.

Yeah, his own efforts couldn't compare to the system's efforts.

He definitely had enough Soul Jade, so Ryan decided to try the trading post Jonathan mentioned. Even if it wasn't for the treasure chest, he had to find a way to get 'Shyarly' out of prison. Otherwise, how could he find clues to the hidden profession?