Verifying the Situation

In front of the Mage Tower of Number Nine Floating City, two tall figures stood with their heads down, showing no intention of moving an inch.

The plaza around the Mage Tower is usually deserted, and the Security Team would not allow anyone to linger there.

"Roderick, we should go. Let's stop fiddling with that Communication Device here."

Roderick was urged on by his companion, but he showed no intention of moving. He didn't even raise his head, and was just fiddling with the Communication Device that was clearly issued by the Felistin Family.

Strangely, this Communication Device clearly requires a physical connection, but at this moment, the interface of the Communication Device in Roderick's hand was covered by a clump of green gelatinous substance.

Moreover, the Communication Device in Roderick's hand was still functioning as if it had been physically connected, continuously sending out his information and receiving a lot of other information.

"Don't worry, I'm listening to the report from the finance department... Those ancient predecessors don't seem to understand our system very well, which is why I often get complaints from them saying that our operations are actually quite irregular..."

Alva's eyes widened, and he almost shouted.

"No, Roderick, you're discussing such important matters with the finance department on a magical device issued by Felistin ..."

"Your brain is filled with Life Replenishment Potion. If you don't drink a few bottles, your brain will shrink like a skeleton's brain, right?"

Alva's words were quite harsh; for an elderly mage like Roderick, such criticism was already quite severe.

However, Alva believes that such criticism is still too lenient. If Roderick conducts all its operations on such unapproved and untested Communication Device, then no matter how much secrecy they maintain, it will be useless.

Roderick, however, didn't take it to heart. He typed the last character on the specially made miniature mechanical keyboard, pressed the send button, and waited a second before his message was successfully transmitted.

"This method of remote communication still has a delay; we'll improve it gradually when we get back..."

Roderick was very pleased with this newly developed Communication Device; it was easy to operate and the information transmission was unlikely to make mistakes.

Moreover, this Communication Device alone is enough to solve most communication problems, without having to replace a large number of Communication Device developed by the various mages themselves, as those Communication Device each have their own problems.

This Communication Device allows users to send messages simply by pressing the recipient's contact code. It even offers convenient, commonly used contact numbers, saving users the trouble of re-entering them.

Furthermore, as an Alchemy School, Roderick also addressed the shortcomings of the current Communication Device by using some clever tricks to modify Communication Device into a remote communication version.

However, due to the limited time available, he hasn't yet developed a more user-friendly version, and there are still some delays in its current functionality.

However, this remains the best Communication Device Roderick has ever used, including the official Communication Device from the Alliance.

The Alliance's Communication Device do not experience any delays or data loss, but each use requires filling out a bunch of reports, and calls can only be made to specific people at specific times.

This user experience is really terrible; it's far less convenient and efficient than using this Communication Device directly now.

Only then did Roderick turn to respond to the incessantly chattering Alva, who was now highly emotional and relentlessly criticizing Roderick's actions, arguing that they posed a risk of leaking crucial information.

"Alva, don't do that. Think about it, I'm usually too busy. Either walk from my office to the Ministry of Finance on the second floor, and we can talk in an office there..."

"Or I could submit an application to the Alliance, requesting a call with the Treasury Department within the next half hour to an hour..."

"Then we all have to wait in front of the Communication Device, waiting for that thirty-second call window. If we miss it, we have to wait at least five minutes..."

"Otherwise, I'll have to use the Communication Device provided by the Ministry of Finance, but that Communication Device keeps interfering with the stream, disconnecting unexpectedly, and losing crucial information..."

"Now I can see the text messages from the Ministry of Finance on my Communication Device and handle them directly on the spot. How convenient is that..."

Alva frowned deeply and cursed Roderick fiercely.

"I will expose your actions at the council meeting, Roderick ..."

"Suit yourself. Anyway, the council doesn't have any special provisions for this kind of Communication Device, which means my actions haven't violated any regulations."

"(Swear words)!...(Swear words), there will be more later!!"

"Let's talk about that later."

After ending their conversation, the two walked together toward the entrance of the Mage Tower, where the mage's security personnel had already spotted them.

However, they did not step forward to drive them away because both mages were Fourth Order Mage, and they had already received notice that the two mages would be coming today.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellencies, but according to regulations, all Communication Device must be removed and cannot be retrieved until we leave the Mage Tower."

The security personnel had clearly noticed Roderick and Alva's actions and specifically made them take out their Communication Device.

Roderick's expression remained unchanged as he slammed the Communication Device onto the table beside him. He had known about this regulation all along, which was why he had been standing outside, intending to finish his business first.

Alva paused for a moment, his expression somewhat strange, but he eventually took out the same Communication Device as Roderick from his waist.

"Ha... I didn't expect you to have one of these. I'll have to check if there are any violations on it later..."

A smile appeared on Roderick's face. Now it was Alva's turn to remain silent. He turned his head away and did not respond to Roderick's words.

After they both passed the security check and arrived at the elevator-like device, they began to discuss the main purpose of their visit.

"How many departments are we going to inspect this time?" Roderick asked.

"Probably three: a defense and early warning department, an external attack department, and Propulsion Department."

Roderick nodded. Their main reason for coming was a top-secret mission within the Alchemy School. This mission required a mid-term investigation to ensure that the departments involved could meet the conditions for the next operation.

These are the three departments they are investigating this time. One of them is in charge of the Floating City's defenses and detecting external attacks.

An environment responsible for all large-scale attack facilities, as well as providing adaptation for cluster spellcasting and various device-enhanced spellcasting.

Finally, there's the Propulsion Department responsible for the movement and levitation of the Floating City.

These three departments are all very important parts of their top-secret mission, and each of them faces great pressure when planning to attack the Cult of the Sky Dragon.

"Huh? The Propulsion Department actually sent a Fourth Order Mage over there. Who is this?"

Alwen looked at the document he had taken out, which listed the numbers of the responsible mages from the three departments and their reports.

They didn't know who these mages were by, because it was a top-secret mission. Even if they knew the mages themselves, they wouldn't know what they were doing.

Only in the Propulsion Department was it specifically noted that this was a Fourth Order Mage.

"That's strange. I remember meeting most of the Fourth Order Mage recently. How come they have time to come here and take charge of the Propulsion Department?"

Roderick said with some confusion.

Alwen flipped through the document, then said casually.

"Who knows? Maybe if we go down there now, we can catch one of our colleagues who isn't at his post, and then give him a piece of our mind?"

Roderick raised an eyebrow and began to offer suggestions.

"How about we go to the other two departments first, and then go to the Propulsion Department?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking. Whoever it is, they're probably not there right now. We'll wait for them there..."

The two men's check was quick, taking little time and finding no problems. They then enthusiastically headed towards the elevator on the second basement level.

When they arrived at the second basement level, they easily saw the busy mages after passing the checkpoint.

Some mages were riding in flying vehicles, sketching something with pens in front of Magic Inscription; others had piles of reports on their tables, their hands never stopping.

Almost none of the monks were idle; they always had a document filled with writing in their hands, and they had to move around frequently to hand it over to another monk.

"It's so busy here now... I remember a friend of mine who worked in the Propulsion Department. He said the Propulsion Department was usually very relaxed, only doing inspections once a week."

"So that old friend often reminisces about those days, saying that since I've never been to the power plant, I can't even imagine how pleasant life there was..."

"But now we're busy."

"In any case, at this special time, it's time to keep the mages here busy. The past is the past. We still need to move to the edge of the Cult of the Sky Dragon. If the Floating City goes out of business by then, we'll be in big trouble."

Alwen's fingers rubbed against the report on the Propulsion Department, and he found an interesting sentence.

"Some of the monks here resisted the assigned tasks and were initially uncooperative."

"If it were me, I'd also resist a bit, given how leisurely I usually am... However, after this is all over, I should also deal with these mages who actually resisted working..."

After reading more descriptions of the mages in the Propulsion Department, Alwen's expression turned cold, and his fingers clenched tighter.

Roderick didn't notice Alwen's change; his gaze swept over the group of mages, trying to find out which Fourth Order Mage had arrived.

When his gaze fell upon a relatively busy open-air work area, his pupils suddenly contracted.

He nearly lost his voice because two familiar figures were talking with their backs to him.

"Why are Iris and Lai here?!"