Ulterior Motives

In Qin Ran's line of sight, an extremely thin wire, as fine as a hair, extended from the crack in the cell door. It deftly slipped into the lock and kept picking at it.

If not for his D+-rank Perception, with [Tracking] activated and the sounds reaching his ears, Qin Ran might not even have been sure of what he was seeing.

Instinctively, Qin Ran blinked.

Then his gaze sharpened!

Because he remembered that this cell was supposed to hold the old man known as the "Master Thief."

In an instant, Qin Ran recalled his brief encounter with the man.

The old man had worn a relaxed smile, utterly unlike the numbness or resentment of the other prisoners.

At the time, Qin Ran had not understood why the man could appear so at ease.

But now, he understood.

It was because Alcatraz Prison could not hold him at all.

And more importantly, he had remained completely unharmed in the face of the Intangible Wraith.

Qin Ran had just thoroughly checked. Every guard and prisoner still inside the building was dead.

"He can leave whenever he wants, yet he willingly stays in this damned place!"

"And he can ignore the danger posed by the Intangible Wraith!"

"Then... what was the purpose of giving me those notes?"

Qin Ran narrowed his eyes.

He felt that he might have been used.

Based on the information he had obtained so far, the other party had clearly prepared in advance.

Even if Qin Ran had not appeared, those two notes would have ended up in someone else's hands.

For example, some righteous prison guard? Or even more participants driven by "profit."

Qin Ran leaned toward the latter.

But regardless of which side it was, a conflict would be unavoidable.

Then, the other party would use