Mu Shengniu cautiously approached the private rooms on the third floor. Each room was so well soundproofed that he could hear nothing inside.
But the demonic aura he had detected was indeed somewhere nearby.
"Captain, we checked them all. There's nothing wrong with the other rooms," one squad member whispered.
The mage squad had a full seven members and was the strongest defensive force in the entire mall. Mu Shengniu was even an Intermediate Mage.
After all, they were in the city, which had the City Demon Hunting Squad. For a mage team stationed at a single location like theirs, their lineup was already quite lavish.
"Looks like this is the one. Get ready to break down the door." Mu Shengniu dared not be careless. "Have you notified the City Demon Hunting Squad?"
"They're already on their way, and the customers on floors two through four have been evacuated."
"They should have evacuated everyone. They want to make money so badly that they'd even dare conceal a demon beast appearing in the city. What if something happens?" Mu Shengniu was somewhat displeased.
He had been the first to detect the demonic aura, but the mall's upper management had ordered only the third floor evacuated. Even after arguing his case, he had only managed to get a few other floors evacuated.
The excuse they used was a burst water pipe that needed emergency repairs.
"You lot are the mall's mages, right? Your response was pretty quick, but why haven't you evacuated everyone?" As Mu Shengniu was complaining, a voice sounded behind him.
The man was in his forties and wore a mage badge on his chest. He was also at the Intermediate Level.
However, he seemed to have only recently broken through. Mu Shengniu felt that his aura was not yet as strong as his own.
"That's the mall's business." Though unhappy with management's decision, he was being paid to do a job, after all, so Mu Shengniu did not dwell on it. "Besides, with you and me here, dealing with one Servant-level Demon won't be a problem."
The newcomer nodded. "Since you've found where the demon beast is hiding, open the door."
Hearing this, Mu Shengniu hesitated no longer and forced the door open.
"Ow, spare me! I know I was wrong!!!"
"Spare me, Mage! Spare me, Mage!"
As the door opened, wails and pleas for mercy rang out from inside. Mu Shengniu thought they were addressing him and declared loudly, "As long as you don't resist, you won't suffer any physical punishment."
"A mage is here? Spare me, Mage! Spare me!" Lu Wu raised both hands and slowly walked out of the room.
He was not afraid of being investigated.
As long as he said nothing about the Dark Fire Ape, no one could possibly discover it. Even if those two bastards dared disobey him and point the finger at him, they had no evidence.
Who would believe that someone who had only just awakened an element possessed a Servant Level Summoned Beast that came without a shadow and left without a trace?
"What were you doing in there? Don't come any closer!" Mu Shengniu dared not let his guard down.
A teenage boy had come out, and there were still two voices wailing inside the room. This was truly bizarre.
"We weren't doing anything." Lu Wu's face was full of puzzlement. "When I came up, they were fighting each other for some reason..."
"Come out first, then stay by the door and don't move." Mu Shengniu was not about to believe that nonsense.
Some of their squad members had already prepared their magic. If Lu Wu dared make any sudden moves, they were ready to strike at any moment.
"Fine. If you don't believe me, go ask them." Hearing this, Lu Wu stepped out the door.
"Lu Wu, why haven't you come down yet?" As Lu Wu headed downstairs, Mu Nujiao's voice rang out.
She had sensed something very faintly, but did not know what it was.
Although she had now awakened her element, she had not yet become a mage, and her perception was not that strong.
"Mu Nujiao, why are you here?" Spotting Mu Nujiao, Mu Shengniu raised an eyebrow, then turned to Lu Wu. "So you're the Lu Wu who lured away our Mu Family's young miss?"
"My name is Lu Wu." Lu Wu had not expected Mu Nujiao to have already come upstairs, much less that the man before him belonged to the Mu Family.
Although this man knew Mu Nujiao, Lu Wu was not particularly happy about it.
In truth, hardly anyone in the Mu Family thought much of him. They all harbored considerable hostility toward him.
After all, they all believed he had ulterior motives for getting to know Mu Nujiao.
"I really didn't expect you two to come to Fresh Food City. And isn't today your awakening day?" Mu Shengniu's head was throbbing.
Had this Lu Wu actually brought Mu Nujiao out even on awakening day?
If this fellow really dared do such a thing, Old Master Mu would probably explode.
"We've already awakened. We came here to celebrate." Mu Nujiao noticed Mu Shengniu's expression turn ugly all at once. "Brother Shengniu, we only came for a meal. Please don't tell my brother about this."
"You've finished awakening?" Mu Shengniu raised an eyebrow, somewhat disbelieving. "There are thirty or forty students in each of your classes. How could everyone have finished awakening so quickly?"
"We left early and came to celebrate," Lu Wu hurriedly explained when he realized this man was willing to listen.
"What element did you awaken that's worth celebrating so much? And do you know how much it costs to eat here?"
"Lu Wu awakened the Fire Element, and I awakened the Plant Element," Mu Nujiao said, knowing that many people in the Mu Family were deeply opposed to Lu Wu.
Mu Shengniu's eyes lit up. "The Plant Element? You awakened White Magic at the Basic Level? That really is worth celebrating."
"Captain, let's investigate the demon beast first." A nearby squad member could no longer stand watching and quietly reminded him.
Only then did Mu Shengniu come back to his senses. "Lu Wu, come out of there first. Have you seen a demon beast?"
After asking this, Mu Shengniu rather wished he could take it back. After all, if Lu Wu had encountered a demon beast, how could he still be alive?
Even if a summoner had released a Summoned Beast, there would have been magical fluctuations.
But he had clearly sensed only a demonic aura.
"There's no demon beast inside. I just came to have a look, only to find them fighting. I couldn't stop them no matter how I tried," Lu Wu said gently.
He truly had not expected Mu Nujiao to awaken the Plant Element.
But now was not the time to say much about that.
"There are indeed no traces of a demon beast inside. Two fellows keep wailing, and both have fractures in several places." The Intermediate Mage in his forties, emboldened by his skill, had walked inside. After inspecting the room, he returned and said, "But judging by those thick porcelain slabs, the damage doesn't look like something human strength could cause."
"Secure this place first and wait for the Magic Association to arrive," Mu Shengniu said.
As long as he confirmed there was no demon beast hiding here, his duty was done.
If a powerful summoning mage really had used a Summoned Beast to injure people here, that was for the Magic Association and the Magic Court to investigate.
"Those two inside still owe me compensation for emotional distress," Lu Wu muttered.
He had not treated Mu Nujiao to a meal yet, despite promising he would. Because of those two bastards, he had ordered Azure Wind Python gallbladder sashimi, and still had not gotten Mu Nujiao anything to eat.
"What compensation for emotional distress?" Mu Shengniu raised an eyebrow. "Do you know those two inside? What exactly happened? Explain yourself."
"It's nothing. Lu Wu was joking." Mu Nujiao felt a headache coming on and hurriedly said, "If there's nothing else, we'll head back."
"You cannot leave until we've ruled out the possibility that you used a Summoned Beast to injure people," the Intermediate Mage in his forties said gently. "According to the Mage Convention..."
"These two only just awakened. You think they can cast magic?" Mu Shengniu snapped irritably. "Lu Wu, tell the truth. What exactly happened?"
"We had a disagreement downstairs, so I came up to argue it out. Then they started fighting each other and both got hurt. I'm pretty shameless, so when I saw them locked in a fierce fight, I broke a few bones on each of them..."