The Cunning Supplier

Su Ming clicked on the image enhancement function, and the people in the image were analyzed, enlarged, and arranged into a list. However, all the bear-men were treated as background by the recognition software and ignored.

[Miao Xin, when the studio does the person recognition, please include animals as well.]

[.-. good.]

There are two humans in the picture who are clearly different from others—they are dressed in shabby clothes and are treated as slaves.

Su Ming felt that one of them looked very familiar, but he couldn't quite place him. Moreover, the other person had been through quite a bit of trouble, so recognizing him based solely on the distant footage was a bit difficult for him.

However, the identification software indicated that a matching record was found in the database. Su Ming retrieved the historical data and found that it was a video taken by a communication relay drone during the operation in Shafeng'er Town.

Upon opening the detailed screen, Su Ming suddenly realized, "Oh! It's the sheriff from that small town! The one who cheated me out of two drinks at the tavern, I think his name is Rupert!"

"You and Yise, you escaped by taking him hostage, didn't you?" Zijin also remembered.

Su Ming carefully recalled the scene, "That's right, I gave him a few gold coins as compensation when I left!"

Another slave was recognized by Ge'enda'er: "It's Father Zephlin! The resident priest in Shafeng'er Town, currently leading an investigation into the disappearance of a girl."

"That matches up perfectly!" Newman clapped his hands. "This is their distress signal!"

Su Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that the letter wasn't a trap, and it even gave them a tactical advantage!

After the second drone was positioned, it transmitted images back.

This time, the angle allowed a view of the cave's front. Through exposure compensation and magnification, Su Ming could clearly see the scene inside the cave: some girls bound by ropes, huddled in a corner.

Based on the image attached to that gold coin, there must be more kidnapped girls imprisoned deep within the cave.

"Human traffickers?" Su Ming immediately dismissed his guess as soon as he uttered the word—such a large-scale mobilization could not possibly be human traffickers.

The only answer can be: those teenage buyers who haven't been caught yet!

The drone also successfully captured the faces of several other humans. When one of them was zoomed in on, Qiluo, who was blinking her one eye, recognized him—it was the middle-aged man she and Yise had met back in Bubing City.

"Well, there was an older woman with him at the time," Qiluo said. "She seemed a bit neurotic."

"Ge'enda'er, contact Katharine immediately," Su Ming instructed. "Explain the situation to her!"

"OK!"

****

Him Cavern.

Inside the largest stone chamber of the cave, Abigai was drawing an array of runes on a completely naked girl.

The sharp carving knife sliced across the girl's fair skin, leaving fine streaks of blood that seeped out like tears. The girl bit her lip tightly, tears welling in her eyes, but she suppressed even the slightest tremor.

In the corner, more girls with the same fate huddled together, their eyes filled with fear. On the ground lay a corpse with its neck twisted, a warning example of "disobedience."

Ruogejin stepped forward, bowed, and said, "My lord, Aiwanbei'er has arrived."

A giant bear-man, nearly four meters tall, stooped as he entered the stone chamber. The low ceiling of the cave forced him to constantly duck to avoid the hanging stalactites. His enormous body almost filled the entire passageway.

"You're late," Abigai, his voice barely containing his barely suppressed rage.

According to the plan, she and Ruogejin were responsible for collecting and modifying "dolls" along the way, while Aiwanbei'er was responsible for transporting magical weapons and supplies. The two agreed to meet in the cave.

But the reservation time was three days in advance!

Aiwanbei'er immediately fell to his knees with a thud, shattering several stalagmites in the process. He hurriedly explained, "Sir, the Magic Crystal Core supplied by the Whitaker Family have been delayed by a full seven days!"

Abigai upon hearing this, then raised his hand to signal the bear-man to stand up.

She wanted to throw a tantrum, but this reason is not entirely Aiwanbei'er's fault.

The organization began preparing for this prison break three months ago, with the most crucial element being the magical artifact "Eternal Cataclysm Star Orbit." Although it resembles the "Ring of Winter" of this world in appearance, its power is far greater, and its production difficulty and resource consumption are also far more astonishing.

The failure of the Sea Monster Project two months ago led to the abortion of the plan to cut off the East-West sea route, and the idea of monopolizing the intercontinental trade of alchemical materials also collapsed. Although the "Eternal Cataclysm Star Orbit" was eventually completed, the Magic Crystal Core that drive it have not yet been collected, and the shortage has reached one-third.

Therefore, Hairspring had to adjust its plans and instead seek to purchase from the Whitaker Family, a leading magic crystal supplier in the Northern Lands.

Aiwanbei'er had just stood up when he bumped into and broke a stalactite above his head.

Large rocks tumbled down the cave wall with a crash, Abigai flicked his finger, and a shield as thin as a cicada's wing instantly unfolded, blocking the falling rocks.

Protect the teenage "products" being processed in front of her.

"Have you gotten everything successfully now?" Abigai continued his work, his voice regaining its calm.

"Got it, sir," Aiwanbei'er replied. "I've brought the people involved in the transaction as well."

Fearing punishment, he also kidnapped Immanuel, the son of Lord Huikete, who had come to make the deal.

"Very well." Abigai ordered without looking up, "Ruogejin, go and install the crystal core on ' Eternal Cataclysm Star Orbit,' test it out, and make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Yes, sir!" Ruogejin replied, then added, "If there are no problems with the goods, Immanuel can be detained until after our operation is complete before being released."

Abigai nodded slightly in agreement. Ruogejin and Aiwanbei'er immediately took their leave, and Old Ji refocused on drawing the runes in front of her.

Inside the cave, a suppressed whimper escaped from somewhere. Abigai raised his withered fingers, intending to execute the girl who dared to make a sound.

But then she thought about it again, and realized that there wasn't much "material" left, and execution might lead to a shortage. In the end, she withdrew her finger and continued her work.

Ruogejin and Aiwanbei'er walked out through the winding passages inside the cave.

With the arrival of the mammoth transport caravan, the outer area of the cave had become extremely crowded.

Ruogejin could still manage to pass through, Aiwanbei'er's massive body bumped and jostled in the narrow passage, smashing through several sections of the stone wall.

Caves are indeed very unfriendly to someone of his tall stature.

The two emerged from the cave and arrived at the open space where the magical weapons were kept. Immanuel, accompanied by three guards, was waiting there, shivering in the cold wind.

Ruogejin looked at the ground and saw that the outer orbit "Star Wall" and the middle orbit "Starlight" of "Eternal Cataclysm Star Orbit" had been assembled and were emitting a cold light.

The "Starlight" component and the crystal core of the unassembled "Star Core" component have been installed; what is missing now is the outermost "Star Wall".

Upon seeing Ruogejin, Immanuel immediately greeted him, "My lord!"

"I'll settle the final payment after I've run it for a bit," Ruogejin said without further ado.

Immanuel quickly agreed and tactfully stepped aside.

Aiwanbei'er beckoned, and a bear-man immediately brought over a wooden crate. Opening the lid, hundreds of meticulously polished crystal cores were neatly arranged inside, refracting brilliant light in the sunlight.

Ruogejin picked up a crystal core and examined it closely. Under the transmitted light, the crystal core displayed a perfect luster, and the Magic Power flowing inside seemed to be alive.

"The quality is good." He had to admit. This batch of crystal cores was not only well-shaped, but also had very few internal flaws. Some even approached the standard of flawless Magic Power crystals, which was rare among crystal cores—they were indeed top-quality goods.

Ruogejin reached out, crystal cores floated up from the box and began to combine with the alchemical components on the ground.

****

In the Youth Civilization Rune Communication Carriage, the magic array was activated. After several rounds of message communication, each node replied in succession: Ready.

The next moment, dozens of magic crystals simultaneously emitted a dazzling light.

The magical signal traveled through the nearest church altar in Xueqila Town, then to the church in Wazhuang Town, and finally reached the Great Altar in Bubing City, where it connected with Katharine was standing in the center of the altar.

Based on the church system in the Northern Lands of the Temple of Light, it is possible to establish short-term, long-distance instant communication!

Of course, the consumption of crystals is also extremely distressing.

Ge'enda'er seized the opportunity and quickly reported the situation to Katharine.

"Since Qiluo was seen in Bubing City, did she investigate the other party?" Katharine asked.

As a unicorn, Qiluo can not only actively detect the malice of a target and identify their allegiance, but she can also passively sense if the other party's malice is too strong or targeted.

Su Ming shook her head. "She investigated at the time, but found nothing unusual."

Katharine's heart tightened. Human trafficking is a crime that can't be done without malice. If even the unicorn was completely unaware, then there's only one possibility: the perpetrator is incredibly powerful!

Su Ming also remembered this. Qiluo had said on Brown Gold Island that she was unable to detect powerful individuals at the level of Grand Magus Mentor or above.

"So these are two Grand Magus Mentor?" Su Ming murmured.

But Katharine shook her head. Yise had mentioned the incident that occurred during the Frostflame Festival to her. Her daughter had glanced back then and seen the middle-aged man speaking to the old man with a respectful demeanor.

She was quite curious at the time; the old woman's status was clearly far higher than that of the middle-aged man!

"This old woman might be a Saint Rank," Katharine told Su Ming, her voice heavy.

"Are there this many Saint Rank cultivators here?" Su Ming was almost about to protest; how many had he encountered already!

"Not many. There are only about twenty Saint Rank actively active in the entire world," Katharine explained. "There are also a few who live in seclusion, whose whereabouts are unknown, or who are hiding in obscurity, their fates unclear. But this old woman is not any of them!"

"Then it's highly likely not Saint Rank expert," Su Ming judged. The growth of a Saint Rank expert cannot be without any trace; they cannot appear out of thin air.