The vague fluctuations were almost insensible . Like ripples on water, they blanketed the entire region . They were used by the scanning category of cards . There wasn't just one type among the complex fluctuations; there were five . It was evident from that how tight their detection was .

Although Chen Mu's bogus borderline breath control method didn't have the unparalleled power of the true breath control method, it was quite good at stopping his breath . Beneath those five fluctuations, each with different characteristics, he was shuttling around like a fish, swimming with ease without making a splash .

The ever ghost-like Wei-ah stuck close to his side . Using no apparent tricks, he could still remain beneath the scanning wave band without making any waves . Chen Mu had asked Wei-ah about that, but Wei-ah never gave him an explanation .

Over time, Chen Mu had gotten used to it . That guy's strength had been superhuman for a long time . It was probably because of the existence of the scanner bands that the defenses inside the base were surprisingly relaxed .

The vicious battle that day wasn't an easy matter for anyone . Even though the power of the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics had increased, their spiritual exhaustion had increased along with it . So everyone could sleep better, Qiao Yuan had arranged for five card artisans to stand guard .

That certainly wasn't a deficient way to stand guard . The attainments of those five card artisans put them among the top 200 in the entire federation . Five such powerful reconnaissance card artisans would be terrifying to any intruders .

Still, the scanning type of card had its natural shortcomings, such as being extremely sensitive to energy fluctuations . The slightest energy fluctuation would get their attention, but they weren't so sensitive to things without energy .

That characteristic of the card was directly related to the way card artisans trained their perception . Apart from a few specialized methods to train perception, the perception normally practiced was highly sensitive toward energy .

Of course, there were some exceptions, such as that freak Caesar 30 years before . The Materials Refinement Code he practiced was unique in that regard . Chen Mu himself had been mistaken for someone who practiced the Materials Refinement Code . Fortunately, there wasn't such a monster among those five .

The encampment of the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics was immense, being a cl.u.s.ter of small buildings . But because the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics hadn't placed much importance on Pomelo, it wasn't like Chen Mu's base, which was completely sealed . Once the pa.s.sageways were closed, if anyone wanted to enter from outside, they would have to endure powerful attacks along the way .

That was precisely why Chen Mu and Wei-ah could infiltrate .

Everything in the base was silent, with a light on in only one place .

Chen Mu and Wei-ah took advantage of the shadows of the buildings for cover and approached the light in silence . The buildings in the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics' encampment had also been discovered by Xi Ping . The place had previously been a mobile station for a team of card artisans . After the card artisans departed, it was sold to a businessman .

After changing hands several times, it had become a large-scale rental field for firms, used especially as a short-term resting place for large teams . Xi Ping bought the plot plan for the buildings at a high price from a local construction card artisan who had done some maintenance work there . Having the plot plan considerably improved the safety of the entire operation .

The light was on in a small meeting room, which probably held about 20 people . It was using some advanced projection equipment . It had been identified in detail on the plot plan . For example, Chen Mu had found out the drainage system below the meeting room headed toward a storehouse 15 meters away, connected by a 1 . 5-meter-wide pipe buried underground .

The meeting room was right in the middle of the base and had no obstructions for 20 meters around it . If you were to approach it, there was a high probability of being discovered . Although the small storehouse was more than 70 meters from Chen Mu, there were conveniently houses all along the way .

Chen Mu had learned his skill at hiding from the demonic woman, but he needed to take advantage of the surrounding environment . The demonic woman was certainly more awesome, but Chen Mu had only learned the most basic skills . Probably because he'd used them so much, he had become very practiced . They had become almost second nature .

Chen Mu had found that while the trick may have looked simple, it was quite effective . When he did resistance training with Wei-ah, that trick proved very useful . If he used it, he could increase his time of resistance by about three seconds .

Never mind those three seconds; an increase of a second would be extremely difficult facing off against Wei-ah . The resistance training between Chen Mu and Wei-ah used seconds as its unit of measurement .

Never mind those three seconds; an increase of a second would be extremely difficult facing off against Wei-ah . The resistance training between Chen Mu and Wei-ah used seconds as its unit of measurement .

Looking cautiously from the shadows, he didn't discover any movements . Chen Mu stuck close to the ground and suddenly jumped out to the side . He was like a lively civet cat as he jumped around in the shadows . Because he couldn't use cards there, Chen Mu had no way to use his big mudfish card and had to depend on the strength of his body .

It was a good thing his physical strength was so exceptional by then, although it wasn't up to Wei-ah's . His stunning, explosive power enabled him to metamorphose into a faint shadow . It would be hard to find him hidden in the shadows . Wei-ah was even faster and his shadow fainter .

The two of them quickly arrived at the corner of the storehouse .

Chen Mu's face was covered by the ghost-faced flower . There were five brightly dripping lines the size of drops of blood that went from his forehead straight to his chin . It was weird . Every time he used the ghost-faced flower, the pattern formed would be different, which meant he didn't have to worry about being found out .

Wei-ah was wearing a matte black mask made of a strange alloy . Xi Ping had specifically chosen it from among the goods for that evening's operation .

There was no pattern on the pure black, the surface of which had undergone a sand frosting process, so it wouldn't reflect light . It was perfectly soft when worn and not at all suffocating . Unfortunately, there was only one of them . Chen Mu would have actually preferred that kind of plain mask . But Wei-ah also rather liked it .

The origins of that mask had long been uncertain . If it weren't for Xi Ping having committed all the things in the auction house to memory, such a small item would never have resurfaced .

The door of the storehouse was locked, but that wasn't going to be an issue for Chen Mu and Wei-ah . They hadn't intended to enter through the door .

It was a plain storehouse only used to store some daily necessities when it was first built . It had belonged to a non-combatant unit . Because of that, it had been built using the most common masonry structure to keep its cost low .

Wei-ah's right hand became like a claw, and he started to lightly claw out the corner wall . His movements looked quite easy, but they were effective . Chunk after chunk of the brick surface fell away like mud .

Wei-ah's right hand became like a claw, and he started to lightly claw out the corner wall . His movements looked quite easy, but they were effective . Chunk after chunk of the brick surface fell away like mud .

After five or six minutes, a hole big enough for a person appeared in front of them . Although he was already used to it, it still surprised Chen Mu when he thought about Wei-ah not having to rely on any tools to so easily dig out such a hole .

The two of them didn't speak as they plunged in .

Once inside, they smelled mildew . It looked as though the place had been closed for a long time .

Chen Mu went over to a vent and opened it . Hidden from the outside, he could see there was no sign of anyone having discovered them . Chen Mu then thought about the connection from where he was to the entire base, and he quickly arranged his escape route .

In that brief time, Wei-ah had already opened the cover of the drain . There was an alloy lock on the drain cover . However, probably because of the pa.s.sage of so much time and the lack of maintenance, the lock had already corroded . Wei-ah effortlessly twisted it off .

A blast of foul-smelling air permeated the storehouse .

Having arranged his escape route, Chen Mu then hopped into the drain opening without hesitation . Wei-ah was close behind .

Chen Mu had thought Wei-ah was an ace in the dark like the demonic woman . But he didn't quite feel that to be true now; Wei-ah was more a powerful ace than any a.s.sa.s.sin lurking in the dark . If the demonic woman had come along for that job, she would certainly have been more professional and accomplished .

But Chen Mu himself was standing in half a bucket of water and wasn't exactly qualified to talk about anyone else .

The air in the drainage pipes was foul . Living things like rats occasionally scurried by while the top of the pipe was drip-drip-dripping with water . It was pitch dark in the pipe, but it was a good thing Chen Mu didn't need to be careful and could use an illumination card .

But Chen Mu himself was standing in half a bucket of water and wasn't exactly qualified to talk about anyone else .

The air in the drainage pipes was foul . Living things like rats occasionally scurried by while the top of the pipe was drip-drip-dripping with water . It was pitch dark in the pipe, but it was a good thing Chen Mu didn't need to be careful and could use an illumination card .

No one's scanning could penetrate ten meters underground . The thicker the material was, the better its efficacy at blocking scans .

A fist-sized, milky white energy body floated three meters in front of Chen Mu . It emitted a soft, white glow, turning the pipe snow-bright .

Their speed immediately increased, and they quickly arrived under the meeting room . Out of caution, Chen Mu shut off the illumination card . But he left his apparatus in the activated state to make it easier to make a move at any time .

There was a vertical pipe leading up over their heads . The walls of the pipe were too slippery to hold, but Wei-ah easily climbed up like a gecko . Chen Mu couldn't do what Wei-ah had done, having long since lost his wall-climbing lotus . Otherwise, it would have been trivial .

He half-squatted and jumped straight up . It was a three-meter leap . He was still wearing those elastic gra.s.s shoes, which greatly increased his explosive power .

He remembered how useful those things from the demonic woman had initially been . Unfortunately, only the elastic gra.s.s shoes and the ghost-faced flower remained .

At the high point of his jump, Wei-ah shot out his right hand from above him and grabbed Chen Mu's arm . Wei-ah didn't seem at all affected by carrying someone as he sped up the pipe without making a sound .

They quickly arrived at the mouth of the vertical pipe, where it had turned horizontal . They slowly crawled on hands and knees to the middle of the pipe . Their movements were very light to avoid making the slightest sound .

Above them, the conversation in the meeting room gradually became clearer .

The vague fluctuations were almost insensible . Like ripples on water, they blanketed the entire region . They were used by the scanning category of cards . There wasnt just one type among the complex fluctuations; there were five . It was evident from that how tight their detection was . Although Chen Mus bogus borderline breath control method didnt have the unparalleled power of the true breath control method, it was quite good at stopping his breath . Beneath those five fluctuations, each with different characteristics, he was shuttling around like a fish, swimming with ease without making a splash . The ever ghost-like Wei-ah stuck close to his side . Using no apparent tricks, he could still remain beneath the scanning wave band without making any waves . Chen Mu had asked Wei-ah about that, but Wei-ah never gave him an explanation . Over time, Chen Mu had gotten used to it . That guys strength had been superhuman for a long time . It was probably because of the existence of the scanner bands that the defenses inside the base were surprisingly relaxed . The vicious battle that day wasnt an easy matter for anyone . Even though the power of the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics had increased, their spiritual exhaustion had increased along with it . So everyone could sleep better, Qiao Yuan had arranged for five card artisans to stand guard . That certainly wasnt a deficient way to stand guard . The attainments of those five card artisans put them among the top 200 in the entire federation . Five such powerful reconnaissance card artisans would be terrifying to any intruders . Still, the scanning type of card had its natural shortcomings, such as being extremely sensitive to energy fluctuations . The slightest energy fluctuation would get their attention, but they werent so sensitive to things without energy . That characteristic of the card was directly related to the way card artisans trained their perception . Apart from a few specialized methods to train perception, the perception normally practiced was highly sensitive toward energy . Of course, there were some exceptions, such as that freak Caesar 30 years before . The Materials Refinement Code he practiced was unique in that regard . Chen Mu himself had been mistaken for someone who practiced the Materials Refinement Code . Fortunately, there wasnt such a monster among those five . The encampment of the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics was immense, being a cl.u.s.ter of small buildings . But because the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics hadnt placed much importance on Pomelo, it wasnt like Chen Mus base, which was completely sealed . Once the pa.s.sageways were closed, if anyone wanted to enter from outside, they would have to endure powerful attacks along the way . That was precisely why Chen Mu and Wei-ah could infiltrate . Everything in the base was silent, with a light on in only one place . Chen Mu and Wei-ah took advantage of the shadows of the buildings for cover and approached the light in silence . The buildings in the Central Repository of the Cla.s.sics encampment had also been discovered by Xi Ping . The place had previously been a mobile station for a team of card artisans . After the card artisans departed, it was sold to a businessman . After changing hands several times, it had become a large-scale rental field for firms, used especially as a short-term resting place for large teams . Xi Ping bought the plot plan for the buildings at a high price from a local construction card artisan who had done some maintenance work there . Having the plot plan considerably improved the safety of the entire operation . The light was on in a small meeting room, which probably held about 20 people . It was using some advanced projection equipment . It had been identified in detail on the plot plan . For example, Chen Mu had found out the drainage system below the meeting room headed toward a storehouse 15 meters away, connected by a 1 . 5-meter-wide pipe buried underground . The meeting room was right in the middle of the base and had no obstructions for 20 meters around it . If you were to approach it, there was a high probability of being discovered . Although the small storehouse was more than 70 meters from Chen Mu, there were conveniently houses all along the way . Chen Mu had learned his skill at hiding from the demonic woman, but he needed to take advantage of the surrounding environment . The demonic woman was certainly more awesome, but Chen Mu had only learned the most basic skills . Probably because hed used them so much, he had become very practiced . They had become almost second nature . Chen Mu had found that while the trick may have looked simple, it was quite effective . When he did resistance training with Wei-ah, that trick proved very useful . If he used it, he could increase his time of resistance by about three seconds . Never mind those three seconds; an increase of a second would be extremely difficult facing off against Wei-ah . The resistance training between Chen Mu and Wei-ah used seconds as its unit of measurement . Looking cautiously from the shadows, he didnt discover any movements . Chen Mu stuck close to the ground and suddenly jumped out to the side . He was like a lively civet cat as he jumped around in the shadows . Because he couldnt use cards there, Chen Mu had no way to use his big mudfish card and had to depend on the strength of his body . It was a good thing his physical strength was so exceptional by then, although it wasnt up to Wei-ahs . His stunning, explosive power enabled him to metamorphose into a faint shadow . It would be hard to find him hidden in the shadows . Wei-ah was even faster and his shadow fainter . The two of them quickly arrived at the corner of the storehouse . Chen Mus face was covered by the ghost-faced flower . There were five brightly dripping lines the size of drops of blood that went from his forehead straight to his chin . It was weird . Every time he used the ghost-faced flower, the pattern formed would be different, which meant he didnt have to worry about being found out . Wei-ah was wearing a matte black mask made of a strange alloy . Xi Ping had specifically chosen it from among the goods for that evenings operation . There was no pattern on the pure black, the surface of which had undergone a sand frosting process, so it wouldnt reflect light . It was perfectly soft when worn and not at all suffocating . Unfortunately, there was only one of them . Chen Mu would have actually preferred that kind of plain mask . But Wei-ah also rather liked it . The origins of that mask had long been uncertain . If it werent for Xi Ping having committed all the things in the auction house to memory, such a small item would never have resurfaced . The door of the storehouse was locked, but that wasnt going to be an issue for Chen Mu and Wei-ah . They hadnt intended to enter through the door . It was a plain storehouse only used to store some daily necessities when it was first built . It had belonged to a non-combatant unit . Because of that, it had been built using the most common masonry structure to keep its cost low . Wei-ahs right hand became like a claw, and he started to lightly claw out the corner wall . His movements looked quite easy, but they were effective . Chunk after chunk of the brick surface fell away like mud . After five or six minutes, a hole big enough for a person appeared in front of them . Although he was already used to it, it still surprised Chen Mu when he thought about Wei-ah not having to rely on any tools to so easily dig out such a hole . The two of them didnt speak as they plunged in . Once inside, they smelled mildew . It looked as though the place had been closed for a long time . Chen Mu went over to a vent and opened it . Hidden from the outside, he could see there was no sign of anyone having discovered them . Chen Mu then thought about the connection from where he was to the entire base, and he quickly arranged his escape route . In that brief time, Wei-ah had already opened the cover of the drain . There was an alloy lock on the drain cover . However, probably because of the pa.s.sage of so much time and the lack of maintenance, the lock had already corroded . Wei-ah effortlessly twisted it off . A blast of foul-smelling air permeated the storehouse . Having arranged his escape route, Chen Mu then hopped into the drain opening without hesitation . Wei-ah was close behind . Chen Mu had thought Wei-ah was an ace in the dark like the demonic woman . But he didnt quite feel that to be true now; Wei-ah was more a powerful ace than any a.s.sa.s.sin lurking in the dark . If the demonic woman had come along for that job, she would certainly have been more professional and accomplished . But Chen Mu himself was standing in half a bucket of water and wasnt exactly qualified to talk about anyone else . The air in the drainage pipes was foul . Living things like rats occasionally scurried by while the top of the pipe was drip-drip-dripping with water . It was pitch dark in the pipe, but it was a good thing Chen Mu didnt need to be careful and could use an illumination card . No ones scanning could penetrate ten meters underground . The thicker the material was, the better its efficacy at blocking scans . A fist-sized, milky white energy body floated three meters in front of Chen Mu . It emitted a soft, white glow, turning the pipe snow-bright . Their speed immediately increased, and they quickly arrived under the meeting room . Out of caution, Chen Mu shut off the illumination card . But he left his apparatus in the activated state to make it easier to make a move at any time . There was a vertical pipe leading up over their heads . The walls of the pipe were too slippery to hold, but Wei-ah easily climbed up like a gecko . Chen Mu couldnt do what Wei-ah had done, having long since lost his wall-climbing lotus . Otherwise, it would have been trivial . He half-squatted and jumped straight up . It was a three-meter leap . He was still wearing those elastic gra.s.s shoes, which greatly increased his explosive power . He remembered how useful those things from the demonic woman had initially been . Unfortunately, only the elastic gra.s.s shoes and the ghost-faced flower remained . At the high point of his jump, Wei-ah shot out his right hand from above him and grabbed Chen Mus arm . Wei-ah didnt seem at all affected by carrying someone as he sped up the pipe without making a sound . They quickly arrived at the mouth of the vertical pipe, where it had turned horizontal . They slowly crawled on hands and knees to the middle of the pipe . Their movements were very light to avoid making the slightest sound . Above them, the conversation in the meeting room gradually became clearer .