"Good afternoon. Please take a seat. I am sure you have read this report as well. Have you been able to confirm that Saint Dise's weird peeping sensation corresponds to a scrying attempt by a third party?"
The older woman's expression hardened. "I have. The signs are subtle, but I know my craft well enough to detect the traces of a scrying technique even when the individual responsible for performing it has already stopped."
"I am afraid that I must disappoint you, sir. I am not yet able to do so ex post facto. I must be present and ready to perform counter-scrying to follow the thread to its source and capture a visual image of the opposing scryer with my Astral Mirror."
In hindsight, it was a mistake not to station Andrea Vos in the vicinity of the underground operating facility.
It had also been a mistake not to apply anti-scrying measures at the facility. Saint Commander Casella Ingvar and Vice Director Maria Abselon had devised the security plan before the arrival of the Moloch Squadron.
Even if they knew that the collies could introduce their own security measures, the urgency did not seem great at the time because of the presence of an ace mech.
While Saint Dise was so strong that she had easily managed to crush the tentative scrying attempt, her brute force lacked the sophistication needed to trace back the connection to its source.
This was where a subtle and more versatile qi cultivator could produce better results!
"Let's talk about who may be responsible." Ves moved on. "I do not believe that scrying has become a common capability. Are there many cultivators within the Red Collective that can glimpse stuff from afar?"
"I know of dozens of formation masters that can perform techniques similar to the one that tried and failed to monitor the underground facility. Each of them are potential suspects, but I do not have any further data that can help me narrow down the list of names. They may not necessarily be formation masters."
"Huh? Can others perform scrying without relying on qi formations?"
Andrea Vos nodded. "Priests or ritualists that I have spoken about during our initial meeting may be able to see past walls and obstacles over greater distances. Their scrying attempts are much less stable and effective. The maximum range is small and the failure rate is high. It is also more sensitive towards interference. In my professional judgment, the possibility that cultivators other than formation masters are responsible for this attempted breach is low, but not zero."
"I have my ideas, sir, but I do not dare to trust my judgment on this matter. The names that bear the most suspicion in my eyes may actually be decoys deliberately set up by the true mastermind. It is taboo for scryers such as myself to form reckless conclusions without verifying every source of data to the best possible extent. Any false suggestion can lead to a chain of suspicion that can condemn innocent people to crimes they did not commit."
"I see." Ves said. "Is there a possibility that the person who attempted to scry the underground facility is not a member of the Red Collective?"
Andrea paused for a few seconds before she issued a careful response. "It is… possible. The legacy of formation masters is extensive. There are relatively many old sources available to us. The Cultivation Method Department has done an excellent job of translating, summarizing, modernizing and optimizing them all. We have extensive records of who is able to access the curated qi cultivation methods, and we are pretty certain that none of them have violated the safeguards against unauthorized leaking. That does not mean that others are able to independently study and learn from the old and original tomes that can teach people how to scry."
"I see."
"I was already planning to offer the services of the Moloch Squadron." She said. "Be that as it may, all of this is still new to us. Our diviners, ritualists and other qi cultivators are not yet able to investigate the parties that harbor ill intent towards you, but that may change in the future. As long as they are able to develop and grow faster than our rivals, my men and I will be able to collect valuable intelligence that you cannot obtain through other means. We can only ask you to be patient and help fulfill our funding and material needs."
22:08
In other words, they were unable to pin down the possible suspects.
Since they could not make any further progress on this front, Ves eventually shrugged his shoulders.
"If we don't have any direction to go on, then we have no choice but to remain passive and guard against future intrusions. I want you to work together with the others to secure the underground facility. Time is short, but I am sure you can manage."
"I was already planning to offer the services of the Moloch Squadron." She said. "Be that as it may, all of this is still new to us. Our diviners, ritualists and other qi cultivators are not yet able to investigate the parties that harbor ill intent towards you, but that may change in the future. As long as they are able to develop and grow faster than our rivals, my men and I will be able to collect valuable intelligence that you cannot obtain through other means. We can only ask you to be patient and help fulfill our funding and material needs."
"If you want more money and expensive stuff, you need to present me with proposals. I am not opposed to giving you a hand, but you need to justify the expenditures. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes, Larkinson." Thank you for reading my work. If you wish to support The Mech Touch, please vote with your golden tickets!
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