Meanwhile, outside the empty underground church, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed.
Soon, a tall man wearing a white mask, inscribed with the character "Merchant," walked in.
This man was one of the leaders of the Merchant Organization who recently detected the energy fluctuation at the underground church and decided to investigate.
When the White Mask walked into the underground church and saw the empty sanctuary, he slightly raised his eyebrows under the mask.
His fingers brushed lightly over a rod leaning against the wall, and the pad of his finger was stained with a layer of still-warm grease. The smell drifting from the rod, combined with the extinguished campfire beside it, indicated that someone had been roasting meat here not long ago.
But now... there wasn’t a single living soul in sight.
"How can that be? The Hero Squad’s logistics members are always here. I..." At this moment, a hooded man in a black uniform from the Merchant Organization, following behind the White Mask, exclaimed in surprise.
"Do you still think there’s nothing unusual here now?" The White Mask’s leisurely voice drifted into the hooded man’s ears.
Previously, although the hooded man outwardly agreed with the White Mask that there might be an issue here, deep down, he felt it was an exaggeration since the detected energy fluctuation was very, very small at the time.
"Did the Hero Squad... all die?"
The White Mask chuckled lightly: "You didn’t answer my question directly, so you still think there’s no problem here?"
The hooded man chuckled awkwardly: "You misunderstand, sir, I naturally trust your judgment."
A sneer came from under the mask: "You haven’t learned the judgment of your mentor. Instead, you’ve adopted the hypocrisy of the Black Merchants."
The Merchant Organization has three major leaders known as the White Merchant, Black Merchant, and Gray Merchant.
The White Merchant, also known as the White Mask, is responsible for direct dealings with adventure teams, such as material trading and logistical support, all under his control.
The Black Merchant handles the maintenance of the Magical Energy Array, energy fluctuation monitoring, and surveillance.
As for the Gray Merchant, he is responsible for dealing with the magical creatures in the underground labyrinth.
Aside from the Gray Merchant, the rivalries and differences in responsibilities between the Black and White Merchants lead their respective apprentices to harbor mutual distrust.
Therefore, it’s not entirely without reason that this apprentice of the Black Merchant is discontent with the White Merchant.
White Merchant: "To answer your earlier question, the Hero Squad’s logistics team didn’t die. I can’t guarantee they’re all alive, but at least they’re not all dead."
The reason is simple: this underground church is a storage point for the Hero Squad’s resources, and now, all the goods are gone, clearly relocated.
In the room on the second floor, the empty clothes and bedding indicate they had enough time to pack before leaving. It showed that they departed calmly, seemingly not in distress.
The hooded man also noticed some hints and bowed his head: "I will immediately contact the surveillance team to track down the Hero Squad."
With these words, the hooded man vanished in a flash.
After the hooded man disappeared, the White Merchant spoke softly to the air: "Come out now, isn’t your presence obvious to me?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a faint human figure appeared beside the White Merchant.
The figure was a man who looked almost identical to the White Merchant, except he wore a black mask.
This person was the Black Merchant.
Upon seeing the Black Merchant appear, the White Merchant took off his mask, revealing an elegant and cultured face. However, a hint of helplessness adorned his face at this moment: "Are you enjoying letting our underlings fight?"
"I quite enjoy it. Without competition, how can there be growth?" The Black Merchant’s tone was casual, with an irresponsible flair to it.
"Competition and strife are two different things. Oh well, let’s not discuss this. Did you discover anything?" The White Merchant glanced at the Black Merchant.
"Yes, and it’s a fascinating discovery."
The Black Merchant spoke while removing his mask, revealing a face identical to the White Merchant’s, except the Black Merchant had a rogue charm to him.
Though appearing at odds within the Merchant Organization, their apparent discord is merely a tactic by the Black Merchant to garner more attention from his older brother, the White Merchant.
The two are twins, having grown up together with a deep connection; truly, if there were any animosity, they would have drifted apart long ago.
Unfortunately, their apprentices remain unaware of the truth, engrossed in their fervent rivalry.
"What did you find?" The White Merchant inquired.
The Black Merchant grabbed the White Merchant’s hand: "Come with me."
An uplifting force rose from beneath the Black Merchant, and he pulled the White Merchant directly to the top of the underground church.
To the naked eye, there was nothing there, but looking through spiritual power, a conspicuous Illusion Node became evident not far away.
If it were a large, complex illusionary realm, the White Merchant might not be too surprised, as he vaguely suspected a Transcendent had been here.
But merely encountering a low-harm illusion node was somewhat puzzling.
The Black Merchant approached the Illusion Node and lightly touched it.
An illusion akin to a light screen appeared before them.
Simultaneously, lines of text began to appear on the screen. The topmost line read — Friendly Advice.
"It even gives a friendly suggestion. Tell me, isn’t that interesting?" The Black Merchant grinned, his single-sided smile intending to be roguishly charming, though the White Merchant saw it only as foolish.
The White Merchant ignored his brother’s silly antics and focused on the characters on the light screen.
"Underground church... repaired by the followers of the Demon God..."
"The Magical Energy Array has been repaired. Activation method is..."
"Final reminder: Transcendent matters require a Transcendent resolution."