Mayor and Lian Ming's Meeting

Lian Ming roamed around in the Suqui Prison. She was entering Ward Two.

This ward was explicitly assigned to female prisoners and was entirely managed by female officers and workers.

They had two Deputy Captains who reported to Lian Ming. Lian Ming had four Deputy Captains reporting to her.

Following the most recent instance, Lian Ming wanted to ensure Ward Two was in order. It would be terrific if another escape event occurred in Ward Two.

Currently, Lian Ming still has some points she can use to make the Mayor understand this recent escape of a convict.

However, another escape wouldn't be tolerated. It would be regarded as the failure of the supervising officer.

Lian Ming would most likely be transferred to another department.

However, this was not what she wanted. She did plan to leave the prison after some time, but not like this.

Her ambition was to be promoted from this job to be the head of an entire district, working with the Noble Family of this area to execute the laws.

Lian Ming received almost no recognition for her work in prison. From the civilians and the administrative officials alike.

Lian Ming could kiss her ambition goodbye if she was transferred with a lousy record. She had to maintain a good record if she wanted to become a District Magistrate of an impressive district.

"So, there are no irregularities among the prisoners here?" Lian Ming inquired with a commanding tone.

"We ran a strict inspection after that prisoner escaped yesterday. All the prisoners are behaving normally," Bai Fen, a deputy captain, responded confidently.

Lian Ming took a relieved sigh. She trusted her subordinates and knew that they must have checked every possibility.

"Did anyone from Ward One try to contact you or inquire regarding a specific prisoner?" Lian Ming asked.

The two Deputy Captains exchanged confused looks with one another. After some seconds, Du Rong spoke, "…We haven't really inquired this question from her officers or workers. Please give us some time, and we will conduct a strict inspection of this issue."

Lian Ming noticed their confusion and spoke, "Make sure to be quick about it. There is probably a spy in Ward One. If he plans something in Ward Two, we must be prepared."

Her explanation allowed the Deputy Captains to understand the graveness of this matter. The two quickly promised to complete this task.

After a while, Lian Ming walked out of Ward Two. She mounted her steed and galloped to the Mayor's office.

The guards stationed outside the Mayor's office stopped her and asked her, "What do you want?"

"I have an appointment with the Mayor," Lian Ming spoke calmly.

These guards gazed at each other before letting her inside.

Lian Ming's horse was taken to a stable while she was led inside the Mayor's office. The building had nearly seven floors. And the Mayor's office was on the third floor.

The receptionist outside the Mayor's office saw Lian Ming and smiled, "You are finally here, Captain Lian. Mayor Wan is waiting for you inside."

"I understand," Lian Ming responded. The guards soon returned to their posts.

Lian Ming entered the Mayor's office and saw a spacious office. It was twice the size of her own office.

There was a large table in the middle of this office with three chairs attached on one side and one chair attached on the other. There was a massive bookshelf in the corner of the room that had many books related to administration and some novels.

Wan Tao was comfortably seated on his chair.

Wan Tao has wide brown eyes that are like two drops of chocolate. His luxurious, straight, coffee-colored hair is worn in a style that reminds you of a sea urchin. He is noticeably short and has a lean build. His skin is dark. He has thick eyebrows. And at this moment, he is wearing a green suit.

There was a wretched smile on his face as he gazed at Lian Ming, but it was quickly replaced with a calm expression.

"…Captain Lian, I assume you have an explanation regarding this recent incident," Wan Tao spoke commandingly. He wanted to intimidate Lian Ming.

"Mayor Wan, I acknowledge that I failed to prevent an inmate from escaping the Suqui Prison. However, this incidence isn't necessarily detrimental for us," Lian Ming spoke, showing no signs of getting intimidated by Mayor Wan.

"Oh? How so?" Wan Tao inquired with a curious gaze.

"Through this incident, we have discovered that there is a traitor inside the Suqui Prison. Moreover, I have reason to believe that this traitor is related to the JRA," Lian Ming spoke confidently.

"This is indeed an interesting notion. And what is the basis of your assumption?" Mayor Wan questioned while raising his brow. This matter was indeed interesting.

"I am afraid I don't have much proof that he is a JRA spy. It's just that the timing of this incident is too much of a coincidence. It occurred right after I captured Geng Ru," Lian Ming spoke with a hint of hesitation.

"I see…" Wan Tao contemplated this matter for some time. He added, "You must capture this spy as soon as possible. I give you complete authority to handle this matter. However, I want results soon!"

Lian Ming was surprised that Wan Tao would support her so actively. She excitedly bowed and spoke, "I sincerely thank the Mayor for his support. I shall not disappoint the Mayor."

Upon saying that, she turned around and left the office.

As soon as Lian Ming turned around, Wan Tao had a wretched look on his face as he couldn't help but focus on Lian Ming's curvy buttocks.

'I can't make my move yet. I need her to fall more.'

Wan Tao has no intention of jeopardizing Lian Ming's work or reputation. At least, not yet.

~~

It had been nearly two days since Long Chen began cultivating Moonlit Phantasm True Scripture.

'Fortunately, my shift has ended. I can return and quickly advance to the 2 Star Rank,' Long Chen thought.

He was really excited because only after reaching the 2 Star Rank could he begin to utilize the techniques and skills that he had learned in his previous life.

He would also unlock his wind element. This was bound to unlock a variety of options for him.

However, as Long Chen returned to his house, he saw Lian Ming calling out to him.

Long Chen stood before Lian Ming and spoke, "You called for me, Captain?"

"Yes," Lian Ming spoke while gazing at Long Chen.

"I wanted to thank you for that hint earlier. It was only because of it that I caught a traitor in our group and could capture Geng Ru," Lian Ming spoke.

Long Chen scratched the back of his head, "It was nothing, Captain. I was only speaking casually."

"I don't doubt that. But still, it doesn't take away your contribution. Thank you," Lian Ming spoke sincerely.

"… It's alright, Captain. I shall take my leave then," Long Chen spoke.

"Alright," Lian Ming nodded, and she didn't try to stop him.

After an hour, Long Chen returned to his house. He removed his clothing and changed it into something more comfortable to wear.

Once comfortable, he sat on his bed and actively began cultivating the Moonlit Phantasm True Scripture.

He didn't have to wait long before he observed an increase in the Ardor's strength in his sea of qi. A wonderfully comfortable power began to flow throughout Long Chen's entire body.

Long Chen's entire body grew more robust, and he could finally sense the Wind Element in the air.

Long Chen used the rest of the night to get used to his Ardor and Wind Element. Using the experience from his previous life, Long Chen managed to control his Ardor and Wind Element effortlessly.

In Long Chen's previous life, he cultivated the Nine Suns True Scripture. Thus, Long Chen gained another element besides his Wind Element after he reached the 2 Star Rank. This was naturally the Flame Element.

It was a pity that the Moonlit Phantasm True Scripture didn't provide any element to Long Chen. But Long Chen realized in his previous life that possessing two elements was not necessarily good.

'I was forced to split my time to train both my elements. I could have reached a higher proficiency if I had a single element. And that's much better than having average proficiency in two elements.'

In this life, Long Chen planned to work primarily on his Wind Element and reach a high proficiency in it.

However, there was another skill that Long Chen planned to train.

The Art of Illusions.

In fact, Long Chen's reason for choosing the Moonlit Phantasm True Scripture was to utilize this tome. He acquired this ancient tome along with the Moonlit Phantasm True Scripture from ruin and felt they must complement each other.

There were many instructions written in the Art of Illusions regarding the usage of illusions.

The first step was imagination. The illusion's type, size, and duration must be clear in the warrior's mind. Moreover, the imagination had to be vivid enough to fool someone.

The second step was to utilize his mental energy to see that imaginary scenery. This was naturally fake, but it had to look realistic enough to fool someone.

The third step was to use his Ardor to implant that imaginary scenery in his target's mind.

Thus, utilizing illusions was a three-step process. The number of steps could increase as some higher-level illusions required a warrior's spirit or even vitality. However, the basic structure of constructing and utilizing illusions remained the same.

There were various other hints and details regarding creating illusions.

After trying his best for some hours, Long Chen could create simple illusions. Like creating an exquisite dish and placing it on the table.

However, Long Chen still didn't understand how he should implant this illusion in his target's mind. If his Ardor were too weak, the other person wouldn't be affected by his illusion. But if his Ardor was too aggressive, his target might figure out that Long Chen was showing him an illusion.

Long Chen knows he has to practice a lot before he becomes proficient enough to utilize the perfect quantity of Ardor every time.

The entire night, Long Chen continued to train. Once it was morning, Long Chen quickly prepared his coffee and got ready before heading to the prison.

He created random illusions like leaves, flowers, swords, and other things along the way. However, Long Chen hadn't tried it on a target yet.

Long Chen continued to recover his mental energy through the Blue Quartz Stone. He was wearing it as a pendant underneath his shirt.

In the Suqui Prison, he planned to test his illusions on people secretly. He had to gauge the difficulty of this task.

No prisoner in the Suqui Prison could utilize any Ardor, so Long Chen figured it would be easy to use illusions on them.

His thoughts turned out to be correct.

Long Chen used his illusions on the prisoners in bars and noticed their reactions. After some tries, Long Chen understood the perfect amount of Ardor required to implant the illusions in the target's mind.

However, these were prisoners possessing no Ardor at this moment. He had to test this on someone with Ardor. He was sure it would be much different and challenging.

Long Chen felt it was too risky to try it on an officer in the Suqui Prison.

After training his illusions for some time, Long Chen felt it was finally time to stop messing around and accomplish his objective.

While he was patrolling in prison, taking attendance of the convicts, Long Chen suddenly opened the secret door to the underground dungeon.

Besides the Captain or the two Deputy Captains, no one else knew of the entrance to the underground dungeon.

"I need to be quick," Long Chen thought.

The underground dungeon ran between Ward One and Two. Only the most ruthless or dangerous criminals were present here. There was no distinction of gender in this underground dungeon.

Geng Ru was placed in the third cell to the right of this underground dungeon.

At this moment, a supervisor was standing on the side. It was the Deputy Captain Cai Tai.

As Lian Ming started suspecting that the traitor was related to the JRA, she created a schedule for her Deputy Captains so that this Underground Dungeon would be monitored at all times.

Long Chen guessed that Lian Ming would create such a schedule. Thus, the previous day, Long Chen observed the Deputy Captains.

He wanted to find out when Cai Tai would be alone in the Underground Dungeon.

After syncing that time with his patrol, Long Chen decided to put his plan into motion.

Long Chen wore a mask to hide his face from Cai Tai.

After descending the stairs for quite some time, Long Chen came across a gate. He knew this was the gate to the first floor of the Underground Dungeon. And this was most likely where Geng Ru was imprisoned.

Long Chen opened the gate and hurriedly closed it.

This created a loud sound and caused all the prisoners and even Cai Tai to be startled.