The attendants inside the room all looked up, their eyes filled with shock and confusion as they stared at the NPC warriors.

Jia Zhengyi reacted quickly. He hurriedly stood up, walked to the leading soldier, and asked in a warm but quiet voice, "Hey! Allen, what's going on? How did you suddenly barge in? Are we going to have to leave for the front lines tonight?"

“Jia...you shouldn’t ask me, but this gentleman.”

Warrior Allen shook his head, indicating that the man in front of him was the one in charge.

Jia Zhengyi looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man wearing light armor standing there with a somber expression. His sharp gaze swept over everyone in the room and finally landed on Su Lin.

"You're Su?"

The middle-aged man asked in a deep voice, his eyes sharp as knives, seemingly capable of slicing through flesh and blood.

"Hey, sir! I'm the captain of this adventure team. You're here to see one of my team members..."

Jia Zhengyi was about to step forward when he was blocked by several NPCs wielding long spears. The sharp spear tips were crossed and pressed against his neck. Jia Zhengyi was startled and dared not move again.

"What does this mean? Let's talk this out!"

Jia Zhengyi shouted, and Su Lin frowned, placing his right hand on the hilt of his sword. Lyanna, who had been watching Su Lin's movements, also slightly raised her great bow.

The middle-aged man seemed to see through Su Lin's intentions, a faint disdain flashing in his eyes, before he asked in a deep voice, "You were patrolling outside the city tonight, and you and the veterans discovered the manor was under attack, right?"

"yes."

Su Lin nodded calmly, but the middle-aged man pressed him sharply, "The veterans came back to report, why didn't you go back! Instead, you rushed towards the manor alone!"

"Because of loyalty to the empire."

Without hesitation, Su Lin spoke softly, "As a warrior, I cannot allow the empire's property to be destroyed. I must stop the enemy."

"Did you stop it?"

The middle-aged man sneered, not believing Su Lin's words: "The team that went to provide support did not find you. They only found some traces of magical explosions."

"I was stopped by the flames, and I couldn't find the enemy, so I had to turn back."

Su Lin remained calm. He knew why these NPCs had come; it was most likely because of the [Magic Ball].

Furthermore, the fact that Jia Zhengyi doesn't recognize this NPC suggests that he came from outside and holds a high position, probably as a "secret agent" or something similar, specifically responsible for retrieving magic orbs from outside.

This is quite in line with the difficulty of the unique reward mission. After all, with such rich rewards, it is bound to involve many forces in the local world, so it is normal for it to be difficult.

Jia Zhengyi also realized what was happening and shouted in alarm, "Sir! Are you doubting our loyalty to the Empire?!"

"My team members did not flinch in the face of danger, but turned back simply because they did not see the enemy. Is that a crime?!"

"Even if something does happen, we can talk it out. I have an elf lady in my party... Some of your actions could lead to a diplomatic incident that the Empire doesn't want to see!"

Jia Zhengyi reacted swiftly, his words carrying a hint of threat while remaining frank: "If you suspect we've done anything wrong, we're all here. You can check us as you please! We're loyal to the Empire, and our conscience is clear!"

Go ahead and investigate. What can an NPC possibly find out? Anyway, the ball is in the backpack, which means it's completely isolated from the world to the NPC.

The middle-aged man looked at Jia Zhengyi, who was still sneering, but did not press further.

After a while, an old man dressed as a strange magician suddenly stepped forward and whispered in his ear, "I couldn't sense any aura. It's gone."

"Um."

The middle-aged man nodded slightly, said nothing more, and simply turned and left with his guards.

They came suddenly and left just as quickly.

Just before leaving, he suddenly stopped, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before settling on Lyanna, who was standing in the corner: "Miss Elf, I understand that elves are very interested in magical artifacts, but I hope you can understand the current relationship and situation between the two races."

"If you really need it, or if you're getting it for the sake of the elves... at the very least, you should give the human empire a new explanation."

His words were meaningful, and without waiting for Lyanna's reply, he turned and left.

Soon, the group left the room. The warrior named Allen looked at Jia Zhengyi, seemingly wanting to say something but then hesitated, and finally sighed and left.

Once again, only Su Lin and the others remained in the room. Xiao Linlin looked at him and saw a hint of surprise and realization in each other's eyes.

Clearly, these NPCs came for the magic orb.

Everyone underestimated the importance the NPCs placed on the magic orb and their ability to investigate. Judging from their confident attitude, they probably possessed similar precise location and investigation capabilities as Jia Zhengyi.

They were certain the magic orb had been in the room, but because Su Lin had later stuffed it into his backpack and sealed it off, they could no longer find it.

"No wonder they were too lazy to even search people; it seems they have just as many methods as Brother Radar."

Xiao Linlin muttered to herself, once again feeling the power and threat of the NPCs. In the more advanced the world, the threat in the escape game is often not just the other survivors, but also the native creatures that can threaten every survivor.

When Jia Zhengyi heard Xiao Linlin's voice, he couldn't help but roll his eyes, but he didn't refute anything.

Su Lin turned to Lyanna and said softly, "They must have misunderstood something."

"Hmm, but it shouldn't be a problem."

Xiao Linlin nodded. The two exchanged words cautiously, their conversation carrying a hidden meaning.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!