This is Monica in disguise.

Her current identity is a lone mercenary who makes a living on the edge of the swamp and takes on small jobs all year round.

Her eyes seemed focused on bargaining, but her ears were capturing every noise from the crowd around her. The keen perception of a high-level assassin was elevated to the extreme.

Xiao Mu was perfectly hidden inside her clothes, further isolating herself from any abnormal aura that might escape.

In this form of Xiao Mu, even Mark's soul harmonizer's soul perception could not detect her breath.

"...Old John, have you heard? A new batch of goods arrived at the East Third Warehouse in the dock area last night. The smell is so strong that even the rats in the sewers in the royal city are avoiding it. They're hiring people to move it at a high price."

Two men who looked like helpers were chatting next to them. Their voices were not loud, but Monica could hear them clearly.

"Tsk, do I need to hear about it? I passed by there this morning and nearly fainted from the fumes! It was another big, tightly wrapped creature, with its iron cage covered in black cloth, but the stench was so strong you could smell it from across the street!

"They must be 'animals' from 'over there'! And the workers who go to move them must join the Bellucci family as long-term laborers! I won't earn that kind of money anyway, so whoever wants to go can go!"

Another helper lowered his voice, with disgust and a hint of fear of the unknown.

"Keep your voice down! The Bellucci family is counting, don't mess with them. I heard the quantity is huge this time, I'm afraid the nobles in the inner city are pressing for help..."

"Tsk, what are you afraid of? If they were really afraid of what others would say, would they dare to hire people to unload the cargo in broad daylight? Even His Majesty the King didn't care, so what's the big deal if we just talk about it?"

Monica paid for the useless moss, stood up, and naturally blended into the crowd as she walked towards the dock area.

The smell of humus in the air became stronger, mixed with the fishy smell of water and the faint smell of...beast body odor.

She saw Dongsan Warehouse.

The guards outside the warehouse were obviously strengthened. In addition to the ordinary warehouse guards, there were also several men wearing leather armor with dark patterns and borders, which was unique to the Bellucci family guards, and had a tough aura.

They scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes, preventing any outsiders from approaching.

A freight wagon that had just been unloaded was driving out of the side door of the warehouse.

The coachman yawned and rubbed his forehead with his sleeve inadvertently.

Monica's gaze froze instantly.

On the inside of the driver's wrist, an extremely hidden secret mark drawn with special ink flashed by!

It was a twisted animal claw mark, with a simplified eagle emblem symbolizing the Bellucci family wrapped underneath!

Shadow Guard!

She had only seen this secret code once in her family, and it was also the only time she violated the rules and read the family secrets before fleeing the family!

Those are special guards who are only responsible to the patriarch of the Bellucci family!

If Monica guessed correctly, all the shadow guards should be the same as herself, all shadow assassins!

It was a bit too far-fetched to want to use shadow magic to sneak into the dock warehouse around a group of shadow assassins.

What's more, as far as Monica knows, the main force among the Shadow Guards are all high-level.

There might even be a legendary strongman, otherwise it would be difficult for the Bellucci family to sit firmly among the top nobles in the Royal City of Karl.

But in this case, her investigation naturally could not proceed freely.

Sure enough, Mark's help is still needed.

…

At night in the city of King Karl, a damp and cold fog wrapped around the towering spires of the buildings in the noble district, like a shroud hanging from a huge coffin.

Inside the hotel room, a dim magic crystal lamp illuminated the spread-out map of King Karl's City.

Mark bought this from a black market merchant for a high price of one hundred gold coins.

This map not only depicts the detailed locations and secret passages throughout King Karl's City, but also clearly marks the deployment of the kingdom's guards and their daily patrol routes.

When seeing this picture, Mark even suspected that it came from the commander of the Royal City Guard of Karl.

When he had this idea, Mark was even alert enough to check the patrol routes of the soldiers.

When he found that it was exactly the same as marked on the map, he was about 60% convinced of the authenticity of the map.

Mark's charcoal pencil drew a heavy circle around the area representing the aristocratic district.

"Tomorrow we'll split into three groups." Mark's voice was low and steady. "Anna, go to the Mage Tower. Your ostensible mission is to copy the 'Swamp Miasma Neutralizer Formula,' but your real mission is to track down the mage apprentice who came out of the East Three Warehouse yesterday. His soul aura is very strong, and he doesn't look like an apprentice at all. You have to be careful not to get spotted.

"Enzo is responsible for investigating the Bellucci family's purchase records of weapons and armor. Since, as Monica said, the Bellucci family seems to be connected to the Orcs, the most likely cause is equipment resale.

"As for Xiao Mu and I..." He raised his head and looked at the figure that almost merged into the shadows by the window, "Monica, what do you need?"

Monica turned from the shadows, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the slightly raised, almost smoothed-out relief of a night owl on the handle of the dagger at her waist.

Her voice was flat, cold and clear. "The interior layout of the 'Iris Appraisal Shop.' The top floor."

Mark didn't ask any further questions, but just nodded: "I'll give it to you before dawn."

As the night deepened, an inconspicuous gray sparrow quietly landed on the eaves of the bell tower opposite the "Iris Appraisal Shop".

The communication scroll carried by Xiao Mu clearly transmitted the image to Mark who was drinking alone in the tavern on the corner.

Mark whispered to Monica the information that Xiao Mu saw and the information that his soul perceived.

Guards are stationed in the southwest corner of the top floor, in pairs, changing shifts every hour. The shifts last approximately 45 seconds. The westernmost air vent, number 3, is not securely closed.

Mark closed his eyes, and his soul perception spread like mercury, capturing the movement trajectory of the soul light spots around the appraisal line.

[Patrol turns toward East Street. Window confirmed: 45 seconds.]

At the same time, a dark shadow darker than the night silently climbed onto the top terrace of the appraisal shop.

Monica moved along the wall like a gecko and stopped silently outside the No. 3 air vent.

She didn't act immediately, but instead extended her index finger, which was covered in a thin leather glove, and gently pressed on the brass door lock under the air vent.

A glimmer of light flashed at her fingertips, and pale golden identification runes unfolded in her pupils like a spider web.

["Bellucci" Bloodline Verification Array]

Type: Mechanical Item

Grade: Excellent

Occupation: None

Basic properties: Triple nested magic pattern circuit, connected to the top-level alarm array after triggering.

Cracking path: Using Bellucci's bloodline as a guide to activate the circuit, reverse analyze and cut off the magic power diversion path 0.5 seconds before the alarm magic power converges to the core node...

Sure enough, there were no changes in the family's appraisal business, and even the alarm formation was still set up before the father passed away.

Even the No. 3 air vent, which was opened specifically for camouflage, seemed like no one had come to close or update it over the years!

Monica's eyes didn't waver at all.

The dagger held in his right hand quickly drew a bloody wound about an inch long on the palm of his hand, and bright red blood gushed out instantly.