Chapter 2974 - 18: Wanted Notice

Chapter 2974: Chapter 18: Wanted Notice

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

—Ecclesiastes, Chapter 4, Verses 9–12

A thin mist hung over the dense forest, smearing pale patches over the heavy ink‑dark green. A peregrine falcon cruising high overhead folded its wings and dove, sliding with precise, soundless grace through the gaps in the thick canopy, alighting on the shoulder of a Black Robe Wizard and dipping its head in a tiny nod.

Black Robe and face‑erasing Mask.

This was standard gear for the First University Assistant Corps special tactical squad.

The Black Robe Wizard took out the cellphone from his robe, fingers moving with practiced ease as he tapped out a short message—Target confirmed, proceed as planned—and in moments, one reply after another flashed silently across the screen.

Received!

Received!

Received!

Received!

Received!

Now that they had entered the pre‑combat preparation phase, the Black Robe Wizard could only, with a trace of regret, give the delicate little device in his hand one last look before tossing it to the ground.

To be fair, the White Dings’ communication equipment was indeed excellent—no Magic Power consumption, almost no Magic Power fluctuations, letting the Hunters keep their presence maximally concealed.

The only drawback was that its resistance to Magic Power was terrible. Exposed to a Magic Power‑woven environment, at best the core would fry; at worst, the whole thing would blow up. So when the tactical squad carried out missions, they could only use them as disposable off‑field tools.

The falcon on his shoulder gave a light hop and slipped back into the trees, vanishing without a sound.

The Black Robe Wizard turned and faded into the shade.

Soon, a crooked, listing Cabin in the Woods appeared in his field of view. No fence encircled it, only a high ring of tangled‑branched castor‑oil hedges. Outside the hedge grew a small patch of blooming Other Shore Flowers; inside, the ground was choked with deep‑purple Mandala.

Unlike these things born from the natural state, the cabin itself looked especially hideous. Vines and moss crawled over its walls; under the eaves a few bright‑colored mushrooms had even sprouted. The roof was a haphazard stack of tree bark of varying thickness. There was no chimney—just a smoke‑blackened hole in the side of the house, like a deep eye, gloomily watching the forest.

Under the Dingda’er effect, shafts of light pierced the gaps in the leaves and fell across the clearing, like headlights cutting through rain‑mist, or spotlights on a stage, making the open space grow more and more uncanny, as if waiting for actors to enter.

He halted, squinting as he scanned the surroundings, and quickly spotted his companions’ silhouettes at several other angles around the cabin.

The Hunters exchanged hand signs.

—No Magic Power traps triggered!

—No Magic Power alarms detected!

—Confirmed: target still inside the cabin!

—Six Gates Golden Lock Array, prepare to deploy!

—Approaching to fifty meters... begin moving!

Wild Flower Sprites, their skin flushed red, lay lazily in the Other Shore Flower Sea, eyes half‑closed, listlessly watching the tall figures hurry past; the ferocious‑visaged Ricinus Seeds poked their heads out from the hedge, glaring at the intruders, mouths gaping as if to let out a threatening hiss.

The next second, one of those heads popped with a sharp crack.

The leading Black Robe felt his scalp prickle—this wasn’t their doing; most likely the approach of unknown wizards had made the things detonate on their own. In other words, the target inside had almost certainly already detected their presence.

"Abort the assault!"

"Execute contingency plan three!"

"Deploy Six Golden Locks on site!"

Short, forceful orders came in tandem with a series of tiny snaps. Almost simultaneously, a pale‑golden net dropped from the sky, wrapping the entire cabin tight, while the six Hunters of the Hunting team took hold of the nodes of the net.

Bang!

Bang, bang!

Dull detonations boomed from doors, windows, and the chimney hole. The already dilapidated cabin groaned in agony amid the violent surge of Magic Power, its structure looking as if it would collapse completely in the next heartbeat.

But it held—barely.

The whole process lasted only a brief moment. The leading Black Robe let out a quiet breath of relief, but staring at the cabin right before his eyes, he also felt a stab of frustration.

The good news was, they hadn’t given the target any chance to escape.

The bad news was, to maintain the Six Gates Golden Lock Formation, they had to stay rooted where they were. Which meant they now had to call for backup. Credit that had been as good as theirs would be forced to be shared with other squads—no one would be in a great mood about that.

Snap!

A pale‑blue fireball carrying a plea for assistance vanished before the face‑erasing Mask.

Squeak...

The cabin’s wooden door was pushed open from within.

A tall figure hunched his back, braced a hand on the doorframe, and slowly stepped out. His skin was corpse‑pale, his robe filthy; his thick blond hair was matted into clumps, its original color almost impossible to discern. He stood in the Dingda’er beams of sunlight, squinting, raising a hand to shade his eyes—like someone who’d lived in the dark for so long he’d almost forgotten what the Sun looked like.

"From the university? You got here pretty fast... shame about this batch of Tree Spirits of Gan Ning’s."

The cabin’s owner finally noticed the Black Robes with their face‑erasing Masks beyond the golden mesh. A flicker of realization crossed his face; then he shook his head and muttered, "How can a single Hunting team have six people? Utter nonsense."

Outside the Array.

The leading Black Robe regarded the unfamiliar figure before him with a complicated expression. He drew a roll of Parchment from his robe, unrolled it, and compared it to the figure whose appearance was so far removed from the image in his memory.

Wanted Notice (A‑level) Thomas

—Former First University assistant, registered wizard level.

—Suspected of kidnapping, leaking classified information, illegal human modification, Black Magic experimentation, participating in organizing illegal Wizard Groups, stealing one edge‑model First University aircraft and escaping; in special states possesses Great Wizard Level combat strength.

—Height 190 cm, weight 80 kg, blond hair, green eyes, German.

—Hunting teams of B‑level and below are forbidden to approach!

—Any Hunting team that successfully kills the target shall be rewarded by the First University Demon Hunting Fund with Five Hundred Jade Coins; and by the Trident Sword wanted fund with Five Hundred Jade Coins; Alliance registered Hunting Team points increased by three hundred.

—Appendix ①, photograph of Thomas

—Appendix ②, list of Magic Thomas is proficient in as follows...

The Wanted Notice recorded the target’s most precise Magic Power signature. The match was perfect; the identification was beyond doubt.

"Thomas."

His tone was a bit stiff. "Surrender quietly... you know the university’s rules. Come with us; the worst you face is Black Prison. With your status, you can apply to serve as a prison guard in there. If it were Trident Sword or some other hunting team that showed up today, it wouldn’t be so easy to talk things over."

The cabin’s owner—Thomas, to be precise—ignored the attempt at persuasion, instead asking with some curiosity, "How did you avoid my monitoring Magic? In theory, any slightest Magic Power fluctuation within a radius of three miles should trigger a warning to me."