Chapter 177: Mastermind.

Today, the Vivian Merchant Guild in Haunfen City was a mess.

Yesterday, a hidden enchanted artifact had gone off in the lower underground training area.

Nobody knew who planted it.

When the light faded, a few maids were gone, so was one VIP guest.

And right now,

The main hall was packed.

Clerks ran back and forth with papers.

Guards stood at the doors and tried to keep people from pushing inside.

A group of merchants shouted over each other, asking if their goods were safe, if their people were safe, and who was going to guarantee that this wouldn’t happen again.

After all, trust in a Merchant Guild was even more valuable than goods.

If everyone know that a VIP guest could disappear, then who was to say it wouldn’t happen to them next?

Vivian knew that better than anyone.

She stepped onto the small platform near the counter and raised her hand.

The hall did not go silent, but it got quieter.

"The lower training area is sealed," she said.

"We already informed the City Guard and know that the missing people were not killed on the spot. The artifact was a spatial type. That means they were moved."

A fat merchant in a silk coat pointed at her.

"Where were they taken? Can you get them back? Vivian, if a guest vanishes while staying at your place, the guild’s reputation will be ruined!"

Vivian stared at him intently.

"If I were able to bring them back right now, I would. However, I can’t because the investigation is still happening."

Her gaze turned cold as she glanced at the guards.

"Those who came merely to shout can wait outside. Only those with actual information will remain."

The merchant clicked his tongue but didn’t press the matter further.

Vivian stepped down and addressed only her head clerk.

"Please prepare the compensation lists and bring me all the information we have regarding the maids’ backgrounds."

The clerk nodded and ran to prepare.

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Leaving the noisy hall behind, Vivian headed upstairs to her office. Although the office was quieter, the disarray seemed to have trailed her.

Her large desk was already covered with stacks of reports, and a half-finished cup of cold tea sat by the window.

She sank into her chair, leaned back, and rubbed her temple.

"Of all days," she muttered, "to find a spatial artifact right here in my own training hall."

She reopened the list of missing individuals.

There were four maids and one VIP guest.

The VIP guest’s name was... Jake Bond.

Vivian’s gaze lingered on his name longer than the others before she let out a sigh.

"...It seems someone is truly desperate."

This was not a coincidence.

A random spatial-type enchanted artifact did not simply appear in the lower training area.

After all, an artifact that powerful would cost an enormous amount of money.

This meant that someone had intentionally put it there, and a few individuals immediately came to mind.

These were the people who stood to gain the most from her absence.

Vivian paused for a moment to consider this silently.

But she couldn’t grasp how taking away a few people could possibly hurt her.

Although losing four maids and a guest was damaging to her reputation, it wasn’t enough to collapse the guild or even significantly weaken her standing.

Therefore, she wondered, what was the true objective?

Were they also hoping the artifact would trap her?

The more she considered it, the less logical it seemed.

There had to be something she was missing.

But then a knock broke her train of thought.

Vivian glanced up and said, "Come in."

The door opened.

Barbara stepped inside first.

Behind her came an old man with a nice mustache in a long, faded robe marked with small metal pins and faded runes.

The cloth looked worn from years of work rather than fashion.

A leather case hung at his side, filled with various tools used for examining damaged enchantments.

"Madam Vivian, Old Robos has completed his examination of that peculiar artifact."

"Oh?"

Old Robos, the elderly gentleman, approached and set his case down on the desk.

"Let’s get straight to the point. That artifact was a powerful enchanted item that manipulated space, but it wasn’t meant for just one jump. From what I could tell, its purpose was to act as a two-way portal."

Vivian’s eyes sharpened.

"A two-way gate?"

"Yes. The markings on the sword were not meant to simply throw people somewhere and leave them there. They were designed to open a path between two locations and bring something through at a specific time."

He opened his case and removed a cracked stone fragment.

Faint golden lines still faintly shimmered across its surface.

"This piece controlled the timing of the formation. Whoever placed it here was waiting for something to arrive from the other side. Unfortunately, I cannot determine what was supposed to come through."

Vivian frowned and asked,

"Then why did our people disappear?"

The old man looked down at the cracked stone.

"The formation was still charging when your people found it. If someone touched it or approached the formation at the wrong moment, it could have activated before it was ready."

He looked toward Vivian.

"They were fortunate that the artifact did not tear them apart. Instead, it seems to have sent them through the gate."

Vivian stared at the broken stone for a moment before a conclusion came to her mind.

"So... someone planned to open a spatial gate inside my guild to bring something unknown from the other side?"

Robos nodded slowly.

"That is likely what they intended. But they probably never expected anyone to find it so early. The teleportation formation inside the artifact was activated before whatever they had prepared was ready to come through."

Vivian’s expression grew colder.

"Hmph. It seems they are really going all out to kill me, huh?"

She then turned toward the old man, Robos.

"But you said it was a two-way teleportation gate. If that is the case, can we send some personnel through to rescue the others?"

Robos shook his head and sighed.

"Normally, we could. But unfortunately, it seems this artifact can only be used once."

He then gave Vivian a meaningful look.

"Whoever planned this was very thorough. They clearly did not want to leave any evidence behind. If your people had not called me here early, I probably would not have even recognized that sword as an enchanted artifact."

At those words, Vivian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"So they made sure that... even if someone discovered it, we would have no way of tracing it back to them."