Hou Changfeng put down the teacup, and the cup collided with the tabletop, making a dull sound.

The smile on his face faded, and the air in the office seemed to become a bit heavier.

"Li Gang."

"What do you think about the matter concerning Lu Qi and the Zhou Family?"

Li Gang's heart skipped a beat, and he stood up straighter.

He weighed his words and spoke cautiously.

"Governor, this subordinate believes this matter is full of suspicious points."

"The relationship between the Zhou Family and the Liu Family of the Imperial Capital seems even more complicated than we imagined."

Hou Changfeng snorted, his plump body leaning against the back of the chair, which let out an unbearable groan.

"The Liu Family?"

"Their family's hands are reaching out longer and longer."

"I haven't even settled accounts with them yet, and instead, they sent people to put pressure on me first."

In his narrowed eyes, an imperceptible cold flash passed by.

"What a great display of prestige."

Hearing the dissatisfaction in the governor's words, Li Gang instantly felt reassured.

He took a step forward and lowered his voice.

"My Lord, there must be some shady business hidden between the Zhou Family and the Liu Family."

"And this shady business most likely originates from the Zhou Family."

"You see, should we... continue investigating?"

Hou Changfeng picked up the teacup, blew on the steam leisurely, and didn't look at him.

He just stared at the tea leaves floating up and down in the cup and spoke with a chuckle.

"Investigate?"

"Investigate what?"

"Why don't I know about any investigation?"

He raised his eyelids, glanced at Li Gang, his smile carrying a somewhat unfathomable meaning.

"Aren't you on vacation recently?"

"As for what you did in private, I, the governor, know nothing about it."

Li Gang understood instantly.

Smiles immediately piled up on his face as he bowed in salute.

"Yes, yes!"

"This subordinate understands!"

"Recently, work has been too tiring, so I really should take a good vacation and walk around to take a look."

...

The black special car drove away from the main military region building.

Assistant Xiao Liu sat in the driver's seat with a focused expression, not saying a word.

Zhou Huai manipulated Gandalf, leaning against the back seat and watching the scenery rapidly receding outside the window.

The vehicle did not drive out of the military region, but instead headed deeper towards a secluded area.

On both sides of the road, tall buildings gradually became scarce, replaced by an expansive flat land.

At the end of the flat land, a huge building entirely cast from black metal crawled on the ground like a silent behemoth.

Zhou Huai's brows raised slightly.

This place was somewhat beyond his expectations.

There wasn't the strict security of a guard every three steps and a sentry every five steps as he had imagined.

Around the entire building, it was empty, and not even a patrolling soldier could be seen.

But when the vehicle approached, Zhou Huai could clearly feel a palpitating energy fluctuation permeating the air.

He looked at the outer wall of that building.

On the walls, countless complex runes were densely engraved.

These runes intertwined into a huge, invisible net, exuding a faint shimmer, shrouding the entire building within.

Assistant Xiao Liu parked the car in front of the huge metal gate and got out to show a document.

There were only two soldiers in the guard post beside the gate.

They took the document, checked it carefully, and then stood at attention and saluted Xiao Liu.

"Hum—"

The heavy gate slowly rose, revealing a deep downward slope.

The two got back into the car and slowly drove into the underground along the slope.

The scene before them suddenly opened up.

The huge underground space was as bright as day.

On rows of neat shelves, countless magic crystals were piled up.

These magic crystals varied in size and color, emitting a soft light that illuminated the entire space as if it were a dream.

On the other side of the space, dozens of giant cannons with ferocious shapes were parked.

The cannon bodies gleamed with a cold metallic luster, and their muzzles were pitch-black, as if they could devour all light.

This was the Magical Cannon.

A war machine powered by magic crystals, enough to flatten a mountain peak.

Zhou Huai's consciousness inside Gandalf felt the rich energy in the air, and ripples arose in his heart.

Dongning Province's magic crystal reserves were indeed well-deserved.

Magic crystals were rare strategic resources, not only the energy for Magical Cannons, but also the core for maintaining the operation of large-scale defense Formations.

Their source was extremely unstable, and they could only be mined in certain ancient Secret Realms.

Secret Realms were different from dungeons; once opened, they would not respawn repeatedly.

They had vast territories and complex environments, and the exotic beasts within them were even more powerful. Of course, the resources were also more abundant.

The reason why Dongning Province could become one of the few major magic crystal holders in Great Xia Nation was precisely because two ancient Secret Realms that had not been fully explored to this day had spawned within its territory.

Xiao Liu seemed to notice Gandalf's surprise, and a trace of pride appeared on his face.

"Mr. Gandalf, what is stored here is only a part of our military region's reserves."

He didn't stay too long on this floor. Soon, another gate ahead slowly opened.

The vehicle drove in, entering the second underground floor.

The space on this floor was much smaller and much quieter.

Rows of spotless glass display cabinets replaced the rough shelves.

Inside the display cabinets, pieces of equipment were quietly displayed, exuding either restrained or flamboyant radiance.

The equipment here was at least of Epic quality.

Xiao Liu parked the car, got out, and made a 'please' gesture toward Gandalf.

"Mr. Gandalf, this floor is the equipment area."

"With the governor's special approval, you can take a look around here."

He pointed to a display cabinet not far away.

"There are quite a few staff weapons over there with very good affix attributes. Maybe there's one suitable for you."

Zhou Huai manipulated Gandalf to get out of the car.

His demand for equipment was actually not very large.

With Ou Yezi around, whatever equipment he wanted could simply be forged directly.

But since he was already here, it wouldn't hurt to take a look.

He walked up to the staff display cabinet and swept his gaze casually.

Suddenly, his gaze lingered on one of the staffs.

That was a staff dark red all over, with a burning crystal embedded at the top.

【Staff of Flame Chant】

【Quality: Epic】

【Level: LV25】

【Attributes:...】

【Special Effect: All fire-type skill cooldowns - 10%】

Zhou Huai's mouth twitched slightly.

He couldn't be more familiar with this staff.

Isn't this the one that Ou Yezi had just forged a few days ago and sold for over 500,000 at the auction?

He didn't expect it to be acquired by the military so quickly and placed into this military region treasury.

He suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

Perhaps after some time, the equipment in this treasury would all have to be replaced by the ones forged by Ou Yezi.

He shook his head, stopped looking at those pieces of equipment, and walked toward the next area.

In the display cabinets here, various strangely shaped materials were placed.

The heart of a behemoth, the reverse scales of a Dragon, ice crystals exuding chill...

These were all rare materials that could only be dropped from Calamity-grade BOSSes.

For high-level blacksmiths and Formation Masters, they were dreamed-of treasures.

Zhou Huai couldn't use them for the time being, so he just glanced at them casually.

Walking further ahead was the scroll area.

One primitive scroll after another was sealed within special energy shields.

These were all second-transfer scrolls.

After Classer reached level 30, they would have a chance for a second transfer.

Using a second-transfer scroll matching one's own professional grade could trigger the transfer quest.

Completing the quest would successfully complete the second transfer.

There were two outcomes for the second transfer.

First, job sublimation; for example, a B-Level Professional had the opportunity to be promoted to A-Level.

Second, the profession remains unchanged, but all attributes receive a massive boost.

This was the second chance for Classer to change their destiny.

But high returns also meant high risks.

The failure rate of second-transfer quests was extremely high, with a success rate of less than twenty percent.

Once failed, one would be backlashed by the scroll's power and killed on the spot.

Therefore, although second-transfer scrolls were rare and precious, those who truly dared to try were few and far between.

Zhou Huai glanced at them; most of these scrolls were C-Level and D-Level, which were completely useless to him.

Just as he was about to leave, his gaze was attracted by a display cabinet in the corner.

That was a very small display cabinet, placed lonely in the corner, seemingly not given much importance.

Inside the display cabinet, three small transparent glass bottles were placed.

Inside the bottles, crystal clear and transparent liquid was contained.

The liquid itself didn't have any color, yet it exuded circles of soft, holy white halos.

Zhou Huai stopped his steps, manipulated Gandalf, and pointed at that display cabinet.

"What is that?"

Xiao Liu looked along the direction he pointed, stunned for a moment, as if recalling something.

"Oh, that..."

He thought for a moment before explaining.

"That is holy light spiritual water."

"It was discovered in a light-attribute ancient ruin."

"As for its effect... it is said that it can expel the vast majority of negative states."

"Such as curses, severe poisons, and the like."

Zhou Huai let out a soft 'Oh'.

I wonder if this thing will have any effect on the curse on his body?