"Where did you go?" Kane asked as soon as he met up with Rui.
Rui had purposely left behind his comms device, it was too risky to carry it with him if he ever got stopped and searched in the Graheria Kingdom while he was playing as a normal human. Thus, he had been out of contact with Kane for the past few days.
"Just working on a mission," Rui replied. "How did yours go?"
"It was actually kinda fun. I ended up winning the race," Kane smirked.
"Race?"
"Yeah, we had a race to see who could get to the destination first, because were bored," Kane shrugged. "I avoided the projectiles and attacks better than any of them, allowing me to get ahead of them.
"Well, as long as you had fun, I suppose," Rui chuckled, sighing.
He was glad that Kane seemed to be able to get along with his newfound acquaintances.
"So what mission are you working on?" Kane asked, curious.
"An espionage mission, I need to gain new information on this shipment that Graheria Industries sold them for a great sum of money," Rui explained.
"That sounds right up my alley," Kane knitted his eyes.
"Not this time, it's a bit too risky."
"Riskier than the Shionel Dungeon?"
"Yes, actually," Rui mused. "The Shionel Dungeon was never truly a threat to us, with our capabilities, no one stood any chance of sensing you, and no one stood a chance of hiding from me. It's just best not to rely on brute force stealth this time around."
Rui quickly convinced him that it wasn't worth it.
He quickly left him behind as he headed to the mission affairs department, seeking help.
"A coachman license matching the name of the coachman that will be driving a coachman at some point in the future?"
"That's right," Rui nodded.
"We can procure this intelligence and service for you, but you need to purchase it unless it's for the sake of a mission," The staff member informed him.
"It is the latter, actually," Rui explained. "Mission code C48n139."
She quickly referred to the code that Rui was talking about, before pausing abruptly. "I'm afraid this mission is beyond my clearance level."
"Hm?"
"You'll need to speak to deputy director Feric Franmonth," She informed him.
Rui frowned. "Can you not just fulfill my requirements?"
"I'm afraid not, sir." She replied. "Do you want me to book an appointment soon?"
Rui sighed. "Please do."
He did not want to delay the process much, but he could not do anything about it for the moment. He definitely needed some help from the Floating Sect.
Thankfully, it wasn't too long before the deputy director was sitting across from him in his office.
The man was a refreshing breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the island, the entire office was part of the human wing with standard human conditions, so Rui had to quickly readjust.
"So then," guardian Falken," The man smiled. "I heard you took on mission C48m139."
The man gave off a different vibe from the rest of the island, almost like he didn't even belong. If anything, his vibe reminded him of the merchants of the Shionel Confederation.
"I did," Rui nodded. "I require a coachman license with the name being the same as any coachman driving carriage to deliver a shipment to the military complex."
"We can provide that…" He nodded. "But the military complex has sophisticated anti-espionage technology. The recent supply of esoteric substances that can jam energy flux really well from the Shionel Dungeon has caused a spike in anti-espionage measures. You won't be able to gain any information just by infiltrating as a coachman, they won't let you go anywhere."
"I'm aware of that," Rui simply replied. "I have my plans, I just need assistance over this one matter, I do hope the Floating Sect can provide what I'm looking for."
"Interesting, so you have a means of intelligence gathering that can evade anti-espionage measures," The man concluded with an expression of curiosity.
Rui simply stared at him.
"Don't worry, the Floating Sect will provide you with everything you need. However, if you do employ the help of the Floating Sect, then you better succeed, guardian Falken."
The man promptly got up, prompting Rui to follow suit. "Good luck."
Rui shook his hand before leaving his office. Now he just needed to wait.
His plan was to knock the coachman out and drug him for a while before proceeding to drive the carriage to the destination, the documentation was legit, so there were no problems. It would have the name of the coachman, which he would verify with his fake license. Once that check-up was through and they failed to notice his status as a Martial Squire, he would immediately blast off his Riemannian Echo and figure out as much about the package as he could.
Once he got in, the risks were considerably less, the only risks were at the entry of the military complex. That was why he was inclined to be most careful at that moment. He was prepared to instantly shoot off and escape if the plan failed.
Of course, he was quite confident that it wouldn't but he was not someone who didn't take precautions.
He had already scoped the area and figured out the most optimal path of retreat. Running away at top speed would actually just draw attention. His escape plans involved running to crowded areas and blending into the crowds after putting on a Mind Mask, making it extremely difficult to single him out across the entire crowd.
With that out of the way, he mostly everything covered, he had an external map of the entire complex memorized, and had taken measures to ensure that he would be able to maximize the amount of time he would spend in there to gain the maximum amount of data.
Soon enough, all his preparations were complete and he was ready to execute his plan.
