"Had your fun with your new friend?" Senior Sarak smiled as he sat down in his office, offering a seat to Rui.
"I wouldn't say we are friends," Rui replied. "But yes, it was fun. The power of the Senior Realm is intoxicating."
"Indeed, every Martial Senior feels that way at the start." Senior Sarak remarked. "Now then, what is it that you wanted to speak about?"
"I wanted some help from the intelligence department of the Floating Sect," Rui stated. "I was hoping they could point me in the right direction. Specifically, what I am looking for is strategic intelligence on the chairman of the international corporation Deacon Industries. His security measures, schedule, travel patterns, etc. Any and everything that one might need to kill him."
Rui didn't mind exposing this to Senior Sarak. There was enough trust between the two that the man would not use the intelligence in an untoward manner.
Senior Sarak had the sense to not ask why Rui wanted such information. He merely fell into some thought.
"Well, for starters, you can consult forces within the Shionel Confederation." Senior Sarak stated. "There are a lot of people within the nation who have reason to plot against Chairman Deacon, they will have the intelligence you're looking for."
"Let's say that I can't go anywhere near the Shionel Confederation due to various reasons." Rui shook his head.
"Hm, in that case, it's best to contact the surrounding nations in the geographic vicinity." Senior Sarak thoughtfully responded. "They too will have collected such intelligence."
"I am aware," Rui replied. "I am also aware that the further away I go from the Shionel Confederation, the lower the probability that I will find the intelligence I am looking for."
"In that case..."
"The issue is that I want to be as discreet as possible. I do not want to ring any alarms, which is not impossible considering the surrounding nations are only Master-level at most, and it is quite likely that chairman has enough influence to detect someone snooping for him." Rui informed him.
"Is that so? Hmm... I am a little out of my depth here."
A few minutes later, the deputy director of the intelligence department himself entered Senior Sarak's office.
"You summoned me, sir?"
Rui recognized the man. This was the same man who had summoned Rui after Rui discovered the gravitational stabilizer weapon that the Kingdom of Graheria had procured.
It wasn't long before he was filled up on that matter.
"You are correct, Senior Falken." The deputy director stated. "It is not improbable that you will trigger alarms in the Deacon Industries' intelligence department. The best intelligence divisions do not suppress information about their organization but rather place spies within various networks that sell that information to see who is interested in purchasing such information."
Rui nodded.
If he haphazardly contacted a surrounding nation that was not diplomatically on the best terms with the Shionel Confederation, then there was a good chance that it would get leaked and Chairman Deacon would be notified of a Martial Senior targeting him.
"What you require is something more distanced from the influence of Deacon Industries with high-quality information-gathering abilities." The deputy director explained. "However, the more distant they are, the more powerful they need to be to be able to gather strategic intelligence on Chairman Deacon from afar. Furthermore, the price for such information will also be higher due to the distance. It won't be easy to negotiate with such a powerful force even as a Martial Senior and the price will also be considerable."
Rui narrowed his eyes as he fell into thought. His own conclusions more or less agreed with the deputy director's analysis, though he may underestimated the difficulty a bit.
"...If I had to recommend an endeavor based on my knowledge and experience. then it would have to be approaching the Beggar's Sect." The director stated.
Rui narrowed his eyes.
It wasn't that he hadn't heard of that name before, but it was not something he knew much about.
"The Beggar's Sect is perhaps the most unique intelligence organization in existence." The deputy director stated. "The reason for this is because it is an organization that is almost exclusively comprised of low-class individuals. Workers and laborers and even literal beggars. They are everywhere and are among the most invisible class of people, while also forming the most important substrate of human civilization. Farmers, manual laborers of all kinds as well as low-skill laborers for processing and transporting goods and services are a universal necessity. This gives them power. Together they have eyes and ears everywhere in the Human Domain in totality."
Rui grew more curious about this organization.
Not only did they sound quite interesting, but it did sound as if they could get him what he needed.
"Furthermore, they do all of this without employing extravagant espionage technology or Martial Art." The deputy director stated. "They are an embodiment of the power of quantity, as opposed to quality. They have ten thousand ordinary men, women, and even children for every elite intelligence agent that most organizations have. The sheer quantity of information they deal in is staggering."
The more the director spoke about them, the more Rui was willing to give them a chance. The fact that they did not employ esoteric espionage technology or Martial Art was not a negative point as long as they could get the job done.
It was actually a good point, it meant that as a Martial Senior, he would be able to offer services that they otherwise could not access. Even if they were managed by regular people, there were things that no amount of quantity could possibly substitute. A Martial Senior was not low in value, and he did not have extravagant prices, all he wanted was intelligence on Chairman Deacon, that's it.
"Where can I meet them?" Rui asked with raised eyebrows.
"That is a bit... complicated." The deputy director smiled wryly. "Because they do not have access to anti-espionage technology or the resources to build highly concealed and secure bases, they have mastered to the highest degree the art of hiding in plain sight as opposed to concealing themselves entirely. They have also mastered the art of using chaos to obscure their presence. Finding them is impossible if they do not want to be found."
