Chapter 33 - 33: 033 Eliminate hidden dangers
Professional Alliance Center.
In the office of the leader of Operation Team Nine.
Ennis Hawkins held his communication tool, listening to Dean McKenzie’s words.
He was stunned at that moment!
He did throw Dean into South Hill Base, but it was just to place him somewhere safe. He had no intention of getting Dean involved in any missions.
In his view, Dean was merely an outsider accidentally pulled into the situation. If Dean was deeply entangled and couldn’t get out, he would understand.
But Dean was just an Ordinary Template, basically worthless to that gang. He had no reason, nor could he involve Dean in such dangerous affairs.
Even if giving up Dean as a clue made his task extremely challenging, he would not involve Dean.
That was his principle.
Unexpectedly, even though he didn’t get Dean involved, Dean stumbled into it on his own.
He was so taken aback by what Dean said that it stunned him for a while.
It took him a while to get back to his senses, after Dean called out several times, “Anthony, are you listening, Anthony?”
I’m listening, go on!”
‘T’ve finished speaking!
When will you come? I’ll hand over the stuff to you!”
Listening to Dean’s slightly anxious urging, Anthony’s expression was complex.
“Are you sure you want to hand over everything you gained from that Secret Realm? That’s quite a shocking income, including a private realm, and an unknown treasure…”
I’m not stupid. No matter how good the stuff is, you need to be alive to use it, right?
At South Hill Base, Dean smirked.
By now, he had verified his immense Talent.
Quite confident with his Talent, he believed he would have a promising future. The more so, the more careful he had to be.
But his words changed as he spoke: “Captain, as a member of the Spring City Professional Alliance and a soldier under you, I must prioritize defense.
As your soldier, I must safeguard the security of Spring City.
I have to report this problematic game level for your safety and the residents of Spring City.
I won’t keep anything that threatens the safety of Spring City citizens!”
Dean spoke with a righteous and dedicated demeanor.
But Ennis was unimpressed: “I was wondering why you, a sly kid, were behaving so docilely. So, this is your plan.
Got it. After the inspection, if there’s no problem, we won’t touch your stuff!” Dean puckered his lips, clearly displeased: “Anthony, how could you think of me like this? I truly am acting out of public interest, with no ulterior motives!” “Don’t worry! If the verification proves connection to that group, your deserved reward won’t be lessened!
You wait, I’ll be right there!”
Then, Ennis hung up the phone.
On Dean’s side, he scratched his head while listening to the hang-up tone from Ennis.
“My little trick couldn’t fool Anthony at all!”
While sighing, Dean’s respect for Anthony deepened.
The more he interacted with Ennis, the clearer Dean understood what kind of person he was.
He was the kind who could see the nature of the world and human nature, yet still loved the world and treated others kindly.
Ennis saw through all of Dean’s tricks from the beginning.
He merely couldn’t bear to stop him!
Ennis arrived quite fast.
Less than half an hour after Dean hung up, Ennis secretly came to South Hill Base.
The first thing he did upon arriving at South Hill Base was pull out a mirror. “Look into it!”
“Oh!”
Dean obediently looked into the mirror, and the next second, an identical person separated from the mirror.
Looking at the man who was identical to him, Dean was dumbfounded. Ennis explained, “It will exist for one day, replace you at work. You need to come with me somewhere!”
Then, Dean was taken away by Ennis.
As for exactly where, Dean didn’t know because they didn’t walk there. Ennis tore a Scroll and they arrived in a pure white laboratory.
There were already people there, and they were waiting in readiness. Subsequently, Dean McKenzie spent half a day in this laboratory.
During this half-day, Dean cooperated with the laboratory staff to inspect each item he had brought back from the “Land of the Wraith” instance.
The inspection was so thorough that even the “Land of the Wraith” turned out to be the Land of Bone now, with Dean even allowing access for checks.
Throughout the process, Ennis Hawkins was by his side, giving Dean a strong sense of security.
Half a day later, the inspection was over.
The person in charge of the lab reported to Ennis Hawkins, “After inspecting the secret realm of the Land of Bone, we didn’t find any immediate issues.
The only problematic item was the “Demon Box”, which by its nature is an evil item capable of leading people down a path of corruption to become Fallen Professionals.
But that’s not the biggest problem; the most significant issue is what is contained inside this box.
The items stored in the “Demon Box” are extraordinary.
As for what exactly they are, further investigation and research is needed.” “Then let’s leave this item here and return the others to this young man!” “What about the Secret Realm of the Land of Bone? Although we didn’t find any problems during the inspection, we still can’t rule out threats entirely!” “Isn’t this realm bound to him personally? Are you confident you can separate it?”
“We need some time for that.”
“How long?”
“About one year. No, make that eight months!”
“One day isn’t going to cut it. Since we didn’t find any problems, let’s return it to them first.”
With Ennis Hawkins’ involvement, Dean spent most of the day in the lab, eventually handing over the black box but retaining all other gains.
For Dean, the most crucial outcome wasn’t that these gains were retained, but that all these gains were legitimized.
The reason for his template enhancement was also legitimized.
Concurrently, the potential danger of that instance was minimized.
Should there be any issues in the future, he could relay them to the organization at any time.
At this moment, Dean fully experienced the benefits of having an organization, having backing.
Unlike Dean, who was cheerfully grinning like an idiot, Ennis Hawkins on the side appeared rather troubled.
Seeing Dean’s joy-filled grin, Ennis Hawkins was even more annoyed, raising his hand to whack the back of Dean’s head.
“Ah, Anthony, why did you hit me?”
Dean stared wide-eyed at him.
“You’re standing there grinning like an idiot, do you know what it means if that thing is faulty?”
“What does it mean?”
Ennis Hawkins didn’t reply, only looked at Dean and sighed softly.
His sigh startled Dean.
“Uncle Ennis, please don’t scare me!”
Looking at the panicked Dean in front of him, Ennis slowly spoke, “While we were in the lab, news came from the Skeleton Cave.
A unique energy had emerged.
Colleagues have investigated it, and combining it with the information you provided, it’s almost certain that the instance you’ve experienced was indeed set up by someone!
That means you’re now a marked man!”
Ennis Hawkins finished speaking with a heavy heart. However, to his surprise, after hearing his words, Dean, who had previously appeared anxious, rolled his eyes and said, “Come on, Anthony, why are you scaring me for nothing? Isn’t this good news?”
Ennis Hawkins was momentarily stunned: “Good news?”
Dean took it for granted: “Wasn’t your original task for me this? I was worried about how to find people, but now that they are watching me, won’t they come knocking at my door?
Doesn’t this mean there’s hope for me to complete this task?”
“No, you don’t understand, the danger in this…”
“The question is, can I opt out of this task you’ve given me, Anthony?”
“You could have initially, but now I’m afraid it’s not possible!”
“Well, that settles it, since I can’t fight back, then I can only embrace it!
As for the danger!”
Dean paused for a moment, looking directly into Ennis Hawkins’ eyes: “Anthony, to be honest, I am still terrified. Can you protect me?”
As Dean spoke these words, Ennis froze on the spot.
In his daze, the figure of Dean in front of him overlapped with the image of someone else sealed in his memory, causing Ennis to subconsciously clench his fists and heavily nod his head.