Upon arriving at the Baroness's manor, Shi Feng had barely stepped down from the high-class carriage when he spotted several players clad in black cloaks being led through the estate gates by the butler, Milton.
Though these individuals had already entered the manor, they remained constantly vigilant, scanning their surroundings as though terrified of being followed.
The moment they noticed Shi Feng's arrival, every one of them tensed up, their expressions darkening.
"Has someone else already found this place?" Shi Feng studied the six-person team's guarded postures and quickly deduced what they were thinking.
The Baroness's secret exchange point for high-grade items was exceedingly rare throughout the entire Black Dragon Empire, and the items available were treasures for any player. Seizing exclusive access would mean enormous profits.
If someone else had discovered this secret, it would inevitably mean more competition and a smaller share of the spoils—and the more people who knew, the higher the risk of exposure.
Now that they had seen him arrive, they understood that all too well.
In his previous life, the Baroness's secret had been exposed, sparking a fierce scramble among the major guilds. They had even fought right in front of the Baroness's manor, and in the end the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion had claimed it, stationing members outside the gates long-term to block everyone else while rival guilds could only watch.
After exchanging a few wary glances with Shi Feng, the group quickly turned and hurried inside. Shi Feng merely smiled and strolled after them at a leisurely pace.
There were only so many items available for exchange. In their minds, he had surely come to trade as well, so they intended to reach the Baroness first and complete their transactions before he could get ahead of them.
But for Shi Feng, exchanging items wasn't his purpose this time.
As he reached the Baroness's front gate, he suddenly sensed someone nearby. He immediately activated the Eye of Omniscience to investigate.
"A guild player?" Through the Eye of Omniscience, Shi Feng quickly spotted a level-50 Assassin concealed behind a large tree some fifty or sixty yards away. A guild emblem he had never seen before was pinned to the figure. "Looks like this secret won't stay hidden much longer."
Those players earlier had clearly already been tailed by a guild.
Once a guild learned of the Baroness's manor's existence, it would only be a matter of time before the entire location was exposed. Guilds had enormous memberships, and every major guild had spies planted among its rivals—such secrets were far too easy to leak.
That was precisely why, whenever he took action, Shi Feng never informed the guild's upper echelons of his plans. That way, the spies within the guild had no way of discovering what he was up to.
He felt fortunate now. If he had waited any longer to visit the Baroness's manor, a massive crowd of players would have gathered here before long, and the secret of the Treasure of Time might have been discovered. If anyone found out about the Seven Treasures at this stage, they would throw all their resources into collecting them, and completing his task would become far more difficult.
After a short wait, butler Milton reappeared at the gate. Under his guidance, Shi Feng followed him into the Baroness's manor.
Once Shi Feng had disappeared inside, the masked Assassin lurking behind the tree quietly slipped over to the entrance, watching him vanish. A knowing smile crept into his eyes.
"Guild Master, just as you suspected—those people really did discover a secret exchange point. It's at the Baroness's manor in Lakeheart City," the masked Assassin reported.
"Excellent. Since the secret location has been found, those few can simply be made to vanish from the Divine Realm. My treasures will not be touched by anyone else's hands!" On the screen, a gaunt middle-aged man in deep gray robes let out a cold laugh.
"Guild Master, besides those people, I noticed someone else has found this place as well. What should we do about him?" the masked Assassin asked.
"Someone else found it too?" The gaunt man furrowed his brow slightly. "Do you know who he is?"
"He was also wearing a black cloak, and even when I used high-level observation skills, I couldn't see through to his real identity. Everything came back as unknown," the Assassin replied.
"Keep an eye on him quietly. Find a way to uncover his true identity. Once we know who he is, we move. There's no need for that many people to know about the Baroness's manor's secret." The gaunt man considered for a moment, then made a throat-slitting gesture.