"Masters, I'm the new comrcial assistant Rowan. Please take care of ."
Rowan greeted them politely as he entered the departnt.
"Oh, a newcor. Welco, welco." A middle-aged man with a beard said kindly. "My na is Old Wang. I've been working here for fifteen years."
"Master Wang, could you tell about the situation in the arena? I'm still not familiar with it," Rowan said as he sat down, putting on an earnest, humble expression.
"There's nothing secret about it," Old Wang replied straightforwardly. "The Great Axe Arena has five elders, each responsible for different domains. Martial God Teacher is the highest leader, but he usually doesn't handle daily affairs."
"What about the other elders?" Rowan asked curiously.
"Elder Lei Ming is in charge of military and security. Elder Yan Di…" Old Wang paused and shook his head. "What a pity."
"He was a good man. Elder Yan Di used to visit our lower departnts often. He cared about everyone's work and life."
"I heard Elder Sak has taken over Elder Yan Di's responsibilities?" Rowan asked carefully.
Old Wang's expression beca complicated. "Yes. Elder Sak is indeed very capable, but…" He glanced around and lowered his voice. "Forget it. This isn't sothing we should talk about."
Rowan noticed there was more behind his words, but he did not press further. He knew impatience would only backfire.
In the evening, Emperor Yan and Rowan regrouped in their room to share what they had discovered.
"It seems Sak really made a lot of moves after I disappeared," Emperor Yan said seriously as he sat on the sofa. "Not only did he take over all my responsibilities, he has also been continuously saring my reputation."
Rowan opened his notebook. "Senior, I found sothing interesting. The evaluations of you among lower-level staff are extrely polarized. Either they miss you deeply, or they believe you were inferior to Elder Sak in business matters."
"This is clearly deliberate public opinion manipulation," Emperor Yan said coldly.
"More than that," Rowan continued, flipping through his notes. "Elder Sak has been holding frequent ergency etings recently, and the attendees are all key figures from various departnts. So people say he is redistributing power."
At that, Emperor Yan's gaze sharpened. "Redistributing power? His ambition is greater than I expected."
"Senior, can we confirm Sak is the mastermind now?" Rowan asked.
Emperor Yan thought for a mont. "From the current evidence, he is indeed the pri suspect. He is the only one who gained enormous benefits after my disappearance. And with his position, he certainly had the ability to leak my travel routes."
"So what do we do next?" Rowan asked again.
Emperor Yan stood and began pacing. "The key issue is not identifying Sak, but exposing his cris. With our current status, even if we obtain evidence, it will be difficult to directly confront an elder."
Rowan nodded. "That's true. Elder Sak holds a very high position in the arena, and he now controls a large amount of resources and connections. If we act rashly, we might alert him."
"More importantly, we need support from above," Emperor Yan said, stopping his steps. "In the Great Axe Arena, only Martial God Teacher has the authority to deal with an elder. But the problem is, how do we make him believe us?"
Rowan thought for a mont. "Senior, I think we cannot act alone."
"You an?"
"Elder Lei Ming," Rowan said, his eyes flashing with intelligence. "I observed him. His concern for you is genuine. And his status is second only to Elder Sak. If we can convince him to work with us, our chances increase significantly."
Emperor Yan frowned. "But Lei Ming has always insisted that I report directly to Martial God Teacher. He may not be willing to participate in a covert investigation."
"That's a strategic issue we must solve," Rowan said, taking out a pen and paper. "Elder Lei Ming is righteous, but cautious. We need to give him enough reasons to believe that a covert investigation is necessary."
Emperor Yan looked at him with interest. "What do you suggest?"
Rowan began drawing diagrams. "First, we must prove Sak's motive and capability. Second, we must explain why we cannot report directly to Martial God Teacher."
"And the second point?"
"Simple." Rowan put down his pen. "If Sak is truly a traitor, then he must have accomplices inside the arena. Reporting directly might allow them to escape. Worse, if our accusations cannot be imdiately verified, Sak would gain the opportunity to counterattack."
Emperor Yan's eyes showed approval. "Well reasoned. So how do we approach Lei Ming?"
"We can't be too direct, nor too vague," Rowan said. "We first gather more concrete evidence about Sak. Then we request an audience with Lei Ming under the pretext of reporting investigative progress."
"What kind of evidence?"
Rowan flipped through his notes. "I heard today that Sak has been in close contact with external forces. If we can prove those interactions are abnormal, it will be our breakthrough point."
Emperor Yan nodded. "Good direction. But we must be careful. If Sak dares to act like this, he must already be prepared."
"Then we need Lei Ming's help even more," Rowan insisted. "With his position, he can access information we cannot. And with his support, our actions will be safer."
After pacing a few more rounds, Emperor Yan finally stopped. "Alright. We proceed with your plan. But the thod of contacting Lei Ming must be carefully considered."
"I have an idea," Rowan said, a hint of sharpness in his eyes. "We contact him through official work channels. As a comrcial consultant, we report anomalies in business operations."
"What anomalies?"
"Abnormal behavior in Sak's handling of comrcial affairs," Rowan explained. "We can say we found financial irregularities that require reporting to superiors. It will sound natural and still attract Lei Ming's attention."
Emperor Yan considered it. "Good plan, but we need real financial irregularities."
"I'll handle that," Rowan said confidently. "Give two days. I will find Sak's weak point."
Night fell, and most of the Great Axe Arena grew quiet.
Only a few critical departnts remained active.
Emperor Yan and Rowan finalized their plan, preparing to gather more evidence in the coming days.
"Senior," Rowan asked before sleeping, "why do you think Sak betrayed the arena?"
Emperor Yan looked out at the starry sky.
"Power, wealth, or sothing else," he said calmly. "There are many reasons for betrayal. But none of them justify harming the innocent."
"We must catch him," Rowan said firmly.
Emperor Yan nodded. "We will. The truth will eventually co to light."
Late at night, while the arena slept, Elder Sak's office was still brightly lit.
The man in his forties sat reviewing docunts. His sharp features and deep eyes gave him a silent authority.
Knock, knock.
"Co in," Sak said without looking up.
A man in a black uniform entered. His movents were light, his gaze sharp, clearly a trained operative.
"Elder, I have a report," the man said respectfully.
"Speak."
"Two newcors joined the comrcial departnt today. A comrcial consultant nad Yan Huang, and his assistant Rowan," the man reported. "The timing is suspicious."
"Suspicious?"
"They are the survivors rescued by Elder Lei Ming's operation yesterday. And today they joined the departnt. Also, this Yan Huang does not seem like an ordinary rchant."
Sak's eyes sharpened. "Continue."
"He behaves very professionally. His questions are precise and targeted. Especially when your na is ntioned, his reaction is unnatural."
Sak stood and walked to the window.
"Yan Huang…" he murmured.
"Elder, should I continue monitoring them?"
"Monitor them," Sak said slowly. "But do not alert them. If they are truly problematic, we need solid evidence."
"Understood."
The man left.
Sak sat back down, but his expression darkened. Sothing felt wrong, yet he could not pinpoint what.
anwhile, Rowan was organizing all the information he had gathered. He stored everything in an encrypted device.
"Sak's changes after taking over the comrcial departnt…" he muttered while typing.
Suddenly, he stopped.
A na appeared in his thoughts.
Stellar Trade Group.
It was a company Sak had been frequently contacting. A company that had never worked with the arena before Emperor Yan's disappearance.
"This might be the breakthrough," Rowan said.
He imdiately searched further.
The company was less than a year old, yet it had massive capital and operated in sensitive sectors.
"Tomorrow, I'll focus on this group," Rowan marked it down.
Morning light filtered through Red Maple Apartnts.
Rowan was already awake, preparing for the day's investigation.
Then he heard it.
A faint sound in the corridor.
Careful footsteps.
He moved quietly to the door and looked through the peephole.
A man in a maintenance uniform stood outside, inspecting a ventilation duct.
But sothing was wrong.
His movents were too precise. His eyes too alert.
Not a real maintenance worker.
And there had been no maintenance notice.
"Problem," Rowan imdiately realized.
He quickly packed his docunts and tapped the wall beside Emperor Yan's room, their agreed signal.
Soon, Emperor Yan arrived under the guise of a business eting.
"We are being watched," Rowan whispered.
Emperor Yan's expression turned serious.
He checked the surroundings with his spiritual sense.
"Not just one. At least two more downstairs."
Rowan's heart sank. "So Sak has already suspected us."
"Not confird yet," Emperor Yan said calmly. "If he were certain, he would have already acted."
Rowan nodded. "Then we still have room to move."
He looked out the window.
"Senior… I think this might actually be an opportunity."
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