Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 346 - 58 The Secret Surveillance_1

Chapter 346: Chapter 58 The Secret Surveillance_1

"Beep. The sewer dredging project is set to start in one hundred and twenty seconds. Please stand along the sewer walls before the dredging is complete. No walking, jumping, or climbing allowed to prevent accidents. All workers inside the drains should return to the pedestrian path within one hundred and twenty seconds. Any delays will be at their own risk. The dredging is expected to take eighty-seven seconds, depending on actual conditions. This is the last reminder—not to walk, jump or climb during the dredging. Violators will face a fine of five thousand to twenty thousand Naren. Beep. This is the first announcement of this round, in which there will be three in total. Please follow the instructions promptly."

"Well, this is what it is talking about," Pannis pointed to the top of the sewer, "The dredging notification."

"Shouldn’t we go over to the wall and get in position?" Enbow tilted his head, his forefinger habitually pointing at his cheeks, making an adorable puzzled expression, "The chainsaws are going to be extending soon."

"We can just stay close to the wall. The chainsaws aren’t going to affect us there. There’s no need to waste our time for such warning," Catherine said. "But what I wonder more about is what unit ’Naren’ is."

"According to the literature, that’s a unit of currency from the Goblin Empire," Vivian said, holding her magic staff and using her eyes to measure some data in the pipeline. "You can’t really convert it into the current gold coinage. But if we calculate it based on purchasing power, five thousand Naren is roughly equivalent to three hundred gold coins, which was about the monthly salary of an intermediate Goblin technician back then."

"So, breaching a rule results in a deduction of three hundred to one thousand two hundred gold coins? And it’s calculated per person?" Catherine stupefied, paused for a few seconds, and then said seriously, "I feel that since the goblins have set this rule to prevent dangers, they must have their reasons. We’re not in a hurry, so no need to worry about two or three minutes. We should follow the rules."

"Hey, what about your knightly conduct?" Pannis had nothing to say about Catherine’s nearly instinctive behavior, massaged his forehead, and said with a sigh, "Let it be. Everyone should go and stay by the pipe wall as the announcement suggested."

"Actually, that’s correct. The goblins’ approach makes sense," said Muir, as the group sat at the edge of the pipe wall. "Indeed, as long as we move along here, we usually won’t run into trouble. But accidents can still happen, like getting tripped by debris, stumbling, and going off the trail, which isn’t impossible. For physically feeble goblins, those few steps might cost them their lives. That’s why seemingly unnecessary rules often have their significance. It’s better not to break them unless it’s necessary."

"Ding-ding-ding." As everyone expected, three cutting chainsaws stretched out from the wall again, and the rotating blades began to hum. Lina had regained her previous noble and holy demeanor, full of elegance like Teresa. But Pannis sighed. He had already seen the curiosity stemming in Lina’s eyes — the rotating chainsaws intrigued her. Her strong desire to maintain her clergy image barely restrained her, but her almost materialized grudge revealed her true feelings. Pannis reluctantly stood up, took an iron drill from his backpack, rotated it both ways to adjust its angle, and suddenly infused Aggression into the drill and used it to block the path of the oncoming chainsaw.

"Hey, have you gone nuts again?" Muir said expressionlessly at Pannis, but the shriek caused by the metal friction completely drowned out his voice. Under the effect of the Aggression, the iron drill wasn’t cut off, and the chainsaw couldn’t continue its path. They both hung in a deadlock at the same spot. In the flash, sparks flew around, it was a spectacular sight.

"Beep." Another announcement and another string of goblin language broadcast. Upon hearing this broadcast, Pannis’ mouth twitched, and the aggression on the iron drill quickly dissipated. Without the support of Aggression, the iron drill got cut off by the chainsaw within seconds, and the chainsaw was able to move forward to complete its mission. As soon as the chainsaw regained its mobility, there was another ’beep’ and more goblin language from above everyone’s head. Apart from Lina, who was wearing a contented smile, everyone else stared at Pannis blankly just like Muir, "What terrible thing did you do again?"

Obviously, everyone knew that the two successive broadcasting notifications were inevitably linked to Pannis’s previous act. And from the previous broadcast’s experiences, even if they didn’t understand goblin language, they knew it spells trouble.

"Hehe, hehe, nothing much." Pannis scratched his head and chuckled dryly, avoiding eye contact with the group. "Really, nothing much at all. The announcement was just telling everyone that it’s cold today and we should put on more clothes."

"Although my understanding of goblin language is very poor," Vivian said with a tilted glance, "I can still make out that the words ’weather’ and ’clothes’ certainly didn’t appear in that announcement. "

"Hey, Vivian, aren’t we teammates?" Pannis looked at Vivian with a grievance, speaking with a whiny tone, "Why would you betray and hurt each other? This is wrong. You shouldn’t do this."

"Unfortunately, I already did," Vivian spread her right hand, her palm gently cradling a fiery Fire Element that slowly formed into a ball, "And, just because we are teammates, it makes hurting that much more enjoyable."

"Hmm, I have to admit, this would be wrong in most contexts," Catherine held her chin and hesitated for a moment, then said, "But there’s some truth to it under certain circumstances."

"May I ask?" Pannis asked expectantly, "Which certain circumstances are you referring to? Hopefully it’s not now, right?"

"It is now," Catherine flashed a sweet smile, "Only now in fact."

"So, honestly, what did that announcement say exactly?" Vivian toyed with the fully-formed Fireball in her hand, snarling, "What kind of trouble did you stir up this time?"

"That’s very dangerous, don’t just use it unless necessary," Pannis pointed at the fireball fearfully, "You have to promise that you won’t use it to blow me up once I tell you."

"Alright." Vivian thought for a moment and nodded in agreement, "I promise, you won’t be on the receiving end of whatever it is you’re about to deliver."

"Those two alerts earlier, the first one said that due to exceptionally severe blockage in sewer number 213, a medium size combat-type puppet Model 3 is being scheduled for dispatch to handle the situation. Nearby workers are advised to avoid the area." Pannis nodded seriously, "Hmm, the 213 sewer must be here exactly."

"That’s not really important at all." Muir murmured under his breath, "The key point is, what the hell is a combat-type puppet Model 3, and why do we need to avoid it? Doesn’t sound like a safe piece of equipment."

"Want to know?" Pannis quickly reached into his bag and pulled out a metal rod, "It’s easy to find out."

"Thank you, I don’t want to know." Muir covered his face and said, "Not at all."

"That’s really a pity." Pannis sighed regretfully, "And there’s something more regrettable. The second alert says that since the sewer has been successfully unclogged, there’s no need to dispatch the combat-type puppet anymore."

"Sure, it’s really a pity that it was called off, isn’t it?" After her previous encounter with the oversized metal puppet alongside Catherine, Vivian felt an urge to blast any puppet she would see in a short time. At this moment, Vivian, with a gloomy sneer on her face, continued to toss the fireball in her hand, "What do you say, dear Pannis?"

"Hey, you promised." Pannis leaped back three meters on the spot, warning Vivian, "You said you wouldn’t blast me. Honesty is important."

"You’re right, I did promise you, and I keep my word." Vivian unwillingly let go of the fireball in her hand, "So I certainly wouldn’t blast you with this one."

"I knew you are a good person." Pannis sighed in relief, patting his chest, "You scared me."

Vivian’s smile suddenly turned malicious as she raised her other hand from behind, another fireball hovering over her palm, "So, I’ll blast you with the other one."

"Help!" The moment Vivian raised her hand, Pannis, with his sharp alertness, rolled over and jumped back a few meters before turning to run, shouting, "Catherine, help! Vivian’s trying to kill me!"

"Die, jerk Pannis." Vivian roared, hurling the fireball from her hand. Guided by her vitality, the fireball flew towards Pannis’ back. As the fireball neared, Pannis performed a nimble change of direction, while the slower-reacting fireball failed to adjust its course and crashed into the wall with a loud bang.

The spectators, accustomed to such interactions between the two, watched on. Their usual antics had escalated to a point where, within merely half a day, Pannis had been on the receiving end of death threats three times. It was almost becoming a routine. But this time, when the fireball exploded, everyone furrowed their brows.

Their senses weren’t weak, so everyone noticed that just before the fireball hit the wall, it hesitated slightly in the air very close to the wall. Although the pause may have lasted not even half a second, it was still perceived by everyone. Such a pause usually signifies one thing - the area has an invisible magic barrier, and the fireball had broken through this barrier before hitting the wall.

"So, it’s just the Eye of the Mage." Vivian swiftly cooled down her anger, readjusting her hat that had gone askew due to her force and said regretfully, "I thought someone was hiding there."

"I knew it wouldn’t have been a person long before. I knew it already." Pannis walked back, dusting his clothes off and spoke in a serious tone, "There was no breathing or heartbeat sound. At least it wouldn’t be a living person."

"You sensed something there earlier?" Teresa sounded surprised, "So, you acted like you were fighting, then suddenly attacked that spot?"

"Yes, I had a feeling I was being watched, originating from that place, so I gave Vivian a signal with my eyes," Pannis answered, "I didn’t expect that she would notice it too."

"Yes, I noticed a very subtle magical fluctuation in that area, so I understood Pannis’ hint immediately." Vivian explained, "And this kind of rudimentary Eye of the Mage isn’t a constant spell, it’s short-term, lasting just about two or three days. This means that we’re definitely on the right path, and our target is very close by." (To be continued... If you like this work, your recommendation votes and monthly tickets on qidian.com are welcome. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)