126: Chapter 126 Empty the base

"How lacking in public morality!"

Zhang Mu, who had been sprinting through the desert for three hours under the high blazing sun with the older child on his back, was still cursing under his breath.

That little scooter, which had been totaled by an armored vehicle, had been with him for some time; he had almost developed feelings for it, only for it to meet such a sudden disaster.

"Uncle Mihe, what does 'public morality' mean?" the boy asked in confusion, using the fake name Zhang Mu had given him.

"It refers to people who deserve to be thrown into a trash heap."

It was a bit of a non-sequitur, but the older child thought about it, connecting the terms 'trash heap' and 'oil rats,' and nodded vigorously: "They are all people without public morality!"

"Whew—"

Stopping his run, Zhang Mu took a breath, set the boy down on the sand, and gave him water and bread. He then took out a bottle of magic potion and downed it in one go.

After finishing, he put away the crystal bottle and stood with hands on his hips, looking around.

A vast sea of sand.

"How much further?" The older child washed down the bread in his mouth with water. "At your speed, we'll arrive by tomorrow morning."

Hearing this, Zhang Mu wondered if he should use a Levitation Potion.

Never mind, he was carrying a kid. He shook his head inwardly, dismissing the idea.

A moment later, the child finished eating. Zhang Mu hoisted him onto his back and continued running.

Running and resting, they reached the next morning.

Lying behind a sand dune, Zhang Mu poked his head over the top to look at the oil rats' nest not far away, which was surrounded by barbed wire.

Pulling his head back, he led the older child about a kilometer in the opposite direction.

"Don't wander off, wait for me here." If a child this small got lost in the desert, it would be certain death, so Zhang Mu instructed him uneasily.

"Okay."

Seeing him respond, Zhang Mu left several bottles of water and some bread, then turned and jogged toward the oil rats' nest.

Once out of the child's sight, he activated the Shadow Technique and walked through the barbed wire with swagger.

He scanned left and right across the concrete clearing, where armored vehicles, rocket launcher trucks, fighter jets, attack helicopters, and more were parked.

After taking the goods, he would have to destroy the evidence. Zhang Mu narrowed his eyes slightly and headed toward the concrete buildings at the back of the nest.

Those weapons couldn't be left out in the open. He'd check the buildings first, and if there was nothing, he'd look underground.

He was in luck; these oil rats didn't seem to have dug any tunnels. The first room Zhang Mu entered was filled with neat iron racks holding various types and models of rockets.

He looked up and scanned the room; as expected, surveillance cameras were installed in all four corners of the ceiling.

Taking a Levitation Potion, Zhang Mu flew close to a camera, wrapped the lens in magic, and used the Transformation Technique to create an illusion.

After dealing with the remaining cameras in the same manner, he began to clear out the rats' nest.

He spent an hour busy going through every concrete room.

There were simply too many good things. Even though he had cleared out the firearms in his inventory beforehand, he still couldn't fit much.

With the job done, Zhang Mu pondered the best way to destroy the evidence.

After thinking for a moment, he picked up several rockets from the iron rack beside him and shot straight into the sky.

He flew until the vast base looked as small as an ant, adjusted the delay fuses on the rockets, and let go.

Freed from the magical shroud, the rockets revealed themselves in mid-air and plummeted rapidly.

"That's for totaling my little scooter, you bastards."

Zhang Mu cursed, flew toward the sand dune where the boy was hiding, landed in a blind spot nearby, and deactivated the Shadow Technique.

Then he went over the dune, picked the boy up, and ran back the way they came.

About ten seconds later, a violent explosion thundered from the rats' nest behind them.

"Mi, Mr. Mi He, you..."

"Eyes closed, mouth shut. I'm going to speed up."

Sprinting at full speed, they returned to Haya Village at the edge of the desert a day later.

Pulling the boy's younger sister out of the house, Zhang Mu took the two of them on foot to the nearest small town, bought a beat-up pickup truck, and continued onward.

Upon reaching Tuha, Zhang Mu rented a single room for them, left some exchanged local currency, and then booked a flight back to London.

The following evening, Zhang Mu checked into the hotel where he had been staying for the past few days.

He slipped into the bathroom to wash off the dust, then lay in the middle of the bed and summoned his inventory to check his haul.

Scanning past various rockets and portable infantry equipment, his gaze fell on the last row of slots.

There was a rocket launcher truck, an armored vehicle, and even an attack helicopter.

These things... he didn't know how to operate any of them, but it wasn't a big deal—he could learn!

The sealing Magic Array still had two sessions before it would close; there was plenty of time.

Preparations for dealing with the treasure were complete. Zhang Mu got out of bed and used the Shadow Technique to go find those two young men.

...

An old apartment building in the suburbs of London, eighteenth floor.

Leon and Klaisi sat on the living room sofa, their eyes fixed on the two Owls standing side-by-side on the low coffee table.

"The seniors have been back for over ten days now. Why haven't they told us the test content yet?"

With a long face, Leon picked up a peanut and fed it into the snowy Owl's mouth. "If I knew, I wouldn't be this frustrated."

The night he received the test notification letter, Leon had been filled with anxiety, deeply worried about the difficulty of the exam.

He thought, what if it's too hard and he fails? This was his chance to become a Hogwarts student!

But he soon found that his panic was somewhat redundant.

Because his senior simply wouldn't tell him what the test was.

Frowning deeply, Klaisi held a soft brush and gently brushed the senior sister's feathers. "Senior sister, where is my exam paper?"

"Oh, damn it!" Leon covered his mouth. "Don't talk nonsense. What if, because of what you say, the senior makes me take a math test?"

Prying his hand away, Klaisi was a bit speechless. "Is it really okay to say that in front of the senior?"

Leon froze for a moment, then put his hands together above his head. "Sorry, senior, I didn't mean to ignore you."

"Coo coo—"

Hearing the senior's cooing, Leon's face went pale. He was about to continue his sincere apology when the two Owls flapped their wings simultaneously and flew out of the open balcony window.

"Leon!

You've angered the senior brother and senior sister!" Klaisi jumped up and yelled.

"Uh, I didn't mean to."

"Coo coo—"

Within ten seconds, they returned, their beaks carrying white envelopes.

Excitedly catching the Owls on their shoulders, the two hurried to pull out the letters and unfold them.

[Test Content—Self-determined.]

"Self-determined?" They looked at each other in confusion. Klaisi asked, "What does self-determined mean?"

"Analyzing it literally, it means we decide for ourselves what the test is."

"Then my test will be eating ten chicken legs in one sitting!"

Leon's mouth twitched. "Klaisi, are you an idiot?"

"Didn't it say we decide for ourselves?"

"But there's no way just anything will work!" Leon scanned the paper with its few words. "There must be, there must be some hidden condition!"

"Coo coo—"

The Owl on his shoulder suddenly flew toward the ceiling, circled for a bit, then landed on the mat in the entryway and pecked at the shoe cabinet door with its beak.

Leon realized what was happening and ran to pull the door open. The Owl immediately pulled out their sneakers with its beak.

If they couldn't understand an action with such obvious hints, they really would be idiots.

"The senior brother and sister want us to go out?"

"It seems so."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Klaisi folded the letter and stuffed it back into the envelope, rushed into his room to hide it, and then ran to the entryway to squat down and change his shoes. Leon followed suit.

With their shoes on and an Owl perched on each of their shoulders, they pushed open the door and left the apartment.