Chapter 273: The Locke Family Arrives

"That does not seem to be the most important question right now." Zich raised his head, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"If you merely wanted to recruit a summoner with a beast that possesses a royal bloodline, there would have been no need to conceal Kane’s death for me, much less have you personally wait here for thirty days."

"What you need is not for me to join the Voss family. What you need is way to access that tomb."

Nadia stared at him, and the last trace of underestimation disappeared from her eyes. She had judged him based only on his fighting skills, but there was more to him than just that.

He was very knowledgeable and seemed to think far ahead. Although she was still curious to know how he had found out about it, she decided to let it slide for the meantime.

After a moment, she suddenly smiled.

"A fair assessment but not entirely accurate. You are right about me needing your help but I also want you in our voss family."

"In that case, let us renegotiate the conditions." Zich leaned back in his chair.

"First, the Voss family will give me all the information you possess regarding Gavin Locke and that soul tracking artifact."

"Second, after we enter the underground tomb, I will have first choice of anything suitable for my summons. Third, regardless of what you encounter inside, you cannot investigate, restrict, or seize my summon in any way."

Nadia frowned slightly. "You have not even entered that place, yet you already want the first choice of the spoils?"

"Without me, you cannot even enter."

Zich pointed toward the map within the black crystal. "So the Voss family is not giving me an opportunity. I am giving you one."

Cole stared at the white haired youth sitting before him, and his expression gradually became strange.

A player who had only just reached Level 29 actually dared to directly change the conditions proposed by the heir of the Voss family.

More importantly, Nadia did not immediately refuse.

Just as she was about to speak, footsteps suddenly came from outside the meeting room.

Bang!

The tightly closed door was shoved open from the outside.

Three players dressed in golden armor appeared at the entrance. The man leading them looked past Cole and Nadia, directly locking his gaze onto Zich.

He raised his right hand, revealing a golden token belonging to the Locke family.

"Zich Grave. Regarding Young Master Kane’s death in the Myriad Beast Mountain, the Locke family requires your cooperation with our investigation."

Nadia glanced at Zich as if she had somehow expected this to happen already. "It seems you no longer have seven days to consider your decision."

Zich rose slowly to his feet, his gaze falling upon the golden token.

"Investigate me?" The corner of his lips rose slightly. "On what grounds?"

His voice was not loud, yet the expressions of the three Locke family members standing outside the door simultaneously darkened.

The golden armored man at the front walked into the room and placed a token directly on the table.

"Young Master Kane is a direct member of the Locke family. And we are currently investigating everyone who entered Myriad Beast Mountain during that period. That alone gives us the right to demand your cooperation with our investigation."

"Demand?"

Zich glanced at the token on the table.

"That didn’t sound like a demand to me."

The golden armored man’s gaze turned cold. "You can consider it a notification."

The faint smile remaining on Cole’s face completely disappeared as he stepped forward, positioning himself between Zich and the three men.

"This is the Players Association, not Locke family territory. The application you submitted only permits ordinary questioning. You have no authority to forcibly take anyone away."

"Captain Cole, we are merely investigating the disaperance of a member of our family."

As the golden armored man spoke, his gaze returned to Zich. "If he truly had nothing to do with Young Master Kane, then naturally, there is no reason for him to refuse."

As soon as he finished speaking, he took out a dark gold disc about the size of a palm from his spatial ring.

The instant the disc appeared, the Nether Eye White Tiger lying behind Nadia suddenly raised its head, and the third eye between its brows opened slightly.

Nadia’s expression also changed subtly.

"A sub disc of the Soul Seeking Compass."

The golden armored man ignored her and pushed the dark gold disc toward Zich.

"Place your hand on it. As long as the compass doesn’t detect an aura in your soul matching the one left at the scene of Young Master Kane’s death, we’ll leave immediately."

Zich did not reach out.

A cold smile gradually appeared on the golden armored man’s face.

"What? You don’t dare?"

"Zich, don’t touch it," Nadia suddenly said. "The Soul Seeking Compass can indeed compare soul auras, but the Locke family has never allowed outsiders to come into direct contact with it."

"Miss Nadia, this is a matter concerning the Locke family."

"He was discussing cooperation with the Voss family just moments ago."

Nadia looked at him calmly. "So now, it concerns me as well."

Their gazes collided in midair, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

Zich, however, continued staring at the dark gold disc on the table.

Ever since the disc appeared, the silver inheritance seed deep within his consciousness had produced an extremely faint reaction.

Although none of the seals opened, a small amount of basic knowledge concerning soul tracking magic naturally surfaced within his mind.

In a normal soul comparison formation, every mana pattern would converge toward the center of the disc.

However, on the outermost layer of the disc before him, there were seven additional patterns flowing in completely opposite directions.

They were not meant for detection. They were meant to leave a mark.

Zich extended one finger but did not touch the disc. Instead, he slowly traced along several of the outermost patterns.

"These seven reverse patterns are also used to compare soul auras?"

The cold smile on the golden armored man’s face stiffened slightly.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Of course you do." Zich raised his head. "The moment I touch it, the soul mark hidden inside will enter my body. After that, no matter where I go, the Locke family will be able to track my location through the main compass."

Cole’s expression changed, and he immediately looked toward the dark gold disc.