Chapter 892: Chapter 586: Fake Antiques [13] Martial World Aura

Ryan Ford made a WeChat call to Nora Scott.

The conversation was mainly about a set of blueprints that needed to be handed in a few days later.

"Alright."

After hearing this, Nora Scott casually agreed.

"..."

On the other end of the call, Ryan Ford was taken aback.

He thought he’d need to convince Nora Scott a bit.

"Anything else?" Clearly, Nora Scott didn’t have the patience to continue the exchange.

"..." Ryan Ford paused, and then, in a stiff tone, said, "For Mr. Langley’s sake, I’ll do my best to ensure your safety here. But you’d better not do anything reckless."

"Bye-bye."

Completely ignoring his admonition, Nora Scott hung up the phone.

Ryan Ford: "..."

*

After breakfast, Nora Scott busied herself with some carpentry for a while, then returned to the workspace to study data and blueprints.

She took a moment to glance at the 1101 Engineering Team’s group chat.

[Richard Carter]: @everyone, Master Sliver stayed up late again to solve two tough problems. Everyone, come to the conference room in half an hour.

[??? Master Sliver is truly amazing.]

[Are they the two problems we discussed last night? Master Sliver solved them so quickly?]

[As expected of Master Sliver, the speed is incredible.]

[We’ll be there right away.]

...

After a quick browse, Nora Scott rubbed her chin, typed a line with one hand, and sent it.

[Nora Scott]: It’s all thanks to Mechanical Techniques and Master Sliver, and everyone’s always singing praises. Are the experts here just for show?

In the chat: "..."

A few minutes later, Nora Scott disappeared from the group chat.

Pedro Langley had just brought Nora a plate of fruit when he saw her frowning and tossing her phone aside, looking displeased.

Pedro Langley asked, "What happened?"

Who dared to provoke this ancestor?

Nora Scott gritted her teeth, "Damn, Richard Carter removed me from the group." Then she recounted the incident to Pedro Langley, feeling aggrieved, "Wasn’t I telling the truth?"

"Isn’t it quite normal?" Pedro Langley was very calm, and fed her a cherry tomato.

"?"

"You’d retaliate if you’re insulted to your face, wouldn’t you allow them to insult you behind your back?"

"..."

Nora Scott kicked Pedro Langley out of the room.

*

Nora Scott being kicked out of the group by Richard Carter wasn’t just because of her sarcasm in the group.

There was also Adrian Sullivan’s issue.

Adrian Sullivan, detained for attempted murder, was soon to face prosecution. Among the 1101 Engineering Team, there was a rumor that Nora Scott and Pedro Langley had framed him on purpose.

After all, based on Nora Scott’s and Adrian Sullivan’s behaviors, they really couldn’t trust Nora Scott.

One was notorious for their misdeeds, the other seemed to play by the rules.

How could a "rule-abiding" person harm a "notoriously evil" one?

Besides, it was said Pedro Langley was the first to hand over evidence. Many big shots were on Nora’s side, and the police didn’t investigate much before concluding it was Adrian Sullivan’s doing. This made people even more suspicious of the whole affair.

That’s why they collectively resisted Nora Scott. Richard Carter, fearing a small spat might turn into a big dispute, promptly kicked Nora Scott out of the group to prevent any interactions.

Nora Scott didn’t know any of this and rolled up her sleeves, focusing on drawing blueprints.

...

Nora Scott was busy the whole day.

Pedro Langley thought Nora Scott focused on drawing, had already forgotten last night’s tempting plan. But as soon as night fell, Nora Scott changed into loose, action-friendly clothes and gave Pedro Langley a knowing look.

"..."

Surrendered.

Changing Nora Scott’s mind was impossible. The only decision Pedro Langley could make was whether to join her. He knew of Nora’s capabilities, but leaving her to act alone made him uneasy, so he had no choice but to nod in agreement and join her.

But—

He never expected that on the way, Nora Scott would switch vehicles three times.

First was a four-wheel off-roader, driven to the furthest possible point. Then there were two bicycles prepared, one for Nora and one for Pedro. They pedaled for an hour.

Finally, ditching the bikes, Nora and Pedro went on foot, taking narrow trails to conceal their movements and avoid being seen.

After all this trouble, by the time they arrived, it was already eleven or twelve o’clock.

In November, even in the south, it was getting chilly. As it neared midnight, the temperature dropped, the starlight dimmed.

Looking around, the village was surrounded by cascading hills. Under the cover of night, scattered houses were faintly visible. In the quiet of the night, an occasional bark announced the presence of human life.

Pedro Langley took out a printed map and handed it to Nora Scott, "This is a satellite map of the village."

"Oh."

Nora took it.

They were a distance away from the village, no need to worry about being discovered. Nora casually sat on the ground, held up a flashlight to look at the satellite map, her mind racing.

For Nora, such a map could be analyzed to determine infiltration routes, escape routes, and the target’s location.

"The courtyards in these two places are quite spacious; it’s convenient for them to huddle and operate." Nora pondered for a moment, pointed to two locations, then circled one of them, "Let’s go here first. This place backs onto a mountain, and there are more residential houses at the front; if they really bribe the villagers, it’s easier to keep watch."

Pedro Langley nodded, "That matches Alexander Vaughn’s thinking."

"Mm."

Nora drew several feasible routes on the map with her index finger and, with Pedro Langley’s suggestion, chose the most conservative one.

"Remember the route." Nora handed the map to Pedro Langley.

Pedro Langley lowered his eyelids, said lightly, "Got it."

Nora paused, gave him a sidelong glance, and then let out an "Oh," folded up the map.

"Let’s go."

She turned off the flashlight.

*

Alexander Vaughn is very cautious, but precisely because of his caution, his subordinates lack a sense of crisis, becoming more and more lax.

In several places where Nora thought there would be scouts, there were no traces of scouts or cameras. Occasionally, seeing one or two, they were just wandering idly or napping, allowing Nora and Pedro Langley to easily avoid them.

Infiltration was simpler than imagined.

The two arrived outside the courtyard effortlessly.

Clipping the bamboo flute to a special belt, Nora moved her wrist and said to Pedro Langley, "I’ll go up and take a look first."

Pedro Langley didn’t argue with her, "Mm. I’ll keep watch."

Nora had specifically learned Qinggong, although she couldn’t fly around like in martial arts dramas, she could move as lightly as a swallow, traverse roofs and walls, and walk silently. She took two steps back, then suddenly dashed towards the wall, stepping twice to easily climb onto the courtyard wall.

Following her gaze, Pedro Langley saw her standing on the courtyard wall, the endless night adorning her, her figure tall and slender, the night wind teasing her black hair tied at the back, that scene like a washed black-and-white painting, clean and elegant, with each stroke imbued with Martial World essence.

"Woof woof—"

The dogs in the courtyard barked immediately.

But, in the next moment, Nora reached for the bamboo flute at her waist, pointed forward, her finger triggering a mechanism, a silver needle flying out. The barking disappeared silently into the cool night.

"It’s here."

Half squatting, having observed the courtyard’s situation, Nora slightly turned her head, whispering to Pedro Langley below.

She considered asking Pedro Langley whether to stay outside on lookout or join her inside. In the next instant, Pedro Langley stepped up the wall, easily climbed to the top, and with a gentle leap, jumped to Nora’s side.

"Parkour?" Nora was slightly stunned.

Parkour is an extreme sport where professionally trained individuals can properly control dangers, having a much higher chance of escaping dangerous situations than common people. It’s one of the skills taught in the special forces. Oliver Scott loved parkour, and Nora had even asked Benjamin Durant to take him to play.

"Learned a bit." Pedro Langley said nonchalantly, paused, then added, "After all, learned Qinggong a bit late."

"..."

How many Martial World skills had this guy learned behind her back that she didn’t know about?

*

Nora confirmed this was the destination, because there were many cargo crates in the courtyard, piled up, one of which was marked with the Durant Family antique store’s logo.

——Nora had reason to believe Alexander Vaughn intended to sabotage the Durant Family.

No cameras were installed here; after all, no one records evidence of their own crimes. Thus, it made it convenient for Nora and Pedro Langley to act.

The two climbed over the wall one after the other.

Nora walked to the fallen farm dog, crouched to pull out the silver needle from its body, then gave it another dose, ensuring it would sleep until morning.

Pedro Langley put on gloves, opened one of the cargo crates, saw the antique vase inside, raised his eyebrows, confirming it with Nora.

"Hiss, he’s quite capable."

Staring at the logo on the box for two seconds, Nora again marveled at Alexander Vaughn’s abilities.

Truly fearless in offending anyone.

With the most cautious stance, causing the biggest commotion.

Pedro Langley chuckled softly, seemed to want to say something but remained silent, then heard the sound of the door opening. Instinctively, he pulled Nora aside, and the two quickly hid behind the boxes.

The courtyard was lit, but the light was dim. The two entering shone their flashlights around, finding nothing unusual, then swaggered into the back room.

"Time to switch shifts."

They shouted, waking the next shift.

Those waking yawned.

"Two years, haven’t encountered a suspicious person, still on duty every day. Can’t we sleep a bit more?"

"If you want money, just do your job quietly."

"This job is for the Durant Family and the Ford Family, watch out, don’t let anything unexpected happen."

"Yes, yes, yes." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

...

Nora saw a flash of light nearby, turned her head to look.