Highway K35 is the main traffic route within the jurisdiction of the Holy Judgnt High Court. The traffic flow on this road is originally much larger than in other regions, and now there are many vehicles traveling from west to east.
There’s a war in the west. Many people are taking their luggage and heading east to seek refuge. Naturally, those who still have the ability to drive away haven’t been caught up in the war yet—but it’s wise to plan ahead.
However, at this dawn, right now, there are very few cars on the highway because a dense fog shrouds the road.
Kapeng is a truck driver, and the tool he uses to make money has now beco a great help in his escape. He’s driving through the foggy highway.
"Stop, it’s too dangerous." His wife has ntioned this matter for the third ti now.
Kapeng is indifferent: "This is not what I would call dense fog; I’ve been through much worse."
"You should think about the child."
Taking a glance at the sleeping baby in his wife’s arms, Kapeng finally tapped the brake gently, slowing down and finally parking at the roadside.
"Alright, based on my experience, this fog will dissipate soon, so wait we shall."
He opened the window and lit a cigarette, not even managing to put it in his mouth before his wife suddenly let out a scream.
"What’s wrong?"
He turned back nervously; when escaping, one’s nerves are inevitably tense.
"There are two people outside! They fell from the sky!"
Upon hearing this, Kapeng’s face was naturally filled with disbelief: "You are too tense; you should get so sleep."
Even though she wasn’t driving, his wife stayed awake the whole night in the front passenger seat, constantly worrying that a shell might suddenly land on the highway, burying their family.
"No, I really saw them. If you don’t believe , take a look." His wife nervously grabbed Kapeng’s arm, pulling him over to her side of the car window.
Kapeng leaned over and looked out the window; besides the thin fog, he saw nothing.
"Where are they?"
His wife, a bit angry, pointed outside: "Right there... huh? Where did they go?"
Kapeng chuckled without bla, simply going back to enjoy his cigarette.
"You should rest a bit."
.....
"That was close, almost got spotted."
"I got distracted, didn’t notice the car stopped nearby."
"Take a rest; we’ve been on the move for quite a while."
Li Rui nodded, pulled out a bottle of Spirit Recovery Potion, and began slowly restoring his Spiritual Power.
Now his authority attribute is very high, controlling the fog flow is as smooth as an extension of himself, and the range is very large.
He didn’t maintain the fog at the low visibility level during combat, just thinned it a bit, enough to hide the traces of his use of the Escape Technique; once they leave this area, he will let it dissipate naturally.
It took less than a day for the two of them to approach the Holy Mountain area, just as the sun rose and the fog naturally cleared.
"Up ahead is Bright City, the city closest to the directly governed area of the Holy Judgnt High Court."
The two walked along a road outside the city and could already see the towering Holy Mountain at a distance, with a distribution of architectural groups on its mid-slope—the headquarters of the Holy Judgnt High Court is positioned here.
At the mountain’s pinnacle stands a huge statue, now surrounded by a construction curtain, claid externally to be undergoing inspection and maintenance.
The region at the mountain’s base is directly under the control of the Holy Judgnt High Court, commonly referred to as the forbidden zone, which ordinary people cannot enter and exit freely and requires a pass to get through checkpoints. Entering illegally from non-checkpoint areas, if caught, faces a minimum sentence of three months in the High Court Prison.
If an Extraordinary is found, the consequences are more severe, and the Holy Judgnt Institute will take imdiate action.
The two looked for an inconspicuous place to stay, then began gathering intelligence. In less than a few hours, Cheng Mingyue returned with news.
"So far, no unfamiliar strong figures have appeared on the battlefield in that Western Kingdom side."
"Does that an the Holy Judgnt High Court is solely relying on its own strength in combat?"
"It seems that way."
"Strange... why fight without allies?"
Li Rui frowned and asked, "Which known individuals have shown up?"
"Several Grand Priests, and according to Morris, the elusive Holy Blade has appeared."
Cheng Mingyue said, "You once encountered his son, the Little Holy Blade, right? Can you find so way to inquire?"
".... Inquire my ass; I killed that kid in the arena over a dozen tis." Li Rui said, sowhat speechlessly.
After all, the Holy Judgnt High Court’s relationship with Dragon Country was average, so he showed no rcy at the ti.
"In that case, we need to figure out a way to infiltrate the forbidden zone," Cheng Mingyue said, "It’s not advised to directly use the Escape Technique here; there are many experts and we would be discovered."
"Definitely."
Li Rui had self-awareness. Although his combat power is strong now, he is still at a 50th-level standard, facing high-level Extraordinary, it’s easy to capture his essence.
His Escape Technique isn’t like Song Yuanhua’s Earth Escape, incapable of being completely silent and undetected.
"We’ll try to find soone to inquire if there are any channels to get inside."
"Once inside the forbidden zone, we’ll surely find so traces; according to Morris, there are dozens of experts, at least level 4, 50 and above figures."
"What about your inscription?" Cheng Mingyue asked.
"Others with inscriptions haven’t reacted either; the situation is unclear, it must be malfunctioning, we’ll have to treat it as nonexistent."
Li Rui said, "Anyway, before starting, it should at least have a countdown."
The two discussed a bit more before deciding to imdiately find a way to infiltrate the forbidden zone of the Holy Judgnt High Court. The good news is that through not-so-conventional channels, many people are looking to do this.
Normally, since living conditions within the High Court’s forbidden zone are good, many people try to smuggle in, and now with the war in the west, it’s even more prevalent.
So bring their wealth eastward to escape, but others believe that the closer to the headquarters of the Holy Judgnt High Court, the safer it is. Escaping across the border into other chaotic areas makes them vulnerable to robbers, road bandits, mob hoodlums, and bullies, which might not be safer than staying here.
So soon, they found suitable channels in street alleys.
It was a general store, at least on the surface. The owner was a short, fat bald man who seed not to be specialized in illegal smuggling operations as a snakehead.
When Li Rui walked in, he didn’t rush to state his purpose but first took out an iron plate and placed it on the counter.
The owner glanced at it and collected his smile, asking solemnly, "What do you need?"
The iron plate was left to Li Rui by Bamonde, as a 35th-level Extraordinary, he had accumulated quite a standing, like this item. It belonged to an underground rcenary organization reputed in the "underworld".
Li Rui replied, "We need to enter the directly governed zone of the High Court."
"Oh." The owner understood, lately, many needed this service.
"Ten Gold Coins per person, no bargaining, pay upfront." He said courteously, although not showing much leniency. The iron plate could only knock on doors, not make him bow readily, given that those capable of managing such services undoubtedly had backing.
Gold Coins are cast in gold; in the chaotic land, this item is more stable in value than local currency, the black market often demands this. Ten Gold Coins roughly equal twenty-two thousand of Dragon Country’s currency.
Li Rui agreed readily: "I’ll go get the money shortly, but how do you ensure you won’t cheat ?"
The snakehead chuckled dismissively, "You brought out the plaque, and I dare to cheat you?"
Bamonde’s plaque rating is high, though not nad, just a glance at the inscription reveals it’s no small matter.
Li Rui laughed benignly: "Alright, I hope you keep your promise."
Seeing the two leave the general store, the owner muttered in his heart.
"These fools think they can truly stay securely within the forbidden zone? Given the current situation... ah, complete this job and then flee."
He had made this decision several tis before, but swore this was the last.
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