Chapter 122: The Resonance Network and the Harvest

The two walked back toward the Farrien estate; the streets remained bustling, but the noise could not separate them.

Klein broke the silence.

“That person’s spiritual core had protection—very tight ones.”

“I only managed to retrieve a few fragments.”

Lia didn’t stop walking.

“What did the fragments say?”

“A plan.”

Klein’s voice carried a hint of mockery.

“They call it… the Harvest.”

Upon returning to the Farrien estate, Lia and Klein went directly into the study.

She closed the door, cutting off all the curious gazes being cast toward them in secret.

Klein walked to the desk and reached out his hand.

Deep blue magic surged from his palm, weaving countless tiny specks of light directly into the air.

Those points of light originated from the spiritual core of the deceased; they were now painfully twisting and reorganizing.

Eventually, a complex three-dimensional diagram composed of pure magic hovered in mid-air.

It was a network structure map consisting of several strange spires shaped like twisted obelisks, covered in dense runes.

“This is what was stripped from his memory; they call them Resonance Towers.”

“They have secretly set up many of these things throughout Leo City.”

Lia’s gaze froze on the diagram made of magic.

She walked half a circle around the magical image, scrutinizing the layout of the spires and the energy connections between them from different angles.

After observing for a moment, she reached out and pointed at a core rune combination on one of the towers.

“Klein, look here, and here.”

“The core runes of all these towers show energy flow characteristics of radiating outward, rather than absorbing inward.”

She took another step back and looked at the layout of the entire network.

“Furthermore, the distribution of these towers is too even; it’s like a net, designed to cover the entire city district without any blind spots.”

“If it were for collecting energy, they would be more concentrated, like a giant funnel, rather than an outspread blanket.”

She reached a conclusion.

“Therefore, this is definitely not about collecting energy.”

Klein looked at her approvingly, waiting for her next analysis.

“It is constructing a field.”

Lia walked to the desk, picked up a pen, and quickly drew a waveform diagram on a piece of paper.

“Every tower is a node. When they are all activated simultaneously, they will generate a resonance field of a specific frequency that covers the entire city.”

Klein’s gaze fell on her drawing.

“What would be the result of the resonance?”

“Different frequencies act on different substances. And the frequency of this field…”

Lia’s pen tip came to a halt.

She looked up, her expression shifting slightly.

“Since they are followers of Weber, their target is…”

“The spiritual cores of human beings!”

She lowered her head again, rapidly writing a series of calculation formulas and deductions on the paper.

“When a person’s spiritual core is shattered by an external force, all the spiritual energy contained within will erupt instantly. If this happens to everyone in a city at once, the total amount of released energy would be unimaginable.”

“That is the ‘Harvest’ they are after.”

The air in the study seemed to solidify.

Klein’s expression softened significantly; he nodded, confirming Lia’s deduction.

“Your analysis isn’t bad at all.”

“There were other things in the memory fragments.”

“That gray-robed mage belonged to an action cell. His superior is someone they call the ‘Commander’; he has never seen the Commander’s true face, and all orders are conveyed through encrypted magical letters.”

“He only knows the specific locations of three Resonance Towers. One is inside the Great Bell Tower in the city center, one is hidden in the stone bridge pier crossing the Talin River, and another is buried deep within the foundation of a newly built noble estate.”

“They have hidden these things within the very skeleton of the city. This plan has been in preparation for at least several years.”

“Commander.”

Lia repeated the code name in a low voice. What kind of person would possess such power in Leo City to mobilize these resources without being noticed by anyone?

“City Lord Valerius.”

Klein spoke the name.

“He controls the planning and construction of the entire city; it wouldn’t be hard for him to tamper with foundations or bridge piers.”

Lia shook her head.

“He just signed an agreement with me, seeking long-term benefits from my theories. Slaughtering the city provides him no gain. His goals are wealth and status, not a bunch of empty husks and a dead city.”

“Perhaps everything he told you was a lie. Or perhaps, he is merely one link in this plan—a higher-level pawn.”

Klein’s words sounded extremely cold.

“Mathis?”

Lia thought of another person.

“Unlikely.”

Klein dismissed it immediately.

“I won’t judge Horace’s conduct, but his judgment of character is very accurate. His disciples might have various flaws, but they could never be truly evil people.

A Fifth-Circle Mage and a City Lord… neither seems to be the mastermind behind the scenes.”

“We must find all the towers and the control center before they activate them.”

Lia’s thoughts grew clearer.

There was a date in the memory fragment, but it didn’t specify what it was for.

Klein looked at her.

“Three days from now, at midnight on the Winter Solstice.”

“If that is the activation time, we have less than three days left.”

“I can find the remaining towers.”

Klein continued.

“The energy signatures of those forbidden materials are very distinct. Now that I have a target, I can lock onto them across the entire city.”

“That’s too much trouble. I have a simpler idea.”

“We can try to find a way to neutralize them.”

Lia’s gaze fell back onto the table.

“For a network structure like this to ensure all nodes are activated simultaneously, there must be a central control hub used to send out a synchronization signal.”

“If we can find that hub and destroy it, the entire network will be paralyzed.”

Klein’s gaze shifted from the complex magical diagram and finally fixed on Lia’s face.

Her profile, illuminated by the blue light, appeared exceptionally focused, making Klein realize the danger she would face beneath that focus.

He walked over to her side and leaned down, his voice very low as his warm breath brushed against the curve of Lia’s ear.

“You said before that my three gold coins wouldn’t be easy to earn.”

Lia felt a tickle in her ear; she looked up and met his blue eyes, which were inches away.

“Now, I’ve decided to raise the price.”

Lia looked at him.

“How much do you want to raise it?”

“I’ve decided to propose an additional condition.”

“What condition?”

Klein’s gaze fell upon her, the depths of his blue eyes containing an undisguised desire for control.

“Until I resolve this matter, you must remain within my line of sight.”

“You are not allowed to leave for even a single step.”

Lia stared into his eyes and remained silent for a moment.

“Deal.”

Klein straightened up and walked to the window of the study, casting his gaze out at the bustling city.

“First, we need a more detailed map of Leo City. Not the kind sold on the streets for tourists, but an engineering map that only administrators possess, containing all underground pipe networks and architectural structures.”

Lia walked to his side and followed his gaze outside.

“That’s easy enough. Our new ally, Count Valerius, should be quite happy to provide assistance.”

She turned and called out to the exterior.

“Butler!”

The butler quickly pushed open the door and entered, bowing in wait.

“Prepare the carriage; we are going to the City Lord’s manor.”

Lia commanded, “Additionally, tell Mr. Mathis that if he is free, please come here immediately. I need his help with something extremely important.”

The butler took the order and departed.

Once again, only the two of them were left in the study.

Lia didn’t look back, yet she was clearly aware of the gaze the man beside her was casting.

That gaze was simply focused on her, yet it made the air feel somewhat scorching.

Her fingers tightened slightly without her even realizing it.