Published at 17th of February 2026 7:10 am

Chapter 2564: Little Hero

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"This looks quite normal to me." Kaier looked at the woman in the illusion and murmured softly, "Apart from looking like a flamingo, there’s nothing else unusual, right?"

"Just looking like a flamingo isn’t unusual?" Dox quipped casually, and after thinking about it, admitted that Kaier’s description was quite accurate. This woman really did look like a flamingo.

"There are people in the black market dressed even more extravagantly." Kaier said while reminiscing about something that made his cheeks suddenly flush red.

"That’s the black market, mostly filled with wizards. Are you comparing the black market to these ordinary folk?" Dox replied in exasperation, then turned to Mia: "So, is this person from the Hero Squad?"

Mia stared at the illusion that suddenly appeared before her; initially, she was frightened and took a few steps back. When she realized it wasn’t a real person, her eyes flashed with a hint of disgust.

"She’s not from the Hero Squad, she’s from the Flaming Adventure Group, calling herself Miss Red. But like the people from the Hero Squad, she’s not a good person either."

The latter part of Mia’s words clearly carried personal feelings, so everyone ignored it and focused only on the first part she mentioned.

"Not really? Flaming Adventure Group, what a cliched name."

"Miss Red was previously part of the Flaming Adventure Group, which was wiped out, she was the only survivor. She rebuilt a new adventure group, which is now the Flaming Adventure Group." Mia explained.

"Flaming Adventure Group sounds even more cliched, but this lady’s path is quite interesting." Dox shrugged, then looked at Angel: "Your turn now. Hopefully, what you found won’t overlap with mine."

Angel shook his head, casually pointed, and the illusion nodes rearranged. A giant of a man, like an iron tower, appeared before them.

He was at least over three meters tall, wearing nearly fully enclosed heavy armor, holding a vertical shield nearly two meters long in one hand and dragging a flail in the other.

This kind of attire wasn’t particularly remarkable in the Wizards’ Realm, but among ordinary people, it was quite eye-catching. Judging from his build, he probably had some giant blood in him. Among common people, he would definitely stand out.

Mia observed for a moment, but kept stepping back, even though it was just an illusion, his towering physique exerted a lot of pressure on her.

Ultimately, Mia shook her head: "I don’t know if he’s from the Hero Squad. I mentioned before, I didn’t see everyone from the Hero Squad. I don’t recognize him either."

"Then let’s rule him out." Angel decisively gave his verdict.

As Mia previously said, the ones from the Hero Squad she didn’t see were mostly in logistics. This tower-like man didn’t look like logistics, but rather the vanguard blocking attacks in the front.

Since Mia hadn’t seen him, he certainly wasn’t a member of the Hero Squad.

Both Angel and Dox struck out, so they had no choice but to continue. However, this time Dox got smart, didn’t force a comparison with Angel, and released fewer Wizard’s Eyes, which relieved some pressure on him. After all, Angel’s scout puppets were plentiful, missing a few Wizard’s Eyes didn’t matter.

In the following time, Angel and Dox both continued their search, presenting Mia with characters they found flamboyant.

But after showing her several, none made Mia nod. Either she hadn’t seen them, or she had but they belonged to other adventure groups.

In the blink of an eye, more than half an hour had passed.

Dox opened his eyes again and created an illusionary puzzle of a hunchbacked, gloomy-faced man, leaning on a snake-head cane with two venomous snakes hanging from his neck, giving off a rather creepy vibe.

However, Mia glanced at him and said: "The leader of the Viper Adventure Group, a tough character. His waist pouch is filled with venomous snakes he can control; our leader previously guessed that he, like you, is a Transcendent."

Dox: "He’s not a Transcendent. Controlling snakes is typically through things like snake flutes, uncommon in the Gumman Kingdom but not unheard of for street performers in Wunong Duchy to use this kind of trickery to earn money."

After a brief explanation, Dox sighed: "I thought seeking people would be simple, but it’s proving more difficult than expected."

Dox walked over to Vay and patted his shoulder: "In hindsight, we might as well have you plowing the earth."

Vay silently wrote a line on the ground: "I wasn’t plowing the earth."

Dox: "Close enough."

As soon as he finished speaking, a ghostly chill surrounded Dox, scaring him into retreating. He looked at the slab with the Black Earl’s nose: "No way, I can’t even say that?"

"Hmph, keep babbling, and you’ll be silenced like him." The Black Earl said eerily.

Though he said this, the Black Earl wouldn’t actually do it. He had heard from Vay before that Dox had strong inspiration, and today’s experience further proved that Vay’s words were correct. If he silenced Dox, it would be a great loss to their exploration.

Moreover, the Black Earl wasn’t completely confident he could silence a bloodline-side official wizard, especially since he was just a nose.

"Alright, I won’t mention Earth Wizard anymore." Dox raised his hands, indicating surrender: "I’ll keep looking, keep looking."

At this moment, Angel also opened his eyes. Dox saw this and paused the release of Wizard’s Eyes, curious to see Angel’s current results.

Angel was also feeling quite exhausted from the search, so he didn’t say much and directly constructed his latest character.

This was a woman who looked extremely ordinary. She wore black clothes and pants, had her hair tied up, and carried a short blade, cautiously moving through the ruins.

"This one doesn’t look extravagant at all?" Kaier said softly.

Dox originally wanted to say the same, but after Kaier beat him to it, he changed his words: "You’re only seeing the surface, while Angel sees the deeper layers. You don’t think a Transcendental Wizard could misjudge luxury, do you?"

Kaier thought for a moment, realizing there might be some truth to that.

Dox continued: "Moreover, Mia never specified the standards for ’extravagant.’ Maybe what she considers extravagant is this kind of ordinary disguise?"

Mia glanced at Dox, holding back a sarcastic comment that was on the tip of her tongue: She herself dressed plainly, could she really not distinguish between extravagant and plain?

Mia shook her head at Angel: "No."

Angel said, "Hold on a moment."

After a while, the ordinary woman ducked into a dark corner of the ruins and emerged as a 1.8-meter tall man in a trench coat and boots.

A little while later, she transformed into a young boy in a dark room.

Her multiple disguises let everyone see clearly that she was using makeup and various small props to change her appearance. These were all fine, but the most surprising was that she played her parts so convincingly. The current boy had lively eyes, a shy expression, and an eagerness to try new things shining through.

She completely nailed the expressions and details of these roles.

Even Dox had to admit, if he only used his naked eyes without focusing on her, he might really have been deceived.

"Is she the one?" Angel asked again.

This time, Mia thought for a long time: "I’m still not sure. I haven’t heard of anyone in the recent three districts who is so strong with disguises. Could she be the Hero Squad’s logistics?"

"If we’re not sure, let’s not jump to conclusions. We continue searching." With that, Dox prepared to reactivate the Wizard’s Eye.

But at this moment, Angel hesitated and still said: "I’ve got another one here, not flamboyant, but..."

Everyone looked over curiously, and Dox asked, "But what?"

Angel thought for a moment, but still decided to construct an illusion.

Soon, a... little boy appeared before everyone. Yes, the kind of little boy who couldn’t be more than ten years old.

Upon seeing the boy for the first time, everyone understood why Angel hesitated.

Because this little boy was wearing a very standard hero costume - a red cape, a little felt hat, a shirt paired with a vest, and a tiny wooden rapier strapped to a small leather belt.

From the boy’s innocent expression, and his occasional heroic poses while muttering strange words, this little boy seemed genuine, not one of those old souls in disguise.

For an adult, such an outfit might barely reach the extravagant threshold, but for a little boy, wearing such "peculiar clothing" was quite normal.

No one would find anything unusual about a child dressed this way.

But the fact that the little boy was dressed in a popular hero costume, might have a connection to the Hero Squad?

This was probably why Angel, though hesitant, still displayed the scene.

Mia took a long time observing this time, and just as Dox was about to activate a few Wizard’s Eyes, Mia slowly spoke: "I’ve never seen him. But his outfit is very similar to Lightning from the Hero Squad."

After some explanation, it turned out there was a hero in the Hero Squad with the codename Lightning, dressed in a big felt hat, red cape, and a slender knight’s rapier. He was codenamed "Lightning" because his sword strikes were very fast, and he didn’t use the knight’s usual broad "cross" sword, but rather a unique "Z" sword that resembled a lightning bolt icon, hence the name Lightning.

"Are you sure it looks similar to Lightning?" Dox asked.

Mia hesitated again, because, after all, the other party was a child, and this kind of outfit was very common.

As Mia hesitated, Angel suddenly pointed his finger, and the child in the picture seemed to have been given a growth booster, aging through the early stages of life in a matter of seconds.

In the end, what appeared before everyone was an adult version, whose face vaguely retained traces of his childhood.

Angel: "I simulated his appearance as an adult, take a look, does it seem familiar?"

Mia probably didn’t expect Angel to have this trick up his sleeve. After her initial astonishment, she took another look at the illusionary figure.

After a while, Mia said in a determined tone: "He must have a connection to Lightning, as his adult form looks just like Lightning - practically cut from the same mold."

With Mia’s response, everyone glanced at each other and collectively confirmed their next course of action.

"Let’s go check out this child." Dox said: "Didn’t expect we wouldn’t find the adults, and yet the young one showed up first."

After speaking, Dox turned to Angel: "Where did you discover him?"

Angel: "The woman who was so skilled at disguise earlier, her final destination was the place where this child is located."

After a moment of silence, Angel said: "They are likely mother and son."

Dox: "If that’s the case, that woman really is the Hero Squad’s support staff? Or Lightning’s wife?"

Angel gave Dox a glance and replied with Dox’s own words: "Don’t jump to conclusions about things you’re not sure of."

Dox gave Angel an annoyed look: "I’m sure it’s right, if I say it is, then it surely is."

Angel examined Dox carefully, eventually nodding: "Then you’re right."

Dox: "..." You changed your stance pretty quickly.

"You trust me just like that?"

Angel: "With your strong inspiration, if you think it’s so, then it is."

Dox: "I didn’t have any inspiration just now, was saying it subconsciously."

Angel showed even more determination: "Then that’s all the more reason to trust."

Ever since arriving at the ruins, Dox’s subconscious words have always illuminated the correct path like a beacon, Angel couldn’t help but trust them.

Reflecting on himself, even as an Official Wizard, how come he didn’t have such strong inspiration?

Angel sighed with envy and jealousy, while simultaneously instructing Speedy to bless everyone with the power of wind, quickly leading them to hurry towards their target.

A few minutes later, they arrived in front of a dilapidated structure.

The building was at least 80% collapsed, but from the remaining framework, it appeared to be a regular residence. — Of course, Naraku City was an Extraordinary City, so so-called residences likely belonged to Transcendents.

Entering the broken building, Angel headed straight for one side, where there were scattered stones, appearing inconspicuous.

As the stones were slowly cleared, a nearly intact square floor tile was revealed.

"Mother and son are below, the area beneath is a cellar... That woman is very cautious, she stacks stones on the nearby slab before entering the cellar. At the moment of entry, she uses a thin line to pull the stones down, hiding the cellar entrance."

After Angel finished speaking, Dox casually picked up a slab nearby, which indeed had a faint line mark, hard to notice without careful observation.

"Quite vigilant, but when you think about it, to dare treasure hunt here and bring her kid along, she must have some skill," Dox rarely complimented once.

While Dox praised, Angel had already used the Hand of Magic to open the floor tile.

Beneath the tile was a mechanism, which was also set by the woman, but Angel had long dismantled it with the Hand of Magic, so he didn’t mention it. In any case, whether mentioned or not makes no difference.

Everyone followed one by one down, soon, only Angel and Mia remained outside.

Mia, looking at the dark hole, was a bit worried: "Should I go down too?"

Angel: "You can also choose to stay outside, or leave."

Mia’s face showed panic: "Right now, my enemies are everywhere in Area Three, I’ll be dead if I just step outside."

Angel: "Then follow us. Once we ascertain if they are Hero Squad members, I’ll let you go. Then I’ll also cast a Defense Spell for you."

From the name, Mia could pretty much guess what kind of ability it was. After experiencing the Blessing of the Wind, Mia was already well-aware of the fearsome power of the Extraordinary.

With the Defense Spell, she should be able to leave alive.

Thinking about this, Mia nodded, closed her eyes to muster some courage, and followed by jumping into the ground hole.

Angel stayed there pondering for two seconds before entering the hole. Before entering, Angel didn’t forget to close the floor tile, and just like the woman, covered it with a layer of stones.

Though he wasn’t worried about others discovering this place, being interrupted was an irritating nuisance, so it’s better to tidy up the ends.

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