Becoming a god starts with enhancing fire arrows.

Rhodes and Avira avoided the main road and chose a darker side road.

Even so, people carrying lanterns would occasionally hurry by, paying no attention to the two passersby.

Rhodes noticed that everyone here was walking quietly and quickly, heading towards their destination with a clear purpose.

A person wearing a dark gray cloak brushed past the two of them, and a faint clanging of chains could be heard from under the cloak.

Across from us, a burly man was pushing a cart loaded with wooden crates, the wheels leaving tracks on the stone ground.

Three figures huddled together in a corner, talking in hushed tones. They quickly exchanged items and then parted ways.

There are still so many people here so late at night.

It's unclear where the members of "Black Hand" detain the trafficked people.

Rhodes kept muttering to himself.

The two left the relatively open area and entered a passageway.

Torches were lit in the passageway, and several guards stood ramrod straight.

Behind the guard was a heavy iron gate.

Ivy pulled Rhodes aside and hid in the shadows around the corner to observe.

Soon, a man carrying a heavy sack arrived at the door.

The guard clearly recognized him and asked, "Are these all things Mr. Nathan wanted?"

The visitor nodded in acknowledgment.

The guards followed the inspection procedures.

The password was verified, and then a shimmering crystal was used to scan his entire body.

Only then did they pull the ring, and the iron gate slowly rose.

Nathan?

It's Nathan again.

Rhodes frowned instantly upon hearing the name.

"Tell me quickly, what do we do now?"

Avira leaned close to Rhodes and quietly asked for his opinion.

"Up there," Rhodes pointed to the top of his head.

There is a natural rock crevice above, which is quite wide and extends from their side to the area inside the iron gate.

Although the rock face is steep, there are enough protrusions and cracks to provide footholds.

Avira was the first to get up, strapped her greatsword to her back, and began to climb.

Her strength is terrifying; even when wearing heavy armor, she can climb with agility.

Rhodes followed closely behind.

The rock face was slippery, and lacking Avira's agility, he could only inch his way up.

The crevice in the rock is a naturally formed passage.

The two crawled forward along the inside of the rock crevice, and gradually, the sounds below became clearer.

"...The purity must reach 70%, that's the minimum requirement. You need to redo it," a calm male voice said.

"Yes, sir," a nervous, youthful voice replied.

The male voice that started it all rang out again: "Everyone remember, Mr. Nathan's standards are extremely high; all extracts must meet the required purity!"

"If the purity of the herbs affects the preparation of his medicine, then this will be the last time you pick up the alchemy tools."

The apprentice apologized repeatedly in a low voice and continued working.

Nathan Old Deng actually makes a potion and even has an assembly line?

However, placing the purification work on the territory of "black hands" must mean it's something shady.

Rhodes continued crawling after Avira, as the sounds below gradually faded into the distance.

The narrow crevice in the rock was barely wide enough for one person to pass through, and they moved slowly forward, one in front of the other.

The rock face was damp, and you could occasionally touch the slippery moss.

Rhodes forced himself to endure the nausea and oppressive silence as he followed Avira.

After climbing for an unknown amount of time, Avira suddenly stopped and pointed to a narrow gap not far ahead, about the width of a person.

It's a place where you can go down.

She glanced around through the gap to make sure it was safe, then nimbly jumped down.

After quickly scanning the area and finding no danger, he waved to Rhodes to follow.

Below is a very spacious natural cave, which has been modified and renovated by humans to resemble a warehouse.

Simple wooden frames were neatly arranged everywhere.

On the wooden shelf were glass bottles of the same size and color, each containing a grayish-white liquid.

However, half of these shelves are already empty.

There are probably still over a hundred bottles of medicine left on the shelves.

Rhodes only turned his attention to the small glass bottle after confirming that no one was around.

The art of authentication was quietly activated.

[Name: Human Petrification Potion]

[Type: Medicine]

[Quality: Rare]

[Description: A highly volatile, grayish-white liquid that can cause petrification of the limbs of humans within a small area that is exposed to its aroma. The symptoms last for twelve hours and then disappear on their own.]

this...

Rhodes was filled with shock and disbelief. His eyes widened, and he stared at the medicine bottle on the shelf in silence for a long time.

"Is there something wrong with the potion?" Avira noticed her beloved student's unusual behavior.

Rhodes murmured after a long pause, "The potion...this potion is the source of the petrification disease."

"What?" Avira was startled.

"Humans who smell the potion will experience petrification symptoms that last for twelve hours..."

Rhodes suddenly froze halfway through his sentence.

For twelve hours straight?!

He felt a chill run down his spine.

The symptoms will disappear on their own after twelve hours. What about those patients who were taken away by the town guards for centralized treatment?

What exactly was the treatment camp where they were being held?

And how exactly did the puppet mayor manage to deceive Chairman Stanley?

All sorts of thoughts came to mind.

Gradually, only one word remained in Rhodes' mind: human trafficking.

Nathan mass-produced a petrifying potion for humans, and the mayor made the townspeople believe it was a common infectious disease.

Then the town guards would gather these "patients" together like commodities and distribute them through "black hands".

Everything fits together.

Having figured out the truth about the petrification disease, Rhodes felt a sense of powerlessness rising in his heart.

However, as more and more humans are taken away and never return, some people will inevitably become suspicious.

The mastermind behind it all will decide what to do later.

Should we push the puppet mayor out to take the blame?

Rhodes fell into thought.

Avira didn't ask Rhodes how he knew the ingredients of the potion; she was also carefully examining the potions on the shelf.

Bubbles occasionally rise from the grayish-white liquid.

Avira picked up a bottle and wanted to examine it herself.

But the moment I picked up the glass bottle, a sharp alarm blared all around.

Rhodes was startled, and upon closer inspection, he discovered that the crudely made shelf actually had an alarm spell.

Moments later, the sounds of clashing metal armor and a cacophony of voices could be heard outside the door:

"It's a warehouse."

"The alarm originated in the warehouse!"

"Put away the potion and guard the door," Rhodes ordered instantly, instructing Avira to stand to the side of the door.

He stood in the center of the medicine shelf.

He knew that both "Black Hand" and Nathan's alchemists valued these potions highly.

He stood in the middle of the wooden frame so that the guards would hesitate to attack him.

The footsteps grew closer.

The moment the iron gate opened, Avira, who was crouching to the side of the gate, swept her greatsword across and slammed it hard into the first guard's chest armor.

It made a dull sound.

The first guard was sent flying instantly, crashing into the two behind him.

Rhodes's flaming arrows followed immediately, the sharp arrows piercing their armor with pinpoint accuracy.

He dared not use the explosion of the fire arrow.

In the past, he would self-destruct with a fire arrow, which meant he couldn't have precise control over the explosive power.

They were worried about accidentally injuring Avira, who was guarding the door, and also about the aftershocks of the explosion affecting the petrification potion inside the warehouse.

The other guards who rushed over immediately shouted a warning:

"Enemy attack!"

"Calling for backup!"