The villain daughter did all kinds of things

"You even managed to win her over? You're something else... I remember she came to Financial Street to handle a case a year ago. I had my eye on her then too, and tried to seduce her, but I failed... How did you manage to win her over?"

"Of course, it's about sincerity."

Emery gave a smug snort:

“Mengmeng is a very upright investigator; your money offensive won’t work on her.”

"Sincerity? Pshaw, I don't believe your nonsense."

Starling rolled her eyes at Emery:

"Don't I know your tricks? Miss Bell must have encountered difficulties in her investigation, so you used helping her as a condition to force her to comply... Oh, poor investigator, you've ruined her like this."

"You're talking like you're not a bad woman."

Emerald also scorned Starling:

"Last time you told me you weren't interested in being a slut anymore, you just wanted to make money... but it turns out you were just after Mengmeng's body."

"I'm not interested in being a 'bad girl' for ordinary women, but is Investigator Bell an ordinary woman?"

Starling continued her banter with Emerald:

"The fact that a scumbag like you would take the initiative to make a move on her is proof enough that she's outstanding!"

And so, Emery and Starling discussed Mengmeng for a while while patiently waiting, but Mengmeng never appeared.

"...She wouldn't really stand me up, would she?"

Starling's ambiguous smile made Amelie feel a little embarrassed.

As one of the two most notorious scoundrels in the former Federal Noble Girls' Academy, it was always Emery who stood up other women; she had never been stood up before. How could she tolerate this?

So Emerald immediately tried to connect to Momo's communication magic device, but failed to get through after several attempts.

"what's the situation?"

Emery frowned, thinking that Mengmeng might actually be investigating a case, or perhaps something had happened to her.

Emerald wanted to contact the FBI to ask about the situation, but after taking out her communication magic device, she realized that she didn't have any other investigators' communication methods—besides the FBI's publicly available emergency contact number, the only other communication line Emerald knew was her cousin, who was the director.

For a lady like Miss Melson to need to use public communication lines to find someone? Impossible. Emery chose to contact her uncle, the director, directly and explained the situation.

But Emery didn't expect that her communication would cause a near-uproar within the FBI.

Mengmeng's failed attempt to infiltrate and investigate Old Man Langdon's place was five days ago, and she was subsequently arrested.

As per Mengmeng's contingency plan, her colleagues discovered the projector and photos she left at the Investigation Bureau three days prior.

Realizing that Mengmeng might have encountered an accident during the investigation, the investigation bureau immediately checked Mengmeng's life indicator light and found that it was in good condition, meaning that Mengmeng was at least out of danger and in relatively good health.

Since Mengmeng is alright, how to handle this case is no longer a decision that ordinary Crimson Star investigators can make, and Purple Star investigators don't want to take it on either.

After all, old man Langdon's backing was too strong. To really take him down would be to go against all the major financial groups in the Federation, and very few people would be so stubborn.

The case was reported up the chain of command, eventually reaching the assistant director of the investigation bureau.

After understanding the situation, the assistant first questioned the two Red Star investigators who had worked with Mengmeng on the case of Lulu's kidnapping, asking them if Mengmeng and Emery's relationship was really as close as Mengmeng said.

The two Red Star investigators gave the same answer—they said that when Mengmeng and Amelie interacted, it was basically like flirting, and their arguments and scolding were like they were being affectionate.

This put the assistant in a very difficult position.

On one side is old man Langdon, backed by investments from major conglomerates; on the other is a beautiful female investigator with an ambiguous relationship with Miss Merson.

If either of these two sides gets into trouble, it could have far-reaching consequences, making it a difficult choice for the assistant who always prioritizes maintaining stability.

So after some thought, the assistant made a decision that seemed, at least in her own opinion, quite clever.

She decided not to offend either side—she wanted to save Mengmeng, but she couldn't just touch old man Langdon.

So the assistant dispatched two special operations teams from the Bureau of Investigation to sneak into Langdon Hospital to rescue Mengmeng, and to pretend they didn't see anything they discovered along the way.

However, while the idea was beautiful, reality was cruel.

Mengmeng was able to go on a rampage in the research facility all by herself because 03 was ordered not to kill Mengmeng or even seriously harm her. She was very lenient in the fight and often had to eliminate any attacks that could hurt Mengmeng herself, which is why Mengmeng almost managed to break through.

But members of the FBI's special operations teams don't receive this treatment.

Although the two teams of 12 were all Master-level Mages, they were no match for the large number of autonomous magical weapons and magical puppet warriors controlled by 03. After entering the old man Langdon's underground research facility, they were like stones thrown into the ocean, disappearing without a trace, and all the life indicators they left at the Bureau of Investigation were extinguished.

The assistant to the bureau chief was dumbfounded.

The fate of the special operations team members proves that old man Langdon is definitely problematic.

As for why Mengmeng was unharmed, the assistant wasn't too surprised—either old man Langdon didn't want to provoke a certain young lady, or old man Langdon was lusting after Mengmeng's body and didn't kill her so he could keep her around to play with.

Of course, the assistant still thought the first scenario was more likely.

The question is, what should we do next?

Should they continue sending people to secretly rescue Mengmeng? But both special operations teams have failed, and sending other investigators would be pointless. Unless one of the combat advisors intervenes, but the assistant doesn't have that authority; the Bureau's combat advisors only answer to the director.

It was under these circumstances that Emerald contacted her uncle, the bureau chief, to inquire about Miss Mengmeng's specific situation.

Of course, the director wouldn't refuse his niece's small request, and immediately inquired about Mengmeng's matter. As a result, the assistant's attempt to downplay the incident was completely exposed.

The bureau chief was also surprised after learning the details.

But the director is the director after all; his decision-making ability and the resources he controls are far beyond what the assistant can match.

“Little Ellie’s friend must be rescued. As for Mr. Langdon… well, let’s take him back to the station for questioning first. I’ll send a combat advisor with me.”

The director quickly issued the order.

The FBI has only three combat advisors, all of whom are experts in the Fusion stage. They usually just take the money and do no work, only taking action when they encounter powerful and ruthless criminals.

While old man Langdon obtained a magical device made from fused organs, which could easily bully control-level mages like Mengmeng, it was no match for true fusion-stage powerhouses.

This time, old man Langdon really has no way to escape.

Chapter 200: Yulia, the Genius Craftswoman!

The FBI was preparing to take serious action to arrest Langdon, but the director did not tell Emery directly.

The chief simply reassured Amelie, saying he would guarantee her lover would be alright.

So Emerald didn't ask any more questions. As long as Mengmeng was alright, that was all that mattered. Right now, it was more important to make this sword-forging competition a success. Moreover, after the sword-forging competition, Emerald planned to hold the premiere of "Yulia 3" right here.

With the appointed time approaching and the handsome male and beautiful female hosts taking the stage, the sword-forging competition officially began.

Besides Yulia, who was invited as a special guest, there were 10 official contestants in the competition, each with a number from 1 to 10, for a total of 11 people competing.

They had to select suitable materials from the materials provided by the organizers on-site, each person would create a one-handed sword-type melee magical artifact, and then hand it over to two testers for evaluation, and finally rank them according to the evaluation results.

The champion will receive a trophy made of high-purity gold and a "Federal Genius Craftsman" certificate issued by the Melson Magic Workshop (limited to this competition).

The 2nd to 5th place winners will receive a substantial prize and the opportunity to work at the Melson Magic Workshop.

After the two hosts briefly explained the competition process and rules, the competition officially began, and the 11 contestants entered the venue.

The first to enter were 10 regular contestants, all dressed in professional craftsman uniforms with heat insulation and protection. Most of them were over 40 years old, 8 men and 2 women, and each had at least 20 years of forging experience. The two female contestants were number 6 and number 9.

After the host briefly introduced the 10 regular contestants, the special guest contestant, Yulia, made her dazzling appearance as the finale.

She didn't come out from backstage; she flew out directly. She flew around the entire arena three times amidst the female host's deliberately cute cheers before slowly landing in the center of the arena, waving to the surroundings with practiced ease and amidst the shouts and applause of the audience.

Unlike the other 10 contestants, Yulia didn't look like she was there to compete. She was still wearing a schoolgirl-style short skirt and white stockings, and her figure and looks far surpassed those of the actually quite pretty female host. She attracted everyone's attention as soon as she appeared.

Fortunately, the beautiful host didn't seem to mind. When the gap between people is too large, jealousy disappears... She chuckled and clapped, then quickly said:

"I don't think I need to introduce this one too much, right? The famous heroine of Locke City, Miss Julia, has been helping others selflessly since graduation, and has defeated many dangerous figures, including extreme elves, making a great contribution to the peaceful life of the Federation's people."

"But what some viewers may not know is that... Miss Yulia's major in school was not mage training, but melee magic weapon forging. She originally wanted to enter a workshop to become a craftsman, but after becoming a mage by chance, she decided to use her power to help more people in need."

"So today's match also presents another possibility for Miss Yulia—if she hadn't become a mage back then, what an excellent craftswoman she would be now! Let's wait and see~~"

After all the contestants have made their appearances, the next step is the material selection phase. The organizers will provide a large selection of materials for the contestants to choose the appropriate forging materials for their swords.

In previous competitions, the materials selected were generally various kinds of scrap metal. In many cases, the contestants even had to melt down multiple kinds of scrap iron before they could obtain a piece of good steel.

But this competition has invited special contestants and countless celebrities from Sphinx, so it would be inappropriate to use scrap as material.

Soon, amidst heavy footsteps, a retired old model of the Crab (a land-based magical vehicle of the Federation Army) was driven into the arena, and the handsome host loudly announced that this was today's material library, and the contestants needed to dismantle this Crab first.

The contestants in the sword-forging competition are mostly ordinary people; even the mages are at most at the Awakening stage. After all, being a mage is much more lucrative than being a craftsman, and who would want to be a craftsman if they had the strength of a master mage?

None of them had the skill to dismantle the giant crab with their own bodies, so they had to find a suitable hot cutting tool from the tools provided by the organizers and then cut the necessary materials from the giant crab.

But Yulia didn't need any tools. She walked up to the giant crab with her bare hands, first grabbing one of the alloy crab legs with both hands, then stepping on the crab's body with one of her long legs, which was clad in white stockings, and finally pulling hard, she ripped off one of the crab legs.

Then, Yulia raised one hand, making an eagle claw gesture, and with lightning speed, grabbed, pulled, and tore off a large piece of alloy from the crab's leg.

But Yulia held the torn alloy strip in her hand and gestured with it, seemingly not quite satisfied with its size and shape. She then casually tossed it aside and began tearing the alloy crab leg apart like she was tearing beef strips.

Finally, after tearing off the 7th alloy strip, Yulia was finally satisfied with the size and shape of the strip, and the material selection was complete.

Meanwhile, the other contestants were still using various magical tools to perform thermal cutting.

The giant crab is, after all, a military vehicle of the Federation Army, comparable to the main battle tanks of Earth. Cutting it up with industrial tools is still quite difficult, which gives Yulia a huge advantage from the start.

However, after selecting the materials, Yulia did not start forging immediately; she chose to stop and wait for the other contestants.

While the other contestants were cutting up footage, Yulia first sat down next to Emery and ate a few snacks. She then went to the audience and randomly selected a few lucky audience members to sign autographs and take photos with. She had completely turned this competition into her own personal show.

About 20 minutes later, the other contestants finally selected their satisfactory materials through hot cutting, and the forging could move on to the next stage.

Simply put, this stage involves heating the steel in a high-temperature furnace, then stretching and deforming it through hammering and forging to create the desired shape.

The skilled blacksmiths all picked up their tongs and used them to clamp the steel into the furnace for heating. They judged the heating progress by observing the color of the steel, which was a basic skill for most blacksmiths.

If it were Yulia from her school days, she would also know how to do this... although her skill level couldn't compare to that of the veteran craftsmen, she could still make a rough judgment.

Unfortunately, in the two years since graduation, Yulia has spent all her time working, eating, drinking, and having fun, and has long forgotten everything she learned in school... Even though she crammed a lot in the past month, she still couldn't regain her former level. At least it's not enough to participate in competitions. If she were to judge the heating progress by observation like other contestants, she would most likely ruin the steel.

So, while the other players and the audience stared in disbelief, Yulia triumphantly pulled off another outrageous move.

She directly grabbed the steel with her bare hands and put it into the furnace to heat it, judging the heating progress by direct touch... This scene even left the two hosts responsible for the narration speechless.

Mages are indeed much stronger than ordinary people, but most people wouldn't even dare to think about grabbing steel with their bare hands and putting it into a furnace to burn. If it were any other mage, their hands would have been gone long ago.

Even Emery in the stands frowned slightly at the sight... Even a fusion-stage mage would feel pain if they put their hand directly into a furnace. But Yulia's expression was like soaking in hot water in winter, as if she was actually quite comfortable being burned?

However, upon closer reflection, Yulia frequently confronts various fire magic spells or fire-attribute breath attacks from monsters head-on with her fists in battle, even dispersing fireballs exceeding 5000 degrees Celsius with a single punch. The furnace fires used for forging swords typically only reach around 1000 degrees Celsius, so it seems like it's really nothing to Yulia.

It can only be said that the path of the Super Magical Body is indeed worthy of being the exclusive route of the original game's protagonist, and it is still very powerful.

The two hosts didn't know all that, but they were both professional hosts and reacted quickly.

The beautiful host immediately thought of a suitable explanation and quickly explained to the many audience members who had their mouths agape:

"It seems Miss Yulia truly lives up to her reputation as a renowned heroine. She not only possesses an indomitable will of steel but also a reliable and powerful body of steel! With such a powerful heroine protecting them, the residents of Locke City must be living very happily. I'm even a little jealous."

It was this scene that made many people realize that the scenes in the movie where Yulia always shattered magic with her fists were not staged or special effects, but that she actually had that power.

But no matter what, as long as the steel can be heated, that's fine.

Since the steel removed from the giant crab was almost all high-quality steel, many parts could be used directly for forging knives, the contestants didn't bother with any iron cans or large steel tools. They simply heated the existing steel directly, and everyone finished this step in about the same amount of time.

Yulia, through her own judgment by touch, also heated the steel to the perfect temperature, no less than the old craftsmen.

The next step is to stretch, shape, and forge the steel into a blade blank.

This step is also a basic skill for blacksmiths. Older blacksmiths usually use a magic-powered hammer, while younger and stronger blacksmiths prefer to use a hand hammer.

The craftsmen who come to participate in the competition are all highly skilled. Before they start working, they will first draw a sketch and then shape the steel into a distinctive blade shape.

Yulia actually wanted to forge a unique sword, but her skills didn't allow it; if she messed around, she would most likely ruin the sword blank.

To avoid embarrassment, Julia had no choice but to follow Emerald's instructions and forge the blank of a one-handed longsword using a hand hammer. This was the simplest one; all it took was hammering the steel into a rectangular sheet, then hammering one end into the tip and the other end into the hilt.

Yulia had been practicing this technique extensively at home, and now she could forge the sword in one go, easily hammering out the blade. She really looked like a genius young blacksmith.

If it's a forged knife from Earth, after the blade blank is hammered, it needs to be quenched. After quenching, the handle is assembled and the blade is ground and finished.

But the forging of swords in this world is different. Strictly speaking, Yulia and her companions are not forging swords, but rather creating sword-shaped melee magical artifacts.

Therefore, after the blade and sword blanks are hammered, the next step is even more crucial than quenching—engraving magical patterns on the blade or sword blanks, which is also the most difficult step in the entire forging process.

There are many kinds of metals in this world, and even more alloy materials can be made through artificial smelting, but not all alloys are suitable for making magical devices.

Generally speaking, the properties of alloys in this world can be divided into two main categories: physical properties and magic-conducting properties.

Physical properties, as the name suggests, are a comprehensive index of data such as strength and toughness. The stronger the physical properties of a metal, the stronger the cold weapon it is made of, but it is still just a cold weapon.

The key to whether a material is suitable as a magical material is its magical conductivity. The higher the magical conductivity of a material, the higher the intensity of magical power it can withstand, and the higher the magical power conversion rate. Magical artifacts made from such materials can be inscribed with more magic, and the magical power is also greater.

Most natural metals and artificial alloys have only one type of physical property and magic-conducting property that is more prominent, while the other is slightly weaker.