The Heiress’ Return: Six Brothers at Her Beck and Call (Wynter Quinnell) novel Chapter 1982

Dalton turned to the side. "There hasn't been any trace of the remaining four Celestial Beasts so far. They'll be hard to find."

"We won't know unless we try." Wynter's gaze darkened. "Their existence will naturally tempt people. Many relics are still missing to this day, but those with a guilty conscience will live in the dark forever."

At that moment, Wolf came over. "Boss, I didn't see the Drakevein Pendant you mentioned."

Wynter's gaze shifted over. "Then it must be in someone else's hands. From the looks of it, these relics will all be sent away in three days, and so will the Drakevein Pendant. It's just… I can't shake the feeling that something's missing from these relics."

Hearing that, Wolf leaned in to sniff the relic. "Mm… it has a smell I like."

"A smell you like?" Wynter's eyes narrowed.

After all, for Wolf to find something pleasant-smelling meant that these relics carried some kind of energy, invisible to the naked eye but detectable to him.

Wolf sniffed a few more relics, concluding with the same result. "Boss, this smell is really familiar… I remember now! It's that cultivator I smelled before!"

"I think I understand now." Wynter's lips parted slightly. "Most of the relics' historical energy is gone. They must have passed through his hands when he absorbed it. That's why they carry his scent.

"We're running out of time. Let's seal these crates back up and get out of here."

Wynter had originally thought about taking all the relics with them, but the target was too big and easy to expose.

The customs officers here were no longer of use for crimes like this. Now, only the Cultural Heritage Center could intervene.

Once each crate's lid was closed, Wynter and the others left the warehouse, following the marks they had left when they came in.

They had just gotten into the car when a Special Unit member sent Wynter a message.

"Boss, we were just at Havenia Museum and saw the relics displayed in the exhibition cases, but we couldn't get close to them."

Wynter narrowed her eyes. If people couldn't get close, it meant the museum was afraid someone would notice something was off.

"Got it. Keep visiting a few more places. Most of our members have gone to the barrier points. Thank you for your hard work."

The reply came quickly. "There's no need to thank me, Boss! We're merely carrying out our responsibility. I'll check the other museums now and let you know if there's any news."

Wynter sent back a simple text of acknowledgment and closed her phone. She knew her team members were smart enough not to blow their cover to prevent alerting the enemy. If one museum had an incident, the rest would surely be on guard.

Dalton glanced over. "Do you have any news?"

"Sort of." Wynter turned to him. "I sent someone to Havenia Museum. The display cases still hold the relics, but compared to before, they've put up a cordon so no one can view them up close."

"The museum is doing that to prevent appraisal experts from noticing they're fakes." Dalton's voice was calm. "It's likely that the mainland is already under their control, or they wouldn't have been able to take all those relics out."

Wynter nodded lightly. "The mainland's museums have already changed. The person behind this won't escape the death penalty."

"The museum director holds the most authority," Dalton said in that pleasing voice of his. "But the deputy director also has some authority. The problem can only lie with those two since the other staff wouldn't have the ability to pass fakes off as the real thing."

Wolf, sitting in the middle, listened to them going back and forth without understanding a word.

"Boss, Mr. Leprechaun, can I please not sit in the middle next time?" Wolf said seriously.

Wynter patted his head. "Kids can only sit in the middle. What if you open the door and fall out?"

Dalton backed her up. "Right. You can only sit in the middle."

Wolf looked helpless, then leaned back against the seat and forced himself to sleep.

After that, Dalton turned back to Wynter. "Even if the Cultural Heritage Center has been bought off, it will be very difficult for us to handle the case since Havenia isn't under our jurisdiction."

Wynter's gaze remained calm. "This case is tricky. It's a national-level threat. I'll contact Mr. Munn Senior."

Havenia and the mainland follow the "one country, two systems" policy. Hence, Havenia's administrative region had independent judicial power and the final right of adjudication, while the mainland couldn't intervene in matters handled under Havenia's legal system.

Wynter immediately dialed Jackson's number.

Once the call connected, she spoke first. "Mr. Munn Senior, I need to trouble you to push for higher approval for my law enforcement authority in Havenia."

"Law enforcement authority in Havenia?" Jackson's voice rose a notch. "That would be difficult. You should know the mainland isn't allowed to interfere in Havenia's affairs."

Wynter's eyes narrowed. "This case is tricky. It involves the smuggling of national relics."

"Are you certain?" Jackson lowered his voice. "Aside from those already lost overseas, most of the nation's relics are in museums. How could this involve those relics?"

Wynter's lips parted slightly. "From my investigation, there are problems with both the mainland's and Havenia's museums. Relics in Havenia have gone missing, while the relics in the mainland have been replaced."

"What? Are you saying something's happening in the museums?" Jackson exclaimed before coughing heavily a few times.

"That's right," Wynter continued. "At Havenia's port, I found many relics from mainland museums. So, I've had members of the Special Unit secretly check the museums around the country. The relics are still sitting in their display cases, but whether they're genuine needs to be verified."

Jackson was silent for a moment as he thought about it. "I'll try, but getting law enforcement authority in Havenia will be very hard."

Wynter gave a small nod. "I know. That's why I can only trouble you with this, and time is running out."

"Alright." Jackson got to his feet. "I'll go discuss it now. Wait for my response."

"Okay. Thank you, Mr. Munn Senior." Wynter ended the call.

Seeing this, Dalton turned to her. "I just got word that the emblem you picked up earlier belongs to the Silverfang. They left it behind on purpose."

"On purpose?" Wynter glanced at him. "So, are they provoking us?"

"That's right." Dalton gave a faint nod. "Silverfang has been dormant for over a decade. This sudden reappearance must be aimed at Cascadia's relics. According to earlier leads, they leave their emblem at the scene every time they commit a crime. It's both a provocation and a gesture of contempt."

Wynter's gaze deepened. "It looks like the person behind them has given them enough confidence to act recklessly. They really think Cascadia is as easy to push around as other countries."

"I'd wager those relics are headed for Emstia, but they're likely waiting for the Drakevein Pendant. Otherwise, they would have shipped everything out already," Dalton said softly.

Wynter's lips curved faintly. "It looks like we'll have to make a trip to Emstia and take those people down."

At that moment, Wolf suddenly opened his eyes. "Boss, I smell something I like…"

...

Meanwhile, Isidore was inside a house, with the Drakevein Pendant floating in midair. However, the red light surrounding it had dimmed considerably.

Seeing this, Isidore formed a hand seal, and streams of black mist surged into the Drakevein Pendant.

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