Becoming a god starts with enhancing fire arrows.

The interior decoration of the house is somewhat luxurious.

The low ceiling made Rhodes very uncomfortable, giving him a feeling of oppression.

Avira pulled out a sharp dagger and probed ahead, walking on the ground almost silently.

Rhodes followed behind, trying to keep his footsteps as quiet as possible.

Living room, study, kitchen, several bedrooms...

Even after searching the entire room, they still couldn't find Iron Hammer.

The two arrived at the door of the last bedroom.

Ivy made a "shh" gesture, pressed herself against the door, and listened carefully to what was happening inside.

After a moment, she shook her head: "Nobody's here."

"Nobody here?" Rhodes asked, puzzled.

Avira turned the doorknob and opened the door.

The empty bedroom was deserted.

Rhodes' original plan was very simple and brutal: just put a knife to Hammer's neck and interrogate him if he had any questions.

But to my surprise, the person wasn't there.

"Wait, something's not right."

Avira stared at the teacup on the bedside table.

"What's wrong?"

Rhodes tensed up.

Avira poked her finger into Hammer's teacup, then wiped her hands with a look of disgust. "The tea is still hot. He just left."

Going out so late.

Could it be related to a "black hand"?

Rhodes immediately pulled a small purple flower from the small bag.

He held the flower by the stem and shook it in the wardrobe, causing the petals to tilt slightly in one direction.

This is a Tracking Flower purchased from the Adventurers' Guild; it can display the approximate location of a target within a certain range.

"Let's go, let's follow them directly."

While exploring this place might yield some results, if Iron Hammer is going to meet members of "Black Hand," this kind of opportunity might not come again for a while.

......

Inside an abandoned church.

The dwarf Ironhammer sat on a bench covered in cobwebs, staring intently at the pulpit in front of him.

Beside him was a large wooden box almost as tall as him.

The hammer rested its handle on the box, remaining motionless.

Time slips away quietly.

Suddenly, a sound came from under the floor in the center of the church.

A square opening was created, and four figures carrying lanterns emerged from it.

"I've told you so many times to turn off the lights. I can't afford to be caught in the middle of the night," Iron Hammer complained.

The leader seemed quite familiar with Hammer, and didn't turn off the lights, his tone slightly mocking:

"We are just human beings; we don't have dark vision."

"Besides, this little light would only be noticed by homeless people at most. What other force would dare to mess with us if they didn't want to live?"

"Hmph." The dwarf Ironhammer snorted coldly and said nothing.

Seeing this, the leader patted the wooden crate and changed the subject: "Is all the equipment in there?"

With that, he waved his hand, and three of his men opened the box, revealing various alchemical devices engraved with magical runes.

"Is there anything else?" Iron Hammer was very dissatisfied with the inspection, and his tone was somewhat unfriendly.

"Oh, by the way," the leader said, "the other employer wants you to expedite the production of the next batch of equipment."

"His exact words were: 'The magic patterns on this device fade every time it's used, which is too inconvenient.'"

"He doesn't know anything!"

The dwarf with the iron hammer was somewhat annoyed: "Fixing the inscribed magic runes onto the item is a rather time-consuming task."

"If you're in such a hurry, this is the only product I can give you."

"And then there's that 'other employer' thing, how could I not know it's that old geezer Nathan?"

The leader chuckled: "We 'Black Hand' are extremely trustworthy. We will never reveal the names of either employer under any circumstances. These are just your guesses."

Hammer was getting impatient: "Is there something else?"

After his three subordinates inspected the box, the leader saw that it had been resealed.

He bowed slightly:

"That's all. I hope we can cooperate well next time."

The lights of the abandoned church disappeared into the tunnel.

Iron Hammer muttered under his breath, "A bunch of arrogant humans."

With that, he got up and walked out of the church.

The moment he stepped out of the church, a figure, completely covered up and whose face was obscured, suddenly appeared before him.

The slender dagger in his hand, reflecting the faint moonlight, was thrusting towards himself.

The stealth walk?

Iron Hammer recognized the opponent's magic at a glance and made a judgment in his mind about the newcomer:

Its strength and speed are both weak, so it's probably not an assassin or warrior class.

With that thought in mind, his body instinctively dodged the dagger's edge and jumped to the side.

Unexpectedly, another figure had already been lying in ambush on the side, and this figure was clearly much stronger than the first one.

Iron Hammer saw his opponent raise his knee, aiming straight for his lower abdomen.

"Ugh."

His vision went black for a moment, and the contents of his stomach gushed out uncontrollably.

Just as I was about to get up, I felt the cold touch of a dagger on my neck.

"What do you want?"

Seeing that the other party did not kill him directly, he realized that there was still room for negotiation, and he felt a little more at ease.

The first figure spoke in a hoarse voice: "I'll ask, you answer. Don't hesitate."

"What did you put in the box you gave the 'Black Hand' members just now?"

"They're all alchemical equipment used for making potions," Hammer replied without hesitation.

Rhodes nodded and spoke quickly, "You had a black armor made a few days ago. Tell me the details of the deal."

Hammer's eyes narrowed slightly after hearing this: "How do you know about the armor?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a sharp pain in his neck, and the pressure on the blade increased. He quickly replied:

"The armor was commissioned by the mayor himself, and he paid a considerable sum of money for it."

Was the transaction not conducted through "underhanded means," but rather commissioned directly by the mayor?

Rhodes frowned.

Unexpectedly, this matter has once again become related to the town mayor.

Is the mayor trying to get me?

But he might have powerful adventurers under his command; if he wants to deal with me, he can just send one or two elite-level ones.

Why go through all this trouble, forging armor and giving it to the witch?

Moreover, the mayor was merely a shapeshifter disguised as a puppet.

The real mastermind must be someone else.

Two names slowly surfaced in Rhodes' mind: alchemist Nathan and Cassandra, the leader of "Black Hand".

But having met Nathan, I felt he wasn't the kind of person with such ulterior motives.

Either he was a pawn, or this old man was just too good at disguising himself and completely fooled me.

In any case, I am now very likely being targeted by the mastermind behind the scenes.

Perhaps I am still too weak, and the other party has no intention of directly attacking me.

Rhodes silently guessed what was going on in his mind.

After a long pause, he continued, "Tell me about the high-level structure of 'The Black Hand'."

Hammer quickly described it in a concise manner: "All members of 'Black Hand' are led by their leader, Cassandra."

"This organization has grown to its current size mainly through three types of business."

"Establishing an intelligence network is the foundation, human trafficking is the source of funds, and commodity trading is used to expand customers."

"Having developed based on these three points for so long, any organization should have become a behemoth by now."

Rhodes gained a deeper understanding of the "Black Hand" organization.

"One last question, what exactly is this so-called petrification disease?"

"Petrification disease?" Iron Hammer paused, "What petrification disease?"

He didn't know about petrification disease?

Rhodes' tone turned cold: "If you're a smart man, you should know this isn't the time to play dumb. I'm giving you one last chance."

"Damn it, I really don't know anything about petrification disease. If you're going to do it, then hurry up!" Iron Hammer was a bit irritable and suddenly became agitated.

Seeing this, Rhodes nodded to Avira.

Avira understood, punched Iron Hammer unconscious, and then placed him on a stone bench in the dilapidated church.