I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

Chapter Sixty: The Infiltration Route of the Secret Treasure Confirmed

After the elevator ascended for a short while, it brought Amamiya and her group to the third floor.

Compared to the invaded second-floor 'exhibition room,' the third-floor decor appears much more normal and realistic, resembling the style of the "Federal Investigation Department - Shalai" or the interiors of some ancient buildings.

At the same time, the shadows of patrolling guards, staff, and 'ordinary people' began to loom over this place.

"It suddenly became lively..."

Looking at the overcrowded hall and rooms, Qinxiang suddenly felt that things were getting a little tricky.

"Do we have to face so many enemies all at once?"

"No...it shouldn't be necessary."

Not long ago, Ayane awakened her Persona and changed into a phantom thief outfit. At this moment, she was resting on Amamiya's back, panting lightly. Suddenly, she moved slightly and responded to Serika's question in a slightly weak tone.

Hoshino tiptoed to carefully examine the interior of this floor, then looked back at Ayane, who was slightly weak and unable to walk for the time being.

Why does Ayane say that?

"This... I actually detected it."

After pausing for a moment and realizing she couldn't find a suitable adjective, Ayane chuckled dryly and tried to summarize her "detection results" in a way that others could easily understand.

"My Persona... doesn't seem to have any direct combat ability. Its only use in combat seems to be to use the weight of the stone tablet itself to smash people, or to unleash magic of blessings and curses..."

"But besides fighting... I feel like I can do a lot of things."

After a moment's thought, Ayane described her 'persona characteristics' based on her own feelings.

"For example... I can detect the strength between enemies, or distinguish whether they are enemies, or... provide temporary assistance in battle... something like that?"

Amamiya, who was carrying Ayane on her back, spoke up: "Ayane is an extremely special type of Persona, with only a small amount of direct combat ability and mostly support capabilities. I generally refer to her as a 'Navi' type of Persona."

Upon hearing this strange term, Ayane repeated it thoughtfully: "Navi...navigation?"

"Hmm. 'Navigation.' You could say navigation is an indispensable element of exploring another world. It has almost no direct combat power, yet it can cause the combat power of characters who already possess it to increase exponentially."

"At the same time, 'Navi' can also take care of almost all the logistics for an entire team."

"Ayane really... chose the most difficult path, but it may also be the most suitable one for her. Good luck."

【~???~】

"Um... um. I'll do my best... to help everyone."

She lowered her head shyly, instinctively trying to hide some of her subtle expressions by 'pushing up her glasses'—then suddenly realized that her glasses had been replaced by a mask.

"..."

Suddenly realizing something was amiss, Ayane looked up and raised her hand to ask Amamiya, who was waiting for the elevator.

"Sensei...why did my 'glasses' disappear, but my vision wasn't affected at all?"

After a moment's thought, Amamiya gave a brief reply:

"In another world... or rather, when a Persona is summoned, the Persona user receives a comprehensive enhancement, which naturally includes vision. Ayane's Persona is a 'Navi' type mask, so the enhancements to her vision, hearing, and sensory abilities are more pronounced."

After ending this brief conversation, Bai Zi raised his hand again, staring intently at those 'people' in the world of cognition with a slightly malicious gaze.

“Sensei, these 'people'…”

Amamiya could roughly guess what she was planning, and decisively shook her head.

"These 'people' are just background figures. Although they don't have the fighting power of Shadow, don't even think about swindling or robbing them... You can't talk to them at all."

There will also be 'residents who understand the world' inside the temple.

These are just ordinary people who have nothing to do with shadows.

They might also carry information about the temple's master... but most of the time, dealing with these inhabitants of another world is pointless.

These 'ordinary people' from another world become more refined as the hall master's observational abilities improve, and their behavior patterns become more similar to humans—specifically reflected in their appearance and demeanor.

For example, in Kamoshida's Palace, there aren't even any NPCs that look like people; it's all shadows moving around.

In the hall of Madarame Ichiryusai, some vaguely recognizable 'people' began to appear. This was because Madarame's observation of these people was limited to 'they would stay for 'their own' artwork'.

Starting with Junya Kinjo's Hall of Fame, the 'people' of this other world began to have a certain ability to negotiate, because Junya Kinjo was a yakuza boss, and a yakuza boss, aside from other things, must have a keen eye for observation.

When they arrived at Prosecutor Sae Niijima's casino palace, the behavior of the 'people' in this other world was almost identical to that of real people. They could communicate without any obstacles, and no problems could be found even with careful observation.

On Shido Masayoshi's ship, the shadows 'advanced', even revealing cunning tactics like deception and trickery. This implies that, as a member of parliament, Shido Masayoshi's observational skills are terrifying.

Nomiya actively tried to verify that 'special statement'. She approached a shadowy figure that looked like a 'robot' waiting to do business and tried to greet it.

"Um... hello?"

"..."

"Can you hear me?"

"..."

Are you here to conduct business?

"..."

There was no response.

Seeing this, Hoshino and Shirako also tried various methods to attract the attention of these residents who knew the world—but without exception, they all failed.

They can't even have a basic conversation... Even if they pull out a gun and point it at each other's forehead, the other person won't react at all...

Even if you pull the trigger and kill a 'resident of another world', turning him into black mud and disappearing, the other 'residents of another world' will not have the kind of reaction that crowds might have, such as fear.

Moreover, even if you kill these 'otherworldly inhabitants', you won't get rare loot or credits like you would when you kill the Shadows.

"..."

Realizing he really couldn't rob these 'unarmed inhabitants of another world', Shiroko, whose 'plan had failed', looked slightly disappointed, her ears drooping, lost in thought.

"Look everyone... isn't there a map over there?"

Ayane's voice temporarily interrupted everyone's thoughts, and then everyone saw her pointing to a holographic image that looked like an advertising billboard not far away.

Perhaps feeling that her ability to help was gradually diminishing, Ayane focused her attention more intently on intelligence gathering and observing her surroundings.

Following Ayane's directions, Amamiya glanced at the sign, then slightly curled the corners of her lips and walked over, waving to the girls behind her to follow.

"It is indeed a map... Let's go take a look."

"If we could get a topographical map... then we should be able to pinpoint the location of the treasure."

The second rule for exploring another world is to find a terrain map whenever possible, as it will greatly assist in the exploration.

After observing the holographic map for a while, Amamiya nodded slightly and used his spatial imagination and memory honed as a phantom thief to memorize the map. Then he began to try to flatten it layer by layer.

"According to the information provided by this holographic map, this building has 38 floors. If nothing unexpected happens, then the treasure is very likely hidden in the 'Chairman's Office' on the top floor."

Amamiya looked at the nearby elevator.

"Let's go straight there and take a look."

After leading the group to the vicinity of the elevator entrance, Amamiya and his party waited for the elevator doors to slowly close before beginning their ascent.

Amidst the girls' anticipation, trepidation, and curiosity, the elevator slowly came to a stop after ascending for about a minute.

After the elevator doors opened, there was an office that looked like that of a high-ranking person. Facing the elevator was a "CEO's desk".

The environment here is unusually spacious, and compared to the previous floors, it is eerily quiet; there is not a single person in sight.

"The secret treasure...where is the secret treasure...?"

After realizing there was no danger here, the girls on the countermeasures committee began to search for various details of this "super-large office of 1,000 square meters" that seemed to be typical of "domineering CEO novels".

Hifumi followed Amamiya all the way to the president's desk.

Amamiya frowned slightly, raised her head, and looked at the light source floating above the president's desk, which looked like a lamp, the only light source in the entire room.

Noticing Amamiya's gaze, Hifumi followed suit, but it still looked like just an ordinary, distorted ball of light... nothing special.

Hifumi, who couldn't detect anything unusual, tilted her head slightly and looked at Amamiya.

After a moment's hesitation, she finally couldn't suppress her curiosity and tugged at Amamiya's sleeve.

"That, that..."

“Sensei (dar), what... are you looking at? That distorted ball of light?”

Amamiya gave a soft "hmm": "This is the 'treasure'."

"But why does it look so strange..."

"That's because we haven't issued a warning yet. Without a warning, the target won't be startled or on guard, and the treasure won't condense into shape; it will remain as it is."

After all, this was only the first hall, and no one would have imagined that a 'heart thief' would actually infiltrate their inner world and steal their desires...

Therefore, no safety measures were observed at Amamiya.

This is only natural—who would think of protection when they don't know that a thief will come into their inner world to steal things?

Looking at the large ball of light in front of him, Amamiya chuckled and clapped his hands to summon back the girls who had been searching around.

"The infiltration route of the 'treasure' has been confirmed."

"Next... let's prepare to release the announcement."

Chapter Sixty-One: Announcement Letter Release Meeting

In the evening, in the club activity room of the Countermeasures Committee.

"Hoo hoo~~~~"

Standing by the window as the sun set, the pink-haired girl stretched languidly towards the window, then lowered her head and spoke in a voice heavy with drowsiness and exhaustion: "Oh dear... I can't take it anymore... Uncle, these old bones of mine..."

"Without Sensei's comfort, I feel like I can't go on living..."

As expected, he was met with Hifumi's probing gaze, and Hoshino seemed to realize then that 'there are outsiders here.'

She paused slightly in her stretching, then, as if nothing had happened, hunched over, casually picked up her shotgun, and sat back down in her seat.

As if nothing had happened, Hoshino coughed lightly and then became serious, taking the lead in a conversation.

"Well then... let's begin the regular meeting of the countermeasures committee regarding the [announcement letter release meeting]."

"Regarding the release of the announcement letter... does anyone have any suggestions?"

The girls' gazes fell on the seemingly ordinary letter on the table, which was actually a proclamation that would determine the future 'fate' of Abydos Higher Academy.

There's only one chance to send the warning message, so it's crucial to ensure it successfully reaches the target, is seen by them, and causes them panic...

Therefore, the way the announcement is released must be as extravagant as possible, ensuring widespread awareness, while simultaneously throwing the Caesars Group into turmoil...

The girls on the countermeasures committee fell into thought, considering what would be the safest way to release the announcement.

After pondering for several minutes, Ayane raised her hand first and suggested, "Before Sensei presents her proposal, let me also offer mine... Since the way the announcement is released should be as public as possible... we could use something like an 'advertising helicopter,' or an advertising airship."

"Although..." Ayane's expression shifted, revealing a mix of resolute determination and slight regret, as if she were prepared to suffer a major loss, "we will lose several expensive helicopters, or a substantial sum in advertising airship hiring fees and compensation..."

"An advertising airship... Ayane-chan's strategy is indeed very feasible~"

Nomiya smiled, her eyes narrowed, and followed Ayane's speech by raising her hand: "Well then, I also have a special suggestion~"

"The black market should have plenty of electronic LCD screens, like electronic billboards where you can pay to display content, right? Even though they use the most advanced technology, no one would go to great lengths to add security features to those devices..."

Nomiya raised his index finger and 'sinisterly' suggested, "Could we... hack into all the billboards in the black market at the same time and play 'special content'?"

"Simultaneously connecting all the advertising devices in the black market... the computing power required is truly astonishing... but it's not entirely impossible..."

After trying to imagine the difficulty of the task, Ayane frowned in distress.

"So……"

Bai Zi raised his hand with an expression that said, "I have an opinion.jpg: Hire some people or buy some automated equipment to attack Caesar Building directly and leave a warning message."

“Then it wouldn’t be the Phantom Thieves, but a bandit gang…” Ayane forced a smile, rejecting Shirako’s blunt suggestion.

While it is indeed very effective and simple and straightforward... it loses the key word 'elegant and gorgeous' that Sensei mentioned earlier... and completely loses the style of the phantom thief.

Finally, Serika tried to offer her own constructive suggestion: "How about we just casually hand them out to the target, like handing out flyers?"