After the story time is over, Ling Tian stayed with Sam there.

They drank in silence as the time passed and soon it was past midnight.

Due to the extreme efforts of Ling Tian, all the academies worked together to make the payment for all the students so that no additional chaos would be added to this mix. They stably worked together using their fourth graders and elders to make the payments for everyone properly.

Of course, they also agreed on one thing.

No one would ever touch the payments machine after the payments are all settled. They do not want to risk anyone eve accidentally knowing who their information mule is and they didn't want to trigger chaos along with that.

For that reason, the people who were selected to manage the payment process were all the people who destroyed their bird puppets and wrist bands.

The academies believed that they successfully severed the connection between the academy and themselves.

At least, they believed that they don't have a way to access the payments machines after that. As for the hub using the bird puppets to send the messages again like they did before… they didn't bother with it.

They came to a consensus that they would destroy every single bird puppet that comes out of the hub. They already tested it with the previously sent bird puppets and they are mostly sure that nothing will happen.

So, as long as they controlled any more information from reaching the people, then they would be fine.

However, if it was that simple, then what is the point of Sam laying such an elaborate plot?

When one of the Ares academy's fourth grade student walked near the payments machine, making sure no one left anything behind to play tricks, he suddenly felt a faint glow from the payments machine. He turned around and saw its screen.

It displayed his image along with a bunch of information that made his mouth go wide. He hurriedly looked around noticing that no one was observing, he moved forward and covered the screen with his body.

He is so close to the machine.

At that time, in the controls, a new slot appeared. A slot that is in perfect shape and size to put a finger in. It was glowing and with every passing second the intensity of the glow is increasing. He hurriedly put his finger in that slot.

*ZAP*

A slight shock a flood of information to his brain. The machine stopped glowing, everything went back to normal.

"What are you doing? Is everything okay?

"

Someone passed by and asked with a frown. The young man nodded and didn't respond. The machine is back to normal and he walked past it like nothing happened. But deep inside, he is nervous. Anxiety is eating him away.

He wanted nothing more than to run away from there at the moment and his patrolling shift is also luckily over.

He went back to his academy and waited in his dorm room. He is one of the few that managed to survive without dying in the hands of managers. In fact, he felt so damn lucky, because his secrets and activities he conducted are nothing scoff at.

To be where he was, he crossed a lot of lines and did things that he shouldn't have.

The things that initially haunted him day and night, then gradually he came to the point where he felt okay as long as he not caught.

It got so bad that he acted like he is the not the same person who did those terrible things all for the sake of improving his cultivation level a bit. All because no one else but him knew about them. When the people that died in the hands of managers and their crimes were revealed, he felt his throat go dry.

Because he thought he should have been on the list and he felt lucky that he wasn't.

Now, he figured that he has jumped to the conclusion way too quickly. His secrets have been exposed and they are right now in the head of a kid in a different academy. A first grader.

Based on the initial agreement, the academies will isolate the information mules for now until they work on a memory sealing technique, that would isolate this information. Everything should be fine for him.

However, the problem is that the information is currently in the head of a student that it shouldn't be in.

It is in the head of a student of the Hephaestus academy. His name is Hammer and he didn't have much of a background. He is one of the rare seedlings that came to the academy realm without any actual organizational backing.

Big or small.

However, after coming to the Hephaestus academy, the word of his crafting talents spread. One of the noble league members of the Hephaestus academy, who belonged to a decently prestigious family approached him and scouted him.

That family has four generations of people studying in the academy.

Each of them belonging to four different grades.

Hammer, became friends with his fellow first grader and both became training partners. While he was also appointed as a subordinate of the fourth grader who was supposed to lead the family in the future.

The brothers were cooperative and take care of Hammer extremely well. And the issue is that the Fourth grader from the Ares academy, whose name is Macht also the one that just knew about his information mule, has conducted some deadly and forbidden practices and used the blood of children.

Mostly people of fire attribute and the place he chose happened to be the territory of the four brothers' family. One time, he went as far as to use the children of the branch families of that family.

Everything is recorded and all that info is now in the head of Hammer.

Right now, Hammer is sitting along with the rest of the first graders, including his noble league friend in the core region of the Hephaestus academy.

He feared that his information will be divulged right now and once it does, his life would be over. After all, sooner or later, the communication will be open once again. The news will reach that family and they will come for his head.

Before all of that happens, he needs to get rid of Hammer.

He fell into a deep thought, but he couldn't really find a proper method to get to that kid. He would have to use desperate measures. So, he is ready to call in a favor. From a person that he never really wanted to interact.

A person who is the only one that actually shared the knowledge of his acts, because they carried a similar secret and both of their secrets originated from the same source. They knew what the other needs to do, but the kept the secret because both of them didn't want to be exposed.

Macht's advantage is that the other party is an elder.

So, he came out with the patrol as an excuse and awaited to see that Elder join the patrol as well, so that he can communicate with him and get his help. Luckily, he managed to meet the elder and to his surprise, he was met with a set of words that he didn't expect.

"My information mule is in your academy. I need you to kill him for me.

"

Those are the opening statements of the elder. Only then did Macht understand that he is not the only one who got the information about their information mule.

Macht felt like he found a new lifeline.

"I will, but it won't come without a cost.

"

"What would it take?

"

"Hammer from Hephaestus academy. He is my mule. Kill him.

" The Elder widened his eyes and then shook his head. I belong to Poseidon academy, how can I target a student in Hephaestus academy now?

"

"I know that you are working a family in Noble league that is trying to spread its influence in other territories. You definitely have someone inside the Hephaestus academy that you can move. You have good enough influence there.

Kill Hammer and confirm it with me, then I will kill this kid.

"

"What if you go back on your words after I am did what you asked of me?

"

"I will not.

"

"Just your word is not enough.

"

"Then let's sign it. The soul contract.

"

Just like that the contract was signed and the Macht became the Match that lit the fuse.

That night, Hephaestus academy was thrown into an uproar when Hammer was killed. His neck was broken with a single twist, while he was meditating and his friend, one of the four brothers has witnessed it first hand.

At the same time, he also noticed a black colored spell trying to extract the soul of his friend. He hurriedly used an artefact to prevent that and contacted the elders in charge.

At the same time, Macht received the news of Hammer's death and he took the duty of protecting the first graders. Killing the second first grader that very night.