Bloodhound’s Regression Instinct

Chapter 94

Yan, having disembarked from the gate, donned his disguise and made a beeline for the mining village. As they neared their destination, Momon, who had been quiet in his pocket, peeked out curiously.

“The aura of the magic stone is palpable,” Momon noted, sensitive to mana as ever. The palm-sized creature spoke with such solemnity that it was endearing.

Yan chuckled and playfully tapped Momon’s skull.

“What are you doing? Stop that at once!”

“The texture’s not bad,” Yan remarked.

“You… You madman!”

As Yan teased Momon, a sign heralding the entrance to the mining village appeared before them.

Welcome to the Mining Village.
The playful expression on Yan’s face vanished in an instant.

“There’s something you’ve been dying to find here, right?” Momon inquired, though Yan had never mentioned it. Momon was quick to pick up on things, even unspoken.

Yan nodded silently.

Momon watched Yan for a moment, then wriggled back into the pocket, signaling he wouldn’t interfere.

Without a moment’s pause, Yan headed deeper into the village.

“Nothing particularly special here…” he mused.

Aside from a large mine, the village was ordinary—restaurants, taverns, a low-quality inn for miners, a general store, a blacksmith selling various tools, and the homes of the villagers.

No trace of mana from the villagers or the miners roaming around.

‘The rebels are definitely here…’

Finding where they were hiding was the priority.

Yan decided to start by exploring the surroundings, beginning with the tavern, the heart of the village’s atmosphere.

Ting-a-ling!

“Welcome, dear guest!”

A bandit-like tavern owner greeted Yan. Inside, miners clinked their beer mugs, their chatter filling the air.

“A beer and some light snacks.”

At Yan’s request, the owner nodded and left.

Yan sat on a wooden chair, tuning into the miners’ conversations, until a particular discussion piqued his interest.

“It’s much easier working here than elsewhere, and the pay’s better, but won’t there be problems later?”

“Ah, don’t worry about it. Just enjoy your drink.”

“But listen, it’s strange. Elsewhere, you’re lucky to get three coins for day and night work, but here it’s tenfold.”

Another miner scowled.

“So what? Are we supposed to leave this lucrative spot for a meager day’s wage?”

“No… but still.”

“Then shut it. We’re finally making good money after so long, don’t jinx it.”

“Hmm.”

Yan smiled wryly as the conversation ended.

It wasn’t the talk of the miners that revealed anything—it was the reactions of those listening.

‘The owner and the staff first.’

Their eyes dimmed the moment a miner voiced suspicion, as if monitoring for any overstep.

Yan slurped his hot soup and gulped down his beer, then promptly stood up.

As Yan rose, the owner, who had been eyeing the miners coldly, composed himself and approached.

“Oh, finished already? You must’ve been hungry.”

“Yes, yes. This is for the food and beer.”

“Thank you, guest!”

Yan left the tavern, greeted by the owner’s farewell.

Momon popped his head out again.

“That guy looked suspicious, aren’t you going to interrogate him?”

Momon too had sensed something off about the owner’s demeanor.

Yan shrugged.

“There’s no need to stir the grass and startle the snake when we have the luxury of time. Besides, it’s not certain. Maybe the miners just rubbed him the wrong way.”

Momon giggled at the analogy.

“That’s a funny way to put it. No need to startle the snake by stirring the grass…”

Anyway.

With the presence of suspected revolutionary members confirmed in the tavern, it was time to move on to the next location.

Yan’s gaze shifted towards other buildings in the village.

“Shall we start with the general store?”

* * *

Two Hours Later

After meticulously inspecting every nook and cranny for over two hours, Yan couldn’t help but let out a wry chuckle.

“Who would’ve thought.”

Yan had visited every place in the village, starting with the tavern. From simple greetings to leading questions, he gathered information and came to a startling realization.

“Never would I have guessed that all the villagers were part of the revolution.”

He hadn’t sensed any mana from the villagers, which is why he hadn’t noticed sooner.

To think they filled an entire village with their own people? It was a bold move, to say the least.

They must have displaced the original villagers and taken their place.

If this fact were to reach the special task force or the security forces, it would be tantamount to exposing themselves.

‘The mine must be of great importance then.’

Yan’s lips curled into a smile.

The pattern he was searching for had emerged in a place of interest to them.

Which meant something was definitely there.

As Yan stroked his chin, feeling encouraged,

“Hey!”

Someone approached Yan.

His eyes narrowed. There shouldn’t be anyone in this mining village who would call out to him.

He slowly turned to see who had called him.

A simple face, nothing special, hidden under a flat cap.

“And probably the personal details of the miners you’ll encounter.”

It was one of the miners whose details Bella had given him before.

His name was Tom.

Like Yan, he was a miner who traveled around the empire, earning his wages.

One thing was certain: he was not part of the revolution.

“New face, huh? Came here to work?”

Tom scrutinized Yan’s physique with a slight frown.

“But with that body, you’ll find it hard to endure the harsh mines.”

He seemed to think Yan lacked the strength due to his smaller stature.

Of course, beneath his clothes, his muscles were tightly packed.

Yan smiled innocently.

“As long as the pay is good, I can manage.”

“Oh! Quite the spirited one, aren’t you? Well, the pay here is indeed generous.”

Tom, who seemed to have been here for a while, offered to show Yan how to register as a miner at the employment office.

Yan thought to himself as he looked at Tom.

‘He’s the perfect mark with his nosy nature and no connection to my disguise.’

With his thoughts in order, Yan beamed brightly.

“Thank you!”

* * *

Amidst Idle Chatter

Yan, while engaging in idle chatter with Tom, swiftly completed his miner registration.

“Though today’s work is done, I’ll need to know about the mines since I start tomorrow.”

Tom’s hearty laughter was music to Yan’s ears, though outwardly, he played the part of a naive young man, overwhelmed with gratitude.

Tom chuckled at Yan’s demeanor and slung an arm around his shoulder.

“Don’t feel so obliged. If it’s really bothering you, how about buying me a beer later?”

With that, Tom headed towards the mine, where miners were emerging from their day’s labor.

* * *

The Scent of Secrets

Yan wrinkled his nose as he entered the mine’s entrance, assaulted by the pungent smell of chemicals. Tom, walking beside him, pinched his nose, clearly affected by the stench.

“I’ve worked here for a week, and I still can’t get used to this awful smell. I can’t even tell what it is.”

Tom grumbled as he moved forward. Unlike Tom, Yan knew exactly what the smell was.

‘The drug needed for mining magic stones.’

It was a suppressant to prevent the mana-laden magic stones from exploding upon impact.

The presence of this smell confirmed Yan’s hypothesis from the moment he heard about this place.

To the outside world, it seemed like a foolish consortium pouring money into a defunct mine.

In reality, they were secretly scraping together magic stones, amassing funds without anyone’s knowledge.

As they ventured further in, they saw a few miners sweating over their pickaxes in a large clearing.

“This is where you’ll be working from now on.”

“It looks incredibly tough,” Yan observed.

Just then, a man supervising from atop a large rock spotted Tom and Yan and scowled, shouting,

“Hey! You there!”

Tom, recognizing the supervisor, tipped his hat and nodded.

“Yes, Supervisor.”

“Tom? Weren’t you off duty?”

Tom laughed heartily, patting Yan’s shoulder.

“He’s a new recruit starting tomorrow. I was just showing him the ropes so he doesn’t get lost on his first day.”

“What?”

The supervisor jumped down from the rock and strode towards them, his approach sudden and direct.

Tom looked taken aback by the supervisor’s abrupt demeanor.

“Didn’t I say the mine is off-limits after work hours?”

“Ah, well, that is…”

Tom broke into a cold sweat under the supervisor’s sharp gaze.

That’s when Yan stepped in.

“I apologize. It’s my fault for being unreliable.”

The supervisor turned his glare to Yan, who bowed his head as if he were a great sinner.

The supervisor scrutinized Yan, who was apologizing profusely, then warned Tom.

“Do this again, and you’re fired.”

“F-fired?!”

“Enough talk, get out! Before you freeze to death.”

At the supervisor’s words, Tom turned away with a crestfallen look.

“Yes, yes. Understood.”

Yan subtly lifted his head.

A flicker of excitement passed through his eyes.

‘I’ve found it.’

On the walls of the mining site where the magic stones were being extracted, there were patterns identical to those on his pendant and the ones drawn on the chest of the Grand Instructor.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you leaving?”

Yan wanted to examine the patterns on the wall a bit longer, but he had to leave to avoid suspicion.

So, he memorized the scene and turned away, leaving with a sense of regret.

But it wasn’t just a feeling of loss.

He was now certain he could obtain information about the patterns here.

* * *

The Whistle of Change

Yan, stepping out of the mine, promptly purchased paper and a pen from a general store. Then, he and Tom headed to the tavern.

Tom, watching Yan scribble away in the tavern, tilted his head in curiosity.

“Writing a letter to your parents?”

“Not to my parents, but to an acquaintance,” Yan replied.

Tom chuckled heartily.

“A lover, perhaps? You seem quite merry as you write.”

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

Tom stood up, patting Yan’s shoulder.

“Enjoy it while it lasts. I’m off to the dorm to sleep, but you’ll finish that and come back, right?”

“Yes.”

Tom laughed, downing the rest of his beer in one gulp before leaving the tavern.

Yan, left alone inside, neatly folded the lengthy letter he had written and stepped outside.

Whistle!

At Yan’s whistle, a hawk approached from somewhere in the distance. It was the bird that Bella had spent a significant portion of the funds on.

A bird that could fly across the sky and deliver information at incredible speeds would greatly expand their network, or so the theory went.

Anyway.

“Make sure this gets to Bella.”

It was a very important letter, one that could bring the hammer down on this blocked mine.

Screech!

As the letter was tied to its leg, the hawk screeched, flapping its wings vigorously as it soared into the sky.

Then, it swiftly returned to where it had come from.

Yan watched the hawk’s retreating figure with a sly grin.

“I wonder who will bite? Hopefully, it’s a big catch brimming with greed.”

Breaking through this place, filled solely with revolutionaries, was tough.

But with those driven by greed, it’s a different story.

They would bring tremendous chaos to this quiet mining village.

Yan cracked his shoulders and headed back to the dorm.

“It seems I’m destined for a miner’s work for a while.”

While Bella diligently carried out the tasks he had assigned, he would have to work in the mine and learn the geography of the tunnels.

Yet, there was no hint of displeasure on Yan’s face.

Instead, it was filled with anticipation and excitement.