Holding her husband’s warm hands, Yao Zhi smiled softly and reassured him, "Husband, don’t worry. I won’t put myself in danger. I bought these using merit points. I just need to do more good deeds to repay the debt afterward."

Fu Chen’an remained skeptical and raised his brows slightly. "You only need to do more good deeds?"

Yao Zhi nodded. "Yes. Good deeds earn merit points. These manuals cost a huge amount of merit points, so now I owe the System a large debt. I simply need to accumulate more merit through helping people."

Hearing this explanation, Fu Chen’an finally relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.

"After we reclaim Northeast City, there will be many opportunities to do good deeds. The people there are suffering terribly. Once the war ends, they will need help rebuilding their homes and lives."

"Then you must tell me whenever there’s an opportunity."

"Okay."

After confirming that his wife had not endangered herself, Fu Chen’an finally accepted the manuals.

Since he was still in the middle of a dangerous mission, he didn’t immediately examine them and instead stored them carefully inside his spatial bag.

The couple chatted for a while longer before Yao Zhi finally left the shared manor to rest.

At midnight, Fu Chen’an once again put on his disguise and left the shared manor.

When he appeared on the beam, Fu Chen’an slowed his breathing using his internal energy to conceal his presence. He waited silently for a while until he was certain no one was nearby before leaping down and continuing his search.

He had already searched the entire room the previous night. Since the defense map was extremely important, the highest possibility was that it was hidden inside a secret compartment.

With this thought in mind, he carefully inspected every corner of the room once more.

Three hours later, he still found nothing.

Just as he thought he would have to wait until the following night to continue searching, he suddenly heard a soft click beneath his foot.

Looking down, he noticed that he was standing on a tiny protruding pattern hidden behind a pillar. The protrusion was extremely small. If not for sheer luck, he would never have discovered it.

Crouching down, he pressed the protruding pattern lightly.

The next moment, a cracking sound echoed softly as one of the floor tiles shifted open.

Seeing this, Fu Chen’an’s eyes lit up.

He removed the tile carefully and finally discovered a rolled map made of animal skin hidden underneath. Opening it quickly, he checked the contents and confirmed that it was indeed the city defense map.

Without hesitation, he stored the map inside his spatial bag before restoring the tile exactly as it had been before.

Now that he had accomplished his objective, it was time to leave.

He never once entertained grand ambitions such as assassinating the barbarian General.

Fu Chen’an understood his own limits very clearly. Even if he succeeded in killing the General, the commotion would immediately alert the entire mansion, trapping him inside the mansion.

Just like before, he left the General’s mansion through the backyard area. Everything went smoothly, which actually made him more cautious.

After arriving at an abandoned house several alleys away, he entered the shared manor and removed his disguise.

He changed into old, tattered clothes, altered his appearance again, and wrapped ten steamed buns and five salted duck eggs inside a cloth bundle.

After filling two waterskins with boiled water, he left the shared manor once more. He waited inside the abandoned house until dawn.

Then, he smeared dirt all over his face, hunched his back, grabbed a stick, and pretended to limp as he slowly made his way back toward the rendezvous point.

It took him nearly an hour to arrive at the dark alley.

When the people living there saw him, they merely glanced at him indifferently before looking away.

It was common for grown men to be killed by the barbarians. Those fortunate enough to survive were usually crippled and incapable of resisting anymore. Judging from the way he dragged one leg behind him, they assumed his leg was broken as well.

Keeping his head lowered, Fu Chen’an continued forward until he finally reached the end of the alley. The moment he saw that all his team members had safely returned, he quietly heaved a sigh of relief.

The soldiers were startled when they first noticed someone approaching them. Initially, they thought he was one of the local refugees. But once they recognized his face, their eyes brightened instantly.

"Squad Leader, you are finally back," one of the soldiers whispered.

Fu Chen’an stopped pretending and sat beside them. "Have you gathered all the information?"

The soldiers nodded and handed over several papers along with a few small items they had collected during their investigation.

Fu Chen’an accepted everything and stored it inside his spatial bag.

"Get some proper rest. We will leave tonight," he instructed quietly.

"Understood," the soldiers replied with nods.

None of them dared to speak further for fear of being overheard.

After the brief exchange, Fu Chen’an gestured for them to open their waterskins.

Some soldiers had already run out of water, so he shared his supply with them. Then, he removed the cloth bundle hidden inside his clothes. Inside were the food items he had prepared earlier.

"I found these inside the General’s mansion," he said calmly. "Everyone gets one steamed bun and half an egg."

Seeing the food, the soldiers did not suspect anything unusual.

After all, their Squad Leader had infiltrated the General’s mansion successfully, so it was only natural for him to obtain decent food and enough drinking water there.

They thanked him gratefully before devouring the food quickly.

Their dried rations had nearly run out, and yesterday they had only eaten half a black steamed cake each. Since they still needed to climb down the cliff again tonight, they had to restore as much strength as possible.

Once they finished eating and drinking, everyone closed their eyes to rest.