Brian Carter looked at Emily Harris, frowning, seemingly not expecting this woman to be so capable.

After sheathing her sword, Emily Harris did not delay. She extended two fingers of her right hand and pressed them onto the pattern.

With two metallic clangs, two slender iron rods, each about the length of a finger, popped out from the pattern on the tower wall.

Everyone’s faces lit up with joy. Princess Taylor could no longer contain herself when she saw this—she jumped up, clapped her hands in applause, and looked at David Sullivan with a triumphant glance.

David Sullivan forced a smile, not forgetting to flatter, “A strong general has no weak soldiers. Your Highness, you are truly skilled.”

Pleased with herself, Princess Taylor no longer sought to make things difficult for David Sullivan. But when she looked at Emily Harris again, her smile faded.

Emily Harris stopped. The two slender iron rods had popped out, but there was no picture.

Clearly, there was still a secret to the mechanism.

Emily Harris furrowed her elegant brows, focusing her thoughts. She noticed the mechanism on the wall and soon realized that the material at the mechanism was different from the rest. She quickly deduced that it was a Taiji (Yin-Yang) pattern. Being clever, she immediately determined that the key to the mechanism lay in the black and white dots on the Taiji diagram.

Drawing the circles had helped her identify the black and white dots, and sure enough, a mechanism had popped out. But after those two dots appeared, no hidden compartment emerged from the wall as she had imagined. What should she do next?

Emily Harris certainly understood that the iron rods popping out did not open the hidden compartment; to open it, she needed to use the two iron rods. But exactly how should she use them? Should she turn them left, right, pull them out, or press them back in? Emily Harris hesitated, frowning in thought, staring at the two finger-length iron rods and the wall, feeling troubled.

If she twisted them rashly, would the mechanism lock up?

But if she didn’t twist them and just waited, the picture would never appear. Worst of all, the master gave no hint...

Emily Harris concentrated, while Olivia Morgan and Charles Thompson both pondered deeply, but neither could offer any inspiration. As everyone was perplexed, Brian Carter suddenly said, “Constable Harris, why not try turning those two slender iron rods one turn to the left and three turns to the right?”

Everyone was stunned, not knowing why Brian Carter was so certain about how to open it.

Suddenly, Emily Harris felt as if thunder had struck her heart, a flash of insight crossing her mind. She couldn’t help but glance at Edward Cooper. Olivia Morgan and Charles Thompson also showed expressions of sudden realization, but their faces soon grew heavy.

They understood the key and were also shocked by Brian Carter’s carefulness and meticulousness.

Princess Taylor still didn’t understand and called out, “If you don’t know, don’t talk nonsense. Sister Harris, don’t listen to him.” When she liked someone, she would call them brother or sister, but if she hated someone, she’d want to bite them a few times to vent her anger.

Charles Thompson sighed lightly and said, “Your Highness, Captain Carter is not talking nonsense. This is actually the method the master told us to use to open it.” Seeing that Princess Taylor was still staring blankly, not understanding, Charles Thompson explained, “Didn’t the master just tell them to take the picture with one left and three right? What the master meant was that to open this Taiji mechanism, you need to turn it one turn to the left and three turns to the right.”

Princess Taylor finally understood and quickly said, “So the master had already instructed us. Sister Harris, do as the master said.”

David Sullivan saw that Charles Thompson and Princess Taylor kept mentioning the master’s instructions, and how could he not realize they were trying to cover up Brian Carter’s contribution? He couldn’t help but say, “Even the master’s intentions need to be understood by Captain Carter first.”

Princess Taylor retorted sarcastically, “What’s the use of him understanding? This is something that needs to be done, not just talked about.” As the two argued, Emily Harris had already started turning the mechanism.

One turn left, three turns right.

Sure enough, the Taiji diagram could rotate. The tower wall made clicking sounds, as if it hadn’t been turned in a long time. When Emily Harris’s arm stopped moving and she let go, the Taiji diagram silently popped open, revealing a hidden compartment!

Inside the compartment, there was indeed a painting scroll.

A red silk ribbon was tied around the scroll. The scroll was already yellowed, but the red silk was even more vivid with age, as red as blood.

For a moment, there was a faint sound of breathing in the tower. Some people felt relieved, others heavy-hearted, all releasing the long-suppressed tension.

David Sullivan frowned slightly, looking at Edward Cooper, but thought to himself, the master would never let someone take a painting for no reason—the competition had only just begun. Brian Carter’s performance this time was not inferior, and Princess Taylor was making a scene. Of course, the master would not be like the princess; he surely knew who would truly be useful. Thinking of this, as he saw Emily Harris walking over with the painting, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

But in his eyes, there was a cold glint as he glanced over the scroll and fixed his gaze on Emily Harris’s sword scabbard.

Emily Harris did not look at David Sullivan. She simply walked straight to Edward Cooper, knelt on one knee, and raised the scroll with both hands, saying, “Master, the painting has been retrieved.”

It was her first time speaking; her voice matched her person—crisp, yet tinged with coldness, as if nothing in the world could touch her heart.

Edward Cooper finally opened his eyes and looked at the scroll before him. On his wooden face, a trace of excitement seemed to flash by, but it was as fleeting as a dragonfly skimming the water, the ripples vanishing in an instant.

“Hang it up.”

Emily Harris was slightly taken aback, but Jacob Miller stepped forward and said, “Constable Harris, you’ve worked hard. Let me handle hanging the painting.” He took the scroll, untied the red silk, flicked his wrist, and a steel needle shot out, pinning the scroll to the tower wall.

With a swish, the scroll unfurled, revealing its true form. Princess Taylor couldn’t help but clap and laugh, “Truly impressive! The people of the Five Armies Command are really something.”