The fish has taken the bait—after disguising the communication signal and calling a secret channel in the Dark teor Domain, a certain faster-than-light communication array linked to Deep Rock Fortress actually received an unknown feedback signal. The origin of the signal vaguely pointed to a certain deep space between the Dark teor Domain and the Great Triangle Nebula, and the encoding thod conford to Luo's recent decryption results.
Momo has already activated sound field shielding in the communication room. Within the safety zone, the technicians imdiately got busy:
"Hurry, hurry, hurry, get the lights in place!"
"Boss, just pay attention to your lines later and don't make big movents—be careful not to pull off 'Old Qiao's' arm."
"Effects team, effects team, get ready for interference effects later..."
"All units are ready!"
"Received the second handshake signal, communication device ready to power up, five seconds! All personnel mute, 'actors' on stage—"
The communication device set in the center of the room emitted a deep humming sound, and a large holographic projection swiftly appeared with trembling lines. The signal from distant deep space, encrypted and disguised multiple tis, was transmitted into Deep Rock Fortress and restored into a clear communication signal by Luo's recent decoding thod. Those trembling lines ford a figure wearing a white robe, with a seemingly gorgeous palace in the background.
The other party's face was processed, covered with a vague blur, and the voice ca with a noticeable alteration: "Why contact us suddenly? It's not the agreed communication ti..."
Erin suddenly grabbed Yu Sheng's hair, and even within the sound field shielding range, she instinctively lowered her voice: "Hey, do you think you can get rid of the mosaic on this guy's face?"
Yu Sheng: "I guess not, this should be processed on the sending end..."
Erin: "Oh."
anwhile, "Old Qiao" on the communications platform already leaned forward, pressing his hands aggressively on the guardrail with his signature posture that showed oppression and displeasure, his voice from the chest ca out rough and angry: "Don't talk about agreed communication ti—how many things are you still hiding from ?!"
Yu Sheng imdiately gave a thumbs up towards Luo secretly: emotional, expression on point, movents smooth, and the lines were correct.
The Hidden Monastery priest on the other end of the communicator was clearly taken aback by this suddenly intense questioning. When faced with baseless questioning, one's ability to observe and think evidently decreases. He instinctively opened his mouth: "What does this sentence an..."
"Old Qiao" rudely interrupted him: "Why not inform that 'Luo' might be carrying an Angel Relic!"
Just that one sentence, any other doubts the priest on the other end might have had were instantly erased—Yu Sheng even clearly saw that the figure in the white robe swayed and then followed by an uncontrolled low exclamation: "Heaven, Angel Relic!? Do you know what you are talking about?!"
"Old Qiao" appropriately straightened up slightly, adopting a convincingly puzzled expression, his tone also beca a bit softer: "...You don't know?"
"Of course not!" The priest on the other end, clearly couldn't suppress the excitent in his emotions. The calm and dignified posture he initially displayed had long been unsustainable, "What exactly is the situation? Didn't you say you were going to reorganize to deal with that woman? Why involve 'Angel Relic'?"
"Old Qiao" adopted a contemplative posture, only speaking in a deep voice after being urged again: "That woman stole sothing when she escaped from Boundary Land—a Special Service Bureau item."
The priest in a white robe on the other side remained unmoved, yet it seed he took a deep breath—clearly, he was linking this to the recent intelligence that scouts brought back from Boundary Land.
World Bridge collapse, Angel Catalyst scattering at the border, black market cleansing and the recent search teams dispatched by the Special Service Bureau...
It all matched.
"Old Qiao" then continued at the right mont after giving the other party a few seconds to think: "...A couple of days ago, I organized another siege. This ti, I finally managed to force the woman into a corner. I was about to capture her, but didn't expect her to activate a bizarre device—I didn't know what it was at the ti; it tore apart the space right in front of . The impact when the rift opened killed half my soldiers!
"Then she escaped through the rift—I simply couldn't stop her. The rift collapsed and left only a black stone on the spot."
"Old Qiao" purposely paused at this mont.
On the other side, the priest in a white robe promptly spoke: "Black stone? Where is that thing now?"
"Don't hurry—" "Old Qiao" slowed his speaking pace, "I now know what that thing is—in Boundary Land, I have my own intelligence channels. It seems... that thing is indeed very important to you?"
"He" finished asking and kept his mouth shut, leaving the rest for the white-robed priest across to fill in.
The figure on the other side of the communicator swayed slightly and raised his hand, signaling this side to wait a mont, then seed to quickly communicate with soone else through the communicator. After a while, the voice from the speaker finally sounded, "We know your intention—na your price, as long as we can accept it."
Old Qiao pressed his hands on the rail again, speaking in a threatening tone, "Na a price? That thing killed hundreds of my soldiers, and it almost took my life!"
"But that's not our issue—the woman stealing the Angel Catalyst from the Special Service Bureau was unexpected," said the white-robed priest calmly, hesitated a bit under Old Qiao's relentless stance, and then reported a series of numbers.
Yu Sheng had no concept of the numbers ntioned by the white-robed priest, but he turned to look at Luo, seeing the Golden-haired Elf not just with sparkling eyes but seemingly glowing all over...
"I've never seen a deal this big in my life! Enough to build another Black Stone Station!" Luo noticed Yu Sheng's gaze and quickly said, "This damned... these wealthy cultists indeed."
"Stay composed!" Yu Sheng imdiately reminded upon seeing the other's state, "Don't agree just like that—consider Old Qiao's character and how he should react now, pay attention to the lines and expressions!"
Luo quickly adjusted her mindset, while secretly marveling at the wealth of the cultists, she continued to focus on controlling the shell on the communication platform, uttering the most insincere words of her life: "Do you think money alone can move ?"
This seed to have been anticipated by the white-robed priest.
He posed a thoughtful manner, quickly exchanged with soone far away for quite a while, and finally re-reported a price.
"... This is a worthwhile deal for you," after naming the price, he added, "That thing is useless to you, keeping it only adds danger, and attracts the Special Service Bureau's attention, better sell it at a good price."
Luo was stunned after hearing the second quote.
And they clearly interpreted her two seconds of being stunned as wavering, so the priest promptly continued, "Mundane wealth is a fleeting illusion, my friend—that's just a stepping stone to the Path of Venerate Saint. We are engaged in a greater cause, its accomplishnt surpasses any wealth. You should see the value behind this deal; once the Gate of Eden opens smoothly, any constraints the filthy, broken universe imposes on you will be aningless, in the new world, you have unlimited possibilities.
"Rember? Opening the Gate of Eden—that's our common goal."
Luo took a gentle breath, she quickly weighed whether to agree—agreeing too easily or appearing too hesitant could arouse the other's suspicion, although the Angel Catalyst itself is enough to make the cultists sowhat relax their guard, any suspicion before it truly enters the Hidden Monastery's lair could ruin the entire plan.
She had parted ways from Old Qiao's control nearly two hundred years ago.
Finally, she exchanged a glance with Momo.
The other nodded slightly.
"Alright, deal then," the "Old Qiao" on the communication platform finally nodded, "It's good to get rid of that damned bizarre stone early—hope your technology is as reliable as you claim."
"A wise decision," the white-robed priest on the communication interface finally showed a relieved expression, but quickly asked, "Is the previous delivery channel still safe? Has the Special Service Bureau tracked you?"
"They still don't know that the thing is in my hands now, and their reach doesn't extend into the Dark teor Domain," "Old Qiao" instantly replied, "I'll send the thing to the Fault—the point is that your quoted price must be fulfilled first, and it must be Unified Exchange Coin or Algerde Energy Currency, those are the only two I recognize."
"… There's no issue with the second, but we need to verify the condition of the 'Angel Catalyst' before making paynt," the white-robed priest shook his head, "It's not about mistrusting you, but necessary caution—the world knows little about the 'Angel Catalyst,' and that cunning 'bureau chief' at the Special Service Bureau is always full of intrigues, we must ensure the thing hasn't been tampered with."
Luo suddenly felt the other's words were right, almost wanting to stand and applaud, but she still controlled the "Old Qiao" on stage to show a hesitant resisting look—after rounds of repeated disputes and confrontations, she finally pretended to be persuaded by the other's outstanding negotiation skills and reluctantly agreed to let the other pay one-third of the deposit, then have the experts from the Hidden Monastery examine the authenticity of the Angel Catalyst at the Morona Fault delivery site.
Once negotiations were settled, the white-robed priest in the holographic projection finally slightly relaxed, then nodded, and said sincerely, "If the Angel Catalyst is real, then we won't need those 'data' anymore; the sages have ways to fix the gaps in the gate—our noble cause is advancing by a great step, and your contribution will be permanently inscribed on the Path of Venerate Saint's monunt."
"Whatever, as long as you rember your promise."
"Old Qiao" said solemnly, and then neatly cut off the communication.
The holographic projection quickly extinguished, the buzzing communication device returned to calm, after confirmation that the signal was completely cut off, the "Old Qiao" on the platform dropped his hands despondently, turning into an lifeless iron shell again.
Then the entire hall erupted with thunderous applause...
Reviews
All reviews (0)