The silver electronic door opened, and that hearty voice was indeed from Valeri.
He dismissed the male and female attendants, smiling broadly at Guan Tong. "Co in, my friend."
Guan Tong walked through the doorway to find a complexly laid-out exhibition hall inside.
On either side of the hall were spiral staircases extending up to the second floor. In the center was a dance stage where handso n and beautiful won with excellent figures were dancing. Surrounding the stage were various high-priced entertainnt facilities, many of which Guan Tong had never even seen before.
Male and female attendants in tuxedos and masks, carrying red wine, weaved between the various facilities, serving the scions of the powerful who wore light, silky garnts.
Accompanied by sensual music and a faint, elusive fragrance, under the dim, warm-colored lighting, anyone stepping into this place would inevitably feel a bit of intoxicating, leisurely pleasure.
"So, my friend. Are you satisfied with the environnt here? Isn't it quite pleasant and relaxing," Valeri said with a beaming smile.
Like the other guests, he also wore a light, silky garnt, but this fabric paired with his bloated figure was truly hard to complint.
"Director Valeri asked to et . I'm not sure what the matter is?"
To be honest, Guan Tong not only didn't find this place pleasant and relaxing, but instead felt discomfort in his stomach and intense disgust.
Staying in such a decadent, sensual place was worse for him than staying on the desolate mountains of Mingdao Mountain. At least the air there was fresh, unlike here, which was full of nauseating perfu slls.
"Hehe, my friend is a bit impatient."
Seeing Guan Tong get straight to the point with no intention of small talk, Valeri pointed to the second floor.
"Then let's talk in the VIP room upstairs."
"Let's go."
The two walked through the hall and up the spiral staircase. During this ti, occasional gazes fell upon Guan Tong. Most of these looks were filled with malice, with only a few carrying curiosity and scrutiny.
Valeri led Guan Tong into a VIP room on the second floor. It didn't look like much from the outside, but the interior area was extrely large, no less than a presidential suite in a star-rated hotel.
After sitting down, Valeri called for a waiter to bring wine. Guan Tong refused outright, directly asking him to state the purpose of the eting.
"My friend, the night is long, why be in such a hurry? Wouldn't it be nice to talk while savoring so wine?"
Guan Tong remained silent.
Valeri smiled helplessly. "Hehe, alright then. Let's talk business."
As he spoke, he took out a tablet he carried with him, tapped a few tis, and placed it in front of Guan Tong.
Displayed on the screen was a long list of signatures.
Among them were a few he vaguely rembered. He had occasionally heard Yelanka ntion them these past few days; they were all high-ranking officials of the Xisiya Empire.
"These signatories almost encompass the entire military, political, and financial sectors of Xisiya. And the new Administrator they support is Lijeka."
Valeri was surprisingly straightforward. Guan Tong glanced at it a few tis. "Lijeka is already dead."
"Correct, and it was precisely your handiwork."
"..."
"Don't misunderstand, my friend." Valeri waved his hand. "I invited you here today not to settle old scores, but for a brand new beginning."
"What do you an?"
"Yelanka lacks popular support. The important personnel within the official system don't like her either. Even if she succeeds to the position, she won't be able to hold it securely. She knows this herself, which is why she hired you as her bodyguard to protect her, right?"
Valeri wore a look of complete confidence, leaning back against the soft sofa cushion as he smiled and said, "But 'Shadow' can't stay by her side forever. When she can no longer afford your price, you'll leave—our intention now is to advance that outco."
Guan Tong: "Stop beating around the bush. State your terms directly."
"Haha, good, I like straightforward people!" Valeri laughed heartily. "No matter how many Ascension Coins Yelanka is paying you, we'll pay triple... Of course, our Administrator is very beautiful. Perhaps you fancy her beauty. But in Xisiya, beautiful won are hardly rare."
Valeri clapped his hands. Three Xisiya beauties entered the room. One of them looked quite familiar to Guan Tong; he vaguely rembered her as a Xisiya actress from before the Doomsday Rules era.
"How about it? If you're not satisfied, you can pick for yourself later." Valeri lit a cigar, holding it in his mouth, his cunning gaze observing Guan Tong's reaction through the smoke.
To his dissatisfaction, Guan Tong didn't react much. His expression was one of near-indifferent calm.
Seeing this, Valeri changed his approach. "If you're not satisfied with these terms, we can negotiate further. But I believe you must be a smart person, and smart people know how to assess the situation."
"Assess the situation?"
"Exactly. Yelanka is like a 'bare-staff emperor' from your ancient Beixing history. Even though her position is lofty and transcendent, the policies she issues either don't get implented, or their original intent is deliberately distorted and executed haphazardly... Such an emperor who cannot exercise imperial power is rely a mascot in the palace."
When Valeri spoke of Yelanka, the Administrator, his tone was particularly contemptuous, as if he didn't take her seriously at all.
Guan Tong retorted, "Then who is the real emperor? You?"
"To be precise, it's 'us'." Valeri admitted directly. "The others control the military, politics, and finance. My Security Bureau holds the evidence of their cris, their 'tails', which is the 'espionage' part. Combined, we are the ones who truly make the Xisiya nation operate, not that young, naive woman who thinks killing Lijeka ans she can rest easy."
"..."
Seeing Guan Tong seed sowhat moved, Valeri imdiately struck while the iron was hot.
"If you're not satisfied with these terms, we can offer sothing even higher—making you one of us."
"Oh?"
"'Shadow' is certainly formidable, but as far as I know, you are not affiliated with any official Beixing departnt. An Ascendant fighting alone, no matter how powerful, has limitations... By joining us, you gain the protection of this powerful nation, and you get priority access to rare and precious resources. And what do you get by being Yelanka's bodyguard? Just a paltry sum of Ascension Coins... Even if you're doing it for her personally, it's not worth paying such a high price, is it?"
Guan Tong fell silent for a mont. "Aren't you worried I'll relay everything you said to her?"
"I believe a smart person will make a smart choice." After saying this, Valeri blew a smoke ring, grinning nonchalantly. "And even if you tell her, she can't do anything to us."
"So, what do you want
to do?"
Valeri smiled. "Simple. You just need to do one thing to gain our trust and join us in sharing resources."
"What thing?"
"Kill one person."
"You want
to kill Yelanka?"
"No. A mascot, though useless, would be troubleso if dead... We want you to kill the only sword in her hand."
Guan Tong understood. "You want
to kill Sigaochin."
"Correct!" A cold glint flashed in Valeri's eyes. "This foolishly loyal woman is a nuisance. If you are willing to eliminate her for us, we would be extrely grateful."
"I don't understand." Guan Tong asked. "You say you control the military, politics, finance, and espionage, that you hold all the power. Why do you need
to kill her? Can't you do it yourselves?"
Valeri shook his head. "It's not the sa... We certainly have the ability to kill that woman, but it might cause a lot of trouble. And in terms of assassination skills, who could surpass you?"
After speaking, Valeri proactively initiated a Transaction application.
"To show our sincerity, we'll pay an advance deposit first."
After Guan Tong agreed, he saw Valeri input 1,000,000 Ascension Coins.
This number was rather high for an advance deposit. Guan Tong didn't refuse and chose to accept the Transaction.
"This one million is just the deposit." Valeri said. "After the deed is done, I will pay another four million. This figure, I think, is sufficient to show the extent of our regard for you."
A reward of five million Ascension Coins—this number could drive any rcenary group insane. Valeri had precisely aid at this point to dare use one million as a deposit.
He believed that even "Shadow
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