Upon releasing Ma Eiman, Wang Lan’s brows, instead of relaxing, furrowed even more tightly.
He had originally thought Ma Eiman’s cooperation with Paradise Bird would at least yield the whereabouts of the Ti-Space Gemstone. If not that, he hoped for so information about Paradise Bird’s mbers. However, Ma Eiman’s mory only contained details of his past cooperation with Paradise Bird and no clue as to where the Ti-Space Gemstone was.
The excavation of the Ti-Space Gemstone had also been carried out by Paradise Bird themselves and then taken away by them. Moreover, Paradise Bird did not plan to activate the Ti-Space Gemstone in South Summon Kingdom, reasoning that doing so wouldn’t force the World Governnt’s hand.
Then the question arose: in which country would Paradise Bird activate the Ti-Space Gemstone? Wang Lan pondered and concluded there were only two possibilities—Jade Country and White Eagle Country, specifically in the major cities of these two nations.
The cost of opening the Portal of the Demon World in a small country was too great. It had been catastrophic that year when the Portal of the Demon World was opened in the host country, within a tropolis of 20,000,000 inhabitants; most of the southern forces had to be transferred there.
As a result, the host country, in a ruthless act, detonated 12 nuclear bombs. Three hundred thousand Demon Clan soldiers, countless Exotic Beasts, hundreds of Demon Clan ships, and innurable Biochemical Demon Soldiers were all reduced to ash.
That single act of devastation bought Jade Country a whole month, ultimately causing the Demon Clan to fail in their conquest of Jade Country’s entire territory and forcing their retreat.
The Demon Clan will rember this lesson for a lifeti, Wang Lan mused.
And I actually hoped Ma Eiman had the Ti-Space Gemstone? With *your* intelligence, Ma Eiman, no wonder you could only stage such a crude coup.
Wang Lan looked down at Ma Eiman, now reduced to an imbecile, let out a cold laugh, then picked him up and turned to leave.
"Your Excellency Wang Lan, could I... could I execute Ma Eiman myself?"
"He is to stand trial at the International Court. How can I hand him over to you now?"
"Him, now?" Moka looked at Ma Eiman, who lay like a dead dog. "His mind is no longer clear. Can he still be tried?"
"As long as he is alive, that’s good enough."
"Mission accomplished: Investigate the Cloud Sea spatial beast tide. Complete the South Summon Kingdom coup task. Reward: 1,000,000 experience points, 100,000 skill points."
The system’s notification sounded in his mind. The corners of Wang Lan’s mouth curled up slightly as his figure flickered and vanished from the palace.
What happened next was of little concern to Wang Lan. He handed Ma Eiman over and reported directly to his superiors. Yet, the looming threat hanging over everyone’s heads still persisted.
「Jade Country, the Capital.」
Wang Lan stood before Mr. Jin, reporting on the mission’s process and results. Overall, the process had been smooth, and the results satisfactory. The only point of dissatisfaction was the unknown whereabouts of the Ti-Space Gemstone.
"From the information extracted from Ma Eiman’s mory, Paradise Bird indeed intends to open the Portal of the Demon World, but the location for opening it must be carefully chosen. I boldly speculate that they will only choose major cities in Jade Country or White Eagle Country. Comparatively, the likelihood is greater in Jade Country."
"Why?"
"Jade Country’s strength is evident to all, and it is also the foremost of the five permanent mbers of the United Nations. If the Portal of the Demon World is opened in Jade Country, it would be difficult for the UN to directly order a nuclear strike. Similarly, Jade Country places a higher value on human rights and the lives of its citizens than other nations. We will not forsake the life of any individual unless absolutely necessary. The Demon Clan is banking on this. Furthermore, we have made things very difficult for Paradise Bird in recent years, so out of a sense of revenge, they would likely choose Jade Country."
"Your analysis makes a lot of sense. As it happens, Eld Di is also in the Capital. Let take you to et him, and we can discuss this matter with him."
"Eld Di is in the Capital?"
Elsewhere in the Capital, within a heavily guarded military research institution, several researchers in white lab coats stared intently at the data on their screens.
"Wavelength input: successful."
"Wavelength discrimination in progress. Wavelength detection module activated. Wavelength successfully identified. Warning lights: ON."
"Did it succeed?"
"It succeeded! It really did! Hidden 3 kiloters away, at a depth of 150 ters underground, wrapped in special insulation material, and shielded by a special electromagnetic net—yet it was successfully detected! It’s unbelievable!"
"Indeed, and the data is very clear and stable. A pity about Dr. Wen Wen; he truly was a genius."
"We’ve spent hundreds of billions... After burning through so much money, we’ve finally made a substantive breakthrough. It’s been so hard... Finally, we won’t be cursed by the public anymore..."
"More than hundreds of billions? The two Quantum Colliders alone cost 50,000,000,000."
"That’s right! I’ll go report to Eld Di right now," He Yuanzhong said excitedly, taking off his lab coat and heading out.
Wang Lan, in Mr. Jin’s car, arrived at the entrance of a siheyuan. A few minutes before them, another car had pulled up. After its passenger alighted, they dashed into the courtyard, clearly in a great rush.
"What’s with that person? Could he harbor ill intentions toward Eld Di?" Mr. Jin’s expression imdiately grew solemn, and he quickly braked to a stop.
"That’s President He. He was initially invited to Modu City to conduct research. What’s he doing in the Capital?"
"You’re talking about He Yuanzhong? Ah, I know him. The entire research group from Modu City ca to the Capital last month," Mr. Jin said as he got out of the car.
Entering the siheyuan, they saw He Yuanzhong reporting sothing to Eld Di.
"Did you really figure it out?"
"We did. The Ti-Space Gemstone indeed emits a special wavelength. This wavelength is also a pan-spatial transmission wavelength, unhindered by any material substance. Whether through high-intensity magnetic fields, extre environnts, any thod of containnt, or even in an absolute vacuum, the wavelength remains remarkably stable. This transmission requires no dium."
"What’s the detection range of your detector?"
"Three kiloters. That’s because our current equipnt lacks sensitivity. If we had more ti to research and develop more precise instrunts, the detection range could undoubtedly be increased multifold."
Just then, Wang Lan and Mr. Jin walked over.
"Eh? Wang Lan, you’ve co just at the right ti," Eld Di greeted with a smile. "Little Jin is here too. Is there so difficult problem?"
"It’s still about the South Summon Kingdom situation. The Ti-Space Gemstone from there ultimately fell into Paradise Bird’s hands. Wang Lan just returned from South Summon Kingdom. He speculates that Paradise Bird plans to activate the Ti-Space Gemstone in densely populated major cities of our nation and White Eagle Country, with Jade Country being the preferred target."
"Oh..." Eld Di nodded. "This does indeed fit Paradise Bird’s usual M.O. They think by threatening the lives of ordinary people, they can force us into inaction... That’s wishful thinking."
"Since the Ti-Space Gemstone can’t be placed into spatial equipnt, we need strict security at all checkpoints. First, to prevent the Ti-Space Gemstone from entering, and second, to imdiately control it upon detection."
Mr. Jin had just finished speaking when Wang Lan added, "Also, I must be on standby at all tis. Currently, I’m the only one capable of effectively stopping the opening of the Portal of the Demon World. If I can get to the scene right when the Ti-Space Gemstone is activated, I can stop it, even if Paradise Bird manages to open the Portal of the Demon World."
The Phoenix Form’s Power of Space had been exhausted. The Ti-Space Gemstone, which made others pale at its re ntion, was like a power bank to Wang Lan. Of course, that was provided he could get there in ti.
"Is this the counterasure you’ve co up with?" Eld Di asked after listening.
"For now, this is all we have. If there are any shortcomings, I hope Eld Di can supplent them."
"Hahaha... What can an old man like add? Actually, President He here has sothing good to contribute. He just reported to that he has successfully researched the pan-spatial energy wave emitted by the Ti-Space Gemstone."
"Eh?"
"Two months ago, the Ti-Space Gemstone in the Imperial Capital underwent another collision experint, successfully extracting pan-spatial energy waves. Although it resulted in the destruction of a Quantum Collider, the gain was still worthwhile. President He has already developed a Ti-Space Gem Detector with a detection range of a 3-kiloter radius."
"Really? That’s great! With this detector, we can install them in all major cities nationwide, just like a dense network of road surveillance. As soon as a Ti-Space Gemstone appears, we’ll locate it imdiately."
"That’s exactly what I was thinking. However, we need ti. The construction of the Ti-Space Gem Detectors is quite complicated. If we had half a year, we’re confident we could complete the installation in major cities. For nationwide deploynt, we’d need at least 2 years."
"Paradise Bird definitely won’t give us that much ti. The priority is to install them in the Capital and Modu City, followed by first-tier and then second-tier cities. I’ll report the construction of the detectors to the higher-ups imdiately and push for production at full speed."
"By the way, General Wang, I’m afraid there’s sothing I need to trouble you with," He Yuanzhong suddenly said, turning to Wang Lan.
"Eh? What is it?"
"We’ve been studying the Ti-Space Gemstone for over a year now. In the past few days, we’ve detected so energy reactions from it. It seems... after more than a year, the Ti-Space Gemstone has regained so of its energy. Could you help us deal with it?"
That’s excellent news! Wang Lan’s eyes lit up imdiately. Talk about a godsend! Just when I was worried about my depleted Power of Space and inability to teleport, the Ti-Space Gemstone shows energy reactions. This is perfect for replenishing it.
Upon leaving Eld Di’s place, he followed He Yuanzhong directly to the research facility. The mont he touched the Ti-Space Gemstone, a prompt indeed indicated pure energy available for absorption.
The Power of Space accumulated over a year was only about one-fiftieth of a full charge. But even this small amount was enough for Wang Lan to perform several Space Movents.
He hadn’t appreciated its value before, using teleportation lavishly for two years. Now he understood how precious the Power of Space was. Once he found that other Ti-Space Gemstone, Wang Lan vowed to himself to use it sparingly and avoid any waste.
After leaving the research facility, there wasn’t much else for him to do. Wang Lan just needed to be on standby, ready to provide support whenever the Ti-Space Gemstone appeared. For the following days, Wang Lan stayed at his ho in the Capital.
Wang Lan owned three towers in Suzhou City, a shopping mall in Modu City, and another comrcial plaza in the Imperial Capital. Although the comrcial plaza in the Imperial Capital wasn’t as large as the one in Modu City, its location in the Imperial Capital ant its revenue was by no ans less than that of the Modu City property.
At each property, Wang Lan had a 500-square-ter "snail residence." During this period of waiting for news, Wang Lan lived the life of a hobody. Unconsciously, 10 days passed. While Wang Lan was leisurely lying on the balcony, soaking up the sun, the elevator doors suddenly opened without warning.
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