Chapter 1277: Chapter 1277: Research Facility (Big Chapter, Requesting Monthly Votes)
“I apologize for not telling you in advance,”
Li Cheng looked at He Ao, who seed a bit confused, and paused slightly, speaking in a calm tone, “I got a little excited just now. If you’re unwilling to take on the position of director, I support you in designating soone as the successor of the Research Institute.”
“Old Li,”
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhengyun couldn’t help but speak. He glanced at He Ao, paused for a mont, and calmly said, “I’m confident in He Ao’s abilities, but…”
He opened his mouth, wanting to say sothing but hesitating.
“Old Li, I have no objections to you having He Ao take over; we’ve all seen his capabilities and are aware of his reputation in the Western Lands,”
Wu Ganglie, standing beside him, didn’t pause and directly said, “But letting He Ao casually appoint soone might be a bit too much of a joke.”
He Ao lifted his head, looking at the slight smile on Li Cheng’s face, and rubbed his brow.
He was well aware of what Li Cheng’s earlier words ant.
If it was directly stated that He Ao would be the successor to the directorship, the focus of contention would be on He Ao. But if it was said that He Ao could casually appoint soone as successor, the focus of contention would shift to the ‘casually appointed person.’
In this process, whether it was Wu Ganglie or Liu Zhengyun, they would first demonstrate their own ‘concessions’ and ‘sincerity,’ first arguing that they have no objections to He Ao succeeding, and then focus the contention on the ‘casually appointed person.’
To get soone to open a window, you have to propose to take off the roof.
In many of the things He Ao did, the glory fell on ‘Mr. Hao Yi’ and ‘K’. Although he himself had so achievents, it still wasn’t quite enough for him to naturally beco the director of the Research Institute.
But if He Ao received the support of Liu Zhengyun and Wu Ganglie, he could basically succeed smoothly and get through the initial period of doubt.
From this perspective, Li Cheng was indeed sincerely paving the way for He Ao while also arranging his own affairs.
He Ao gazed at Li Cheng and, before Liu Zhengyun and Wu Ganglie could continue their ‘debate,’ smiled softly, “Director, your proposal is quite sudden; I might need so ti to think it over.”
“No problem, I did speak a bit too hastily today,”
Li Cheng smiled, looked at He Ao, and said aningfully, “However, what I said earlier is true. If you don’t want to be the director, you can also appoint soone who you think is fit for the responsibility to be the director.”
Hearing these words, not only Liu Zhengyun and Wu Ganglie but even He Ao was slightly taken aback.
He initially thought Li Cheng was just making a provocative statent to draw attention, but he hadn’t expected him to truly an it.
The Research Institute was an organization built painstakingly by Li Cheng over half his life, brick by brick.
Even though there were many old comrades like Liu Zhengyun who helped along the way, it didn’t diminish Li Cheng’s contributions. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been the one to beco director.
He wasn’t just the most powerful in the Research Institute but also the one with the most seniority and contributions.
And now, he wanted to easily hand over to He Ao the organization he built through half a lifeti of effort.
Moreover, the Research Institute was still the apparent leader of all Transcendent organizations in the Main World, and mishandling it could lead to internal collapse.
This was effectively placing the fate of the Main World into He Ao’s hands.
At first glance, it seed sowhat ‘frivolous.’
But soon, He Ao understood what Li Cheng ant.
Even if He Ao was unwilling to be the director, if the person he recomnded beca the director, he would still sowhat consider past relationships, and help the Research Institute when it faces a crisis.
And the biggest problem the Research Institute might face now would be the potential arrival of the Evil God’s Advent and mutations arising from nearby relics.
This power was tempting, but the responsibility behind it was equally heavy.
Of course, even if He Ao didn’t beco the director and didn’t acquire this power, he wouldn’t be able to stand by once the true ‘World Apocalypse’ arrived. He’d always have to intervene.
In fact, he had always been doing things to obstruct the Evil God’s Advent, just not under the identity of ‘He Ao.’
Therefore, the ‘olive branch’ that Li Cheng extended carried no true cost for He Ao.
Whether Li Cheng gave him power or not, he would continue doing what he’d always been doing.
However, Li Cheng could likely sense this too. Although he probably didn’t know about He Ao’s other identities, he would surely notice that, given He Ao’s character, he wouldn’t stand idly by when the Divine Beings descended to the Main World.
From this angle, it might not be about giving He Ao increased responsibility by granting him power, but rather, he believed He Ao could shoulder that responsibility, which is why he’s willing to give him power.
Of course, there was likely so suspicion of a connection between He Ao and ‘Mr. Hao Yi’ and ‘K,’ but these connections didn’t really add much ‘credit’ to He Ao within the Research Institute and might even ‘subtract’ from it.
He Ao was well aware that Li Cheng, at his core, didn’t trust the mysterious Mr. Hao Yi, nor did he trust ‘K,’ who had saved the world nurous tis.
He was willing to coordinate with ‘K’ to push through various policies, but he would also remain wary of ‘K’ and the Church that worshipped him; these weren’t mutually exclusive.
His sole goal was to protect this world.
Any Divine Being could be a potential threat, which was also why he wanted promotion.
Yet in this situation, he was still willing to let He Ao beco director.
Stripping away all the manipulative elents, He Ao could sense the pure ‘trust.’
Sorting through the implications of Li Cheng’s words, He Ao, facing the ‘olive branch’ extended by the recently acquainted director, initially felt a sense of being at a loss.
He sighed lightly and smiled, “Director, you’re still well, and we’re already discussing your posthumous affairs. Isn’t this sowhat inappropriate?”
“No worries, no rush,”
Li Cheng laughed, then glanced at Liu Zhengyun and Wu Ganglie and casually said, “But I’ve expressed my stance. If I truly die, I won’t be able to handle what happens after.”
Saying this, he paused, looking towards ‘Mr. Hao Yi’ sitting opposite, and spoke in a soft tone, “Since Mr. Hao Yi happens to be here today, could you serve as our witness?”
“Alright,”
‘Mr. Hao Yi’ nodded gently, looked at Li Cheng, and said with a smile, “If you successfully achieve promotion, I can also pretend not to have seen today’s agreent.”
“Ah, you’ve even seen through my small desire for power,”
Li Cheng chuckled, “But I’ll still trouble you with witnessing today.”
“Mm.”
‘Mr. Hao Yi’ gently nodded without saying more.
Liu Zhengyun and Wu Ganglie beside him fell silent, tacitly agreeing to Li Cheng’s words.
“Director,”
At this ti, He Ao directly changed the topic, “You ntioned the promotion, how confident are you?”
“I actually don’t know how likely I am to succeed,”
Li Cheng slightly shook his head and calmly said, “Based on my current estimation, it’s about fifty percent.”
Hearing this, Liu Zhengyun and Wu Ganglie both looked up, gazing at Li Cheng.
“Is a fifty percent probability considered high?”
He Ao asked in confusion.
“We don’t know; we’re all crossing the river by feeling the stones,”
Li Cheng shook his head,
“According to my current state and the information I have obtained, I fear that fifty percent might be the highest probability I can reach. No matter how I adjust my state further, I may be unable to break through this probability, and might even slip down due to hesitance and over-preparation.
“My intuition tells that now is the best ti to choose promotion,”
As he spoke, he turned his head to look at He Ao, “Of course, fifty percent is my current estimate, the highest probability. The actual success rate might only be known after I enter the ruins.”
“Ruins?”
He Ao was slightly taken aback.
‘Hao Yi’ lifted his gaze.
Wu Ganglie and Liu Zhengyun, who were beside him, were also slightly stunned.
“Are you planning to go…”
Liu Zhengyun softly began to speak.
“Yes, I intend to go to the relic facility I first entered,”
Li Cheng nodded slightly. He looked at ‘Hao Yi’ and He Ao, smiled, and said, “Strictly speaking, I was one of the first batch of people to enter the ruins after the channels opened eighteen years ago, and one of the ‘lucky ones’ among those explorers,”
He gradually continued,
“Actually, the initial patterns of the ruins opening were sowhat different from now, at least the one I experienced was different,”
“During my ti, all who entered were ordinary people. Although everyone ended up in different locations, in fact, we were all trapped in the sa research facility.”
At this point, Li Cheng paused, “Initially, we all thought we were alone until we encountered others.”
He Ao noticed the implication in Li Cheng’s words and asked softly, “Were there many people?”
“Many,” Li Cheng nodded gently, “From what I know, at least a hundred people went in with us.”
His voice beca long, as if the mory of that period was still fresh in his mind, “The research facility wasn’t in the Underground Palace, but it was actually not safer, and in so ways, it was far more dangerous, filled with bizarre creatures and untouchable forbidden zones.
“During the exploration of the research facility, we continuously t others, so good, so bad.
“I was quite fortunate, initially arriving in a place resembling a dical room, and obtained a lot of dical supplies there,
“These dical supplies ultimately supported into the deeper regions of the research facility,”
He glanced back at the slender wooden box standing behind him.
“Andaville’s Spear fragnts from the Research Institute,” He Ao’s gaze fell on the wooden box, “Did you obtain it there?”
Then he realized sothing, “As an ordinary person, you entered the ruins for the first ti and obtained an incomplete Angel Tier item?”
What kind of main character script is this?
“Indeed very fortunate,” Li Cheng sighed softly, “At the ti, I actually didn’t obtain the complete spear shaft, only a small fragnt of it,
“It was sealed in a stone box, and I wasn’t the first to discover this fragnt, but those before all turned to ashes from trying to touch the stone box,”
At this point, Li Cheng paused, speaking softly, “At first, I actually didn’t intend to take the stone box, my plan was to carry away the dical supplies I’d found in the research facility, if I could make it back to reality, I could sell the dicine for a profit, if not, having the dicine might save my life.”
As he spoke, he smiled gently, “While in the research facility, I often fantasized about returning to reality with these dicines, becoming a millionaire, living a life of financial freedom without having to work, and these fantasies got through many monts of despair and difficulty.”
“So sothing must have happened later.”
‘Hao Yi’ softly interjected.
“Yes,” Li Cheng sighed with a smile, he sat up a bit straighter, continued, “I encountered a bit of trouble later on, facing a terrifying creature, and eventually had to flee next to the stone box containing Andaville’s Spear fragnts,
“Then, I found a chanical arm nearby engraved with special runes, took a chance on the stone box, and relied on its thunder to finally defeat the creature and save my life.”
His gaze focused, continuing, “At that ti, the ruin channels happened to close, and I brought the stone box back to the Main World.”
“How many people survived and returned that ti?”
‘Hao Yi’ asked softly.
“I don’t know,”
Li Cheng shook his head and sighed lightly, “I couldn’t confirm who ca back, but I never encountered anyone from the ruins again.”
In other words, most likely, besides Li Cheng, no one returned.
“So, what is your objective this ti?”
‘Hao Yi’ looked at Li Cheng, not pursuing the previous question but instead asking directly.
“To return once more to the research facility I first visited,”
Li Cheng said calmly, “I’ve always felt that there was so kind of secret hidden there, so over these years, I’ve been collecting all sorts of data, investigating the situation of that research facility, and based on my mories, there should be sothing in there that can shatter Angel Tier extraordinary items,”
“You want to break Andaville’s Spear, restore it to a Talent Sequence, and then concoct it into Secret dicine?”
‘Hao Yi’ asked softly, “Are you planning to take the Velora there?”
Previously, He Ao had piloted the Velora to the ruins.
“Yes,”
Li Cheng said without pause, “Once I acquire the Secret dicine, I’m just a step away from becoming an Angel, directly ready for promotion.”
He looked at ‘Hao Yi’ and continued,
“This matter holds great risk, but I have nothing to offer as a trade. I am quite certain now that the research facility contains other Angel Tier items. I can give you all the clues I have,
“I just need you to take to the ruins, I’ll handle the rest. If I can co back alive, I can do one thing for you, anything, as long as it doesn’t hurt the real world.”
As his words fell, a brief silence enveloped the courtyard, everyone’s gaze instinctively fell on ‘Hao Yi,’ including He Ao.
“An empty promise?”
‘Hao Yi’ looked at Li Cheng, smiled, and asked.
“Strictly speaking,” Li Cheng took a deep breath, smiled softly, and continued, “it’s an ‘investnt.’
With that, he gazed at ‘Hao Yi’ and fell silent.
“I can agree with you, I can even go with you to explore the ruins within a certain range,”
He Ao looked at Li Cheng, softly continued, “But I have an additional condition, if everything goes smoothly, I’d like to observe your entire Angel promotion process.”
Observing a promotion, it’s like laying all your cards on the table. If the observer does sothing during the promotion, Li Cheng could very well fail the promotion, leading to death or insanity.
Hearing this, Li Cheng was silent for a mont, then his gaze instinctively swept over He Ao, and he continued, “I can accept observational rights, but if I die, and there are problems in He Ao’s inheritance or appointnt as director, I hope you can protect him once, under the witness of your Divine Being.”
‘Hao Yi’ looked at Li Cheng, paused for a mont, and said softly, “Alright, I have no problem with that.”
The observational ceremony could either disrupt or help.
Beside them, He Ao rubbed his brow.
This seed a bit too much like intrigue.
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