The first floor of the Frei Reise Inn had rarely been this lively before.
Among the few people standing on the stairs, a man in his thirties with black hair tinged with a light brown shade stood beside several team members who were carrying in the “Tivi machine. ” He listened to their low-voiced discussion about this incident, and how many times the “Glory Light ” of Moonlight would multiply by.
“At least double or triple that, right? They said. “
In front, amidst Mortaf’s low conversation with someone, the man with shoulder-length black-brown hair pondered for a moment, turned around, smiled and nodded briefly at Sword Thirteen, who was at the back of the crowd, as a greeting, then brushed past him and walked upstairs.
Sword Thirteen glanced sideways at his retreating figure, and the sound of unhurried footsteps gradually faded away.
“Brother Thirteen, ” the man in front, wearing a small black obsidian earring, turned around, “Did your distributor mark what just happened just now? “
“Yeah. ” The corner of Sword Thirteen’s mouth twitched slightly as he spoke out a barely audible breath:
“As for what’s going on here, you’d better go out and try to notify Chairman Yang Buchen again. The stakes in this matter are pretty high. “
“Alright then. ” The young man with the earring glanced upstairs and, with dry lips, twitched upward and pointed a finger above, “Then I’ll go with Geraldine. “
Towering and burly Sword Thirteen half-turned on the wooden railing stairs to make way for the man who was dashing upstairs.
……
The swaying of leaves on the treetops outside Marienlint Fort finally began to settle slightly.
In the tent, She Liqing, who was watching over the phone, reached out and took the call from the communicator after it rang and was answered.
“What? Ah, then I need to inform Chairman Yang immediately.“
He tossed the phone back into the communicator’s arms and immediately rushed out of the room, throwing open the door.
At that moment, Yang Zicang stood beside several figures surrounding a stone tablet, holding in his hands pieces of paper with fragmented line patterns he had just taken rubbings of.
“These are the classic markings when combining two of them.“
Beside the Warriors, a woman who, despite wearing the uniform of the Heiwen Zike Army, had a scholarly demeanor, continued to address Yang Zicang:
“So, Chairman Yang, as long as you follow my institute’s instructions and refrain from mentally assembling the selected patterns. It will not harm your spirit.“
“Then, does this magic pattern we have on hand have the effect of shielding detection?“
“Yes, sir. It is even better than the average pattern of this effect. Because it doesn’t need the support of energy-converging magic patterns at all.“
“Then it’s quite impressive.” Yang Zicang unfolded the three papers in his hand one by one, examining them.
“It truly is a rare second-level pattern. Ah, Chairman, please stop.“
The woman raised her arm, attempting to stop Yang Zicang’s action.
“What’s wrong?” Yang Zicang looked at her with a hint of confusion.
By the stone slab leaning against the yellow stone wall, several burly Army soldiers turned their gazes toward them.
The research officer from the military said:
“You can’t look at it that way. I’ve heard you haven’t absorbed Demon Blood yet, President, and since you haven’t awakened your Stellar Yuan, I don’t advise you to combine secondary-tier patterns in your consciousness. “
Yang Zicang pondered this and felt the suggestion made some sense. However, his spiritual power had grown rapidly after reading the contents of that antique ledger last night, reaching roughly the third or fourth stage of the fourth ring. It should be fine.
She Liqing came running over. “President, there’s something. “
Seeing someone approach, Yang Zicang smiled and nodded slightly to the female researcher, folding up the paper in his hand as a gesture acknowledging her reminder.
Panting, She Liqing reached him. “President, ” he glanced at the army soldiers nearby, then raised his arm and tapped Yang Zicang’s elbow, pulling him a couple of steps aside.
A faint, chilling sensation quickly crept over Yang Zicang’s body.
“It’s fine, go ahead. “
“I just got a call from the Special Defense Command. Mr. Motov is delivering… uh, a Tele-Vision set to our hotel. “
Yang Zicang, who had been folding the paper with a somewhat solemn expression, bulged his eyes.
“You… what?! “
His movements froze for a beat. He stood rooted to the spot for two or three seconds, then pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Oh, my god.Sigh.” He dropped his hand.
She Liqing let out a low chuckle. “President, hurry up. The villagers over there have just passed a… “
At this point, She Liqing glanced at the warriors a few steps away, who were all staring at the stone slab, occasionally nodding silently as if deep in thought over the slab and the wall patterns. She lowered her voice even further, as if whispering a secret:
“…passed a Visualizer, the large one sent by that Heiwen Zíkē Scientific Heritage Committee official, and carried it into the inn. “
“Ah dear, how could I have overlooked something like this. “
Yang Zicang almost scrutinized his own oversight as he reflected. “I never imagined the inn would accept such a thing. “
“Mhm, that’s true. ” She Liqing placed one arm across her chest, and propped the other elbow against it to rub her chin as she nodded vigorously. “President, they say over there that wiring installation is still needed. Shall we hurry back? “
Yang Zicang, hands on his hips, tilted his head to gaze up at the sky.
“Oh geez. Really, though. “
But keeping the inn waiting certainly wasn’t an option. Yang Zicang turned his head to look left and right. “Wait a moment. Let me go find a wire. I’ll pass it to you, and you take it back. Make sure it gets used. “
With that, Yang Zicang strode off briskly in the direction of the young commander, while She Liqing took two quick steps to catch up beside him as he swept forward.
“President Buchen, why aren’t you heading back? I believe there’s no more danger here. “
“It’s nothing. I happen to have two keys here, you can take one back. ” Yang Zicang replied as he walked.
Spotting Major General’s figure emerging from a tent in the distance, Yang Zicang sped up and ran over. “Major General Shawn. “
“What’s the matter, friend? “
“I have an impertinent request. I need a wire that can be used on the Tivi Machine. I wonder if you have any good ones here. “
“Tivi Machine… “
“Even ordinary wire will do, something that can connect to a power supply unit. “
“That’s no problem. I’ll have them ask around. “
“Please wait. ” Just as the Major General turned around, Yang Zicang called out to stop him. He reached into his pocket, fishing around, but found it empty. Seeing Shawn’s confused look, Yang Zicang let out a fake laugh. “Sorry, give me one more moment. “
As She Liqing ran up behind him, Yang Zicang turned slightly. Concentrating as he recalled the magic pattern in his mind, he pinched and pulled with his fingers, pulling out a deep, capacious hat.
“Oh, this… ” Shawn was astonished. She Liqing, too, was seeing Yang Zicang’s ability for the first time.
They watched as the president, still wearing the Soldier Soldier uniform, quickly thrust his hand into the hat. Spreading all five fingers, he pressed them against the inside of the hat like a lid, preventing anything from getting in or out.
Then his fingers swiftly flipped through the pile of items inside, pinching out two Heiwen Zike Silver Coins. His right hand then swept horizontally with a twist, and the hat disappeared into his lightly open, empty palm.
“Wow. ” Shawn let out a hint of amazement.
Then he saw the President Yang Buchen, bearing a slight smile in front of him, extending the silver coins in his hand.
“General, consider this payment from me for purchasing the wire. “
“Ah, what’s this… ” The forty-to-fifty-year-old Shawn burst into a hearty laugh, leaning back slightly as if bending his waist. “Oh, Fogfolk really are Fogfolk. Such matters don’t need money. “
“No, no, this must be settled. ” Yang Zicang walked over, grabbed the man’s wrist with one hand, and with a smile, pressed the silver coins into Shawn’s clenched fist. “I’m sorry, General, but you must accept this money. “
“I can’t accept this. ” The general immediately raised his other hand to stop him.
“It’s fine, sir. If you think it’s too little… “
“How could two silver coins be too little? ” Shawn’s beard trembled with vexation.
“Then I still have some gold here. ” Yang Zicang held the man’s sinewy, strained wrist firmly with one hand while pulling out a somewhat cracked gold pendant from his pocket with the other.
- ｛Loki. Tata Mingqi the distributor expresses interest.｝
- ｛April·Odyssey the distributor expresses a desire to sense my current life experiences.｝ “Besides these two silver coins, I only have this gold. Mr. Major General, I can’t take your cable for nothing. Let’s settle things fairly—I want to buy it. “
-｛Distributor Loki. Tata Mingqi expresses “shock “.｝
“This… ” Looking at Yang Zicang’s earnest face, “Alright then. I’ll accept one silver coin. “
The Major General chuckled, shaking his head, and took a silver coin from Yang Zicang’s hand.
“Now that’s what I call being a proper elder. “
Yang Zicang jokingly patted the Major General’s arm and tucked the broken gold pendant into his pants pocket. Sean also laughed heartily, grasped the silver coin, turned around, and called a communication officer out from the tent. After giving a few instructions, he sent the officer to the Soldier Army (Army-type) to find a way to procure some electrical wire.
She Liqing stepped closer to Yang Zicang and said, “President, you don’t really want to part with this gold, do you? “
Yang Zicang quickly raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.
“Ahem. ” She Liqing lowered and then raised her chin again, asking, “How did you make that hat earlier? Was it difficult? Could you make me one, President? “
“Oh, that, ” Yang Zicang frowned slightly. “The {_TUTOR } taught me. Didn’t she mention it to you all at the inn earlier? _”
“Taught me? No, she didn’t. ” She Liqing looked very surprised.
“Well then, it seems… ” Yang Zicang thought of the gem Hua Mi had given him earlier as a favor, and said:
“Taught? No, not at all. ” She Liqing looked quite surprised.
“In that case, ” Yang Zicang recalled the gem Hua Mi had casually given him earlier, and said, “Without one of Miss Hua Mi’s magic-pattern-carved gems, I wouldn’t have been able to summon this hat either. So if you want one, prepare something along those lines. If I were looking for a good job, it would probably only take a few weeks to secure a high-purity gem. “
“A few weeks? This… Is Miss Hua Mi planning to go into that kind of business? “
She Liqing glanced at the sky, froze for a moment, then rubbed her face. “I see. It looks like I won’t be able to sort this out until I reach the next continental era. “
While She Liqing was admiring the hat, a warrior from the Army ran over carrying a coil of black cable as thick as a thumb.
After taking the cable, Yang Zicang declined the Army warrior’s offer of help, and the two of them consolidated the coil together. Then he lifted the loop and hooked it over She Liqing’s arm.
The demonic-blood-contaminated warrior a few paces behind watched the highly acclaimed young president, standing on the thick, solid yellow mud, as he helped a friend beside him adjust the cable that had slipped off their shoulder, patting their arm and exchanging a few words.
Then the young man ran off, waving as he departed.
“President, is there anything else you need to instruct? ” seeing only the president remaining on the spot, the demonic-blood warrior asked earnestly.
“Ah? Oh, no, that’s all, ” Yang Zicang said, turning back while holding his waist. “Thank you. I’ll just be here for a while. But if someone comes looking for me, please bring them directly. “
“Understood. ” The warrior hurried off.
Yang Zicang lowered his head, exhaled a long breath through his nose, and stared at the dust on the ground for a moment in thought.
Approaching footsteps of Major General Shawn came from the side. “President Buchen, I just received a report. A plane that doesn’t belong to us seemed to have voluntarily declared itself and is now flying over this way. “
“A plane? “
Lost in thought, Yang Zicang lifted his head sharply. “Did the other side mention who they are? “
“Yes, they did. It’s a merchant guild of Fogfolk from the south. They said they heard you were here and came to discuss some matters. They mentioned they’ve brought gifts that might interest you. “
“Gifts, ” Yang Zicang said, his mood turning light as he took a deep, relaxed breath. “I see. Thank you, Major General Shawn. “
Hearing that a plane was coming, Yang Zicang hustled quickly toward the tent, retrieving his belongings from inside. Major General Shawn followed closely, practically matching his steps beside the World Ark’s president.
It was at that moment he seemed to comprehend something: This president, he had been waiting all along for someone to pick him up?
There was some unspoken admiration from Major General Shawn for the efficient style of work among the Mist-world people, as he watched the handsome young man take his leave to head to the helipad on the outskirts of Marlenlint.
Soon, a black plane descended from above the clouds.
……
Inside the cockpit, Ang Pailisi had just felt the vibration of the plane touching the ground when he turned his head and saw a figure approaching from the distance across the tarmac.
Watching the ground crew nearby, they seemed curious about the aircraft’s appearance, yet their response to his arrival showed little surprise. Some even specifically wheeled over a ladder, as if to welcome him down from the plane.
Ang Pailisi frowned slightly, contemplating.
Why was this so? Even if he had informed them in advance, such a reception hardly seemed appropriate, at least not without some vigilance befitting a city that had just experienced a hostage crisis.
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