Seemingly accustomed to being treated with such warmth by the Fogfolk, Pailisi gave a slight nod to the youth standing outside the deep wooden door marked room 407, then said to Yang Zicang,
“I need to get in touch with another companion of mine. “
“Do you need me to prepare equipment for you here? ” asked the youth outside.
As long as something was related to this hotel, a significant price markup was always tacked on over at the distributors. Furthermore, this Mysterious Person seemed to have a close relationship with Chairman Yang Buchen.
If he could use this opportunity to get involved with some secret and significant affair, even if he never knew the specifics of the operation, the glory he would gain would make it all well worth it.
“Alright. I appreciate the trouble, but I think I’ll contact him right here, nearby. “
As the man in the corridor was speaking in a low voice,
Temis, swallowing nervously inside room 408, craned his neck and hunched his back. He stared through the peephole at the slightly distorted scene in the corridor.
Soon, the people outside headed downstairs together.
He shifted his stance behind the peephole, trying to see if anyone was still hiding at the end of the corridor, or if someone might come running up. Because today, there were simply too many people coming and going through here.
It didn’t match what someone had described—an inn that was supposed to be incredibly hard to get into.
Seeing the corridor fall into an abrupt silence, the gaunt, listless-looking Semis let out a sigh and muttered with a mix of regret and panic:
“Damn that cursed pot—it really did fool me! I told you, the Nightmare Pot is not to be trusted.“
His heart feeling blocked, he turned around and rubbed his hands as he walked back into the room.
“What do I do…?“
Suddenly, footsteps echoed in the stairwell.
Semis quickly turned and rushed to the door, pressing his face tightly against the back of the door, rubbing his cheek a few times as he adjusted to find the best spot with the longest view based on experience. Then he saw three figures rushing to the door of Room 405.
In the slightly distorted light of the corridor, two of them fumbled to open the door after a brief struggle. The third person surged forward, squeezed between the first two, and stuck his head into the room while shouting:
“Come out quickly! There’s a huge new development!“
“Really?“
Three people rushed out from inside the room with athumpingsound, then followed the first three as they hurriedly ran downstairs.
“It can’t be, can it?” Semis shifted his head again, straining his nearly bulging eyes to get a better look outside.
The sound of a pounding heart echoed against the adjacent door panel.
No one.
No one!
“Is there really no one left?!“
Supmis’s breathing grew heavy, as if fate itself was driving the decision he was about to make. The man’s thin, bony hand gripped the doorknob and twisted it firmly.
Then he heard footsteps again.
Relaxing his grip on the doorknob in an instant, Supmis turned his face to look outside. On the corridor, a man with medium-length, dark brown hair walked at a steady pace toward Room 405, holding something in his hand. He glanced around briefly, turned the key, and stepped inside.
Supmis immediately frowned and pulled his face away from the peephole. He lowered his gaze, trying to think. Yet once again, he felt as though his mind was completely immobile—it was a daze of having no thought at all.
Still… there was something about this man—a hint of warm familiarity in his demeanor…
Among the constant flow of people coming and going over these past two days—was this sudden appearance not… just a little… oddly striking?
That was the word Supmis thought of.
Then he ran a hand through his greasy, unwashed hair.
…
On the plane, Zhao Anlong leaned lazily against the edge of his seat and the cabin wall. Beside him, Colonel Gold Lion sat upright, intently listening to the voice broadcasting through the plane’s radio.
This was a signal after many consecutive attempts to establish a connection. And indeed, it was a transmission from another target aboard the World Ark.
— “President Anlong, first of all, congratulations on establishing your new organization.“
Jin Shi’s heart finally breathed a sigh of relief. The proactive contact meant the cold, icy stage of radio silence had been lifted, and more importantly, that the other side had indeed revealed their hand as a result.
Voices from the conversation came through one after another.
— “According to the information, some of the goods we need to purchase require a reassessment.“
At the other end, near the entrance of the room invited by Room 303, at the headquarters of the World Ark’s Borderless Relief Committee.
Around gathered quite a few figures standing in all kinds of crooked postures. Many of them would occasionally glance down at the small accessories on their collars or knuckles.
Colonel Jin Shi, wearing a mask of scorching anxiety, finished recounting to the people inside, and then he heard another, very subtle young voice ring out.
— “Hey, hey… what riddles are you guys talking about…? We’re all on the same side, right? There’s nothing… that can’t be said.“
— “Mr. Anlong, our… current technology, after all…“
— “There’s no problem, hey!” The buzzing electrical sound suddenly grew louder, clearly someone had moved closer to the microphone. “Another sir! Hello! My brother has already found the crux of this world’s malaise. Now you should unite as one, and rid this world of its peril as soon as possible.“
Yang Zicang, who had been standing idly to the side, lightly lowered his face, which had been tilted up towards the sky, and let out a sigh.
Meanwhile, on the fourth floor of the hotel.
Semeus, fully dressed, held a bundle made from a bedsheet, which contained a small amount of food and water stored in decorative vases as containers. He opened the door, careful not to be immediately spotted by anyone who might step onto this floor. Pressing his body close against the wall, he moved toward Room 405.
Outside the inn occupied by Room 303.
“Hey, why is it always me doing the talking? How are things going on your end? “
Yang Zicang stared at the device connected by a long, winding cable. The other end of it lay beyond the ruined cityscape.
Beneath the gathered grayish-brown clouds, Yang Zicang, having listened to the other side’s account, grabbed the microphone and said:
“There’s already a conclusion to the story about that prolonged competition. “
“Oh? Mm, good! I’ve got some good news to tell you. “
To his credit, he didn’t say ‘I’ve also got some good news,’ Yang Zicang chuckled inwardly.
In the light wind, Zhao Anlong’s voice continued to come through the earphones on this piece of machinery resting on the brownish-yellow ground, the volume turned up to maximum.
“This is about our elusive enemy, some major intel. Mm, this indeed is critical, but it’s not suitable to discuss here. His voice turned a bit more serious over the channel, yet still carried a hint of his usual playful tone, “Wait until I get back, I’ll find a way to tell you, and then we’ll celebrate together. _”
“Mm, okay. ” Yang Zicang replied.
“I’m flying out to a faraway place now to pick up my girlfriend. Oh, right, what do you think, will we succeed this time? “
Yang Zicang thought for a moment.
“There shouldn’t be too many problems. “
……
Inside the house with its black roof, many figures quickly converged.
“Within a few minutes around ten twenty, all our bases around the world were destroyed simultaneously. “
On the dark wooden floor, faintly reflecting the light from outside the window, a man stepped cautiously closer into the room and said:
“According to the latest intelligence, around nine o’clock, all members of our Goldenden Heritage Group had been located and eliminated. However, they are still keeping this matter confidential from the World Ark and outside forces led by Heiwen Zike. “
“According to a message from Marlanlint Fort, around the middle of the eighth hour, Chairman Yang Buchen of the World Ark brought a person with him to visit Ms. Shafari Bonita, who is in custody. The person beside him is suspected to be Mr. Quentin, codename ‘Brown Lion’. It is unclear what information they obtained from Ms. Shafari. “
“Just after seven o’clock, the raid by our Second Secret Envoy failed. Our surveillance personnel were also discovered at the same time, resulting in the destruction of the outpost at Marlanlint Fort. “
“A confirmed message has been sent back from the Twin Lions Republic: around six o’clock, Admiral O’Dref assigned the Old General to select two staff officers from the general staff, hoping to find a way out for their country regarding the apocalypse indicated by intelligence relayed through secret channels. “
Gong Rivia’s fist was clenched tightly, pressing down on the desk. Beside the table, a man in a brown wool coat and a black round hat nervously clutched a letter, speaking in a tone that sounded like an inquiry:
“Around local time five to six o’clock… the start of the ‘Key-Gold Ring’ operation at Marlenlint Fort and the World Ark was impeded, more or less… uh. “
“To be precise… it seems the nations have obtained our action plan for today. “
The room fell into a momentary stillness.
“And before that… Mr. Pollner. ” One person in the room spoke with a very unsettled feeling, “Although this information might have already been sent… to Mr. Rivlen’s side… “
The man who wanted to probe for information looked towards Mr. Gong Borno, who was known for his gentleness.
Mr. Borno, responsible for intelligence collection at the organization’s high level, was very approachable and relatively tolerant of his subordinates’ mistakes.
But now, he could not dare to imagine if this most good-tempered gentleman would truly continue to tolerate it.
Gong Borno’s expression turned cold as frost as he turned his head, meeting the gaze of the man who was trying his best to steady his emotions.
“A-at 4:30… ” the man lowered his head, “the World Ark found a solution. “
Next door, a man in a broad-shouldered coat clutching a straw-brown envelope trembled unconsciously.
Just as he was about to speak, Gong·Polno’s gaze swept over from behind the table.
“Three o’clock… we don’t have any problems, ” he said nervously.
“Before that, we were all… victorious. ” Another person chimed in, speaking uncertainly but slightly louder than a whisper:
“Except… around two to three o’clock, several of our signal preemption attacks were all seized and reversed by someone. But this should be… a normal confrontation, right… “
“Are you all… afraid? ” A faint voice reached everyone’s ears.
“At three o’clock, the Jinbei Heritage Action Group held a press conference… with countries around the world. “
A voice immediately sounded.
The head of the speaker was buried very low, as if afraid to see anything in front of him.
Another speaker’s voice was nervously distorted:
“At two o’clock, it was confirmed for the first time from the outside world… that it was the person codenamed Miss Goeromos… targeting countries worldwide… “
“At one o’clock, Hoven Consulting emerged, claiming that the historical experience of the Hellfire Sect could save the world! “
That was the beginning of the threat to the sound plan for building a Fortune Ring!
As the voice faded, feeling the silent pressure that extinguished the words, the people bowed their heads in silence.
Even without the pervasive aura of any blood magic, they could feel an indescribable suffocating gloom from the silence.
“At midnight, we launched a surprise attack on the World Ark. ” Gong Bonor turned slowly to face the large French window. “This prematurely exposed the spy from the Jinbei Heritage. “
The people in the room all tensed up simultaneously.
Suddenly, Gong Bornuo’s eyes flickered with a hint of suspicion as he turned his head to the side.
“What time is it? “
Everyone in the room was startled for a moment, then those wearing broad-shouldered coats raised their wrists to check the time on their watches.
“It’s almost eleven o’clock, sir. “
Gong Bornuo immediately felt his heart tighten with the surge of anger in his chest.
Suddenly, everyone in the room panicked and looked around anxiously, as if the grinding sound of Death’s scythe was slowly whispering in their ears.
Countless threads of gloomy, cold air seeped in through the cracks in the wooden walls, spreading outward.
“This, this is?! “
“I feel as if my heart is racing with no warmth left in it. “
The dozen or so people in the room, clutching their bags, stumbled back two steps and looked left and right.
Gong Bornuo—or rather, A Dingzan, Rivia, and the “Sir ” whose name had only been heard for decades by the older members of this organization—turned in fury, his gaze fixed on the door.
Sensing “Sir’s ” stare, everyone in the room turned and looked back toward the door.
At the doorway, a transparent silhouette of a man in a top hat stood far taller than the rest, his frame perfectly aligned with the doorframe. From the position of his eyes, a slowly rippling gaze opened like rippling water.
Across the room, “Sir, ” standing in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window, looked slightly taken aback as his eyes widened.
“An existence above the Wealth Angel? Could it be an angel born in these four hundred years? “
A dreamlike voice of thought resounded:
{How can you tell that I am a Power Angel? }
“If you were not a Power Angel, how could you devise this plan, using my own schemes against me to reorganize your own network of authority? “
Gong·Everyone, the Angel of Life bearing the temporal order of ten million years, dressed in a white shirt, stepped forward steadily. His gaze seemed capable of piercing through everything, passing over the heads of the assembled reporters, and fixing on the transparent, ethereal outline at the doorway.
Suddenly, the voice from the translucent silhouette rang out again.
{Sir, you have now missed your one and only opportunity to escape. }
“What?! “
As his voice faded, the people in the room seemed to realize something simultaneously, raising their wrists to look at their watches.
Click!
Click, click!
The second hands on the various watch faces all jumped together, passing the precise eleven o’clock mark.
Gong·Everyone suddenly sensed something, turning around to gaze up at the sky through the window.
A white, translucent force field slowly closed in with its adjacent fields at the horizon, melding seamlessly into a semi-transparent dome that swiftly turned completely transparent.
Five Full Moon Angel-level “Dome Petal ” controllers.
“It’s not my fault. ” The man, trembling with uncontrollable anger as he looked up, murmured to himself.
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