by <unknown>
Something is indeed wrong! What the guy said is 99% true. But in the most critical 1%, he concealed something and even deliberately lied, thereby reaching an extremely absurd conclusion!
He has captured three Children of the Nether World and even forced them into cooperation? That part might be true. After all, Elder Nether Spring is doomed. The Children of the Nether World need to find a new thigh to cling to if they want to survive. It makes sense.
He made such a terrible lie about the Blood Devil trying to steal Burning Prairie. No wonder Burning Prairie activated the self-defense sword array of the highest level!
Li Yao's questions were answered one by one, only to be replaced by questions that were even bigger.
Lu Zui was one of the three key people that he needed to seek help from on his trip to the Heaven's Origin Sector. He had collected numerous files when he was still in the Blood Demon Sector.
In terms of birth, work experience, and his remarks on the Blood Demon Sector, the guy was an out-and-out patriot of the Star Glory Federation. It would not be exaggerating to say that he was a pillar of the federation!
Even Jin Tuyi thought highly of the old hero who had fought in the secret frontline for more than a hundred years. He believed that Lu Zui was an opponent that deserved his respect and his full wisdom to compete with.
Why was such a guy betraying the federation? Why?
Li Yao did not believe that he was betraying for the power or personal benefits.
Putting the question in his heart aside, he picked up the second object. It was a tiny pendant. Judging from the rune arrays on it, it was a 3D animated photo in the form of a pendent.
He pressed the pendent softly. A mystic ray was immediately triggered, forming a bright hologram in front of Li Yao.
It was exactly Ding Lingdang, as energetic, confident, and persistent as she ever was!
Ding Lingdang was wearing short pants and a vest. She seemed to have just finished her training because sweat was all over her body. Her figure was even more stirring than ten years ago. Her skin was the color of honey, giving out an enticing scent although she was merely on the light beam.
"Welcome home," Ding Lingdang said with a smile. "After ten years, you're finally back! Let me tell you, I have developed a lot of new moves in the past ten years. When the thing is over, let's have a good fight!"
"Hehehe!"
Ding Lingdang paused for a moment and continued. "The third piece of magical equipment in the Cosmos Ring is a point-to-point communicator produced by Professor Mo Xuan.
"Professor Mo Xuan and I were suspicious about the rumors surrounding you a long time ago, but Professor Mo Xuan stopped me when I was about to burst into fury. He said that he sensed a mysterious force that had been monitoring our every move in secret.
"Therefore, we didn't do much during that period, but Professor Mo Xuan was in fact observing the force in secret, scanning their surveillance patterns and easing their wariness. Finally, he designed a communicator that could prevent interference without them knowing!
"A few days back, the product was finally successfully made, but we never had the chance to give the communicator to you.
"You must be clear that, to avoid the surveillance of the enemy, the point-to-point communicator does not send signals via the Spiritual Nexus but through electric wires by transforming the information into very feeble electric waves. The signals will be transmitted through the electric network. Together with the anti-tracing barriers that professor invented, a short, secure dialogue can be established!
"At midnight, you can find a random electric wire and connect the communicator to it. Then, it will be good to go. However, only the simplest text can be transmitted. The communication cannot be very long or accommodate much information.
"Think about what you can say to us before midnight. At midnight, Professor Mo Xuan and I will be waiting for you. If the circumstances do not allow you to talk to us, we will be waiting for you at every hour sharp that follows until we get in touch!"
The clip came to an end.
Li Yao held the pendent in his hands, almost brimming with confidence. He felt stronger than ever!
…
Midnight soon came.
Li Yao had gone out a second time earlier and made the Secret Sword Agents dizzy again before he found a wasted tube network and lurked down. He groped for an electric wire and dug a hole in its porcelain shell. Through a crystal wire, he connected the point-to-point communicator to the cable.
Very soon, the crystal processor reacted. However, there was only dry texts on it.
"Li Yao, time is precious. Let's get down to business. Tell us your side of the story."
Li Yao had spent a few hours abridging the causes and consequences of the whole thing. Now, he described the situation in the Blood Demon Sector and his intention for the homecoming in only a thousand words.
Professor Mo Xuan and Ding Lingdang were both silent for a moment after he sent the text. Then, they replied, "You suspect that there is an anomaly in the leadership of the Federation?"
"I am not suspecting; I am certain," Li Yao replied. "I have evidence, and I can give it to you and the Cultivators of the Flying Star Sector. Only you are trustworthy now."
"Tell you one thing," Professor Mo Xuan said. "Starting from last night, Lu Zui and some experts of the military established a special operation group and captured the Children of the Nether World on a large scale. Up until now, more than fifty have been arrested. Another several hundred have been invited to a secret unit directly under Lu Zui's command in the Secret Sword Bureau to help the investigation!"
Li Yao was surprised. Pondering for a moment, he realized what was happening. This was exactly the same as how Jin Tuyi seized power after the Eye of Blood Demon was destroyed.
Jin Tuyi had been capturing 'accomplices of Elder Nether Spring', and Lu Zui was capturing Children of the Nether World. But as for who exactly they were capturing, they were the only ones who knew the truth.
Speaking of which, Elder Nether Spring was quite a tragic guy, considering that he had taken the blame twice in a row. Although he was definitely not innocent, his experience was quite heartbreaking nonetheless.
"Are you suggesting that anyone who believes in me may be assumed to be a Child of the Nether World?" Li Yao asked.
"There's no need to assume," Professor Mo Xuan replied. "If Lu Zui indeed has a plan, it will definitely be activated soon. Whoever has suspicions about him, he can always invite them to 'help the investigation' for ten days or a fortnight. Those guys will eat well and sleep well, except that they won't be able to do anything else. What can other people say when everything is over?
"Of the three most powerful men of the federation, Speaker Jiang Hailiu is heavily wounded and still in coma, and Iron Commander Zhou Hengdao has been blinded by fury and completely taken his side. Two thirds of the representatives in parliament are frantic advocates of the expedition and support his operation. He has also presented valid proof of the Children of the Nether World. Who dares challenge the Secret Sword Bureau in such troubled times?"
Li Yao gnashed his teeth. "I'll give the evidence to the Cultivators of the Flying Star Sector first. Let's make sure that Burning Prairie is still under our control!"
"It is moot. Luo Xingzi is not qualified to trust you."
"That's impossible. I've been fighting side by side with Luo Xingzi. I know him very well. Also, I've done so many favors for the Flying Star Sector, and I am backed by the Glorious Sunlight Group and Iron Plateau. Why won't Luo Xingzi trust me?"
"Pay attention to my wording," Professor Mo Xuan said. "I said that he is not qualified to trust you, not that he will not trust you.
"Of course, the evidence in your hands is enough to constitute a reasonable theory, but the chain of evidence in Lu Zui's hands is more intact and convincing. He has both proof and eyewitnesses, and his theory makes perfect sense, too. Furthermore, he stands for the federal government, the legal ruler of the
Heaven's Origin Sector!
"The most critical point is that you cannot prove that you are not possessed by the Blood Devil. Think about Yan Xibei!
"Ding Lingdang and I only stand for ourselves. Naturally, we can trust you without caring about anything.
"However, Luo Xingzi stands for the billions of people in the entire Flying Star Sector. If he trusts you recklessly, and you turn out to be really possessed by the Blood Devil and steal Burning Prairie, what can he do?
"Burning Prairie is the masterpiece of the Flying Star Sector that belongs to all the people of the Flying Star Sector. Does Luo Xingzi have any qualification to believe that you are not the Blood Devil on behalf of all the people of the Flying Star Sector?
"I've talked with him many times regarding the issue. He is miserable. As a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, Luo Xingzi has unquestionable integrity. If he was all by himself, he would definitely be willing to trust you, however great the risk.
"Yet, the issue concerns the fate of his family, his compatriots, and billions of other people! Without enough evidence, how can he trust you?
"Let me offer an example. On Iron Plateau, everybody trusted Yan Xibei, but what happened in the end? If you, the unexpected factor, hadn't jumped out in the end, the entire Iron Plateau would've been drowned in blood!"
Li Yao was silent for a long time, before he typed, "This is a chain of suspicion. This is a dark forest."
"That's right. You are now trapped in a small 'dark forest'. Any leader whose head is calm, regardless of whether they are the chief of a sect, the commander of a troop, or the Speaker of a government, as long as they are shouldering the fate of more than their own, none of them are qualified to believe in you until you present undeniable proof."
Li Yao took a deep breath and continued. "Can the Truth Cabinet prove it?"
"The Truth Cabinet is just a polygraph. Any polygraph can be cracked. Didn't you crack it once before? This is too important an issue. Neither the Flying Star Sector nor the Heaven's Origin Sector will not have absolute faith in a polygraph, which is not any polygraph but one carefully studied by you, a master of refining, before."
"I've figured out an approach that should be able to solve the conundrum, but it cannot be used in the environment right now. How about this? Instead of proving that I'm innocent, let's find evidence of Lu Zui's scheme. It will also be enough to suggest that the whole thing is weird, right?"
"That's true. Speaking of that, Ding Lingdang has a lead."
Li Yao was refreshed. "What lead?"
Ding Lingdang joined the discussion and asked, "Have you ever heard an organization named 'Patriots Partnership'?"
Chapter 1098: Tempest! |
"Patriots Partnership?" Evidently, Li Yao had never heard of it.
"This is what happened. The Secret Sword Bureau's brief says that three snipers were killed in a plaza next to the Federal Square, who were suspected to be the Children of the Nether World.
"However, one of the bodies looked familiar to me. I thought hard and remembered seeing it in a meeting of the Patriots Partnership half a year ago."
"What is such a partnership about?"
"It was just a regular discussion group of thoughts. At that time, the news about the Flying Star Sector and the Imperium of True Human Beings had only just spread out in the federation. The world we lived in expanded countless times in an instant. You know that all Cultivators more or less have feelings for their homeland and want to do something for the people and the country. Regarding the solutions for the unprecedented change, many wise Cultivators proposed their opinions.
"The idea that the three Sector should collaborate and resist the imperium together was supported by some, doubted by some, and strongly objected by some. People holding different opinions formed different groups spontaneously.
"The Patriots Partnership was an organization that strongly objected to the cooperation with the demon race. It believed that demons were never to be trusted. Besides, the federation was a sacred country made of pure human beings. How could it be vilified by those evil beings?
"The only solution to the Imperium of True Human Beings is to conquer the Blood Demon Sector with the Flying Star Sector and send all the demons to the resource planets in the Flying Star Sector as slaves!"
Li Yao secretly clicked his tongue. Jin Tuyi was right again. A lot of people in the federation was indeed holding such a though!
"You used to believe in such an ideology?" Li Yao asked.
"I still do."
"…" Li Yao.
"Forget it. This is a conflict of belief," Ding Lingdang said. "I cannot explain it to you right now. Anyway, all kinds ideologies were thriving in the federation after the shock of new worlds. Such a discussion group was not rare.
"What was rare was the criterion to join the discussion group.
"The Patriots Partnership was not open to regular Cultivators. It had two conditions for admittance. Firstly, you had to be above the middle level of the Building Foundation Stage and boast certain influence in society, your sect, or the army.
"Secondly, at least one of your family members had to have been killed by demons, and you had to have a deep grudge against them.
"It meant that the discussion group was one of a relatively higher level. That was why I joined it. Later, there was nothing particularly interesting. Partying, chatting, making friends, and all. Right. In one of the meetings, I saw the sniper of the Children of the Nether World killed today.
"I was among the firmest opposers. Also, since I was relatively young among them, my speech was sometimes very radical. As it turned out, one night, the founder of the group, who was a professor in the Capital Medical College, came to me. He said that the discussion there was not good enough and that there was a more advanced group where I would meet more friends that agreed with me. He asked whether or not I would like to join."
Li Yao was anxious. "Did you agree?"
"No," Ding Lingdang replied, "I had no disagreement about their opinion, but you know that I always like straightforwardness. I have never been interested in such mysterious things. Therefore, I simply said that I would consider it.
"Later, I thought that it wouldn't hurt to make a few more friends in the new group. So, I told the founder that I would like to join, but he suddenly hesitated and refused to let me in. After a while, everybody was bored of the empty talk. The Patriots Partnership gradually dissolved.
"At that time, a lot of discussion groups were emerging and disappearing every day. I didn't think much of it.
"But today, when I saw the body of the sniper, it suddenly occurred to me that the man was even more fanatic and extremely than me in the discussion group. It is possible that he was actually a Child of the Nether World, but is there another possibility?"
Li Yao pondered carefully for a moment and shuddered hard. "Are you saying that there was a certain organization that gathered a large batch of experts that hated demons' guts, filtered them, and picked out the most extreme, fanatic, and unwavering ones?
"Even for someone like you, whose parents were killed by the demon race, an expert at the peak of the Core Formation Stage, was determined to be unqualified and rejected just because you considered for a night!
"In other words, it is very likely that there is a Patriots Partnership where numerous Cultivators who consider demons our mortal enemies and are even more radical, fanatical, and resolute than Ding Lingdang?"
"I'm not sure," Ding Lingdang said. "When I went to the founder of the group later, he said that he was involved in a secret project of the military and that he would be on a long business trip. I couldn't reach out to him later."
"Hurry up," Professor Mo Xuan interjected. "I feel that we are about to be locked onto. We'll have to talk again in a different time and place!"
"One last question," Li Yao said. "Jiang Hailiu, Zhou Hengdao, and Lu Zui, whose family member was killed by demons?"
Professor Mo Xuan thought for a moment. "Speaker Jiang's
brother died in a beast tide eighty years ago. Iron Commander doesn't seem to have any."
"What about Lu Zui? Does he have any?" Li Yao asked.
"He does."
"Who was it?"
"… Everyone."
"What?"
"Lu Zui is more than two hundred years old," Ding Lingdang explained. "He doesn't have many family members in the world. He only had a beloved wife who had grown up with him since childhood. Because of a congenital disease, she never had a child. The two of them accompanied each other for more than two hundred years.
"Because she was infertile, she opened an orphanage a hundred years ago and adopted many war orphans as her children. She was a famous philanthropist in the federation know as 'Merry Mother'. After more than a hundred years, they raised more than five hundred foster children, many of whom were distinguished persons in their trade.
"Fifteen years ago, after a beast tide outbreak, his wife went to the Grand Desolate Plateau to search for and rescue orphans as usual, but she was ripped into shreds by a demon beast hiding in the debris.
"Not counting his foster children, Lu Zui only had one family member—his wife. So, wasn't his entire family killed by demons?"
Li Yao was silent for a long time. Taking a deep breath, he found it difficult to type. "Five hundred foster children, all distinguished persons in their trade?"
"Yes."
"Holy s*it!"
…
At three o'clock in the morning, it began to rain. At dawn, it was pouring.
In the No. 2 public cemetery of the capital city, below a giant pine tree, the rainwater was sprinkling on a tiny monument.
The monument was so small and deeply buried that it was barely noticeable.
Below the moss was two tiny words—Merry Mother.
It was the tree burial, the most environmental and cheapest of all.
In front of the monument, an old man wearing a black raincoat stood in silence.
Huala!
A streak of lightning ripped apart the dark night, illuminating a pale face that was covered in raindrops. It was Lu Zui—an admin-type Cultivator in the Nascent Soul Stage, the guardian angel on the black frontline of the federation, and the director of the Secret Sword Bureau.
