Chapter 380 Secret Planning
"Good evening everyone~ It's great to see everyone alive after such a long separation!"
"It's only been a few months, and your standards are so weird." Qingye complained.
Qingxia gave Ji Huaisu a warm hug and turned to look at the bookshelves in the bookstore. Her eyes were almost full of stars.
"So many books! This place is great!"
"For a bookstore, this is the compliment we want most," commented the editor of Poison Otter. A big seal held up a sign that read "Welcome to Trial Reading."
After the second and fourth pulse sequence operations concluded, the scattered members finally reunited. Aside from a missing sniper and a stone species who had other missions, the remaining members of the Wilderness Resistance were all present. Manager Bang Bang Crucian Carp had to drag down a few more sofas from upstairs, otherwise the lobby area would be nearly full.
Ji Huaisu helped the excited Qingxia sit down and clapped his hands. "We can talk about the hellos later or after the battle. Now let's get down to business. Let me introduce you, this is Miss Velvet Velus, our new teammate and military advisor, and Akong's boss on Earth."
Qingxia crossed the table and shook hands with the boss in a friendly manner: "Hello, hello, we always thought you were a man, but we didn't expect you to be a woman."
“His tone is indeed easy to misunderstand,” Velvet replied. “Time is limited, so we may need to get to know each other better through work. What are your specialties?”
Qing Xia put on his goggles and said proudly, "I'm very good at close combat. My specialties are precise movements and heroic strength!"
Velvet glanced at the file created based on Chu Hengkong's description: "...What about the virus of being a lustful demon?"
"It is mainly used to further enhance the intensity of close combat."
Velvet wrote down "Battle Style: Standard Unification" on her memo. She looked at Qingye with a glimmer of hope. "So, who is this young lady from the Guangshi family?"
Qing Ye stood at attention and said, "Yes! I am good at stealth and close combat, and my specialties are agility and superb swordsmanship!"
Velvet looked at the various Zanshinjutsu records in the file again: “You should have mastered many techniques…”
"My Wuxiang Nishin-ryu is a style that combines swordsmanship and martial arts, so the techniques are mainly used to assist in close combat."
Velvet pondered for a moment, then wrote down another line on her memo: "Battle Style: Standard Unification Path."
She glanced at Ji Huaisu's "heavy firepower bombardment" and Chu Hengkong's "standard unification path" and couldn't help but sigh.
"It seems that there is some... overlap in your team positioning."
"No way." "That's not true." "Everyone has their own way of fighting!"
"I understand. I'll assign appropriate tasks to you all later." She put the notebook away. "Now, please let the editor tell us about the current progress."
The editor of Dudu Otter pulled down a water curtain to explain: "As of now, we have collected petitions from approximately 71 million citizens. Among them, the fourth-order contributed 30 million, the second-order contributed 26 million, and the third and fifth-order contributed 15 million. The vote-raising plan is progressing smoothly.
There are still 20 days until the bill officially takes effect, but according to the plan announced by Perriman, the city-state will gradually isolate itself from the Secret Realm 18 days before formal independence, and will achieve complete physical independence 12 days before. Therefore, we are running out of time. I suggest submitting a request for a re-vote as soon as possible."
"Ask a question!" Qingxia raised her hand. "What does it mean to be physically separated from the secret realm? Are they planning to push this tree into the sea?"
"No, that would be equivalent to placing the city-state under siege by demons, so they proposed a more daring plan." Poison Otter turned the page. "They planned to make the city-state fly into the sky."
The next page's water screen projection depicts a floating continent soaring in the sky. An old tree sits at the center of the floating island, its countless roots entwined to form a "spout." The floating island is surrounded by pale white "petals," like a wall separating the inside from the outside.
"It relies on divine power jets to provide temporary propulsion, using the city's defense device, the 'Great Lily', to construct an aerial ecosystem. According to the independent faction, this new device will draw the driving force of the tide from the Sea of Illusion as the city's power source. When the Great Lily fully blooms, the Divine Tree will no longer need to solely supply the city-state's energy, and the protective wall will be officially activated." Poison Otter tossed the pen aside. "I won't comment on the probability of success."
Qing Ye had a blank expression on his face: "How is it possible..."
"I've seen the blueprints, and the plan is theoretically feasible," Velvet said. "There's a similar precedent in real life. The 'Flowing Pearl System' constructed by Huilong Youyou was the reference prototype for the Great Lily."
"Huh?" Qingye exclaimed.
"Hey?" Ji Huaisu also exclaimed.
"Sister Huaisu, what are you exclaiming about? That's your hometown!"
"I always thought that water ball was just something Youyou casually made, but it turns out he took advantage of the trend..."
Velvet knocked on the table. "Judging from the situation in the second and fourth veins, Parriman has attempted to prematurely activate the Great Lily several times. We were able to stop the deployment of these two veins in time, but I'm afraid the activation of their headquarters, Mansa Star Fort, cannot be postponed. Hill."
Secretary Hill hurried over and took the pen from Dudu Otter. "Okay, Boss! According to current calculations, once the Great Lily is activated, Mansa Star Fortress will become a one-way isolated island. No one from outside can invade, but those within can freely interfere with the outside world."
"Can I use Lao Cui's teleportation?" Ji Huaisu asked.
"That might be difficult, because the Great Lily's barrier directly blocks the movement of 'information.' It's like a firewall. Without the password, even the Holy Honor Cup can't force its way in," Hill replied. "Our expert team believes there are only two solutions. One is to forcibly break through with a force of 6 or higher, or to find the Great Lily's password... or to infiltrate a virus that can bypass the firewall."
To resubmit the bill, they would have to submit an application to the Senate of Mansa Star Castle, but Pariman clearly wasn't going to give up this opportunity easily. Qingxia raised her hand again: "Can we break into Mansa Star Castle before the lilies bloom?"
"If I were Pariman, I would wait for the surprise attack to arrive before activating the Great Lily to isolate the outside reinforcements, and then concentrate my forces to eliminate our elite troops."
"I've become a turtle in a jar..."
Ji Huaisu scratched his head. "I don't think we can keep up with him. If this thing can be activated at any time, the initiative will be in the hands of Parriman. No matter what we choose, we will run into the trap."
"I have already made some arrangements in this regard. In my opinion, we should pay more attention to the enemy's apparent strength."
Hill turned to the next page, which showed three forces circled in red: Parriman and the Tree of One Love, the Royal Power and the Blood Alliance Killer, and the Demon of Chaos.
"It looks really bad."
"I feel like I'll die mid-charge..."
Qingxia pondered for a moment: "The captains are basically on our side, right? We can expect them to limit the power of the Duai Divine Tree. The killers from Earth were also killed once by Chu Hengkong before, so it won't matter if they fight again. The most deadly one is indeed the last one..."
"Seriously, how do you defeat a level 7 god?"
"Sora is working hard on this," Velvet said.
·
"One of the few things gods and mortals have in common is that they too have weaknesses."
Kanin put down the Extreme Battle card and poured a full beer for the guest across the table.
"Having lived in Jingsha for so long, you must agree with this conclusion. After all, this old tree has many weaknesses. City-state politics, public sentiment, infiltration by outsiders, an outdated system, and, of course, Lord Chaos..."
He counted on his fingers one by one and said with a smile, "The same is true for the other party."
Chu Hengkong picked up the cards he had won and threw a demon card back. "Jingsha is Chaos's weakness? How do you know?"
"They've been entangled for far too long," Olek said coldly. "So long that the confusion has affected Jingsha's thinking, and vice versa."
"So if we can get ahead of the others..."
"You can make Lord Chaos turn a blind eye to certain things," Kanin continued. "And the interesting thing is, others won't be able to notice this for the time being. If Lord Chaos's loyal lackeys happen to do something impolite at that time... I'm afraid both politicians and assassins will have to think twice."
He intertwined his fingers and placed them on his chest: "I can give you this opportunity to take the initiative."
"Your method?"
"Please allow me to keep it a secret. It won't work if I tell you." Kanin shook his finger. "Well? This time it was a heavy hemorrhage. There won't be a second chance."
Chu Hengkong put away his cards and tossed a contract scroll across the table. Kanin snatched it up and laughed, "Inspector Chu is truly straightforward!"
Olek stood up first. "Once the contract is signed, my concealment will be invalidated. You can handle the rest on your own."
"It has come to this point. It will be meaningless if I don't leave now." Chu Hengkong smiled.
"I never get involved in muddy waters," Olek said.
Chu Hengkong drained his beer, clinked his empty glass with Kanin, and left the bar. On the way, he pulled out the divine tablet he'd been using and took a look. He was pleased to see that an old friend had briefly come online and had replied to his previous message.
"Call it a day, let's go back to the bookstore for dinner."
Finder poked his head out of his pocket and said, "That's awesome, man. You can talk business with the big devil without batting an eyelid."
"That's not awesome enough. The big devil has to come to me to discuss business."
"Sure, that's a good idea!" Fan De raised his hand. "There's no news from Shura Island yet. We've done everything we can to arrange things in the city. What should we do next?"
Chu Hengkong stretched lazily: "It's time to take a break after all these days. Let's go back to the bookstore and have dinner."
"Ah? Oh!"
They hadn't had a proper meal in several days. After reuniting with their boss, they received the devastating news of the bill's passage that night. After a short rest, they rushed to the fields to launch their operation. Naturally, the underground resistance forces in the fields couldn't afford to enjoy a good meal. During their few days in the barracks, they were busy fighting off enemies and had to rely on instant food for their rations.
So the last normal meal he had was during the Jinghua Festival. If Chu Hengkong hadn't mentioned it, Fan De would have almost forgotten that he was theoretically on vacation.
It quickly went into vacation mode: "Any news? What's for dinner tonight?"
Chu Hengkong was also looking forward to it: "The boss said she made pasta."
·
When they pushed open the door of the bookstore, they smelled the rich aroma of meat sauce.
Minced pork, beef, carrots, and onions are sautéed in red wine until they turn an appetizing dark red. Freshly cooked pasta is tossed in the meat sauce, along with a touch of Parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and basil. Spaghetti bolognese, commonly known as spaghetti with meat sauce, is ready.
"It's simple to make and uses convenient ingredients. It's a very common home-cooked dish in Italy." Velvet handed over two plates, one large and one small. "The local ingredients in Jingsha are quite excellent. I think the flavor is even better than the original on Earth."
Chu Hengkong couldn't wait to dig in. The slightly chewy noodles increased his chewing time, allowing the flavors of the meat sauce and cheese to fully melt in his mouth, converging into a nostalgic taste that was hard to find in the Shendong Realm.
He quickly finished a plate and happily asked for another. Vander slurped his noodles, looking intoxicated: "I suddenly understand why you're willing to work..."
"She's quite skilled, isn't she?"
"I think he's more than capable of competing with the chef!"
Velvet carefully observed the delighted Eye Demon, puzzled as to how such a creature actually ate. She glanced at Chu Hengkong, who gave her a look that told her not to delve too deeply and to just feel it.
In addition to pasta, the owner, who had a rare moment of free time, also prepared veal, roasted eggplant, and fish fillets made from a local fish, and provided a special extra-large portion for a certain big eater. The big seal manager leaned over the pile of rice bowls and munched on them, not wanting to leave.
The otter editor, munching on some vegetable leaves, commented, "Brother, all you need to become a pet is a collar."
"Are there any spots left?" Manager Crucian Carp slurped his pasta. "I'd like to sign up, too."
In stark contrast to the harmonious lobby, three eerie humanoids, emitting an unidentified aura, sat huddled on a small sofa in the corner. Ji Huaisu clutched an empty plate and said despairingly, "Am I the only one who thinks it's unfair that a gang boss's cooking is so good..."
"My feminine power... after losing to Ma, I lost to the underworld again..."
Qingxia wiped her mouth: "I want another plate..."
"No! You are not allowed to betray me!!"
Qing Ye was furious: "Is your dignity less important than your stomach?"
"That's strange. I've always been a staunch Velvet supporter~"
"You horse!"
Qingxia sneered, "Fufufu, Xiaoye, this industry is very cruel. If we stay with you, we will gradually degenerate into a useless trio that poses no threat. But if we switch sides in time, we will get more opportunities for interaction and more screen time! This is the wisdom of survival!"
"I can no longer allow this evil creature to continue to run rampant! I will seal her away!"
"I'm here to help you!"
The trio tussled on the couch. Velvet watched for a while and commented, "You have a great team spirit."
"You can quickly get acquainted with them by playing a game with them, so go ahead."
"I refuse."
Gulibo, holding two plates of small cakes, was about to go over and symbolically intervene. Then the conch shell at the front desk rang, and it jumped onto the table to answer: "Hello, this is the Aquatic Products Bookstore. How can I help you, Bo?"
Three seconds later, Gulibo came running over holding a conch, his nose as white as paper.
“Yes, yes, yes, yes…”
Vander glanced at it and said, "Calm down and speak slowly. Who is that person over there?"
"Yes, it's Speaker Bo."
"who?!"
Gulibo trembled: "It's Speaker Parriman, Bo!"
(End of this chapter)
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