Secret Meeting

The glamorous woman and the muscular man returned to the Glory Association headquarters, exhausted from their journey.

The atmosphere here was heavily guarded and solemn.

The two separated at the entrance. The muscular man headed toward the rest area, while the glamorous woman walked in another direction.

After passing through several tedious and strict identity verification scans, the glamorous woman finally stepped into a dark corridor and stopped before a metal door without any markings.

The door slid open silently, revealing a spacious and bright secret meeting room where a heavy, oppressive aura filled the air.

At the round table in the center of the meeting room, three people were already seated.

The main seat in the middle was occupied by a blurry black figure. One could barely make out a humanoid silhouette, but no facial details were visible, and it was impossible to tell if the figure was male or female.

To the left sat a hunched-back old man with white hair. His face was a map of deep wrinkles, his eyes were cloudy, and he was fiddling with two dark red beads in his hand.

To the right was a refined-looking young man wearing well-tailored clothes and gold-rimmed glasses. However, it was hair-raising to see that when he turned his head slightly, the back of his head was hairless; instead, it featured a hideous, twisted ghost face. That face had its eyes tightly shut, and its skin was an unnatural bluish-gray.

The glamorous woman walked in and took the empty seat.

As soon as she sat down, the Two-faced man asked with his front mouth, "How is the situation? Can you confirm if that suspect you mentioned is the Otherworldly Visitor we're looking for?"

When he spoke, the ghost face on the back of his head remained motionless.

The glamorous woman took a deep breath and answered cautiously, "It's still impossible to be certain. That person is currently only a suspect, and we don't even have any clear evidence."

"In Amber City, we confirmed that the Otherworldly Visitor possesses a concealment ability. The Diviner performed a large-scale fuzzy divination to search for traces of the Otherworldly Visitor, and only that investigator's movements flickered in and out, making them difficult to capture clearly. That is why he was listed as a suspect."

The Two-faced man pushed up his glasses. "What about Xin Yanzheng? Has there been any feedback from his side? The Otherworldly Visitor impersonated his older brother for a while, so he should have some impression of that person's behavioral habits, right?"

The glamorous woman shook her head. "Xin Yanzheng hasn't shown any abnormalities. He doesn't seem to have connected the suspect with his past brother at all."

At this point, the hunched-back old man spoke, his voice raspy and carrying a hint of ruthlessness. "This is a matter of great importance. I'd rather kill the wrong person than let a suspect go. Even if there's only a sliver of suspicion, we should take immediate action and bring him under control."

"Looking at it another way, even if that suspect isn't the target we're looking for, the mere fact that he can evade a Diviner's gaze makes him extremely valuable for research. When you were in Amber City, you should have found a way to 'invite' him back," he said, his tone dissatisfied as he blamed the glamorous woman for her poor performance.

The glamorous woman frowned slightly and retorted, "You make it sound so easy. He is, after all, a registered investigator. His status is sensitive."

The hunched-back old man snorted, the beads in his hand clacking loudly. "What about it? Have we not 'invited' plenty of investigators back to cooperate with our research? Since when do we need to worry about these superficial identities?"

"Wake up, old man. Times have changed. This isn't thirty years ago, when you could run rampant," the glamorous woman shot back.

She reminded him, "The suspect's status as an investigator isn't the point. The point is that he is very likely a Rank 4 transcendent."

"Rank 4?!" The Two-faced man's front face showed surprise, and the eyelids of the ghost face on the back of his head twitched.

"How is that possible? It's only been a little over half a year since he escaped the lab. He was locked in a containment room for seven years as an ordinary person at everyone's mercy. How could his strength have grown so explosively as soon as he left? How did he do it?"

"He's a transmigrator. There are always some divine mysteries about them that we can't understand," the glamorous woman said deeply.

After his initial surprise, the Two-faced man's eyes became fervent. "To stay silent in a containment room for seven years and then soar to the heavens the moment he leaves... it seems the secrets he's hiding are far greater than we imagined!"

"By the way, what about Ms. Tang? Wasn't she very interested in this matter before? What's her current attitude?"

The black figure in the main seat spoke for the first time, saying, "Ms. Tang was indeed originally very interested in the concept of the 'Otherworld'. But once she learned that the relevant intelligence ultimately pointed to a specific 'transmigrator' individual, she immediately lost interest."

"Why?" the Two-faced man asked, puzzled.

The black figure said slowly, "According to Ms. Tang's own words, a transmigrator who was imprisoned and studied for seven years without incident, yet experienced an explosive growth in strength after escaping... Behind this, it's either the mandate of heaven, or there's an even more hidden and powerful existence secretly helping him."

"Ms. Tang even suspects that this transmigrator is bound to a system. She doesn't want to touch that kind of trouble. Therefore, she has withdrawn her attention and involvement in this matter, and decisively sent the 'trouble' out of her territory."

The hunched-back old man scoffed. "Black Guanyin actually believes in things like the mandate of heaven? Tsk—I didn't know she was so cowardly."

"Why wouldn't she believe it? After all, she was blessed by heaven back then, and everything she did was smooth sailing, as if she had divine help," the black figure said coldly.

The glamorous woman interjected, "The recent disturbances in the Mysterious Garden are becoming more frequent. It's normal for Ms. Tang to not want any unnecessary complications. Perhaps we should consider her opinion and be more cautious."

The Two-faced man immediately voiced his opposition. "Are we supposed to give up on the Otherworldly Visitor? Don't be ridiculous. He's not only a living coordinate to the Otherworld, but he likely hides the shocking secret of how to rapidly advance to Rank 4! He's a mobile treasure trove; we absolutely cannot miss this!"

The hunched-back old man nodded in agreement. "Exactly! Now is not the time for hesitation. Furthermore, we've already established a blood feud with the Otherworldly Visitor. Even if we wanted to stop, the other party would never let it go. This is already a fight to the death; we can only see this through to the end!"

The glamorous woman reminded them, "The key is, how do we make a move? The opponent is likely a Rank 4 with unknown abilities. Our operation in Amber City last time was almost a total wipeout, and we suffered heavy losses."

"Moreover, a significant portion of our high-end combat power is currently being tied down elsewhere by the Mage, and they can't be pulled away for now."

A flash of ruthlessness appeared in the Two-faced man's eyes. "Then pull back the personnel hunting the Mage! Prioritize this operation."

"First, deploy those artificial transcendents and controlled supernatural creatures from the lab. Although they have obvious flaws and are very unstable, they can be used as consumables to test and weaken the target's strength. Once the opponent's condition declines, our main force will strike!"

The glamorous woman still had concerns. "Pull back the personnel dealing with the Mage? If our judgment is wrong and the suspect isn't the Otherworldly Visitor, we'll not only have wasted resources catching the wrong person, but we might also lose track of the Mage. Wouldn't that be more of a loss than a gain?"

The black figure in the main seat spoke again, settling the matter. "No. If we cannot handle both, the order of priority must be clear. The hunt for the Mage can be postponed; the Otherworldly Visitor has the highest priority. Two-faced's plan is feasible."

"When do we act?" the Two-faced man asked.

The black figure paused for a moment before issuing the command. "Don't cause trouble within Chijing City. Chijing City is one of our key partner cities, and it's not advisable to cause unrest there. Wait for the target to leave the city before launching the ambush. Even if we can't take him down in one hit, we must at least force out all of his hidden cards."

"Agreed," the hunched-back old man and the Two-faced man responded simultaneously.

The glamorous woman hesitated for a second before finally nodding. "Agreed."