Forge a path to success.

Chapter 380 Secret Plot
Good evening everyone~ It's so good to see that you're all still alive after being apart for so long!

"It's only been a few months, and your standards are really weird," Qingye complained.

Qingxia gave Ji Huaisu a warm hug, then turned to look at the bookstore's bookshelves. Her eyes were practically sparkling.

"So many books! This place is amazing!"

"For a bookstore, this is the kind of praise we want to hear most," commented the editor, Poison Otter. Big Sea Seal held up a sign that read, "Welcome to preview."

After the second and fourth phases of operations concluded, the scattered members finally reunited. Except for a sniper whose whereabouts were unknown and Stone Seed, who had other missions, all the other members of the Wilderness Resistance were present. Manager Bangbangji had to drag down several more cloud sofas from upstairs, otherwise the lobby area would be almost full.

Ji Huaisu helped the excited Qingxia sit down and clapped his hands: "We can talk about greetings and entertainment later, after the war. Let's get down to business now. Let me introduce you. This is Ms. Violet Velus, our new teammate and strategist, and Akong's boss on Earth."

Qingxia stepped across the table and shook hands with the boss in a friendly manner: "Hello, hello, we always thought you were a man, we never imagined you were a woman."

“His tone can certainly be misunderstood,” Vilbert replied. “Time is limited, we may need to get to know each other better at work. What are your specialties?”

Qingxia put on her goggles and proudly declared, "I am very skilled in close combat, and my strengths lie in precise movements and overwhelming power!"

Vilbert glanced at the file created based on Chu Hengkong's description: "...What about the virus that is a lustful demon?"

"Primarily used to further enhance the intensity of close combat."

Violet noted "Fighting Style: Standard Unified Path" in her memo. She looked at Qingye with a glimmer of hope: "Then, who is this young lady from the Guangshi family?"

Qingye stood at attention and said, "Yes! I am skilled in stealth and close combat, and my specialties are agile speed and superb swordsmanship!"

Vilbert then looked at the various Heart-Binding Techniques recorded in the file: "You should have mastered many techniques..."

"My Musou Nishin-ryu is a school of swordsmanship that integrates swordsmanship, so the techniques are mainly used to assist in close combat."

Vilbert pondered for a moment, then added another line to her memo: "Fighting Style: Standard Unification Path".

She glanced at Ji Huaisu's "heavy firepower bombardment" and Chu Hengkong's "standard unification path" above, and couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"It seems that there is some overlap in the team roles you all have."

"No way." "That's not true." "Everyone has their own methods of fighting!"

“I understand. I will assign suitable tasks to everyone later.” She put the notebook away. “Now, please let the editor tell us about the current progress.”

The editor of the Poison Otter program pulled down a water curtain to explain: "To date, we have collected petitions from approximately 7100 million citizens. Among them, the fourth phase contributed 3000 million, the second phase contributed 2600 million, and the third and fifth phases contributed 1500 million each. The vote-gathering plan is progressing smoothly."

There are still 20 days until the bill officially takes effect, but according to Parriman's plan, 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 that. Therefore, we don't have much time left, and I suggest submitting the request for a revote as soon as possible.

"A question!" Qingxia raised her hand. "What do you mean by physically separating from the secret realm? Are they planning to push this tree into the sea?"

“No, that would be tantamount to plunging the city-state into a demonic siege, so they came up with an even bolder plan.” The Poison Otter turned the page. “They intend to send the city-state flying into the sky.”

The next page features a water screen projection depicting a floating continent soaring through the air, with an old tree sitting in the center of the island, beneath which are countless roots forming "spouts". The island is surrounded by pale white "petals", seemingly a wall separating the inside from the outside.

"Using divine power to provide temporary propulsion, and constructing an aerial ecosystem with the city defense device 'Great Lily.' According to the independence faction, this new device will draw upon the propulsion of the currents from the Sea of ​​Illusions as the power source for the city-state. Once the Great Lily is fully open, the Divine Tree will no longer need to supply the city-state with its own resources, and the protective barrier will officially activate." Poison Otter tossed his pen aside. "I won't comment on the probability of success."

Qingye remained expressionless: "How could that be..."

“I’ve seen the design drawings, and the plan is theoretically feasible,” Wilbert said. “There are similar precedents in reality; the ‘Flowing Bead System’ constructed by Huilong Youyou is the prototype for the giant lily.”

"Huh?" Qingye exclaimed in surprise.

"Huh?" Ji Huaisu exclaimed in surprise.

"Sister Huaisu, what are you exclaiming about? That's your hometown!"

"I always thought that water balloon was just something Yoyo casually made, but it turns out it took advantage of a trend..."

Wilbert tapped the table: "Judging from the situation with the second and fourth pulse sequences, Parriman has attempted to activate the Great Lily several times ahead of schedule. We stopped the deployment of these two pulse sequences in time, but the activation of his main base, Mansa Star Fortress, is probably beyond repair. Hill."

Hill, the secretary, rushed over and took the pen from the poison otter: "Yes, boss! According to the current calculations, once the Great Lily is activated, Mansa Star Castle will become a one-way isolated island. It will be impossible for outsiders to invade, but those inside can freely interfere with the outside world."

"How about using Old Cui's teleportation?" Ji Huaisu asked.

“That might be difficult, because the Great Lily’s defenses directly block the movement of ‘information.’ It’s like a firewall; even the Holy Grail can’t force its way in without a password,” Hill replied. “Our team of experts believes there are only two solutions: one is to use the force of a mass of 6 or higher to force it through, and the other is to find the Great Lily’s password… or to bypass the firewall’s virus.”

To resend the bill, an application would have to be submitted to the Upper House of Mansa Star Castle, but Parryman clearly wouldn't give up that opportunity easily. Qingxia raised her hand again: "Could we sneak into Mansa Star Castle before the giant lilies bloom?"

"If I were Parriman, I would wait for the surprise attack before activating the Great Lily to isolate external reinforcements, and then concentrate my forces to wipe out our elite troops."

"They've become sitting ducks..."

Ji Huaisu scratched his head: "I feel like we can't outlast him. If this thing can be activated at any time, the initiative will be in Parriman's hands. No matter what we choose, we'll just be walking into a trap."

"I have already made arrangements in this regard. In my opinion, we need to pay more attention to the enemy's overt forces."

Hill turned to the next page, displaying three factions marked with red circles: Parriman and the Tree of Love, the Royal Authority and Blood Pact Killers, and the Chaos Demons.

"It really looks pretty bad."

"It feels like I'll suddenly die halfway through..."

Qingxia pondered for a moment: "The captains are mostly on our side, right? We can expect them to limit the power of the Divine Tree of Love. The Earth's assassins were already killed by Chu Hengkong once before, so fighting them again won't be a big deal. The most dangerous one is definitely the last one..."

"Seriously, how do you defeat a level 7 god?"

“Akong is working hard on this,” Wilbert said.

·
"One of the few things that gods and mortals have in common is that they also have weaknesses."

Kanin put down the Extreme Battle cards and poured a full glass of beer for the guests 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 heretics, the outdated system, and, of course, the chaotic lord..."

He counted on his fingers one by one and said with a smile, "The same applies to the other side."

Chu Hengkong picked through the cards he had won and tossed a Demon card back: "Jing Sha is Chaos's weakness? What makes you say that?"

“They’ve been entangled for far too long,” Olek said coldly from the side. “So long that the chaos has affected Jing Sha’s thinking, and vice versa.” “Therefore, if we can strike first…”

“You can make Lord Chaos turn a blind eye to certain things,” Kanin continued. “And what’s interesting is that others won’t be able to detect it yet. If Lord Chaos’ loyal henchmen happen to do something impolite at that time… I’m afraid politicians and assassins alike will have to think twice.”

He interlaced his fingers and placed them in front of his chest: "I can give you this chance to take the initiative."

"What's your method?"

"Please allow me to keep this a secret, otherwise it won't work." Kanin shook his finger. "How about it? This time it's a huge loss, there won't be a second chance."

Chu Hengkong put away the cards and tossed a scroll of contracts onto the table. Kaning snatched it up and laughed loudly, "Detective Chu is indeed straightforward!"

Olek stood up first: "My concealment will be invalid after the contract is established. You can handle the rest yourselves."

"It's gotten to this point, it'd be pointless if we didn't step in now," Chu Heng said with a laugh.

“I never get involved in messy things,” Olek said.

Chu Heng finished his beer, clinked glasses with Kaning, and left the small bar. On the way, he took out his Youyou Cuo's magical tablet and glanced at it, pleased to find that an old friend had briefly come online and replied to his earlier message.

"That's it for today, let's go back to the bookstore for dinner."

Vande poked his head out of his pocket: "Wow, you're awesome, buddy. You can do business with the Great Demon without batting an eye now."

"That's not impressive enough. The big devil has to come to me to do business."

"That's good, you have ideals!" Vande raised his tentacle. "There's still no news from Shura Island, and we've done everything we can in the city. What's our next step?"

Chu Hengkong stretched and said, "After all this commotion for the past few days, it's time to catch our breath. Let's go back to the bookstore for dinner."

"Ah? Oh!"

They hadn't had a proper meal in days, and the night they met up with their boss, they received the devastating news that the bill had passed. After a short rest, they headed to the fields to begin their operation. The underground rebels in the fields certainly didn't have any gourmet food; during their days in the camp, they were busy beating people and their rations were basically made up with fast food.

So, the last normal meal was actually during the Vitex Festival. If Chu Hengkong hadn't mentioned it, Fan De would have almost forgotten that he was theoretically on vacation.

It quickly switched to vacation mode: "Any news? What's for dinner tonight?"

Chu Hengkong was also looking forward to it: "The boss said she made pasta."

·
As they pushed open the bookstore door, they were greeted by the rich aroma of meat sauce.

Mince pork, beef, carrots, and onions, then sauté them in red wine until they turn a deep, appetizing red. Add freshly cooked pasta to the meat sauce, stir, add Parmesan cheese, a little olive oil, and basil leaves. A spaghetti bolognese, commonly known as meat sauce spaghetti, is now ready.

“It’s simple to make, uses readily available ingredients, and is a very common home-cooked meal in Italy.” Vilbert handed over two plates, one large and one small. “The local ingredients in Jingsa are quite excellent, and I think the flavor is even better than the original version on Earth.”

Chu Hengkong couldn't wait to start eating. The slightly chewy noodles increased the chewing time, allowing the flavors of the meat sauce and cheese to fully melt in his mouth, creating a nostalgic taste that was hard to find in the Dark Realm.

He quickly devoured a plate and happily asked for another. Van der, slurping his noodles, looked on with delight: "I suddenly understand why you're willing to work..."

"She's quite skilled, isn't she?"

"I think he's fully capable of competing with the chef!"

Violet carefully observed the smug-looking beholder, puzzled as to how such a creature fed. She glanced at Chu Hengkong, who gave her a look that told her not to delve too deeply, but to sense it.

Besides pasta, the owner, who rarely has time, also prepared veal, grilled eggplant, and fish fillets made from a local fish, and even provided an extra-large portion for a particular big eater. The big-eyed store manager was happily munching away in front of the mountain of food, completely absorbed in the meal.

The otter editor, munching on a vegetable leaf, commented, "Dude, you're only one collar away from becoming a pet."

"Are there any spots left?" Manager Carp smacked his spaghetti. "I'd like to sign up too."

In stark contrast to the harmonious atmosphere of the lobby, three eerie humanoid creatures emanating an unsettling aura were piled on a small sofa in the corner. Ji Huaisu, holding an empty plate, lamented despair, "Am I the only one who thinks it's unfair that the underworld boss is such a good cook...?"

"My feminine prowess... after losing to the horse, has now been lost to the underworld..."

Qingxia wiped her mouth: "I want another plate..."

"No! You're not allowed to betray me!!"

Qingye retorted angrily, "Is your dignity less important than your stomach?!"

"That's a strange thing to say. I've always been a staunch supporter of Wilbert."

"You horse!"

Qingxia sneered: "Hehehe, Xiaoye, the industry is very cruel. Staying with you guys will only lead to us gradually degenerating into a trio of useless losers who pose no threat. But if we switch sides in time, we can get more opportunities to interact and appear on screen! That's the wisdom of survival!"

"This beast can no longer be allowed to continue its rampage! I must seal her away!"

"I'm here to help you!"

The trio wrestled on the sofa. After watching for a while, Violet commented, "Your team has a great atmosphere."

"You can quickly become familiar with them by fighting a match with them, so go ahead."

"Forgive me for refusing."

Gulibo, carrying two plates of small cakes, was about to go over and symbolically try to mediate the fight. Just then, the conch shell at the counter beeped, and it jumped onto the table to answer: "Hello, this is the Seafood Bookstore. How can I help you, Bo?"

Three seconds later, Gulibo rushed over, holding a conch shell, his nose as white as paper.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes..."

Vande glanced at it sideways: "Calm down and speak slowly, who's on the other side?"

"Yes, yes, Speaker."

"Who?!"

Gulibo stammered, "It's Speaker Parriman!"

(End of this chapter)