A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 305 A Chance Encounter at the Restaurant: The Importance of Timing

During the few days that Guan Luoyang was in seclusion to hone his sword skills, anyone who came near him could sense his aversion to visitors.

There haven't been any urgent situations lately, so no one has insisted on bothering us.

However, after he finished forging the knife and went out to order food at the restaurant on the third floor of the hotel, he ran into an acquaintance.

"Is the former president going to the restaurant? Wait for me, I'm going to eat too."

Jiang Zisheng's cheerful voice came from the corridor as he quickly entered the elevator.

There were only the two of them in the elevator.

Guan Luoyang responded with a greeting, thinking to himself: After all, he is Xiao Jiang's grandson, so it's best not to emphasize the matter of seniority to him.

The elevator doors closed automatically. After pressing the floor button, Guan Luoyang asked, "How's the treatment of the infected people going after we caught Jin Meng?"

Although the virus poses no threat to mid- to high-level psychics, as long as the speed of psychic energy flushing out exceeds the speed of viral reproduction, these crystalline viruses can be expelled from the body and completely eradicated.

However, such a brutal method cannot be used to treat those who are infected.

Because their mental fortitude is not necessarily as strong as that of the virus, if a large amount of energy were used to directly flush them over, the virus would not die before the people did.

Jiang Zisheng replied, "Fifth Mr. and President Hong have used some instruments to read all the information about the virus from Jin Meng's mind. Several laboratories have already started research. Although there is no complete cure yet, they have developed treatment methods to prevent the condition from worsening."

"That's good. By the way, aren't you in charge of the city defenses and border hospital in the northern border town of Myanmar?"

Guan Luoyang then remembered and asked, "Why are you here too?"

"Ugh! Don't even mention it, I'm completely exhausted lately."

Jiang Zisheng waved his hand, "Didn't a few hundred people escape from here to the border town before? They heard that we have taken over this place, so they can't help but feel homesick. However, the situation is not stable yet, so it is impossible to let them all come back. We selected a dozen or so volunteers to come and take a look, which can also be considered as cooperating with our propaganda work."

"I was escorting those people here, and I just happened to receive my transfer order here. I'm going to be stationed here for at least three years, either in charge of medical care, city defense, or subsequent propaganda."

Of the five city-states in Myanmar, Yu City was originally the most populous and prosperous, and the united government paid close attention to it.

After the people of the Eight Leaves Institute occupied this place, they were so eager to perform chip removal surgery on many young people, which means they saw the potential of the population here and were preparing to transport some of the people back to the heart of the Eight Leaves. However, Tian Er Luohan and the others had not yet had time to truly implement the follow-up plan.

Guan Luoyang asked, "Has there been any major activity from the Eight Leaves side these past few days?"

Jiang Zisheng took out a cigarette from his pocket, sniffed it, and said, "There are some big moves, but not an attack. They've proposed exchanging the remaining four city-states of Myanmar for the corpses of the Dakini and the Heavenly Ear Arhat."

"Oh?"

Guan Luoyang was somewhat surprised. After thinking for a while, he shook his head as he stepped out of the elevator. "What a clever scheme."

Jiang Zisheng asked, "What are the old president's thoughts?"

"What are you talking about?"

Yan Zhen's voice came from the front.

The restaurant has a nice layout. When you stand up and walk around, the view is open and the air is fresh, but once you sit down, there are low walls separating each other, and there are potted plants in many corners.

Lively but not dirty or chaotic, compact but not cramped.

Guan Luoyang and Jiang Zisheng went over and saw that Yan Zhen was sitting alone at a table with only a cup of tea on it and several notebooks in his hand.

Guan Luoyang smiled and said, "What a coincidence, you're eating here too?"

"No, that's not it. I often don't eat, I just drink some tea."

Yan Zhen gestured for them to sit down and said, "However, I like to read in places where other people are eating, especially in such lively places. When I read there, I feel that I can better appreciate the meaning between the lines."

Jiang Zisheng said, "I've eaten several meals here, and I've seen Old Yan at every single one. I'm starting to suspect that he's living in this restaurant."

There is a small electronic screen in each of the four corners of this table. You can browse the restaurant's dishes by opening the screen menu.

Jiang Zisheng, familiar with the place, ordered a few dishes for himself and then said to Guan Luoyang, "This hotel is now our dormitory and canteen. We've added a lot of food suitable for intermediate and advanced psychic users to their original menu. The old president can skip to page seven and look further."

Guan Luoyang was curious, so he clicked on it to take a look.

The first dish on the seventh page is a "tender lotus leaf steak," which is said to use gene editing technology to give lotus leaves the texture and aroma of top-quality beef. It only needs to be planted in a cultivation tank and exposed to light to grow.

The nutrients in this dish have a strong restorative and protective effect on the cardiovascular system. Level 4 and 5 psychic users who stay up too late or use their psychic powers too frequently can recover a lot by eating more than 800 grams of tender lotus root steak.

Scroll down the menu to find deer antlers growing on tree stumps, Ganoderma lucidum cultivated inside whales, Epiphyllum oxypetalum grown under fixed-frequency ultrasound, fish-flavored gel produced directly from the laboratory, and military-grade cakes for which no specific manufacturing process is provided, among other things.

"This..." Guan Luoyang said, "Are all these ingredients produced using genetic technology?"

Jiang Zisheng said, "Not entirely. Some are genetic technology, some are nanomechanical technology. For example, that military supply cake, the sweet-smelling ingredients in the cream are actually all nanomechanical worms. After being ingested, they will try their best to repair some minor lesions and damages to the internal organs, and then they will become unusable and be..."

He paused, glanced at the dining setting, and said, "Well, it means it will leave the human body."

Guan Luoyang ordered several of the strangest-looking dishes and said, "They all sound like they cost a lot to make."

Yan Zhen picked up the thread and said, "Fortunately, the production process for these things is already complete. Although it can only be used by mid-to-high-level psionicists at present, if we have another ten years or so, those ingredients with stable genes can be promoted to the general public."

The adorable bear-eared robot with a round head and blue eyes has delivered Jiang Zisheng's food. It is almost entirely gel-like food, which looks like colorful jellies, and is served in different plates.

Jiang Zisheng immediately put away the cigarettes, happily took the plate, and started eating with a spoon.

Yan Zhen then asked, "What were you talking about in the elevator earlier?"

Guan Luoyang said, "Little Jiang told me that the Eight Leaves want to exchange four city-states for the Dakini and the Heavenly Ear."

Jiang Zisheng swallowed a mouthful of jelly and said blankly, "What, Little Jiang?"

Guan Luoyang said calmly, "As the 'old' president, it's perfectly normal for me to address a junior who is not even a hundred years old like this."

Jiang Zisheng stuffed a mouthful of jelly into his mouth, mumbled something, and then stuffed another mouthful of jelly into his mouth.

Yan Zhen laughed, but then got down to business: "Brother Guan, what do you think of their deal? Can you agree to it?"

Guan Luoyang said, "I think they have ulterior motives."

"yes."

Yan Zhen nodded. "On the surface, exchanging four city-states for two corpses is a huge loss for them. Moreover, they said they don't need the prosthetic bodies, just the two heads, so they can go back and bury them."

"But in reality, after they occupied the five cities of Myanmar, the situation in Youcheng was relatively alright because it was the farthest from them. However, in the area closer to them, many young people had already been taken away by them, causing widespread panic and the possibility of their spies."

"After we take over those four city-states, we will definitely have to spend a lot of effort. If we really go to war in the future, these five newly acquired city-states will certainly not be as secure as our original borders, and we will probably waste a lot of our military strength."

Guan Luoyang also said, "Moreover, after this incident, the Promised Land and the Eight Leaves Courtyard have a solid foundation for cooperation. When we operate among these five city-states, we are essentially giving them time to buffer, allowing them to develop more cooperation and enhance their strength."

Jiang Zisheng looked up, his face displeased, and said, "This way of saying things is entirely detrimental. We can't agree to this deal, or perhaps we should ask them to change their terms?"

"Wrong," Guan Luoyang said calmly. "Since these four city-states are right in front of us, why not eat them?"

Yan Zhen closed his notebook, his eyes shining brightly, and said firmly, "Exactly! The five cities of Burma should have been part of the united regime long ago. The Eight Leaves' raid should never have happened. Now that we have the opportunity to take them back, how can we let it slip by?"

Jiang Zisheng asked doubtfully, "Didn't you think the timing wasn't right based on your analysis just now?"

Yan Zhen laughed and said, "The timing may not be right, but we can find a way to make it right. The timing is something that can be viewed from different angles. In the past three hundred years, I don't know how many times I've encountered this situation. Sometimes, an opportunity that seems immature doesn't mean that we should really miss it and do nothing."

Guan Luoyang said, "Our analysis just now was from the enemy's perspective. If things proceed as they expect, and everything goes smoothly, we will naturally not have an easy time. But if we make things even more difficult for them, then the coalition government can easily seize any opportunity."

Jiang Zisheng nodded.

Jingle Bell!

A light bell rang, and the robot came to the vicinity again, handing over Guan Luoyang's dishes.

After accepting the dishes, Guan Luoyang first picked up his emerald-colored drink and took a sip: "Afterwards, I plan to visit Baye. I think Yan Zhen and the others' plans are similar to mine, right?"

"They are indeed similar, but we already had quite a few candidates over there, and we weren't planning to send you on this risk."

Yan Zhen said, "High-level psionicists are easily detected when they appear in territories that have been covered and managed by the Eight-Leaf Psionic Network for a long time."

"If it weren't for the virus that Jin Meng researched, which disrupted their vision, the Skywalkers would never have been able to sneak away from us so quietly."

Jiang Zisheng said, "Then can't we use the same method to deal with the soldiers of the Eight Leaves?"

"Their grassroots ecology, bionic technology, and level of intelligent machinery are very different from ours, so they can be less concerned about this type of virus."

Yan Zhen shook his head and said, "The method that Jin Meng has developed is practically designed to counter our united regime. To counter the Eight Leaves, someone would have to develop an extremely powerful electronic virus."

Jiang Zisheng suddenly realized, "That's right, I forgot about that."

Yan Zhen continued to persuade him: "If you venture deep into their territory alone, they will all have maximum spiritual energy enhancement. If they also develop a way to counter your escape techniques, they could gather a large group to surround and kill you repeatedly, which would be very dangerous for you."

Guan Luoyang picked up a piece of tender green steak, and sure enough, it was fragrant, rich, and sweet. If he hadn't read the introduction beforehand, he would never have guessed that he was eating lotus leaves.

He finished his steak in a few bites and said, "I encounter risky situations almost every few days, I'm used to it. Besides, it's only risky for me; if you sent the people you chose, wouldn't they be doomed?"

Yan Zhen remained silent.

Guan Luoyang smiled: "Besides, you should know that I am not entirely a psychic, so I am not that easy to be discovered."

Yan Zhen was not lacking in decisiveness. After a moment's thought, he said, "Alright, since that's the case, I won't stop you. Why don't you replace some of the original candidates and then adjust the plan accordingly? With everyone working together, we might be able to achieve much better results than the original plan."

Guan Luoyang said with great interest, "Okay, tell me in detail."

Yan Zhen shook his head: "No rush. Although this place is safe enough, to discuss this matter in detail, we'll have to wait for Mingjing to come over with the information so we can talk about it together."

"In addition, you have made a great impression on them by killing many people before. They will be wary of you. We still need to discuss how to create the illusion that you are still in the territory of the United Government after you leave."

Guan Luoyang nodded as he picked up a small, pink, glistening glutinous rice ball. It tasted like watermelon. This kind of glutinous rice ball is actually a natural fruit, said to grow on the genetically modified mongoose tree.

For psionicists below level four, consuming just 300 grams of these glutinous rice balls can keep them from feeling hungry for two months.

Guan Luoyang, noticing the delicious taste, picked up the bowl and finished it off in a few bites.

Yan Zhen patted his stomach, opened the electronic menu, and said, "Seeing you two eating so heartily makes me hungry."

After the three of them finished eating, Jiang Zisheng went to do his own thing.

Guan Luoyang and Yan Zhen went to find the Fifth Mirror to learn about the people they had originally planted in the Eight Leaves territory, and then selected the identity that Guan Luoyang could take over.

After everything was settled, three days later, Hachiyo-in retrieved the Dakini and a jar of fragments of the Heavenly Ear Arhat.

Guan Luoyang and the other two exchanged a brief encounter with Su Jieluo and his group from a distance.

Subsequently, the coalition government sent troops to take over the remaining four city-states as well.

The following day, with only a handful of people knowing, Guan Luoyang sneaked into the territory of Baye.

Just to clarify, the instance world is completely unrelated to the real world; it is an alternate world, an extra-dimensional universe. Any resemblance to actual events or persons is purely coincidental!

If you're going to post anything in this chapter, please be a little careful. Thank you!

(End of this chapter)