Chapter 1702: Bad Luck Leads East*

Hui Kong said, "There is a machine in the Technocracy called scavengers. They specialize in gathering and processing leftover scraps from battles and experimental failures."

Huan Sha replied, "That’s recorded in the chips as well, but the resources that I'm referring to are in the records pertaining to First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy, not the scavengers. The missing materials that I found are actually just missing data. Someone has deliberately deleted that particular information."

"Every battle?" Lu Yin asked.

Huan Sha nodded. "Yes, every single one."

"Are wars common within Technocracy?" Lu Yin looked over at Hui Kong and asked.

"Quite frequent, especially between Sky Creation Academy and First Edition City. Those two each control a half of the Master Brain, and that creates numerous contradictions. First Edition City is the one targeting the Human Domain while Sky Creation Academy is different. That’s why I stay in Sky Creation Academy’s territory all the time."

"Can you determine how many resources are missing?" Lu Yin asked Huan Sha.

Huan Sha shook her head. "It’s too much, and these records only report the recent battles, not all of them."

Lu Yin and Hui Kong looked at each other. If the resources belonging to just Sky Creation Academy or First Edition City disappeared, it would not be a problem. It was normal for someone to deliberately steal resources, but resources were vanishing from both sides. This did not seem right. This made the various battles look like they were just an excuse to steal more resources, rather than them being lost during a battle.

Was it possible that someone was able to control the fighting between Sky Creation Academy and First Edition City from behind the scenes? Who? The Master Brain?

The Sixth Mainland was the power behind First Edition City while the Wang family was behind the Sky Creation Academy, at least according to what Lu Yin knew.

However, he wanted to learn where the missing materials had gone. Suddenly, he remembered the mechanical ants that he had seen when he had Possessed one of them. There were countless ants densely packed somewhere within the Technocracy.

At this thought, Lu Yin’s scalp went numb; there were so many ants, but who had made them?

"Do the reports have any mention of mechanical ants?" Lu Yin asked.

Huan Sha shook her head. "No."

Huan Sha soon left.

Hui Kong said, "Brother Lu, I will also be leaving. You must be careful since there will be people coming from that place."

"Aren't you curious about where those resources went?" Lu Yin asked.

Hui Kong laughed. "That's a problem for the Technocracy. It has nothing to do with what I’m looking for."

This showed the difference in the two’s positions. Hui Kong only cared about what he was searching for while Lu Yin was the master of the Great Eastern Alliance. In the future, Lu Yin intended to lead the Fifth Mainland in a counterattack against the Perennial World. Of the Human Domain, the Astral Beast Domain, and the Technocracy, the Technocracy was the most mysterious, as there was no way to send anyone to infiltrate that place. These newly discovered missing materials could actually become his entry point.

He would not easily let this matter go. Of course, it was also possible for the whole thing to turn out to be useless, as it was not impossible for people to be stealing materials from both First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy.

"Brother Hui, could you stay for a few more days? I want to ask you about the Technocracy," Lu Yin said.

Hui Kong nodded. "Alright, I’ll stay for a few more days and tell you what I know."

…

That night, Lu Yin made a call in a sealed room. Four screens appeared in front of him, showing Wang Wen, Wei Rong, Qiong Xi'er, and Shui Chuanxiao.

"Huh? All of us? It looks like something major’s going to happen." Wang Wen was surprised.

Wei Rong bowed to Lu Yin. "Alliance Leader Lu, the Sword Sect’s Elder Lianxin has not yet appeared in Venom Flowzone."

Lu Yin nodded. "Don't worry about the Sword Sect for now. There’s something else I want to discuss with you four. This is a major issue concerning life and death."

Everyone grew solemn at Lu Yin’s words.

Lu Yin usually consulted them one at a time, but all of them were participating this time, which indicated that this was a truly massive situation.

Shui Chuanxiao grew increasingly curious. He had been tasked with moving the Lu Elite Troops into Basong Flowzone. He was almost done, so what could be even more important than destroying the Neohuman Alliance’s headquarters in the Innerverse and Outerverse?

Lu Yin organized his thoughts and then looked up at the four people in front of him. He proceeded in a low voice, "I have an enemy who is very, very powerful. As soon as they appear, let alone me, even the Hall of Honor will find it hard to resist."

When the four people heard his words, their expressions instantly changed.

Qiong Xi'er was at a loss. "The Sixth Mainland?"

Lu Yin looked at Wang Wen. "I spoke of this to you."

Wang Wen's expression grew even more solemn. "Are they here?"

Lu Yin shook his head.

The four let out sighs of relief. Even if they did not know who Lu Yin’s enemy was, the situation would be alright as long as that enemy had not already arrived, as it meant that they would have some time to prepare.

"I’m not sure when they’ll come," Lu Yin continued.

Shui Chuanxiao could not stop himself from asking, "Who is this enemy?"

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Lu Yin somberly replied, "Telling you now would do no one any good. What you need to know is that this enemy will appear from within the Technocracy’s Sky Creation Academy. I wanted to gather the four of you in order to discuss how we should defend against this enemy."

"I would like to know just how determined this enemy is to target Alliance Leader Lu," Wei Rong asked.

Lu Yin answered without any hesitation. "I’m a must-kill target."

Wei Rong's eyes narrowed at this response. If he considered all of Lu Yin’s enemies throughout the entire Fifth Mainland, there were very few who were determined to kill Lu Yin. At the moment, even the major Innerverse powers, such as the Sword Sect, did not actually want to kill Lu Yin; at most, they wanted to drive him out of the Innerverse.

"Do they actually dare to kill you or simply want you dead?" Shui Chuanxiao asked.

"Both."

Wei Rong's finger twitched. This was a problem. Lu Yin's backing covered the entire universe, as he was supported by the Hall of Honor. Even the Sixth Mainland had to take that into account. This unknown enemy was bold enough to kill Lu Yin, which meant that they were either desperate or had nothing to lose. Wei Rong was afraid that the latter seemed more likely, as it was impossible for Lu Yin to be so serious about this matter otherwise.

"There’s only a few ways to defend against foreign enemies. One is to remove the hatred," Qiong Xi'er said.

"Impossible," Lu Yin said.

Qiong Xier continued to say, "Another is to ally with their enemies."

"Can't do that."

"The third is to hide."

"Also can't be done."

"Then that leaves only one option." Qiong Xi'er frowned. To borrow the hand of your enemies to destroy another.1

Lu Yin's eyes lit up, and he raised his hand to write in the air. He wrote a list of his enemies. First on the list was the Neohuman Alliance. He did not have much personal hatred towards the Neohuman Alliance, but he desperately hoped to drag them into the mix. Next, he wrote down the Sixth Mainland, the major forces of the Innerverse, the Seven Courts’ Xia Ji, and more.

Qiong Xi’er’s expression grew increasingly strange as she watched the names being added to Lu Yin’s list. This was a lot of hatred…

Of the four, Wang Wen was the one who knew Lu Yin the best, so he was not surprised at the list. As if he already knew everything, Wei Rong also showed no surprise. He had even imagined the Hall of Honor to be one of Lu Yin’s enemies. Shui Chuanxiao and Qiong Xier were the ones who were truly surprised, especially Shui Chuanxiao. He looked at Lu Yin in a brand new light; just what kind of person was able to provoke so many people into becoming their enemies?

"Alright, let's analyze things and see who can take on this enemy who will appear in the Sky Creation Academy," Lu Yin said loudly.

…

No one knew what came of Lu Yin’s meeting with Wang Wen and the others, but their meeting continued for several days.

After those days passed, Lu Yin saw Hui Kong off.

Hui Kong was quite reluctant to leave Lu Yin. The two had become fast friends some time ago, and their friendship surpassed the difference in years.

Before leaving, Hui Kong drew a star chart of the Technocracy for Lu Yin, as this was something that Lu Yin needed.

After Hui Kong left, Balsam arrived.

Balsam brought Lu Yin numerous medications and pills from Shamrock Enterprise on this visit to the Ross Empire’s mobile fortress. This was intended to be a congratulatory gift for the Great Eastern Alliance’s entry into Blazing Mist Flowzone.

"Are these the odd plants that you’ve been collecting, Alliance Leader Lu?" Balsam stood outside of Saplinge’s area and watched the plants running about like forest spirits. Of particular note was the large tree, as it was still doing everything possible to try to escape. Anyone would be surprised to see such a thing.

Lu Yin nodded. "What do you think? There are quite a few."

Balsam smiled. "If Alliance Leader Lu enjoys such things, my Shamrock Enterprise can offer you many more. We have collected too many such strange plants."

Lu Yin was thrilled. "Really? In that case, please accept my thanks."

"Tell me, what did you do to collect all of these plants?" Balsam asked as she stared at Lu Yin. She had already observed the plants, and there was nothing she saw that warranted any concern.

Lu Yin grew a little embarrassed.

Balsam smiled again. "If it's not convenient to say, I'll just contact my company and have them send some plants to you."

Lu Yin turned serious as he looked at Balsam. "Honestly, I visited Gaia’s Swamp and saw one of the prisoners. He was locked up there because his research killed too many people. He was researching… eternal life."

"Eternal life?" Balsam was surprised.

Lu Yin nodded. "His research actually showed some results, but it also offended someone important, and he ended up being locked away for the rest of his life. I wanted to use his findings to research these plants. I think that his results weren’t bad."

"Eternal life?" Balsam asked uncertainly.

Lu Yin nodded.

Balsam's eyes flickered, as she did not believe Lu Yin’s answer. Too many people in the universe pursued immortality, and even Shamrock Enterprise had people participating in that field of research. However, she felt like Lu Yin’s studies were unreliable, though there was no denying the appeal of eternal life. Death was inevitable, as no one could live forever, with the possible exception of Progenitors.

However, the Fifth Mainland had no Progenitors, and such powerhouses were too far removed from people like Lu Yin and Balsam.

"If Shamrock Enterprise is willing, I would be happy to cooperate with you in studying immortality," Lu Yin offered.

Balsam smiled as she replied, "It would be my Shamrock Enterprise’s honor."

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful. I’ll make sure to find some time to visit Leaf King."

There was a loud bang, and the two turned around to look at the commotion. Inside the isolated area, the big tree had fallen to the ground. It had just leaped up, trying to jump out. However, despite the height of the jump, it had just violently slammed back into the floor.

When the big tree fell down, a small tree appeared from inside the branches. It was Sapling.

Without really knowing why, Balsam had a strange feeling as soon as she saw Sapling.

Lu Yin's eyes changed as he watched Balsam, and his heart dropped. He had not expected her to pick up on the difference between the various plants and Sapling.

Lu Yin suddenly raised a hand and set it on Balsam’s shoulder, startling her and causing her to instinctively want to attack. "I'm really quite serious. Eternal life needs to be studied. Do you know who that prisoner offended with his research?"

Balsam stared blankly at Lu Yin. "Who?"

"I can't say."

Balsam arched a brow and frowned. She was Shamrock Enterprise’s Innerverse President, and she had always maintained an elegant demeanor as though everything was in her control. However, she had just been startled by Lu Yin before being left at a loss for words. Both of these things were quite infuriating, and they caused Balsam’s expression to twist slightly.

[1] The title of this chapter is an idiom that means to use certain means to prevent oneself from suffering losses while having others bear the losses instead. This passage right here is the meaning, while the title is the literal translation of the idiom. ☜