To Meet Again
“They plan to eliminate ordinary human beings with genetic manipulation, using the Tree of Life to control their minds and turn the whole world into a puppet. This wickedness… It far exceeds even the worst cruelties the ancient empire ever inflicted on its people.”
There was a look of righteousness on Clive’s face, “Some of the military who had access to project details couldn’t accept it. We formed a secret organisation, uniting our forces to resist the decadence that has taken over the imperial family!”
Clive turned redder and redder as he spoke, his voice growing higher in pitch. Without the protection of the pulse jammer, they probably would have attracted attention.
Although she more or less believed the other party, Bobbi still sneered as she crossed her arms, “It’s a pity that your brother doesn’t know about this.”
Hearing that mentioned, Clive turned helpless as his expression filled with sentiment and grief, “Javis… He’s another one of the reasons I established this rebellion. Take a look at this.”
He pulled a golden necklace off his neck, the locket attached to it in the shape of an oval shell. A family photo was within.
There were three boys in the photo, two of them looking like Clive and Javis.
“This is our third brother,” Clive said, pointing to a red-haired boy standing at a side. He was the shortest of the lot, wearing a checkered black-and-white shirt. He seemed to have a shy personality.
“The three of us originally got along greatly. However, once we joined the army a mistake I made in compassion caused our third brother to become a vegetable. Currently, he doesn’t have the ability to think anymore.” Clive revealed his secret.
“His situation is very tricky, with aspects of the soul involved. Even the most advanced technology of the Empire couldn’t remedy the situation, and ever since then Javis has hated me. His personality turned more extreme and brutal, and he used that to his advantage to rise quickly as he joined the Special Forces…”
Not knowing why, Xavier suddenly felt like both Clive and Javis were quite pitiful.
“What does the death of your brother have to do with your loyalty towards the empire?” Bobbi asked acutely, and then she covered her mouth, “Could it be… because of the X project?
“No. It’s the Tree of Life orchestrated by the empire…” Clive seemed determined in his betrayal as he casually spoke of classified information, “The project aims to use magic via Rapid Shadows as a medium, using immense pressure to directly implant the Shadow Weave into humans. This will give the royal family control over the thoughts, and even the soul! Ultimately, all humans in the Shadow World will be integrated into a hive mind, forming an extraordinary existence…
”This is why Javis is loyal to the empire. The Tree of Life is the only hope for our brother to recover, the resonance of extraordinary power that comes with the implantation of the Shadow Weave able to bring him back. On top of that, the empire promised to hand over some autonomy to the souls of the higher-ups, which is why some of them are still loyal. An empire they control, with no public opinion or resistance to worry about, letting them do whatever they want. To some of them, this is heaven!”
Clive revealed a mocking smile.
“You should be entitled to this as well, right? Wouldn’t it be great? Once it happens you brothers can live happily together once more…” Xavier couldn’t help but ask.
Clive suddenly hesitated for a moment, then he caressed the pendant in his hand. “My only wish is to see my little brother recover. For that, I’m willing to sacrifice everything. However, he certainly wouldn’t want to wake up to such a dark world…”
He breathed out a long sigh, “I erred once, but I do not wish to do so again. Are you willing to join hands with us in our fight?”
“Your reasoning is flawed,” Bobbi said with disdain. However, just as Xavier thought negotiations were about to break down she continued, “However, an undercover agent from the empire could forge a more flawless background. I believe you— for now.
“Of course, our people have clashed so often before that they currently hate each other. It’s impossible for us to act in tandem, at most exchanging information for now.” Bobbi’s analysis was very reasonable. After all, the resentment between the Bloodline Alliance and the empire wasn’t just a matter of a day or two.
“I agree,” Clive nodded after a while.
“So… This is what I need to know. The bloodline carriers on the Starry Tourist bus, including the old and young, where were they sent?”
“Silver Mountain Research Institute, close to Kerallen. These are the coordinates…”Clive sold out the Special Forces without hesitation. Perhaps he wanted to use this to win Bobbi’s trust in the first place.
“It’s a training and logistics centre for the Special Forces. They were hit pretty badly recently, so they’re most likely collecting fresh blood to train. The chances of survival are very high. A few on our side also have passwords to a few crucial entrances.
Xavier’s eyes lit up as this was mentioned, and he grabbed Clive’s arm, “What about my sister? Is Jill inside there?”
“Jill? I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of this name….” Clive politely retreated, “However, If your sister is young and was sent to the imperial capital, it means that her innate talent is extremely high. There’s a great chance that she was sent there.”
“That’s great!” After receiving the news, Xavier resolutely clenched his first. ‘Jill, Mom, Dad… Soon, I’ll be there soon!’ he said in his heart.
“If you need any more information, just head over to the capital’s Golden-Purple Flower Road, building 377 there to look for me. The boss is a disabled man, all you have to do is say ‘Open Tulips’ and he’ll naturally understand what you mean.
Once everything was explained, Clive quickly stowed away his pulse jammer and gradually vanished into the darkness.
Bobbi and Xavier waited in place for a moment before the communication device on Bobbi’s collar rang out, “The target’s left, sister. There’s no traces of an ambush in the vicinity.”
”Very well, let that old man leave… He does indeed have some sincerity. Send the rescue team over!” Silhouettes that formed a sparse encirclement slowly emerged from the surroundings and made Xavier jump.
Earlier on, if Bobbi had felt that the other party was lying, would Clive most likely have received a shot in his head?
“Contact Genius!”
One of the members immediately half-squatted, revealing a transmitter. Bobbi inserted a disk Clive had given her into the device and sent it to Genius, “Genius! This is the map of the Silver Mountain Research Institute, along with a few passcodes. Eliminate their firewall, and paralyze their base within half an hour.”
“No problem! I AM a genius after all…” The youth on the screen looked like a ruffian, and pity and grief surfaced on his face, “Damn it, why did you give me all these passwords? I can hack them myself! I thought I had a good opponent, but now it’s like I’m using cheats…”
“Scram!” Bobbi hung up the transmission and turned to look at Xavier. “So, what now? This is the imperial capital, with the most powerful guards in the country. Do you dare to do something big?”
“What’s there to be afraid of?” Xavier suddenly shouted. In fact, he had indeed felt afraid. However, with his family members trapped inside, he had no choice but to go.
……
When Bobbi brought the elites of the Bloodline Alliance to attack the Silver Mountain Research Institute, what she saw was completely unexpected. There was no heavy guard here, instead a base that had been ruined.
“What happened? Has someone gotten ahead of us?” Bobbi’s face filled with surprise and uncertainty. Other than the Bloodline Alliance, she could not think of another force that had the guts to be so rampant.
“The Coven? But there are no traces of magic attacks. The Knights of the Round Table or Martial Arts Association? Right now, with the deaths of the majority of their elites and important figures, they can’t even care for themselves much less others… Clive? There is no beneficial reason for them to do so.”
Possibility after possibility was crossed out of her mind.
“The fighting traces are quite recent, and the enemy seems to be a small force or even a single person!” A scout came back to report. “The empire will respond soon. We must evacuate as soon as possible……”
“I agree!” Bobbi had yet to reply when a black silhouette walked out of Silver Mountain Research Institute. Numerous alerted gazes suddenly disappeared after looking at the familiar appearance of the other party, and Bobbi released a pleasant cry.
“Crowley!”
“Mm. I swept away the Special Forces, and arranged for the bloodline carriers and captives to be sent to safety. I stayed behind to wait for all of you…” Crowley foolishly laughed.
However, Xavier felt that the air around him had changed drastically. The pressure from his bloodline, especially, made cold sweat emerge on his forehead. His body was expressing a continuous desire to just surrender.
“You were away so long, where exactly did you go die?” Bobbi stared at Crowley. He seemed to have changed a lot, but at the same time seemed no different from usual.