Chapter 143: MI6's Plan

"Who are you?"

"His Grace the Marquess of Essex, there is no time to explain, get in the car! We must rush to the nearest safe house!"

Shortly after the red scar appeared in the sky, over a dozen black sedans and an armored vehicle nearly one meter thick rumbled into Timms Village, stopping outside this quiet country cottage.

Before Thomas could react, several men in black suits lifted him and carried him into the armored vehicle, while Miranda was taken into the black SUV in the rear.

The space inside the armored vehicle was very cramped. A well-mannered middle-aged man stood up to greet him: "It is a great honor to meet you, His Grace the Marquess of Essex!" He extended his right hand to Thomas in a very gentlemanly manner. "I am John Sinclair, Director of the National Security Department!"

The armored vehicle began to move. On the thick bulletproof glass skylight on the roof, the red scars in the sky grew more numerous, and the opening leading to the unknown world grew larger and larger.

Thomas ignored the hand John Sinclair extended and sat calmly on a seat on the other side of the carriage.

The convoy moved forward slowly.

Far behind the convoy, out of their sight, the last few black sedans did not move. More than a dozen men in black suits got out, carrying various instruments and tools, and filed into the house one by one.

"Why didn't you mention your other identity? Mr. John Sinclair, Director of MI6." Thomas sneered.

"It seems His Grace the Marquess is not as detached from the world and unconcerned with worldly affairs as the legends say." John Sinclair showed no sign of anger; his attitude remained gentle.

"Although I am not in the capital, it does not mean I do not know about such a major change as the replacement of the MI6 Director." Thomas's attitude was arrogant. "So, have you come for Yang Yi?"

John Sinclair's pupils contracted. He had thought Thomas would beat around the bush, but he did not expect him to be so direct. He said calmly, "His Grace the Marquess is indeed very sharp."

"I have been out of society for several years. I think I myself am probably not worth the MI6 Director traveling all this way to this small village to personally protect me." Thomas's tone was full of sarcasm.

"Since His Grace the Marquess is so direct, I will not beat around the bush either. Please look up at the sky above your head. Please think again about the national extinction crisis we suffered a month ago. Do you not feel fear and pain? Do you not want to take some initiative?" John Sinclair said very earnestly.

"So, what do you want to do? Make me your spy? Maintain continued contact with Yang Yi? Then try to turn Yang Yi? Or strive to win her favor, making her lean towards our Britain? Or obtain other benefits from her?" Thomas asked expressionlessly.

"No, no, no! His Grace the Marquess, deception can only hide things from others for a while, but it cannot hide them forever!"

John Sinclair waved his hand gentlemanly. "Only sincerity! Only sincerity can move people, can make people choose to forgive you even when they know you did wrong! They might even actively understand your difficulties!"

"You don't need to do anything. You just need to continue interacting with her normally—haven't you already established a good relationship? Just at necessary times, such as matters concerning national security, even if you just slightly mention your own thoughts on your homeland's concerns, or your worry for the safety of your country's people—isn't this something you are already worried about? Isn't this the worry in your heart? Regardless of whether you stand from your personal perspective or the perspective of national righteousness, isn't such an attitude very normal? You are just expressing one's own thoughts appropriately at the appropriate moment; this is very normal between friends or lovers..."

Thomas seemed unable to listen any longer. Suddenly, he stood up, turned sideways to face John Sinclair, and said coldly, "You misunderstood. I am not that close to her! She was just a maid in my house for a short month. She spent more time with my housekeeper than with me! Our relationship is limited to employer and employee!"

"Oh?" John Sinclair smiled knowingly. "The information I received is not just that. Leaving aside the time you personally carried her, wanting to take her back to the castle while she was unconscious, and leaving aside the shared hardships when encountering the bat monster in the forest, just based on the villagers' observations in the village, your relationship with Ms. Yang Yi is not merely that of employer and employee, is it!"

Thomas fell silent and sneered.

John Sinclair pondered for a moment. "His Grace the Marquess of Essex, since when did you know that Ms. Yang Yi, besides telekinesis, has the ability to change her appearance? According to our investigation, her power seemed restricted before; even fighting the bat monster was very difficult. Was she injured before? Why was her power restricted? Why was she unconscious before? And why did she suddenly recover..."

"Do you think she would loudly proclaim her weaknesses? If you want to obtain information about her from me, then you have found the wrong person!"

Thomas interrupted his string of questions. His expression was more serious than ever before as he solemnly stated his attitude: "Moreover, I have no good feelings for you black rats of MI6! Please do not come to disturb my life!"

John Sinclair was not provoked by him. Instead, he raised his head and said with pride, "Since its establishment, MI6 has set the purpose of dedicating everything to the country. Even if it means using not-so-glorious means and tricks, even if some view us as unseen black rats! But, we are for a noble goal, that is the supreme national interest! For this, everyone in MI6 is willing to dedicate everything, and I am no exception, and I am deeply proud of this!"

"May I ask, His Grace the Marquess of Essex, you live in a stable country—of course, I mean before the arrival of the alien creatures—does this not have a share of credit from our MI6? You and your family enjoy the glory of the Marquess; is this not obtained out of thin air? Do you simply think that the entire human world consists only of light and morality, beauty and sublimity, and not darkness and conspiracy?"

Thomas's breathing suddenly became rapid.

This was almost pointing at Thomas's nose and scolding him for "eating with the bowl in hand, then scolding the mother after putting the bowl down." Thomas originally had a mouthful of sharp and vicious words to retort, but no matter what, he could not change the fact that what he said was true, and the positive significance of MI6 to Britain.

After saying these righteous words, John Sinclair changed his tone: "Of course, honorable Mr. Essex, you are a great artist, naturally worshipping beauty and sublimity, and hating politics and conspiracy. However, the fact you cannot change is that these things do exist, and someone needs to do them."

John Sinclair suddenly looked directly at Thomas and said aggressively: "Moreover, as an Imperial Marquess, born on this land and raised on this land, enjoying the glory of the Essex family for generations. If one day this land is to suffer a catastrophic disaster, would you just watch it become a wasteland? Would you just watch your compatriots die in despair and stand idly by?"

Each sentence struck Thomas's heart like a heavy hammer. During the Sky Altar incident a month ago, he had also watched the live broadcast. Those faces gradually withering appeared constantly in his mind. His chest heaved violently, and he gasped for air.

John Sinclair increased the pressure again: "If you think this is a betrayal of a friend and you cannot face your own conscience, you can tell Ms. Yang Yi these words clearly and plainly! Even the process of us approaching you, the process of persuading you, and every word used to persuade you can be told to Ms. Yang..."

Thomas's eyelids twitched slightly, and this subtle expression was noticed by John Sinclair, who was observing him constantly.

He immediately lowered his voice, speaking softly like a whisper: "... As long as you influence her slightly, when our land is in trouble, making her pay a little attention, wouldn't she understand your concern for your homeland?"

Thomas breathed rapidly, his lips becoming drier and drier.

John Sinclair knew it was no longer appropriate to say more, so he quietly took his leave and silently left the armored carriage.

When he entered a black SUV, the secretary beside him handed him a pair of headphones.

"Director, we collected the DNA of eight people in the house." Even though the voice in the headphones tried hard to conceal it, a hint of excitement leaked through: "One of the DNA samples was carefully erased, but the eraser was not professional enough, and we still discovered it!"

"Good! Continue collecting, leave no corner unchecked. I will dispatch agents to send the DNA samples to the laboratory; prepare to receive them!" John Sinclair said in a lowered voice.

After hanging up the phone, he immediately dialed another mysterious number. After it was connected, the voice of an old man came through, saying with a smile: "John, well done! Recommending you as Director was the most correct thing I have ever done! I watched your conversation with His Grace the Marquess of Essex. First, press people with righteousness, then retreat to advance; it was truly wonderful! Otherwise, we really would have no way to deal with this stubborn Marquess!"

"Director, you flatter me!" John Sinclair did not become arrogant due to his achievements. "This is just a loose move. The most important thing is the DNA information. We must have our own 'superman'! Otherwise, if another Sky Altar incident like last time, or a crisis like today's, happens again, we will be too passive."

"Rest assured, the laboratory is ready. Experts from all over the world in the top fields of medicine and cloning have been gathered, waiting only for the arrival of the DNA samples!"