Chapter 399

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Protagonist:

Lin En

Lena

God Envoy·One raised his right hand, four fingers tapping lightly in the void.

Pale blue psychic ripples spread from his fingertips, following the energy patterns beneath the ice layer, instantly connecting to the secondary hive network in the Bottom City.

Almost simultaneously, deep in the Bottom City, a priest directing the cult's forces paused in his movements and lifted his head.

"One?" An ancient, hoarse voice rang out in the mental link, carrying a trace of surprise.

"Is there news from the Mother Queen's side?"

"The Mother Queen remains trapped; the barrier has slowed the flow of time, so there is temporarily no danger to her life." God Envoy·One's voice was calm and clear.

"I sought you out for another matter."

He concisely synchronized to the priest the news that the Ice Plains God Temple had been breached and that Dominic had already discovered the connection between the Frost Dragon and the Gene Thieves.

The other end of the link fell silent for several seconds.

The priest's tone grew heavier: "Dominic... that Imperial Major General? How far has he investigated?"

"He has already seen Four and obtained biological samples." God Envoy·One said indifferently, "Once he runs tests back there, everything will be clear."

"It won't be long before he realizes that the Purge Plague Sect and the Frost Dragon Believers are essentially the same thing."

The priest fell silent.

This was no small matter.

The Bottom City's cult could still fob things off with "expediency," but the Frost Dragon system on the Ice Plains was deeply bound to Lin En's rise.

Once Dominic connected the two threads, the charge of Lin En "colluding with xenos" would basically be nailed down.

"The Main Father's side..."

"He is currently at Saint Galus Castle, all his attention focused on saving the Mother Queen; he cannot spare any focus for now." God Envoy·One cut him off.

"You dispatch people immediately to bypass the front battlefield and deliver the message inside."

"No need for details; just tell him two things."

"First, Dominic already knows the Ice Plains secret; conflict between the two is inevitable."

"Second, this is that Chaos Wizard's lure-the-tiger-from-the-mountain scheme; slowing time is to scheme something on the periphery, so tell him to keep a sharp eye out and not rush in headfirst only to have his rear cut off."

"Understood." The priest acknowledged.

"Also."

God Envoy·One's voice turned several degrees colder, carrying resolve.

"Pass the order down: all sectors enter Level 2 Combat Readiness."

"The Purge Plague Armament in the Bottom City will contract the defensive line, focusing on guarding the Middle City Isolation Zone and the Bingyuan Camp; no active provocation is allowed, but neither is anyone allowed to touch our people."

"On the Ice Plains side, I will have all Cold Soldiers emerge from dormancy, ready to reinforce at any moment."

"The Same Kin in the Governor's Mansion and the Vanguard Army will all activate combat contingency plans, protecting the Main Father's rear."

"Since someone wants to muddy the waters, wants us and the Imperial Navy to fight first..."

He gazed at the dragon silhouette slumbering in the ice coffin, a chill deepening in his ice-blue eyes.

"Then let her see whose home turf this pool of water really is."

The link severed, and the hall once again returned to dead silence.

God Envoy·One slowly raised his four arms, palms facing each other.

The energy patterns of the entire Glacier Hall suddenly blazed to life, several times brighter than before.

Deep in the ice layers, hibernation pods slowly opened one after another; countless Cold Soldiers opened their cyan pupils, like awakening ice sculptures, rising to their feet in neat unison.

Wind and snow still howled across the ice plains; no one knew that beneath the white snow, a silent legion was already ready to unsheathe at any moment.

In the Governor's Mansion front hall, the crystal chandelier hung heavy with crystal pendants, spreading warm yellow light across the polished marble floor.

Chief Executive Carter held a silver-rimmed crystal cup, his face wearing a perfectly measured enthusiastic smile, repeatedly urging the naval officer across the table to drink.

"Lieutenant, you've come a long way; you've worked hard, worked hard."

Carter's voice carried the mellow roundness honed by years of handling state affairs, completely different from his usual hardline image.

"Have two cups first to warm yourself; the paperwork isn't urgent."

"You also know, Governor Sir is currently at Saint Galus Castle supervising the battle; the Chaos Rebels are raging fiercely; we can't possibly disturb his peace of mind over such a trifle, can we?"

Sitting opposite was the Tithe Fleet's communications lieutenant, his young face bearing a soldier's unique rigidity, his brows already knotted into a tight frown.

The wine cup in his hand hadn't been touched; his tone carried obvious impatience:

"Chief Executive Carter, Major General Dominic's summons is urgent military business, requiring Governor Kerry to give an answer within two hours."

"This of yours — wining and dining, serving dishes — what's the meaning of this?"

"Lieutenant, you flatter me; what other meaning could there be?" Carter laughed heartily, raising a hand to signal the attendants to refill the wine.

"It's Brevis custom: when guests arrive, how could we not welcome them?"

"Besides, we all understand what the Major General Adult means, but this matter is of great importance; we simply must wait for the Governor Adult to return and decide, no?"

He spoke, his tone revealing a perfectly measured degree of difficulty: "You also know, communications from the underground battlefield have been made intermittent by the traitors."

"I'm just a civil administration man; I can't very well bypass the Governor and reply directly to the Major General Adult, can I?"

"If something truly goes wrong, this head of mine can't bear the responsibility."

The lieutenant's face darkened further.

He could of course tell the other side was stalling—something about poor communications, something about being unable to bear the responsibility; in short, they just wanted to buy time.

But he was only a messenger; he couldn't very well barge into the Governor's Mansion command room.

Carter was an old hand at officialdom too, his words watertight, greeting with a smiling face; he couldn't turn hostile on the spot.

Time passed second by second, and three rounds of wine went by.

Carter kept pulling him into talk of Brevis's local customs, from Bottom City specialties to Upper City pleasures, not half a word about the summons reply.

The Lieutenant finally couldn't sit still, stood up abruptly, and set his wine cup down on the table with a thud:

"Governor Carter! I ask one last time—do you accept this summons or not? When will you give an answer?"

"Accept, of course we accept!" Carter stood up too, the smile on his face unchanged, and casually pushed over a receipt of receipt bearing the Governor's Mansion Administrative Seal.

"Take this receipt back, go tell Major General Adult that we've received the summons and will immediately submit it to Governor Sir."

"Actually, the moment we received the notification, we sent someone to the Front Line to find the Governor."

"You know the situation on the Front Line, but I guarantee to you."

"The moment there's news, we'll feed back immediately, without the slightest vagueness."

It was said beautifully, but "submit" and "feedback" were all empty words, not a single reliable one.

The Lieutenant held that light-as-air receipt, knowing the other side was brushing him off, yet couldn't find half a fault in the formalities.

The Empire's efficiency was always like this—layered transmission, level-by-level approval; if you really picked at the regulations, dragging it out three days and three nights was perfectly within the rules.

"Best be so." The Lieutenant sank his face, put away the receipt, turned and strode out of the Front Hall.

Watching the other's figure disappear outside the gate, the smile on Carter's face only then gradually faded.

He picked up the summons document on the table, his gaze sweeping over the cold words "Gene Thief" and "Limited Time Investigation," his brow tightly locked.

He of course knew the seriousness of the matter, and knew Lin En was right now on the Underground Second Floor Battlefield.

But he understood even more clearly that at this critical juncture, Dominic's people absolutely could not interfere with the battle situation of besieging Luna.

"Follow procedure, slow delivery." Carter said lightly to the Attendant in the Shadow.

"Just say communications at the Underground Battlefield are interrupted, and the news is being passed up layer by layer."

"Sacrifice whoever needs sacrificing; as for when it reaches the Governor's hands, that's up to luck."

"Yes." The Attendant bowed to receive the order, took the document, and withdrew without a sound.

Carter walked to the window, gazing at the smoke rising in the direction of Saint Galus Castle in the distance, and softly sighed.

He didn't know how many trump cards this Young Governor had, nor where Dominic's accountability would ultimately land.

All he could do was fulfill his duty, and buy a little more time for the one above.