Once it was safe, Song Wuli found a secluded spot to ask Huang Yi about the situation.
Yin Lin [Did something happen today? Why are there so many soldiers searching the stalls?]
Huang Yi replied quickly.
Huang Yi [Don’t ask such a stupid question right when they’ve just reached your location. If I simply ask the soldiers about their current search progress, I’ll know exactly who you are and where you are. Can you please stop acting so dim-witted?]
Yin Lin [I didn’t even say anything. How did you know they just searched my area?]
Huang Yi [Now I know.]
Damn it. Sometimes this guy really felt monstrously clever, so smart it was a bit frightening.
Fortunately, Yao Ruoning’s identity had already been exposed to Huang Yi. No matter how smart Huang Yi was, it was impossible for him to imagine that the identity of Yao Ruoning was also just another layer.
From this perspective, Huang Yi’s cleverness had actually backfired for once.
Because he had exposed the Yao Ruoning identity too early, he wouldn’t come looking for him this time.
Yin Lin [Stop messing around, old man. I’m talking business. Why the big show?]
Huang Yi [To beat the grass and startle the snake. We’re intentionally telling others that we already know about the portals.]
Hearing this, Song Wuli quickly understood.
He couldn’t help but admire that there were actually people in the Eastern Alliance doing real work instead of just idling away.
By making a grand show of investigating the portals, they were ensuring the news spread until everyone knew. This would make the opponent hesitate to use the portals for anything else.
This served the same purpose as a police siren. Why do law enforcement officers keep their sirens on when approaching a crime scene? Aren’t they afraid the criminals will run away? One reason is to let the criminals hear them on purpose, thereby deterring them and forcing them to stop their criminal activities.
The Eastern Alliance was doing the same thing now.
If there was a high-intelligence creature planning things behind the portal incident and the high-ranking variant demon incident, then this move of beating the grass would have some effect, allowing the Eastern Alliance to seize the initiative.
The enemy would either stop using the portals or use them to the limit before they were completely cleared out.
It all depended on the enemy’s next move.
Song Wuli was somewhat worried and asked anyway.
Yin Lin [What if you corner the enemy? What if they take the chance to use the portals to do something truly catastrophic?]
Huang Yi [Then we’ll know for certain that there is indeed a high-intelligence creature behind the portal incident.]
Huang Yi [Don’t worry, there won’t be any complications or accidents. The opponent won’t dare to make another move.]
Huang Yi [If they could stand in the light and face us as enemies, they wouldn’t be hiding so deep.]
Huang Yi [So they won’t show themselves at this time.]
Huang Yi [And even if they do show themselves, don’t we still have you guys?]
This guy really knew how to use his allies.
Luckily he was on the same side. If he were an enemy, he would be far too troublesome.
While exchanging intel with Huang Yi, Song Wuli went up to the rooftop once. This time, he confirmed Greta was working in the office area, so he could go up with peace of mind.
Upon reaching the usual spot and checking, he found the props were all well-hidden without any signs of being tampered with.
The soldiers really were just going through the motions, only investigating spaces large enough to hold a portal. They didn’t bother rummaging through nooks and crannies like this.
The afternoon shift was unsettling, and his mind kept wandering.
His colleagues in Copywriting Group Two couldn’t help but start chatting about what had just happened.
“Did you hear? Some strange buildings were discovered in Yiri City. No idea who built them,” Liu said.
“I heard they were ritual props built by cultists,” Zhao replied with the news he had heard.
“Eh? I heard it was some brothers from the university civil engineering department building wonders everywhere,” Chang Kaihuai joined the discussion.
“Wasn’t it a meeting place set up by syndicate members?” Chang Yong had heard a different set of rumors.
The small Copywriting Group Two had already generated several different sets of rumors, which showed that while the confidentiality of the portal incident was okay, its reach was extremely wide.
Huang Yi and his team’s plan was halfway to success.
When it was time to clock out, Liu and the other two greeted Song Wuli and left first without working overtime.
Old Song was relatively easy-going and didn’t force any moral obligations on them. He could work overtime himself, but he didn’t require the others in Group Two to do the same. Chang Kaihuai and Chang Yong worked a bit longer before leaving. Qian Dehao also took the chance to slip away.
Only Greta and Old Song remained in the vast office area.
At this moment, Old Song was still very uneasy. The Gravity Orb was still hidden in the bird’s nest, and the Goddess of Contracts had not retrieved it yet.
Something felt off. Between the thief he met in the subway this morning and the soldiers searching today, he had even specifically hidden the Gravity Orb in the restroom.
The Goddess of Contracts had at least two opportunities to take the Gravity Orb, but she hadn’t done so.
It felt like a mockery, as if she were laughing at his futile efforts and intentionally letting him go twice.
If the orb were actually taken today, he would look like a total clown.
To win against the Goddess of Contracts, Song Wuli didn’t plan on going home today; he wanted to stay at the company overnight.
Moreover, he intended to watch the Gravity Orb until midnight.
Unless the King of Heaven himself showed up, don’t even think about him stepping out of the company.
Was he really that stubborn?
By 10 PM, Greta finished her overtime, said goodbye, and went home.
Song was the only one left in the office area.
Only two hours left until he could see the Goddess of Contracts looking like a beaten dog.
If nothing went wrong, something was bound to go wrong.
He couldn’t help but scroll through his phone to relax, and suddenly saw a heated discussion in one of the work groups.
Looking closer, it was a guy from the programming group who had posted some photos. They were also working overtime and noticed many people appearing outside the window.
Song Wuli quickly put down his phone and went to the window to look. He found that the street below had been cordoned off.
Members of the Special Dispatch Team appeared on the rooftops and the street. They had hidden in the shadows at some unknown time; if one didn’t look closely, they would be easy to miss.
Holy crap, has my identity been exposed? Are they here to arrest me? Did Huang Yi go back on his word and investigate me again?
Song Wuli was naturally a bit terrified. He fished out his magic wand and hid it behind his back, ready to transform at any moment.
He wasn’t about to surrender. If anyone came to arrest him, he would definitely fight back.
As it turned out, the Special Dispatch Team didn’t make any other moves; they just stayed there on guard.
Even the Failure Team appeared. They entered a small supermarket, fully armed.
Song Wuli had been to that supermarket many times. What happened? What was going on? Why did it require both the Failure Team and the Special Dispatch Team to move out together?
After a short while, the sound of a demolition machine came from that direction—the loud, rhythmic “thump-thump-thump-thump” sound made when tearing down a house or a concrete road.
Could they have discovered something there? Why did they need to tear up the concrete?
Was this the real opportunity the Goddess of Contracts was waiting for? Regardless, I’m not going out. Unless the King of Heaven himself comes, I will never give the Goddess of Contracts a chance.
Let’s see what kind of skill you, the Goddess of Contracts, have to snatch the Gravity Orb from a bird’s nest inside this company.