Although the crowd had some minor complaints about the words “beautiful future” and “freedom” coming from Yun Ruoxi’s mouth, she was not wrong.
Completing the Assessment Task and demonstrating their value was their goal this time.
After all, who could blame them when Lin Zhen was nowhere to be found?
Zi Jiu and Yun Che sighed softly in their hearts.
It had been nearly twenty days since Lin Zhen disappeared. Even though they had always had confidence in him, they were beginning to hesitate and wonder if Lin Zhen had truly faced Elimination.
Otherwise, it made no sense for Lin Zhen to be gone for so long.
“You have completed your task well, so we won’t blame you, Guan Kelai,” Zi Jiu replied. “But you need to come with us.”
“Can I not go?” Guan Kelai pleaded.
“No,” Yun Ruoxi said, shaking her head.
“Fine,” Guan Kelai lowered his head.
On the evening of the next day, the group left the villa and switched to an ordinary carriage. With Guan Kelai driving personally, they arrived outside a private residence in the suburbs of the Tree God City.
Guan Kelai drove the carriage directly into the courtyard of the residence and signaled everyone to get out.
Zi Jiu lifted the curtain and was the first to jump down, instinctively looking around to survey the surroundings.
This was an old, ordinary residence that showed signs of being lived in.
Not only was there firewood piled in the yard and a water vat filled to the brim, but several pieces of clothing were also hanging out to dry.
Furthermore, the surrounding houses did not look abandoned; wisps of cooking smoke could be seen rising from different directions beyond the courtyard walls.
She opened her mouth slightly, genuinely surprised.
The meeting point set by the Huang Elves was right beneath this residence.
This indicated that their control over this area was very strong. To have a fixed and secure stronghold even in the Green Elf King City meant their infiltration of the Green Elf Kingdom far exceeded her imagination.
[Infiltrated to this extent, why not just go for a decapitation strike?]
[They probably can’t get into the King City.]
[This is like during World War II; even if Britain became the Soviet Union’s backyard, they wouldn’t have actually taken out your leader.]
[How can the relationship between the Soviet Union and Britain be the same as these two races?]
Thud!
Kaos jumped down next, followed by Yun Che, Anvil, Yun Ruoxi, Aili, and Genbeier.
Zi Jiu asked Guan Kelai, “Does someone live here?”
“Yeah, this whole area is full of Huang Elf people!” Guan Kelai’s answer matched Zi Jiu’s suspicion.
This was indeed a Huang Elf nest.
… Zi Jiu pursed her lips.
Creak!
Right then, the main door of the house suddenly opened.
A cold-faced male Green Elf with emerald skin poked his head out and nodded toward Guan Kelai.
“Come over, you don’t have much time.”
Guan Kelai glanced at Yun Ruoxi, and only after receiving her permission did he step inside.
Nominally, Guan Kelai was still the initiator of this meeting; only his identity could make the Huang Elves take this encounter seriously.
Otherwise, if nobodies like Yun Ruoxi and Zi Jiu went instead, the other party probably wouldn’t even acknowledge them.
They entered the room.
The inside looked just as unremarkable as the outside.
However, a female Green Elf was sitting at the dining table, nibbling on her dinner.
She seemed to be the man’s wife.
Seeing Yun Ruoxi and the others arrive, she immediately stood up and pulled aside a wooden bed, revealing a pitch-black hole, signaling everyone to go straight in.
Guan Kelai stood before the hole, hesitating, but under the pressure of Yun Ruoxi and the others behind him, he gritted his teeth and walked in.
After walking for a while along a spacious, winding downward passage, the group reached the meeting spot.
Three Huang Elves wearing cloaks, with only their yellow-skinned arms visible, stood at the other end of the cavern watching them.
Behind them was another dark passage continuing further down.
Zi Jiu’s gaze lingered on that dark passage for a few seconds. Beside her, Yun Ruoxi suddenly lowered her voice: “Sister Jiu, do you think it’s possible that Ajin Brother went to the Huang Elf kingdom?”
“It’s possible.” Zi Jiu’s eyes flickered slightly; she indeed suspected that Lin Zhen might have gone to another world underground.
But without gaining the trust of the Huang Elves, it would be difficult for them to head directly into a completely unfamiliar subterranean world.
“Guan Kelai!”
A cloaked figure stepped forward and said coldly: “What important matter do you have to discuss with us? Speak quickly. The armaments you sent last time were all junk; we haven’t had the chance to settle that score with you yet!”
“No wonder you didn’t want to come.”
Zi Jiu glanced at Guan Kelai with amusement. “So you scammed them in a trade. How did you have the nerve to call them insidious, cunning, and untrustworthy?”
Guan Kelai curled his lip. “Selling scrapped armaments to them is just recycling waste. I am a noble, after all; how could I commit treason? I would never sell the truly good stuff to them.”
“Then you’re surprisingly principled,” Yun Ruoxi mocked, using Telekinesis to nudge his shoulder.
Guan Kelai stepped forward helplessly. “I am just a middleman. The person who has urgent business to discuss with you is someone else.”
As his voice fell, Zi Jiu stepped past Guan Kelai and spoke: “That person is me. I want to cooperate with you!”
“Oh? Since you could get a fellow like Guan Kelai to act as a lobbyist, I’m actually somewhat interested in your cooperation.”
The cloaked man looked with interest at Zi Jiu, who was clearly in the leading position. After discussing with his companions for a while, he motioned for them to sit and speak slowly.
“Tell us, what kind of cooperation do you want? Is it selling Tree God weapons?”
“No.” Hearing this, Zi Jiu shook her head. She took a deep breath and said seriously, “We want to deal with the Green Elf royalty, and we need your cooperation!”
“We want to subvert the entire Green Elf Kingdom!” Yun Ruoxi added from the side.
Last night, when Yun Ruoxi, Zi Jiu, and the others were discussing internally, they had a brief disagreement.
That was, in what capacity should they cooperate with the Huang Elves? As Green Elves, or as humans?
Zi Jiu felt that since the Huang Elves had strong hostility toward the Green Elves, using their identity as humans might have a miraculous effect.
But Yun Ruoxi and Yun Che felt that in the face of the existence of aliens, even two races with ten thousand years of animosity might join forces against a common enemy.
Therefore, they felt it would be better to seek cooperation with the Huang Elves in the guise of Green Elf rebels.
After hearing their analysis, Zi Jiu also found it reasonable and decided to follow their decision for the meeting with the Huang Elves.
“Subvert the entire Green Elf Kingdom?”
The leading Huang Elf was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing, slapping the table as he chuckled. “That’s a great joke! But there’s no time for your banter today.”
“We are not joking; we are serious!” Zi Jiu said in a deep voice.
“We already possess great strength, but we are still a bit short compared to the Green Elf royalty. If we have your help, we can definitely change the entire world’s landscape!”