1782 Behind the Series of Crimes
“By right, as the best crystal specialist in Dragon City, you should have absolute confidence in the super crystal bomb. You should have believed that, once it was detonated, even if it didn’t achieve the desired effect, the super crystal bomb itself would have been blown into smithereens, leaving no trace,” Meng Chao said.
“With the current level of technology in Dragon City’s civilization, your confidence wouldn’t be arrogance.
“But you never expected me to bring the Turan civilization’s black technology back—the spirit magnet, which contains thousands of nanomachines. It’s similar to liquid metal, and it also has a certain level of artificial intelligence.
“The spirit magnet is a wonderful substance that you’ve never come into contact with. Its characteristics are completely beyond your realm of knowledge.
!!
“You weren’t certain whether the super crystal bomb was blown up as cleanly as you expected when it was cut, enshrouded, and cushioned by the spirit magnets.
“Since you were able to reestablish and maintain the New Blood Alliance in secret for decades, I believe that you must be a prudent man who’s unwilling to overlook any loopholes.
“That’s why you didn’t dare take a gamble.
“Even though you suspected that this might be a trap, you were still unwilling to let me decide your fate. You’d rather take the risk and seize it so that you could control your fate.
“Of course, this is just my guess. It’s no big deal if I’m wrong.
“Even if you do choose to bide your time, I will only lose a few fake super crystal bomb fragments.
“Indeed.”
The gray-haired office worker nodded slowly. “I’ve been studying crystals and other high-energy substances unique to the Other World for more than half of my life. I believe that I have a rather deep understanding of the various high-energy substances and trace elements in Monster Mountain Range. If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have believed that they could s.n.a.t.c.h a few relatively-intact fragments and collect clues from the explosion that I directed.
“However, you are wearing totems, and you can manipulate spirit, as well as magnetic bodies, at will. You are indeed someone that I’ve never met or even thought of before.
“Man proposes, G.o.d disposes. The New Blood Alliance has lost this battle. It’s not an injustice that Yun Feidian or I lost to you, the most outstanding young man of the golden generation!
“Logically speaking, at my age, there’s no need for me to put up any useless resistance since I’ve already been defeated. If I keep my manners and admit defeat, perhaps I can still save some of my dignity as an old senior.
“Yet, your amazing performance has made me more and more curious. I can’t help but want to know where your limits are.
“Meng Chao, you were able to guess that this old man was a first-generation Deity Realm expert who rebuilt Dragon City in that era when order collapsed. That’s already shocking enough.
“Can you go one step further and lock onto this old man’s true ident.i.ty?”
The gray-haired office worker changed the way he addressed himself.
He no longer concealed his expression and gaze, but his facial features remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, his temperament had changed again. It was different from when he was with Yun Feidian.
Soul-stirring charm and suffocating oppression were two entirely different auras that rushed out of his not-very-tall figure. They seemed to condense into two real ent.i.ties, which turned into two raging dragons that slowly circled him. They were both perfectly compatible.
Meng Chao smiled faintly.
“Are you saying that if I can’t pinpoint your ident.i.ty, you’re ready to throw away your so-called ‘dignity’ and fight your pursuers in this dark underground area?
“The truth is, it’s not difficult to determine your true ident.i.ty, Old Senior,” Meng Chao said.
“The simplest and lousiest way is to eliminate the possibilities and see how many Deity Realm experts we can contact above ground. You’ll be the only one we can’t contact.
“After all, there aren’t many Deity Realm warriors in Dragon City. Most of them are core people in their own interest groups, and they’re always under the spotlight.
“The Deity Realm warriors who are used to being on their own also showed up and expressed their opinions when they encountered the rat tide, the Golden Roc’s explosion, and my return to Dragon City.
“The Deity Realm experts that we fail to contact can’t all possibly be the best crystal experts.
“So, going through the process of elimination by applying these three conditions, your ident.i.ty will be obvious, won’t it?
“However, to show the last bit of respect to the first-generation Deity Realm warrior who saved, rebuilt, and defended Dragon City, I don’t intend to discover your ident.i.ty in such a simple and lame way.
“Let’s change our perspective and look at what the Blood Alliance has done in the past year and a half.
“At first glance, it looks like they’ve just been harming others without benefiting themselves, causing destruction for the sake of causing destruction.
“Even if we can force the Survival Committee to pa.s.s the North Advancement Plan, it will be the nine mega corporations that will share the benefits of war together. The Blood Alliance may not be able to seize control of Dragon City as smoothly as planned.
“With that said, after careful a.n.a.lysis, the greatest beneficiary is still behind the Blood Alliance’s destructive actions.
“No, it’s not Yun Feidian’s Thundercloud Technology, or rather, it’s not just Thundercloud Technology.
“It’s true that Thundercloud Technology built and operated the Golden Roc. Plus, it has made major breakthroughs in the field of high-tech weapons research and development. After all, it’s not a traditional resource, infrastructure, or heavy industry enterprise. It may not be able to get the largest piece of the pie in the huge colonization plan involving the middle and lower reaches of the Raging Tiger River.
“The traditional resource, infrastructure, and heavy industry enterprises are most likely the ones most qualified to take the largest slice of the pie in the colonization plan.
“And which two corporations in Dragon City are most famous for resource collection, smelting, manufacturing, infrastructure, and heavy industries?
“That’s right. Apart from Universe Corporation, which has just been swept into the whirlpool and is on the verge of falling apart, there’s also Sky Pillar Corporation, which is controlled by the Lu family, one of the nine major cultivation families!
The gray-haired office worker still did not make a sound.
He did not even blink.
Beside him, Yun Feidian’s pupils contracted into two trembling light spots.
“Did you know that in many detective novels, the murderers use a conceited method to cover up their motive for intentional murder? They mix the murder that they really want to commit with a series of similar murders, killing ten to twenty people in a row to create the illusion of a serial killer.”
Meng Chao continued, “Once an investigator thinks about a serial killer being the perpetrator of the series of murders, they’ll ignore the connection between only one victim and the murderer.
“In the past year and a half, the Blood Alliance has caused a lot of appalling damage, from the explosion of the Red Creek Project’s crystal warehouse to The Bright Light’s explosion, to Shen Yuanbao’s attempted a.s.sa.s.sination, to Lu Siya’s kidnapping, to the rat tide at the city center, and the Golden Roc’s explosion.
“At first glance, the Blood Alliance seems to be insane and taking risks out of desperation.
“However, would an evil organization that’s willing to lurk in the darkness for decades really behave like a greenhorn in only half a year? Would it be so impatient, so impulsive, and so reckless without considering the consequences?
“Is it possible that the so-called continuous destruction is just a facade, and one of the most important reasons why the Blood Alliance has been so aggressive is that it’s confusing its real target with the ma.s.sive crimes that have been committed?”