Xiao Ran suddenly spoke. Lacus, Siegel, and Patrick all looked back and forth between Xiao Ran and Cruze with astonished suspicion. Behind his mask, Cruze wore a bewildered expression, suddenly unable to make sense of the situation. More importantly, he suddenly felt a chill down his back.
Just a minute earlier, Cruze had been thinking of reporting Orb's assistance to PLANT to the Alliance, along with the matter of the N-Jammer, in order to stir up an even greater war between PLANT and the Alliance. But before he had finished refining that idea, Xiao Ran said something utterly inexplicable.
Patrick frowned and turned to look at Cruze behind him. He lightly slapped the table with his left hand and demanded in a low voice, "Cruze, what is going on? When did you get to know him?"
Even the cunning and ruthless Cruze was stunned for a moment. Somewhat baffled, he said, "Sir Sala, I do not know the man before me. Today is also the first time I have met him."
"Is that so?" Patrick's tone was full of suspicion and menace. As his eyes scrutinized Cruze, a flash of resolve and ruthlessness passed through them. The four guards who had remained silent in the glass room also placed their hands on the grips of the guns in their clothes, watching Xiao Ran and Cruze warily. Cruze's heart skipped a beat when he noticed this. He had no way to defend himself.
"That's right. This really is the first time he has seen me, and we have never had any contact before."
At that moment, Xiao Ran suddenly smiled and said to the four people, including Cruze, "Mr. Patrick, there is no need to be so tense. Everything Cruze said is true. He really does not know me. I simply