Ascension Society Visitors
Before Lu Yuan could continue pondering his newly acquired skill, Old Morgan's voice came from behind.
"The Ascension Society has arrived, Lu Yuan, you come with me."
Old Morgan looked at Lu Yuan, who was engrossed in reading a book, and said...
"So fast?"
Lu Yuan was somewhat surprised. He closed the book and followed Old Morgan out of the Library.
Deep within the base, in a secluded room, the Ascension Society members were already waiting.
He was a middle-aged man, wearing a gray work uniform. He looked ordinary, but his expression was cold.
His gaze swept over Old Morgan and Lu Yuan, and without any pleasantries, he got straight to the point.
"Where are Marcus and the Judge?" His tone was somewhat stiff. "I need to check on their condition before we discuss cooperation."
Old Morgan didn't pay attention to his attitude and nodded.
"Come with me."
In a private room near the medical room, Marcus lay on a specially made hospital bed.
His condition was better than Lu Yuan had imagined.
His entire body was covered in a peculiar green ointment that emitted a faint herbal scent; it appeared to be something used to stabilize Marcus's vital signs.
The Mechanical Device on his chest was still occasionally turning, making a slight clicking sound, proving that he was still alive.
But that's all.
Marcus's eyes were closed, his breathing was weak, and there were large areas of charring marks remaining on his mechanical skeleton.
If most of his internal organs hadn't been replaced with machines, Marcus would probably be a corpse by now.
The members of the Ascension Society stepped forward and bent down to examine it.
His fingers pressed a few times on the device on Marcus's chest, as if confirming something.
After a moment, he straightened up, his expression softening slightly.
Thankfully, the person is still alive.
He turned to Old Morgan, a hint of surprise in his voice.
"And the items are still there, so it seems you Night Watcher are quite trustworthy."
Old Morgan didn't speak, he just nodded slightly.
It wasn't that the Night Watcher kept their word; after hearing Lu Yuan say that Marcus had a vial of potion hidden inside his body, they had already tried to retrieve it.
Unfortunately, Marcus's physique seems to be intentionally defensive, wanting to open up the space near his chest cavity, leaving him with only two options.
One reason is that Marcus opened it willingly, even Old Morgan couldn't, because Marcus's body uses a very special material that can effectively prevent Transcendence.
Another option is forced destruction, but given Marcus's current physical condition, he'd probably die halfway through.
In addition, matters concerning the inner city have been temporarily delayed.
Next came the Judge.
The Judge were in a much worse situation.
He was placed in a small room next door, lying directly on the floor with a simple straw mat underneath him.
The Night Watcher had no better solution to this.
After all, Marcus could still be considered a person, while the Judge was merely a machine with a brain.
However, in order to save him, the Night Watcher removed most of his mechanical parts.
Only some core components that could not be removed remained, with exposed metal and Flesh intertwined, a horrifying sight.
However, since the proportion of Flesh was too small, only a simple application of medicine was given.
The Judge's body twitched from time to time; he didn't appear to be completely dead.
The members of the Ascension Society crouched down, examined the area carefully, and frowned.
"It was modified so thoroughly, how come it's already scrapped so quickly?"
His tone was tinged with dissatisfaction, as if he were complaining about the poor quality of the assets in front of him.
"Are the guys inside planning a strike?"
He stood up, tapped the Judge's helmet, and saw that there was still no response from inside.
It seems adjustments are still needed.
Lu Yuan stood aside without saying a word, but in his mind, he raised the level of danger of the Ascension Society to another level.
Back in the room near the previous meeting room, the Ascension Society member took out a document from his pocket and handed it to Old Morgan.
"You've guaranteed the safety of Marcus and the goods, so this cooperation is a gesture of goodwill on our part."
Old Morgan took the documents and quickly flipped through them.
Lu Yuan leaned over for a look and found that the contents were much more detailed than he had imagined.
The location of the island, the structure of the seal... even some information about the offspring is recorded, only the key parts are blacked out.
Overall, however, the Ascension Society's last trip to the islands was clearly the result of a specific assessment.
Old Morgan flipped through a few pages, then suddenly stopped.
"The format of this intelligence... seems familiar?" Old Morgan's voice sounded somewhat surprised.
The Ascension Society member sneered.
"You just realized that? Otherwise, do you think Ascension Society have this kind of information?"
He looked at Old Morgan, his expression icy.
"How dare the Ascension Society reach out if no one agrees?"
He paused, then continued.
"That's right, the intelligence comes from your Night Watcher, no doubt about it. So, how do we discuss cooperation?"
Old Morgan did not answer immediately, but simply looked quietly at the documents in his hand.
The Ascension Society members seemed to have been prepared.
"Furthermore, our Ascension Society, after internal discussions, can make even greater concessions."
He held up one finger.
"First, you are allowed to know Pathway this vial of blood will be used."
Another one stretched out.
Second, sharing of some of the results.
He withdrew his hand, his tone indifferent.
"Of course, we know you're short-handed right now, so you don't need to send anyone. Just keep it a secret for now."
Old Morgan was silent for a moment, then looked up at the man in front of him.
"I need to assess the security of your project," Old Morgan. began, his tone calm. "At least this information isn't enough."
The Ascension Society raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised that Old Morgan would make this request.
But he only remained silent for a moment before nodding.
"Can."
Old Morgan's expression remained unchanged, but Lu Yuan could sense that Old Morgan was suppressing his emotions.
Moreover, given the current situation, cooperation is indeed the only option.
The Ascension Society backed by high-ranking Imperial officials who can even access intelligence from the Night Watcher. Yet, Old Morgan, one of the key figures at the Night Watcher Base in Grim Port and a participant in the entire affair, received absolutely no information.
Most importantly, if the plan fails, the entire Grim Port will be tantamount to provoking that being.
This is absolutely forbidden in the Empire.
Old Morgan was getting tired of it all. Why did these people have absolutely no sense of respect?
However, since things have come to this, we can only try to gain some benefits from it while also trying to obtain as much information as possible.
"Deal." Old Morgan didn't hesitate any longer.
The members of the Ascension Society nodded and turned to walk towards the door.
"I'll take the people and things with me now. Someone will contact you regarding the follow-up matters."
After saying that, his figure quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor.
After the Ascension Society members left, Old Morgan turned to Lu Yuan.
"There's very bad news. Of the three moles the Night Watcher identified, two have disappeared and one is dead after last night's events in the inner city."
"However, I have already reported their information to Headquarters, and once reinforcements arrive tomorrow, they will also focus on the search. We will give you an explanation."
"Hmm." Lu Yuan indicated that there was no problem.
However, the so-called mole was never found in the end.
After joining the base, I came into contact with Old Morgan and Mary, the two Night Watcher in charge of internal affairs.
The rest are Hans, Valentin, and the likes who charge ahead.
"Also, we'll be screening inner-city residents starting tomorrow, and we need your help."
"No problem." Lu Yuan nodded, because Lu Yuan also wanted to find out what Dr. Bulin and the Deep Sea Church had done.
Of course, there's another point: filling up the Grim Port Status, that's the experience bar.
This isn't considered a skill; what do you get after filling it up?
"Those doctors at Bulin have been running this business for so many years, who knows what hidden problems they might have left behind?" Old Morgan sighed. "The church and we are conducting joint screenings, especially for those who have received their treatment long-term, trying to screen the entire inner city in one day."
"Then you should rest first; we have a tough battle to deal with tomorrow."