Spirit City, Golden Spatula Association main hall.
This magnificent building standing in the southwest of Spirit City has become one of the most eye-catching landmarks in the entire city after a year of expansion and renovation.
The golden palace shines in the sun, and the wind chimes hanging on the eaves make a crisp and sweet sound in the autumn wind.
The four large characters on the plaque above the main entrance, "Golden Spatula Association", hand-inscribed by Yi Chen, glow with restrained luster in the sun. After a year of exposure to wind and sun, they have become integrated with the entire building, as if they had grown there from the beginning.
It was early afternoon when Yi Chen arrived at Spirit City. He did not go directly to the Spirit Hall, but first walked around the Association main hall.
The operating conditions of the main library were better than he expected. The hall on the first floor was packed with seats, dozens of terminals were fully occupied, and many people stood behind and watched.
The high-end game area on the second floor requires a reservation to enter, but the reservation list has been queued for three days. The third floor is the Association office area, where several staff members are busy processing files and letters from various places.
He stood by the railing on the second floor and looked down for a while, then turned around and went downstairs, walking in the direction of the Spirit Hall.
The guard of the Spirit Hall had obviously been notified. When he saw Yi Chen approaching, he did not stop him. He just bowed respectfully and led him inside. After passing through several corridors and courtyards, he was taken to a spacious living room.
The furnishings of the living room are simple yet solemn, with a long table placed in the center, with two cups of tea and some exquisite snacks placed on the table.
Bibi Dong is already waiting inside.
She was sitting at the head of the long table, wearing a gorgeous purple dress and an exquisite crown. Her whole person exuded the majesty and aura of someone who had been in power for a long time.
When she saw Yi Chen walking in, she didn't stand up, but raised her hand slightly, motioning for him to sit down opposite.
"Yi Chen Elder, long time no see." Her voice was calm and calm, without too much emotion, "Please sit down."
Yi Chen sat down opposite her, without rushing to speak. He first picked up the cup of tea and smelled it, then took a sip, put it down, and gave a brief comment. "Good tea."
Bibi Dong did not answer the question. She leaned back on the chair and looked at Yi Chen calmly. She was silent for a moment, and then spoke with a hint of scrutiny in her tone, "Elder should know that I invite you here this time not just to drink tea and reminisce."
"I know." Yi Chen put down the tea cup and met her gaze, "His Holiness the Pope If you have something to say, you might as well just say it."
Bibi Dong did not answer immediately. She picked up her tea cup, looked down at the floating leaves in the tea soup, was silent for a few breaths, and then spoke, her voice lower than before. "Recently, someone has been secretly contacting some subordinate forces of the Spirit Hall, trying to build an alliance against Golden Spatula. Their actions are very covert, but they are not concealed enough to hide from me."
Yi Chen did not show surprise, but just nodded. "I know."
Bibi Dong's eyes moved slightly. "You know?"
"Well." Yi Chen's tone was as calm as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him. "Those people started to act a year ago, but their movements have become more frequent recently. They think they are doing it very covertly, but in fact, every step they take is within my sight."
Bibi Dong looked at him, with a look in her eyes. She was silent for a moment, and then spoke, with a hint of temptation in her voice. "Then how are you going to deal with it?"
"Don't deal with it." Yi Chen's answer was concise and straightforward, "Let them continue their activities."
"Why?"
"Because the more active they are, the easier it is for them to reveal their trump cards."
Yi Chen picked up the tea cup and took another sip, then put it down, his tone still calm, "Besides, I also want to see how big a team they can pull together. When they feel that they are strong enough, I will catch them all in one go, so as not to waste time by looking for them one by one."
Bibi Dong looked at him and was silent for a long time. Then she put down the tea cup, leaned back on the chair, and raised a meaningful arc at the corner of her mouth. "Elder Yi Chen is indeed well-deserved. It seems that my worries are unnecessary."
"I appreciate your Majesty's kindness." Yi Chen nodded slightly, "However, since Your Majesty took the initiative to mention this matter, I also have a question to ask Your Majesty."
"Please speak."
"If someone comes to win over His Majesty to join this alliance, how will His Majesty respond?"
Bibi Dong's eyes stayed on Yi Chen's face for a few breaths, and then she smiled. It was a very faint smile, with a hint of coldness and calmness. "I will let them come in standing and go out lying down."
Yi Chen also smiled, picked up the tea cup and gestured to her. "Then we have nothing to worry about."
The two of them each took a sip of tea, and the atmosphere in the living room was a little more relaxed than before.
Yi Chen put down the tea cup and stood up. "Since His Majesty has made his attitude clear, I won't bother you any more. Association There are still some matters to be dealt with over there, so I'll take my leave first."
Bibi Dong did not hold back, but nodded slightly. "Elder, go slowly."
Yi Chen turned around and walked out the door. When he reached the door, he stopped and said without looking back, "By the way, Your Majesty, if those people come to woo you, you might as well agree to them first."
Bibi Dong's brows moved slightly.
"Then tell me what they said."
Yi Chen said with a hint of smile in his voice, "In this way, we can know what they want to do."
After saying that, he crossed the threshold and disappeared into the sunlight outside the door.
Bibi Dong was sitting in the living room, looking at the direction in which Yi Chen disappeared. He was silent for a moment, then picked up the slightly cold tea and took another sip.
The corners of her mouth slowly curved.
This Yi Chen is more interesting than she imagined.
At the same time, there was an inconspicuous town on the border of the Heaven Dou Empire.
There is a blacksmith shop outside the town that has been abandoned for many years. The sign outside the shop has been rusted to the point that the writing cannot be read clearly. The doors and windows are covered with dust. It looks like no one has been there for a long time.
But if you go around the back door of the blacksmith shop and walk through a narrow alley, you'll find a secret door hidden in the wall.
Push open the secret door and follow a stone staircase extending downward to the end, and you will come to a spacious underground secret room.
At this moment, there are seven or eight people gathered in the secret room. They are sitting around a long table. On the table is a roll of drawings, which is the set of design drawings of Interference Array drawn by Tang San.
Tang San stood at the head of the long table, with his hands on the edge of the table and his eyes scanning everyone present.
His aura was deeper and more restrained than a year ago, a dark red light loomed in the depths of his eyes, and his whole person exuded a chilling sense of oppression.
"All the nodes of the formation have been arranged." He spoke, his voice was low, but it echoed clearly in the sealed chamber, "Seven cities, seven nodes, all in place. Only one signal is needed to start them at the same time."
He paused and glanced at every face present. "Are you sure there are no problems in the cities you are respectively responsible for?"
"Heaven Dou City is ready." A middle-aged man in black spoke first with a low voice, "The array eye is buried in an abandoned mine in the east of the city, about three miles away from the Golden Spatula branch, and will not be discovered."
"Star Luo City is also ready." Another burly man answered, "The array is located underground in a residential building near the Zhu Family branch. The head of the household is one of ours, so the news will not leak out."
"Where is Spirit City?" Tang San's eyes fell on a hooded figure.
The figure was silent for a moment, and then spoke with a hoarse and low voice, "Spirit City's formation eyes have been buried. But I want to remind you that Spirit City is the location of the Golden Spatula Association's headquarters, and the defense force there is much stronger than other cities. Once the formation is activated, the people of the Association are likely to detect abnormalities."
Tang San was silent for a moment, and then spoke slowly, with a hint of coldness in his voice. "So what if you notice it? Once the formation is activated, it cannot be reversed. By the time they react, the reward distribution systems in the seven cities have been paralyzed at the same time."
He raised his head and glanced at everyone present. "Three days later, at noon, the formation will be activated at the same time."
The secret room was quiet for a moment, and then the seven or eight people nodded at the same time.
Tang San withdrew his gaze and looked at the dim oil lamp on the top of the secret room, his eyes deep and calm.
Yi Chen, in three days, let me see if you can still be as calm as you are now.