Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 840 - 833: Each Other’s Gains

Chapter 840: Chapter 833: Each Other’s Gains

"What about now?" Luo’er seemed unmoved.

"Now, because of you, I’ve also begun to trust them," Wang Xu answered seriously.

"In the end, it still comes down to me," Luo’er chuckled.

"If you wish to understand it that way, you’re not wrong," Wang Xu nodded in response.

"They are my comrades, and your subordinates; I trust each of them unconditionally. You don’t trust them, yet you choose to trust only me," Luo’er pointed in a direction and loudly questioned.

"You’re different," Wang Xu replied.

"I’m different, ha..." Luo’er laughed again, his smile tinged with sarcasm, "So essentially, it comes down to my influence, doesn’t it? I trust them, you trust only me. That’s probably the hierarchy, isn’t it? You’re one level above me, and I’m one level above them."

"If you want to see it that way, I have nothing to say," Wang Xu sighed, then continued, "Luo’er, I’ve watched you grow up, so I understand you. Yes, I am indeed their instructor, but that does not mean I can fully trust them. And, stepping back ten thousand steps, even if I trust them unconditionally now, can you assure that the upper echelons will trust them too? Can you assure that Chief Lin also trusts them?"

Hearing Wang Xu’s words, Luo’er was at a loss for words and lowered his head, sinking into silence.

"Luo’er, your squad was chosen as the Advance Team precisely because the headquarters believes you can control the entire team, which qualifies you for deployment. So even if you’ve just been dispatched to Otherworld, I regard you as the captain, not Tangmo. If the headquarters learns that you can’t fully control the Advance Team, they will strip you from it and force you to join Murong’s squad. Reality is this cruel and ruthless; my silence doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist," Wang Xu spoke earnestly.

After speaking, he walked over to Luo’er, placed his hand on his head, and gently rubbed his soft black hair, sighing as he continued, "Luo’er, I know you care deeply about your comrades. Seize the opportunity to climb higher; that’s the only way you can change their fates. I can protect you for now but not forever. Li Si is my direct disciple. If nothing unexpected happens, he will take over as the supreme chief of the frontline after I retire. At least with him there, you all will be safeguarded. But nothing is certain, and you’d better prepare for the worst."

"I understand..." Luo’er, with his head lowered, responded in a somber voice.

"Good to know. Let’s go, we’ll head back to the meeting room. The rest is up to you; I’ll pretend as if I know nothing," Wang Xu said, patting his shoulder.

The two left the office and made their way back to the meeting room along the corridor. Upon entering, they saw Cheng Ziang and Mr. Yalunte had already arrived. Seeing Wang Xu’s arrival, Cheng Ziang’s face showed an unusual expression.

Wang Xu feigned calm as he let go of Luo’er, then went to the chairman’s seat and sat down. After a slight cough, he spoke seriously, "If everyone is here, then let’s start the meeting. Mr. Yalunte, we don’t mind your involvement in the meeting, but if you are just here to be part of the excitement, I would ask you to leave."

"What kind of talk is that, can’t I come and listen in?" Yalunte revealed a smile and unabashedly took a seat in the corner.

Upon Wang Xu’s command, everyone found a spot and sat down. Seeing that everyone was seated, Wang Xu spoke again, "Good, then let’s formally start the meeting. We will continue to discuss the method of opening the Otherworld Gate. Cheng Ziang and Luo’er have split their efforts into two paths, and each has made some discoveries. Share with us what you have found, starting with Cheng Ziang."

"I..." Cheng Ziang looked at Wang Xu with a puzzled expression, about to speak, when he suddenly felt someone staring intently at him. Turning his head, he noticed Luo’er giving him a look while subtly shaking his head with a calm expression.

Although it was just a few simple gestures, Cheng Ziang immediately understood Luo’er’s intent. Tight-lipped, he took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, straightening his face to speak, "Under the guidance of Dean Shariya, I went to the Church Court’s Sacred City Library in an attempt to find texts related to the Otherworld Gate. Unfortunately, most of the texts concerning the Otherworld Gate have been destroyed by the Church Court, and the remaining few only touch the surface and are insufficient to find out how to open the Otherworld Gate."

"Ah, has the Church Court calculated this, knowing we want to open the Otherworld Gate, so they burned all the related books?" Hu Daoke couldn’t help but ask, because during the meeting discussion, everyone present could express their opinions.

"I don’t think so," Cheng Ziang glanced at him and then shook his head, saying seriously, "According to the Church Court’s classification, the texts recording the Otherworld Gate and related entries were listed as summoning magic texts. After the dark century, the Church Court destroyed most of the books related to summoning magic, including those texts."

"So, are you saying you came up empty-handed in the library of the Sacred City?" Wang Xu mused.

"Not exactly," Cheng Ziang replied earnestly, "Although we didn’t find the relevant texts, through the exchange with some knowledgeable Church Court scholars, we learned an important piece of information. That is, if one wishes to understand the texts related to the Otherworld Gate, the best bet would be to find an ancient text known as the Ancient Scripture."

"The Ancient Scripture again..." Hu Daoke muttered to himself.

"The Ancient Scripture is an epic text from the Aud Empire era that records information about the Ancestors and is believed to have been written early in the Aud Empire’s history. According to them, this book nearly records the true cause of the previous civilization’s destruction and explains the reason for the existence of the Otherworld Gate. If we could find this book, perhaps we would find the way to open the Otherworld Gate."

"The Ancient Scripture was popular during the time of the Aud Empire, but it was loathed and resisted by the Church Court. As the Aud Empire fragmented, and the Church Court’s power expanded, this book was banned within the Church Court’s dominion, and it became very difficult to find it in the common world. Still, as the main library of the Church Court, in principle, it should have recorded all cultural texts. Sadly, after the dark century, the surviving copies of the Ancient Scripture were destroyed because they were categorized as related to the summoning magic along with other books," Cheng Ziang shook his head and lamented.

"So, that means unless we can travel back to the time of the Aud Empire a thousand years ago, there’s no way we can find this book?" Wang Xu nodded and asked.

"It can only be so, perhaps we can still find traces of this book among the people, but the likelihood is extremely slim," Cheng Ziang said, shaking his head.

"Hmm," Wang Xu nodded again, then turned to look at Luo’er and said, "If that’s the case, let Luo’er tell us about their findings."

"Alright," Luo’er nodded, stood up from his seat, looked around at everyone, cleared his throat and began, "Hu Daoke and I were conducting our reconnaissance in Holy Heart City when we stumbled upon a pair of Snow Elf half-siblings being pursued by the Booze Ghost Gang. After investigating, we learned that these siblings seem to possess some secret that brought them such lethal trouble."

"So, we protected the siblings while initiating an investigation. After several inquiries, we gathered the following information; first, the Booze Ghost Gang is backed by the Intelligence Agency, our old nemesis, and their relentless pursuit of the siblings must be influenced by the Intelligence Agency’s instructions. The reason why the Intelligence Agency wants to eliminate them is the focus of our investigation."

"After looking into the Booze Ghost Gang’s motives, we began investigating the Snow Elf siblings and found that the sister, Eve, seems to be connected to Fu’en. Following this lead, we delved deeper and discovered that Fu’en’s ability to know how to open the Otherworld Gate is largely related to Eve," Luo’er continued.