Executing 'Death Ray' Ye Changkong had never been Li Yao's goal.
It was because killing Ye Changkong would only make his escape more convenient.
However, after getting to know part of such a vile plot, and when his soul and belief were firmer than ever, Li Yao would not allow himself to escape again even at the cost of his own life!
Whoever played him like a chess piece and involved him in such a mysterious scheme had to pay a price!
That was why he set up such a trap with the network chip that he delivered to Ding Lingdang in secret and the information about 'Death Ray' Ye Changkong he retrieved from Professor Mo Xuan.
The purpose of the trap was not to kill Ye Changkong but to heavily wound him so that the guy behind the curtain could be fished up!
Li Yao had been ninety percent certain that the guy would show up.
The reason was that Ye Changkong was not a random lackey but one of the top few battle-type Cultivators in the federation!
Powerful and wealthy as the Patriots Partnership might be, it was a clandestine organization after all. For the sake of confidentiality, there would not be many people in the group. A super expert such as Ye Changkong was definitely rare in it.
Him suffering heavy wounds would certainly disrupt the plan of the organization.
After they advanced into the Nascent Soul Stage, every Cultivator boasted their own belief and pride, which meant that they could not be bribed with simple benefits.
'Death Ray' Ye Changkong was a hero who had defended the federation for more than a hundred years. If anybody tried to buy him with money, power, or Cultivation arts, he would have blown up their heads a long time ago!
Li Yao assumed that the leader of the Patriots Partnership and Ye Changkong must be sharing the same dream and destination.
Ye Changkong was not tempted by money or power; he really believed in a certain 'ideology' and thought that he was saving the federation. That was why he was willing to work for the organization.
Then, now that such an important person as Ye Changkong was heavily wounded, it was only natural that the leader of the organization came to visit him.
Even if not for their friendship, the man would at least have to check Ye Changkong's wounds to determine the speed of Ye Changkong's recovery and his current combat ability so that he could adjust the plan of the organization!
That was the only way to find out the truth!
Li Yao's guess was correct. Lu Zui, the director of the Secret Sword Bureau, really showed up.
Taking the video chip from Professor Mo Xuan into consideration, Li Yao was sure that Lu Zui was the leader of the Patriots Partnership, or at least one of the leaders!
Guo Chunfeng, known as 'the strongest Core Formation Stage Cultivators of the Heaven's Origin Sector', whom he had been wary of, was nothing more than another innocent victim fooled by Lu Zui!
If that was the case, everything made better sense.
Only an expert such as Lu Zui, who had worked on the secret frontline for more than a hundred years and boasted a complicated social network and a higher personal capability, was able of preparing such a huge trap that the Speaker, Iron Commander Zhou Hengdao, and himself had all fallen in!
Next, he was certain that he would get more valuable information from them.
Two Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators of the Patriots Partnership would not be exchanging small talk all the time, would they?
At first, Li Yao intended to plant the eavesdropping chip on Ye Changkong, but he had already played the move on Duanmu Ming once before when he just returned to the Heaven's Origin Sector, and it was already seen through.
With Lu Zui's cautiousness, he would not be fooled by the same trick twice.
Therefore, Li Yao considered carefully and asked Professor Mo Xuan to get the designs of Herald, Ye Changkong's sniper rifle, for him.
Li Yao had spent three hours studying the designs until he knew every detail of Herald as clearly as he knew his fingers. He had then made minor adjustments on the eavesdropping chip according to the structure of the gun.
When he suddenly showed up in the chimney, Ye Changkong had made the 'correct' choice as expected. The guy tossed away Herald and equipped himself with a pistol and combat spurs.
It was a great chance for Li Yao.
With the cover of the smoke, Li Yao expanded his spiritual and demonic energy to the maximum. Even the 'ultimate core' inside his body was bursting out the most furious music, which was almost a mental attack for Ye Changkong. His sole purpose was to distract Ye Changkong so that the real movements of his hands would not be perceived.
His hands dismantled the safety of Herald into twenty-two tiny components, embedded the eavesdropping chip to the helical cylinder softly, and reassembled the gun, all within 0.1 seconds!
It was a crazy gamble.
As the best gun expert of the federation, Ye Changkong had long reached the level where he and his gun were united as one. Also, Herald, as his primary weapon, must have been refined and nurtured by him day and night, and it was certainly deeply connected to him on a spiritual level.
Under normal circumstances, Li Yao was sure that Ye Changkong would have noticed that something was wrong only several seconds after he took back Herald.
However…
What if his right arm was chopped off, his internal organs were blown apart, hundreds of scraps of his crystal suit were embedded into his body, and his entire body was under the dual scourge of spiritual energy and demonic energy?
Li Yao was absolutely confident about his attack. It would already be the greatest miracle if Ye Changkong stayed awake. It was impossible for him to be vigorous enough to feel the connection with his Herald again!
Besides, it was not too uncanny that something was slightly wrong with Herald because it had been contaminated by the demonic energy during the fierce battle, was it?
In such a way, Li Yao had planted an eavesdropping chip on Ye Changkong's nearby without anybody knowing. As long as the two parties were within fifty meters from each other, he could even hear Ye Changkong's heartbeat.
Of course, there could be other unexpected factors. For example, Ye Changkong might be in a coma and forget his gun, or he might move the gun into his Cosmos Ring.
But Li Yao had no choice but to take his chances. After all, he would not lose anything even if the 'eavesdropping' move failed. At the very least, he would be able to lock onto the guy behind the curtain. He could always go and assassinate Lu Zui if he had no other solutions.
The decapitation strategy had always been his favorite.
Perhaps because he was too unlucky in the previous infiltration, this time, the wheel of fortune had turned, and everything went smoothly. Ye Changkong really put the sniper rifle next to himself and let Li Yao catch their conversation!
However, such a conversation did not bear much fruit except that Lu Zui's identity was confirmed, and Guo Chunfeng was proven innocent.
The information that the expedition motion had been passed would be released on the media very soon. Lu Zui's scheme to bind the Cultivators of the Flying Star Sector to his tank was nothing new, either.
The most important thing was that such a conversation could not be used as evidence. After all, voices could be fabricated too easily.
There were disadvantages to Li Yao's operation, too. The biggest disadvantage was that he had been forced to unleash tremendous demonic energy in public to heavily wound Ye Changkong. Just as Lu Zui said, it was very difficult for him to get away from the blame.
Li Yao continued listening while making his own plans. He thought about whether or not he should pursue the lead of Lu Zui further and try to dig more secrets out of him, or maybe, he could even directly kill the guy!
But in the secret chamber, Ye Changkong coughed heavily for a moment and said, "Fellow Cultivator Lu, you must be wary of Vulture Li Yao. I have a vague feeling that the young man will not wait to be killed. He'll definitely find out a way to get out of the underground district!
"Such a trap couldn't have been made by a random guy. Perhaps he will guess that it was done by you. He might even go to you and kill you directly. The decapitation strategy is his favorite!"
Lu Zui smiled. "What's there for me to be wary of? The war machine is now already fulminating. It cannot be stopped by any individual. Is it really helpful to kill me?
"If he indeed kills the director of the Secret Sword Bureau, other than further proving that he is the Blood Devil and raising the indignation of the federal citizens, what can he get?
"For the rise of the federation, both of us stopped caring about our lives a long time ago. Even if he kills you and me, more 'patriots' will stand up. Can he kill all the 'patriots'?
"If he indeed annihilates all the 'patriots', then, all the citizens and Cultivators of the federation will be consumed by fury and turn into new 'patriots'. The war will still proceed!
"Fellow Cultivator Ye, there is no losing for us right now!"
Li Yao gritted his teeth angrily. Lu Zui was indeed a great Meditation Healer who was best at reading people's minds. The trap that he had set up at the risk of his own life was truly difficult to be resolved!
Ye Changkong seemed to be convinced by Lu Zui. He was silent for a long time before he asked again, "What's the situation over there? Is the 'medicine' ready?"
"Almost," Lu Zui said. "All the technological problems have been overcome. It is only a matter of time before the medicine is manufactured."
"Time really matters now," Ye Changkong remarked. "The medicine is of paramount importance for our plan. Without the medicine, even if we do occupy the Blood Demon Sector in the end, it will still be pointless. I don't want to see an outcome where the Heaven's Origin Sector ends with the Blood Demon Sector!"
"Rest assured, Fellow Cultivator Ye. Would I ever make our billions of compatriots die together with the stinky animals?
"I have assured you since the very beginning that our operation was never as simple as 'revenge'. It is an endeavor to pave a bloody path in the cruel universe for the federation! Also, all of you have seen the whole process of my deduction and agreed that the odds of success are very high. That's why you joined the operation.
"Now, the things that I promised you are becoming reality one by one. Everything is under our control. What's there to be worried about?"
"Of course, I trust you," Ye Changkong said. "However, according to the weather report, a nearby underground volcano seems like it will erupt soon, which will likely to raise a large tsunami. Also, a superstorm is taking place not far away and is estimated to arrive at the place in one day. Should the shell break and the seawater pour in, it would be a catastrophe for us."
"I have asked them to be prepared in advance," Lu Zui said. "The shell has been strengthened multiple times. It is enough to resist the biggest tsunami and storm now. Everything will be alright."