"The federation needs heroes like Vulture Li Yao, but the federation also needs someone shameless to do the disgusting, clandestine things that are in utter violation of the spirit of the nation.
"Am I shameless? Maybe. Do you still remember I told you that, when I see the vile old man in the mirror every morning, I feel like vomiting myself?
"However, I also need to tell you that, as long as the federation can rise and our motherland can be stronger, there is nothing I will hesitate to do. I can be a thousand times, ten thousand times, more shameless!"
Guo Chunfeng was silent again.
When someone became a zealot like Lu Zui, it was pointless to say anything.
Taking a few deep breaths, Lu Zui calmed down from his passion. He said earnestly, "Ah Feng, if you truly bear the country in your heart and want to do something for her, just stand on my side!
"Do you know why I didn't ask you to join the Patriots Partnership in the beginning? Confidentiality was only part of the reason. But more importantly, it was because I had high hopes for you, and I didn't want you to be too close to the dirty organization!
"I know that many things that the Patriots Partnership has done crossed all the lines of the federation. Even if the federation gets stronger one day because of our endeavors, it will never acknowledge that we were right!
"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter at all. People of our trade have long made up our mind to sacrifice everything. Let's be the dirtiest cloth and be abandoned mercilessly after we clean all the stains for the federation!
"As long as the federation grows stronger, none of it really matters!
"When the war is over, the Patriots Partnership will certainly be punished for everything we did. Everybody who has benefited from us will hurry to draw the boundary between us. They will even berate us, attack us, and annihilate us!
"We are not afraid of sacrifices. The Patriots Partnership is not afraid of destruction, either. But the new federation and the new Secret Sword Bureau will need someone to supervise the situation and ensure that the federation always walks on the right path!
"Ah Feng, I want you to be the someone!
"Come on. Hand over the Jade Crystal Disc and stand on my side. You will need to do none of the dirty, shameless things later. You can pretend that you know nothing of it and come out to clean up the mess after everything is settled as a great hero!
"By that time, I will not regret it even if you are going to mince me apart!"
Suppressed by Lu Zui's delirious voice, Guo Chunfeng was shuddering from head to toe. "Let me think. Let me think carefully."
His voice was extremely coarse, and it seemed like he would break into tears at any moment.
"Hand over the Jade Crystal Disc. You can take your time to think. I will not push you!"
Lu Zui stared at the Cosmos Ring on his finger.
"No. I can't give you the Jade Crystal Disc. This is my only bargaining chip!"
Guo Chunfeng took a few steps back and sat on a chair on the side of the cabin wall. He closed his hands, his face pale and his lips trembling.
The four Core Formation Stage Cultivators looked at each other in bewilderment. They all cast their eyes to Lu Zui.
Lu Zui slightly frowned. Seeing that Guo Chunfeng was more or less convinced and that the Jade Crystal Chip was not going anywhere, he thought that there was no need to rush and simply shook his head.
Five minutes later, according to the intel on the explosion in the headquarters of the Secret Sword Bureau, several Cosmos Rings had been found. They should be the belongings of Li Yao, Ding Lingdang, and the rest of them, but their bodies had not been found yet.
Perhaps they had directly vaporized in the fierce explosion.
It was not strange that the bomb was so powerful, considering that it was Vulture Li Yao's desperate last resort. Also, the scene of the explosion was still packed with debris. It would be difficult to find the bodies even if they still existed.
Lu Zui vaguely felt that it was weird, but he did not think much of it. His brain had been overloaded for quite a few months and was bordering its limits. Hearing the news of Li Yao's death, he was more or less relaxed, and it was impossible for him to concentrate again for the moment.
Seeing that time was going by second after second, Lu Zui was growing impatient. "Have you thought it through yet?"
Shaking his head, Guo Chunfeng was deep in thought. "Not yet. I have another question. How do I known that I will not be executed to keep my mouth shut after I hand over the Jade Crystal Chip?"
Lu Zui was amused. "Ah Feng, would I still be waiting right now if I meant to kill you? Wouldn't it have been better for me to ask them to kill you and search your body for the Cosmos Ring? I told you so many things because I appreciate your talent, and I want to save you to create a better future for our country!
"Also, to keep your mouth shut? Is it necessary? In another few days, everything will be settled after the federal army marches into the Blood Demon Sector. There's no need to shut anybody's mouth when the few days are over!"
Guo Chunfeng considered carefully for a while. "There's also Abyss. How do I know that you will not threaten me again with the matter in future?"
"As long as you stand on my side, you will be the most promising star of tomorrow in our organization," Lu Zui said in a hurry. "Why would I blame Abyss on you? Would it do any good to our organization?"
"I see," Guo Chunfeng mumbled. "Director, you are convincing me. However, if I do this, I don't know how I'll face my wife and daughter. No. If I am labeled as Abyss, I'm afraid they'll be in an even more shameful position…"
Lu Zui suddenly shuddered. He extended his saber-like hawk nose, stabbed it into the air, and sniffed. Narrowing his eyes, he said, "Wait. You are delaying me on purpose…"
Guo Chunfeng was dazed. "I am delaying you on purpose? I? What am I delaying you for? Why am I delaying you? What benefits can I get by delaying you? Is there any reason why I should—"
"Shut up!" Lu Zui slapped the desk hard and almost ground his teeth to dust. "Stop talking. Let me think. Let me think carefully…"
Right then, another piece of news came over.
In the prison cell where a great explosion took place, the remains of a metal arm that was not entirely melted had been found.
According to the analysis, it belonged to an artificial limb.
However, the artificial limb was not Professor Mo Xuan's but one of a thinner, lighter structure with biochemical materials resembling flesh and blood attached to it. Since the materials were all burnt, it had taken rather a long time to finish the analysis.
The result suggested that an artificial limb that definitely did not belong to the prison cell somehow appeared on the scene of explosion.
Staring at the remains of the artificial limb on the light beam for a long time, Lu Zui suddenly trembled deeply. "This—this is an artificial limb that was made to look like the arm of a human being!
"You—you chopped off Vulture Li Yao's arm, but it was a false one!"
Blinking his bloated eyes, Guo Chunfeng scratched his greasy hair for a long time until his dandruff was snowing down. "Huh?"
Lu Zui was more than pissed. "Take him down!"
"Wait!" Guo Chunfeng retrieved the Jade Crystal Chip from his Cosmos Ring as fast as lightning and threw it to Lu Zui. "I've thought it through, director. The Jade Crystal Chip is right inside!"
Subconsciously, Lu Zui snatched it and ripped apart the container. The Jade Crystal Disc inside delighted him at first, but he was dumbfounded a moment later. "This—this is a counterfeit. This is not the Jade Crystal Disc that Li Yao stole!"
He glared at Guo Chunfeng.
Guo Chunfeng raised his hands to surrender. The hesitation, desperation, and pain on his face were all gone, only to be replaced by a brazen countenance. He grinned. "Director, that is the only Jade Crystal Disc on my body. You won't find a second one even if you crush me into powder."
"You—"
Lu Zui seemed to have become a wolf that had been hungered for ten years, meaning to bite a piece of flesh off Guo Chunfeng!
It had never occurred to him that everything would change in one second!
Guo Chunfeng blinked and said, "Director, do you want to know what has happened? It's simple.
"After I captured Professor Mo Xuan and Ding Lingdang, I talked to them while we were still on the shuttle and won their trust.
"Professor Mo Xuan and Li Yao have discussed dozens of methods of contact other than point-to-point communication via cables.
"Also, after all the years I've been working in the Secret Sword Bureau, it is perfectly normal that I've hidden several crystal processors that are absolutely clean, right?
"Therefore, I reached out to Li Yao a long time ago and exchanged some critical information!
"Everything was easier after that. With my guidance and cover, Li Yao snuck into the headquarters of the Secret Sword Bureau successfully, wearing a false arm. The conversation we had in the restroom was meant for you, too.
"Then, on our way to the underground prison, we continued exchanging information profoundly and inconspicuously, settling what we were going to do in the next.
"In the prison cell, I chopped off his false arm, and he detonated a crystal bomb that was not very powerful at first to destroy all the surveillance cameras. Then, after Professor Mo Xuan, Ding Lingdang, and his disciples were saved, he detonated the real crystal bomb.
"The barriers on the prisoners personally were implemented by me. I freed them within a breath.
"Later, with the excuse that Blood Devil had planted countless crystal bombs, I ordered the evacuation in the headquarters. I was the highest official on the spot, and I was burnt and blackened like a piece of cr*p. Who had the courage to persist in working? The tens of thousands of people were all running out like headless flies. It was effortless for Li Yao and the rest of them to escape in the crowd with their disguises and the certificates that I'd prepared for them.
"The Jade Crystal Disc he tossed to me was, naturally, a counterfeit. The real one is still in his hands, and I believe that Professor Mo Xuan should've already cracked it.
"Also, you thought that Li Yao was executed by me, so you focused all your attention on me. The search and surveillance on him were aborted. Even all the crystal warships have returned to the headquarters.
"It means that, at this moment, Li Yao has snuck into the capital city with the cracked Jade Crystal Disc off your radar. As for where exactly he has fled, I truly don't know, director.
"This is just about everything. The purpose of the whole trap was for Li Yao and Professor Mo Xuan to meet without alarming anyone and to jump out of the siege of the Patriots Partnership.
"Li Yao asked me to buy half an hour for him. Now that I've checked my watch, I have earned him thirty-four minutes and twenty-two seconds.
"Mission accomplished. I surrender. Any questions, director?"