Having affixed his signature, Zi immediately took out one hundred thousand US dollars in cash and handed it to Jackson Krust, telling him he had only three hours to handle various matters before he had to start work immediately.

Because Fang Senyan had offered his suggestion beforehand, Mr. Jackson Krust treated this unreasonable demand as part of the seventy-thousand-per-year job, or perhaps as deliberate harassment from a perverse interviewer, so he offered no objection whatsoever.

After quickly tidying up his own residence (the explosion had occurred outside on the road), and after calling his ex-wife to brag a little, he concisely said, "OK."

Under the pretense of taking advantage of a free physical examination, Fang Senyan obtained a blood sample from Jackson Krust and dripped it onto the lucky bracelet of Chris Redfield that he possessed. The glow emanating from the bracelet seemed even more magnificent now, like rich carnelian, suggesting that its unsealing was not far off.

On their return journey, Fang Senyan and his companions eagerly inserted the optical disc Loki had tossed them into the drive. Everyone was desperate to know what secrets lay hidden on that damned disc.

As soon as the disc began to play, the screen first showed scenery—it appeared to be a church or something similar. Upon seeing it, Zi and Jiao Shi were slightly surprised:

"Huh, why is this Rome?"

Due to his cultural limitations, Fang Senyan couldn't discern the subtle differences in the cultural atmosphere, much like how many foreigners cannot distinguish between Chinese and Indian architecture. Hearing Zi and the others speak, Fang Senyan remarked:

"His Legendary-grade weapon lacks a Weapon Soul. This guy has set his sights on the Weapon Soul of the Spear of Longinus, so going to Italy is not strange."

Zi suddenly understood:

"That's right. During the apocalypse, such holy relics must be transported onto the Ark. Moving away from the church's main base naturally makes them much easier to acquire."

Next, Loki appeared in the shot, looking rather disheveled. He was wearing a ill-fitting cassock riddled with holes, through which patches of skin, looking scalded as if by boiling water, were visible. Behind him, a large number of people were clearly pursuing him. However, judging by Loki's nonchalant expression, it seemed as if those chasing him were not a horde of people, but a swarm of frantic ants.

"This must have been recorded using the Nightmare Imprint's recording function," Zi murmured quietly. "I'll do that next time. It’s a great way to summarize gains and losses."

Immediately after, Loki shook off his pursuers and reached the top of a skyscraper. Suddenly, his brow furrowed, and he heard a sound like breaking glass emanating from his body. Loki swiftly pulled out a blue bead, no bigger than a fingertip, and instantly saw that it was covered in hairline cracks.

Loki hurled the bead onto the ground, and smoke immediately billowed up, revealing the intensely wretched image of Carlos kneeling in supplication, shouting hoarsely:

"Boss, help!!"

Loki’s eyebrows knitted tightly. His cassock was instantly shredded into ribbons by a fierce wind, and his right hand became an astonishing spectacle of crackling lightning. He then swung his other hand back to grip the Legendary weapon on his back, and the backpack simultaneously exploded!!!

Everyone wanted a glimpse of this divine object, forged from two Legendary weapons, but they couldn't discern its exact appearance. It seemed entirely enveloped in a milky-white radiance, yet the light scattering from it surged with the fury and tumult of lightning.

Loki made a sudden throwing motion but did not launch Gungnir held in his hand. Instead, an illusory white light shot forth from its tip, piercing the heavens. After traveling fifty or sixty meters, a black hole suddenly materialized ahead, and that intensely sharp, tearing beam of light plunged directly into the void!

At this moment, the camera abruptly switched, finding itself at New York Airport. A black hole was clearly visible in the sky above, and Carlos Razor and his group were being cornered by the Servant. Suddenly, the light from Gungnir shot down, striking the Servant directly in the chest and pinning him to the ground!!!

The scene then jumped to a powerful confrontation between Loki and the individual named 'Fu,' but these combat sequences appeared fragmented and discontinuous, not like a live broadcast, but rather like an edited montage. The group watched the recording as if looking at a comic strip.

In the footage, Fu looked utterly ordinary, resembling a common middle-aged man in a business suit one might see on Wall Street. Gungnir in Loki's hand must have been the true weapon; as he swung it, coils of electric light, five to six meters long, writhed around, interspersed with fleeting illusions of crosses, the Holy Son, and little angels. It seemed as if Loki was wielding nothing more substantial than a mass of ethereal electrical energy, yet it possessed the wild, unrestrained power of a massive waterfall!

Yet, Fu remained unharmed within this cascade of electricity. He moved like a leaf floating on water: the harder someone tried to scoop the leaf up from the side, the more they realized the water flow persistently pushed it away. These dozen or so visual clips were all the impression they managed to glean.

In the final sequence, Loki’s electrical surge finally pierced Fu’s abdomen like a bloodthirsty beast, but it was also visible that Loki’s tall frame convulsed in unison, indicating he had also sustained an injury. The picture then froze.

The group replayed the battle from the disc several times, feeling that besides the dramatic lighting effects reminiscent of a Hollywood blockbuster, Fu's impressive evasion skills, and Loki’s terrifying might, they couldn't extract anything else.

But Loki's previous words still echoed in their ears: "If you can thoroughly analyze Fu's actions on this disc, there might genuinely be a sliver of hope."

Because of this statement, the group felt compelled to carefully search for the hidden meaning within this disc.

However, at this juncture, Fang Senyan walked over, shut off the screen, paused in thought, and then, with lingering interest, reopened the DVD drive, took out the disc, and cleanly snapped it into five or six pieces with a pacha-pacha sound.

Under the stunned gaze of everyone present, Fang Senyan smiled and said:

"This thing only needs to be watched once. Watching it repeatedly is pointless because it’s merely a smokescreen Loki threw out to focus all our energy on this disc, causing us to overlook something absolutely crucial... Well, perhaps 'crucial' isn't the perfect word, but it should at least be something Loki doesn't want us to know."

Saying this, Fang Senyan appeared confident, though his eyes had grown somewhat darker and sharper:

"Loki seems to have explained everything clearly and thoroughly. I believe everything he told us today is the truth, and it has resolved a series of mysteries in our minds. However, there is one pivotal point he glossed over entirely. That is: why did Fu suddenly abandon the battlefield on our side to go and save someone!"

Jiao Shi looked astonished:

"Wasn't it because of the Servant?"

Fang Senyan shook his head slightly:

"We haven't been dealing with Fu for just a day or two. Based on my understanding of him, this guy is absolutely not a soft-hearted person. His personality should be one of extreme self-regard, vengeful to the slightest offense, narrow-minded, though undeniably talented. Such a naturally cold-blooded person views everyone else as mere chess pieces in his hands!"

"He has been scheming against us for three or four worlds straight, demonstrating his absolute resolve to kill us! He painstakingly laid out this elaborate plan, finally maneuvering us into a dead end, yet he abandoned it all—how could that possibly be for the sake of one so-called Servant's life???"

Hearing Fang Senyan’s analysis, the others felt an immediate sense of revelation. Zi spoke up instantly:

"Could it be that there is something at that Servant's location that absolutely cannot be lost?"

"Highly possible." Fang Senyan's gaze was like a blade dipped in water, possessing a sterile sharpness: "Loki rushing over so frantically—I doubt it was purely for revenge for his brother. He’s likely vying for that same object too..." As they analyzed, they hurried along, soon escorting Mr. Jackson Krust to the impregnable base. They then assigned him a tedious, time-consuming task like auditing accounts. By this time, reports of assassinations involving national leaders and certain wealthy tycoons were beginning to surface on television.

Fang Senyan and the others weren't anxiously focusing on these events. Yes, they were waiting. Loki might have been right that Fu couldn't catch him, but as long as Fang Senyan and his team remained under Professor X's protection, Fu would also be helpless! Therefore, sometimes waiting was itself an offensive strategy.

Fu wanted to be the oriole, but he might end up being the cicada caught first!

Simultaneously, Fang Senyan and his team waited as the base continued to expand at an astonishing, almost cult-like rate. People flocked to board the airships without hesitation, swarming toward it. The moment these individuals paid their passage fee, they effectively became 'their people.'

Consequently, the intelligence Fang Senyan and the others sought soon materialized. Under the immense pressure of ensuring their own and their families' survival, very few people could maintain professional ethics or integrity.

Soon, Fang Senyan picked up a sheet of paper detailing a list of the pinnacle artistic treasures of the Americas. Four items on this list—the Crystal Skull, the Gold Sacrificial Dagger, the Eye of Quetzalcoatl, and the Indian Chief's Tusk Mask—were marked with a red check. The manila envelope next to Fang Senyan clearly specified the time, location, and even the route for their transport to the Ark! (To be continued) RQ