Xu Nian’s face wore a merchant’s practiced smile, perhaps just a touch too ingratiating to his uncle’s eyes... Hmph, his small eyes glittered, conveying an air of sharp shrewdness.
Yang Ying stared into the fat man’s eyes, as if trying to plumb the depths of his thoughts: “Paradise City is the Pirate King’s life work. What do you mean by asking me this question?”
The fat man felt a massive weight pressing on his chest. He shifted uncomfortably on his hips, trying to settle into a more relaxed position. Though he had long heard that Colonel Blade was an Awakened one, he hadn't expected to feel such intense pressure simply under the scrutiny of those eyes.
“I say this with absolutely no hidden agenda,” the fat man rushed to declare. “His Majesty sent me merely to pass on a message, and to deliver one item.”
Yang Ying withdrew his piercing gaze, picked up a cup of tea, took a sip, and said, “Whether there’s an agenda is for me to consider. Why don’t you state your purpose first, and let me examine the item? Then we can discuss further?”
The fat man instantly felt a profound lightness wash over him, as if the pressure from moments ago had been a hallucination. He inwardly conceded, As expected, truly formidable.
He pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away a bead of sweat, then retrieved a data chip from his pocket, handing it to Yang Ying. “This is the item,” he said, “And this is the message…”
“Another data chip?” Yang Ying took it to examine, then set it aside. “What is the message?”
“Paradise City has been occupied by the Hulas; I no longer want it!” the fat man coughed out. “That is the exact phrase—it’s His Majesty’s direct word.”
“What use is this message to me?” Yang Ying frowned.
The fat man spread his hands. “I truly don’t know, sir. I am merely a foot soldier under His Majesty’s command. How could I possibly fathom his intentions?”
A lifetime of effort. Nabbu just gives up on it like that?
Yang Ying paused in thought, testing the waters. “Could it be that even if Paradise City is reduced to cosmic scrap, the Pirate King still wouldn’t care?”
The fat on the fat man’s face bunched up as he chuckled. “I might be able to shed a little light on that question. I recall His Majesty often saying that humanity harbors an indelible grime in its soul, and Paradise was the place designed to contain that filth. It is rooted in human nature. As long as humans exist, Paradise exists. Even if the current Paradise is gone, His Majesty can forge another. Isn't there an old saying? Where there is demand, there is a market. As long as humanity endures, what does it matter if a mere space city turns into trash?”
As the fat man spoke these words, the flesh on his face quivered violently, and his whole body shook, giving the distinct impression that he spoke with a sense of pride.
Yang Ying felt the fat man possessed a certain nerve, daring to bring up such matters in front of a high-ranking figure within a mercenary faction. However, this was likely because the fat man had no fear for his own immediate situation; Yang Ying couldn't very well beat him up for these statements.
Seeing the fat man settle down from his agitation, Yang Ying cleared his throat and suddenly asked, “How is Master Argen these days?”
The fat man’s eyes widened in confusion. “Master Argen? Who is that? Some kind of Minor Master? I’ve never heard of him?”
“Never heard of him? What a pity,” Yang Ying shook his head. “He is a truly formidable Master-level expert.”
“Then I must pay my respects to him if I ever have the chance,” the fat man said, tugging at his collar to loosen his tie slightly, smiling. “I have delivered the message and the item His Majesty asked me to bring to you, Lord Blade. I shall take my leave now. We shall meet again.”
“We shall meet again,” Yang Ying nodded.
The merchant’s smile never left the fat man’s face. He stood, waved a hand, and walked out of the conference room. A Ghost operative was already waiting at the door to escort him downstairs.
Back in the conference room, Yang Ying’s smile also deepened.
The reason Yang Ying had suddenly shifted the topic to Master Argen was precisely to deny him any time to compose himself. Sure enough, this probing question had managed to extract something; the fat man had inadvertently betrayed a subtle clue. Although his expression was crafted to appear completely natural, Yang Ying caught a flicker of unnaturalness deep within his eyes.
Master Argen, at the pinnacle of Ape-Man strength, had lived in anonymity for decades, never appearing in public. However, a recent massive battle in Gray Harbor against the Hulas had drawn intense scrutiny from certain parties.
Since Gray Harbor was a city under the jurisdiction of the Terran Mercenary Corps, Yang Ying naturally had a strong interest in Argen’s affairs. He had tasked Kalya with gathering extensive intelligence for analysis, hoping to pinpoint Argen’s hidden location.
When Argen and Hulas fought, all communication across the cosmos was conducted telepathically. Thus, for many, Argen's appearance and disappearance remained a complete enigma from start to finish.
Where did he come from? Where did he go?
No one had seen him since that fleeting glimpse in Gray Harbor.
However, his movements were not entirely untraceable.
As Hulas had pointed out, once one enters the vortex of battle, leaving is seldom easy.
Through meticulous screening and elimination of misleading false intelligence, Kalya had compiled the intelligence reports:
“The highest probability places Argen hiding within the Caribbean Pirate Contingent in the Dual States.”
David had once mentioned that the Caribbean Pirate Contingent was backed by a mysterious master. Left Elder Yego of the Ape Worship Sect had met this person once many years ago, after which the Sect maintained strict neutrality with the Pirates, until the recent uprising by Hulas.
If that mysterious master was indeed Argen, the situation would suddenly find a very rational explanation.
Of course, until this very moment, this theory was just a hypothesis. The slip the fat man made was clearly strong supporting evidence for that hypothesis.
Yang Ying had already sensed from the fat man’s demeanor that he was far from being the mere foot soldier of Nabbu that he claimed to be.
Yang Ying was unsure of the fat man’s exact rank within the Caribbean Pirate Contingent or whether it was high enough to grant him access to Argen, but trying wouldn't hurt.
The result of the test was immensely satisfying.
In reality, the number of people within the Caribbean Pirate Contingent aware of the Black-Robed Master’s existence could be counted on one hand. And this fat man was one of them.
The data chip brought by the fat man was deciphered immediately. It contained extensive data regarding Paradise City.
Paradise City did not remain fixed in one location. To maintain secrecy, it operated on a complete network of clandestine routes, encompassing over a hundred secure points and several sets of backup routes to prevent discovery.
The coordinates of these secure points and the trajectories of the clandestine routes were all contained within that small data chip.
Using this data, Yang Ying could ascertain Paradise City’s precise location at every moment over the next twelve lunar cycles.
Yet, a shadow of doubt remained in Yang Ying’s mind: Why would the Pirate King give him this data?
He contacted Kalya, shared the details, and sought his counsel.
“I believe what Nabbu intends to do isn’t important, Commander. What you intend to do is what matters. At this stage, even if we take a wrong turn and end up in the most perilous situation, we cannot be completely eradicated. As long as your clone bodies are not all destroyed, we can rise again at any time,” Kalya advised after hearing everything.
Yang Ying reflected; he was right.
If Nabbu’s plan was favorable to him, worrying was simply overthinking. If Nabbu’s plan was detrimental, Yang Ying was currently established in an unassailable position in the Solar System. Should the situation turn unfavorable, he could retreat to the Floating Continent at any time and seek retribution once sufficient power was accumulated.
The Floating Continent was developing day and night. No matter how deep Nabbu’s schemes or how strong his power, it could not surpass this constantly growing force.
In the command center of the base, Yang Ying’s primary body picked up the communicator and dialed Randolph’s office.
“Nephew-in-law, what is it?”
Randolph hadn’t expected Yang Ying to have already uncovered the secrets of the City of Sin. After all, it had only been one night—less than ten hours. To investigate something the Intelligence Department had failed to trace for years—he likely hadn’t even found a single thread yet.
“Are you available right now?” Yang Ying asked. “Regarding yesterday’s matter…”
Only then did Randolph’s eyes widen. He exclaimed, “What?” then immediately composed himself. “I am available. Speak freely. This is a secure, private line; no one will be eavesdropping.”
Yang Ying nodded. “The location of the City of Sin—accurately speaking, its locations for the next year—are all in my hands now.”
Randolph froze for a moment, leaning forward, his tone laced with suspicion. “Are you sure?”
Yang Ying nodded.
Randolph leaned forward a fraction more, his eyes widening further. “Have you been investigating this for a long time?”
Yang Ying found his expression amusing and shook his head. “I started tracing it just yesterday, from the moment you told me.”
Randolph was stunned again, then he leaped up. “Are all those wastes in the Intelligence Department on Nabbu’s payroll? They couldn't find in years what you managed to uncover in one night!”
Randolph’s frustrated outburst coincided almost perfectly with Kalya’s assessment, making Yang Ying inwardly laugh even harder.
Then, Yang Ying silently transferred the data from the chip. Upon receiving the complete set of data, Randolph nodded. “It doesn't look fake, but…” he looked up at Yang Ying. “Data this comprehensive doesn't look like it was collected piece by piece, especially not this quickly. You must have obtained this directly from a high-level source in the Caribbean Pirate Contingent, didn't you? Was it through bribery, kidnapping and extortion, or outright interrogation?”
Randolph’s guess was alarmingly close to the truth, causing Yang Ying to feel a touch of awe.
“Indeed,” Yang Ying admitted. “It was obtained directly from the Caribbean leadership. However, there was no bribery, no kidnapping or extortion, and no interrogation. Nabbu’s people came directly to the Gray Harbor office and handed me the data chip containing this information.”