That declaration, spat from the fat man's mouth, genuinely surprised Yang Ying. He had never, in his wildest dreams, imagined that the Caribbean Pirates would ever seek an alliance with him to oppose the Ape Worship Cult.

"Do you know what you're saying?" Blade asked gravely.

"Of course. Is providing this much data not enough to prove our sincerity?" The fat man’s small eyes strained, wide open. "If we weren't genuine, why would we ever hand over our own intelligence to you?"

Although Blade knew the data chip in his hand did not—no, certainly did not—contain everything the Caribbean Pirates possessed, it was clearly, as the fat man insisted, sufficient to demonstrate good faith.

"Very well, I believe your sincerity," Blade conceded with a nod.

The fat man's expression immediately relaxed; half his objective for this visit was achieved, and a smile had returned to his face. "I knew Colonel Blade would understand. Your detachment eliminated three Ape Masters during the Jupiter Campaign—oh, my heavens, Masters, not mere Quasi-Masters. How many Masters does the Ancient Legion even possess in total? Fewer than fifty!"

To emphasize his point, he thrust his right hand forward, palm open, counting off on his five fingers: "Three Masters dead in one go! Will those apes from the Ancient Legion just let that slide? Absolutely impossible!" The fat man’s voice grew fervent. "They will send people for retribution, they absolutely will, and the target will be your Trane Mercenary Corps. The perpetrators will undoubtedly be the Ape Worship Cult. Therefore, regarding dealing with the Cult, your Corps and we share the same goal. Eliminating them benefits us both!"

"And what about you?" Blade inquired. "How did you get entangled with the Ape Worship Cult?"

In truth, he suspected this whole matter was tied to the Supreme Ape Master, A’ghen, but since they shared a common enemy, future cooperation was a distinct possibility, making trust paramount. Sincerity conveyed through a single data chip couldn't build that bridge, and this was the perfect opportunity to probe whether they were concealing anything.

The fat man’s eyes darted, and he let out a short, wry laugh. "Colonel Blade, you're testing me now, aren't you? Seeing what kind of explanation I'll offer."

Blade simply shrugged, offering no reply. He could sense from the fat man's tone that he was utterly convinced of his own conviction; denying it now would be useless.

"Actually, you already know about Lord A’ghen, don't you?" the fat man stated confidently. "Since you tricked me with your words last time, I reported the entire conversation back to His Majesty. When I mentioned you inquiring about Master A’ghen, His Majesty declared I had slipped up—A’ghen’s existence had been exposed. Given the influence of your Corps, you must have already pieced together the sequence of events."

Blade nodded, acknowledging the truth of the statement.

"Just as I thought," the fat man chuckled. "Lord A’ghen is a Supreme Ape Master. Unlike the Masters of the Psionic Temple, they prefer the title 'Lord,' not 'Master.' I’m accustomed to it, but if Colonel Blade prefers 'Master,' that's fine by me."

Blade considered for a moment. "Master will suffice."

The fat man nodded. "Lord A’ghen began assisting His Majesty a long time ago. I am one of the very few who knew of this. Others in the Pirate organization were completely unaware of his existence. However, Lord A’ghen certainly aided the Pirates immensely during our development; his contributions were enormous."

"For a long time, Lord A’ghen’s presence was a secret. Neither the Psionic Temple nor the Ancient Legion knew A’ghen was among the asteroid belt, within the Caribbean Pirates. It wasn't until the Gray Port Battle six months ago that the Cult Leader of the Ape Worship Cult, H’laras, discovered A’ghen’s tracks, and they fought a massive battle, exposing A’ghen’s whereabouts," the fat man sighed dramatically.

Blade instantly recalled the scene, and a thought struck him, prompting a question: "The Ape Emissary of the Cult caused me trouble in Gray Port then. While H’laras appearing there was unexpected, it was plausible. But why was Lord A’ghen in Gray Port? If he hadn't been there, H’laras wouldn't have found him, would he?"

The fat man crumpled his jowly face, looking genuinely troubled. "It’s not that I won't tell you, Colonel, it’s that I genuinely don't know why Lord A’ghen was in Gray Port at that specific time. No one ever mentioned it to me. And frankly, Colonel, would I dare ask such a question?"

Blade studied the man's expression and judged it not to be a pretense. He nodded. "Then let us drop it. If there is nothing else, you may take your leave. Regarding a relationship of equal friendship, I will report to my superiors. Based on my conjecture, as long as you do not initiate aggression or show any intention to attack, it will likely be fine. As for cooperating against the Ape Worship Cult, I will also report that matter. That is more serious, and whether we agree depends on Commander Yang Ying’s final decision."

As he spoke, a flicker of thought crossed his mind—the fat man had successfully passed the burden onto him, using himself as a shield. Blade found this particular maneuver rather unique and difficult for most people to execute.

"Wait just a moment," the fat man quickly interrupted as Blade made to escort him out. "I have one more piece of intelligence to offer. Hear me out before you send me away."

"Speak," Blade invited, gesturing expansively.

"Back then, H’laras committed the bulk of the Ape Worship Cult's available strength to the task of acquiring the fire-control codes to destroy the outer solar system's forward bases. Consequently, many of the Cult's eyes and ears among humanity were exposed and eliminated by the Psionic Temple, severely weakening them," the fat man stated. "However, by now, the Cult's foundation within human society has fully recovered. Moreover, their informants are buried deeper and closer to the core circles of humanity."

"Recovered so quickly?" Blade asked, skeptical.

"Yes. They employed extraordinary measures. Remember the destruction of the previous Paradise City, and the abduction of a large number of its guests, whose whereabouts became unknown?" the fat man asked, blinking.

"Of course, I remember. That was thanks to the data chip you provided that allowed us to locate Paradise City, only to find it abandoned," Blade confirmed.

The fat man gave a slight nod. "Those guests have been returned, precisely at the start of the Jupiter Campaign—about a month ago."

"What!" Blade slapped the armrest of the sofa, shooting upright. "You mean they are alive, and they've been released?"

"Exactly. In fact, a new Paradise City is already operational, and those previously abducted guests have made appearances there. We possess their roster; there is absolutely no mistake." The fat man waved his hands dramatically, reinforcing his already certain tone with physical emphasis.

"Those people are all dregs and parasites of the human world, yet they hold considerable status. Why would the Ape Worship Cult release them before fully draining their value?" Blade scoffed, settling back onto the sofa. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Could it be that they were brainwashed?"

The fat man shook his head. "We conducted our own investigations and found that the returnees were released in batches. A small number did indeed show signs of having been brainwashed, but the Psionic Temple detected them and dealt with the issue."

"Only a few?" Blade tapped his fingers twice on the sofa arm. "The Cult only managed to brainwash a handful? That seems..."

"What's wrong?" the fat man smiled. "Did you think the Ape Worship Cult suddenly became benevolent? Wrong! If Colonel Blade thinks that, he thinks too highly of humanity."

A chilling idea formed in Blade’s mind, and his eyes widened sharply. "Are you suggesting...?"

The fat man chuckled conspiratorially. "Brainwashing techniques severely damage the brain; surely the Cult couldn't overlook that? Those who are truly brainwashed absolutely cannot escape the comprehensive scrutiny of the Psionic Temple." The fat man paused, building the atmosphere, then his voice abruptly spiked an octave. "But who said brainwashing was the only way to deliver those people into the arms of the Ancient Legion?"

Blade clenched his fist; the notion in his mind materialized into reality: among those not brainwashed, traitors had emerged.

The fat man continued: "Just as Colonel Blade mentioned moments ago, those who frequented Paradise City were the dregs and parasites of human society, motivated only by selfishness, desire, greed, and arrogance. In their eyes, cooperating with the Ancient Legion wasn't impossible. The Ancient Legion held their very lives in their hands, and the Ape Worship Cult could offer them considerable benefits."

"The Ape Worship Cult is an organization that balances military and economic power; they have no obvious flaws. Didn't Marx say that 100% profit allows a capitalist to trample all laws, and 300% profit makes them ignore the guillotine? It wouldn't be difficult for the Cult to offer them that 300% profit. And those dregs and parasites who came to Paradise City had long since thrown law and the guillotine out the window."

The fat man seemed to enter a relentless monologue, taking a breath before continuing: "Perhaps some of those people were tough nuts who wouldn't yield to the Cult's threats or temptations. But the Cult needed to release people back—they required a few brainwashed subjects as a smokescreen. Weren't those tough individuals perfect material for brainwashing, serving to help the dregs return to human society?"

At this point, Blade interrupted him. "How were those who weren't brainwashed dealt with in the end?"

"How else? They are wealthy and powerful men, and they banded together—they have too much leverage. Even if you threw them in prison, someone influential could bail them out quickly. This past month, the Earth Government, the Earth Military, and the Psionic Temple have all been tied up dealing with Jupiter; who has the time to fight influential, powerful people? For them, bribing government officials to speak on their behalf is hardly difficult. And the Psionic Temple has no jurisdiction over the non-Awakened," the fat man said with mocking disdain.

"So, that's why you say the Ape Worship Cult's foundation in human society has been restored," Blade acknowledged with a nod. "I understand. If an alliance is needed in the future, I will speak on your behalf."