Life Game In Other World
Chapter 375: Encirclement (Double-Length - Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 375: Chapter 375: Encirclement (Double-Length Chapter Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

The old foreman’s complexion changed rapidly, almost instantly reverting back to normal.

He Ao glanced at the old foreman; he was the only one among those present who noticed the change in the old foreman’s complexion.

The six people who had just arrived included a young male traitor and a middle-aged woman who had been controlled and had fainted.

Only He Ao and his brother, the old foreman, and the middle-aged man remained.

The old foreman set down his bracelet and looked at everyone, "The combined forces of the Mining Consortium’s mercenaries and the City Defense Army are on their way here. In no more than ten minutes, they will reach the church," he said.

"What?"

The most shocked was the middle-aged man Watson, who looked at the old foreman, "Didn’t we set up secret posts all along the way? How did they get here so fast?"

"Our ’eyes’ were bypassed," the old foreman said softly.

"How did they know the locations of our ’eyes’?" He was halfway through his question when he suddenly realized something. Looking at the bodies on the ground, he cursed fiercely, "Yates, that traitor."

"Watson, go now and contact those key officers, gather everyone in the church at the small pond in the back," instructed the old foreman calmly. Everyone present could panic, but he was the only one who could not afford to.

"Alright!"

Watson nodded firmly.

Although he was supposed to follow the old foreman to see Elijah, the urgency of the situation left no room for such considerations.

After arranging things with Watson, the old foreman then turned to Yvo, "Yvo, go with Watson."

"Alright!"

Yvo also nodded firmly, then instinctively turned his head to look at He Ao.

"Nell will accompany me to see the lady; we need her help with this matter," said the old foreman in a soft voice.

He did not reveal Elijah’s name to the others, simply referring to her as "the lady."

Yvo looked at his brother, unsure of what to say. His brother was smarter and stronger than he was; he gently patted his brother on the shoulder and whispered, "Be safe."

"Hmm," He Ao nodded lightly and said slowly, "Don’t be too impulsive if you come across any trouble."

"Don’t worry, I’m very cautious," Yvo said with a smile.

He Ao lifted his head to look at Yvo, wondering where his confidence was coming from.

······

The brothers parted ways, and He Ao continued to follow the old foreman deeper into the church.

Elijah’s maid led the way from a distance ahead, silent as a ghost. She had also stood by and watched the entire event of capturing the traitor without uttering a word or giving any opinion.

So quiet that she hardly seemed alive.

He Ao glanced at the maid’s silhouette and turned to the old foreman beside him, asking softly, "Are there any B-levels among the incoming people?"

Relying on the strength He Ao had displayed last night, it might be possible to fend off any number of C-level opponents.

The Mining Consortium’s onslaught this time was fierce, most likely because they were confident in their ability to suppress He Ao’s power, probably a B-level.

"The Captain of the Mining Consortium’s Mercenary Corps, Aber, is a B-level Transcendent,"

The Old Foreman walked briskly while answering quickly,

"This man himself is actually not bad; he often helps the poor, but his life philosophy is to work for money. Being on the payroll of the Mining Consortium, he works for them.

"Before the contract expires, as long as the Mining Consortium doesn’t harm him, he will not betray them."

He Ao glanced at his stride; the Old Foreman’s footing was steady and didn’t resemble his exterior appearance of being aged and frail.

Under this hunched figure might lie compact and explosive muscles.

This might also be one of the reasons the Old Foreman dared to directly test Yates’s strength, but he didn’t expect that Yates had already become a Transcendent.

With Yates’s age, if there were no other Transcendents of the same journey to guide him, becoming a D-level Transcendent would already be considered an astonishing Talent.

He Ao didn’t ask about the Old Foreman’s hidden strength; since the other party did not volunteer this information, there was no need to inquire.

At this moment, it seemed they were already close to their destination. He continued to ask, "It seems that the Mining Consortium has not completely controlled the City Defense Army?"

"Rock City’s City Defense Army consists of two divisions, the 107th and the 108th. The Mining Consortium has total control over the 107th Division and can easily mobilize its power, while the 108th Division is not entirely under the Consortium’s control, only partly eroded,"

The Old Foreman answered in a more measured tone.

He Ao: "Are there any authoritative figures in the 108th Division opposing the Mining Consortium?"

"The Commander of the 108th Division is a B-level Transcendent. He believes that the City Defense Army should only be responsible for surrounding the city and should not get involved in the city’s internal strife. The City Defense Army are protectors of the city, not its destroyers,"

The Old Foreman pondered for a moment and narrated slowly, "He thinks that once the City Defense Army starts meddling in the city’s internal affairs, it’s like opening Pandora’s box, unleashing unpredictable risks.

"Although he dislikes the Mining Consortium, the Mayor and the majority of the council are from the Consortium. Rock City is on the northern border where laws differ from other Federation cities, and the Mayor has substantial command and appointment powers over the military.

"Therefore, the Commander of the 108th Division can only suppress internal involvement within the division, preventing them from partaking in the Consortium’s operations. This established a weak balance of power with the Consortium’s forces, maintaining basic stability within the City Defense Army and preventing it from becoming entirely the Consortium’s enforcers.

"Since he’s the only B-level in the City Defense Army and is quite strong, the Mining Consortium also dares not to provoke him lightly, so this fragile balance just barely continues."

"We’ve arrived."

A cool voice came from the maid up ahead.

This was a room deep in the church, with a small door, similar to the small chapel He Ao had visited before.

The maid pushed open the door, revealing the inside.

It was a room shaped like an ancient castle’s tower palace, cylindrical in structure, about ten or so meters high, with a giant dome at the top. Bright light shone through the lens glass of the dome, illuminating the entire ’palace’ as if it were outdoors.

And this palace-like room had almost no interior decoration, just densely packed bookshelves and books, one set of bookshelves leaning on to another, hugging the walls, and extending upwards to the peak beneath the dome.

This was the first time He Ao saw such a collection of books, vast as the stars in the sky.

The stack of books made He Ao think for a moment that he had arrived at some secretive ancient library.

If it weren’t for the lack of the Septagram emblem exclusive to the God of Knowledge, he might even think that Elijah was a fanatical Believer of a good friend.

He Ao activated his Super Memory and swept a glance, memorizing the titles of all the books.

Unfortunately, this ’library’ on the ground floor contained only normal books and did not record many secrets as the underground library did.

At this moment, Elijah was operating her wheelchair, sitting in front of a bookshelf with a book placed on the wheelchair, from which emanated the rapid voice of artificial intelligence, reciting the content of the book for her.

She heard the sound of the door and footsteps and turned her head.

The somewhat whitish sunlight hit her fair skin, creating a stark contrast with the black lace blindfold over her eyes.

What’s going on?

She seemed to sense the urgency in everyone’s footsteps.

"Aber is coming with the Mercenary Corps and the City Defense Army, they’ll be here in a few minutes," the Old Foreman said rapidly in his hoary voice. "There’s a traitor among us who led them past our sentries."

"I understand."

Elijah closed the book she was reading on her wheelchair and put it back on the shelf.

Her electric wheelchair swiveled to face He Ao and the Old Foreman by the door,

"I will hold them off briefly for you. You must take the chance to move, but I can’t buy you much time.

"Therefore, you might need to send some people or a strong individual to draw their attention and weaken the power of the City Defense Army and the Mining Consortium’s Mercenary Corps. That way, I can get you more time. However, the one drawing their attention might die under the siege of the City Defense Army and the Mining Consortium’s Mercenary Corps."

The Old Foreman nodded. He was about to speak when He Ao, looking at Elijah, quickly said, "I’ll do it. Can you keep Aber from moving for a while?"

"I can," Elijah nodded slightly, "He won’t act rashly while I’m there."

"Alright."

He Ao nodded, knowing that as long as the B-level was held back, he could escape unscathed.

He had been planning to investigate certain matters and could use this as an excuse to separate from the Miners’ Mutual Aid Association.

The Old Foreman looked at He Ao, who wasn’t a member of the Miners’ Mutual Aid Association, and actually didn’t need to do all this for them.

"Consider it as taking Yvo’s place."

He Ao smiled.

This kind of suicidal distraction mission was something Nell’s foolish older brother would definitely volunteer for enthusiastically.

The Old Foreman opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn’t argue with He Ao, merely saying slowly, "Be careful."

The crisis wasn’t really that big, because the Old Foreman had a hidden ace, having set up the headquarters of the Miners’ Mutual Aid Association at Elijah’s secluded place.

The enemy counted He Ao among the Miners’ Mutual Aid Association’s strength and sent a B-level, but they didn’t know that there was also a B-level at the Association.

Elijah, a political adversary of the Mining Consortium, had personally supported the Miners’ Mutual Aid Association, and would help them out no matter what.

But she wouldn’t protect the Miners’ Mutual Aid Association at the cost of her life; after all, the Association was just one of her investments. If the cost exceeded the expected return, she would abandon the Miners’ Mutual Aid Association.

So she would forcibly hold on for a while, and when the Mining Consortium’s people could no longer bear it and wanted to forcefully break through, she would immediately step aside, avoiding intense conflict.

That’s why she said some people were needed to draw the attention of the Mining Consortium, to lead some of them away. The less pressure she faced, the longer she could buy time for the Miners’ Mutual Aid Association.

However, for the Miners’ Mutual Aid Association, because they didn’t have a strong Transcendent on their own, those going out to distract the enemy would be in great danger; it was essentially a suicide mission.

Of course, all this only applied if He Ao wasn’t involved. With He Ao’s involvement, things would be much simpler.

As long as the B-level was tied up, his escape would be easy.

Because time was of the essence, once the plan was set, the three of them prepared to split up. The Old Foreman headed towards the pond.

There was a hidden passage there, known only to him, so the traitor Yates couldn’t send anyone to block them.

He Ao, on the other hand, went with Elijah to the main gate.

Just as they were about to part ways, He Ao remembered something and turned to Elijah,

"Vinc’s two Hell Apostle Mechs fled during last night’s siege, and now that Vinc is dead, his strength must have been absorbed by the Mayor. But those controlling the mechs are likely Vinc’s loyal followers; they wouldn’t surrender easily. Do you know where Vinc might have a safe house?"

Elijah froze for a moment, then pondered briefly. "I once saw a document; Vinc bought a huge warehouse at 157 Annano Street. That place is very remote, surrounded by abandoned factories, making it very suitable for hiding Mechs, but this warehouse won’t stay hidden for long. You can try your luck there."

"Okay, thank you."

He Ao nodded.

······

The three of them split up, with He Ao and Elijah quickly arriving near the main entrance.

At this moment, sounds of vehicles stopping and orderly footsteps could be heard from outside; clearly, the City Defense Army and the Mercenary Corps had arrived.

He Ao followed Elijah to the main entrance, but he had no intention of going out.

The Old Foreman once constructed a second-rate escape route next to the main entrance, which all core personnel were aware of, and naturally, Yates too.

As they approached the door, Elijah gave He Ao a glass bead glowing with a purple luster.

"Hold onto this bead. When the time comes, this bead will influence the thoughts of those around you, making them think there’s a group of people behind you," she explained. "The bead is single-use. When it’s time to use it, just crush it. It’s effective for only three minutes, so try to draw away as many people as possible."

He Ao took the bead—it was his first encounter with an object that could influence people’s thoughts and judgment.

However, only the strong could effectively use such beads because the weak wouldn’t get far before likely being killed; only the powerful could move in and out, drawing more attention.

If one lacked the strength, the only option was to gather a truly large group to distract the City Defense Army and the Mercenary Corps outside.

So, what Elijah had just referred to was either some people or one strong figure.

Since Elijah was blind, and He Ao moved very quietly, the direction she handed the bead wasn’t towards He Ao but into the empty air beside him.

He Ao reached out, took the bead, and retreated to a corner.

Elijah’s maid opened the main door of the church and wheeled Elijah out.

The outside was densely surrounded by people in two types of neat uniforms.

The City Defense Army’s uniform was a shade of off-white, while the Mercenary Corps had gray and white mixed colors.

At this moment, a man who looked to be in his forties, with a square and lean face, short curly brown hair, and a close-cropped beard, stood in front of the church entrance.

He stood upright, gripping the exquisite and ornate sword at his waist, his gaze fixed intently on the beautiful woman in black emerging from the church.

Close by his side stood a gaunt young man with a pale face and a sinister look, holding a megaphone, seemingly ready to shout, "Everyone inside, hear this—you’re surrounded."

The middle-aged man must be Aber, the Captain of the Mercenary Corps, and the traitor behind him was Yates.

Yates clung tightly to Aber’s side, almost hugging his thigh.

This traitor seemed to be deathly afraid, hugging the proverbial leg without straying a step.

After Elijah came out, though he didn’t recognize her, he quickly moved even closer to Aber.

His actions caused Aber to frown slightly, but he said nothing.

With Yates so close to Aber, anyone wishing to kill him would have to breach the defenses of a B-level Transcendent first.

Even a sniper rifle might fail; He Ao didn’t know Aber’s Talent Sequence, but assuming Aber led a force-focused organization, he ought to be combat-oriented, and regular sniper rounds likely couldn’t penetrate his defenses.

Yates seemed to think the same, as having betrayed the Miners’ Mutual Aid Association, he would inevitably face retribution. That’s why he clung so tightly—if anyone wanted him dead, they’d need to be prepared to face a B-level Transcendent head-on.

Similarly, whoever killed him would gain immense prestige within the Miners’ Mutual Aid Association.

He Ao glanced at Yates and disappeared into the shadows of the corner.