Life Game In Other World
Chapter 771: Open Conspiracy and Muddy Waters (Extra Long - , Requesting Monthly Pass)

Chapter 771: Chapter 771: Open Conspiracy and Muddy Waters (Extra Long Chapter, Requesting Monthly Pass)

Hearing the distant gunfire gradually die down, He Ao sat in a seat near the restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling windows and glanced at the time on his wristband—8:15 PM.

The entire battle had lasted nearly an hour.

"Your burger and cola."

The young waiter placed a tray with a burger and cola in front of He Ao.

"Thank you."

He Ao nodded his head and reached out to open the burger box on the tray.

Actually, when He Ao saw that not a single person from the Security Union had come in advance, he roughly estimated that it was quite likely the Security Union would group together and come over.

Just like Kate wanted to use Yiluo’s brother to intimidate the Security Union, it was quite likely that the Security Union also wanted to gang up to give Kate a show of force.

So, their arrival time wouldn’t be too early or too late. Arriving too early wouldn’t be sufficiently intimidating, and arriving past seven would mean completely breaking off relations.

Therefore, the time they probably chose was around 6:50 PM.

And He Ao had left the villa at around 6:40 PM.

In the data left on Kate’s mainframe, there was the time when support was requested and the information when it was received.

The support from the Eternal Secret Teachings was estimated to arrive around 7:10 PM.

From around 6:50 PM to 7:10 PM, those twenty minutes were enough for the people from the Security Union to explore the lobby. As for whether they could discover the words behind the lobby door, that was actually outside of He Ao’s considerations.

Because those words were not meant for them, but for the eyes of the Eternal Secret Teachings.

Once the support from the Eternal Secret Teachings arrived and discovered other people in the lobby, along with the bodies of their own people, their first instinct would definitely be to open fire.

Of course, if the Security Union wasn’t smart and surrendered in advance, trying to negotiate with the Eternal Secret Teachings, they would also be suspected by the latter upon seeing the words behind the door.

At that time, another arrangement of He Ao would also come into play—the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

As soon as he knew the arrival time of the support, He Ao had Eve calculate the time it would take for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to get to the villa, and then had Eve contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation to explain the situation, timing their arrival a few minutes after the Eternal Secret Teachings’ support.

This was using the power of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to deal with the Eternal Secret Teachings.

This was also the reason why He Ao had asked Vili about the situation of United Industries; although it wasn’t clear whether United Industries had any private connection with the Eternal Secret Teachings, whatever the situation behind the scenes, they were enemies of the Eternal Secret Teachings on the surface.

That was enough.

This suggested that the Federal Bureau of Investigation would likely be able to muster sufficient forces in the Cloud District to confront the Eternal Secret Teachings.

One of the roles of the Security Union in this was to help He Ao delay the Eternal Secret Teachings.

Regardless of whether the Security Union chose to resist or surrender,

after seeing the words behind the door and being ambushed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Eternal Secret Teachings would inevitably suspect them.

The only way they could prove their innocence was to fight to the death alongside the Eternal Secret Teachings.

But they neither had the courage to offend the Federal Bureau of Investigation nor the loyalty to risk their lives for the Eternal Secret Teachings, so they were likely to end up on the opposing side of the Eternal Secret Teachings.

Of course, if the people from the Security Union realized something was wrong and quickly fled, and the support from the Eternal Secret Teachings arrived at the villa without encountering them, that wouldn’t matter either.

Because if there was ample time, the Eternal Secret Teachings would definitely see the words behind the door.

Seeing the words, then observing the car tracks left by the Security Union, and then being surrounded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,

it would be impossible for the people from the Eternal Secret Teachings not to speculate.

Of course, there were two keys to this.

The first was that He Ao had to quickly take care of Kate and everyone else before the support arrived and leave before they did.

Of course, ensuring normal communications after Eve took control of the system, giving the support troops from the Eternal Secret Teachings confidence, was also very important.

The second key was the accurate estimation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s travel time; they had to arrive immediately after the support from the Eternal Secret Teachings, without being too late.

If they arrived too late, the Eternal Secret Teachings could clean up the scene and handle all loose ends, leaving the Federal Bureau of Investigation with little room to maneuver.

Using his experience working at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and with Eve’s assistance, He Ao estimated a time.

As it turned out, his estimates were quite accurate. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was, in fact, a bit late, but not by much, within the margin of error. However, the people from the Eternal Secret Teachings were also a bit late, which meant the final outcome was not far from the best scenario He Ao had anticipated.

The core issue this time was actually that He Ao’s unexpected appearance caught everyone off guard.

No one had anticipated his arrival, nor had they estimated his strength, allowing him the opportunity to exploit the intelligence gap and amplify his advantage.

Of course, Kate’s decision to set the banquet in the Cloud District, a stronghold of ’hostile forces,’ was also a mistake.

However, this mistake was almost inevitable since whether in the Storm Zone or the Aka District, the Security Union would never agree to a banquet within the territory of the Eternal Secret Teachings, and Kate, despite his confidence in his own strength, would not dare to attend a banquet set within the stronghold of the Security Union.

Therefore, as the weakest area of control for the Eternal Secret Teachings and viewed with hostility by both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United Industries, the Cloud District was the best location for the banquet.

The fact that the support troops took almost half an hour to arrive showed that the Eternal Secret Teachings’ power in the Cloud District was indeed weak.

"Cough, cough."

He Ao looked at the burger in his hand and gently coughed into his mouth.

Then he lowered his head to look at the fresh blood in his palm and slowly picked up a tissue from beside him to wipe it clean.

Yiluo’s body had long been on the brink of collapse, and every time he overexerted his strength, it was a major step towards death.

The overuse of Fist Technique was one thing, but overuse of Super Memory was even more so.

The last time on the Storm Sea when he used Super Memory to kill that monster, even though it was only for a brief moment, it almost completely robbed He Ao of his ability to move and sharply made him aware of his life diminishing.

However, with the completion of his ’promotion,’ his body’s capacity to endure had increased a bit, although not by much.

Thus, unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn’t use Super Memory.

In fact, if Kate and Swinte had been able to use their full strength simultaneously and coordinated their attacks, they would have been capable of exerting B-level power and forced He Ao to use Super Memory.

He Ao had also prepared himself to use Super Memory at that time.

Only he hadn’t expected Kate to decisively betray his teammate and go for an ambush.

Even from He Ao’s perspective, this move was extremely explosive.

Once the two of them split up, the pressure on He Ao greatly reduced, allowing him to break them down one by one.

Kate didn’t have much trust in Swinte, and he was too confident in his own strength.

But He Ao was very clear that he couldn’t hope for his enemies to keep making mistakes; as he progressed, the enemies would only get tougher to deal with.

This time he had encountered a combination capable of contending with B-level adversaries, and his enemies would only grow stronger.

He Ao glanced at the bloodstain in his palm that had been wiped clean, slowly picked up the burger, and took a big bite.

As the soft bun and the juicy meat patty intermingled in his mouth and spread across his taste buds, he turned his head to look out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the dim lights outside and the snowflakes that were gradually coming to a halt.

"Mommy, I want a burger."

A little boy holding his mother’s hand walked past the street, raised his head to look at the restaurant sign flickering with neon lights, and whispered.

"Mommy has already prepared dinner for today, and Daddy is waiting for us at home,"

The mother, wearing a white down jacket, tightened the boy’s scarf around his neck, "Another day, we’ll come for a burger."

"Okay then."

The little boy reluctantly withdrew his gaze.

Just then, a jarring siren suddenly sounded from ahead.

"Be careful."

The young mother immediately pulled her child’s hand, retreating to the edge of the sidewalk.

Cars marked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and riddled with bullet holes sped down the street from the end of the streetlights, passing by the mother and son.

Among these Federal Bureau of Investigation police cars were interspersed convoys of black off-road vehicles.

The long line of vehicles moved through the snowy night streets, heading towards the brightly lit commercial district ahead.

······

"A lot of people from the Eternal Secret Teachings died; after this incident, they will probably launch a direct purge against us,"

In the midst of this continuous convoy, Jato, sitting in the back seat, glanced at the burly man beside him and said in a low voice, "If we want to stay alive, we need to unite. Relying on just us is not enough to contend with the Eternal Secret Teachings. Now is the time to develop a good relationship with the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

"Hmm,"

The burly man leaned against the window’s edge, holding a cigar in his hand, looking out the window with a smile, "We used to have choices, now we don’t, and I feel much more at ease because I’ve never liked that bunch of charlatans from the Eternal Secret Teachings."

"Indeed,"

Jato also exhaled, if possible, they would definitely not be willing to cooperate with the Eternal Secret Teachings. Forced previously to reluctantly join due to intimidation, being pushed to this point now, there were far fewer qualms.

He too glanced outside the window, "Taking down Kate this time, who pushed us to this point, I wonder what kind of person the mastermind is, what relationship he has with Novis, but it seems he’s also an enemy of the Eternal Secret Teachings, maybe we can collaborate."

"Cooperation?"

The skinny man sitting in the passenger seat let out a sneer, "That guy screwed us over so badly, Jato you still want to cooperate with him? If I find him..."

"Lena, what are you looking for?"

Jato ignored the skinny man in the passenger seat and turned to Lena, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, engaged the autopilot, and was carefully surveying the surrounding streets.

"I’m thinking,"

Lena turned back, lit a cigarette, and slowly said, "whether the mastermind who set up this whole situation is somewhere on this street, quietly observing us, watching us fall into the net he has woven, watching us desperately struggle, but the more we struggle, the tighter it gets."

Hearing this, the formerly sneering skinny man stopped his scoffing abruptly, like an alarm clock that had been switched off.

The burly man in the back tensed his muscles and subconsciously scanned the surrounding streets, where the sidewalks were filled with passersby who all seemed ordinary at a glance.

"This,"

Jato glanced around, his glasses reflecting the busy street, "sounds quite chilling to hear."

...

Inside the diner

The last car of the cavalcade slowly edged away along the border of the street, and He Ao, who was sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, put down the wrapper of the burger he’d just finished and shook his already-empty cola, listening to the thunk of the ice cubes inside.

Then he pried off the cola cap, widened his eyes to look inside, saw the remaining cola that hadn’t been sipped up by the straw, and the ice cubes that hadn’t fully melted.

He shook the cup again, tilted his head back, and poured the ice cubes coated with cola into his mouth.

As the cool sensation filled his mouth, his body, wrapped in a down jacket, shivered slightly, and then he crunched the ice cubes to bits.

After everything was finished, he stood up, walked toward the diner’s entrance, and pushed open the glass door of the diner.

The diner was warm, and almost the instant he opened the door, a gust of cold wind swept in, worming its way inside his collar.

He reached up to pull the zipper of his down jacket a little higher, then stepped onto the street.

The snowflakes in the sky were now just a few scattered ones, and he turned to look back at the diner’s window, which was one-way, allowing visibility from the inside out but hardly from outside in.

Then he looked up, checking the direction in which the cavalcade had vanished.

This road was the only route from Kate’s villa back to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The SUVs mingled with the Federal Bureau of Investigation vehicles, signifying that the Security Union ultimately had been rescued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which meant they were now completely opposed to the Eternal Secret Teachings.

He Ao turned back around, rubbed his somewhat cold fingers together, and slowly moved forward, passing the street in front and turning into a small side street, where a heavy-duty SUV was parked in front of him.

He pulled open the car door and got into the SUV.

Then he turned on his wristband and looked at the address Vili had just sent him.

[Old Jeko Funeral Home]

Before eating, he had asked Vili where in Wint City he could find a trustworthy funeral home, and afterwards, Vili had sent him this address, telling him to go there now.

The location of the funeral home was on the edge of the Storm Zone and Aka District, and Eve quickly synced the address to the autopilot navigation.

The SUV drove through the bustling, clean streets, passed by the still rumbling Novite District, and then continued along some of the shabbier roads of the Aka District.

Around nine o’clock in the evening, He Ao arrived at Old Jeko Funeral Home.

The funeral home was hidden in a secluded alley, not a large storefront, its neon sign half extinguished and somewhat rusty.

But the shop was easy to find because there were no other stores in the alley.

The shop’s door was glass, with several colored posters on it, most of which had faded and turned white.

He Ao pushed open the door slowly, and the first thing that caught his eye was a simply decorated lobby.

An elderly man, white hair and beard, dressed in neat black padded jacket and pants, was taking a nap in a wooden bamboo chair.

A glowing electronic stove stood beside him, radiating warmth, with a shiny kettle on top, steaming vigorously.

Not far from the Elderly, there was an old and somewhat worn-out sofa, and on the wall above it hung a small television, which was broadcasting what seemed like recorded tapes on repeat; the TV appeared to be muted, rendering the space exceptionally quiet.

Seemingly alerted by the sound of He Ao’s footsteps, the Elderly slowly opened his eyes and rose from the bamboo chair, looking at He Ao, "Are you Yiluo? Did little Vili refer you here?"

"Yes."

He Ao nodded gently.

"I’m Jeko, you can call me Old Jeko. Does your family require ’services’?"

Old Jeko glanced at He Ao’s frail figure and pale cheeks, slowly stood up, lifted the electric kettle off the stove, and then picked up a clean white teacup, "Would you like a cup of milk tea to warm up?"

He carried the electric kettle in one hand and held the teacup in the other, the kettle nearing the cup, the warm milk tea poured out from the slender spout, filling the cup.

Once the teacup was full, the elderly man walked up to He Ao and handed him the teacup.

"Thank you."

He Ao stretched out his hand, took the steaming cup of milk tea, and cradled it in his hands.

"Do you need a hearse?"

Old Jeko stood at the door and glanced at the off-road vehicle outside the glass door, "Or have you already brought the person?"

"I’ve brought him."

He Ao set the milk tea on the table by the door and pushed the door open, stepping out.

He quickly climbed onto the roof of the car, untied the wires securing the upright cabinet, and at that moment, Old Jeko had set the electric kettle beside the cup and came out from inside, deftly helping He Ao with the wires at the bottom.

The two soon brought down the upright cabinet.

"Thank you."

He Ao shouldering the cabinet, dragged it into the funeral home’s hall.

"May I uncover it?"

Old Jeko glanced at the shrouded upright cabinet and asked softly.

"Yes."

He Ao nodded, and after a brief pause, he reached out and pulled off the cloth.

The semi-transparent cabinet and the young man standing inside appeared before the old man’s eyes.

Old Jeko gazed at the ’specially processed’ marks on the young man’s body, and after a brief pause, he commented with a sigh, "A very handsome young man, is this your..."

"Brother."

He Ao responded.

Old Jeko glanced at He Ao, did not continue to inquire, but raised his wrist device, maneuvered a somewhat rusty trolley over, the trolley’s mechanical arm picked up the cabinet, and placed it on the trolley.

He turned to look at He Ao, "The trolley will take him to the crematorium at the back. The cremation and pulverization of bones will take about an hour. There’s no queue here. Do you want to wait, or shall I take your contact details and get in touch with you once everything is settled tomorrow morning?"

"I’ll wait."

He Ao looked up at the young man in the cabinet and then lowered his head, picked up the hot teacup next to him, gazing at the swirling tea leaves within.

"Then would you like to sit inside?"

The elderly man glanced at his half-covered palm, directing the trolley towards the back while leading He Ao towards the inner side of the hall.

He Ao paused for a moment, then followed.

Old Jeko picked up the electric kettle, guided He Ao to sit on the sofa, and then took out a new teacup, pouring himself a cup of milk tea.

He gently sipped the milk tea and then seated himself on a bamboo chair.

The electric stove emitted a warm glow, melting away the ice crystals that had not fully dissipated from He Ao’s clothes.

He Ao took a sip of milk tea and raised his head to watch the television set on the opposite wall.

The TV was broadcasting a grand occasion, where an exuberant crowd was surrounding a middle-aged man towards the podium.

"Is this news?"

He Ao asked, somewhat puzzled.

"It is news,"

Old Jeko glanced at the television, lifted his wrist device and turned up the TV volume; the boisterous cheers instantly filled the somewhat chilly hall, "but it’s news from over twenty years ago,"

He took another sip of his milk tea, looking at the scenes on the television, "when United Industries had just been established."

He Ao observed the people in the TV, most of them dressed simply, their bright eyes looking at the camera, shimmering with a certain hope for the future.

"Your generation may not know much about the history of that time,"

Old Jeko holding his milk tea, seemed to fall into a long-ago memory, "Back then, we all thought that the establishment of United Industries could save this city."