"Where are the people from the World Tree now?" In the rapidly ascending elevator, the man in the white robe massaged his brow and asked in a low voice. "They should be almost outside the building now," The pretty woman in a work uniform beside him frowned deeply, "Those Central Earth people arranged the operation without notifying anyone until departure, and by the time we from the World Tree noticed something was wrong, they had already been gone for a while." "Those Central Earth bastards are really troublesome," The man in the white robe took a deep breath and glanced at the elevator screen showing its rapid ascent, "Has the helicopter arrived yet?" "It’s about to arrive." The woman replied quickly, "I have already prepared an escape route to leave Mote City. We’ll first head to the eastern border of the Yika Republic and wait there until the situation calms down before coming back." "How is the evacuation of our members?" The man in the white robe continued to ask. "I’ve arranged for everyone to flee in all directions, trying our best to avoid being caught by those Central Earth people." The woman said rapidly. "That idiot Rudel has really lost his mind, inviting outsiders to handle his own affairs." The man in the white robe took another deep breath, unable to suppress his curses. "Maybe we shouldn’t have messed with the Central Earth people," The pretty woman in the work uniform whispered, "Although we haven’t made a move on those Central Earth people yet, printing flyers in the Central Earth language has already drawn their attention..." "Are you questioning me?" The man in the white robe turned around and gave the pretty woman a cold look. "I’m not, I’m just..." The woman quickly gestured with her hands. "Do we have a choice?" The man in the white robe looked away, his voice, which had been steady and gentle, took on an urgent tone, as if like a beast suppressing its anger, "Sett, that useless coward, died so easily, handing over Yika to those Central Earth people on a silver platter, and those Central Earth bastards from the Research Institute are watching this place too closely, giving us no chance; we had no choice but to target the foreigners." He turned to look at the woman beside him, "You don’t want to get involved with the Central Earth people, but do you think that if we keep targeting Tia people, Moonlight from the Tia Empire wouldn’t notice? Is Moonlight from the Tia Empire a pure fool?" The woman opened her mouth but ultimately could not say anything. The man in the white robe turned back, feeling the elevator’s gradually slowing speed, and looked at the elevator doors ahead, "So in the end, we still have to deal with Central Earth people, it’s just a matter of whether being noticed by those Research Institute bastards for dealing with Central Earth people or being noticed by Moonlight for focusing too much on Tia people." "Maybe we can seek help from the East..." The woman murmured softly. The elevator door opened, and the man in the white robe stepped out directly, "Now that Sett is dead, and the Yika Republic is completely relinquished, they would be only too glad to eat us up, swallowing whole what originally belonged to Yika—one wouldn’t even expect them to leave the bones for us." He turned his head back to look at the woman behind him, "Are you saying that you want to give up the protection from Rong Guang?" The woman was slightly startled and quickly shook her head, then hurried to keep pace with the man. "Temporary hardships will only serve to lay a foundation for an even greater future," The man smiled at the woman as he continued to walk quickly, stopping in front of the door to a penthouse suite. He looked back at the woman, his expression now back to calm and collected, "You go up first, I’ll take the documents and join you shortly. As long as we are still the official leaders in name of the Yika Republic, what belongs to the Yika Republic will always be ours; the greater the risk, the greater the reward." The woman took a deep breath, nodded vigorously, then quickly crossed the corridor, heading to the hidden staircase door that led to the rooftop. The man in the white robe watched the woman’s figure depart, the smile gradually disappearing from his face. He pushed open the room door, entered the room, and slowly closed it behind him. The room was pitch-dark, with a small bar area by the entrance, where a dazzling array of expensive liquors were displayed; the faint night light seeped through the window, illuminating the crystal-clear bottles. The man walked over, randomly grabbed the neck of a brandy bottle, and with a loud ’bang,’ smashed it on the bar. Accompanied by the scattering of sparkling glass shards, the rich scent of high-proof distilled liquor spread throughout the still and dark space. "Trash, idiots, a bunch of disgraceful garbage, incapable of doing anything right; can’t even keep track of a few foreigners’ whereabouts." The man in the white robe moved forward, grabbing and shattering one bottle after another on the bar. Sparkling glass shards covered the carpet and the bar, and the thick liquor spread through the room, bringing a flush to the man’s cheeks—a hint of anger or intoxication, it was unclear. The man picked up a broad bottle of whiskey, glanced at it, and said, "He Ao? Research Institute? Central Earth people? One day, I will turn you all into fuel that lights up my glory." He raised his hand and with a forceful throw, he hurled the whiskey bottle away. Eventually, the large bottle smashed against the cabinet behind the bar, with liquor and glass fragments cascading down like raindrops. Upon witnessing the scene, the man in white chuckled, swept his hand over the bar, knocking all the bottles to the floor. With a series of ’bang bang bangs’—the crisp sounds of shattering, the man in white stepped back, leaning against the room door. He fished a pack of blue cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, placed it between his lips, then pulled out a zinc-coated, sapphire-inset flip lighter, and in the dark of night, sparked a flame, lighting the cigarette. Meanwhile, with the cigarette in his mouth, he raised his hand effortlessly, and pressed the light switch behind the door. One by one, lights on the ceiling lit up, bright illumination spread out like a scorching carpet from in front of the man in white, extending toward the soft sofa in the living room. The man in the white robe raised his head, looking towards the sofa perched in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. A blurry figure was outlined in the gradually brightening light; he leaned forward slightly, exposing more of his body under the light, his calm demeanor surfacing slowly from the darkness, He smiled as he gazed at the man in the white robe standing by the door, Lin Chichi followed the crowd outside, but before she could fully leave the entrance, a sedan came skidding towards her. The black tires screeched sharply against the night-draped ground, leaving long black arched tire marks. Finally, the car came to a steady stop in front of the girl. Yan Yue, with her ponytail, pushed open the car door and rushed out from the sedan. "What, nothing happened?" She appeared before Lin Chichi in a flash, lifted Lin Chichi’s hand to examine it carefully, then placed her hands on Lin Chichi’s shoulders, spinning her around. "I’m fine, Sister Yan Yue, don’t worry about me." Lin Chichi quickly shook her head. Just then, she saw a number of commercial vans stop at the hotel entrance, and armed Transcendents and gendarmes swarmed out, swiftly cordoning off the hotel exit and surrounding the building. Then she lowered her head and whispered, "Is it because of that message from me?" Yan Yue shook her head, "Minister He seemed to have known the situation here very early through certain channels. By the time those automatic communication messages you sent arrived, we were almost ready to set out." "Minister He knew these messages beforehand?" Lin Chichi was slightly stunned. "Yes, we also don’t know how he determined that there was a sect here suspected of malicious use of the name ’K’," Yan Yue shook her head, looking at the splendid hotel building in front of her, "These rats are hiding too well; we haven’t received any information at all." Then she pondered for a moment, "Maybe Minister He encountered them while strolling around? If that’s the case, then these guys are really unlucky." At that moment, Lin Chichi seemed to remember something, she said in a low voice, "Could it be Brother Hao Yi?" If ’Brother Hao Yi’ could introduce her to Minister He, then the relationship between the two of them must be good, and it’s normal for them to communicate. Upon hearing Lin Chichi’s words, Yan Yue first paused, then quickly realized something, "Mr. Hao Yi is here? The B-level Mr. Hao Yi?" Lin Chichi nodded, contemplating, "Brother Hao Yi was just with me at the party." "If Mr. Hao Yi is here, things will be much easier." Yan Yue breathed a sigh of relief. "Why are you stopping me! I am the captain of the gendarmerie here; who are you?" Just then, a drunken voice came from nearby, and a half-bald man in a suit stood in front of several gendarmes setting up a cordon by the car, bellowing loudly, "You idiots, move aside! Let me through!!! Do you think you have the right to stop me? Not just you, but even your leaders, even if God himself came, he’d have to step aside for this boss!" Yan Yue gave Lin Chichi a gentle nod. Then she walked directly behind the drunken man, grasped the back of the man’s neck with one hand and his wrist with the other, and with a ’bang’—pinned the man against the hood of the car with a capture technique. Then she glanced at the nearby gendarie, "Handcuffs." A pair of handcuffs was immediately handed over by one of the gendarie. Yan Yue took the handcuffs, snapped them onto the man’s wrists behind his back, and handed him over to the gendarie beside her. She then took out a walkie-talkie, pressed the communication button, "All units pay attention, seal off all entrances and exits of the hotel, check for any secret passages, and control everyone coming in and out of the hotel. Don’t let any suspicious individuals leave the hotel." "Is he pretending to be drunk?" At this time, Lin Chichi also walked over, looking at the restrained gendarie captain. Yan Yue gave the gendarie captain a glance, "Minister He had instructed to strictly investigate the underground sects that recruit believers in the name of K, any contact must be reported. His career is over." Her gaze swept the surroundings, over those opulently dressed individuals who had already been quickly controlled, "Although the local power leader Sett, who was originally ruling over the Yika Republic, has been dealt with by Minister He, the local forces he left behind are deeply entrenched. If we’re not careful, we can be tripped up by them." "The situation in the entire Western Lands is probably similar?" Lin Chichi nodded gently, she lifted her head, gazing at the magnificent building ahead. More and more Transcendents and gendarmes were arriving, sealing off the entire hotel. "You think, what could Mr. Hao Yi be doing right now?" Yan Yue also lifted her head, following her gaze forward. "Perhaps he is now communicating with those who claim to be ’believers’ of ’Destroyer K’?" Lin Chichi pondered for a moment, speaking softly. "From Central Earth?" Looking at the young man seated on the sofa who had the appearance of someone from Central Earth, the man in the white robe took a deep breath. He could feel that, in the moment he first saw the young man, his heart nearly leapt out of his chest. The other had been sitting there all along, waiting for him, and he had been completely unaware. Even performing clownish behavior right before him. For a split second, he even thought it was that ’special consultant’ from the Research Institute who now oversees the entire World Tree reform, He Ao, who was seated there. He had never truly met the man, but both the fate of Sett and his past deeds bore witness to one who was exceptionally cunning and ruthless. Even with a strong trump card in hand, it was hard to guarantee that he could handle such a cunning foe. Fortunately, he had seen a photo of Minister He Ao. Clearly, the one sitting here was not Minister He Ao. Taking a deep breath and relying on years of experience, he forced his emotions to cool down; his face turning pale, he looked at the young man and asked, "What do you want?" He Ao glanced at the man in the white robe, took out a bottle of chilled sparkling wine from the ice bucket on the table, and slowly opened it. "I recognize you, I remember you were at the party downstairs just now, were you attracted by the flyer?" The man in the white robe glanced at the young man, then at the space behind him. The door to the suite’s bedroom was right behind and to the side of the young man; if he wanted to retrieve the documents from the bedroom, he would have to pass in front of the young man. He looked at the ice bucket on the table. Although the hotel did indeed offer ice buckets and champagne to serve some of the best-tasting wines, he remembered that he did not request this service. "Just bought it downstairs." He Ao seemed to notice his gaze, took out two glasses, poured one for the man, and one for himself. Just when the man in the white robe had gone upstairs, he had casually gone out to buy a bottle of wine, prepared an ice bucket, and then tidied up his clothes before waiting for the man in the white robe in this suite. The man in the white robe warily looked at He Ao, "What exactly do you want to talk about?" He Ao held up his wine glass, took a sip of the wine, and smiled, "You know why I’m here." And in the midst of their conversation, the man in the white robe tried to bypass He Ao and rush directly to the bedroom behind him, only to find that He Ao’s gaze would naturally follow to where he was about to move. The other was a very powerful Transcendent, at least C level, and with a wealth of battle experience. Are there so many monsters in Central Earth? Now he truly regretted printing the flyer in the Central Earth language. Quickly getting his emotions under control, he took a deep breath, sat down in front of He Ao, and asked softly, "Are you here for ’K’?" He Ao looked at the man in front of him and laughed, "It’s only been a few days since K’s traces appeared in the Western Lands, and you’ve already established such a large church organization?" The man in the white robe snorted coldly, "Do you understand ’K’? How do you know that ’K’s traces have only appeared in the world these past few days? I can tell you honestly, the glory of the great ’Destroyer K’ has shone upon us for a long time now." He Ao held his wine glass and gazed at the man before him.