I Don't Agree to the Terms

Chapter 944 498: Agree or Disagree? (Part 2)

"It's truly not worth it for our warriors to die over a trivial clue."

Dong Luo said with a feigned sigh, still unwilling to relent.

These words were akin to a hint, and Liu Ze beside him seemed lost in thought as well.

'They're here; they've definitely figured things out and are intentionally probing me.' Qin Ji's heart sank, these two old codgers are truly detestable.

"There's some truth in what you said; to have built such a large base in the wilderness, it's no small force. Perhaps even our bureau has been infiltrated, or even high-ranking personnel have been subverted. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been concealed for so long."

"Now that I think about it, maybe it would be better to flatten it with the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cannon."

Liu Ze's tone seemed as if he'd suddenly realized something, but it was a veiled implication that Qin Ji was problematic.

"Since Director Dong and Director Liu have no objections, I'll cast my vote in favor as well." At this point, Qin Ji could only begrudgingly comply, heart aching over the large Annihilation Energy Array slipping from his grasp, yet at this moment, sacrificing it for the sake of survival became unavoidable.

What's more important than one's own life?

"Alright, since all three have passed the resolution, I'll go ahead and initiate the process." Dong Luo smiled.

Then swiftly arranged for the paperwork to be printed, everyone signed, granted authorization; the entire process flowed smoothly with no intentional delays from Qin Ji.

After completing the procedure, Dong Luo picked up the internal communicator and began, "The coordinate location is at..."

Just as he was about to finish speaking, there was a rapid knocking at the conference room door.

"Director, it's urgent, there's an urgent matter, highest priority."

Dong Luo paused his words about the location, placed down the communicator, exchanged glances with the other two, then said, "Come in."

An archival staff member entered, drenched in sweat, evidently anxious.

"Directors, we just found some issues in the confidential issuance order you filed." The staff member spoke up.

"What issue?" Dong Luo continued to inquire.

"Well... it's not actually the base of anti-player forces, but a large yardang landform, commonly known as a ghost town, earlier a special ops team passed through, coordinates were similar." The staff member explained, slightly embarrassed.

"Then why is this file duplicated?" Liu Ze also asked.

"It's been too long, plus the permissions weren't enough for a full comparison, as you know, the priority of anti-player forces is lower than that of confidential issuance orders." The staff member explained.

"Ah, a false alarm then; since it's not the base of anti-player forces, let's invalidate this issuance order." Dong Luo followed the lead smoothly.

The staff member, seeing this, opened the issuance order and related files for the three to review, then fed them into the shredder.

Dong Luo picked up the communicator again: "You heard the earlier conversation, action canceled."

"Yes, Director." The communicator replied, then the call ended, followed by a busy tone.

Qin Ji was baffled, what on earth is happening?

Could it truly be a large yardang landform, just resembling his base on satellite imagery since satellite quality isn't very good at revealing the full picture?

"Well, this really disrupted my field work, next time you'll have to make it up to me." Qin Ji said with a smile.

"My mistake, my mistake, next time we'll host a feast, ensuring Mr. Qin is satisfied, your fieldwork can't be delayed, better set off soon." Dong Luo responded politely, suggesting he ought to leave.

"Alright, I certainly won't be polite then." After saying this, Qin Ji got up and left.

Although the procedure wasn't complete, it didn't matter if Qin Ji wasn't part of it, he didn't worry about them initiating the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cannon after he'd left as the remaining procedure documentation would explain why it was initiated then canceled.

After all, it's the Player Management Bureau's trump card, every procedure and formality must be crystal clear.

This process took more effort than the initiation itself, dragging on for over an hour before Dong Luo and Liu Ze completed it.

"Didn't manage to trick him out, what a pity." Dong Luo said with a hint of regret.

"It's certainly not easy to trick him with a non-existent fake location." Liu Ze acknowledged it wasn't likely to succeed, merely participating in the act.

The special ops team had returned earlier, they read the report; it indeed was a yardang landform, not some base, just unusually clustered.

Compared to satellite imagery, they naturally trusted their confidantes more.

"The probe into Qin Ji will pause for now; the civilization stabilizer is nearing completion, several anti-player forces have caught wind and are eager to move."

"We must respond swiftly."

Dong Luo wasn't overly disappointed, failing to catch Qin Ji's lie wasn't the end, their civilization stabilizer lured out quite a few fish; ultimately, not only would they accomplish their mission, making everyone dragons, they would also purge the rising anti-player forces.

"Alright, but we also can't let Qin Ji off the hook; not involving him in such a significant matter is unreasonable." Liu Ze hesitated a bit before speaking.

"Assign him the most vital work; without him holding the fort at the bureau, wouldn't the bureau lack stability, if all mobilized, allowing anti-player forces to seize the chance, could spell trouble." Dong Luo stated calmly.

Essentially letting him warm the bench, which he was accustomed to anyways.

As for the Player Management Bureau? If the anti-player forces could breach it, they wouldn't fearlessly conceal themselves so far.

"Alright." Liu Ze naturally had no objections; the two quickly reached a consensus, dividing the merits of the civilization stabilizer.

Qin Ji naturally contributed; however, the so-called merit might merely count as effort, a small note on the ledger compared to the vast difference between them.

...

'Damn it, what are these two up to.'

On the plane, Qin Ji's expression was somber, finding it hard to believe such a coincidence; he suspected their ploy to probe him.

'Once I acquire the large Annihilation Energy Array, I must obliterate the entire base.'

'But is this truly the case?'

Qin Ji wasn't sure if he was exposed, yet at this moment still had a chance; for the large Annihilation Energy Array, he braced himself to take the risk.

Without the threat of the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cannon, he doubted they could act against him.

However, before proceeding, he had to contact the base about the situation; if Dong and Liu had controlled it, he'd be walking right into a trap.

Today's events reeked of something peculiar.

He quickly opened the encrypted communication channel, contacting Zhu Qi directly.

"Director!" Zhu Qi answered promptly, the two engaging in a video chat.

"What's the situation at the base?" Qin Ji meant whether Zhu Qi and the base were under control.

"Situation is alright, though the cleaning staff are causing a fuss, unwilling to stay here." Zhu Qi didn't directly answer they weren't controlled, replying with agreed safe phrases, indicating nothing was amiss.

"No problem, give them a raise, improve their treatment." Qin Ji asked, was there any other unusual activity?

"We already offer the highest salary in the industry, further increasing would be inappropriate." Zhu Qi replied, meaning everything was fine.

"Okay, I'll arrive in an hour." Relieved, Qin Ji ended the call, then remotely activated the base's monitoring equipment.

He trusted Zhu Qi, but his life was even more precious.