Volume 4, Chapter 39 – The Deal

“Welcome, welcome~”

As the metal door of the docking corridor opened, a blonde woman in an open white lab coat stood there, greeting her guests with a tone that was half lazy, half teasing.

“Honored guests from the so-called ‘Illusory Realms,’ what would you like to drink first? Soda? Or coffee?”

“Water is fine.” Seat-holder Liu stared at the woman for a long moment before squeezing the words out between his teeth.

Behind him, quite a few disciples unconsciously frowned. They could not sense any powerful Qi presence from this blonde woman, so as a “weakling,” she should not be speaking to Seat-holder Liu in that tone. In their eyes, that was overstepping.

The pretty young girl beside Seat-holder Liu, however, glanced down at his feet.

She had noticed that where he set his foot down was not quite right. A step that should have flowed naturally forward had suddenly halted halfway, as if he had come up against something he did not want to approach. Then he forced himself to pull it back half a step.

Something he did not want to get close to… was it this person?

Following that line of sight forward, she saw the blonde woman who had stepped closer to them and was already speaking with Seat-holder Liu about the next steps.

The pretty young girl understood a bit of foreign language. She looked at the name tag on the woman’s chest and could vaguely pick out something like “Senior Researcher – Aldai.”

Because one party was acting rather cold, the surface-level exchange between “Aldai” and Seat-holder Liu ended quickly. Before long, the group formally entered the interior of the space station and, at Seat-holder Liu’s instruction, accepted the arrangements and were each assigned a room to rest in.

“Ling’er.” Seat-holder Liu suddenly called out to the pretty young girl. “Come with me.”

The others all looked as if they were used to this. They all knew that their master had always favored this senior martial sister. Most likely he was going to discuss something with her in private again, or perhaps take her along to meet with the other side’s higher-ups.

Seeing this, Han Mengling had no time to go back to her room. She slung her sword on her back and followed her master. Before long, they rode a moving walkway into the deepest part of this so-called “G-30K” space station, entering a cabin that looked like it was meant for meetings.

On the left side of the cabin was a vast expanse of viewing glass that looked directly out into the silent depths of cosmic space. In the middle was a set of broad metal steps, and below them a row of integrated bench seats. Directly in front stood a podium.

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“You’re late.”

A figure was standing with her back to them beneath the viewing glass. Han Mengling did not even realize she was there until she heard her voice.

It was none other than the senior researcher who had met them at the docking point earlier: Dr. Aldai.

So that was the sort of suffix they used here?

Han Mengling thought with a trace of mockery.

After more than a thousand years, the main world had picked up a lot of new rules. Take this space station, for example; they had actually mastered ways of entering deep space through technology.

If nothing was off, this Dr. Aldai should be the Blood-Soul Heaven agent in charge of this base. The fact that her master did not want much contact with her meant she was very likely already possessed by a body-devouring demon. They were probably here to discuss the next stage of cooperation.

Bringing me along for something like this… Han Mengling could not help but grow wary. Either this was a sign of absolute trust from her master, or Seat-holder Liu disliked her and was looking for an excuse to make her disappear.

Thinking it over and deciding she had not done anything lately to offend him, Han Mengling felt it was unlikely to be the latter.

She dropped the lively demeanor she had shown on the ship and simply followed quietly behind Seat-holder Liu, watching him and Aldai interact.

“Blood-Soul Heaven’s plans in the main world aren’t going smoothly, are they.”

In private, Seat-holder Liu’s first sentence made Aldai’s expression change.

Seat-holder Liu only smiled. He crossed the distance to stand beneath the viewing glass as well, reached out to stroke it, and sighed in amazement. “The main world humans’ technological arts have developed very quickly. They can actually manufacture materials like this without relying on cultivation.”

“But with things like this alone, even if you occupy all the lands beyond the people of Yu, what effect can you really have on the overall situation?”

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Aldai drew a deep breath and said coldly, “Going straight for the sore spot to start… that’s not much of a tone for seeking cooperation.”

“We need to be clear on supply and demand.” Seat-holder Liu shook his head. “I’m not the one impatient to cooperate with you. You’re the ones impatient to work with me.”

“What makes you think this is cooperation, and not simply a one-off trade?” Aldai frowned. “You seem to be a bit unclear on your own position, Liu Ang.”

There really was a difference in status between the two of them, but not in the way Seat-holder Liu’s disciples imagined, where she was beneath him.

However you looked at it, Aldai was the person in charge of a segment of Blood-Soul Heaven’s descent plan. Just the forces she could mobilize under her command were nothing a leisurely seat-holder from Tianfu Mountain could compare to. She certainly had every right to look down on him.

Faced with her skepticism, Seat-holder Liu did not respond aloud. But Han Mengling, who had been watching from the side, saw Aldai’s expression change dramatically.

Lip-reading?

What did Master just say to her?

“…You’re actually in contact with them?” Aldai was clearly stunned. Her eyes went wide as she stared at Seat-holder Liu like she was seeing him for the first time. “You really are… really impossible to figure out, Seat-holder~”

“Zhang Dai’s obsession with forging sacred armaments has driven him into a devil’s path. In that situation, he still insists on plunging into the worldly tribulation. Tianfu Mountain is no longer a shelter for us humans.” Seat-holder Liu’s tone toward her was flat. “Naturally, we have to find ourselves a way out, or would you have us sit and wait for death.”

“Even so, not everyone has the nerve to pick this kind of way out.” Aldai’s tone still carried admiration. It was several seconds before she reined her feelings back in.

“All right. I acknowledge you.”

“Even without this particular deal, you’d still be worthy of being our guest here.”

They discussed a few more things after that. The main focus was Cui Yuanhao’s routed retreat and “Immortal Venerable Shenming” obtaining the Tianxuan Sword.

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“Cui Yuanhao left without a word?” Aldai frowned. “Then he really must have taken a heavy loss.”

“And Li Huiran seems to have had some contact with her as well,” Seat-holder Liu added. “At this rate, things will blow up in about a month.”

“You seem to know some things you shouldn’t.” Aldai fixed her gaze on him. “…We don’t particularly care about the exact timing.”

“Is that so?” Seat-holder Liu turned to look out at the view. “What I heard was that whenever the tribulation starts, the Sea of Blood has to be handed over to the Sacred Court.”

“You’re using that as a bargaining chip to trade for their inaction on certain matters. Did I say anything that was wrong?”

“Seat-holder Liu, your information gathering seems a bit too broad…” Aldai narrowed her eyes.

“Can’t be helped.” Seat-holder Liu shook his head. “I wasn’t born into a great clan, and I don’t have any sages or exalted ones above me. All I can do is pry for intel and then rely on that to survive at critical moments.”

“But some information requires a certain level of cultivation as a threshold, even if you do find it out.” Aldai looked him up and down. “I admire your courage and resolve, Seat-holder Liu, but let me give you a piece of advice. Some things are better left alone.”

When the meeting ended, Seat-holder Liu quickly left with his disciple Han Mengling.

Aldai stared after them for a long moment before finally lifting a hand to tap her earpiece.

“…Put people on them.”

“There are things even I can only guess at. There’s no way he has only contacted the outer organizations.”

“And double the efficiency of all transport runs.”

“Hurry.”

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“I’m only giving you half a month.”

Only after handling these orders did she allow herself a small breath of relief.

She glanced at her reflection in the glass, paying particular attention to the fine lines at the corners of her eyes.

The human body truly had many mysteries, but this sense of fatigue came far too quickly.

If she kept this pace up, it wouldn’t be long before she had to change bodies.

She shook her head, pushing the thoughts aside. Leaving the room, she followed a corridor into an elevator that pierced the barrier of deep space and entered an attached sub-station. There, she swiped an ID card to open a metal door marked with a ghastly white biohazard symbol.

There were many such doors. When she finally reached the inner ring, she immediately heard a shrill scream. It sounded like it was coming from a young girl.

“Doctor!” An urgent report came through her earpiece. “Subject B035 is undergoing gene collapse again. Is… is the injection schedule too frequent?”

“It’s not too frequent. It’s too infrequent.”

Aldai’s voice was icy.

“Keep playing that man’s dying screams for her.”

“Doesn’t she want revenge?”

“Then she can prove it to me.”