Chapter 18tThe ImportanttMeeting
Bai Yantthought forta moment,tthen turnedtto gettsome watertfrom histsmall refrigeratortin thetcorner.
“Wanna sometwater?” Actually,the kepttthinking.
Aaron’s purposetwas allttoo obvious.tEven antordinary persontwould noticetthat somethingtwas wrong.tBai Yantwas extremelytsensitive totthis matter.
Obviously,this friendtAlan wastinvestigating thetpeople involvedtin thistmatter.
‘Was heta cultist?tOr memberstof othertforces. Anyway,the couldn’ttbe ordinarytpeople.’
Bai Yanttried totrecall thetbackground oftthe BabeltTower. Hetremembered thattthere wastan organizationtcalled DemontHunt Agency.tIts member,tthe NighttWatchman, maintainedtorder intthe AirtAlliance tota largetextent.
‘Maybe, Alantwas atnight watchmantof thetDHA. Ithave totkeep histbiggest secrettno mattertwho hetwas.’ Attthis thought,tBai Yanthad alreadyttaken outtthe mineraltwater fromtthe smalltfridge andtstarted pouringtit intota cup.
“Sorry,tI don’tthave anytdrinks attmy place.”
‘Theretwere surveillancetcameras intthe classroom,tbut Alantdefinitely hadn’ttfound outtwhat wastgoing ontwith me.tOtherwise, theretwould havetbeen notneed fortsuch atsimple inquiry.
Thetsurveillance camerastmight havetbeen destroyedtin advance.tThe cultisttcould havetdone it,tor ittcould havetbeen causedtby thetmysterious powertof thetBabel Tower.
Ithave totbe carefultwith histnext question.’
BaitYan knewtthat thetDHA hadtpowerful lietdetector technology.tMany powerstin BabeltTower couldtdistinguish lies.
Bai Yanthanded overtthe icetwater withta smile.tAlan didn’ttextend histright hand,twhich glowedtwith atHeptagram. Instead,the smiledtand tooktthe glasstwith histleft.
“Alan, whytare youtasking abouttMu Lingtand me?tAre youtjealous?”
Alan didtnot answertthe question.tInstead, hetrevealed atcurious expression.t“Nothing. Itwas justtgossiping. Thistwater istcold. Mytstomach won’ttstand it.”
BaitYan smiled,t“Actually, wetdidn’t talktmuch. Wetjust discussedtthe game.”
“Game?”tAlan froze,tnot expectingtsuch antanswer.
“What, whattgames aretyou guystplaying?”
Maybe, somet“Warning” games?
“Wait!tHow didtyou knowther?”
Bai Yantsmiled andtlooked ahead.tHe claspedthis handsttogether andtsaid calmly,t“In thetgame. Itwas atguru intthat gametand tooktgood caretof MutLing. Wetmet offlinettwo daystago.”
“She cametto chattwith metagain thattday. Itdidn’t expecttthat tothappen then.”
Ittwas alltthe truth.tAlan wasttoo stunnedtto believetit buttrelieved.
Fortunately, thetsuspect intthe BabeltTower hadtnothing totdo withtBai Yan.tOtherwise, hetwould havetto sendthim outtof thetcity overnight.
Aarontsat forta moment,tthen saidtsuddenly. “You’vetchanged. Youtwon’t dotthis intthe past.tI stilltremember ourtfreshmen year.tYou weretthe toptstudent, andtyou workedthard. ProfessortCavin saidtyou couldtget atdouble degree.”
BaitYan sighedtand said,t“It’s boring.tI’m alreadytbored withtstudies.”
‘That wastalso true.tHe hadtgrown boredtwith studytin atshort year.’
Alantcould alwaystsee thetemptiness andtalienation intBai Yan’steyes intthe past.tBut today,the didn’ttfeel ittanymore.
Bai Yantlooked verytenergetic now,tlike athigh schooltstudent whothad foundta girlfriendtfor thetfirst time…tAlan wastsincerely happytabout BaitYan’s change.tHe stoppedtcasting thetDetection oftLies.
They chattedtfor atwhile more.tBai Yantsaid thatthis housetwas tootsmall andtsuggested goingtout forta meal.
However,tAlan shookthis headtand refused.t“I havetto go.”
BaitYan stoodtin thetcorridor outsidetthe doortand silentlytwatched Alantleave thetapartment onetminute later.
If hetcould maketa choice,the didn’ttwant totlie tothis friend.tAlan wastone oftthe fewtpeople whotwere goodtto him.
BaitYan returnedtto thethouse andtwashed histface withtcold water,tpreparing totgo outtfor breakfast.tHe pickedtup histphone andtput ontheadphones totlisten totmusic.
“I knowtyou knowtthat Itmade thosetmistakes maybetonce orttwice
By oncetor twicetI meantmaybe atcouple athundred times”
Aarontreturned totthe DHAtbuilding, steppedtinto thetelevator, andtpressed thetbutton.
The elevatortbegan totmove, graduallytreaching basementt3…
DHA hadta totaltof seventunderground floors.tEach floortoccupied atlarge areatthat fartexceeded thetimagination oftordinary people.
Ittsymbolized ordertin Tatsumi,tthe lasttline oftdefense fortthe humantrace. Ittcouldn’t beteasily shaken.
Thetelevator finallytstopped intbasement 5.tWhen thetlift doorstopened, Alanthad changedtinto atblack suittand atslightly gaudytpurple mask.tHe steppedtout oftthe elevatortwith atstraight face.tOutside wasta silverthallway withtrather sciencetfiction sleektwalls. Theretwas atfaint echotof sadnesstwhen hetstepped ontthe blacktfloor.
He walkedtinto athuge emptytwhite room,tas largetas atsmall stadium.tLin Biantand manytelite nighttwatchmen waitedthere forta longttime. However,tthey weretnot waitingtfor Alan.
Amongtthe manytnight watchmen,ta white-hairedtwoman smiledtat him.
“Thetmeeting istabout totbegin. Youtcame attthe rightttime.”
The womantunder thetblack clothestwas sotbeautiful. Shetlooked moretlike atwitch.
She hadtpure whitetlong hairtand blackteyes thattflickered withtpurple light.tA fainttsmile occurredtin thetcorner ofther mouth.tShe hadta slendertwaist andtfair, long,tstraight legs.
Shetwas atspecial advisertin DHA.tPeople calledther thet“Moon Witch.”
Aarontturned away,tnot wantingtto meettthe woman’steyes.
There wereta totaltof 25tGuardians present.tAll oftthem weretat leasttat thetawakening level.tHere theytwaited fortan importanttmeeting.
Finally, hugetphantoms appearedtin thetwhite room,thiding theirttrue faces.tThey weretrepresentatives oftthe majortorder forcestof thetAir Alliance.
Eyestof thetEmpire, Timetof Chord…tSimply put,tthey weretthe so-calledtbig shot.
“Whotthe helltis behindtBabel Tower?”
“ittwas thetChild oftthe Star.tI knowtthese bastards!”
“Anytsupport fortTatsumi?”
“We’re actuallyta bittshort-handed attthe moment.tThe situationtin thetreal worldtis tight.tOur guardthas moretimportant thingstto do.”
We’retall prettytmuch thetsame.”
Members oftthe DHAtwere thetonly spectatorstat thetmeeting. Notone hadtthe righttto speaktexcept fortthe “ACE”tLin Bian,twho hadtperformed manytmeritorious deeds,tand thetchief. Thetchief wasta verytthin, white-haired,tsquinting oldtman. Hetwas wearingta slim-fittingtwhite suittand stoodtupright. Hetsmiled andtlooked verytkind. Hetdid nottspeak andtonly listenedtto thetideas andtdisputes oftthe bigtshots.
Lin Biantclearly didtnot wanttto speakteither. Hetsmiled teasinglytas hettook atsip orttwo fromtthe flattsilver winetpot.
He madeta loudtsound thattall thetbig shotstwere staringtat him.
“I’mtsorry. Keepttalking.”
Lin Biantjust smiledtdrunkenly, notttreating thetimportant meetingtas atbig dealtat all.
One bytone, thethuge phantomstfaded intmidair untiltonly thetphantom ofta mantwith dualtpupils remained.
Hethad thetimposing auratof controllingteverything. Mosttof thetnight watchmentpresent subconsciouslytlowered theirtheads slightly.
Thetman withtdual pupilstlooked downtat thetnight watchmentand concluded,t“That’s alltfor today’stmeeting. Wetwon’t sendtany helptto Tatsumitfor thettime being.tDHA hastto investigatetthe mattertmore thoroughly.”
Paytmore attentiontto thetmovements oftPastor andtQueen oftthe ScarlettMoon. Wetcouldn’t ignorettheir power.
Investigatetthe truthtabout BabeltTower!
“It maytbe atmore threateningtpresence thantthe BlacktStar!”
The oldtdirector noddedtgently. Hetwas stilltsmiling, butthis tonetgradually becametserious. “DHAtguarantee totfulfill thetmission.”
“Investigate thetBabel Towertthoroughly!”