Chapter 97: Chapter 85: Studying for the Rise of Flame Country
However, in order not to alert the assassin Thousand Faces and to find the real mole in the security team.
They only notified Su Qingxian’s bodyguard, Black Tortoise, and Principal Liu that the plan had changed.
Upon hearing the old principal’s orders, Principal Liu, though unsure why the plan was suddenly changed, quietly passed the instruction along.
The time was quickly approaching, and Thousand Faces, hiding in the shadows, furrowed his brow.
According to the feedback from his dispatched pet beast, the auditorium was still empty.
Could there have been some change?
Did the plan change?
Moreover, there wasn’t a single student inside the auditorium.
What exactly is happening?
If Su Qingxian doesn’t come, all my arrangements will be in vain.
Thousand Faces cursed inwardly; he had expended great effort to infiltrate here.
Yet not a single student was present, and the auditorium was completely empty—detonating explosives now would only alert the enemy.
"Forget it, I’ll ask that undercover from Iron Chicken Country what’s going on, why the originally planned things changed suddenly."
Thousand Faces believed that his actions were extremely covert and could not have been exposed.
At that moment, Su Qingxian’s portrait appeared on the projectors in various classrooms.
Her hair was full of silver, yet it was meticulously groomed, and her face was lined with wrinkles, marks left by time.
"Hello everyone, I am Su Qingxian, also the director of the Imperial Capital Research Institute. I have researched many things and mentored numerous students."
"The theme of my speech today is Reading for the Rise of Flame Country."
"The atmosphere in society today is too impetuous, with a theory called the Futility of Reading that has gained support from many."
"But is reading truly useless?"
"Not necessarily."
"Reading helps individuals understand things, shape values, see more landscapes, and gain more knowledge. It is a way to break the information cocoon."
......
Su Qingxian was very articulate, using small examples to highlight the importance of reading.
The students were greatly inspired, their faces flushed with excitement, barely able to contain their enthusiasm.
The topic of Reading for the Rise of Flame Country skyrocketed to the top of trending searches an hour after Su Qingxian’s speech, pushing entertainment searches aside.
Her speech was also turned into a video being promoted across various media.
"Well said, if you don’t read, you won’t even know how to interpret a financial statement, let alone be deceived by your subordinates."
"Su Academician is right, we should put down the phone and pick up the books, reading for the rise of Flame Country."
"Yes, it’s been a long time since I’ve touched a book, and I’ve forgotten much of what I knew."
Many lowered their heads in shame after hearing Su Qingxian’s words.
The problem isn’t the futility of reading, but rather that we don’t read enough.
After seeing Su Qingxian’s live broadcast, Thousand Faces immediately realized he had been played.
The schedule disclosed by the Pet Beast Union was wrong, the purpose was to divert others’ attention and ensure Academician Su Qingxian’s safety.
"Damn it!!!"
Thousand Faces punched the wall heavily.
"No way, if I miss this opportunity, once Su Qingxian returns to the Imperial Capital, the security level will be enhanced more than tenfold."
"It will become even harder to get close to them then."
"And this time, my targets for assassination were not only Su Qingxian but also Zhang Lingxue."
"The founder of the Hundred-Change Silkworm school—if she doesn’t die, we cannot be at ease!"
"Technology knows no borders because they all belong to the Beautiful Country Alliance, and your development of those high-end technologies with national boundaries makes us uneasy."
Thousand Faces uttered hoarsely, mumbling to himself.
The security team.
It was finally time for everyone to have lunch.
This time, everyone was given thick boxes of pizza.
These pizzas came in flavors like Orleans Roast Chicken, Cheese Tomato, and Sunny Fruit.
And each pizza was covered with a thick layer of tomato sauce.
The air was filled with a rich aroma, and Black Tortoise was secretly observing everyone’s expressions.
He needed to find the mole hidden within the security team to prevent Su Academician’s health condition from being leaked.
After all, the fact that Su Academician had a heart condition was known only by a few and the security team members.
Yet, the person with the Future Prediction talent leaked many details via email.
From these details it could be deduced that there was certainly an undercover from another country within the security team.
This kind of mole needed to be identified quickly to prevent larger consequences.
When he saw one person’s brow furrow deeply, his heart skipped a beat.
He recognized the man as Assistant Team Leader Wu Lao Qi from the security team, who had benefited from Su Qingxian early in his career and became a member of the team very early on.
Black Tortoise had considered many people, but Wu Lao Qi was the last person he suspected to be an undercover from Iron Chicken Country.
Those foreign people were really clever; the ones you least suspected were often the undercover agents.
One could only say that foreign intelligence operations were craftily cunning, setting up spies from an early time to gather intelligence.
Wu Lao Qi looked at the pizza covered entirely in tomato sauce, feeling a slight discomfort in his stomach.
He was born in Iron Chicken Country, trained from a young age by intelligence personnel there in various methods of espionage, groomed as a spy, and successfully infiltrated Su Qingxian’s security team.
The intelligence about Su Qingxian’s heart condition was transmitted by him.
Wu Lao Qi had gone through extensive training, but one thing he couldn’t tolerate was seeing pizza slathered in tomato sauce.
He is a staunch supporter of authentic pizza, believing that pizza is pizza, and adding tomato sauce is an insult to it.
Wu Lao Qi resisted his discomfort, intending to turn around and leave, when a large hand landed on his shoulder.
"Old Wu, don’t you usually love pizza?"
"Have a piece, or you’ll be disrespecting me."
Wu Lao Qi lowered his head, eyes flickering with a fierce light, yet his mouth was full of smiles.
He forced himself to eat it and then pretended to leave innocently, avoiding attracting notice from the Black Tortoise.
Black Tortoise has a strong detection ability, and he would certainly detect something wrong through Wu’s expression.
But staring at the pizza smeared with red tomato sauce, Wu Lao Qi’s stomach began to ache more and more. This was a physiological discomfort, a profanation of his beliefs.
yue.
He vomited on the spot.
"Sorry, it seems I’ve eaten something bad."
"I need to find a restroom."
Wu Lao Qi wanted to turn and leave right there, but suddenly, Black Tortoise blocked his path.
"Haha, let me take you." Black Tortoise laughed happily.
Suddenly, Wu Lao Qi felt a weight on his wrist with a click sound.
When he reached out, he found a massive silver bracelet clasped around his wrist.
His Pet Beast Space was blocked by the silver bracelet.
This is a tool used exclusively for capturing criminals, capable of blocking the connection between Pet Beast Master and Pet Beast Space, forbidding the Pet Beast Master from summoning pets.
"Black Tortoise, what do you intend to do?"
Wu Lao Qi reprimanded loudly, his brows furrowed into a Sichuan shape.
At this moment, Black Tortoise made a gesture for encirclement.
The security members nearby began to subtly surround him.
"Wu Lao Qi, undercover of Iron Chicken Country, your identity has been exposed."
Wu Lao Qi was shocked, wondering where he had slipped up, having lived incognito for so many years.
As his gaze landed on the pizza smothered in tomato sauce, he suddenly understood.
"Haha, I didn’t imagine that my years of undercover work would be undone by a small amount of tomato sauce."
"What a blunder, what a blunder indeed."
"Since I’ve been exposed, I won’t hold back."
Wu Lao Qi changed from his typical taciturn demeanor, combing his hair into a slick back.
"Take action, Nine Poisonous Giant Scorpion."
But just then, the ground trembled and split into a huge hole.
A shiny black giant scorpion appeared.
Its eyes were shiny black with a pair of huge pincers; its back was covered in sharp barbs, and its tail was as sharp as a blade.
Upon its appearance, black poisonous fog began emanating from its body.
The poisonous fog spread around, and with a clang, the silver bracelet was struck by the giant scorpion’s tail, splitting directly in two and falling to the ground.
"My undercover mission has failed."
"But Su Qingxian will certainly die today!"
"Go, Nine Poisonous Giant Scorpion."
"Charge into the research institute, kill Su Qingxian and Zhang Lingxue!"
"I won’t be exposed for nothing."
Wu Lao Qi shouted loudly.
The giant scorpion, the size of a small calf, dashed directly toward the research institute.
It rammed into the iron gate of the research institute.
The iron gate warped and detached under brute force.
Alarm sounds blared.
Ye Bai and others were alerted.
Zhang Lingxue, through monitoring, spotted a massive shiny black scorpion breaking into the laboratory entrance, and the outside security team swiftly mobilized.
Ye Bai secretly pulled out a Beast Card and released the Blood Poison Moth, remembering it could absorb the toxins of the Nine Poisonous Giant Scorpion.
The Nine Poisonous Giant Scorpion charged directly into the research institute’s courtyard, where many precious herbs were planted.
"Haha, my Nine Poisonous Giant Scorpion is a Tier Five Pet Beast."
"Its poison is irremediable, just watch Su Qingxian be killed by me." Wu Lao Qi laughed maniacally.
However, the scorpion hadn’t yet rushed into the institute when several pet beasts emitting blood-red mist emerged from within.
These were pet beasts nobody had seen before, their wings blood red, with huge compound eyes, sporting skull patterns on their wings.
The originally aggressive Nine Poisonous Giant Scorpion seemed to encounter its mortal enemy and directly charged at these Blood Poison Moths.
"Damn it, what kind of pet beast is this? Could it be another of Zhang Lingxue’s research projects?"
Wu Lao Qi thought Zhang Lingxue’s research talent was terrifying.
At this moment, a massive Dragon Turtle appeared.
A golden light emanated from its body, akin to a Golden Bell Shield.
The scorpion tail of the Nine Poisonous Giant Scorpion stabbed fiercely upward but emitted a clang.
It retreated several steps, its enormous eyes fixed upon the fierce Dragon Turtle.