Chapter 414 - The Void Realm

Underground base, meeting hall.Ji Burlen lay on the table, as if taking a short nap, when suddenly, in a swoosh, he lifted his head and opened his eyes, filled with red veins, to look around.

Seeing many people standing around looking at him with odd expressions, Ji Burlen realized something.

Had he accidentally fallen asleep during the meeting due to extreme exhaustion?

"Hm—"

Ji Burlen rubbed his temples and shook his dizzy head, looking at the people around him with a hoarse voice, he asked, "How long did I sleep?"

"Uh, about half a minute," someone answered.

"Half a minute, okay, sorry for the delay, it’s my fault."

"No, no, Steward Ji Burlen, you’re just too tired. Why don’t you take a rest first?" someone suggested.

Ji Burlen waved his hand dismissively, "I’m fine, now is not the time to rest; there are so many matters left unhandled. After this mission is done, there will be time for a proper rest. Right, where were we in our discussion just now?"

Seeing Ji Burlen so serious, the others didn’t dare say much and hurriedly replied, "Steward Ji Burlen, we were just discussing the matter regarding the personnel needed for the White Stone Tower operation."

"What’s the issue?"

"We don’t have enough people. As it stands, with the people we’ve gathered, destroying the entire White Stone Tower will be quite difficult; we predict... the numbers would need to double at least," said a tall, thin person as he stepped forward.

"Is that so..." Ji Burlen glanced at the speaker and began to ponder. He only had to think slightly to feel a severe headache, but still spoke out, "In that case, what about transferring the people from Black Rock Valley over here? Their tasks should be nearly complete, they could be moved here to support us."

"This..."

"Vasily, you came from Black Rock Valley, didn’t you? You know the situation there best, tell us what you think," Ji Burlen called upon him.

"Yes." Vasily, a man of shorter stature, stepped forward, feeling a bit uneasy as he touched the iron ring on his ear. He began, "Steward Ji Burlen, I think your suggestion doesn’t have much of an issue in broad strokes. The people over there have indeed almost completed their tasks."

"That’s good then, we’ll settle on this. After the meeting, we’ll send a message there," Ji Burlen quickly made a decision.

"However, Steward Ji Burlen, even if we transfer people from Black Rock Valley, it probably still won’t be enough; we need even more people," Vasily said.

"Then..." Ji Burlen started to think again, enduring the almost explosive pain in his head, he spoke, "Then let’s transfer people from Red Castle here. They have more time for their tasks and could come to support us for a while. After dealing with the matter at White Stone Tower, they can proceed with their own assignments. Right, I remember the members from Red Castle are quite capable, like Bill, Tokchi, Nani..."

As he spoke, Ji Burlen suddenly stopped, tilted his head slightly, and furrowed his brow gradually into a knot, feeling a strange and absurd sensation in his heart. Looking up at the people around him, everything appeared to be so unreal, so... illusory.

"This..." Ji Burlen’s forehead ultimately scrunched into a "川" shape as he asked the people around him, "Tell me, the things I just said, the matters we discussed—haven’t we gone over them before?"

"Uh, Steward Ji Burlen, this..." Suddenly the expressions of those around him became incredibly lively, stammering without knowing what to say.

Ji Burlen became angry and shouted loudly, "What is going on, tell me!"

The bodies of the people around shook involuntarily as they hesitated, looking at Ji Burlen and slowly spoke, "Steward Ji Burlen, actually we..."

Before they could finish speaking, their bodies began to twist and then dissolved away like blue smoke.

Ji Burlen’s eyebrows shot up sharply, his gaze turning keen as he was about to take action. The next moment, the meeting hall’s door banged open, and he quickly turned to look.

"Bang!"

The door to the meeting hall was thrown open, and a blindingly intense white light burst in, causing Ji Burlen’s pupils to constrict involuntarily as he couldn’t help but raise a hand to shield his eyes.

Then, through the bright light, Ji Burlen saw a figure—an imposing figure.

The person was clad in an extremely lavish Golden Robe, wearing a sparkling Ring on their hand.

This is!

As the bright light faded, the figure approached Ji Burlen.

Ji Burlen "whooshed" to his feet from his seat, looking toward the arrival and exclaimed in surprise, "Supervisor Long Mei’er, it’s you!"

"Yes, it’s me." The newcomer said, lightly patting Ji Burlen’s shoulder, "Steward Ji Burlen, you’d better sit down first. Let’s talk calmly."

"I..." Ji Burlen sat down with a complex expression, remaining silent for a while before looking up at Long Mei’er and asked, "Supervisor, have I failed?"

"Steward Ji Burlen, you should be aware that I’ve always thought highly of you, and you have never disappointed me. You’ve always been serious and desperate in your efforts, I have seen all that."

"Supervisor, did I really fail?" Ji Burlen’s eyes widened, his breathing became hurried, realizing a certain possibility, "Then, everything here is now..."

"No matter what, you believe you did your best, so I won’t blame you, and the organization won’t punish you..."

Listening to Long Mei’er’s words, Ji Burlen’s facial expression gradually settled. Long Mei’er’s words, although not directly answering his question, seemed to avoid the matter entirely, but exactly that gave him the answer he was looking for.

"Whew—"

Ji Burlen took a deep breath, trying to calm down, and looked at Long Mei’er with a wry smile and asked, "Supervisor Long Mei’er, please tell me, how did I fail and... how did I die?"

"As for the specifics, I am not clear." Long Mei’er looked at Ji Burlen, exhaled softly and answered seriously, "For now, we only know that you and all your subordinates lost contact at almost the same time, with no signs of life. If I’m not mistaken, you and your men must have perished in a premeditated attack, none spared."

"None spared?"

"None spared."

"I see, none spared." Ji Burlen closed his eyes in pain and after a long while, opened them, "Then, how does the organization plan to deal with me?"

"As I said, I believe you gave it your all, this failure was merely an accident. Therefore, the organization won’t deal with you, but considering there is no suitable body container for you and your men, you and your subordinates may need to rest for a considerable time. As for the tasks that you and your men were responsible for, we will deploy manpower from other regions to make up for it."

"Is that so, how long must I rest?"

"Until the next major operation, I suppose."

"The next major operation?" Ji Burlen sighed out loud, "That will be a very, very long time, and I really don’t know if I’ll have another chance."

"You will. The reason I am here is to tell you to be patient, rest well, and don’t overthink things. Yes, truly, don’t overthink things."

After saying that, Long Mei’er patted Ji Burlen’s shoulder and turned to leave.

At that moment, Ji Burlen called out, stopping Long Mei’er, "Supervisor, may I ask one last question?"

"What is it?"

"Since my task has failed, then... how should we deal with White Stone Tower?"

"You should know that White Stone Tower must be taken. This is not just about White Stone Tower itself, but it is also about the situation on the entire East Coast. We’ve been setting up this play for so long, expended so much effort, we absolutely cannot come up short now.

Since the attempt on White Stone Tower has failed, there’s no time for slow remedies anymore, we must resort to drastic measures. Therefore... I will personally handle it."

"Supervisor, you’re going to take matters into your own hands?!" Ji Burlen gasped, "Won’t this breach some limits?"

"It doesn’t matter anymore, the circumstances are exceptional, a few limits broken, so be it," said Long Mei’er, and then with a change of tone, "Actually, even after the breach, most people who realize something is wrong will not comprehend what it is, and those who do realize will mostly end up dead. Don’t worry about it."

"Alright." Ji Burlen said, with nothing more he could say.

Long Mei’er continued walking toward the door and, just as he was about to leave, he waved his hand and said, "Rest well, until we meet again."

"Until we meet again." Ji Burlen responded.

"Bang!"

The door to the hall slammed shut, and Long Mei’er vanished from sight.

The next moment, starting with the hall’s door, the entire space began to shatter bit by bit, creeping towards Ji Burlen.

Looking at this scene, Ji Burlen appeared numb, devoid of sorrow or joy, and whispered softly, "Until we meet again, in the next major operation, will I really have a chance..."