322: Chapter 315 Invitation to Watch the Competition: Mr. Gao Also Wants to Get Involved

On the way to the meeting room, the secretary took a call and then whispered a few words in the Old Leader's ear.

He nodded to show he understood, turned his steps, and led everyone toward the lounge area.

The others didn't understand what variable had arisen and followed behind to ask.

The Old Leader didn't hide anything and explained clearly in a few simple sentences.

The meeting between the two sides was not publicized, but the specifications were unusual, so the Old Leader felt the discussion venue should be more formal.

Who would have thought the Queen didn't care about these trifles and invited everyone to her lodgings to talk in detail?

Everyone realized, and without stopping, they soon saw the young Queen sitting alone on a wooden chair in the courtyard of a small detached building.

She didn't seem to hear the footsteps of the approaching group, holding a porcelain plate in one hand and using the other to bring a strip of meat from the plate to the beak of the Owl perched on her shoulder.

"Hello." The Old Leader greeted from outside the gate, and only after the Queen turned her head did he lead them inside.

"Sir, your health is as robust as ever."

"It's far behind yours."

The Queen chuckled a few times: "It's just luck."

After the pleasantries, the Old Leader sat on the opposite wooden chair: "Regarding Mr. Gao, what aspects did the intelligence provided by Hogwarts mention?"

He got straight to the point, but the Queen was in no hurry to dive into the main topic: "To make it easier for you to understand, I have to start from a bit further back."

Seeing the Old Leader nod slightly, she spoke while feeding the Owl.

"Hogwarts will soon hold a competition among the Four Great Magic Academies, a very grand and lively event, and we hope China will be invited to visit at that time."

A competition? What are they inviting us to do?

The Old Leader's eyes showed a slight confusion, but it was quickly suppressed, and he said calmly: "Since you have extended a gracious invitation, we will naturally attend."

"That's wonderful, please allow me to look forward to your arrival." The Queen offered a polite smile and continued, "Mr. Gao wants to establish a supernatural school in America; you should know that by now."

"Of course."

"He will also be at the competition site then, not as a tourist, but as a participant."

"Participating in the competition?" The Old Leader was very surprised, "May I take the liberty of asking, the competition is being held at Hogwarts, right?"

"Yes."

"As far as I know, a student expelled from Hogwarts is in an adversarial position with the school. What is... your Headmaster's attitude?"

"Hmm..." The Queen frowned, "The Headmaster didn't reveal much information and was very cryptic. I can only offer my own understanding; you'll have to judge for yourselves."

After emphasizing the main points, she continued: "Mr. Gao is in an adversarial position with Hogwarts, that much is correct.

However, the Headmaster has never hunted him down and even let him leave Hogwarts hundreds of years ago.

As for the reason, besides the fact that he hasn't harmed others, it might also be related to the calamity."

The Old Leader, the Director, and the others didn't quite understand.

calamity is the nemesis of mankind, a concept that has been confirmed by the Mountain Gate, Hogwarts, and even the recently appeared Russian supernatural forces.

Not long ago, Mr. Gao also had a contest with the Mountain Rock Giant on the American coastline.

What does he have to do with the calamity? Could it be that the calamity is backing him up?

"Please be more specific."

The Queen raised her hand and pressed down slightly in the air to signal for patience, then remained silent for a moment to organize her thoughts.

"It's not what you're guessing. Mr. Gao and the calamity have not joined forces. On the contrary, he seems to have... done something not so good to the calamity.

I don't know the details, but based on the Headmaster's few words, I speculate that Mr. Gao has created a nuclear weapon of the supernatural world for himself."

Although they didn't know what a "nuclear weapon of the supernatural world" was, the words "nuclear weapon" were enough for everyone present to understand its power.

"You mean, he used the calamity to master a means of mutual destruction?"

"Yes."

After tapping his fingers on the table and thinking for a while, the Old Leader agreed: "It is indeed the most plausible hypothesis. Even if the facts differ from what you said, I believe it won't be by much.

It also explains why Mr. Dumbledore let him leave Hogwarts and has never tried to capture him over the years."

"Exactly."

The Old Leader's confusion was resolved, but a new one arose: "You told us yesterday that Mr. Gao is a threat to all nations on Blue Star. Is that related to what you just said?"

"Yes." The Queen pulled the Owl into her arms and gently stroked its wings. "Mr. Gao holds the button to the nuclear weapon, so as long as he doesn't do anything too excessive, Hogwarts won't restrain him. I imagine your country's Mountain Gate is the same.

That's where the problem lies."

The Queen paused for a moment, a look of worry on her face: "For the supernatural world, what is considered excessive?

In the common perception of the nations on Blue Star, harming others is excessive, theft and robbery are excessive, and destroying The World is excessive.

However, compared to the destruction of The World... these things don't seem so excessive anymore."

At this point, the concern the Queen wanted to express was very clear.

Mr. Gao has something to rely on, so Hogwarts and the Mountain Gate won't easily act against him, allowing him to act without scruples within a certain range.

This "certain range" is surely acceptable in the supernatural world, but for the nations of Blue Star, it is most likely an unbearable burden.

"Your visit to Country H this time..."

"I hope our two countries can join forces and work together to deal with Mr. Gao."

"I understand." The Old Leader stood up, "He will be at your competition site. You invited us there because you intend to probe his background through close contact?"

"Yes, your country's five new supernatural students have outstanding strength; they will surely discover something."

There was another sentence the Queen kept hidden in her heart, thinking the Old Leader should be able to grasp it.

And the Old Leader indeed grasped it.

With the newcomers from both sides gathered around a dangerous figure, their teachers and masters couldn't possibly just sit by and do nothing, right?

This calculation was a bit underhanded and not fit for public display, so the two just had a tacit understanding.

The matter was basically concluded. The Queen stated she would depart for home in the afternoon, while the Old Leader told the Director to immediately rush to the Mountain Gate to see Immortal Xu and try to ask for information about Mr. Gao.

The group of eight knew the situation was grave and dared not delay. After leaving the small courtyard, they rushed to the airport and headed straight for the South Sea coast, finding Kunpeng to request help opening the light gate.

Zhang Mu, who had anticipated this scene, was already waiting for them.

Just as they landed on Yuzhang Mountain, he appeared before them and stated he knew why they had come.

Subsequently, Zhang Mu revealed a bit of the intelligence he had fabricated.

It was roughly the same as what the Queen had said: Mr. Gao had something to rely on, and the Mountain Gate would not act rashly.

Everyone couldn't help but show worry. Zhang Mu comforted them, saying it wasn't necessary. It was true Mr. Gao had a "nuclear weapon," but the Mountain Gate had been researching a way to crack it for years.

Current progress was encouraging, and in a while, the threat could be eliminated.

Knowing the Mountain Gate had a solution, they immediately felt relieved, though only the Director still felt a bit tense.

A threat is a threat after all; as long as it isn't eliminated, there's a risk of an outbreak. He probably wouldn't be at peace until the day Mr. Gao died.

Their goal achieved, the group didn't stay long and set off to return to the base on the outskirts of Su City.

As the convoy drove into the main gate, Luo Xiling looked out the window at the training ground in confusion: "What are the Soldiers lining up here for? Has another calamity appeared?"

The Director seemed to know: "They are responsible for guarding the base and need to keep training when they are free."

"Oh, then that's about... wait, I remember there's a dedicated training ground in the forest five kilometers to the left of the base."

Yue Ruo turned her head from the passenger seat and said cheerfully: "The news of the Immortals has spread all over the internet. Everyone sees videos every day, and all conversations revolve around Immortals.

It's just that they've never seen a living Immortal.

Having the luck to be assigned to guard the base this time, wouldn't they want to take a close look at what an Immortal actually looks like?"

Hearing this, Luo Xiling scanned the Soldiers in formation.

Sure enough, although they stood straight and looked ahead without moving, they were actually using their peripheral vision to peek at the passing convoy.

Realizing the Soldiers were watching her, Luo Xiling immediately retracted her Husky-like "intelligent" expression and put on a serious look.

She couldn't ruin her image as an Immortal!

Yue Ruo was a bit speechless: "Alright, stop pretending. We'll be spending a lot of time together in the future; aren't you tired?"

"I'll talk about being tired later." Luo Xiling still insisted on keeping a stiff face.

The Director glanced at her, sighed from exhaustion, gathered his thoughts, and asked Yue Ruo: "What's the situation with the spaceship? Has construction started?"

"The reply they sent this morning said that work on the main frame has already begun."

"Once work starts, it'll be fast." The Director rolled down the window and looked up at the blue sky, "Humanity can finally... right, I remember Immortal Xu saying he can also go to space, right?"

"He did say that."

"Will he go along when the spaceship takes off?"

"How should I know? Hmm... he probably will."

"That's great then." After days of fatigue, the always cold-faced Director finally showed a smile, "In case there's an accident on the way to the moon, the astronauts can still be saved."

Over here, Luo Xiling's ears perked up: "If Master can go to space, doesn't that mean I can too in the future?"

"Talk about that after you've cultivated for a few hundred years."

"That's a pity."

"How so?" The Director was taken aback.

"You won't be able to see it."

"Hey, you dare talk back now?"

Amidst their idle chatter, the convoy came to a stop in the parking lot.

Getting out and returning to the operations room, the Director gave orders to everyone.

The calamity had been removed, and the battle had achieved a preliminary victory, but it was clearly just the beginning and they could not relax.

From this battle, the Director had gained some understanding of the power of the calamity.

He felt fortunate that the two monsters appeared in uninhabited mountains rather than a densely populated city; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. At the same time, he worried that the next calamity would appear in a city.

If that misfortune really happened, the Director truly dared not even imagine how tragic the sacrifice would be.

Therefore, the next stage of the Special Investigation Bureau's task was to establish a complete and efficient defense system, striving to reach the scene as quickly as possible after a calamity appeared.

Luo Xiling and the other four couldn't help with this work, so the Director sent them to assist with the Soldiers' training.

The rewards for the trial mission, besides the Immortal Medicine, included a Body Tempering Method—some body-strengthening movements Zhang Mu had selected from the basic Knight Magic.

The Director felt that since the Body Tempering Method was an "Immortal technique," it should be effective even without spiritual energy.

Before, when he went to the Mountain Gate, he specifically asked if it could be shared with others. Immortal Xu said it was just a basic method that didn't even reach the entry level, so it was fine to do as he pleased.

Since that was the case, there was no harm in trying it out in the army.

If it worked, even a little bit would be a gain; if not, there was no loss.

Everyone took their orders and dispersed.

Having followed them all the way, Zhang Mu, standing in a corner of the room, saw that the Special Investigation Bureau had temporarily calmed down, so he returned to the South Sea coast, opened the light gate, and entered "The World".

"Let's hold the magic competition on Blue Star. I'll show up as Mr. Gao and pull off something big."

The preparation for this event was very tedious. Zhang Mu was short on time and immediately began to arrange it.

First, he went to the Saul Continent to pack the Puppet materials he had commissioned the King to collect into "The World".

With the materials in hand, Zhang Mu turned to leave but was pulled back by the King.

The King told Zhang Mu that the Knight Magic he wanted had been selected and he would have someone send it over immediately. He also asked if Zhang Mu wanted to inspect the training status of the legion.

To save another trip, Zhang Mu simply sat in a chair to wait, saying he had been keeping an eye on the legion.

Then he asked why the King had suddenly thought of having him inspect the training.

The King shook his head a bit awkwardly, explaining that everything was going well with the legion. The Soldiers of the First Army not only had excellent military quality themselves but were also very diligent in teaching.

It was just that he was worried about the upcoming crusade against the neighboring country, and Zhang Mu was often nowhere to be found, mysteriously busy with who-knows-what, so he felt a bit uneasy.

This made Zhang Mu angry, and he cursed, "Are you a child?!"

"Will you cry for your parents whenever you encounter hardship?"

After cursing, he calmed down and said solemnly that once he and his Senior Sister settled in Lake, they would definitely leave.

The time was unknown for now; it could be three or five years, thirty or fifty years, or even three or five hundred years.

When he and his Senior Sister were gone, what would the King do if he encountered trouble?

After that, Zhang Mu didn't say anything more. He even waved off the Knight Magic, saying he would take it next time he came back, then got up and returned to Blue Star, rushing to his workshop.

The magic competition would be contested by four magic academies, including Hogwarts. Besides the contestants, there had to be an audience, all of whom would be played by Puppets.

Not only that, but Zhang Mu would also attend as Mr. Gao, and Immortal Xu and Dumbledore would also have to be there. He couldn't be in two places at once, so the latter two had to be replaced by Puppets.

Considering the three would have to fight, the Puppets couldn't be made too crudely.

After all, the two had fought in public many times, and video footage of their moves and destructive power had been circulated. If the Puppets performed poorly, they would inevitably be questioned.

One must know that there are billions of people on Blue Star. Although the vast majority are ordinary people, there are always a few wise ones.

They are good at observing and perceiving The World through logic.

If an abnormality was noticed, leading to public outcry and gathering a group of people, Zhang Mu wouldn't be able to suppress it even if he ran himself ragged.

This was also why, even though there were still surplus Puppet materials in "The World," he still had to make a trip to the Saul Continent—to get some precious magic crystal stones to serve as the Cores for the two Puppets.

The strength of the released magic depended on the Core's endurance limit.

If the Core was too fragile, no matter how hard the other parts of the Puppet were, it wouldn't be able to release powerful magic and might even risk exploding.

If a Puppet really blew into pieces under the watchful eyes of everyone, that would be a huge joke.

Zhang Mu took out a bag of bright and dazzling magic crystal stones from "The World," picked up his tools, and got to work.