210: Forest of Mist

Legisamon, however, looked bewildered and said, "This is something God wants me to find, so it can only be offered to God."

"Or perhaps an envoy of God."

"Gonzalo, although you are the Lord of a city, I would never allow you to seize something that belongs to God."

"Oh, right."

"I think Mr. Gonzalo is absolutely correct; the Tiger King is a false god, completely incomparable to the merciful God."

"Therefore, I intend to abandon the darkness and turn to the one true God."

"Mr. Gonzalo, I believe the merciful God will not refuse my allegiance."

Legisamon's words made Gonzalo's hand tremble.

He only wanted to trick the Secret Key out of the farm; he didn't want to provoke Legisamon, this big trouble.

Although a powerful Esper was absolutely something Gonzalo coveted, it was definitely not now.

Taking in Legisamon, wouldn't that be telling everyone that he was the one causing trouble?

Once he attracted the Tiger King's hatred, he would surely die without a burial place.

Looking at Legisamon's expectant gaze, the words of response were stuck in Gonzalo's throat, unable to be uttered.

The Secret Key was indeed very attractive, but it was not enough for him to risk his life for it.

What's more, if there was only one Secret Key, it would be useless.

Thinking of this, Gonzalo chuckled awkwardly and said, "Legisamon, you are very right."

"This is a gift that should be offered to God, not something I can lay my hands on."

"However, the Angel is busy recently and temporarily unable to lead you back into the embrace of the Lord."

"Once I have a specific reply, I will let you return to the Lord's embrace."

Legisamon nodded slightly, feigning a look of yearning, and said, "Then I will wait and see."

...After sending Legisamon away, Gonzalo fell into distress.

The fish bit the bait too smoothly, too actively, which was not a good thing.

After much thought, he decided to contact Ismail.

Since Legisamon and the Secret Key, these two good things, were a bit too hot to handle.

Then it would be better to trade them to the audacious Ismail.

He heard that Ismail had been collecting Secret Keys recently, so perhaps she would be interested in this deal.

Thinking of this, Gonzalo dialed Ismail's number.

As soon as the call connected, Ismail's cold voice came through, saying,

"Gonzalo, why are you calling me?"

Gonzalo didn't waste words and went straight to the point, saying, "Secret Key."

"I wonder if you are interested in a Secret Key."

A Secret Key?

Ismail was a bit surprised.

She didn't remember Gonzalo's family having two Secret Keys.

Thinking of this, she asked in surprise, "Was the last Secret Key theft just an accident, and you actually hid the Secret Key elsewhere?"

Considering this possibility, Ismail breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Not having to confront Lin Tianwei was absolutely the best news for her.

Although she hadn't seen that enormous tiger for a long time.

Humans have not only developed powerful mechs but have also made significant progress in the research of Awakened Beasts.

Everyone was confident.

If that tiger was still as strong as before, it would definitely be instantly killed.

But how could Lin Tianwei still be as strong as before?

Just the endless consumption of food was an incredibly terrifying number.

As long as the Tiger King wasn't a freeloading idiot, eating and digesting so much food would absolutely lead to growth.

Perhaps he had already grown to seventy or eighty meters in length, possessing even greater power?

Ismail made the worst-case scenario assumption.

After all, the Tiger King always managed to be unpredictable.

However, she could never have imagined that while she did guess Lin Tianwei's growth,

She completely failed to guess to what extent Lin Tianwei would grow.

Seventy or eighty meters in length?

How much did she underestimate the tiger?

When Lin Tianwei's true form descended, it would absolutely be an existence that could shock this Blue Star.

Gonzalo said nonchalantly, "Our family naturally couldn't have two Secret Keys."

"Last time, the Secret Key belonging to our family was indeed successfully stolen by that thief, the Tiger King."

"But it doesn't matter; our family's strength is incredibly powerful. Taking back the Secret Key is an extremely easy matter."

"Here, I heard you were collecting Secret Keys, so I just asked if you were interested."

Facing Gonzalo's lies, Ismail didn't believe a single word and said with a dark expression, "Speak plainly!"

Let alone whether Gonzalo had the strength to reclaim the Secret Key from Lin Tianwei's hands.

Just from Ismail's understanding of him, she knew he absolutely couldn't have such courage.

He was terribly cowardly.

This was Ismail's assessment of Gonzalo.

According to Ismail's guess, for Gonzalo to be so eager to trade with her, this Secret Key must have a hidden trick.

Perhaps a huge trap was waiting for her.

But thinking of the four Secret Keys she already possessed, Ismail was unwilling to give up this one.

She only needed to obtain one more Secret Key.

By finding the Legendary treasure chest, she would be able to obtain the most powerful gene from the Cosmic Beast... the Alpha Gene.

Such a huge temptation made Ismail completely unable to refuse.

Gonzalo chuckled awkwardly and said, "After all, I can't hide it from you."

Knowing that he couldn't deceive Ismail, Gonzalo stopped trying to fool her and explained the matter in detail.

He emphatically promoted Legisamon as a powerful enforcer.

An Esper with top three strength on the Esper ranking list.

He was a highly sought-after individual everywhere.

If the risks weren't too great, Gonzalo would absolutely not have let Legisamon go.

Legisamon, controlled by faith?

Ismail's face was full of suspicion.

This story sounded fake no matter how she heard it, making her extremely hesitant.

Could there be some conspiracy hidden in this matter?

After much thought, Ismail said, "Gonzalo, are you sure that Secret Key is genuine?"

Upon hearing this, Gonzalo knew Ismail was interested in the Secret Key and immediately patted his chest, guaranteeing, "Genuine, absolutely genuine."

"More genuine than real gold and silver!"

"That's our family's own item; how could I not understand it?"

"I don't even need to touch it; just by looking with my naked eyes, I can tell if it's real or fake."

"Ms. Ismail, this is a huge and good deal."

"As long as you can afford the price, I will transfer both the Secret Key and Legisamon to you."

After receiving confirmation from Gonzalo, Ismail gritted her teeth and immediately agreed to Gonzalo's request.

Although she knew this might be a trap.

But for Ismail, the Secret Key was an absolutely irresistible lure.

In this situation, she could only take the bait.

Thinking of this, Ismail said in a deep voice, "I am willing to accept the Secret Key, but that doesn't mean I'm a fool."

"Whether this is a hot commodity or a hot potato, I believe you know better than I do."

"500 million dollars, that's my bottom line."

"If you try to haggle, I can only refuse to trade with you."

"And obtain what I want in another way."

Now that she knew the location of the fifth Secret Key, Ismail wasn't actually that anxious to obtain it.

Humans had countless ways to obtain what they wanted from their compatriots.

That is to say, as long as Ismail wanted to, even without paying such a high price, she wasn't completely unable to obtain the Secret Key.

Sending out assassins or bounty hunters, these desperate individuals, although somewhat shameless,

Also had a high probability of obtaining the fifth Secret Key.

Although Gonzalo was cowardly and greedy, he was not stupid at all.

He naturally understood the meaning in Ismail's words.

The threat was obvious.

Coupled with Ismail offering enough leverage, even higher than the price Gonzalo had imagined, he naturally couldn't refuse.

Seeing this, Gonzalo said very decisively, "Alright, I agree to this deal."

"As for the items, I need a large amount of tissue from powerful Awakened creatures."

"At 90% of the market price, I believe you wouldn't give up such a large procurement deal."

As the one who first researched mutated beasts, Ismail was also the main force of plan b after it began to be implemented.

Most of the powerful Awakened Beast body tissues on the market also came from Ismail.

These tissues were all highly sought-after.

An ordinary Awakened, with the help of t-metal, could easily possess abilities similar to those of an Awakened Beast.

Such a great temptation made those wealthy people stop being human.

They chose to embrace Awakened Beasts, replacing a large amount of their body tissue.

Replacing it with powerful Awakened Beast tissue.

In a sense, they were gradually becoming non-human.

Turning into half-human, half-machine, half-beast existences.

They could be considered a type of hybrid.

This also led to the body tissue of powerful Awakened Beasts becoming a valuable commodity with limited supply.

To obtain it, one needed to purchase it at a price far exceeding the market price.

This was also the reason why Ismail was so wealthy; she could casually offer a price of 500 million.

Compared to directly collecting US dollars, exchanging for Awakened Beast tissue allowed Gonzalo to make another profit.

The value of this transaction might increase from 500 million dollars to 1 billion dollars.

For Ismail, being able to reduce her financial pressure by selling some goods was also a very good thing.

This deal could be considered a win-win.

Ismail naturally agreed readily.

Thus, Ismail had already obtained five Secret Keys.

She was only one step away from assembling the key to open the treasure chest.

The powerful Alpha Gene truly made countless people look forward to it.

—

Compared to the silent battle between Gonzalo and Ismail, another battle was much, much more intense.

This is the Misty Forest, the second human forbidden zone of fear.

It is perpetually shrouded in thick fog, capable of blocking all means of detection.

Making it impossible to see what exactly is inside.

However, this terrifying human forbidden zone welcomed countless guests today.

Or rather, not people, but countless enormous mechs.

Pure white.

Angular.

The symbols "U.S.0128" on its chest were particularly conspicuous.

This was a standard mech belonging to America.

Its height of 18.5 meters made it look like a demon god about to destroy the world.

It had no high-tech thermal weapons, only two large cleavers similar to daggers.

Under the terrifying power of the standard mech, these cold weapons, made of superalloy-modified wind metal, possessed immense power.

They could easily cleave open a mountain dozens of meters high.

However, there were more than three hundred such terrifying objects here.

They stood uniformly at the periphery of the Misty Forest, like a flood or ferocious beasts, about to devour everything in their path.

Yet, in their eyes, this seemingly calm Misty Forest was the real flood or ferocious beast.

Finally.

The blood-red mech standing at the very front moved.

This mech was larger than the others, standing at a full twenty meters tall.

The number on its chest, 001, was extremely vivid.

It was clear that it was the captain of this mech squad.

Through the mech's massive body, one could see that the core part was an egg-shaped capsule.

This was where the mech cockpit was located.

It was filled with a pale yellow, egg-white-like nutrient solution.

It also contained a large amount of oxygen, allowing the pilot to feel as if they were living in amniotic fluid.

Breathing could be achieved simply by exchanging substances with the nutrient solution.

Not simple, primitive large screens and joysticks, all mechs were controlled by mental interface.

These pilots, like the Clone Tiger pilots of the past, could control the massive mechs they piloted as if they were extensions of their own arms.

It was as if they had regained a more powerful body.

Not only that, these mechs were not simply enlarged versions of humans.

Under the unique design of the scientists, the pilots had a terrifying field of vision.

They were also able to perform many incredible actions.

However, to fully unleash the power of these mechs, the requirements for the pilots were also very high.

And the mech pilots here were all elites among pilots.

In other words, in order to conquer this Misty Forest of unknown depth, America had dispatched most of its combat power.

As the captain of this mech squad, Frank looked at the Misty Forest in front of him with a solemn expression.

It was perfectly fine to call this place a devil's land that devoured all things.

To this day, no creature had ever emerged alive from here, which was simply incredible.

That faint, indistinct boundary was like a chasm, separating the entire world into two different realms.

Without hesitation, Frank said, "Brothers, we are facing the terrifying human forbidden zone, the Misty Forest."

"Conquering this place will be a great honor for all of us."

"Don't be afraid; trust the mechs we pilot."

"All fear comes from insufficient firepower."

"Tearing everything apart with the powerful force of the mechs, that is what we should do."

"After entering the Misty Forest, do not act rashly. Observe your surroundings carefully and look for a way to break through."

"That is what we need to do."

After boosting the morale of his subordinates, Frank no longer hesitated, controlling his blood-red mech and resolutely taking the first step. (End of this chapter)