246: Chapter 246 Hesitation Leads to Defeat

Chapter 246: Hesitation Brings Defeat

Inside the library, the dome hung high above.

A soft, faint light shone down from the crystal chandeliers embedded in it, like starlight scattering between rows of tall bookshelves and the spacious floor.

Organs chanted, light and shadow intertwined, creating a tranquil yet solemn and sacred atmosphere.

The breathing of the crowd was clearly audible, and all of them stared fixedly at the slowly emerging figure.

A circle of white light blossomed forth, piercing their eyes and making them instinctively squint.

Not until the figure walked closer and the light receded could they clearly see the other's appearance.

This was an unremarkable-looking man; he looked seemingly very young, yet inexplicably gave people a sense of having been through the vicissitudes of life.

He was dressed in black clothes; the fabric and style were very ordinary, but extremely clean and tidy.

His features were plain, bearing a common face that was easily forgotten, and it could be said he had zero memorable points.

Only those eyes appeared incomparably deep, as if hiding the precipitation of years.

Occasionally, a sharp glint flashed past, instantly making people feel an Aura that could not be underestimated.

Appearing at the same time was not just the man alone.

Behind him, a slender figure with light footsteps was also following.

That was a young woman with similarly ordinary features, yet her eyes were extremely lively, resembling two black pearls rolling around briskly.

It seemed as if she was appraising every gathering participant, or perhaps probing for some secret.

Everyone held their breath, their gazes shifting back and forth between the two, attempting to capture a trace of useful information from them.

For a time, the entire library seemed to have been cast with a silencing spell.

The light cast by the crystal chandeliers overhead reflected a series of slightly solemn faces.

The owner of this Secret Realm seemed intentionally or unintentionally to create this preemptive, striking effect.

Fang Cheng stood within the crowd, gazing intently.

He saw the man steadily walk to the center of the library, then come to a halt and slowly sweep his gaze across the scene.

Then his lips parted slightly, and he spoke:

"Sorry to have kept you all waiting."

Hearing this voice, everyone's heart gave a start, knowing he was precisely the mysterious person who had previously transmitted a voice to them.

The man took in everyone's performance at a glance, a trace of hard-to-detect satisfaction flashing across his eyes.

After a pause, he continued speaking:

"On such an important night tonight, inviting everyone to gather here, I presume you all have many doubts in your hearts."

"To tell you the truth, just like all of you, I am determined to obtain the golden bumpa bottle hidden in Lu Family Manor!"

His voice was mellow and soft, resembling a morning bell echoing within the library, clearly transmitting into the ears of every participant present.

The crowd was originally full of guard, but upon hearing these words, they couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

The other party being so straightforward and candidly confessing was truly unexpected to them.

Previously, they had each been guessing what kind of sweet words this mysterious person would use and what bewitching methods they would deploy.

At this moment, however, they looked at each other, their faces showing some astonishment.

Fang Cheng also slightly raised an eyebrow, secretly pondering the intention behind the other's words.

The mysterious person's gaze swept across slowly once more, as if observing everyone's subtle facial reactions.

Then, changing the subject, he said in a deep voice:

"But everyone knows very well in their hearts that the golden bumpa bottle is not an ordinary item; wanting to acquire it, how could it possibly be an easy matter?"

"Not to mention that the guards in this manor are strict with layer upon layer of defense, and the experts of the Lu family are even more powerful and unfathomable."

"On the other hand, we treasure hunters seem to have the numerical advantage, yet we are like loose sand, having to fight the opponent while also guarding against each other and being distracted."

"I presume you all have tested the waters before; speaking of fighting alone, none of us among us have absolute certainty of breaking through layer upon layer of obstacles and smoothly pocketing the treasure."

When the mysterious person reached this point, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly raised his tone:

"But if we join hands and integrate our respective strengths, our chances of winning can greatly increase!"

He swept his burning gaze across the entire venue, attempting to ignite the enthusiasm of all participants with these words.

However, it did not usher in a sea of responses as expected.

The scene was silent.

Although the crowd had a heart-stirring intention, their vigilance had not dissipated, and their inner doubts instead became even more numerous.

At this moment, looking at each other in dismay, simply no one wanted to be the first bird to stick out its neck and question or refute this.

At this time, a sneer suddenly broke the silence, drawing everyone to look sideways.

They saw a hulking, rough-looking man step forward first.

His figure was robust, his flesh-laden face twitched, and he shouted at the top of his lungs:

"You just said you were determined to obtain it earlier, and now you are calling on us to join hands together. Your words contradict each other; are you trying to coax a three-year-old child?"

The loud voice echoed in the space, buzzing.

The crowd immediately nodded one after another, echoing in low voices, expressing agreement and support.

Seeing this, the mysterious person showed no sign of anger, but instead smiled slightly:

"This friend questions well; what comes next is the main point I want to talk about."

Then he swept his gaze around the crowd:

"Everyone present is a shrewd person; the current situation is seen by everyone, and what calculations you are beating in your hearts shouldn't need me to spell out again."

His tone was peaceful, yet his gaze was as sharp as a scalpel, accurately puncturing the hidden thoughts of all the participants.

The whispering sounds of agreement that were still present a moment ago abruptly stopped, and their expressions appeared rather unnatural.

"If the golden bumpa bottle could always be preserved within Lu Family Manor, it would be peace and quiet; at worst, we'd just compete on who has more patience and slowly look for an opportunity to strike."

The mysterious person's face was calm as he continued unhurriedly:

"However, according to reliable news I've obtained, the golden bumpa bottle is going to be sent by the Lu family tomorrow to the International Shadow Auction as one of the auction items."

"As for what kind of background the International Shadow Auction has, I presume you all should have heard of it; even I am extremely wary of it, and I believe no one is willing to have a direct conflict with them."

"Going against elite families and the authorities—at worst, we can hide our names and identities and flee to a foreign land; their hands cannot reach that far yet."

"But if we offend this international organization, then we really won't be able to bear the consequences; I'm afraid it would be hard to find a place to stay even at the ends of the earth."

Speaking up to here, the mysterious person paused slightly, then increased his tone a bit:

"Therefore, my thoughts are similar to yours; we must strike before this, and nine o'clock tomorrow morning is the deadline for this operation."

"Now everyone is trapped within the game; if we still blindly wait and watch, waiting for others to stick their necks out for us, we will only continue to deadlock and waste energy in vain."

"That being the case, why not join hands to first break through the immediate dilemma, unite to deal with the Lu family guards, and solve this most pressing problem?"

"As long as we can achieve a Breakthrough along the defense line and smoothly approach the golden bumpa bottle, by then, no matter who gets the treasure first, it will be right under everyone's eyes and nose, perfectly clear."

"All teams can continue to compete based on their own abilities; the entire action is fair, open, and equal in opportunity. Win or lose, there is no need to complain about heaven or blame others."

After the mysterious person finished speaking, his eyes shone brightly, as if waiting for the crowd's response.

"This... seems to make some sense..."

The robust man who had questioned earlier touched his head, his attitude clearly having loosened up a lot.

The others also began whispering to each other, the sounds of various discussions growing louder and louder.

The originally quiet Secret Realm library seemed to have exploded into a boil, appearing entirely noisy.

Fang Cheng observed the surrounding situation calmly.

Lord Bao narrowed his eyes slightly, leaned close to his side, and said in a low voice:

"This method sounds feasible, but it has huge loopholes and cannot bind everyone to take unified action."

Fang Cheng nodded gently:

"Let's see how the others express themselves."

While speaking, his gaze remained locked onto that mysterious man.

He always felt that this person's voice had a sense of familiarity, very much like someone he had once encountered, but the appearance was completely different, so ordinary that it lacked any recognition value.

His inner doubts grew even heavier, and his gaze shifted once more to that young woman who followed behind him and had been silent all along.

Upon careful observation, aside from noticing that her eyes exuded craftiness, that she liked staring at others, and that she was mumbling incantations under her breath, he couldn't make out any clues either.

At this time, someone snorted, speaking in a somewhat piercing tone:

"Talk is cheap! Join hands? Who knows if he wants to use us as cannon fodder, waiting until we've worn out the guards and the Lu family experts so he can sit back and reap the fisherman's profit."

The speaker's figure was like a monkey, with a gloomy gaze; it was precisely Baming, who had a feud with Lord Bao.

"Exactly, exactly. Although we all want to seize treasures, we can't be so foolish as to be sold out by someone and still help them count the money."

A man nearby wearing a mask similar to a robber also echoed along, speaking in a sarcastic tone:

"This guy's background is unknown; what is there that can make us trust him? Could it be that with just empty teeth, he wants us to risk our lives?"

Hearing this, the crowd nodded one after another, and sounds of questioning rose one after another.

Subsequently, an elderly man stroked his beard, narrowed his eyes, and said to the mysterious man:

"Young man, your idea sounds reasonable at first glance, but scrutinized closely, it has quite a few loopholes."

"Even if we join hands, how to divide labor and cooperate, how to ensure everyone acts in coordination—which one doesn't need to be sorted out clearly? If you can't produce a convincing set of rules, I'm afraid it will be hard to convince the public."

Although the elder's voice was not loud, it hit the crucial point, making the noisy crowd quiet down a bit more.

That's right, everyone harbored selfish motives; when the time came to attack, if they deliberately slowed down their pace, wouldn't that still be the same as before?

If they couldn't guarantee that everyone acted together, this plan would simply be impractical.

The gazes of all participants thus converged once more onto the mysterious person standing in the center of the room.

"The concerns of these few friends, I naturally know."

The mysterious person, however, had a calm expression, first raising his hands and slightly pressing them downward.

This action seemed to possess magic, making the noisy discussions at the scene vanish without a trace instantly.

Then, he raised both hands, drawing a frame, and his palms thereupon glowed with a strange radiance.

The radiance gradually expanded, forming a patch of white light curtain, looking like a television screen with images flickering and emerging within it.

The crowd looked closely and found that it turned out to be a detailed defense deployment map of the interior of the manor.

Not only did it mark the positions of various overt and covert sentries everywhere, but it also had relevant data on the Lu family experts, including their specialized abilities and usual activity ranges.

Even the specific collection location and preventive measures for the golden bumpa bottle were written down clearly.

The detail of the information was tongue-clacking and astonishing.

"Please take a look, everyone; this is intelligence collected by our team expending a vast amount of painstaking effort, which is enough to prove my sincerity."

The mysterious person spoke, his voice exuding a convincing steadiness.

"With this intelligence, we will be able to more smoothly achieve a Breakthrough through the defense line and head straight for the Underground Vault where the target is located."

"Since I dare to pull out these things now, I'm not afraid of you all verifying their authenticity. If I harbored ulterior motives, why bother doing such a thankless and strenuous task?"

As he spoke, his hands waved, his slender fingers looking like an artist plucking instrument strings.

That patch of white light curtain instantly transformed into countless pages of paper, gracefully flying toward every participant present.

Everyone, including in front of Fang Cheng, abruptly had a book whose cover emitted a faint radiance floating before them.

Watching Lord Bao and the others reach out to touch those radiances, seemingly sensing something, expressions of contemplation appeared on their faces.

Fang Cheng's eyes narrowed slightly, and he also reached out to grab the flying booklet.

As his fingertips made contact with it, the radiance gradually subsided, and a stream of information instantly poured into his mind.

The details of the deployment map, the data of the Lu family members, the collection location of the golden bumpa bottle, and so on, were all clearly presented before his eyes, and then rapidly integrated into his memory.

It was as if this information was something he had known all along.

The people around were all silently sensing the extra information in their minds.

The scene was silent, occasionally accompanied by a burst of whispering, some marveling at the other party's methods, and others discussing the authenticity of the intelligence.

"Not only that."

After displaying his methods, the mysterious person slightly raised his chin and said confidently and composedly:

"I have another method that can allow everyone to completely put down their suspicions and reach cooperation without any misgivings."

Having spoken, his hands rapidly formed seals, while he chanted incantations under his breath.

Along with the chanting, a line of archaic characters flickering with faint light emerged in the air.

The strokes were winding and tortuous, resembling some kind of lost symbol, obscure and hard to understand, yet exuding a mysterious Aura.

"This is a Covenant Incantation?!"

Someone who knew their stuff blurted out, and then whispered an explanation to their uncomprehending companion nearby.

Relying on the Omniscient Language talent, Fang Cheng instantly understood the meaning of these characters.

The so-called Covenant Incantation was an ancient and mysterious binding method.

After chanting the relevant incantation, one could make a vow, used to agree upon certain matters.

If one violated the vow, they would suffer the backlash of the Heart Demon, enduring severe mental damage.

During the effective period stipulated by the covenant, the behavior of the vower would be bound in a netherworld-like, mystical way.

And once the agreed-upon matter was completed, the binding force would instantly fail just like melting snow and ice.

Of course, for the Covenant Incantation to take effect, it required a person with very strong spiritual energy to act as the initiator.

The more people participating in the vow, the correspondingly heavier the spiritual burden borne by the initiator.

Seeing this, the crowd couldn't help adding a bit of awe and curiosity to their gazes toward the mysterious person, secretly guessing in their hearts what kind of powerful strength he actually possessed.

The mysterious person cleared his throat and said in a clear voice:

"The cooperation plan I propose is very simple: we agree on an exact time, and everyone launches an attack from outside the manor simultaneously. During this period, no one is allowed to harm each other."

"Until someone smoothly enters the Underground Vault and snatches the golden bumpa bottle, the binding incantation will instantly lose effect."

"I think with this contract, it is enough to guarantee that all of us will act according to the plan."

Matters having been spoken to this extent, there was no need to explain much more.

Some frowned tightly, as if pondering the pros and cons within, weighing how much winning chance they could have.

Some had flashing eyes, exuding a desire to try, as if they had already seen the treasure waving at them.

Fang Cheng felt that the mysterious person who proposed the plan definitely concealed a backup plan, but for a moment he couldn't put his finger on it.

After all, this belonged to an open and aboveboard plot.

"Alright, I approve of this cooperation plan!"

It was still that robust man from earlier who stepped forward first and shouted out loud.

He decisively followed the request, first imitating the mysterious person's voice to chant the incantation sequentially, and then making the vow.

With one, there was a second to imitate and follow.

After careful consideration, the crowd all felt that this cooperation plan was indeed the only way to break the current situation.

Even that freak whose head was pierced full of steel nails, and the fellow whose whole body was shrouded in dark red radiance, successively made vows.

Seeing this, Fang Cheng and Lord Bao also did the same together.

The current situation was clear at a glance.

Either participate in the cooperation, advance and retreat together, or immediately evacuate from this place, avoiding becoming an unsociable oddity and suffering ostracism.

Even if there were doubts in their hearts, at this point they could only make a go for it; hesitation would instead be easier to bring defeat.

He believed everyone else held more or less similar thoughts.