523: Chapter 523 Roundtable Conference

"Keep it down. Even though you both have solid backgrounds, the authorities have been cracking down lately on people entering the Desire Realm without reporting in."

A short, punk-dressed frog Yao Race with yellow skin was leading the disguised Zhou Yan and Lv Yang through a passage.

The place was a maze of interconnected paths, with many mechanical circuits exposed, looking quite cluttered. It was dim overall, with most of the lighting coming from red indicator lights and a few light strips, making it feel incredibly oppressive.

The frog Yao Race seemed long accustomed to this, gesticulating wildly as he chatted with the two while leading them through various twists and turns in the passage.

"If you ask me, those officials are just a nuisance."

"So what if a cop's nest got blown up? It's not like similar things haven't happened before."

"You can't blame the knife seller if someone uses it to stab people, right?"

"Just because of that little thing, they had to go and shut down the smuggling business. We're law-abiding citizens who pay taxes and contribute to the GDP, for heaven's sake."

Lv Yang shook his head at this outlaw-like behavior.

Zhou Yan, however, had expected this.

Dream City was governed by various sects, and the customs and atmosphere varied from region to region.

After all, they were using a Lianxing Pavilion channel, and their destination was an area under the pavilion's jurisdiction.

Lianxing Pavilion had always been a place of stark contrasts; the dark parts were pitch black, and the light parts were blindingly white.

It wasn't hard to imagine how low the moral floor was in a place where smuggling was a primary business.

"By the way, brother, we've been away for a long time. What's been going on lately? Why are the inspections so strict?"

As Zhou Yan spoke, he casually slipped a few Spirit Stones into the frog's pocket.

As soon as the Spirit Stones entered his pocket, the frog's expression changed.

He rubbed his smooth back of the head, his lips curling into a slight smile, and his gaze became somewhat distant.

"Look at you, doing this. The higher-ups already set the price, yet you're giving extra. It makes me look unscrupulous. If word gets out, it'll ruin my reputation."

Despite his words, the frog didn't take the Spirit Stones out. Instead, he weighed the pouch in his hand, and hearing the clinking of the stones, his smile widened even further.

"That's different."

"Things are tight right now. Since you're willing to take a risk and come out, it's only right that I treat you to a cup of tea."

"Besides, I'm paying for information. How can that be called taking extra money?"

The frog looked even more bashful upon hearing this, while Lv Yang's eye couldn't help but twitch.

Just moments ago, through the feedback of his Buddhist Divine Ability, the frog's resentment was clearly at its peak, and his words were filled with threats and malice.

But once Zhou Yan slipped the Spirit Stones into his pocket, without any verbal threats, show of force, or Spell guidance—just a few extra Spirit Stones—the other party was suddenly full of goodwill, and all malice vanished.

This was truly irrational!

By normal logic, shouldn't he have become greedier and thought about robbing them instead?

Having spent so much time in the Southern Desert, Lv Yang still found it difficult to understand the mindset of people from the Eastern Region.

Unless the immediate profit was astronomical, even the lowest-level Cultivators of Lianxing Pavilion would prioritize long-term interests.

In a place like Lianxing Pavilion, personal emotions had very low economic value.

So at most, they would grumble or make some veiled threats, but they remained very serious and professional when it came to guiding, not taking a single unnecessary step.

Zhou Yan had seen this before in the Night Roaming Ruins; after all, people who wanted to embezzle a Magic Treasure but still insisted on following formal contract procedures were indeed quite bizarre.

"You might not know, but I'm just an ordinary guide. I usually do some shady work, run a small shop, or set up a stall."

"I can't give you exhaustive intelligence, but I'm quite good with gossip and anecdotes."

"The biggest event in Dream City recently is a group of terrorists attacking the pigs... er, cough, attacking the police office located at 222 Dream-Chasing Avenue in the core business district."

"According to official news, there were no serious casualties. Only two inspectors sustained minor injuries in the office, and another inspector was found in the restroom, suspected of having minor psychological trauma."

"But this matter is neither big nor small."

"Long-time residents of Dream City know that the Inspection Bureau in the core area is often just for show. They call it the headquarters, but it actually has less power than the local branches."

"But on the surface, it's the largest department and a symbol of authority for the joint governance of the Six Sects."

"Isn't it strange? After such a big incident, the officials only released a news report telling everyone to be cautious when going out. Later they said it was temporarily resolved, but there was no follow-up."

"As for how it was resolved, no one knows. There's just a rumor that a criminal was caught, but no one knows where they were taken."

"I bet some Young Master went overboard with Enhancers and torched the station."

"Oh, right, one more thing."

At this point, the frog checked the time and confirmed their progress before stopping to look around for a moment, then spoke cautiously.

"Sorry to delay you for a few minutes. This isn't suitable to talk about once we're in the Desire Realm; it's better to speak here at the border."

"I heard from my fourth aunt's second uncle's third maternal uncle's cousin's younger cousin's fourth sister-in-law's nephew's third grandfather that a big shot seems to have arrived in Dream City recently."

"The kind who would normally be on TV, but this time it's supposedly an undercover visit involving major secrets, so it hasn't been made public."

"This can't be spread around. It's only because our Frog Family is so prolific and has such a dense network that I know about it."

"And just a few days after the Inspection Bureau was bombed, this person arrived. Think about it, really think about it. Tsk tsk."

Zhou Yan hadn't expected those people to publicize it like that. They really had immense influence and could easily manipulate things.

According to the intelligence shared by Lord Canglan, a meeting was about to be held, and a big shot was indeed coming, but the purpose wasn't some conspiracy theory like they thought; it involved Sui.

Come to think of it, if even this frog knew the news, most people probably did as well.

Whether they believed it or not, no one likely suspected that such a large group of people was gathering to build a massive project beneath Dream City—one even larger than the city itself.

"Very well, everyone is here."

"Some arrived early, and some, like me, arrived a bit later."

"Although many of you are familiar faces to one another, we have a few new faces who have just arrived, so we should introduce ourselves."

"In the process, we can also see if everyone has made progress lately. That way, we can better cooperate in what's to come, right?"

In a place as white as heaven, a group of Cultivators sat around an equally white round table.

The leader tapped his fingers on the table and finished speaking with a smile, scanning the group before finally locking his gaze on the smiling woman directly across the round table.

"My name is Li Heng, a Sealed King of the School of Physics. My title is King Heng. It's quite easy to remember, isn't it?"

"My cultivation is at the Body Integration Early Stage, which is slightly higher than most of you, and I am the overall person in charge of this project."

After speaking, Li Heng crossed his hands, rested his chin on them, and spoke to the woman opposite him.

"Going in order would keep everyone in too much suspense, making it like a talent show where the most attractive part is saved for the end."

"We don't have any ad sponsors, so why don't we start with the introduction of Young Miss Kong Xuan, whom everyone is looking forward to?"

Li Heng made a mild joke, and a few scattered laughs broke out around the table. Everyone's eyes focused on the person at the very end of the round table.