Chapter 18: The Foolish Man Who Stood Waiting for a Rabbit

Flag Number is unaware that last night, Xia Yan sent those recordings and the events that transpired to her superior, Emilia, via email.

Xia Yan's sole request is that he does not wish to perish at the hands of the mutated beasts in the Free Zone. Should such a calamity occur, Emilia would owe him a life.

And the auction is about to begin!

It was a refreshing morning, the gentle breeze caressing the cheek, evoking a profound sense of comfort. Emilia was accustomed to savoring such moments by sitting on a long chair, sipping a cup of aromatic red tea and indulging in a sumptuous breakfast.

She activated her optical brain and checked the messages, only to find an email from Xia Yan. This caused her some suspicion. How could he not contact her directly?

But after a cursory read, her expression shifted slightly. Then she opened the audio file.

Soon...

This pureblood woman's cup of red tea was hurled to the ground, the delicate porcelain shattering into fragments. Her face darkened like a storm, her stern countenance radiating an aura of lethal intent.

No matter how one looked at it, it was inconceivable that the Seventh would betray her, disregarding her orders.

Although the final lines of the recording were somewhat amusing, Emilia could not bring herself to smile. Since it was a task she had set, any failure was rightfully hers.

She reread the text in Xia Yan's email.

"Emilia, perhaps your subordinates are exceedingly loyal. Even if you order them to their deaths, they would obey without hesitation, never betraying you. But I am not like you; she will betray me and do so without mercy. Last time, thanks to your arrangement, our clan and the mutated beasts have been locked in eternal enmity. At least in this operation, I have no intention of dying at the hands of the mutated beasts. If I am slain by them, then you owe me a life."

Emilia read it once more, finding the implications utterly baffling!

The Coded One's reason for wanting to kill Xia Yan stemmed from her fear that this youthful Emilia might be deceived by him. Xia Yan believed that if one could not discern the sequence of events from the recording, they would be a fool. Yet this pureblood was unable to grasp it!

Confused, Emilia summoned Vivi, and the two—maid and housekeeper—discussed the matter at length. After several rounds of deliberation, they still failed to understand the underlying meaning.

"Why would Xia Yan die at the hands of the mutated beasts?" Emilia wondered aloud. "Although it seems odd, the Seventh wouldn't defy my orders and actively pursue Xia Yan."

Vivi shook her head in bewilderment. "I don't understand either. Moreover, Xia Yan doesn't look the type to attract such interest. Why would the Seventh take a liking to him?"

"Could it be due to rejection turning to resentment?" Emilia suggested. "Thus, in her fury, she intended to leak Xia Yan's information."

"But I think one who likes men..." Vivi blushed crimson. "Miss, that can't be right!"

"What does 'liking men' mean?" Emilia inquired curiously.

"I don't know, I don't know!" Vivi's cheeks flushed, finding an excuse to flee hastily.

In truth, expecting two emotional innocents to decipher Xia Yan's email was a vast overestimation. Not once, but even a hundred times, it would be nearly impossible to grasp the situation's essence.

The auction was held on the twenty-third floor of the Free Zone's central building. The number of attendees was exceptionally small, certainly under a hundred.

The central building occasionally hosted auctions, typically paid with credit points. Only for exceptionally rare items from other worlds were diamond currency bids considered, which set a very high barrier—not accessible to ordinary ability users.

It was evident that Gong Kui, in her capacity, had convened a meeting to amass the necessary diamond currency through the influence of the parliamentarians.

Perhaps she merely wished to avoid expending it herself, but it underscored the scarcity of diamond currency in the Free Zone.

Every few months or longer, the Free Zone released news of such alien artifacts, intended to draw bidders from the Six Great Races and thereby sustain the delicate balance between the Free Zone and these powers, ensuring its continued stability and survival.

Yet, one must acknowledge that these items possessed immense value, leaving the Free Zone to bleed heavily.

Each auction using diamond currency typically involved a single item, as was the case now: the Purity Chain.

The central building served as the Free Zone's primary administrative hub and the most fortified official defense zone. No one would dare to seize the items here. In fact, within the Free Zone, external ability users were prohibited from intervening, and few dared contravene this rule.

"The strong dragon does not bully the local snake." Moreover, outsiders—the most powerful allowed were those below five-star abilities—lacked the means to cause chaos in the Free Zone!

Just after seven o'clock this morning, Tao Lu stood sentinel-like at the entrance of the central building's first floor!

Anyone heading to the twenty-third floor auction must pass through this point and undergo her mental scan. Her primary duty was to verify if Xia Yan would appear. Although yesterday had seemed like an accident, there were lingering doubts. Without direct confirmation, Tao Lu could not be certain that the person was not Xia Yan.

As for Tao Lu's stance, it remained ambiguous. As a member of the Wing Race and the designated coordinator, she was duty-bound to follow superiors' orders: to contend for the Purity Chain, any obstacle before them must be eliminated.

Yet Tao Lu was no ordinary girl!

Beside Tao Lu stood a Wing Race woman who possessed greater knowledge of the various races' intelligence than Tao Lu, since the latter had joined the Fourth Zone only recently.

"That gentleman in the suit is West from the Angel Race, a notable figure more than ten years ago and a member of the Bishop Family. Our archives retain some information on him." The Wing Race woman whispered into Tao Lu's ear.

"What would the Angel Race members be doing here?" Tao Lu narrowed her eyes. "I had assumed this Purity Chain was of no interest to anyone but our Wing Race."

"Don't worry, miss. He is accompanied by two others, who appear to be mere spectators." The Wing Race woman spoke softly from the side.

"I see."

Subsequently, the Wing Race woman listed several groups of people—mostly scattered, numbering at most three or four, with varying strengths, none of whom were promising contenders for the Purity Chain. Notably, the majority were not from external forces but local elements of the Free Zone itself.