"So, those so-called ghosts are actually a bunch of souls bundled within a magic container. When the master of a body transfers their soul to a magic cluster, they can control their own presence and wander around Weird Talk Forest?" Cheng Ziang took a step forward and asked his question.
"Correct. Have you noticed the sensation when you talked to that ghost?" Nightingale asked.
"Sensation?" Luo’er and Cheng Ziang exchanged puzzled looks.
"Ghosts can emit sounds, not by creating sound waves through vibrations, but by directly conversing with your souls." Nightingale’s words sent a shiver down everyone’s spine.
"But, I felt her voice was everywhere..." Hu Daoke widened his eyes, stammering out his words.
"He means, we can locate her based on the sound of the ghost," Luo’er explained.
"Exactly, if you pay close attention, you should have noticed that it’s not only your ears receiving her voice, theoretically, your skin could also sense her voice, that’s how you can determine her location. But overall, they are speaking directly to your souls," Nightingale explained.
"So, could she potentially guess what we are thinking?" Hu Daoke opened his mouth wide, unable to resist asking.
"No, each soul has its own designated body, and they tend to repel other bodies, so they can’t invade your body. As I mentioned earlier, their conversation is a spiritual dialogue. If their interlocutor had no soul and could only detect sound waves, they wouldn’t hear it at all, like the robots on Earth, for example," said Nightingale.
"So, she didn’t actually speak, but our souls can hear her voice?" Luo’er clarified.
"Something like that," Nightingale sighed, then continued, "But all of this is just my hypothesis. We need to run an actual investigation to confirm it."
With that, she turned to Li Si and asked, "Now do I have a reason to find that ghost?"
Li Si looked at her for a moment, then reluctantly said, "Send a message to the Headquarters, ask for their approval!"
"If all goes well, Weird Talk Forest could be a breakthrough for our Creating God Plan," Cheng Ziang nodded.
"Do you have any other questions?" Li Si looked at Luo’er.
"Also," Luo’er cleared his throat, recovered from shock, and then solemnly added, "For the Creating God base, ground reconnaissance might not work. We need aerial reconnaissance."
"Unable to infiltrate?" Li Si frowned at his words.
"Yes, Theron’s defense is too tight. If we didn’t have the ghosts’ help, we would have been caught by now," Luo’er responded.
"This may need to be communicated to the higher-ups. Aerial reconnaissance isn’t necessarily going to be approved by the High-peak people," Li Si sighed.
"Um..." Luoya timidly stepped forward and raised her hand, "If it’s necessary, I can infiltrate with Theron’s identity."
"Is she Theron?" Li Si seemed taken aback, then turned to Luo’er.
"Uh..." Luo’er didn’t know what to say.
"I have this," Luoya held up the pendant that Luo’er had returned to her. "It’s the pendant of a Bishop in the Church, with this thing, I should be able to join Theron."
"Bishop, Kroel?" Li Si repeated, then turned to Luo’er with a furrowed brow.
"Well..." Luo’er scratched his head awkwardly.
"I knew it was you who caused the trouble!" Surprisingly, Li Si wasn’t taken aback at all by this news.
It was doubtful that Kroel, known for his outrageous actions, could have survived up to this point with Luo’er’s zealous pursuit of justice.
"But having Luoya alone is not enough, infiltration and reconnaissance must be carried out concurrently," Cheng Ziang stepped forward and said, "Miss Nightingale’s analyses have shown that the Creating God Plan is nearing completion. If we don’t act faster, we could lose everything!"
"I understand," Li Si nodded, then walked to the door, turned around and said, "I will negotiate with the High-peak people. Nightingale, liaise with the headquarters. Two things: first, approve your operation, second, have them reach out to Ronisca for coordination!"
"Got it!" Nightingale was thankful for Li Si’s understanding, so her tone had finally become less distant.
After delivering the intelligence, Luo’er breathed a sigh of relief. Tangmo was still trying to keep Luo’er company but was grabbed away by Nightingale for their project. Just as Luo’er padded his shoulder and was about to leave the office, Luoya suddenly caught his hand.
"Brother!" For the first time, Luoya, with her head lowered, called Luo’er brother. Luo’er, stunned to the point of numbness, immediately froze on the spot.
"W-What’s wrong?" Luo’er’s body was shaking slightly as he turned around, trying to suppress his emotion, he looked at her and asked.
"Teach me how to use a gun, I don’t want to be a burden anymore." Luoya mumbled, her head still lowered. By now, her ears had turned completely red. It was probably safe to guess that her cheeks were just as flushed.
"Why the sudden interest in learning how to use a gun?" Luo’er asked, somewhat surprised.
"Because I don’t want you to kneel for me when I’m in danger again... It’s ugly, and it doesn’t look good... You’re my brother and I don’t want to see you like that anymore..." As Luoya spoke, her voice gradually faded until she was almost whispering.
"Oh, okay!" Luo’er nodded, somewhat dazed. He was so moved that he almost shed a tear.
Trying to fight back his tears, he took a deep breath, then turned around and looked at Shangguan Jiu and said, "Well, Jiu’er, could you teach her how to use a gun?"
"Of course!" Without hesitation, Shangguan Jiu agreed and immediately rushed over, affectionately hugging Luoya’s arm.
She had long been wanting to get closer to Nina but had no chance to do so. Now that a golden opportunity had presented itself for her to bond with Luoya, she could not let it slip away. By establishing good terms with Luoya, she had at least managed to not fall behind Tangmo and Baiyue.
Moreover, she liked elves, especially half-elves like Luoya, despite Luoya being a half Wood Elf. Regardless, because Luoya grew up in the Ancient States, she didn’t carry the animosity between Wood Elves and Night Elves, making it easier for her to accept Shangguan Jiu.
Seeing the harmonious relationship between the siblings, Cheng Ziang finally breathed a sigh of relief, showing an expression of comfort. The bond between Luo’er and Luoya didn’t involve any negotiations or trade-offs. A single threat from an enemy was sufficient to normalize their relationship. Cheng Ziang almost wanted to thank that mercenary whose spine he had severed.
Nightingale was very efficient in her work. As a permanent liaison officer, she didn’t care about working hours. She directly sent a messenger to the headquarters, requiring them to respond immediately.
Nightingale was officially just a researcher and liaison officer at the frontline headquarters, and moreover, she was an Otherworlder, but her seniority was higher than both Li Si and Wang Xu. So although Wang Xu was the highest ranking officer, he still had to cede some ground to Nightingale.
By noon the next day, a messenger arrived from the headquarters. They agreed to Nightingale’s request for dispatch and informed them that Wang Xu had communicated with Ronisca. After some considerations, the Ronisca military agreed to use their air forces for non-combat purposes, such as pre-battle reconnaissance and troop transport.
Li Si had initially discussed this with the High-peak people throughout the night without approval. But as soon as the order from Ronisca’s military arrived, the High-peak people immediately agreed to their request.
To carry out air reconnaissance, the transport plane needed to be painted in sky color on the bottom to enhance concealment. Fortunately there were standby paint supplies on the airboat. The bottom of the airboat was painted sky blue for camouflage. Since it was frequently in the water, the paint would inevitably peel off, so they always had paint on standby on the airboat.
When it came to aerial reconnaissance, the High-peak people already had a plan, without the need for Li Si’s input.
The Ronisca Air Force had a top-secret project dedicated to developing covert aerial reconnaissance - how to carry it out without drawing attention from people on the ground. Their solution was that when they were slightly less than ten kilometers from the target location, they would gradually reduce the power of the propeller engine to bring it to a pause. Then, the aircraft would rely on inertia to silently fly across the target area for aerial reconnaissance.