Temporary evacuation?
In the laboratory, both sides of the confrontation had just held a veiled restraint, the only casualties being some fragile glass test tubes shattering.
Ulrich and the others paused, their expressions somewhat subtle.
After learning the general situation from Connet, their withdrawal wasn’t a surprise to the other side.
The question was, once they left this place, could the Torch Organization still suppress them?
At the very least, creating some sort of quarantine zone was unlikely,
Connet didn’t care what everyone was thinking, he just said gravely: "Time is of the essence, you gentlemen should probably tidy up your belongings a bit, we will send someone to assist you."
"Wait, what about the evidence you just mentioned?" Ulrich immediately interrupted as he saw Connet trying to steer the conversation away, his eyes flickered.
Connet’s expression became restrained, "Follow me."
Minutes later, in a small conference room, a virtual imaging device kept switching through various images, printed materials about the composition were also distributed to everyone, passed around for inspection.
Ulrich looked surprised, inwardly taken aback, he briefly scanned the evidence related to Des and found most of it was interconnected; even some inconsistencies could be explained away by "the mysterious methods of the Mechanic."
Li Ming noticed that the Torch Organization had deliberately concealed quite a bit of evidence, including a mechanical pocket watch, probably not wanting to reveal more about Des.
"The Torch Organization suffered quite a loss this time, no wonder they’re so angry, but..." he mused to himself.
The others didn’t care much about this, glanced over it casually, and soon dispersed.
On the way back, Sandro was still muttering, "Could Des really be hiding within the Torch Organization? If he were to make some more moves, wouldn’t we be in danger?"
No one paid him any heed, they each returned to their rooms and subconsciously locked their doors, Li Ming lay back on his bed.
"Connet is quite paranoid."
He guessed that Connet might become suspicious faced with all the evidence, but he didn’t expect him to come test them directly, without even taking time to recover from his injuries.
But now, having turned the tables on him, the matter could only be dropped.
"The evidence of Des’s collusion isn’t fake..." Li Ming shook his head, not fearing lies, but fearing a lie mixed with nine truths.
Ninety percent of that evidence was real, and most of it came from within the Torch Organization.
Even if it’s a recompiled audio file, trying to pick out the one or two false statements from those true conversations is also no small task.
In this situation, for Connet to still try to pin the blame on him was beyond just being naturally distrustful; it was outright paranoia.
Li Ming casually tidied up his belongings, his gaze suddenly flickering, "No, I’m wrong, he may not necessarily be suspecting me, more like everyone."
"Just outwardly, since I appear to have the highest technical level and am quite mysterious, any bad thing, people would first think of me."
Shaking his head, of course, the persona he presented to the outside world was not without its advantages.
At least, it gave the other party something to weigh before they acted.
Des had disappeared without a trace, and the Sublimator was not yet completely finished; the remaining parts relied on him.
Whether it was testing or suspicion, it could only be suppressed for the time being.
He hadn’t been tidying up for long when someone knocked on the door; it was Theo, dressed in a neat black suit, lean and somber.
Li Ming was surprised and allowed him in with a gesture, and Theo gave a slight nod.
After the door was closed, the two sat opposite each other, both silent at first, the atmosphere quietly wordless.
Finally, it was Theo who spoke first, expressionless: "Do you think Des really has such ability and means?"
"Maybe." Li Ming was noncommittal, "It shouldn’t have much to do with us, the loss is the Torch Organization’s."
"But with Des disappearing, the creation of the Sublimator has hit a bottleneck." Theo’s shadowy eyes stared intently at the Mechanic before him: "I wonder, Lord Azure Dragon, have you considered the subsequent manufacturing work?"
"What if I have?" Li Ming idly tapped on the table, "And what if I haven’t?"
Theo fell silent for a moment, then said, "I don’t believe the Torch Organization’s plan and ideas will be successful."
The topic seemed to leap, but Li Ming just cracked a wry grin, "Lord Theo, if the Torch Organization’s people heard that, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be very good for you."
"The truth is the truth." Theo said solemnly: "The Torch Organization only operates within the Silver Star Cluster, calling them a regional Resistance Organization would be to flatter them."
"They are used to reaping benefits from the fire under the oppression of the Yitelan Civilization, perhaps thinking that this operation will be no different from the others before."
"But in reality, this time, they don’t have any eligibility to reap benefits from the fire, the Star Abyss Empire has intervened, if they persist stubbornly, it will only lead to their destruction."
Is he talking about the Torch Organization or me?
Li Ming’s gaze slightly narrowed, "So, in your view, what should the Torch Organization do to survive?"
"The Star Abyss Empire’s involvement is a broad concept; in essence, it’s still a struggle between two forces, the Yitelan Civilization being one, the Torch Organization can very well align with the other side." Theo said gravely.
Asking him to choose? Li Ming cradled his cheek with one hand, appearing somewhat spaced out, while Theo continued:
"After all, this is within the influence range of the Star Abyss Empire, if they really confront the Star Abyss Empire head-on, is there a way to survive?"
Li Ming pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Is the person behind you truly Duke Guya?"
Theo’s face changed slightly, the riddle he played had abruptly been laid bare, which made him somewhat uncomfortable, but he quickly adjusted and countered, "What do you think?"