Neither of them paid much attention, but Adam collected himself and said: "There’s one more thing, be careful on your way here."
"Will there be an ambush?" Costat’s face immediately became serious.
"Azure Dragon’s intelligence only mentioned what Ryan did, but I don’t believe Ryan has such special technology on his own." Adam mused, "This is the only uncertain variable, and it’s hard to ensure he won’t receive help."
Finally, Adam solemnly said: "Make sure to guarantee Ryan’s safety, he holds immense value, the possibility of becoming the Ultimate Life Form might lie hidden within his body."
"I understand." Costat solemnly promised: "No matter who it is, if they want to touch Ryan, they’ll have to walk over my dead body first."
"No..." Adam shook his head, his expression softening: "If it becomes truly dangerous, survival is more important, we have new clues from the Eternal Silence Star that still need your handling."
Costat’s face remained tense, nodding heavily.
The communication ended, and Costat stared at the dark screen, his brow slightly furrowed. After a long while, he switched the page and ordered in a deep voice: "Bring Ryan out, assign me a small warship."
After ending the communication, Adam gently let out a breath, looking at the vast Star Map before him, reaching out as if he wanted to grasp everything in his hand.
"This is just the beginning..."
A barely audible voice sounded, his eyes seemingly burned with intense light, his lips trembling as if to smile broadly, but then regaining composure, finally becoming calm.
In the lower cabin of the Golden Hunting Blade, several figures quietly passed by, wherever they went, all surveillance cameras turned away.
In front of an unassuming small transport ship, Prince Costat held onto Ryan, and his subordinate was reporting:
"Everything is arranged; no one knows you brought Ryan aboard this small ship. We will return according to the predetermined trajectory."
"Hmm." Costat nodded, "At the next Star Gate Node, we can separate."
"Afraid of an ambush, Azure Dragon?" Ryan sneered, already wearing heavier restraints, like a suit of heavy armor, with almost only his head exposed.
Costat ignored him, abruptly pushing him into the cabin, where Ryan stumbled and hit the wall, looking displeased.
"Babluo, give me the box." Just before entering, he glanced at his subordinate, extending his hand.
The other handed over a box containing Azure Dragon’s gift; since Adam instructed him to bring it back, he would naturally ensure it’s secure, as staying with him is the safest place for it.
Entering the ship, as the door closed and synchronized with the flight state, the Imperial Fleet could even release small ships during a Star Gate transition.
Everything was automated, Costat had nothing to concern himself with, and in the cramped cabin, only he and Ryan were present.
Casually putting the box down at his feet, Costat sat before Ryan, his expression stern: "Ryan, who are you working with?"
"What, interrogate me?" Ryan, with disheveled hair, raised his head, the back of it leaning on the metal casing, replied nonchalantly: "You’re not qualified for that, let Adam come."
"You’re no longer a Prince, just an ordinary citizen of the Empire." Costat sneered, his eyes flickering, his tone unfriendly:
"With just you, there’s no way you have such capabilities. Your unusual state seems off, there must be side effects."
"I don’t have such capabilities?" Ryan glanced at him, "Quite right, Costat, you’ve learned to provoke me."
"But remember, to provoke someone, you must first be recognized by them."
Costat’s expression turned unpleasant, and he coldly rebuked: "Ryan, do you realize your actions have brought disgrace to the Empire!"
"You were the one who exposed this, weren’t you?" Ryan’s eyes turned icy cold.
"Do you think we alone know about it!" Costat said gravely, "Azure Dragon was just the first to approach us, there are surely a second and a third, your actions are too flawed!"
Ryan remained indifferent, "Didn’t Azure Dragon tell you who I am collaborating with?"
Costat’s tone softened, "Azure Dragon and we are merely using each other, he wants to deal with you, and we’re an unavoidable step, since you’ve made your move, we have no choice but to resort to this."
"He demanded your execution on the spot, but Saint Emperor Adam firmly refused."
"Ryan, the Empire is in decline, rife with internal conflicts, you see it too, we’re all part of the Royal Family, why can’t we work together?"
"Work together?" Ryan’s eyes sharp, "I want to eliminate Azure Dragon, can you help me with that?"
Costat hesitated: "Not for now, he still has great use."
"But rest assured, once everything settles, we’ll help you deal with it." He spoke sincerely.
"Heh..." Li Ming listened clearly from within the box, not surprised at Costat’s statement, these guys are all ruthless predators.
Yet, he also captured another piece of information, the Empire seems to have other plans for him.
Ryan stared at him, suddenly sneering: "Sure enough, treachery and ruthless measures are indeed worthy of our respected Holy Emperor, when he killed my mother and wife, why didn’t he talk about working together?"
Costat’s expression slightly changed, Ryan’s head leaned back, with a bang it hit the metal casing, his tone cold and quiet:
"Don’t think I don’t know why you don’t kill me; you’re merely curious why I became so powerful, you really should have listened to Azure Dragon and had me executed on the spot."
"Victory is justice; I have nothing to say about it, this time he indeed won, but you’d better pray that he keeps winning."
"Someday, Azure Dragon will regret cooperating with you."
Costat shook his head; after talking for a long time, he didn’t receive any useful information, just as he expected, at their level, it was impossible to be persuaded with a few words.
The cabin fell silent, and a few hours later, they transitioned through the Star Gate Node.
An unassuming small ship in the Imperial Fleet changed its course, taking another route.
In the quiet Starfield, several unremarkable figures stood here, all cloaked in black robes, heads bowed, with varied appearances.
"Hmm?" A humanoid figure in the center slowly lifted its head, its face hideous and ugly; it was Levinbeck, his eyes flickering with a bloody light, feeling quite surprised.
"Separated from the main fleet, Costat is cautious of me."
"Unfortunately... it’s useless."
Levinbeck extended his hand, and a figure on his left stepped forward, with a vertical palm cut, tearing apart the space.
He would not give up on Ryan, his experimental subject, as he had yet to fully study the balance mechanism between Alchemy Material and the Terrax bloodline, even finding another royal family member might not recreate Ryan’s situation.
This fellow, though reckless and impulsive, had some cleverness, yet his intellect was indeed beyond ordinary people’s comparison.
With these thoughts, several figures vanished into the rift.
"...Based on the information left by the Hammer Divine Craftsman, we’ve found a new space-time distortion area. Comparing parameters, there is a 95% likelihood it’s created by the Eternal Silence Star." He furrowed his brows,
"...The area is located near the Red River Valley in the Deep Dimension World, the Red River Star Stream?"
Sitting in the cockpit, Prince Costat reviewed the intelligence. This small ship had no communication capability within the Star Gate Channel, all the data was previously received via the Golden Hunting Blade.
Once back, he would have to jump right back into this work, already familiarizing himself in advance.
"The Red River Star Stream runs through the Main Universe and the Deep Dimension World, if the Eternal Silence Star is indeed in there, it won’t be a small problem..." He mused, carefully examining the information.
However, several hours later, the ship suddenly issued an alert: "Warning, space parameters disordered, about to fall out of the Star Gate Channel, prepare for impact!"
"Hmm?" Costat’s expression slightly changed, looking up to see the previously restrained space energy around them had turned violently out of control.