"It's not really a big deal, I just want to check if the Holy Spirit Sect and the Old Republic are colluding behind the scenes."
Su Li appeared a bit stunned, "I can make that decision. What's up, has the Holy Spirit Sect crossed you? If you want to deal with them, just let me know. I know plenty of people, both reputable and not so reputable, and taking down the Holy Spirit Sect is a piece of cake. If you don't want to get your hands dirty, you can ask that fanboy of yours, Ferreira, to handle it. He'll make sure to destroy all the evidence."
Gathering intelligence really attracts the heartless. There are hardly any decent folks in this.
Upon hearing Su Li's words, Platt was stupefied.
Although he hadn't heard the name Su Li, he had definitely heard of Zhou Halong, the chief of the intelligence department at the Railroad Guild, and one of the "Four Aces" of the guild.
The world was indeed in chaos these days, which had greatly elevated the status of intelligence operatives.
Not only did Bai Fu know Dallas, but she also knew Zhou Halong, damn it!
Right now, Platt just wanted to slap himself twice, hard. Everything that person he had captured had said was true; this was definitely not someone he could afford to mess with. It wasn't just about crossing her, even another look could explode the situation.
Why had he run into Bai Fu?
His only strategy now was to stall, just brazenly stall.
Bai Fu smiled at Platt, "You can try to hide it if you want, but given the capabilities of the Dark Web and the Railroad Guild, I believe it's only a matter of time before I find the intelligence I'm looking for."
Platt had no choice but to continue insisting he had no ulterior motive and that he was misunderstood.
While he was blathering, his personal terminal suddenly rang. It was the same person he had just contacted.
Oh no, could this be a confirmation of his situation? If Bai Fu heard his plans firsthand...
Platt's face changed.
Bai Fu simply spit out a word.
Platt, with no other choice, pressed the answer button reluctantly, "What's up?"
The voice on the other end was clearly panicked, "It's Major Declan from the Old Republic. I just contacted the Old Republic, and Major Declan said he wants to talk to you, so I transferred the call to you."
Platt looked at his personal terminal, then at Bai Fu beside him.
Hearing it was someone from the Old Republic actually relieved him, and he even felt a bit of schadenfreude.
Bai Fu was formidable, and held a high position, but formidable and high as she was, she couldn't compare with the Old Republic. Just one word from the Old Republic would mean he'd successfully survived today's crisis.
"Major Declan, it's me, Platt, you wanted to talk to me about..."
Platt didn't get to finish his sentence, because suddenly, a fit of furious yelling erupted from the terminal.
This shout completely flabbergasted Platt.
"What 'I'? Have you been wallowing in the trash so long that it's rotted your brain? You dare mess with Bai Fu and even hope that I would help you neutralize her."
If Platt were standing in front of him right now, Declan would likely have smashed his nose.
Now, who doesn't know that Bai Fu is a calamity that shouldn't be tampered with? The Truth Society messed with Bai Fu, resulting in Bagalos Base and Black Hawk Base being demolished. Genetic Primordial stirred up Bai Fu and got slapped back, hammered by the Truth Society twice in the ensuing months, and then got their Ocean Life Research Institute wiped out by a group of unknowns. The Wanderers from the Goli Desert tried to trouble Bai Fu and ended up with their entire Goli Desert Wanderer Camp eradicated.
Of course, this doesn't mean that even the major powers wouldn't dare provoke Bai Fu. These powers could establish themselves on the scorched earth post-war because in addition to having technology, they also each possessed individuals significantly stronger than the typical S-class assassin.
The crux of the problem was that with the Truth Society causing chaos everywhere, Genetic Primordial bursting with issues, and the Undying People appearing in large numbers, all the major powers were under immense stress and simply didn't have the resources to deal with Bai Fu.
Targeting Bai Fu required deploying either top-tier experts or a large squadron; otherwise, even if Bai Fu couldn't defeat them, she could escape, and once she did, they would have to spend every moment guarding against her potential assassinations.
This caliber of assassin could not completely crush a major power head-on, but the capacity for stealthy killings was enough to give any major power a tremendous headache.
Initially, Declan also hadn't thought this through and had even entertained the idea of making an inquiry to his superiors, only to get utterly berated.
He was, after all, a major, and couldn't swallow that indignation, so he ended up unleashing all his anger on Platt.
"Think before you act next time. The price you offered was high, but it's not even clear if it will materialize. If real trouble arises, I frankly couldn't care less about your fate."
Declan hung up furiously.
Platt was crushed by the scolding.
Now, great, Bai Fu knew about his intentions to kill her, and Declan's words had revealed that he had no desire to offend Bai Fu on his behalf. Platt was utterly isolated.
He lifted his head, no longer in the mood to pretend, looking utterly defeated.
"I'll talk, I'll talk now."
Under these circumstances, how could he dare conceal anything?
Platt started to recount the past of the Holy Spirit Sect. The Holy Spirit Sect was established in the Goli Desert following the Great Catastrophe, initially just a gathering of survivors establishing a camp. But one day, a man covered in scars emerged from the desert and collapsed at the camp's entrance.
The people at the camp rescued the man and carefully tended to him for a month. Although the man regained consciousness, his health continued to deteriorate.