Chapter 494: Chapter 495 Common Goal_1
A quarter of an hour later, Aiden began to enjoy the late-night snack he had prepared himself while exchanging recently gathered intelligence with the two witches.
"...and that’s the situation. Based on the intelligence we’ve collected so far, it’s very likely that Professor Dodge is involved with the ’infection’ project. We should prepare ourselves for him to be aligned with the Gistas Kingdom’s intelligence bureau," Aiden said.
"In other words, if anyone dares to target the research results of that base, he won’t just sit back and ignore it," Lamia concluded, based on her own agenda.
"So, if we directly go after Professor Dodge to snatch the Hand of Oblivion, there’s also a possibility of receiving support from the Gistas military?" Qiqimora’s tone was no longer casual.
"And according to your intelligence, Mr. Blood Robe’s infiltration operation is going exceptionally smoothly. He even managed to expose you guys and nearly played you to death," Aiden shrugged. "I guess the research at that base is nearing its end."
"Nothing but bad news," Lamia commented.
"Look on the bright side, at least we have one piece of good news—our goals are now aligned," Aiden said, spreading his hands.
"Speaking of which, what were your original plans when you came here, Warden?" Qiqimora suddenly asked.
"No need to hide it; you didn’t contact us when you arrived, just conducted your own investigation for a day. We all noticed. You have your own agenda," Lamia added. "That’s why we didn’t contact you, to avoid any awkwardness between us."
"How considerate and touching," Aiden laughed helplessly. "Alright, I must admit, I did have other plans. I intended to find Professor Dodge and ally with him against Mr. Blood Robe. Of course, it’d be even better if I could destroy the ’infection’ project along the way."
"So you didn’t care about Qiqimora’s goals at all?" Lamia mocked with her characteristic cackling laugh. "Such a heartless man, and to think Qiqimora was so—"
"Keep joking like that, and see if I don’t turn on you," Qiqimora interrupted, flicking the butt of her nearly finished cigarette at Lamia. "Fancy a taste of ’Ignition’?"
"I’m speaking on your behalf, so don’t be ungrateful," Lamia said as she casually tossed the cigarette butt into the campfire, then turned to Aiden. "So you learned of Dodge’s involvement with the ’infection’ project and instantly gave up? To avoid being our enemy?"
Although Professor Dodge and the Kingdom Intelligence Bureau, which organized the "infection" project, were collaborating, Aiden could still have allied with him—as long as Aiden was willing to support the "infection" project. Purely for Aiden’s goals, this would have actually meant a greater chance of success. Besides Professor Dodge, he could also have the military forces on his side to eradicate Mr. Blood Robe’s influence from the city.
However, this would undoubtedly lead to a conflict of goals with Lamia and Qiqimora, and Aiden, the first to betray, would certainly have the upper hand.
"I just have my own principles, and I don’t like that project of the military," Aiden answered seriously.
"What a fool," the phantom of the avenging goddess suddenly appeared beside the campfire, smiling. "This is where you should boldly sweet-talk to deepen the connection."
Aiden chose to ignore her.
"Warden, what were you initially planning to use as a bargaining chip to convince Professor Dodge?" Qiqimora suddenly asked.
"A cure for his son. I thought maybe Abigail could help with that," Aiden replied. "After all, isn’t she a demon capable of creating a balanced state of demonization by herself?"
Lamia and Qiqimora were both taken aback. They exchanged glances and then said in unison to Aiden, "Why do you think Abigail would agree?"
"She’d be willing to help with that much, wouldn’t she?" Aiden said.
"How could she? She’s fundamentally a selfish witch—just like us," Lamia said with a raspy voice. "Do you honestly expect her to have a sense of righteousness to cure people and relieve disasters?"
"She’s polite to you only because she doesn’t know the details about you," Qiqimora added.
"Indeed, she’s quite cold to you two," Aiden nodded. "But either way, it’s still an avenue worth exploring, even if it means paying a tradeoff *to* deal with her... You have to know that Professor Dodge may not have a channel to communicate with Abigail."
"After all, he is the witches’ public enemy," Lamia sneered.
"Even if Abigail’s route doesn’t work, I could still propose helping him steal the research results of the ’infection’ project," Aiden added.
"But since he’s now personally involved with the project, he doesn’t need any thief’s aid," Qiqimora pointed out. "If it comes to Abigail’s involvement, even if she’s willing to help, he’d be more inclined to trust the results of the ’infection’ project he supports, rather than the organizer of the witches’ conclave."
"That’s why I said our goals are the same because now we have only one path to take," Aiden steered the conversation back on track. "Considering the current situation, it’s impossible for us to catch up with Mr. Blood Robe’s progress on the base’s intelligence. The most viable plan is to take a risk and invade the base directly to steal the research results. Then Professor Dodge will come to us, and we’ll negotiate with him. Hopefully, we’ll secure the Hand of Oblition and move it out of this city as quickly as possible."
"A partnership based on mutual interests, I like it," Lamia said with a pleased smile.
"I have no objections, but how exactly should we proceed?" Qiqimora asked. "Warden, shall we all listen to your plan now?"
"My idea is, if we can’t infiltrate the base, then Qiqimora, you keep using your ability to gather intelligence, check the core areas, key personnel, and also identify those under Mr. Blood Robe’s control—now we can be a bit more heavy-handed. It doesn’t matter if we’re detected, as long as we’re not caught on the spot."
"If we’re discovered, the base will become alert, and they might even relocate," Lamia raised her concerns.
"At least that way, Mr. Blood Robe’s progress will be affected, too, and the groundwork he’s laid might become meaningless. He’s currently our biggest risk factor for failure," Aiden responded. "Besides, we don’t have much time."
"Alright then," Lamia, having personally experienced Mr. Blood Robe’s power, quickly agreed. "What should I do?"
"Do what you’re best at—killing. Take out all of the controlled officers Qiqimora finds. Besides that, if Qiqimora locates the most critical personnel, work together to abduct him and hand him over to me. I can pry information out of him," Aiden instructed.
"I like this division of labor; it feels like you’ve become our superior," Lamia teased. "Who’s going to be in charge of investigating Professor Dodge?"
"Leave that to me. I’m currently the one with the most comprehensive intelligence on him," Aiden replied calmly.
