Chapter 508: Chapter 509: The Man Enticed by the Great Witch_1
"I hope you’re as reliable in action as you say," Aiden said nonchalantly to Lamia.
Both Qiqimora and Lamia were experienced, with Lamia being an old creature who had lived for over a hundred years; at least there was no need to worry about their composure in the face of a grand scene.
"So, are we proceeding with the original plan?" Qiqimora suddenly asked.
"Correct," Aiden replied, and then he chanted a divine word. At the same time, Lamia’s form instantly twisted and reassembled into that of the female officer they had interrogated the day before.
"You really have mastered a bunch of convenient divine words," Lamia laughed heartily. "With this, one could confidently wander around without clothes."
"The way you think of using it... seems a bit peculiar," Aiden commented with a frown.
Qiqimora’s "Hidden" ability could only conceal two additional people. The mercury golem was too large and had to take up one spot, so Aiden simply had Lamia disguise herself as that female officer. They had already retrieved the necessary documents from her.
After they had interrogated her yesterday, Lamia took the female officer away, and Aiden hadn’t seen her since. He could roughly imagine her ultimate fate.
The so-called plan was to enter the base through the nearest entrance, follow the shortest route straight into the core area of the research institute, and then Aiden would use the power of the "Wordless Code" to suppress the Divine Artifact in the restricted area that limited the number of people, and directly break through.
Professor Dodge was currently in the research institute’s restricted area performing surgery on his child. Direct contact with Professor Dodge at the scene was not part of the plan, but they had no other choice.
When the time came, they would prioritize stealing the Divine Artifacts within the base, then show themselves and negotiate with Professor Dodge.
"Should we consider directly seizing the Hand of Obliteration?" Qiqimora suddenly proposed.
"If you want to attempt theft, I won’t stop you, but that is the sole authority, a mere snap of your fingers could make you disappear completely from this world, and even the ’Wordless Code’ would not be able to restrain it entirely," Aiden said earnestly. "Moreover, you said it yourself, it can’t be stolen."
The Hand of Obliteration wasn’t a Divine Artifact that could be easily stolen with the power of the "Void" ability. When in the hands of its bearer, it was invisible to others, just like the emperor’s new clothes.
The risk of assassinating Professor Dodge was also very high; should they fail, it would completely cut off the possibility of negotiation, and they would inevitably face retaliation.
Therefore, Aiden suggested that they first try to stealthily remove the Divine Artifacts from the base, and then negotiate terms with Professor Dodge on the spot, leaving the other high-risk proposals for after the negotiations failed.
From their previous observations, the base’s cycle of using up a batch of test subjects was quite long. They estimated that the entire process of creating and stabilizing a demon offspring would take about five to six hours, and the surgery time would also not be brief; it was doubtful they could finish before Mr. Blood arrives.
Anyway, Aiden couldn’t let Mr. Blood have contact with Professor Dodge.
Qiqimora’s goal was to obtain the Hand of Obliteration, a sole authority that most people would not give up easily.
However, Qiqimora could feel that when it came time to negotiate, neither Aiden nor Lamia would forcibly demand the Hand of Obliteration from Professor Dodge; in fact, as long as he gave up cooperation with the base, Aiden and Lamia’s goal would be achieved.
But relying on herself alone, she would not have a chance to safely obtain the Hand of Obliteration; the help of others, especially Aiden’s, was indispensable.
Qiqimora chanted a divine word, concealing herself, Aiden, and the mercury golem together, moving towards the entrance of the base with Lamia.
At that moment, Qiqimora spoke up again, "Jailer."
"Why do you suddenly want to speak to me in whispers?" Aiden replied.
In a "hidden" state, even Lamia, as a teammate, could not see or hear them. Qiqimora had deliberately chosen to speak to him after the action had begun, indicating that this was a conversation meant for their ears only, even though Lamia was actually right in front of them.
"If Professor Dodge is unwilling to give up the Hand of Oblivion but is willing to join forces with you against Mister Blood Coat, would you agree right away?" Qiqimora asked.
"I would weigh the risks," Aiden carefully chose his words. "If the risk is not high, I don’t mind lending you a hand."
Conversely, this meant that if the risk was significant, he wouldn’t risk helping Qiqimora achieve her objective.
"You seem very committed to helping Lamia," Qiqimora suddenly commented, her tone neutral.
But Aiden heard the dissatisfaction in her voice and explained, "It’s part of the plan, just happens to coincide with Lamia’s."
"If you’re willing to help me obtain the Hand of Oblivion, I can promise you in all seriousness that I will assist you in killing Mister Blood Coat," Qiqimora said in a persuasive tone. "Having me ascend to sainthood, and holding the sole authority, will significantly increase your chances of winning."
Aiden sensed that Qiqimora was trying her best to recruit him, hoping that during negotiations he would lean towards forcefully taking the sole authority from Professor Dodge.
"Merely dealing with Mister Blood Coat is not enough," Aiden said. "Would you be willing to assist me against the Sovereigns?"
Qiqimora pondered for a moment, "If I also ascend to Sovereign..."
"That won’t be an easy task," Aiden chuckled. "Fine, I will take your words into serious consideration."
"You seem to have quite the charm with women; both Great Witches want to recruit you," the Goddess of Vengeance appeared beside him, her words laced with irony. "This must be the value for which the Goddess of Conspiracy has nurtured you, a bad woman with ambition will want a taste when she spots you."
"My goal is to free myself from this situation," Aiden replied with his inner voice.
"Low-level assistance is meaningless. The power of the Throne of Spirit is capable of controlling hearts," the Goddess of Vengeance said suddenly earnest. "I think you should seriously consider her proposal, given that the girl is trustworthy enough."
"I know," Aiden responded indifferently.
Mister Blood Coat’s "Hatred" authority could make people betray one another, while Melissa’s "Desire" and "Wisdom" authorities could manipulate people’s memories and objectives.
Dealing with these two individuals, half-hearted assistants would likely end up being controlled by them. To deal with Mister Blood Coat, an assistant must reach the level of a saint; to confront the Goddess of Conspiracy, one needs the power of a Sovereign to stand a chance.
In the past, Aiden had considered nurturing either Abigail or Qiqimora into a saint or a Sovereign to help free himself from the current situation.
Now, perhaps it was that opportunity.
After becoming aware of Professor Dodge’s actions, Aiden had actually started to lean towards choosing Qiqimora as a collaborator, at least from what he knew, Qiqimora hadn’t committed any excessively heinous acts.
