Chapter 512: Chapter 513 Stop_1
"Professor Dodge, upon hearing the commotion we caused, decided that the people here couldn’t fend off the invaders, so he simply used his power to hide himself and his son. Those two were likely his technical staff helping within the base. To prevent them from being captured and leaking secrets, Professor Dodge took them out. If we had arrived any later, we would’ve found nothing," Aiden provided a brief explanation.
As for his reason for killing the two technicians, whether it was because his power couldn’t conceal that many people, or because he didn’t want the people in the base to know about his powers — he likely hid the fact that he had the Hand of Annihilation from the Gistas military.
Aiden hadn’t really expected Professor Dodge to make such a resolute and decisive action, just to ensure his son’s safety. After offending the Dragon Spine Empire, he didn’t hesitate to offend the second-most powerful intelligence agency of the Southern Continent as well.
Now, there are two groups of invisible people hiding in this room: Professor Dodge and his son; Aiden and the two Great Witches. Aiden is aware of the others’ presence, perhaps Professor Dodge also guessed that the invaders had come in, but neither can observe the other, yet they are indeed silently confronting each other.
"And what is this thing that Qiqimora forgot?" Lamia pressed on.
"If he chose to hide along with his son, what could it be other than a Divine Artifact used for healing?" Aiden replied, "If it’s visible to the eye, it’s probably something conspicuous. I think we all made a habitual mistake, thinking that a Divine Artifact must be hidden deeply, locked securely in a vault, only taken out when needed. But perhaps the people in this base did the opposite, boldly placing it in the laboratory, thus fooling the eyes of any scouts."
"What could it be then?" Lamia looked at Qiqimora, "Can’t you try harder to remember with that brain of yours?"
"The memory definitely exists, it’s just that it was overlooked by me..." Qiqimora seemed somewhat troubled.
"Should we grab someone from outside and question them?" Lamia suggested.
"No use," Aiden shook his head, "Professor Dodge made all memories related to the Divine Artifact lose their presence. If Qiqimora can’t remember, then it’s likely the same with anyone else inside the base. If it weren’t for our purpose here being connected to Professor Dodge, we might even forget about him for a while."
"Tch, maybe we should have snuck in and stolen it from the start," Lamia said.
"We don’t have that much time to search every room inside, who would have thought this guy could be so ruthless?" Aiden replied calmly.
The main reason for choosing a direct invasion, overcoming all internal defenses, and then capturing someone for interrogation was that they needed to save time because there was a monster chasing them from behind.
The Goddess of Revenge spoke again, "Indeed, kid, you really need to hurry it up."
At the same time, she shared with Aiden the sensation of revenge.
Aiden suddenly felt a palpitation, followed by the sensation of thorns in his back. It was as if a fierce beast was crouched behind him, eyeing his neck hungrily.
Mr. Bloody Shirt’s location emerged in his consciousness, the distance had shrunk to just seven kilometers... no, perhaps only five kilometers to be exact.
At this rate, the monster would arrive at the Sunset City base in about a quarter of an hour.
He had undone the rules allowing free passage, so in theory, with this space in overload, Mr. Bloody Shirt should not be able to enter even if he arrived.
But there’s always a what-if, holding a sole authority in hand, Mr. Bloody Shirt might come up with some trick Aiden had not yet considered.
"How close does he have to be to sense me?" Aiden wondered to himself.
"I told you already, I don’t know the specifics, but I guess the moment he reaches this base, he’ll figure out that the one causing trouble inside is you," said the Goddess of Revenge with a twisted smile on her face.
"You can still laugh in this situation..."
"I’m insane, you’ve known that since day one," the Goddess of Revenge’s smile grew even wider.
Aiden’s heart continued to sink, every minute, every second passing, the danger was increasing, and at this moment, Professor Dodge was nowhere to be found!
After pondering for a while, Aiden decided to change the order of his plan—first, try to negotiate with Professor Dodge.
"Qiqimora, can you let my voice be heard without revealing my position?" Aiden asked Qiqimora for confirmation.
"Yes. I can control the amount of information leaked while I’m in a state of invisibility. I can make it so they only hear the content without being able to sense the direction of the voice," Qiqimora gave an affirmative answer.
"I’m going to say a few words to that guy next, help me out," Aiden made his request.
With only a moment’s consideration, Qiqimora nodded, "Alright, go ahead."
Aiden spoke directly, "Professor Harrison Dodge, I know you are here, may I have a word with you?"
His voice echoed in the room, but to the outside world, it was impossible to discern the source; the sound seemed to come from the void and faded in an instant.
"..."
Seconds of waiting went by, awkward silence continuing; Aiden did not receive the response he wanted.
"I am not your enemy, I know you possess the Hand of Annihilation, and I also know someone wants to take it from you. Out of vested interest, I must stop them. In addition, I have come to destroy this base," Aiden continued, "Of course, I also know your purpose is to cure your son. On this matter, I can actually offer a safer solution... You can give me a chance to try."
"..."
Still, no response came.
"You talk like such a fraud," the Goddess of Revenge mocked Aiden with scorn.
"I was sincere enough..." Aiden retorted in his mind.
He spoke the truth, but such sincerity was impossible to convey to someone who knew nothing about him.
"That’s why peaceniks have no future, idiot!" the Goddess of Revenge educated Aiden while mocking him, "You should exploit his vulnerabilities and deter him! Did you come here to play-pretend at shaking hands for peace?"
Deterring... with that reminder, Aiden came to his senses.
Indeed, he didn’t need to stick to conveying goodwill, the other party was not some easy adversary—the recent disappearance of the two medics was a warning.
The soft spot of Professor Dodge was none other than his son.
"I think you might be curious about how I breached in here, I can tell you straight away—that I have a unique authority in my possession," Aiden switched to a more harsh tone, "You can continue to remain silent, but I’ll use the power of this unique authority to affect what you treasure most... Believe me, you can’t afford the consequences. Now, you can make your choice, I’m only giving you ten seconds."
The threat had an immediate effect; as the words were barely out of Aiden’s mouth, he heard an untraceable voice, as if a message from the void:
"Stop!"
