After the dinner session.
The prince ordered the dining table to be cleared away, and he personally stood up and walked to the stage, took the microphone, and cordially invited all the guests present to dance in the banquet hall.
Most of the guests who came to the royal dinner brought their female companions, which was also one of the main procedures of the banquet. However, the senior officials of the shelter and the Orthodox Church did not participate. They just sat on one side of the banquet hall and whispered something.
The court musicians on the stage began to play cheerful and melodious music. The dignitaries naturally took their female companions, walked to the center of the banquet hall, and danced gracefully.
"Would you like to dance, Floin?"
Chen Lun stood outside the dance floor and asked the girl beside him.
"Of course, I'd love to."
Fuluoyin smiled and extended her hand.
Chen Lun then pulled her slowly into the dance floor and danced together following the melody.
"That duke seems hostile to you."
Fuluoyin put her left hand on Chen Lun's shoulder, leaned her head closer and whispered.
"It's okay, don't worry about him."
Chen Lun just smiled faintly.
He put his arms around Floyne's waist and began to spin to the beat.
Seeing this, Flo Yin stopped talking about this topic and devoted herself to dancing with the man in front of her. They had danced together under the moonlight before, but she was blind at the time and could not see the beautiful scene.
Now she wanted to look at the other person carefully and remember this moment in her heart.
Chen Lun felt Fuluoyin's gaze, which was as calm as water but secretly passionate, so he lowered his eyes and looked into hers. The two smiled at each other and communicated tacitly with their eyes during the dance.
It was a relaxed, joyful, and affectionate emotion.
The prince and princess were sitting at the main seat in the banquet hall.
Many young nobles looked at Princess Anna again and again, but hesitated to move forward. After hesitating for a while, they just sighed secretly.
The prince smiled and turned his head slightly to whisper to his sister Anna:
"Why don't you give those young talents some opportunities?"
"They are just some useless people who have benefited from the glory of their ancestors. It's better to dance with a pig than with them."
Anna said calmly.
Prince Dazlet burst into laughter, causing confusion among the dignitaries and servants nearby.
"Speaking of which, it is indeed difficult to find suitable candidates among the guests present... The younger generation of nobles, tut tut... It's a bit bad."
The prince commented, rubbing his chin.
He raised his hand and pointed at a handsome man and beautiful woman on the dance floor.
"How's Jack?"
Anna looked at the young man in the black hat. His tall and slender figure moved gracefully and calmly on the dance floor. The dance with the girl in the purple skirt was extremely beautiful.
"He can... but he already has a girlfriend."
Anna said calmly.
"What does it matter? It's just a dance."
The prince laughed.
"Do you want me to ask him for you? It's too boring for you to sit here."
"It's good that you know I'm bored, brother."
Anna said.
"But never mind. It's kind of embarrassing for a member of the royal family to take the initiative to invite someone to dance."
As she spoke, she took out the gift she had just received from Jack at the dining table, which was the "anti-aging potion".
Princess Anna pulled the cork out of the bottle without hesitation and drank it under her brother's surprised gaze.
"How is it, Anna? Is it really as magical as Jack said?"
The prince asked curiously.
"Um… "
The princess pondered, silently feeling the effect of the potion.
She suddenly chuckled.
"Interesting stuff."
"Um?"
The prince looked puzzled.
Princess Anna turned to look at her brother and extended her hand.
"Brother, if you don't want that potion, just give it to me."
"Haha... It looks like this is a really good thing that works."
Prince Dazlet laughed.
He took out his potion, thought for a moment, and gently placed it in his sister's hand.
"Okay, okay, since Anna wants it, I'll give it to you."
The prince said this lovingly, raising his hand to touch his sister's head, but Anna turned her head away.
"Thanks."
Princess Anna thanked him calmly and continued to uncork the bottle and take the medicine.
The prince saw his sister's cold expression and shook his head helplessly.
"We are both brothers, but your attitude towards me is very different... Anna."
He whispered.
When Princess Anna heard this, she frowned and tightened her fingers around the potion bottle.
"Don't forget what your father said. Don't mention that sinner again..."
She said indifferently.
"uh-huh."
The prince shrugged nonchalantly and continued to look at the dance floor, admiring everyone's dancing, tapping his fingers on the handrails to the beat.
Only Princess Anna beside him lowered her eyes expressionlessly.
*
*
*
After Chen Lun and Fuluoyin danced together, they left the dance floor to take a break.
He called the servant like a gentleman, asked for a glass of juice and handed it to Floin.
"Thanks."
She smiled and took a sip.
Then he handed back the remaining half cup of juice.
"Would you like to drink some too?"
Chen Lun was a little surprised, then he smiled.
"certainly."
He took it without hesitation and took a sip.
Flo Yin looked at his actions and the smile on her face widened.
Intimate relationships often begin with sharing a cup.
After a moment.
The dance session is over.
The dinner was coming to an end.
Chen Lun was about to take Fuluo Yin away, but was stopped by a royal steward, who whispered to him:
"Mr. Jack, the prince has some secret matters to tell you, please stay."
"Secret matters?"
Chen Lun raised his eyebrows.
"Yes, all the senior officials of the internment camp and members of the Imperial Inquisition present will participate. Please follow me."
The steward raised his hand and pointed to the side.
Chen Lun turned his head and looked at Fuluoyin.
"Wait for me here."
"Um."
Flo Yin nodded and sat back in her chair obediently.
Chen Lun followed the steward towards the exit of the banquet hall. He looked back and saw that the guests had left one after another, and the prince, princess and many high-ranking officials were nowhere to be seen.
He withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward. The steward led him to the other side of the Sun Palace, where there was a meeting room.
The top leaders of the shelter and the Imperial Inquisition were all here, and the new members of the Inquisition who entered at the same time as Chen Lun were also led in by the steward.
After waiting for a while, when everyone was present, the prince slowly stood up and looked at everyone.
"Everyone, I am gathering you all to make an announcement at this opportunity."
His expression grew slightly more serious.
"According to intelligence from various internment camps, twelve 'spiritual turbulences' have appeared in the empire, and these have been discovered. According to inferences, at least fifty such channels have been opened, and the pollution in the spiritual world has spread to the human world. The situation is very serious..."
The expressions of the people present varied, but most of them frowned slightly, obviously aware of the seriousness of the matter.
The "turbulence in the spiritual world" mentioned by the prince is actually a variation of the "rift in the spiritual world". It is also something that ordinary people cannot perceive. It can only be seen by those with a certain level of insight, which is generally a mid-sequence transcendent.
But what makes "spiritual turbulence" different from "spiritual rift" is that it is uncontrollable.
Creatures from the spiritual world generally do not appear in the mortal world. Even if they do, they will be detected and suppressed by the shelter at the first opportunity. Of course, this situation is rare because creatures from the spiritual world are intelligent and know that the mortal world is dangerous for them.
However, the "turbulence in the spiritual world" will force some creatures from the spiritual world to be thrown into the human world, most of which are polluting creatures. These monsters have no intelligence and are very powerful, which will cause terrible damage to the stability of the human world.
"I will carry out my father's will and formally launch the second phase of the 'Spiritual World Investigation Plan'. The purpose is to investigate the truth of the turmoil in the spiritual world and eliminate the danger. The specific candidates are as follows..."
The prince opened his mouth slowly and read out a series of names, all of whom were members of the Imperial Inquisition, including Chen Lun.
There were more than eighty people in total, divided into nine groups working simultaneously, corresponding to nine presiding judges, each leading a group.
"Compared to the first batch of members of the Seven Gods Church, this time only the Imperial Inquisition went alone. I don't need to explain the reason, and you should be able to guess it..."
Prince Dazzlet shook his head.
"The Seven Gods Churches are not harmonious with each other. Even if they don't expect to work together, they will still hinder each other. In the first phase, many extraordinary people died, but the gains were very few."
He put his hands behind his back, his young appearance revealed the aura of a king. He raised his head and smiled faintly:
"I believe that only the Imperial Inquisition is capable of completing this task... The files of the first phase of the plan can be viewed by all members involved in the operation, but this time I hope to hear definite clues and valuable information."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The members of the Imperial Inquisition stood up one after another and saluted Dazlet.
Trigger the main mission: The second phase of the spiritual world investigation operation!
Mission Description: The Empire discovered that the turmoil in the spiritual world was becoming increasingly serious, and planned to send extraordinary people to investigate. Prince Dazlet summoned members of the Imperial Inquisition and placed his hopes on this.
As a new member of the Imperial Inquisition, you are on the action list. (Note: Refusing the mission will result in serious consequences!)
Mission objective: Investigate the cause and truth of the turmoil in the spiritual world.
Mission rewards: 450,000 experience points, 1,000 gold pounds, 15 attribute points, 5 special attribute points, 5 regional fame points, one A-level merit from the Imperial Inquisition, Dazlet's favorability, and unknown rewards.
'Main quest? So the operation I am participating in now is equivalent to the warm-up before version 2.0... After the version update is completed, when the players go online, things will become clear. At that time, various forces will summon players to the spirit world to face the pollution tide pouring out from the dark world together.'
Chen Lun thought.
'Accept the mission.'
He accepted the task without any hesitation.
At the same time, Chen Lun thought of another thing.
'I remember that Mr. Byers and his lover Youlan participated in the first phase of the spiritual world investigation, and Youlan unfortunately died in that operation, which led to a series of subsequent tragedies...'
He sighed secretly.
At the same time, Chen Lun also saw the shadow of the 2.0 version of the previous life from the introduction of this operation... He still remembered that the name of that version was "Dark Revival". The main storyline talked about the root cause of the turmoil in the spiritual world. Unknowable changes had occurred in the dark world deep in the spiritual world, causing polluted organisms to appear in a blowout manner, from the third layer to the second layer, and then from the shallow layer to the present world, eventually seriously affecting the safety of the empire.
"The next specific action plan will be formulated by the nine chief judges. It is best to start in the next few days and not delay it for too long."
The prince ordered.
The nine presiding judges nodded in understanding.
At this time, a middle-aged man in military uniform with medals on his chest stood up and said to Chen Lun and several other members of the Imperial Tribunal:
"You guys follow me."
Through the steward's introduction, Chen Lun already knew the identity of the middle-aged man in front of him. He was his direct superior in the Imperial Tribunal, Chief Judge McCaughrean.
A powerful and established official in high position.
"Yes, Chief McCaughlin."
Chen Lun lowered his head slightly, and followed McCaughlin with seven other men and women into one of the secret rooms in the conference hall.
In addition to them, the other judges did the same. They summoned the members who participated in the operation and each went into a secret room to make plans and deployments.
Inside the secret room.
McCaughlin skillfully pressed the light switch on the wall, and the chandelier on the ceiling immediately lit up, illuminating the round table and a circle of chairs below.
"Sit down."
She said softly and sat in the main seat.
After everyone was seated, McCollum took out a thick file, placed it on the table, and tapped it with his fingers.
"The files of the last investigation are here. You don't need to bother applying for them... Actually, there isn't much valuable content, because the people of the Seven Gods Church only advanced to the third level of the spirit world at that time. The conclusion they came to was the same, that is, the source of the pollution was the deeper 'dark world'."
McCaughlin's expression was calm, and he swept his majestic gaze over the crowd.
"So your next mission objective is very clear, which is to pass through the spirit world and reach the deepest 'dark world' to find the truth about the pollution there."
She held up an index finger.
"I only have one request for you, and that is to try your best to come back alive. Can you do it?"
Judge McCaughrean smiled.
Everyone suddenly felt cared for and loved, and couldn't help feeling warm in their hearts.
"We will try our best to complete the mission and come back alive, sir."
A female member nodded solemnly.
"Um."
McCaughlin nodded.
Then she added:
"This operation is divided into nine groups, and we are the first group. As the chief judge, I have other important things to take care of, so I will not personally participate in the investigation process... You are all elite among the middle-sequence extraordinary people, I believe you can do a good job."
McCollum looked at Chen Lun.
"Jack will be the captain of this operation. You must follow his instructions throughout the process and are not allowed to act on your own."
Chen Lun was a little surprised, but still nodded in agreement.
"Yes, Judge McCaughrean."
Upon hearing the presiding judge's appointment, several members frowned slightly.
As a new member of the Judiciary, Jack was appointed captain as soon as he arrived, which made the old members feel dissatisfied.
"Sir, but..."
A male member spoke up.
But McCollum interrupted him directly with a serious look on his face.
"This is an order. There is no room for negotiation... As elites selected by the empire, you should be well aware that strength is respected in the mysterious realm. Jack's strength is incomparable to that of an ordinary Sequence Five. The dark world is full of dangers. It is responsible for you to have him lead the team."
Several unconvinced members took a deep breath and finally responded in a deep voice.
"We understand, sir."
They looked at their future captain Jack again, but found that he just responded with a polite smile.
"Okay, let's adjourn the meeting."
McCaughlin stood up.
"Today and tomorrow, you will go to the Inquisition's headquarters to prepare. We will set off at ten o'clock the day after tomorrow morning."
"Yes! Sir!"