Xia De maintained his illusion and wanted to follow him into the stairs, but when he passed the entrance, he found that a simple warning ceremony had been set up here:
"Oh? This place actually hired a ring-moving sorcerer to help set up the ceremony?"
However, because the warning ritual was too simple, it had no effect on Shade, who was proficient in illusion.
After walking through the dark and narrow staircase, we arrived at the hidden fourth floor. This was even more amazing, as it was a large flat-like room. The luxurious decoration and furniture arrangement were even better than those downstairs, which made Xia De wonder if this was the place where this high-end brothel was used to entertain important people.
As soon as Director Anros showed up, he heard a voice from the southeast corner of the room:
"Anros, you are too slow. Do you know how much it costs to rent this place?"
It was a man's voice, and it was in the Kasenric language.
Director Anros pressed his hat and walked over with his men:
"You have to be patient, Hikari Senord. If someone were to find out we were meeting like this, how much trouble do you think it would cause?"
In the southeast corner of the room, a two-tiered platform protruded from the floor, on which a square table and stools were placed. The single-layer glass window on one side of the wall allowed one to overlook the entire rainy Mikaela Blast Furnace City from the fourth floor. Based on the silhouette of the "Glass Blast Furnace" not far away, Shade could also determine the specific location of this place in the city.
The person talking to Director Anros was a tall and thin man that Shade had never seen before. He had a thick stubble, and it seemed that he deliberately kept it that way. The strange tall and thin man should be the one who invited this meeting, because there were five or six of his men in this room on the top floor, but they all consciously retreated to another room separated by a wooden wall and did not listen to the conversation that followed.
The tall and thin Hikari Xuenod shook hands with Director Anros:
"It will be a bit troublesome indeed, but you said people will think that it was you, the director of MI6, who defected to our Carsonrick, or me, the minister of gray gloves, who defected to your Delarion?"
Xia De was very glad that no one could see his astonishment at this moment, and he was also very glad that he followed.
Director Anlos waved his hand:
"A stupid question. If it weren't necessary, I wouldn't come to see you. Sit down and talk. You know I can't stay here long."
He motioned to the person behind him to hand him the briefcase:
"This cooperation is a last resort. Let's get straight to the point."
"Okay, regarding the fact that someone has been preparing for at least a year in advance to try to assassinate your Duke Carina and the head of our negotiation delegation, Duke Simir, here is the current intelligence."
Minister Xue Nord of the Gray Gloves said, but he is not Shad's boss. The ace agent "Grey Eagle" originally belonged directly to the royal family. Even if it has been passed down to "Grey Eagle II", it still belongs directly to Princess Margaret.
"Before we discuss this, are you sure it's safe here?"
Director Anros held down the pulled out document and asked. Minister Xue Nuode nodded:
"It's absolutely safe. I hired those special people to set up the ritual to prevent anyone from sneaking up. Otherwise, why do you think this place is so expensive?"
As they spoke, both sides took out the documents they had prepared, and the white documents quickly covered the table. Director Dak Anros and Minister Hikari Xuenod stood up and almost leaned over the table to exchange and discuss every clue and intelligence they had. Shade leaned on the railing next to the high platform, watching the rain outside the one-way glass while listening to every word of their conversation.
Although it was raining, there was still a faint sunlight shining through the glass onto the stranger's face. Raindrops hit the window densely, and the leaders of the agents were also exchanging information quickly. Xia De just stood there quietly. Although he did not miss any information, looking at the rainy scenery of the glass city outside and the quiet city, he couldn't help but sigh that everything changed too quickly.
While listening to the information, he thought about the smiling faces of the girls around him, from Luvia to Tifa. He knew he shouldn't think about these things at this time, but the atmosphere on this rainy day was a bit too depressing.
The spring rain is usually not heavy, but once it starts, it cannot stop. This is the climate characteristic of the Green Lake area. When Director Anros and the man with the briefcase behind him walked out of the local high-end business place with flowers planted in front of the door and a flower wall as a screen to block the sight of passers-by on Percival Avenue, it was already half past ten in the morning.
The carriage stopped at the intersection waiting for the two of them. Director Anros, who was always cautious, looked around before putting away his umbrella and getting on the carriage. He was very cautious and signaled the carriage to take his assistant away first. He himself, holding his hat down, walked towards Xia De, who was standing in front of the flower wall with his hands behind his back, holding an umbrella and looking up at the flowers.
"You don't seem surprised to see me here."
Xia De didn't look at his boss who came to his side. Director Anlos smiled and said:
"Since the lady has come to the area, and you have shown up, what is impossible?"
He paused.
"But if I had seen you in that building up front, I'm afraid I'd be really surprised."
That's why Xia De didn't choose to show up there:
"Would you mind telling me about the situation? Or I can go and ask the lady directly."
Dark Anros thought for a moment:
"Let's find a quiet place to talk."
The two of them almost immediately looked at the building behind the screen wall and shook their heads together:
"There's a Victory Carrier Hotel nearby. Let's go there."
The Victory Carrier Hotel is where Professor Boulanger and three followers of the god of love are staying temporarily. Compared with the building covered by the flower wall, the Victory Carrier Hotel is undoubtedly a real and serious place.
On a rainy Tuesday morning, there weren't many people on the first floor of the hotel. Xia De and Director Anlos chose a seat against the wall, away from the indoor lights, so Director Anlos, who looked ordinary, didn't take off his hat until the waiter brought them tea.
"I just met with the Gray Gloves."
Director Anros lowered his voice. He was not sure how much Shade knew, so he simply started from the beginning:
"Did Miss Carina tell you about the third party in this negotiation?"
"Yes."
"Since we started discussing the border and trade routes in the Pantanal region last year, someone has been planning to intensify the conflict between us and Carsenrick by assassinating members of the negotiation team. Starting with the noble in Tobesk who met with a mysterious person some time ago, we have now received definite news that the assassination targets are the lady and the Duke who led the Southern Country."
He gave Shade some time to think:
"We must not let down our guard just because the other side is a united mob. Some of their people are among us. The Old Continent has been at peace for too long. Now a little spark will ignite the sensitive powder keg. Too many people hope to change the current order. Moreover, we have moved too fast in recent decades, and too many things that should have been dealt with long ago have accumulated."
From the tone and expression of his superiors, the outsider also understood MI6's judgment on current affairs:
"I have known the importance of this negotiation for a long time, but has it progressed to this point?"
“Peace is a rare era, while war and conflict are the norm in civilization.”
Director Anros whispered:
"Those of us who hear thunder in silence are the ones who can best understand the undercurrents hidden beneath the calm surface of the water. The two sides of Green Lake, Green Lake City and Mikaela Blast Furnace City will surely leave their names in history books in the future."
Xia De nodded gently. They were both silent for a while before Xia De asked:
“Although this is not my task, can you tell me what the main difficulties are you facing now?”
Director Anros nodded cautiously, but then shook his head, his eyes fixed on Shade:
"There are also people with extraordinary abilities on the other side."
He spoke carefully, his voice becoming even lower:
"You should understand what I'm saying, but those with extraordinary abilities are hiding behind the scenes because they are afraid of the church's rules and don't dare to come out directly."
For example, the ring warlock from the Tyranny Club appeared during the banquet shooting last Friday.
"These people won't take the initiative to attack, but their presence alone can provide convenience for ordinary people. This is the most difficult part of the investigation, but fortunately, both the Sixth Division and the Gray Gloves have some people with extraordinary abilities as helpers."
“Since you know for sure who these people are, why don’t you turn to the church for help?”
Xia De asked again, and Director Anlos shook his head slowly:
"We have a tacit understanding that as long as the church does not intervene, no one can cross that line. Once the church intervenes, you must know that the Five Gods Church will not consider the interests of Delarion and Carsonrick. They just want to catch those who do not follow the rules. But both Delarion and Carsonrick believe that they can benefit from handling this matter."
"So... now not only are we in tacit agreement with each other, but the church is in tacit agreement with everyone?"
Shad summarized.
"The church is like a god, watching everyone from a high place with cold eyes, playing the 'game' within the rules, and waiting to intervene personally when the rules are broken. People always don't like to have such a high and mighty being directly interfere in their affairs, so we must find a good balance."
If it weren't for Xia De's excellent hearing, he probably wouldn't be able to hear a single word at this moment.
"In fact, it has always been like this. In this era of strange powers, the secret service must not only grasp the boundary between itself and ordinary citizens, but also the boundary between ordinary and extraordinary. This is difficult, very difficult, harder than walking on a tightrope in a circus. Carefully shuttle through the foggy alleys, only look at the figure you want to pursue in front of you, and don't pay attention to the strange things in the fog. Yes, yes, this is us, so we are the country's trump card."
This middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance had a terrifying look in his eyes:
"So, even if everyone knows that there is a special existence in such a matter that is enough to shake the world order, they can only assume that they know nothing and wait for the other party to make a mistake. In the matter of Green Lake, the third party force is about to cross the line!"