Chapter 693: Plan Review 2
Gao Yang had learned from Chen Ying that the Rune Circuits possessed by the Hundred Rivers Union had always been kept safe by Colorless, Goldthread, and Green Tea, mainly Colorless and Goldthread.
That was in line with Gao Yang’s experience. When he borrowed the Rune Circuit from the Union to level up his Double to level 4, Colorless and Goldthread were the ones who received him, and the Rune Circuit was kept in Goldthead’s briefcase. Cheêck out latest novels at novelhall.com
With Green Tea getting killed by Dust, he was automatically taken off the suspect list. That left Colorless and Goldthread.
Of course, Gao Yang could’ve just told Chen Ying her conclusion and had her imprison Colorless and Goldthread for interrogation, polygraph, dream invasion, or psychic torment. There were many ways to flush out Dust.
However, he decided against those ideas after some deliberation. He had four reasons:
First, Gao Yang couldn’t be certain that the spy was between Colorless and Goldthread.
Second, Colorless and Goldthread were both senior members of the Hundred Rivers Union with formidable power. Antagonizing both at the same time could lead to chaos or even bloodshed, and the Union might not be able to take it.
Third, Dust was likely to have cursed more people around her in secret. If she got cornered, she might take many down with her.
Fourth, Gao Yang had a personal reason for helping Chen Ying look for the spy. He wanted to capture Dust alive to track down the Heavenly Godbearer pulling the strings behind the scenes. It wouldn’t be ideal for him for Dust to simply fall into the Union’s clutch.
Moreover, there was a possibility that Qilin would seize the chance to intervene, having Vermilion Bird question Dust’s body. He could even do something much worse, insisting that the body revealed Gao Yang to be the leader of Tails and a high-ranking member of the Godbearer Cult. Then Gao Yang would have a real difficulty defending himself.
With all those reasons combined, Gao Yang decided to capture Dust personally.
It would be risky, but he had chosen the path with the greatest risk the moment he started the Nine Scions. He couldn’t turn around now.
He learned from Dragon that while strength and luck mattered, what mattered even more was the courage to go all in.
Who among them wasn’t gambling in order to pursue their goals and survive til the end in the cruel Mist World?
An insane plan took root in Gao Yang’s mind.
The key player of the plan wasn’t Gao Yang, Chen Ying, or even the suspects, Colorless and Goldthread, but an insignificant character who had almost been ignored.
Ke Yo.
The first step of the plan was to recruit Ke Yo.
She was necessary for the plan to work, and fortunately, Gao Yang had already been laying down the groundwork before the conception of the plan.
The first time Gao Yang and Ke Yo met in Liu Qingying’s Sweet Dream, he went for an earnest approach to appeal to her sentimental side. In truth, he didn’t have any other ways. He could only hope that Edmond and he had seen Ke Yo right: that she was kind at heart and wasn’t a bad person.
Of course, being earnest still required skills and some posturing. In that, he had learned much from Dragon.
Gao Yang seized the chance to throw two “sentimental bombs” at Ke Yo.
The first was, “I promised Edmond that I would take care of you.”
The words made Ke Yo waver, as he had expected.
Gao Yang broke into a faint smile. “Tell Qilin about the fact that I’ll come to rescue you tomorrow.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Ke Yo was shocked, but then she came to a realization. “You want to make me...a double agent?”
“Yes.”
“You really are mad.”
“Do you want to hear the plan or not?” Gao Yang’s eyes glinted as he waited for the fish to bite the bait.
Ke Yo nodded. The dream wasn’t ending any time soon. She might as well hear him out.
“Qilin’s strong and confident, smart, too. Based on what I know about him, he’ll use the chance to set up a trap for me if you tell him about my plan.”
“Of course, I’ll make the preparations to not be captured by him.”
“But with you demonstrating your loyalty to the Guild, Qilin will reward you or even make you the new Elder. Given your Talent, you will be good enough to be appointed the title.”
“I don’t think...that’s likely,” Ke Yo said. “And you said it yourself. He’s smart. Why would he just put his trust in me?”
“It’s not out of trust that he’ll make you an Elder. It can be a message and proof.”
Ke Yo shook her head. “I don’t get it.”
“The three major organizations and the Nine Scions have been headhunting. I told you about Dr. Jia and Gregor.”
Ke Yo nodded.
“Let’s consider what happened with Dr. Jia a tie between us and the Guild. The Nine Scions won with Gregor. And you’re our third match.”
Gao Yang smiled. “Qilin needs to score to prove himself to others. It’ll be meaningful for you to trick the Nine Scions and pledge yourself to the Qilin Guild. That’ll be a humiliation to the Cult and the Nine Scions and an achievement of the Qilin Guild.”
“Even if Qilin doesn’t trust you, he’ll reward you heavily for the act. That will impact the competition for talent going forward, and even the war itself.”
“Alright, I get it now.” Ke Yo couldn’t help but admire Gao Yang a little. He seemed to be around her age, yet he was seeing many more steps ahead.
“That’s only on paper, though.” Ke Yo wasn’t feeling optimistic. “You want me to be a double agent in the Guild, but I can’t do it well. I cave easily under pressure.”
“No, I never intend for you to be a double agent. I simply want you to confuse the Guild and gain the ability to move freely.”
Seeing Ke Yo getting increasingly confused, he said patiently, “It is a little complicated. No rush. I’ll explain slowly.”
“According to the plan, you’ll ‘sell me out’ and earn some trust from Qilin. Thus, you’ll be able to move freely without Vermilion Bird monitoring you. And you’ll have effectively proclaimed yourself an enemy of the Nine Scions. The news will get to the spy in the Hundred Rivers Union, Dust.”
“Ah!” Ke Yo finally caught on. “Are you...using the fact that I was a Tail member to root out Dust?”
“Yes.” Gao Yang was pleased. The girl was bright. He hadn’t chosen the wrong person.
“God, you really, really are out of your mind!”