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Chapter 316 - 216: A Shared Vision

The next day, the meeting took place as scheduled.

Just as Chen Xuan anticipated, the Execution Team did not have entry privileges; they escorted the chief captain into the conference hall and then went to the adjacent lounge to await orders.

The security cameras inside the hall broadcast the footage in real-time to Chen Xuan’s laptop.

He could see that Xiao Canong was the only representative of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism.

"How’s the image?" Lin Qing asked over the headset.

To ensure communication and immediate access to hotel resources, she didn’t return to the branch office and continued to stay in her hotel room.

"It’s a bit blurry and has frame drops...feels like a live stream from the 3G era," Chen Xuan commented, "But at least it’s clear enough."

"Nothing can be done; this is secure transmission, evading most electromagnetic detection equipment, you’ll just have to bear with it."

"You’ve hacked into the hotel’s control system, can’t you use their antennas to send signals?"

"I could, but it would inevitably leave traces," Lin Qing replied, "Unless you want to deal with the Demon Company the same way before, by leveling their building to the ground."

"Should we do that?" Liuli was eager on the side.

"No, let’s skip the image quality problem," Chen Xuan decided, "Can you see Honglian and the others?"

"No, there are no cameras in the lounge." Lin Qing switched through several surveillance points, "But there’s nowhere else to go here. If they enter the corridor, I’ll discover them."

At this moment, Xiao Canong was invited by the host to step up to the podium.

"Distinguished organizers, esteemed partners present, hello to you all."

"Thanks to Mr. Zhao Zhilei from Ronghua Group for providing me this valuable opportunity to exchange ideas. My name is Xiao Canong, representing the Dimensional Limit Mechanism, wanting to discuss further collaboration topics with everyone."

"Firstly, I would like to establish a core theme for the discussion: Survival."

"Everyone should already have a basic understanding of the world I’m from; there are many undeveloped and backward areas there. With the Mechanism’s power and influence, it’s not difficult to transform them into spaces for your survival..."

"Damn, this was never recorded in the files!" Lin Qing was taken aback, "The Mechanism wants to give demons a free pass, allowing them to come to our world anytime? This is simply... ridiculous!"

What are demons? They are Ability Users!

Letting them traverse through the erosion space equals a massive emergence of Wanderers, doesn’t it?

This equals violating both the ’maintain world stability’ and ’restrict ability dissemination’ protocols, undoubtedly cutting the foundation of the Mechanism!

Even Lin Qing had strong doubts about the condition offered by Xiao Canong.

"Wow, if this gets to Honglian’s ears, she might stand up and slap the captain twice right then and there." Chen Xuan watched, relishing the drama, "This isn’t something he can decide alone; the Mechanism headquarters must have agreed to this plan."

"The Mechanism’s upper management is falling faster than I imagined..." Lin Qing frowned, her tone heavy, "Honestly, I don’t know whether to be happy or sad. If this video is posted online, the Dimensional Limit Mechanism will quickly descend into chaos."

Especially since demons have just caused a bloody tragedy at the Five Rings Mechanical Garden.

"...I believe our collaboration will be a mutually beneficial affair."

"In the future, both sides can even jointly explore more worlds, maximizing the expansion of each other’s living spaces, with the ultimate goal of winning this ultimate challenge of Ascension!"

Xiao Canong made an impassioned speech on stage.

The people sitting around the long table applauded to show their approval.

Chen Xuan’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

Ascension — this word appears again.

The description of abilities includes ascension.

The three dead demons mentioned ascension.

Now even the Mechanism is using this word.

...This can’t be a coincidence.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I did." Lin Qing was equally shocked, "But this makes no sense, right? In the demons’ testimony, they said the Mother of Flesh will eventually turn all life into its flesh, the only way to escape is ascension, but the Mother of Flesh is from this world, what’s its connection to the Dimensional Limit Mechanism?"

The ascension Xiao Canong speaks of... seems to be a challenge present in both worlds.

And the demons all seem to understand his terms!

At this point, Xiao Canong had returned to his seat, and a handsome young man took the stage.

"Thanks to Mr. Xiao for his speech, and thank you to the Dimensional Limit Mechanism for recognizing our race. But just talking isn’t interesting; in light of Mr. Xiao’s sincerity, I represent Jade Plate Group and will show several things first, making the discussion more practical."

Upon his words, the door on the other side of the conference hall opened, and over ten waiters pushed four carts covered with red cloth into the room.

"By the way, can you detect Xiao Canong’s abilities?" Lin Qing asked.

"No, he’s too far from the camera." Chen Xuan had already tested before; the range of the scanner gun is roughly fifteen meters, sitting at the bar, scanning all guests in the shop. If scanning through a screen, the target must be within a meter, hence the previous remote transactions being close to the lens. "Unless you can drop the camera on his face."

"Alright, I’ll think of something..."

"Wait, you can actually make the camera fall?" Chen Xuan asked, surprised.

"Of course not," Lin Qing chuckled, "I thought of looking for opportunities among these attendees. Their phones already have cameras and are connected to the hotel network; if I hack into them, I’ll get a closer observation seat. You know... not everyone is familiar with electronic devices."

Chen Xuan instantly understood.

Just like how some people roam the internet for ten years unscathed, while others download heaps of viruses when seeking resources. Most attendees are wealthy and influential, rarely tinkering with their phones, possibly catching one slip through the cracks.

The young man over there had already indicated to the waiters to unveil the red cloth.

Each cart was prominently displaying a glass box.

In the center of each box lay a ’treasure’.

Although Chen Xuan couldn’t clearly see what those treasures were, connecting this to Elorie’s intelligence and the fact these people are demons, he immediately realized all the glass boxes showcased peculiar items.

"These things... are all on your wish list, so I suppose I don’t need to introduce them one by one, do I?" The young man looked at Xiao Canong, his tone rather prideful.

"They indeed are peculiar items the Mechanism wishes to acquire," the latter readily concurred.

"But don’t expect Jade Plate Group to sell all these treasures to you at once. What we need... is not some barren patch of land."

"We can certainly discuss that aspect. It’s just..." Xiao Canong glanced around, "Are you planning to negotiate one company at a time? To be frank, the contracts signed first are likely to be better than the ones signed later... Not that we’re favoring one over the other, it’s just that the resources controlled by the Mechanism are limited, they can’t offer unlimited provision."

"No need for Mr. Xiao to worry about that; we will manage internal distribution ourselves. If you intend to use this trick to incite bidding among us, you’re overthinking it." An old man sitting in the middle of the long table remarked.

"Mr. Qi, I would never think that way," Xiao Canong smiled helplessly, "I’m only considering your interests. After all, for the Mechanism’s sake, this partnership should ideally be as profound as possible."

"That’s indeed favorable." The man known as Mr. Qi answered with a blank expression, "Moreover, no matter which company the Mechanism wishes to obtain peculiar items from, it must sign a contract with us."

"A contract?"

"Yes, a contract is merely a covenant in mortal transactions, but since we’re discussing matters that influence the world’s trajectory, the means of agreement must be elevated."

As Mr. Qi’s speech concluded, four people stood up in the conference hall, along with the young man representing Jade Plate Company, making five people raising their right hands.

Instantly, the screen showed heavy interference, akin to being disturbed by something!

In the extremely blurred footage, a scroll of document appeared out of thin air above the right hands of the five people.

Incredibly, the moment they grasped the document in their hand, the interference signal instantly vanished.