Mecha Star Wars.

Chapter 1608 Substitution
This visit to the White Pagoda was no different from any other.

However, when he was leaving, Elder Moen suggested that he stay a little longer, in a personal capacity, to catch up with the Noah and build a relationship.

The others in the White Pagoda assumed he wanted to find out about Lu Shi, gave him a few words of advice, and then hurriedly left.

Antonio, however, understood what was going on and waited at the door, welcoming Moen in with a smile.

Elder Moen felt a chill run down his spine from his laughter. As soon as he sat down, he was so startled by Antonio's words that he almost jumped up.

"When are you going to take Lu Shi away?" Antonio asked impatiently.

"You...didn't you say Lu Shi wasn't here?" Moen was taken aback, his expression strange.

“That’s all for people who don’t know the truth,” Antonio said, smiling as he rested his chin on his hand. “You brought her here, how could you not know she’s with us?”

"I……"

"Stop talking nonsense. You've met us less than the hotel robots. What old ties could you possibly have to reminisce about? Don't you even know how arrogant your White Tower guides are?"

Seeing the increasingly stiff expression on the other person's face, Antonio continued to expose them bluntly.

"I learned this the hard way when I was teaching at the White Pagoda. The only reason you can find an excuse to stay behind alone is because of that secret that can't be told to outsiders. Since you're already here, stop hiding it and wasting everyone's time. We've been waiting for you for ages."

Elder Moen looked at Lin Fan, and under the other's clear, all-seeing gaze, he finally bowed his head in agreement:

"Sending Lu Shi away was truly a last resort. After the Isolde incident, the White Tower and the Guides' Association were also implicated..."

"Why don't you say you've broken your promise..." Antonio said indignantly, but was glared at by Lin Fan and shut up sullenly.

"..." Knowing the cause and effect were difficult to separate, Moen still managed to add a sentence with difficulty, "In short, the Guides' power plummeted, and the White Tower and the Association were also severely weakened. Those who experienced that turmoil are still fearful and wary of the potential crisis that Lu Shi might bring. It's only natural that there would be some controversy..."

"Actually, there are radicals in the White Tower, quite a few, but most of the time, these ambitions are hidden beneath their white robes, and they dare not let outsiders easily notice them." Moen's eyes dimmed slightly, and he sighed softly, "The debate over the handling of Lu Shi has never stopped. We conservatives are getting old, and we will eventually find it difficult to contend with the young radicals..."

"I happened to run into that girl eavesdropping outside that day. After knocking her unconscious, I suddenly had an idea—why not take this opportunity to send her out of the White Tower, as if she had never been here? It's better than Isolde's daughter encountering another misfortune in the White Tower."

“After much thought, the most suitable and safest place is right here with you. You have connections with her and the opportunity to take her out of Prim and send her to a safe place.” Moen raised his eyelashes slightly and looked at Lin Fan gratefully.

“Everything went as I expected, except that I didn’t anticipate that Isolde’s case could be overturned.” She said, a smile playing on her lips. “Now that Lu Shi’s identity is clear, those radical methods used to conceal the so-called crisis can no longer be used against her. She’s safe…”

"So you're in a hurry to get him back," Lin Fan continued.

Moen blushed slightly, but still replied firmly, "...Yes. I know there's no point in arguing, but please believe me, this time when Lu Shi returns to the White Tower, she will definitely receive the best treatment and resources. After all, her 2S talent means she should stand at the top of the White Tower, just like her mother, and become famous in Sersorn..."

"Okay." Lin Fan nodded readily.

Moen's long-winded speech was abruptly interrupted, and he asked incredulously, "...What did you say?"

"I said okay, you can take Lu Shi back with you." Lin Fan said calmly, "No need to thank me too soon, I have conditions. Lu Shi came quietly, and he should leave quietly as well. We are just businessmen and do not want to get involved in the infighting of any of your Sersorn factions. We did not mention a word to the sentinels, but we made concessions to your guides. I have shown enough attitude, and you should show the same sincerity."

"Of course, of course." Moen was overjoyed and quickly came up with a solution. "You've taken such good care of Lu Shi for so long, so we should give you a thank-you gift. The White Tower will send some gifts later. You can keep what you like and return what you don't like."

"Okay." Lin Fan nodded.

“Then it’s a deal. I’ll go back and prepare.” Moen immediately got up and walked out.

As she approached the door, she hesitated and turned back: "Could I possibly see Lu Shi?"

Lin Fan slowly shook his head: "It's not convenient for the time being."

Lu Shi is still in Jin Sichen's illusion. If she were to be brought out of it abruptly, her understanding would be disrupted.

Antonio chimed in, "What's the rush? If you let her out now, and someone sees her, it'll be your White Tower's fault, right? Hurry up, you'll see her in a few hours. Are you afraid we'll mistreat her? We have no grudge against her."

"No, no." Moen laughed it off. Seeing that Lin Fan and the other person were open and honest, he stopped pressing the matter, quickly said goodbye, and hurried back to the White Tower.

As soon as the door closed, Antonio collapsed onto the sofa, shaking his leg and humming a little tune, completely different from his previous gloomy expression. Lin Fan, on the other hand, contacted Jin Sichen to come back quickly to finish up the illusion and ensure a smooth transition so that Lu Shi could leave without anyone noticing anything amiss.

After dinner, as expected, Baita delivered more than a dozen boxes of gifts, all packed in specially made sealed boxes, filling the originally spacious living room to the point where there was almost no room to move.

Such a significant move was immediately noticed by various forces and media outlets that had been closely monitoring the Noah mission, and dozens of eye-catching headlines quickly appeared on the StarNet:

Why the lavish midnight gift at the White Pagoda?

Is there a secret relationship between the Noah and the White Tower? Late-night gift delivery sparks heated discussion.

Breaking News! White Tower Delivers Gift Late at Night, Potentially Rewriting the Relationship Between the Sentinels and the Vanguard

The White Tower and the Noah Ship made a secret deal! What's in the boxes?

Why is Baita so eager to win over Noah after the Jin Sichen incident?

A Midnight Gift: A Sign of Goodwill or a Scheme?

With major media outlets all reporting on it, and before netizens could even catch up and read through all the reports, another twist followed:

Noah's Ark Quickly Returns All Gift Boxes; White Tower's Overture Rejected?

Gifts offered to the White Pagoda were rejected; Noah's attitude remains intriguing.

Awkward! The hotel staff sent over a dozen boxes of gifts, but the gifts were returned before they even left the hotel.

"Noah's Ark Refuses Generous Gifts: Distrust or Something Else?"

Follow-up to Jin Sichen's kidnapping case: Baita's overtures rejected, Noah's attitude hardened...

"Hahahaha!" Antonio rolled around on the sofa watching. "Who would have thought! We kept everything; returning the suitcases was just a smokescreen! Haha~"

The white pagoda likely symbolizes compensation, silencing dissent, and fostering goodwill; the dozen or so boxes of gifts prepared were quite impressive.

Lin Fan didn't look at them closely, nor did he care whether he liked them or not. With a wave of his hand, he put them all into his spatial storage first.

In just a few moments, the box was returned intact to the hotel staff in full view of everyone, before it even left the hotel's white tower.

They came with over a dozen boxes full of supplies, but when they left, the boxes only brought back a sleeping girl.

Jin Sichen's illusion was so convincing that Lu Shi woke up and found nothing amiss. Surrounded by the White Tower's warm embrace, he began his new life.

Her videos and live streams can be seen on Xingwang every day, and she has become a rising internet celebrity with the highest popularity in a short time.

Antonio had finally gotten rid of Lu Shi's annoyance, but after scrolling through a few videos, he kept seeing Lu Shi again. He impatiently covered his eyes and said, "Isn't this girl too active? With this much exposure, does she even have the time or energy to study and improve her skills?"

"Why do you care so much about her?" Lin Fan flipped through the report sent by Cen Fangyuan on his terminal. "She got what she wanted: the security of being in the spotlight and a comfortable life, didn't she? She's satisfied, so why are you worrying?"

“True.” Antonio pursed his lips, leaned closer to Lin Fan, and scanned the dense text on her terminal. “Do you have a lot of stock?”

"Not bad." Lin Fan signed the report at the end. "Fewer than expected. Our new energy portable slot-type weapons still have a good market. Sersorn only prohibits official institutions from using them, but there are still quite a few individual buyers, and there is demand from other star systems. Several forces have sent us formal invitations, asking us to open stores in their areas to see if there is any possibility of tailor-made cooperation."

"Really?" Antonio's lazy frame immediately straightened, his eyes sparkling. "Where to? When are we leaving?"

The Noah's commercial progress in Sersorn is unlikely to advance any further. Staying would be a waste of time and could easily lead to getting caught up in messy affairs, so it's better to leave as soon as possible.

"Let's wait for Vice Cen to select the next destination." Lin Fan paused for a moment, then added, "We also need to wait for Jin Sichen to finish his work with Helian Rongjin."

So Antonio had a new hope and kept an eye on Cen Fangyuan and urged Jin Sichen every day.

After finally settling down on both sides, he happily packed his things, only to find that he couldn't leave.