Alien Hotel.

Chapter 664?
A gentle breeze swept through the valley, carrying the fresh scent of earth and grass. The sunlight was just right, and the grassy patches along the riverbank still held a faint aroma of roasted mushrooms. The small fish that had been thrown into the river long ago had grown quite a bit, and occasionally you could see schools of fish gathering near the rocky hollows on the bank. When a person moved nearby, the fish would be startled and splash up the water with a loud gurgling sound.

Yu Sheng pushed open the door and took some meat skewers, fruit, and a few sweet potatoes from the Secret Service canteen kitchen. Then he dug up the bonfire left by Rapunzel, wrapped the sweet potatoes in tin foil, and buried them in the hot ashes. Next, he piled up the remaining branches next to the ashes and lit a small fire next to the fire, slowly grilling the meat skewers on it.

He handed a skewer of grilled chicken to the blonde elf next to him.

Luo took it, thanked him, blew on it vigorously, took a bite, and immediately widened his eyes in surprise: "Boss, you have this skill too!"

"Do you know how much effort it took me to feed the raccoons before we signed the strategic cooperation agreement with the Secret Service canteen?" Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow. "This is nothing."

Eileen squatted near the fire, poking at a few acorns she had just thrown into the flames with a long stick. Suddenly, she looked up at Luo and asked, "Aren't you an elf? Elves eat meat?"

“There are many kinds of elves—Algredient elves don’t have so many rules,” Luo glanced at the little doll. “The food we eat here is actually quite normal. If you have the chance, go and see the dietary customs of Terra elves. Even a fox might not be able to handle that stuff.”

Eileen blinked: "Hey, you know what, I completely forgot about that..."

Yu Sheng glanced at Eileen, then at Luo, unsure of their conversation. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong with the elves of Terra? What are their food customs...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Luo Youyou asked, "Boss, have you ever heard of pork intestine sashimi?"

Yu Sheng was completely stunned.

However, Luo added the second half of his sentence: "After they finish eating the offal burrito, they will cleanse their palates with sashimi of large intestine."

Yu Sheng: "...How about we discuss some topics from the mortal realm instead?"

Luo laughed as she grabbed a chicken skewer. She had gradually become accustomed to the relaxed and somewhat humorous atmosphere of the hostel group, and she no longer had the same caution and tension she had at the beginning in front of Yu Sheng—although she would still be startled by Eileen suddenly popping out from a corner.

"Regarding the plan to use Old Joe, this 'traitor of the group,' as a cover to send the fake Angel Catalyst into the Hermitage's lair, the biggest risks are actually only two," Luo said slowly. "Either the 'Old Joe' decoy is exposed, and the Hermitage discovers that the real Old Joe is dead; or the Angel Catalyst is exposed, and the Hermitage has a special way to identify the authenticity of the catalyst."

She casually tossed the half-eaten skewer into the fire, watching the bamboo stick slowly burn and curl in the flames, and continued speaking thoughtfully and unhurriedly.

"As for the Angel Catalyst, we can only rely on the Secret Service's 'processing technology' and the 'ingredients' you added, boss. As long as these two things are reliable, there is a high probability that the fake catalyst will fool those Hermitage followers. After all, based on the existing information, they do not have complete control over the power of the Angel Catalyst. In addition, since the Dark Angels are all different, they should not be able to completely identify the catalyst. They also rely on various 'characteristics' to indirectly judge its authenticity."

"The part most prone to mishaps is still 'Old Joe'... It's not difficult to make a dummy. We've gotten quite a few of Old Joe's metal shells. Momo and I are familiar with Old Joe's words and actions, plus a bit of improvisation skills. As long as we don't maintain communication for too long, we can easily fool the Secret Order's contact person—after all, their relationship shouldn't be that close."

"The real challenge is that we don't know if Old Joe and the Secret Order have any other 'codes' or 'identification methods' when they communicate. I've recovered some communication keys from the Deeprock Fortress system, but that only guarantees we can contact the Secret Order. What if there are other agreements between them? Even just a keyword, a specific noise..."

"If we make a mistake, our plan will be exposed."

Listening to Luo's analysis, Yu Sheng frowned slightly. He casually picked up Eileen, who was climbing closer and closer to the fire, and put her a little further away. At the same time, he slowly said, "This kind of thing can't be recorded in the system log, but given Old Joe's cautious nature, he must have made a similar agreement with the contact person on the other side."

Luo nodded: "After all, it's doing things behind the back of the group company, and it involves leaking critical data from the Pioneer Lab to outsiders. Of course, Old Joe knows how risky this behavior would be if it were exposed."

Eileen moved closer to the fire, poking around with a small stick, getting closer and closer to the flames—because the stick in her hand was getting shorter and shorter as it burned.

Yu Sheng casually picked up the little doll and moved it aside, then picked up a longer stick from nearby for her to play with.

"Could any of the 'lab assistants' we rescued know anything about this? Momo said she doesn't know, but maybe others..."

“Impossible,” Luo shook his head. “Old Joe is a madman who is both crazy and rational. He might tell the slaves in the lab some trivial things to relieve stress, but when it comes to his core security, he won’t reveal a single word.”

Yu Sheng frowned, clicking his teeth as he listened: "No matter what, this matter needs to be done as soon as possible. If it takes too long, the news of Old Qiao's death will spread on its own before it's even carried out. Besides, nobody knows if the Hidden Cult and Old Qiao's side have any kind of 'regular contact' agreement. If they suddenly call, it will be a big problem if no one answers at Deep Rock Fortress..."

“…Perhaps I really should have interrogated him longer back then,” Luo said, his face grim. “But, but I really…”

"How long do you think it would take to interrogate someone like Old Joe before he would actually tell the truth?" Yu Sheng raised his eyelids. "Given his personality, it would be more problematic if he actually confessed on his deathbed than if he didn't. If I had to point out any oversight, the only oversight would be that I should have used the method of talking to the dead to interrogate his soul... although I highly doubt whether that guy even has a soul left."

Luo paused, staring at Yu Sheng's face for a long time, seemingly trying to discern something from it, but in the end, she only sighed and muttered softly, "...Thank you."

Yu Sheng waved his hand: "I'm not trying to comfort you."

Just then, Eileen finally managed to pull the few scorching hot acorns out of the fire. She happily tossed the charred sticks aside, raised her hand, and with a sharp whooshing sound, the Ominous Star flew over from the direction of the portal hub.

Then, while the little puppet was busy smashing the charred acorns with its Ominous Star, it blurted out without looking up, "Why do we have to follow the rules and contact the Hermitage? If we don't know the code, then we don't need to use it..." Yu Sheng subconsciously interjected, "Wouldn't that just expose Old Joe's trouble as soon as it connects..."

Eileen tilted her head back, her eyes bright and unwavering: "Then let Old Joe make the call while he's in trouble."

Upon hearing this, Yu Sheng was taken aback, then seemed to suddenly understand something and turned to look at the golden-haired elf beside him.

Luo also turned his head around at almost the same time.

The two looked at each other, seemingly thinking in the same direction. Luo spoke first: "That's right... the initiative is actually with us, as long as we throw out the bait of the angel catalyst..."

“Yes, as long as the bait of Angel Catalyst is real enough,” Yu Sheng chimed in, “we can make up whatever we want about ‘Old Joe’s’ specific state.”

Eileen, still holding onto the ominous Yusei in the acorn-smashing pose, blinked at the two people in front of her: "...Huh?"

“We can come up with a ‘script’,” Luo’s mind raced, “to make Old Joe’s emergency contact seem reasonable—so urgent that communication security is no longer an issue, so urgent that he loses his composure…”

Yu Sheng: "Isn't the angel catalyst itself a reason? This thing can get out of control in a minute... If all else fails, add some Secret Service involvement!"

Eileen: "Huh?"

"Eileen, you're amazing!" Yu Sheng's eyes lit up at this moment. He turned around, picked up the little doll, and held it in the air. "I thought you were just messing around by poking at the flames. Turns out you've been helping us come up with ideas all along! I have to say, your six regiments of parallel processors really work!"

Eileen: "Huh, huh?"

Yu Sheng vigorously rubbed the little doll's head, happily placed her on the ground beside him, then stood up from the campfire, brushing the grass and dirt off his clothes as he said to Luo, "That's settled then. You need to get the communication channel and the technical issues needed for the fake transaction sorted out as soon as possible in the next two days. Besides the fake 'Old Joe,' we also need a shuttle for trading with the Hermitage, and this shuttle also needs to be properly disguised. As for me, I'll go back and work on the script; that's something I'm good at."

As he spoke, he shoveled away the pile of hot ashes, scooped out the roasted sweet potatoes and put them in a bowl (which he had also taken from the Secret Service canteen), and casually gathered up a handful of freshly roasted meat skewers and fruit before turning to leave.

Luo was taken aback when she saw this: "Huh? This wasn't baked for me!"

“It’s for Hu Li, she loves roasted sweet potatoes,” Yu Sheng said matter-of-factly. “I gave you that skewer just now so you could taste the saltiness—besides, you’ve already eaten a bunch of roasted mushrooms, you only have a few original organs left in your stomach, so be good to your digestive system.”

"Hey--"

Luo subconsciously stood up, but before she could say a second word, a skewer of grilled meat was shoved into her hand.

"Just kidding, these are for you."

Then, in a flash, Yu Sheng pushed open the door and left.

Aside from herself, the only other people present were Luna, who was standing in a daze, and Eileen, who was still looking completely bewildered.

Luna was going to tend the vegetable garden later, so she didn't go back with them. Eileen was using a mass-produced body, so she didn't leave either.

Luo stared blankly for a few seconds, then grabbed a handful of kebabs and sat back down in the grass, looking up at the sky.

Let's rest for another ten minutes; the sky is still very blue.

She laughed, slowly munching on her kebabs, and then glanced at Eileen, who seemed to still be in a daze.

"Honestly, I never expected you to see things so clearly," Luo exclaimed sincerely. "I admit I've underestimated you."

Eileen thought for a moment, then proudly puffed out her chest: "That's right, I'm really good!"

Then, while stuffing the few burnt acorns she had roasted into Luo's hand, she asked curiously, "By the way, what exactly did that 'code' you two were talking about mean? What was it for?"

Luo: "...Huh?"

(End of this chapter)