Alien Hotel.

Chapter 670 Life is like a play, all depends on

The fish took the bait—after using a disguised communication signal to call a secret channel in the Dark Current Starfield, a faster-than-light communication array connected to the Deep Rock Fortress actually received an unknown feedback signal. The source of the signal vaguely pointed to a certain deep space where the Dark Current Starfield and the Great Triangle Nebula intersected, and the encoding method was consistent with the recent cracking results of Lo.

Momo has activated the sound shielding in the communications room, and within the safe zone, the technicians immediately began their work:
"Quickly, quickly, lights in place! Lights in place!"

"Boss, just pay attention to your lines later, and don't make any big movements—be careful not to tear 'Old Joe's' arm off."

"Effects team, prepare the interference effects for later..."

"All units are ready!"

"Second handshake signal received. Communicator ready to power on. Five seconds! Everyone mute. 'Actors' enter—"

The communication device set up in the center of the room emitted a low hum, and the large holographic projection above it quickly showed trembling lines. The signal, which had been encrypted and disguised many times, came from the distant deep space and was restored to a clear communication signal by the method that Luo had recently cracked. The trembling lines formed a figure wearing a white robe, and the background seemed to be a magnificent palace.

The other person's face had been blurred, covered with a hazy filter, and their voice was noticeably distorted: "Why are you contacting us all of a sudden? It's not the agreed-upon time to contact us..."

Eileen suddenly grabbed Yu Sheng's hair. Even though they were within the sound shielding area, she subconsciously lowered her voice: "Hey, do you think you can remove that mosaic on this guy's face?"

Yu Sheng: "I reckon it won't work. This should be a pre-processed image at the sending end..."

Eileen: "Oh."

At the same time, "Old Joe" on the communications station leaned forward, pressing his hands against the railing in his signature aggressive posture that exuded pressure and dissatisfaction. His voice, hoarse and angry, came from his chest: "Don't talk about the agreed-upon contact time—just how many things are you hiding from me?!"

Yu Sheng immediately gave Luo a thumbs up: full of emotion, on point, smooth movements, and the lines were all correct.

The hermit priest on the other end of the communicator was clearly taken aback by this sudden and forceful question. When faced with unwarranted questioning, a person's observation and thinking abilities obviously decrease. He instinctively asked, "What does that mean...?"

"Old Joe" rudely interrupted the other person: "Why didn't you remind me that 'Lo' might be carrying an angel's relic!"

With just that one sentence, any other doubts the priest on the other end of the communicator might have vanished instantly—Yu Sheng even clearly saw the figure in the white robe sway slightly, followed by an uncontrollable low exclamation: "Heavens, an angel's relic?! Do you know what you're saying?!"

"Old Joe" straightened up slightly at the opportune moment, feigning genuine confusion, and softened his tone a bit: "...You don't know?"

"Of course I don't know!" The priest on the other side was clearly unable to contain his excitement, and the calm and aloof demeanor he had maintained when he first appeared was long gone. "What exactly is going on? Didn't you say you were going to regroup your forces to deal with that woman? Why is the 'Angel Relic' involved?"

"Old Joe" made a thoughtful gesture, and only after being urged again by the other party did he speak in a deep voice: "That woman stole something when she escaped from the border area—something from the Secret Service."

The white-robed priest opposite him didn't change his posture, but seemed to take a deep breath—clearly, he was thinking about the intelligence that his spies had recently sent back from the border region.

The border bridge collapsed, Angel Catalysts scattered across the border, a massive purge of the black market, and the Secret Service's recent search teams...

Everything matches up.

After giving the other side a few seconds to think, "Old Joe" continued, "...A couple of days ago, I organized another ambush, and this time I finally managed to corner that woman. I was about to catch her, but I didn't expect her to activate a strange device—I didn't know what it was at the time, but it tore through space and time right in front of me, and the impact when the rift opened killed half of my soldiers!"

"Then she slipped through the crack and disappeared—I didn’t have time to stop her before the crack collapsed, leaving only a black stone behind."

"Old Joe" paused deliberately at this point.

The white-robed priest opposite him immediately spoke up: "The black stone? Where is that thing now?"

“Don’t be in such a hurry—” “Old Joe” slowed his speech, “I already know what it is—I have my own intelligence channels in the border region. It seems… that thing is indeed very important to you?”

After asking the question, "he" shut his mouth, leaving the rest to the white-robed priest opposite him to fill in the blanks.

The figure on the other end of the communicator swayed slightly. He raised his hand, signaling them to wait a moment. Then, seemingly exchanging information quickly with someone else through the communicator, a while later, the other person's voice came through the speaker: "We know your intentions—name your price, if we can accept it." "Old Joe" pressed his hands on the railing again, his voice threatening: "Name your price? That thing killed hundreds of my soldiers and almost killed me!"

“But that’s not our problem—the woman stealing the Angel Catalyst from the Secret Service was an unexpected situation,” the white-robed priest said calmly, then hesitated for a moment under Old Joe’s unwavering stance before reciting a string of numbers.

Yu Sheng had no concept of the numbers the white-robed priest had given him, but when he turned to look at Luo, he saw that the golden-haired elf's eyes, and indeed his entire being, were radiating a golden light...

“I’ve never seen such a big order in my life! Enough for me to build another Blackstone station!” Luo noticed Yu Sheng’s gaze, turned his head and said quickly, “This is... this cult has to be rich.”

"Stay calm!" Yu Sheng immediately reminded him upon seeing the other party's state. "Don't agree so easily—act according to Old Joe's personality and how he should react at this moment. Pay attention to your lines and expressions!"

Luo quickly composed herself, and while inwardly marveling at the cultists' wealth, she continued to focus on controlling the body on the communication platform, uttering the most insincere sentence of her life: "You think you can sway me with money?"

This statement seemed to be exactly what the white-robed priest had anticipated.

He made a thoughtful gesture, then quickly exchanged a few words with someone in the distance before finally speaking again and quoting a price.

"...This is a good deal for you," he added after quoting the price. "That thing is useless to you, keeping it around would only increase the danger and attract the attention of the Secret Service, so you might as well sell it for a good price."

Luo was completely stunned after hearing the second offer.

Her moment of stunned silence was clearly interpreted as wavering by the other party, so the priest immediately continued, "Worldly money is a fleeting and finite illusion, my friend—it is merely a stepping stone on the path to holiness. We are engaged in a far greater undertaking, the achievements of which far surpass any wealth. You should see the value behind this deal. As long as the Gate of Eden opens successfully, any constraints this corrupt and broken universe imposes on you will be meaningless. In the new world, you have infinite possibilities."

"Do you remember? Opening the Gate of Eden—that is our common goal."

Luo took a deep breath, quickly weighing whether she should agree at this moment—agreeing too readily or appearing too hesitant could arouse suspicion. Although the angel catalyst itself was enough to make the cultists lower their guard to some extent, any suspicion they might have before the catalyst was actually sent into the hermitage could lead to the complete failure of the plan.

She has been out of Old Joe's control for nearly two hundred years.

Finally, she exchanged a glance with Momo.

The other person nodded slightly.

“Alright, deal then,” “Old Joe” on the communication platform finally nodded. “It’s good to get rid of that damn weird rock sooner rather than later—I hope your technology is as reliable as you claim.”

“A wise decision,” the white-robed priest on the communication interface finally showed a relieved expression, but then immediately asked, “Are the previous delivery channels still safe? Has the Secret Service been monitoring you?”

"They don't know that the thing is now in my hands, and their reach doesn't extend into the Dark Currents," Old Joe replied immediately. "I'll send it to the 'Fault Line'—we'll agree on a time for both sides to enter simultaneously, but the condition is that your promised price must be honored first, and it must be either the Unified Exchange Coin or the Alglade Energy Currency; I only recognize those two."

“…The second point is fine, but we need to confirm the status of the ‘Angel Catalyst’ before we can pay,” the white-robed priest shook his head. “It’s not that we doubt you, but it’s necessary to be cautious—the world knows very little about the ‘Angel Catalyst,’ and the cunning ‘director’ of the Secret Service is always full of tricks. We must make sure that the thing hasn’t been tampered with.”

Lothar felt that what the other party said was all correct, and even wanted to stand up and applaud enthusiastically, but she still controlled "Old Joe" on the stage to make a resistant and hesitant appearance. After several rounds of such arguments and confrontations, she finally pretended to be persuaded by the other party's excellent negotiation skills and reluctantly agreed to let the other party pay one-third of the deposit first, and then let the Hermitage's "experts" check the authenticity of the Angel Catalyst at the delivery location of Morona Fault.

With everything settled, the white-robed priest in the holographic projection finally relaxed slightly. Then he nodded and said in a sincere tone, "If the angelic catalyst is real, then we no longer need that 'data.' The sages will find a way to fix the hole in that door—our noble cause has taken a big step forward, and your contribution will be permanently recorded on the monument of the path of holiness."

"It doesn't matter, as long as you remember your promise."

"Old Joe" said in a deep voice, and then abruptly cut off the communication.

The holographic projection quickly went out, the buzzing communication device fell silent, and only after confirming that the channel was completely cut off did "Old Joe" on the platform slump down, turning back into a lifeless metal shell.

Then thunderous applause erupted throughout the hall...

(End of this chapter)