This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 220 Meeting Gift

Nie Weiyang stopped the motorcycle, and the engine's low roar died down in the quiet night wind.

He calmly raised his hands, making a gesture of harmlessness and cooperation. His relaxed posture and open expression, devoid of any hostility or tension, formed an almost absurd contrast to the terrifying scene returned by the detection spell—a scene capable of giving anyone a nightmare.

Inside the Pingdu Defense Command Center, the deathly silence was broken by a steady voice: "...Suspend all attack preparations and reduce the energy level of the defense array." The speaker was an elderly man whose epaulets indicated his extremely high status. His hair and beard were all white, his cheeks were covered with a few fine scales that shimmered with a cold light, and there was a slightly inconspicuous bump on his forehead.

Another elderly man, also dressed in a high-ranking uniform and sporting a pair of alert, perky black velvet ears, turned around, his brow furrowed. "Old Li, do you know who this is? Is this... reasonable?"

His gaze swept over the still shocking sea of ​​blood on the screen.

“If I’m not mistaken,” the scaly old man known as Old Li said in a deep voice, “it is Nie Weiyang.”

“Nie Weiyang?” The muscles on the old man’s face twitched, and he looked at the scarlet color symbolizing slaughter again in disbelief. “The paladin in Liang Zhenduan’s report? Is this it?” This has nothing to do with the word “paladin” at all.

The old man with the scales leaned slightly forward and quickly and clearly wrote two words on the back of his companion's hand with his fingertips: 'original body' and 'ten thousand years'.

The old man with black velvet ears suddenly blinked.

Just a few days ago, they received an encrypted report from Langcheng, signed and sent by Liang Zhenduan.

The report details Nie Weiyang's personality, abilities, fighting style, and his superhuman strength and crucial role in the battles of Langcheng and Xunshan. However, the report's most central and unsettling speculation is that Liang Zhenduan strongly suspects Nie Weiyang is not human.

The paladin who appears no different from an ordinary person may not be his true form. His true nature may be some unknown, friendly, intelligent being with an extremely long lifespan, perhaps even measured in tens of thousands of years.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain his strength, which is completely out of touch with current humanity, and his intelligence system, which is beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

The two elderly people exchanged a glance, both seeing the solemnity and determination in each other's eyes.

"...Send out the 'Sharp Eyes' squad to verify his identity at close range, maintaining the highest level of vigilance," the scaly old man ordered, then added, "After confirming his identity, ask him...whether he is willing to enter the city."

"Why are you asking this?" the old man with black velvet ears asked, puzzled.

Logically, friendly units of this caliber, especially those that have come at the invitation, should be immediately invited into the core area.

“You don’t have any mind-reading professionals under your command, so you might not understand.” The old man with the scales lowered his voice, carrying a hint of barely perceptible complexity. “For people with mind-reading abilities to stay in densely populated areas for extended periods… is a form of torture. The uncontrollable, massive flow of thought information would endlessly flood their brains, enough to drive anyone insane. So far, there have been no exceptions.”

If Nie Weiyang chooses to refuse to enter the city, or shows obvious hesitation and resistance, it at least proves that he still retains some human qualities in this regard, and feels pain and doubt due to such information overload.

but if……

The forward team signaled to the surveillance lights with flags: "Report, identity confirmed, it is indeed Mr. Nie Weiyang. We conveyed the invitation... and he accepted."

Nie Weiyang's expression was so calm that it revealed no emotion: "Okay. Shall we go?"

He even gave a faint smile. The night breeze brushed against his pale face and his black and white hair. This scene, seen by the two old men who were observing him through magic, had an almost inhuman, illusory quality.

After speaking, he actually restarted the engine and took the lead, heading towards the brightly lit core area of ​​Pingdu as naturally as if he were going home. The Sharp Eyes team was stunned for a moment before quickly following.

Inside the command center, the two elderly people looked at each other again, their expressions complex.

“…I’ll go and talk to him in person. You report to your superiors… Unbelievable, what’s with all this fuss over just dropping by?” The old man with black velvet ears suddenly stood up and straightened his collar. “Don’t appear near him. Take overall control and… prevent any accidents.”

He meant mind reading.

The old man with the scales nodded heavily.

……

At the distant observatory, the female astronomer received the final confirmation from the command center. The messenger informed her that the alert was completely lifted and the target was a high-ranking friendly unit whose identity had been confirmed.

She blankly put down the communicator, staring at the light source that, even in the [Glow Filter] field of vision, still shone like a miniature sun, yet was steadily entering the Pingdu defense perimeter, and murmured to herself:

"...The highest-level friendly force? Has the nuclear power plant come to life?"

……

The meeting was not complicated. Nie Weiyang's aversion to idle talk was described more than once in the reports of Xiang Feng and Liang Zhenduan.

An elderly man who identified himself as Zhao Wei changed into casual clothes, smiled and said a few words to him, and then led him into a heavily guarded but simply furnished reception room.

Without any pleasantries, he went straight to the point:
"I have a gift for Hirato."

Zhao Wei paused for a moment, his black, velvety ears twitching involuntarily. He tried to lighten the mood, laughing, "Hmm? Since you're already here, why bring a gift? You're too kind..."

Nie Weiyang seemed not to hear his polite words and calmly uttered a few words: "Small object inter-space teleportation technology is magic."

The meeting room fell into a deathly silence.

Zhao Wei's smile froze, and everyone behind him, who were also clearly high-ranking officials, held their breath at that moment.

A few seconds later, General Zhao Wei's voice trembled slightly with extreme shock and excitement, and he even subconsciously took half a step forward:
"...What did you just say?!"

He even used the formal "you" (您)!

Nie Weiyang looked at him and repeated, "Small object spatial teleportation technology. If you need, I can provide application examples for verification right now." As he spoke, he took out the teleportation device he had seized from the Sun Lord from his backpack: "This is the technology of the Void-Crossing Demon, but someone improved it. Now, I want to transfer it to you..."

Zhao Wei took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his almost boiling emotions. He turned to the side, making an extremely solemn "please" gesture, his voice resolute:
"Please come with me! We're going to the highest-security laboratory!"

Even he was incredibly excited by such big news, almost to the point of dragging Nie Weiyang along. On the way, he asked again, "If the higher-ups are available, would you like to meet them?"

(End of this chapter)