Chapter 64 - 60: Game Backpack

Chapter 64: Chapter 60: Game Backpack

The Guard Team’s conference room was located on the top floor of the headquarters building. With floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides, it offered a view of Night City’s ever-burning neon lights.

When Yin Zhen arrived, Adeline, whom she hadn’t seen for a few days, was smoking at the conference room door. Adeline had lost some weight. Even though she wore exquisite makeup and her platinum blonde hair was as bright as ever, Yin Zhen could still see the paleness of her face and the exhaustion radiating from her.

Yin Zhen guessed that the intruder incident had likely affected Adeline as well, and that she too had undergone her family’s scrutiny. The fact that she could still stand here unscathed indicated that the crisis had passed.

Yin Zhen ignored Adeline, walked past her, and pushed open the door to the conference room. Adeline stubbed out her cigarette and followed her inside. The conference room was massive, featuring a long table that could seat twenty people. Yin Zhen took a seat on the left side, and Adeline sat down opposite her. Separated by the long table, neither looked at the other.

The holographic projector on the table lit up, casting four figures onto the main seats in the conference room.

Seated in the center was Clan Leader Cavendish—Adeline’s father, Selas Cavendish, the current Consul of the Eternal Council. His silvery-white hair was meticulously tied back, and his blood-red pupils were as deep as ancient wells. Dressed in a moon-white formal suit, with the Cavendish family’s laurel branch badge pinned to his chest, he rested both hands on a walking stick, maintaining perfect posture even as a hologram.

Adeline immediately stood up, placed a hand over her heart, and bowed to her father in greeting.

"Father."

Old Cavendish nodded gently, gesturing for Adeline to sit down.

To the left was the head of the Dracula clan—Lucia’s father, Vlad Dracula, the behind-the-scenes mastermind of the Guard Team. He had blonde hair and a face with sharp, chiseled features. His eyes were as gloomy as the sea before a storm, marking him as the most radical hawk among the Pure Blood Nobles.

Yin Zhen also stood up and respectfully yet distantly addressed Vlad as "Father."

Old Dracula didn’t even spare Yin Zhen a glance. She was the daughter he disliked the most, and now that she had changed into a new body, stripping away any familiar resemblance, Old Dracula’s feelings for her had grown even colder.

On the right was Ignatius Saint, the founder and CEO of the Saint Group. He looked to be in his early fifties. Dressed in a dark gray suit, his hair was completely white, yet his complexion was ruddy. His left arm, from the shoulder down, was entirely a silver-white mechanical prosthetic, and his right eye was a precision prosthetic eye with a pupil shaped like a constantly rotating gear.

Standing behind Old Saint was his most valued son, Julian Saint. His short brown hair was slicked back, complementing his sharp, deep-set facial features and high brow bones. His eyes carried an innate melancholy. He wore a well-tailored black formal suit, with a Saint Group badge pinned to the collar.

Yin Zhen had heard of this Julian Saint. Although he looked no different from a normal person on the outside, apart from his brain, the cybernetic implant rate across his entire body exceeded 90%. God had given him a perfect, brilliant brain but afflicted him with an incurable terminal illness similar to ALS. If it hadn’t been for the arrival of the Blood Plague, which converted him into a member of the Blood Clan with immense regenerative abilities, he would have had a hard time fighting off rejection from the implants, even with cybernetic modifications. The Saint Group would never have expanded to its current scale without Julian’s contributions.

After casting a sweeping glance at Adeline, Julian’s gaze landed on Yin Zhen, looking her up and down with keen interest. Yin Zhen looked away and sat back down.

Old Cavendish was the first to speak. "Everyone is here. There is only one topic on today’s agenda: the intruders."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three most outstanding juniors from the three great families one by one.

"Over the past three days, we have confirmed forty-five intruders within the borders of Night City. They have occupied the bodies of Blood Clan members and blended into the crowds, their motives unknown. Judging from the interrogation reports submitted by Victor, these intruders come from another world—a world without the Blood Clan, dominated entirely by humans. To us, this is an incomparably precious resource."

Yin Zhen had initially thought that this emergency meeting was convened because of the two sudden incidents in Night City. Over ten thousand people had died, yet they didn’t even mention it.

Julian stepped out from behind his father and tapped the air a few times. Several images and texts were projected above the conference table, including a map of Yin Zhen’s world.

Julian said, "The interrogators of the Cavendish family cannot directly view the memories of others. They can only guide them to confess what we want to know. These documents are all pieced together from the confessions of those intruders, providing general information about the other world.

"What’s interesting is that when we showed an intent to invade their world, these intruders all steered us to believe that these two locations are the most worthwhile targets for invasion."

Julian circled a small area shaped like a bug and a large landmass shaped like a shark on the world map.

"Based on this, I can already conclude that all these intruders come from this particular region."

Yin Zhen’s fingers tensed as she watched Julian predictably circle the central region of Huaxia.

The conference room fell silent for a few seconds.

Old Dracula spoke, his voice gravelly, "So what? How do we enter the other world? If we can’t enter, everything you just said is nonsense!"

Old Cavendish looked at him. "Be patient, Vlad. Once we find the entrance to the other world, I promise you will be the first to set foot in that promised land."

After calming Old Dracula, Old Cavendish continued, "It’s not that we don’t have a way to enter the other world. Just two hours ago, a Blood Clan citizen who had entered that world approached the Council."

At these words, Yin Zhen and Adeline had to use the acting skills of a lifetime to keep from revealing their extreme shock, offering only appropriate reactions.

"This Blood Clan citizen stated that he could travel to the other world again in three hours," Old Cavendish continued. "Furthermore, he has been given a task bestowed by God to open the door to the other world, and he needs our help. This information has not yet been disclosed to the rest of the Council, which is the reason for convening this emergency meeting."

[Triggered Special Event Card: Overture of War]

[Event Explanation: The turning point of history is often not a grand war, but the choice made by an ordinary person. Two hours ago, a Blood Clan citizen walked through the Council doors. He claimed to have traveled to another world. He doesn’t know the principle or the method; he only knows that he can go again.]

[Now, standing at the crossroads, you must make a choice: As a member of the Red Corpse Blood Clan, will you help this Blood Clan citizen open the door to the Ancient Abyss? Or, as a human of the Ancient Abyss, will you completely erase him from this world to stop this invasion?]

[Do you wish to become an immortal member of the Blood Clan possessing Extraordinary Power, or continue to be a poor, weak, and mediocre human?]

[Please make your choice before you return. No matter what your choice is, accepting the task will reward you with the ’Game Backpack (Small)’. Completing the task will reward you with Golden Items and other mysterious grand prizes. Reaching the return time without deciding will be considered abandoning the task.]

[Game Backpack (Small): Three slots. Items from Chi Hai can be brought back to the Ancient Abyss, and items from the Ancient Abyss can be brought to Chi Hai. The volume of the items cannot exceed your own body volume. Items cannot be stacked, and no living creatures can be carried.]

[Warm Reminder: This event will affect the main storylines of both worlds and generate a series of related events in the future. Once a choice is made, you cannot abandon it midway until the entire event line is completed. Please make your choice carefully.]

Both Yin Zhen and Adeline triggered this event.

"Right now, we have two options. First, we give him an Extraordinary Catalyst. Second... Miss Lucia, I need your opinion."

Julian’s voice pulled back Yin Zhen’s attention. As soon as she looked up, she saw Julian staring at her with a half-smile.

"That Blood Clan citizen is just an inferior member of the Dusk People. We cannot trust him, and he cannot tell us what his God-given task entails. Therefore, I plan to transfer someone else’s consciousness into his body to replace him. Miss Lucia, do you think we can succeed?"

Yin Zhen’s temples tightened. As the first successful case of consciousness transfer, what was she supposed to say?