Chapter 680 - 144: Contact Again

After he finished speaking, Wang Chengke nodded and turned to leave with his disciples.

Fang Qing looked at Zhang Deming and asked, "Martial Uncle, are you coming with us?"

Zhang Deming shook his head. "I’m going to follow Senior Brother and take a look."

Hearing this, Fang Qing didn’t hesitate. After bowing to Zhang Deming, he shot away.

Zhang Deming also flew out of the room, but he paused the moment he took off. It seemed that as soon as he had activated the Command Token, the Light Gate in the plaza had begun to slowly shrink.

Judging by the speed at which it was closing, it would completely disappear in two or three minutes at most.

After a moment’s hesitation, Zhang Deming raised his hand and tossed a Spirit Species over. Ignoring everything else, he arrived at Light Gate number fifteen on the edge of the Secret Realm.

Looking at the Light Gate, Zhang Deming didn’t dive in immediately. Instead, he stood beside it and closed his eyes. His consciousness returned to his Main Body through the subprogram’s entry point.

After his Main Body opened its eyes, he flipped his hand and took out an Array Card. It was the very one he used to monitor information alerts from his Quantum Watch Notebook Computer. On the card, an alert was currently flashing.

Zhang Deming’s brow furrowed slightly as he looked at the alert. He got up, flashed over to the storage room next door, and found the Quantum Watch Notebook Computer placed by itself on a shelf in the corner.

The indicator light on the watch was flashing rapidly.

Zhang Deming took the watch, left the third floor, and went to the Cultivation Secret Room on the first floor. He opened the various layers of Isolation Arrays he had previously set up before carefully pressing the button on the watch.

The entire watch began to rapidly fold and unfold, extending in moments into a quantum notebook with an intensely sci-fi look.

With a surge of Spiritual Power, Zhang Deming turned on the computer.

As soon as he opened the computer, three messages popped up. He checked the timestamps. The first had been sent more than half a day ago, and the last, a little less than half an hour ago.

Message One: "Parasite Nest unit in danger within the Celestial Spirit Realm. Contact has been blocked. Find a way to notify the Celestial Spirit Sect. Additionally, the second phase of the plan is about to begin. Is the Enlightenment Dao personnel ready?"

------Watch Tower!

Message Two: "Parasite Nest unit has encountered Demon Cultivators. The ship has already crashed. We have completely lost contact with the Celestial Spirit Sect. The situation is urgent. Please find a way to make contact quickly."

------Watch Tower!

Message Three: "The Parasite Nest unit has activated its quantum Absolute Defense. Please find a way to notify the Celestial Spirit Sect and get there within twelve hours. Phase two of the Celestial Eye Parasite Plan is imminent. The Parasite Nest unit cannot be lost.

We can’t reach Mysterious Man Number One at all. You are the only one we can contact. Please reply immediately upon receipt!

------Watch Tower!

Zhang Deming looked at the three first-priority messages and paused. ’So that’s it,’ he thought. ’The crashed ship must be the exchange delegation.’

He carefully mulled over the messages twice before starting to type a reply. Given the situation, if he delayed another two hours, they would probably start trying to use the notebook’s backdoor.

’If they can’t open the backdoor then and can’t force-notify me... ha... then this notebook will probably be toast, because I’ll never receive another message again.’

"Disaster at home. On a mandatory-conscription mission. Extremely inconvenient. Do not contact frequently!"

------Mysterious Man Number Three!

Zhang Deming kept the message as brief as possible to avoid misspeaking, checked it once, and hit send.

Just like before, someone must have been monitoring his contact station, because he received a reply moments after sending his message.

"The second phase of the Celestial Eye Parasite Plan is especially critical. If circumstances truly do not permit, you must ensure the safety of the Parasite Nest unit, even at the cost of exposing yourself."

------Watch Tower!

Zhang Deming paused as he read the message, unsure how to respond. ’As a spy, being told so explicitly that I’m disposable—and being told to sell myself out, no less—should I express some dissatisfaction?’

’Or should I just fly off the handle?’

’Damn it, I’ve never been a spy before. I have no idea what a spy’s rights or bottom line are!’

Zhang Deming was dumbfounded for a moment. After a long period of contemplation, he figured that if they could say something like that so directly, then a spy’s professional ethics must include an awareness that they might be sold out???

’Probably... maybe... I guess so... right???’

After thinking for a long time, Zhang Deming began to type his reply again.

"I have already notified the ’parents.’ No need to worry. Additionally, the ’Enlightenment Dao tool’ is ready. No need for concern. In the middle of mandatory conscription. Please maintain silence. Will be out of contact for the next few days."

------Mysterious Man Number Three!

’This wording, while not openly expressing dissatisfaction, should convey a hint of my discomfort, right? For a spy, this is probably the limit of what I can express.’

After a moment of thought, Zhang Deming hit send.

"Understood. As long as you ensure the Parasite Nest unit is safe and phase two of the Celestial Eye Parasite Plan begins smoothly, home base will maintain silence. We will not contact you again in the near future."

------Watch Tower!

Looking at the reply, Zhang Deming let out a long sigh of relief. It seemed there were no problems.

He waited a moment, but when no other messages appeared, Zhang Deming turned off the computer, returned to the third floor, and placed the computer back in the storage room. Then, he went back to the Cultivation Room and lay down again.

...

With a shift of his consciousness, Zhang Deming opened his eyes and looked once more at the Light Gate before him.

With a flicker of his Heart Spirit, the Spiritual Shield on his body activated. Amidst a surge of gray mist, Zhang Deming’s presence rapidly diminished, his figure becoming faint and indistinct.

After activating his strongest defensive state, Zhang Deming didn’t hesitate for a second and plunged headfirst into the Light Gate.