Chapter 392 - 262: Classical Restriction
Divine Strategy Alliance, R&D Center.
Third basement level, Alliance Leader’s office.
"Is that so... All right, I understand."
After receiving Su Zhi’s call, Luo Sen raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. The usual smile on his face had also, for once, vanished.
"Just proceed as you see fit. I’ll arrange for specialized technical staff to provide monitoring on my end. Keep the line open. If there are any anomalies, I’ll notify you."
With that, Luo Sen hung up and walked over to a screen, manipulating it for a moment.
Immediately after, the large screen in the office slowly turned on, displaying a bird’s-eye view of the Tuoba Jing Village ruins. As the perspective zoomed in, the details on the screen grew sharper, to the point where even the fur on Yu Bao’s body was crystal clear.
The dozen or so technicians in the office also brought up the parameters they were each responsible for monitoring and stared intently at the screen.
Although everyone complained that Alliance Leader Luo Sen’s smile was creepy, the members of the Divine Strategy Alliance grew even more nervous when they saw him without it.
"Unauthorized use of the Celestial Eye is an overreach of authority," came a crisp, cold female voice from behind Luo Sen.
Luo Sen glanced at the young woman behind him, who was dressed in all-black combat attire with her hair cut in a neat, short style. He spread his hands and shrugged. "What kind of talk is that? The Celestial Eye system was developed and manufactured by the Divine Strategy Alliance in the first place. How is using one of them for research purposes an overreach?"
The young woman remained expressionless. "You’re using sophistry. That doesn’t mean you can mobilize the Celestial Eye at will."
Luo Sen tilted his head in a display of malicious cuteness.
"So, is Alliance Leader Cui Que going to run off and tattle on me to the old man? Waaah, waah."
"I won’t," Cui Que said, lowering her head in resignation. "Given the Grand Alliance Leader’s indulgence of your overreaches, reporting it would be meaningless."
"Thanks for your cooperation~"
To show he was truly grateful, Luo Sen grinned, revealing a mouthful of red teeth.
Cui Que snorted softly and reluctantly crossed her arms.
Luo Sen snapped his fingers, and a robot in the office glided over to Cui Que, carrying a cup of milk tea.
𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
"Even though you’re monitoring me, you don’t have to be so stony-faced all the time. Research shows that suppressing emotional expression for long periods can affect the development of secondary sex characteristics, you know."
"..." Cui Que stared at Luo Sen, her expression unchanging.
"If you don’t believe me, just think about Alliance Leader Qiu from the Huichun Alliance. Doesn’t she love to smile? I don’t like that old broad, but you can’t deny certain objective data about her~"
"..." Cui Que blinked as if trying to recall something, then subconsciously glanced down at herself. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly.
A short distance away, Selena wore an expression of someone who wanted to speak but was holding back. She looked at Cui Que, then down at herself.
"No need to worry, Captain Sai. It’s perfectly normal for certain... special individuals to appear from time to time."
Luo Sen winked mischievously, then grinned, baring his red teeth. "Of course, if you are concerned, I’d recommend improving your emotional expression and facial control in the future~"
"What’s Su Zhi’s current status?"
Selena changed the subject, turning her gaze to the large screen.
"Based on the information gathered so far, they’ve found traces in the village ruins that resemble some kind of secret code and are currently trying to verify it."
Luo Sen said leisurely, "Although there’s no evidence of a causal link between the pieces of information they’ve collected, their speculation is very likely to be correct."
Cui Que couldn’t help but ask, "If there’s not enough evidence, what are you basing your judgment on?"
Luo Sen glanced at her. "Intuition."
"You think intuition is reliable? Do you normally conduct your research based on intuition too?"
Luo Sen folded his hands. "Yes."
Cui Que’s mouth fell open, but finding herself unable to argue, she could only let out a soft huff and fall silent again.
A technician muttered under their breath, "Um, Alliance Leader, we don’t have any research on emotional expression and secondary sex characteristics..."
"Of course I know that."
Luo Sen, with his back to Cui Que and Selena, broke into a mischievous smile. "I just made that up on the spot."
The technician: "..."
"It looks like they’re about to start!" Selena’s voice rang out, drawing everyone’s attention to the screen.
·
"Woof!"
Wreathed in spiraling quicksand and flames, Yu Bao ascended to a height of thirty meters, looking down upon the entirety of Tuoba Jing Village.
’I’ve taken flight. Feeling good!’
Receiving Yu Bao’s response through the Beast Taming Space, Su Zhi nodded. "We’ve all cleared the area. You can begin."
"Woof!" From high in the sky, Yu Bao nodded.
Then, the Earth Force Field, which covered nearly the entire village, activated. Dust and earth slowly lifted from the ground, creating the spectacular visual illusion that the world itself was falling.
Outside the range of the Earth Force Field, Shen Chuqing couldn’t help but ask, "What is Yu Bao trying to do?"
"Yu Bao’s idea is to use the Earth Force Field to control the distribution of Earth and Gold Element energy, making it align with the Radiant Gold Pattern when it settles back on the ground. If the ruined walls represent some kind of Restriction or seal, this might reactivate it."
Gou Yu couldn’t help but chime in, "That’s a whole theory, and it actually makes sense... Strange, where did you hear about this? I was in the Dark Alliance for years and never heard of such a method."
Su Zhi blinked. "I’ve never heard of it either. Yu Bao just figured it might work and wanted to give it a try."
Gou Yu: "..."
Shen Chuqing: "..."
’So the ’I reckon it’ll work’ method is a thing now.’
In Luo Sen’s office—
Cui Que watched the "live broadcast" on the screen, her brows knitting slightly.
"That’s right... those ruined walls do resemble a Classical Era method for activating a Restriction. We actually overlooked that possibility during the initial investigation... But very few people know this method now. I never even told Gou Yu. How does Su Zhi know...? Don’t tell me you’re the one who taught him?"