Chapter 899 - 384: Transformation Ritual (Part 3)
Raventon shrugged and said, "They’re probably not going to cooperate."
Wu Chang grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.
"They don’t have a choice."
At nine o’clock in the evening, several core members of the Conservative Faction were gathered at Chief Justice Gascogne’s manor, discussing how to respond to the public opinion sparked by the Bright Lamp Report.
This incident involved the Liberal Party, determined to prevent them from gaining industrial regulatory rights; retracting the Bright Lamp Report from the market was now impossible.
Moreover, tomorrow’s morning news, controlled by the Liberal Party, would certainly further report on Hall Company, intensifying public opinion.
For now, they could only try to find Connor and control him, while thinking about how to explain to the public.
What they didn’t know was that while they were contemplating finding Connor, the manor outside was already surrounded by the Secret Magic Knight Order, waiting for Gascogne to arrive before going in to seize people.
Tonight, it wasn’t just the Secret Magic Knight Order prepared to act.
At Colinwood Processing Plant, under dim lights, a steam-powered carriage made entirely of metal slowly drove into the workshop.
The carriage moved forward, following a special path, reaching the underground of the processing plant.
Hiss~
As a large amount of steam was discharged, the steam carriage slowly stopped, the carriage door opened, and three individuals in black robes emerged from the carriage.
"Hurry up, the councilors are getting impatient," said a black-robed individual, short and stocky at only 1.6 meters.
The two black-robed individuals following the short and stocky figure extended their hands from their robes, making a "highly dangerous" gesture to the other.
The two black-robed individuals communicating with codes were Cold Mountain and Sword Star, who had infiltrated the Steam Council.
During the great stench incident, these two had attacked the Royal Light Weapons Factory while following the Steam Church.
They didn’t hesitate when acting, working hard to gain the approval of the high ranks of the Steam Council, elevating them from ordinary peripheral members to Quasi-Member level councilors.
However, after becoming Quasi-Members, the two did not gain more freedom; instead, they were watched more closely.
To be precise, they were in a way under house arrest.
Guarding them was the short and stocky figure who brought them here. Removing his robe, the figure had an unassuming appearance, but once donning the black robe, he became a formal Steam Councilor, a position one rank higher than theirs.
According to the short and stocky figure, it wasn’t a matter of distrust, but rather a temporary confinement.
On the contrary, they had passed the Steam Council’s assessment and were about to participate in a sacred, noble, and very important event.
To prevent any leaks or being discovered, all participants had to hide ahead of time, waiting for the day of action.
The short and stocky figure described their upcoming task as very mysterious, emphasizing its importance multiple times, which forced Cold Mountain and Sword Star to be patient and continue to wait.
To avoid being discovered, they could only disconnect temporarily during this period, not contacting Wu Chang.
They waited until tonight, when the steam carriage stopped outside their hiding house, finally leaving the house for the first time in several days.
Previously, when they traveled to the Steam Council’s base, they had taken the steam carriage once before; once on board, their senses were screened off, unaware of where they’d been.
They guessed they would take the steam carriage again and prepared in advance.
During the waiting days, Sword Star continually amassed Sword Qi, sharpening its edge.
As soon as they got on the carriage, he took advantage when the short and stocky figure was not paying attention and poked a hole in the carriage with Sword Qi.
Meanwhile, during the carriage journey, Cold Mountain continued to release Energy infused with the Power of Root through the small hole to discern their location.
Using this method, the two had already roughly determined their position.
If there were no accidents tonight, once the operation was complete, they could draw a simple map detailing the location of their base to inform Wu Chang.
Following behind the short man, they passed through two secret doors into a hidden underground space.
The underground space was enormous, with a giant steam machine set in the center.
Upon entering the underground space, they sensed the dense Steam Root Power from the machine; it was clearly an Extraordinary Steam Engine.
Their eyes sparkled with excitement, for they had not only pinpointed a secret Steam Council base but also found an Extraordinary Steam Engine within.
This accomplishment was significant.
If this doesn’t yield a hidden side quest, it wouldn’t make much sense.
As their gazes moved off the machine, they noticed that besides themselves, there were nearly twenty other black-robed individuals within the underground space.
Most were native to the plane, but three or four had unusual physiques, distinct from the dungeon plane’s natives, and one was wearing a black robe that was an Item, clearly a Player from the Abyssal Game.
Yet, the players within the underground space lacked the player’s spirit, instead giving off a mechanical stiffness.
What further unsettled Cold Mountain and Sword Star was that they could sense a faint Steam Root Power emitting from those players.
A black-robed individual leaning on a cane stepped out from the crowd and spoke to them:
"It’s a pleasure to meet you; I’ve been observing your performance always."
"We are all companions in pursuit of the pinnacle of Extraordinary, trusted by everyone to appoint me to manage the Steam Council. You can call me Xavier, or Councilor Number One."
The unease within Cold Mountain and Sword Star increased, Cold Mountain asked, "Mr. Xavier, what do you need us to do?"
Xavier smiled and said, "We are about to accomplish a great task, seizing Stilan from those incompetent, propelling Stilan’s evolution through the power of Extraordinary Industry."
Xavier gestured towards the machine and said:
"You don’t need to do anything, just follow us into Stilan Palace and take over the country."
"But first, we need to perform a brief transformation on you, helping you become true Steam Councilors."