Chapter 150: The Purpose of a Friendly Organization |
Agent Angie drifted out of the conference room, following the crowd into the banquet hall next door. As soon as she entered, she saw the towering Monument right in the middle of the Central Chamber.
It was a tradition to hold a banquet after the Order Referendum assembly.
She had only heard rumors of these gatherings before, imagining a scene of clinking glasses and decadent luxury.
Now seeing it in person, she realized that instead of a lavish feast, this was just another opportunity to reiterate the Pan-Continent Alliance's mission to the attendees. The long tables offered only plain water and coarse bread. This modest fare echoed the dense rows of names engraved upon the Monument, silently recounting the death and hardship the Alliance had endured during its founding years to all the newcomers.
Visiting for the first time and still reeling from the surreal feeling of having narrowly survived, Agent Angie found her gaze drawn upward. She unconsciously read the "Five Great Missions" inscribed beneath the Alliance emblem at the top of the Monument:
[First Mission: Survival (Ensuring humanity's survival against supernatural threats supersedes all other priorities.)]
[Second Mission: Concealment (Ensuring all information related to Supernatural Phenomena is hidden from public view)
]
[Third Mission: Protection (Human individuals, including Alliance operatives, should receive maximum protection to minimize casualties.)]
[Fifth Mission: Education (Under the premise of not hindering the Fourth Mission, collect information regarding Supernatural Phenomena, and make the greatest effort to develop pure human technology.)]
Just then, someone approached her from the side, drawing Agent Angie's attention.
It took her a moment to recognize the man. He was quite handsome under the lights, exuding the natural, commanding aura of a seasoned leader. It was Bishop Noel, the leader of the Truth Supremacy Order, who had just delivered the miraculous speech that completely reversed the vote.
Agent Angie subtly picked up a glass of plain water from a nearby table, holding it to mask her unfamiliarity with the gathering.
"A pleasure to meet you, Bishop Noel. Your speech just now was absolutely brilliant."
"Receiving such praise from a lovely lady is my honor, Miss Angie," he replied. "I am very pleased to see the New World Society officially recognized as a friendly organization. It seems the importance of your work will soon increase—allow me to congratulate you on your impending promotion."
Bishop Noel raised his glass and downed the water in one smooth motion, treating it like fine wine. Agent Angie smiled and returned the gesture.
Bishop Noel's smile was highly charismatic. Combined with his handsome face and the fact that he had just stepped in to save her life, he could easily charm any vulnerable woman who had just been cleared of serious charges.
But Agent Angie knew one fundamental truth:
You cannot trust a single word from a Merchant, and you cannot trust a single punctuation mark from a Politician.
She had originally taught this very lesson to Ying Shang. Agent Angie had warned her to beware of Politicians, beware of bosses, beware of outsiders, and beware of men who treat you exceptionally well—especially that supposedly innocent guy with Social Anxiety from the Board Game Club.
Unfortunately, she never listened to Agent Angie's advice.
Agent Angie had only joined the Pan-Continent Alliance to find Fan Yingshang. Aside from that, the only things she liked about this place were the handsome salary and the security of having a powerful backer. She agreed with the Alliance's ultimate goals, but as for the political maneuvering, while she understood it perfectly, she despised every second of it.
To her, this was merely a job. They shouldn't expect any true devotion from her.
The two engaged in a deep yet entirely hollow conversation about the Pan-Continent Alliance's core principles. Just as Agent Angie was about to invent an excuse to escape the tedious small talk, Bishop Noel finally got to the point.
"I hear you have a certain degree of friendship with the Communicator from the New World Society. What kind of person do you think he is? Does their faction stand firmly on the side of the Alliance?"
Agent Angie rolled her eyes internally. 'How am I supposed to answer that? I only just found out about this organization from Investigator Scarlett. If she hadn't come to arrest me, God only knows I would never have guessed Shi Rang had such a massive force backing him. Honestly, I suspect he could get sold out by someone and still happily help them count the money.'
On the surface, however, she maintained a polite smile. Drawing on thirty percent actual knowledge of Shi Rang, forty percent wild guesswork, and thirty percent sheer desperation to keep her job and freedom, she began to spin a tale. "Based on my personal judgment, they are also testing the Alliance's stance toward them. They might be waiting for a clearer gesture of goodwill before deciding whether to deepen their cooperation with us. As for the Communicator himself, he is a remarkably honest man. His highly influential father provides him with an excellent public cover, and the fact that he was appointed to the crucial role of Communicator means he must be trusted exceptionally well."
'Hmm, what a thoroughly satisfying load of nonsense.'
Bishop Noel looked thoughtful. "I hope you can offer them positive hints moving forward. The Spirit Vision Department will be following up on all communications with them. I imagine you will soon need to pass along more concrete directives. We need to convert them into an official external asset."
The Truth Supremacy Order was merely one of the 108 Orders that made up the Pan-Continent Alliance. Even as the leader of a prominent faction, making such unilateral declarations was a severe overstep for Bishop Noel.
But based on her observations during the conference, Agent Angie had her own suspicions.
Perhaps this entire display had been nothing but a staged performance—a perfect alliance forged between the Anomaly extinctionists and the extreme anti-Management Authority zealots.
If those two powerful factions joined forces, they could easily secure an absolute majority of seats, allowing them to completely dictate the outcome of every single vote.
'Politics again...'
The New World Society was undoubtedly about to receive a highly challenging mission.
Earning a spot on the Alliance's list of friendly organizations didn't come cheap.
"I've only just completed my basic intelligence training, so I can't quite guess what the Alliance's next objective will be," Agent Angie replied, playing along. She deliberately feigned vulnerability, directly addressing Bishop Noel as if he were already her superior. "Could you perhaps give me a hint?"
Bishop Noel's smile widened brightly.
"Investigate why the Charity Foundation has been steadily reducing the number of people it aids over the past few years."
The Pan-Continent Alliance's latest directive echoed in Shi Rang's mind.
"With your identity as a cover, the intelligence gathering should proceed smoothly."
They were explicitly stating that they had thoroughly investigated his background. Was this meant to be a threat from the Alliance?
Or perhaps some twisted show of goodwill?
After all, their investigation hadn't dug deep enough. They seemed To Know Nothing about the Mini-Humans residing in the Villa, nor did they mention the private shooting range and armory hidden in the Basement.
It seemed this "friendly organization" status was going to serve as an excellent cover.
Shi Rang stared intently down the iron sights, aligning them perfectly with the target. He pulled the trigger. The recoil traveled up through his arms—locked in a standard shooting stance—into his shoulders, before dispersing throughout his entire body.
He paused for half a second before pulling the trigger again. He repeated the motion methodically until he had completely emptied the Magazine.
Shi Rang lowered his gun.
The paper target glided forward along its fifty-meter overhead track. The enforcer acting as his shooting instructor glanced at the dense cluster of bullet holes on the paper. "An average score of 7.9."
On his other side, Jing Zi chimed in, "Your scores are improving incredibly fast."
"This is as far as my training goes for now." Shi Rang placed the Handgun down among a pile of empty ammunition boxes and shook out his numbed hands. "Jing Zi, go inform Shi Shixin that I'll be heading out tomorrow to formally assume my position. A Wei, go pack our things. You two will be coming with me."
"Understood."
"I'll get on it right away."
The two men nodded in turn and swiftly left the room.
Shi Rang slipped off his noise-canceling earmuffs. Leaning against the shooting bench, he stared intently at the target paper, gazing straight through the tightly clustered bullet holes at the heavily pockmarked back wall of the range.
He stood amidst a scattering of brass casings, the sharp scent of gunpowder filling his lungs with every breath.
His current score was decent, but it still wasn't enough.
In a real life-or-death shootout, he wouldn't have the luxury of time to perfectly adjust his stance and steady his breathing. At best, his current skill level was only slightly better than someone who had never held a firearm before.
A single month of training was simply too short. However, the onboarding paperwork for the Charity Foundation was finally complete. The Ascension Society was constantly pressuring him through Jing Zi, demanding he take action, and the Pan-Continent Alliance had just issued their own directives. Shi Rang's brief period of respite was officially over.
He put the gun aside and left the Basement.
'Charity Foundation, here I come.'