Chapter 608: The Thing About Baiting and Fishing

Knocking sounds rang out in the darkness, and the star map projection that covered the entire office dimmed and shattered rapidly. The lights came back on, and the room returned to normal.

Bai Liqing let out a soft breath. A flicker of weariness crossed her face but vanished quickly, and she turned back to her desk.

Yu Sheng was still processing the intelligence she had shared with him, and he was somewhat immersed in the magnificent star map he had just witnessed.

To be honest, he felt that the level of expertise involved had already exceeded his own knowledge base. But as a gradually maturing organization leader, he had fully mastered another truly professional skill—delegating work to subordinates.

"Could you send me a copy of what you analyzed, as well as the raw data that Zheng Zhi transmitted back to the Special Operations Division?" Yu Sheng looked at Bai Liqing. "I'll forward it directly to Luo and see if she can make anything of it."

He paused and then added, "Of course, if it's confidential, forget it."

"It is classified data—but the classification level isn't that high. I can authorize it," Bai Liqing said, raising her eyelids. "I have limited trust in Luo, but I trust your ability to keep her in line."

"That works," Yu Sheng said with a smile and a nod. "Don't worry, she's being well-behaved now. Plus, she's extremely pissed off that some rat stole her stuff. She's highly motivated on this matter."

Bai Liqing nodded without further comment and shifted the topic: "The intelligence Zheng Zhi obtained is our advantage. The Grand Temple Ascetic Order probably doesn't know their secret has been exposed yet. At least in the Dark Flow Nebula, they'll let their guard down. On the other hand, they already know their 'testing ground' is connected to the Boundary Lands. Although that process is still hard to control, based on my understanding of those cultists... they will find a way to use it to cause us trouble.

"In the past, the Grand Temple Ascetic Order kept a low profile, but ever since the last Anka'ila Incident, they've revealed their ambitions. The Boundary Lands, a place where 'angel descents' and 'angel falls' have occurred multiple times, hold a fatal attraction for them.

"I think we can exploit this."

Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow and almost instantly guessed her intention: "What are you planning? Fishing?"

"They need angelic catalysts. The intelligence Zheng Zhi overheard also mentioned 'catalyst,' and it seems they urgently need a stronger catalyst to stabilize some experimental device," Bai Liqing nodded. "The 'catalysts' left behind by Anka'ila and the Stellar Remnant are tightly controlled by the Boundary Lands and the Thousand Peaks Spirit Mountain. Releasing news that those items were lost now probably wouldn't fool anyone. But the Boundary Bridge... that incident just ended not long ago. If we put out news that the cleanup isn't complete and some fragments are still scattered, many people would believe it."

Yu Sheng was certain he saw a hint of a sly smile on the bureau chief's face—a micro-expression at the pixel level that he would have missed if he blinked too fast.

"The true details of the Boundary Bridge's disintegration are known only to a few firsthand witnesses, including you and me," Bai Liqing continued. "It disintegrated in the material universe, and the residual information and blueprints were devoured by you. No physical remnants were left behind, but... we might be able to create some fakes."

Yu Sheng's mind had already started working when he heard that, because while starmaps, star gates, authorization codes, and such were not his forte, setting traps, burying enemies, baiting, fishing, faking, bluffing—that was his bread and butter. After all, he had fed fake food to "Hunger" back in the Nightfall Valley, and it was common for him to use himself as bait when fighting the Gloom Angel.

But he was curious: "Fake news is easy, but how are you going to fake the physical stuff? Just grab some building debris, add some special effects, and call it 'Boundary Bridge fragments'? Will the Ascetic Order fall for it?"

Bai Liqing thought carefully this time.

"Those cultists may be paranoid, but they aren't fools. If the act isn't convincing, we won't catch big fish. Besides, they've studied the Gloom Angel for years, so they should have some methods to detect and identify angelic catalysts... A casually made decoy might instead reveal our intentions."

Yu Sheng's expression turned thoughtful.

"We need to mix in some real stuff..." He unconsciously rubbed his nose, thinking about what to use as bait. "Use the residual Stellar Remnant crystal branches from the ancient crust? Not ideal... There's almost no Gloom Angel power left in them; they're no different from regular minerals and would be easy to spot. Or mix in some 'Anti-Eileen Crystal'? That would have the right purity, but it's a controlled substance, and what if those cultists actually get their hands on it and study something useful..."

As Yu Sheng muttered, Bai Liqing finally spoke: "I think you should talk to Luo about this."

Yu Sheng was momentarily confused: "Luo? Can she forge artifacts too?"

Bai Liqing: "She was actually hit by a Boundary Bridge fragment."

"Ah... when you put it that way, it makes sense..."

"She should still have a lot of data related to 'Zorda Blackstone' that could help us simulate similar substances—at least enough to fool standard detection methods," Bai Liqing said unhurriedly. "Tell her she only needs to provide the data. As for the actual 'production,' the Special Operations Division's lab can handle it."

Yu Sheng laughed. "Then it's settled."

They then discussed many details about creating fake angelic catalysts and spreading fake bait news. The more they discussed, the more confident they felt about the plan's success rate. Plus, the cost was low—even just baiting a single 'Knight' would be worth it. If they could snag an 'Artificial Saint' or even a 'Sage'-level Ascetic Order priest, that would be a huge win. Then, if Luo could open a breach on the Dark Flow Nebula side... with multi-point positioning and coordinated attacks from inside and outside, the Ascetic Order's days of hiding in their happy home and harassing them from afar would finally be over.

"Then it's decided. Send the raw data Zheng Zhi transmitted and your analysis report to the Heterogeneous Traveler. I'll forward it to Blackstone Station and also tell Luo about the research materials," Yu Sheng said as he stood up from across the desk, preparing to open the door and leave. "Also, if any 'Knight' or 'Artificial Saint' appears elsewhere in Boundary City during this time, make sure to notify me immediately. Capture them alive if possible... but of course, prioritize the safety of our own people."

"I understand what you mean."

Bai Liqing nodded solemnly, then, as she stood to see him off, she couldn't help but let out a big yawn.

For her, a woman who had always been so cold, steady, and almost inhuman, this was a fairly undignified gesture.

Yu Sheng had noticed the thick drowsiness around her since earlier and couldn't resist: "Didn't get much sleep again? This isn't because of me this time, is it?"

"I slept well," Bai Liqing quickly adjusted her expression, putting her usual stoic face back on. "Just a yawn."

Yu Sheng wanted to ignore it, but Bai Li Xue's eyes kept flickering on the floor-to-ceiling window behind her, making sleepy, dazed expressions as if hinting at something.

He heard a faint whisper directly in his ear: "Because it's winter..."

Yu Sheng's mouth twitched instantly, and he gave Bai Liqing a strange look up and down: "Wait, you... hibernate?"

Bai Liqing immediately turned to look at the floor-to-ceiling window behind her—the flickering eyes vanished into the thick fog outside in an instant.

She slowly turned back, her expression calm: "I don't hibernate. I just get sleepy in winter."

Yu Sheng kept staring at her.

Bai Liqing tilted her head slightly and gazed calmly at the smoke alarm in one corner of the ceiling. She spoke unhurriedly, her voice resembling the mezzo-soprano in a game's opening narration, like something from Eileen's game: "...In a distant previous era, when dragons and magic still existed in the world, the Colorless Dragon would seal off its territory at the coming of winter, using a vast dream to protect its hoard, to prevent snow demons and frost giants from disturbing its kingdom..."

The bureau chief stood there, dignified, steady, and cool, like a solitary dragon from the north.

Yu Sheng thought for a moment: "You just rephrased the concept of 'hibernation' in dragons?"

Bai Liqing sighed, but the sigh was halfway and turned into another uncontrollable yawn.

Clearly, the solitary dragon from the north was about to drop dead from exhaustion.

Yu Sheng felt like he had discovered a new continent. He had known Bai Liqing for over a year, but obviously, they hadn't been that familiar with each other earlier, so last winter he had completely missed this characteristic of the Iron Mask. Now, he felt that much of her usual cold, hard demeanor had melted away.

However, judging by her micro-expressions, he could tell Bai Liqing was already embarrassed to a certain degree, so he didn't continue discussing hibernation with her. He greeted her and pushed open the door to leave the director's office.

The spacious office fell silent again. Bai Liqing stood quietly behind her big desk, then suddenly propped her head on her hand and sighed.

A pair of phantom eyes, as if sneaking around, drifted to the computer screen opposite her, then slowly slid down to the desktop.

"Keep a close eye on those places where spatial rifts appeared during the Boundary Bridge incident," Bai Liqing suddenly spoke. "Especially the blocks that the Spirit Fox System highlighted back then—their spatiotemporal structure was completely shattered. They might serve as 'invasion points' for the Ascetic Order."

"Wow," the eyes wobbled exaggeratedly, "Pushing through your hibernation instinct just to immediately assign work to your little sister?"

Bai Liqing ignored the teasing—at some point, this 'little sister' of hers had become more and more active, even seeming to have acquired true humanity. She had noticed the change but rarely mentioned it.

She didn't know if this was good or bad.

She only knew that the time of year when she felt groggy was starting again.

"Haaah—"

Dragon yawn.