NOVGO.NET Chapter 65: Aiden’s Thoughts, Public Opinion, and Entering the Abyss
Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Aiden’s Thoughts, Public Opinion, and Entering the Abyss
Vespera handed the documents to Aiden and said with concern.”Things are pretty much as you guessed. Several geniuses from different empires started off very well, but later something happened, and public opinion turned against them.”
“They all ended up being killed by the Evil Demons Guild.”
John’s eyes widened instantly. He didn’t know exactly what had happened, but just hearing the name of the Evil Demons Guild made him realize how serious the situation was.
Even the Great Shaw Empire had never been able to completely eliminate the Evil Demons Guild.
As a direct member of the Hawthorne family’s trading company, he knew more secrets. The Evil Demons Guild active in the Great Shaw Empire wasn’t all of their strength. They were just under the command of the Dark Dragon Heavenly King.
In short, the Evil Demons Guild was a dangerous and evil organization that threatened the whole world.
“Aiden, what exactly happened? What can I do to help you?” John asked, unable to hold back.
Aiden explained his previous guess.
“Wait, you figured out the truth just from what happened today?” John found it hard to believe.
Few people would connect all these events together. Most people just thought the fall of the genius in the Sovereign City was simply an assassination by the Evil Demons Guild.
Aiden nodded. “It was just a guess before, but now it seems certain.”
“I won’t be safe for much longer. I’ll probably be killed by the Evil Demons Guild soon.”
“Of course, the chance that they act in the Sovereign City is still very small. If I were them, I would choose to attack me on the way back to the White City.”
Aiden’s voice was very calm. Even though his life was at stake, he stayed composed and controlled.
“Why don’t you just stay here in the Sovereign City? It would be much safer.” John said quickly, thinking of something.
But when Aiden finished reading the documents in his hand, he slowly shook his head.
The geniuses who had been killed by the Evil Demons Guild had all left the Sovereign City for various reasons, and then they became corpses.
It was as if an invisible hand had pushed them out of the Sovereign City without them even realizing it.
Also, the College Testing required them to return to the White City, because Aiden’s academic records and his Reclasser registration were all based in the White City.
Moreover, could he avoid this forever?
As long as the person behind everything wasn’t found, he would always be in danger.
No one wanted to live under the barrel of a gun forever!
Aiden took a deep breath. Now that he knew the person behind it had a connection to the Evil Demons Guild, he could now easily figure out who was not an enemy.
There was no doubt that the least likely person to be an enemy was the Empress Eira.
But she had too many people around her. It was possible that the real enemy was hiding among them.
As for James and Atlas, they were not in Aiden’s list of suspects at all.
Mainly because they were too noticeable. Every move they made was watched by many people.
After thinking it over, the only person who fit the role was Luke, the vice chairman of the Reclasser Association.
He had killed a high-ranking member of the Evil Demons Guild during the incident in the White City, and almost ruined their plan.
This person definitely had no connection to the Evil Demons Guild. Compared to James and Atlas, fewer people would be watching him.
At this point, Aiden’s thoughts started to become clearer.
The only advantage he had now was that the enemy didn’t know he had already sensed the danger. If he prepared carefully, maybe he could make the enemy reveal themselves.
“Okay, I have a plan. You two can go do other things. Don’t worry about me.” Aiden said calmly.
John and Vespera weren’t very confident. They knew how dangerous it was, but at this point, there was no other choice but to trust Aiden.
Both of them said that if Aiden needed anything, he could always come to them.
After John and Vespera left, Aiden took out his phone and sent a message to Luke, asking if he had time.
Luke replied. Wait a little bit. I have something important to deal with. If you can, come to the 33rd floor.
Aiden didn’t have anything else to do, so he took the elevator straight to the 33rd floor where Luke was.
As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, Aiden felt that the atmosphere here was a bit different.
Each staff member had a blank expression, and their movements were very careful, as if afraid of making too much noise.
An old man in expensive clothes was pacing back and forth, asking the nearest staff member:
“I had already made an appointment a week ago. Can I meet with Vice Chairman Luke today?”
The staff member answered vaguely: “That depends on the vice chairman’s schedule.”
As soon as he said that, the staff member saw Aiden coming out of the elevator. His eyes lit up, and he ran over.
“Mr. Aiden, the vice chairman has already made time for you. Please follow me.”
Aiden nodded and followed the staff member to a red door.
The staff member took a few deep breaths before carefully knocking on the door and saying:
“Vice Chairman Lord, Mr. Aiden is here.”
“Come in.” Luke’s voice came from inside the room.
Aiden opened the door and walked in. When he looked around the room, he was stunned for a moment.
Besides the documents, there were all kinds of torture tools and human skeleton specimens.
“Everyone who comes to my office for the first time reacts like you.” Luke said, sitting behind his desk. His previous injuries had mostly healed.
He smiled and said casually.
“I heard something unpleasant happened at yesterday’s welcome party. Young geniuses in the Sovereign City are usually very arrogant. You’ll get used to it soon.”
Aiden shook his head and spoke in a serious tone: “Someone is trying to kill me.”
Instantly, the smile on Luke’s face disappeared, and he looked at Aiden in surprise.
“Who?”
Aiden answered.”Not sure yet, but if nothing goes wrong, they’ll probably try to attack me on the way back to the White City.”
He then explained his previous guess.
After listening, Luke didn’t ask anything else. Instead, he said.”You came to me to lure the snake out?”
Aiden nodded. That was exactly his plan. Instead of running away, he wanted to take this chance to see if he could make the person behind it reveal themselves.
Of course, there was some risk, but for Aiden, the benefits were worth it. It was worth trying.
Luke was still very strong.
“Using yourself as bait takes a lot of courage. I have to say, your choice is smart.” Luke said, looking at Aiden with respect.
But then he sighed and said slowly.”You shouldn’t expect too much. The clues might just end up with the Evil Demons Guild.”
Aiden’s eyes flickered, and he said directly.”From the moment you started talking to me, you didn’t doubt a single word.”
Luke touched the knife scar across his face and replied quietly.”This kind of thing has happened many times before.”
“Only a few geniuses who died at the hands of the Evil Demons Guild were actually killed by them. Even though the Abyss is threatening the future of humanity, many people will still fight for their own interests, no matter what it takes.”
After saying that, Luke asked Aiden about his specific plan.
Aiden said he would stay in the Sovereign City for two more days, and only return to the White City when the public opinion had completely changed.
This was to trick the hidden enemy.
Of course, another reason was that he wanted to reduce the risk. He planned to finish his Class Change mission before returning to the White City, so he could get stronger.
Aiden talked with Luke about some details, and soon they had a clear plan.
Then, Luke took out a skill book and said.”When the Abyss attacked the White City, it was so sudden that you didn’t have a chance to use your merits to exchange for the shielding technique I told you about.”
“I had it ready in advance. This is an Epic-level shielding technique. It’s worth 580 merits. Take it, and the merits will be automatically deducted later.”
Aiden’s eyes immediately lit up. An Epic-level shielding technique must be much stronger than the Platinum Rank Cloaking Art.
[Black Tortoise Shielding Technique: Epic. Hides basic information, including name, occupation, level… It doesn’t use mana, and can block all detection techniques up to Epic rank.]
Without any hesitation, Aiden immediately learned the skill.
After saying goodbye to Luke, Aiden returned to the hotel where he had been staying before. It seemed like some people recognized him, and they kept whispering to each other.
The beautiful front desk staff looked at him with less enthusiasm than before.
Someone even said quietly.”Do you think Aiden might lose his mind because of dark skills and do something crazy?”
“I don’t think so. He’s an imperial hero, right? Why would he do that?”
“It’s hard to say. When he killed Edward’s mother in the White City, he was very cold and cruel.”
Listening to the rumors around him, Aiden remained calm and went back to his room.
Most people online were just being led by others. Their comments were all controlled by an invisible hand.
Compared to the rumors, he cared more about improving his strength.
After all, if he couldn’t get any useful clues from the Evil Demons Guild, he would still have to live under the barrel of a gun, always watching his back.
Aiden took out the Abyss pass and took a deep breath. His eyes were full of determination.
“Come on, it’s time to enter the Abyss again.”
His body quickly disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was already inside the Abyss.
Before Aiden could even start exploring the surroundings, the warning compass John gave him suddenly started shaking violently.