Faced with Su Moâs question, Qi Ling shook her head: "Iâve never been to the Land of No Master, why are you asking suddenly?"
Su Mo sighed softly and leaned against Qi Ling, saying: "Iâm suddenly a bit bothered by New Moon City. So many complex forces, so many inexplicable rules."
"Now I understand why there are so many people who run to the Land of No Master to establish their own armed forces. Itâs pure there, people overlook life and death, and fight if theyâre dissatisfied. Itâs indeed more comfortable than being in the Human Territory."
Qi Ling: "Thereâs something behind your words."
Su Mo: "I was just contemplating the future path. I was wondering if itâs time to give up on New Moon City, take all core resources, and move to the Land of No Master."
After a moment of silence, Qi Ling released Su Mo, looking at him deeply, her fingers gently traced his face, down his neck, finally touching his collarbone.
Without warning, Qi Ling bit down on it.
The sudden sharp pain made Su Mo gasp: "Ah... What are you doing?"
Qi Ling didnât let go, she held Su Moâs back tightly, biting down hard on his collarbone.
Su Mo felt his skin break, warm blood flowing, yet fearing to hurt Qi Ling, he dared not struggle too hard and could only endure the pain, sitting there.
No knowing how long passed, the pain eased, and Qi Ling let go.
She gently kissed the wound on the collarbone with her lips, like a small cat that had bitten its owner, returning ashamed to apologize and seek affection.
Su Mo: "Whatâs wrong with you?"
Qi Lingâs voice was quiet: "I want you to be a bit more clear-headed."
Su Mo: "I am quite clear-headed. The mastermind this time is the Foolsâ Association. We are not yet fully fledged, and being targeted by that group of lunatics at this moment is just bad luck."
"In New Moon City, itâs already difficult for us to stand firm. Even moving to a new city wonât help. The Foolsâ Association never lets go once they spot prey; they will undoubtedly continue the chase."
"Our only way out is to go to the Land of No Master, where the influence of the three major corporations canât reach, and then start anew."
Qi Ling: "Would you be happy doing this?"
Su Mo smiled helplessly: "How could I be happy? Going to the Land of No Master means everything Iâve worked for so long has to be overturned and started anew."
"Itâs just the last resort out of helplessness. If I had a choice, of course, I would prefer to stay in New Moon City."
Qi Ling: "Then stay."
Su Mo: "Hmm?"
Qi Ling: "I said, then stay."
She cupped Su Moâs face, looking deeply into his eyes: "Remember? I told you, for the rest of my life, I will live only for you."
"If you are happy, I am happy. If you are disappointed, I am disappointed. If one day you die, I will not hesitate to die too."
"If you feel unhappy going to the Land of No Master and want to stay in New Moon City, then just stay. That would be my wish too."
Su Mo sighed softly: "Of course, thatâs what I want to think, but besides happiness, I now have to consider practical matters."
Qi Ling asked suddenly: "You just said, who is the mastermind behind all this?"
Su Mo: "The Foolsâ Association. If more specifically, the president of the Foolsâ Association, the Intelligence Department Chief of Hegemony Company New Moon City branch, Mammon."
Qi Ling: "Not him."
Su Mo asked in confusion: "How not? With such an extravagant bounty, plus Lucifer being so arrogant, Mammon is just one step short of jumping up and saying he did it."
Qi Ling: "All of this was done by Mammon, I donât deny it. But behind him, there is a hidden hand, one that not even you, perhaps not even Mammon himself, has noticed."
Su Mo asked even more confused: "Why do you say that?"
Qi Ling: "I told you before, I worked at Hegemony Company for a while, in charge of their firewallâs underlying architecture."
"You were busy with Nuobaiâs matters these days, and I wasnât idle either. I always felt something was fishy. Among 32 million people in New Moon City, why did it happen to involve your friend?"
"So, I exploited several firewall vulnerabilities to break into Hegemony Companyâs intranet, hoping to find some clues... and guess what I found?"
She took out a data chip from her pocket.
Su Mo took the chip and inserted it into the computer, opening the one file inside.
It was a video shot from high above, capturing Nuobai and Ou Chenyuâs battle in Meteor Canyon at that time.
Su Mo couldnât help but mutter: "Such a clear image, it must have been taken by Hegemony Company using Apocalypse Star."
"Moving Apocalypse Star requires enormous funds and is generally used for monitoring high-value strategic targets. Why would it be used to film this battle..."
Qi Ling signaled to keep watching.
As it played, when Ou Chenyu slashed off Nuobaiâs mask, exposing her true face, Su Mo covered his forehead and said: "So the source of Nuobaiâs exposure was this... Did you find this from Mammonâs database?"
Qi Lingâs expression turned serious: "The interesting part is, can you imagine? Such an irrelevant video was stored away with the highest level of encryption, and even Mammon, as the Intelligence Department Chief, had no access."
Su Mo frowned as he listened: "Are you saying Mammon was able to acquire this video because someone of a higher rank gave it to him?"
Qi Ling nodded, she leaned closer to Su Moâs ear, whispering a name.
"Zhao Yiming."
Su Mo sat there without moving for a long time, before murmuring: "The Vice President of Hegemony Companyâs New Moon City branch..."
Qi Ling shrugged: "Thereâs actually not much difference from the real thing. Their official president has been ill in recent years, nearing retirement. Zhao Yiming has practically taken charge of all the duties of the New Moon City branch, just lacking the official title."