CHAPTER 632: CHAPTER 143: REVEALING THE ESSENCE OF THE WORLD

Inside the high-speed carriage, Duwa sat upright in his chair, his face somewhat pale. As a scholar, he had always stayed honestly cooped up in his laboratory, rarely coming out even once in several months. Even if he went out, it was only to procure supplies.

Now, after many days, his outing directly led him into a dangerous situation, facing these fierce and intimidating field staff.

Duwa complained about the composition of the Order of Truth. In fact, the Order was extremely loosely organized, with everyone normally engaged in their own research, occasionally gathering to exchange ideas, and then continuing their relentless pursuit of the essence of the Secret Source.

In contrast to the highly efficient and tightly run Order Bureau, their management system was as simple as a sandcastle. But due to this extremely loose structure, members of the Order of Truth didn’t even know how many members there actually were, resulting in frequent loopholes in the Order Bureau’s control over them.

Duwa was extremely nervous, while these field staff appeared indifferent.

Lebius was flipping through the materials Duwa had brought. As expected of something written by these fanatics, it was filled with large volumes of academic jargon and some meaningless praises.

Lebius frowned at the sight of this; the vocabulary used by these fanatics was entirely different from the standard norms of a Sublimation Furnace Core. This is where Aimou’s role became apparent.

Aimou was not just an Alchemist; for a long time, she had been handling affairs for Teda and had sufficient understanding of the Order of Truth. Therefore, to some extent, Aimou acted as a translator, explaining those obscure terms unique to the fanatics to Lebius.

Lebius closed the materials and put them back into the briefcase, his gaze like a knife slicing across Duwa’s body.

Duwa remained calm, forcing a smile, "As you can see, the original item is not as simple as you all might think."

"This was originally a trade item we purchased from the Gray Trade Association, but it was intercepted by the Corrupted Sect on the way, and as you all know, the trade item is now lost."

Lebius did not respond. It seemed that the tenth group had not raided the Gray Trade Association and Corrupted Sect’s transaction site but rather that the Corrupted Sect had imprisoned the Gray Trade Association and seized the trade item.

Linking it with recent events, it made logical sense, especially since the Gray Trade Association had just auctioned the Immortal Heart, a Holy Relic of the Corrupted Sect, and many of their people had been lost within the Wandering Crossroads.

With Lebius’ understanding of the Corrupted Sect, they would inevitably seek revenge, and the tenth group happened to get involved in all this.

The fog-covered incidents gradually became clearer with the arrival of the Order of Truth.

Duwa reiterated, "We are willing to provide all the information we know to assist the Order Bureau’s actions."

Lebius inquired, "Then what do you want?"

"We understand that with the Order Bureau’s involvement, it’s impossible for us to obtain the original item," Duwa said, "Going against the Order Bureau, we certainly don’t have that kind of power."

"The Order of Truth wants to jointly research the original item with the Order Bureau."

"Your sincerity is still insufficient," Lebius glanced at the briefcase, "You talk about providing information, but the contents in here are related to transactions with the Gray Trade Association, along with some research projects prepared for the original item...none of this involves the essence of the original item."

Lebius sneered, "Until now, we don’t even know what that original item looks like."

Facing Lebius’ questioning, Duwa still maintained his smile, and surprisingly, his demeanor became more resolute, without retreat.

"To ensure my safety, some information cannot be written on paper; it can only be hidden here."

Duwa lightly tapped his temple.

Lebius said, "The Order Bureau has the ability to extract memories from a person’s brain."

"The Crow’s Nest, is it? I’ve heard about it," Duwa remained calm, "But that takes a long time, and by then, no one can guarantee whose hands the original item will fall into."

The conversation paused for a moment, Lebius asked quizzically, "Was your earlier vulnerability just a façade?"

Lebius had learned some negotiation techniques but didn’t expect an Alchemist to know of them.

"No, I was genuinely scared to death just now," Duwa looked around, "I have no combat capabilities whatsoever, let alone facing an action team alone."

"Then why have you become strong now?"

"Earlier, I was only concerned about my personal survival, but now we are discussing the original item," Duwa’s speech sped up, his eyes gleaming with fervor, "Compared to life and death, I care more about the truth."

Lebius once again felt the importance that the Order of Truth placed on the original item, not just them, but also the Zongge Orchestra, as if this item possessed some kind of magic power, attracting everyone to go crazy over it.

Duwa said, "Agree to it, you won’t regret it."

Lebius candidly admitted, "This is not something I can decide alone."

As the leader of the action team, what Lebius had to be concerned about was merely the success or failure of the operation, not making decisions beyond the action.

Duwa looked at his watch, "There is a long time to wait until we reach the Free Port."

Lebius gestured to Geoffrey; this mission would be more complicated than they expected, but before Geoffrey could go to the back, the always closed cabin door opened, and Yuriel walked out looking fatigued, addressing everyone.

"Message from the Decision Room."

Yuriel repeated, "Agree to it."

Dead silence settled inside the carriage. Though the message hadn’t been conveyed to the Decision Room, it seemed as if the Decision Room had anticipated it all.

Everyone wore a solemn expression, except Duwa, who still maintained a smile, with a frenzy for truth that was higher than his life.

Duwa confidently declared, "I knew no one could refuse."

"Speak," Lebius looked directly at him, "I hope the information in your mind won’t disappoint me."

"Of course."

Duwa nodded vigorously, his face full of excitement, like an actor who was overacting.

"First, I need to admit, the Order of Truth, like you, knows nothing about the original item, not even its exact appearance."

Duwa continued, "But don’t worry yet, we know nothing about it, but at least we in the Order of Truth know its origin. To be precise, it was because we knew its source that we were willing to pay a high price to purchase it from the Gray Trade Association."

Lebius gestured for him to continue.

"The original item is one of King Solomon’s collections."

With a simple sentence, the deathly silence was thoroughly broken. Observing people’s reactions, Duwa, like a host of a joyous occasion, delightedly said, "Great, isn’t it?"

"Lebius Lovisa, I know your..."

Suddenly, Duwa mentioned Lebius again, starting to speak softly, "Then you should also know the predecessor of our Order of Truth."

Lebius nodded.

"You should understand that we wouldn’t joke about King Solomon’s matters, it’s true. We went through ancient texts and found annotations related to the original item in King Solomon’s notes, which were almost burned to ashes."

Duwa stood up excitedly, dancing in frenzy, venting for a while before forcing himself to calm down again, earnestly trying to express his thoughts to Lebius and the others.

"Reveal the essence of the world."

Duwa’s voice was light, like a child’s dream talk.

He maintained a strange posture, immersing himself in that fervent emotion. It was a long time before he relaxed, sitting back in his chair.

Duwa spoke in a tired tone, "That is King Solomon’s annotation on the original item."

Lebius asked, "Reveal the essence of the world... I imagine your Order of Truth must have had many speculations about this?"

Duwa’s eyes brightened, nodding vigorously, "Yes."

"What a dramatic reunion..." Duwa suddenly said again, "The proposer of our initial speculation came from your Order Bureau."

"Who?"

"Teda Yazhede."

The brightness of the halo in Aimou’s eyes increased, drawing Duwa’s attention as he looked at the peculiar girl in front of him.

"Do you know him?"

"He...he is my father."

"Father?" Duwa was puzzled for a moment, "I remember Teda’s daughter was already dead..."

Duwa was stunned and then began laughing hysterically. If conditions permitted, Duwa would have wanted to hug Aimou.

"Heavens, Teda’s wish has come true."

Duwa fixed his gaze on Aimou, genuinely cheering for his colleague.