Chapter 452: Lecture
Chapter 452: Chapter 452: Lecture
Nina Jacobs saw Julia Hughes still crouching in the corner eavesdropping, but she didn’t say a word or pay her any mind, simply slipping away quietly.
As she passed through a hallway, she thought she heard General Hughes’s voice.
His tone was quite urgent.
Seeing that she still had some time, Nina Jacobs followed the sound.
It seemed to be a small, standalone building at the back of the compound.
Neat stacks of wooden planks and strips were placed outside. The building had three stories, and from the sound of it, General Hughes was somewhere on the second floor.
Under the dim light, a wiry old man was holding a handsaw, meticulously working on something.
General Hughes and Arcadia White stood before him in a deferential posture.
The old man focused on the task at hand, blew away some sawdust, and finally spoke.
"The Ainsworth Family of Cyndar may have ties to your Hughes Family, but at the end of the day, they have already submitted to the Mystic Sect.
My White Family is a reclusive one; it is absolutely impossible for us to associate with the likes of the Mystic Sect. The karmic repercussions would be inescapable!"
"The Ainsworth Family is already in decline. If I invite them in the name of the Hughes Family, it should be fine as long as the White Family isn’t involved."
Anselm Hughes explained.
The old man scoffed. "Do you think the people from the Mystic Sect wouldn’t know? They have coveted our White Family’s Puppetry Technique for a long time. The moment they discover our involvement in worldly affairs, they will certainly use it as leverage to force the White Family out of seclusion.
As for those supplies you lost, just forget about them. Don’t lose a watermelon over a sesame seed!"
"Yes, Aiden, Great-Grandfather is right.
We’ve worked so hard to secure so many supplies, and almost no one knows about it. These things are enough for our White Family to survive for a long time."
Arcadia White added, trying to persuade him.
But Anselm Hughes’s face was full of unwillingness. "The Ainsworth Family is best at the ’Tracking Technique’.
As long as we use their ’Tracking Technique,’ we can hunt down the other party even if they run to the ends of the earth. We’ll definitely be able to find the one who stole our supplies.
They’ve provoked us time and again. Are we supposed to just do nothing in response?"
’There’s a "Tracking Technique" like that?’
In her two lifetimes, this was the first Nina Jacobs had ever heard of it.
But the old man steadfastly refused. "For thousands of years, the one thing the White Family has forbidden most is gambling. Now is a critical moment for our survival, and I will absolutely not let you gamble with the family’s fate. Give it up... son-in-law."
He spoke the word "son-in-law" with heavy emphasis, as if to remind him of something.
Arcadia White also shot her husband a look, signaling for him to drop it.
"So we’re just supposed to let this go?"
Anselm Hughes asked, still unwilling to yield.
At this, the old man finally set down his work.
He gazed at the windowless wall, thinking aloud as he spoke.
"Oh, we can’t just let it go like that."
Arcadia White and Anselm Hughes exchanged a pleasantly surprised glance.
"Are you saying there’s another way?"
"I’ve heard that a new ’Tomorrow Base’ has emerged within Keldorn’s borders.
According to the intelligence our people have gathered, Evander Langdon did indeed go there."
"Evander Langdon was taken to Tomorrow Base?"
Neither husband nor wife had expected that.
The old man let out a cold laugh. "You were only concerned with where the supplies went, but you didn’t think to investigate the cause.
Two major incidents occurred at the base simultaneously; there was bound to be a connection between them. Yet you didn’t even investigate. In the end, you’re just too arrogant."
"Don’t tell me you actually thought you had Keldorn’s fate in the palm of your hand?"
The old man’s words made the couple’s expressions turn ugly.
They had indeed dismissed Tomorrow Base, especially after learning it had started with fewer than 200 people.
"You need to return at once. Seize the opportunity to pin the theft of the base’s supplies on them. That will give you a just cause to lead troops and attack Tomorrow Base.
Sooner or later, you’ll uncover some clues."
"A battle between two sides will inevitably result in mutual losses, which is precisely the opportunity we’ve been waiting for. When the time comes, we can also take everything from Tomorrow Base for ourselves. Wouldn’t that be killing two birds with one stone?"
Lincoln White spoke slowly, his eyes narrowed. Although he was old and his eyes were cloudy, his gaze was exceptionally cunning.
"I know what to do now. Thank you for your guidance, Great-Grandfather."
Anselm Hughes also felt that he had been stuck in a dead end before this.
He had been so preoccupied with worrying about Ambrose White and the supplies that he’d forgotten to investigate the root of it all.
Lincoln White nodded. "Remember, you absolutely cannot leave Evander Langdon alive. This matter is of the utmost importance..."
Outside the door, Nina Jacobs checked the time. There were about seven minutes left before the effect wore off.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard Lincoln White speak again.
"It will soon be time to replace the Divine Wood again. This is a period when the Puppetry Technique is unstable.
You must keep a close watch on those two outsiders you brought. We can’t have any trouble..."
’Replace the Divine Wood?’
Nina Jacobs didn’t quite understand, but she knew she couldn’t stay any longer.
Meanwhile, Arcadia White and Anselm Hughes were also preparing to leave.
A breeze seemed to pass by outside the door. Anselm Hughes’s mind was still preoccupied with Lincoln White’s words, and he failed to notice the slight disturbance outside.
"Great-Grandfather is right. You should keep Nina Jacobs and Wayne Warner here, just in case they get out and leak what they know."
Arcadia White said.
"I’ll have them stay for now. But that idea of yours is simply absurd. How could someone like Nina Jacobs possibly let you manipulate her? Don’t let something go wrong."
Anselm Hughes had never realized his wife’s thinking was so feudal and ignorant.
Ambrose White was already dead, yet she was insistent on leaving something behind, as if it was the only way to console herself.
"Flynn White will be back tomorrow.
Even if she refuses to obey, Great-Grandfather has his ways of making her."
Arcadia White replied.
Ever since that day when Nina Jacobs revealed that her daughter had beaten up Brock White, Arcadia had held a grudge.
’What does Brock White even amount to? He’s just the orphaned son of a fool. And in the end, my daughter had to cry while apologizing to him?’
By this time, Nina Jacobs was already lying on the bed in her wooden cabin.
She wasn’t angry about Lincoln White’s words.
After all, she was the one who had taken the supplies.
General Hughes wanted to lead his troops to attack Tomorrow Base, but he’d need to have the ability to pull it off first.
According to their plan, while General Hughes was away from the base, Valerius Lucas and Hartley would take the opportunity to start transferring as many guards from Lornwood Base as possible.
"I just don’t know how well they’re progressing."
Nina Jacobs muttered to herself.
’If only I could return to Tomorrow Base to check on the situation...’
Early the next morning, after finishing breakfast with Wayne Warner, Nina Jacobs remembered Han Lewis, who was in the room next to Wayne’s.
Han Lewis had been quiet ever since noon the previous day.
When Wayne Warner opened the door, Nina Jacobs expected Han Lewis to come rushing out. Instead, she saw him sitting obediently at the table.
On the wooden table, he had used his long fingernails to carve the letters L-E-W.
Lew?
Lewis?
Could it be that Han Lewis...
"HEH HEH HEH..."
Han Lewis suddenly turned his head, a dazed smile on his face.
Although he still looked stupefied, Nina Jacobs noticed that his gaze now had focus.
He was looking at her.
’Could the Healing Potion also be effective against the Puppetry Technique?’
After this thought popped into her head, Nina Jacobs turned and went back to her room. When she returned, she was holding a small glass bottle.
It was a "Healing Potion" with a 50% concentration.
Han Lewis’s condition had improved significantly, and she was eager to confirm her suspicion.
And after Han Lewis obediently drank it, he began to pull out bag after bag of items, as if he were a wind-up toy.