Ellison family headquarters, fifth floor.

He Ao climbed in through the window, raised his head, and looked at the spacious hall before him.

The hall was generally circular, with a beautiful atrium in the center. A giant pillar stood in the middle, entwined by a lush green vine that twisted around the thick column like a giant snake, its gray blossoms blooming one by one.

The massive skylit dome collected sunlight from the sky, shining upon the green vine, making its leaves appear vibrant and vivid.

However, this atrium was not the only one in the building; on the left side of the atrium, a narrow passage was connected to the circular corridor, leading to another atrium.

On the other side of the circular corridor were doors marked with room numbers.

There weren’t many pedestrians on the fifth floor; some hurried by, others immersed in their wristbands.

Additionally, there were people in servant uniforms swiftly moving back and forth in the corridor, cleaning the stains on the floor to maintain the cleanliness of the entire space.

Since entering this building, He Ao hadn’t seen a single cleaning robot; all the cleaning work was done by servants.

Compared to the Julia family, the Ellison family showcased a different kind of luxury.

These ancient families of Ains really know how to put on a show.

However, having seen the Julia family’s splendid ancient palace hidden within their building, the architecture of the Ellison family didn’t seem so surprising anymore.

Having seen so many architectural wonders surely raises one’s threshold.

He Ao swiftly passed through corridors, his gaze sweeping over the rooms along the corridor.

He saw 513, 514, and even 507, but 509 and neither 08 nor 10 were anywhere to be found.

Finally, he paused at an emergency evacuation map on the edge of the corridor.

The map clearly depicted the overall structure of the fifth floor.

The single-digit room numbers only went up to 507, while rooms numbered 08 to 12 were located elsewhere, not on the fifth floor.

The arrangement of these room numbers seemed quite arbitrary.

He Ao shook his head and looked at the edge of the map, as a staircase entered his field of view.

It seemed to lead to the sixth floor, or rather, the rooftop terrace of this building.

He quickly moved through the staircase.

Soon, the bright daylight reappeared in his vision. He stretched out his hand and pushed open the door to the rooftop terrace stairwell.

On this sixth-floor terrace, there were two very noticeable dome-shaped structures, which were the skylit domes for the atrium below.

And right in the middle of the two domes, there was a lavishly constructed small banquet hall, from which faint music could be heard.

Between these three larger buildings were meticulously planned gardens, more exquisite and charming than those below.

Flowers and plants, which were considered rare in the wilderness, bloomed freely in this sky garden.

He Ao even saw quite a few extraordinary plants.

For instance, the peculiar grass that could refresh one’s mind and the Hundred-Stamens Flower that could delay aging.

There was also green lily, which could invigorate people at night.

This garden was strikingly quiet, with no other pedestrians present.

He Ao glanced at the wall of the stairwell beside him but didn’t see an evacuation map.

It seemed that he could only go inside to take a look. He stepped onto the pathway in the garden, walking through it directly to the banquet hall at the center of the garden.

The pervasive music became increasingly intense, as if a gentle hand was brushing against He Ao’s heart.

The soundproofing in this hall was excellent; for ordinary people, standing nearby, they would hardly hear any sound, but for He Ao, the sound was already loud enough.

Of course, advanced recorders could capture the sound as well.

Inside, it sounded like the orchestral group from Ains Grand Theater; He Ao recalled Suote’s memories and shook his head.

Suote used to only attend performances at the grand theater, and the prices for the orchestra’s outings were not cheap; Suote couldn’t afford it anyway.

He shook his head and walked straight ahead, reaching the door of the banquet hall.

However, he did not go inside, instead moving along the edge of the door to see if there was any building beyond the banquet hall.

As he slowly advanced, faint whispers gradually reached his ears.

"Congratulations, Uncle Mete! Congratulations, Uncle Mete!" a slightly sharp male voice said.

"There’s nothing to congratulate about; I’m still just an acting director. It’s hard to say whether I can be officially appointed, and there’s still a long way to go." A somewhat dull voice came from the center of the banquet hall.

"Haha, at this moment, the President is in urgent need of talent. I can’t think of anyone who could replace Uncle Mete as the chief of intelligence. This so-called acting director is just a transition, in fact, it means you’re already the director." Another slightly rough male voice said.

"Haha, you lad, you look big and rough, yet you sure know how to talk." The dull voice slightly elevated, carrying a trace of amusement.

"Oh, it’s all thanks to Uncle’s good teaching," the rough voice continued to laugh.

The sharp voice immediately chimed in, "This time, with Wild, that bastard, dead, it’s truly satisfying! If it weren’t for his interference, Uncle would have become the chief of intelligence long ago. That guy even secretly suppressed Uncle, truly deserving of death."

"Hmm?!" The dull voice suddenly dropped.

"Hey, such words shouldn’t be spoken recklessly," the rough voice quickly said, "Mr. Wild, like Uncle, served the President, served the Federation, both were loyal to the Federation. His sacrifice for the Federation is something to be mourned; he was a hero of the Federation."

"Indeed," the dull voice said with a slight sigh, "Wild was originally a very capable person. His sacrifice for the Federation should not be mocked. At this family banquet, I won’t say much, but if this happens again, don’t blame me for being unsympathetic."

"Yes, yes, Uncle Mete’s lessons are right." The sharp voice immediately bowed.

"By the way, did your sister not come today?" The dull voice seemed to recall something, asking softly, "She sent me a message before, telling me Wild might be in danger. She said she returned to Ains with important intelligence for me. Why didn’t she come to the banquet today?"

The conversation suddenly fell silent.

"You didn’t invite her, did you?" The dull voice sank again.

"No such thing," the rough voice said with a laugh, "We went to find her in her room early on, but she was out, not sure where she went. You know, Uncle, Medala has always been wild since she was young, and we’ve always been unable to manage her, so we left her a message asking her to come, but she still didn’t come."

"That girl is truly uncontrollable," the sharp voice said loudly, seeming to be full of resentment, "Since she was young, she’s bullied us brothers and occasionally says that today’s life is thanks to her saving us. If you ask me, she should be married off, but she’s cursed, killing quite a few husbands. Now no one in Ains wants her."

"Medala has indeed done a lot for the family." The dull voice said calmly.

"Yes, yes," the rough voice said immediately, "Although Medala is disobedient, she indeed helped us a lot and contributed significantly to the family."

Immediately, the rough voice turned to ask, "Uncle Mete, it’s said that Mr. Wild died at the hands of wanted criminal Hawke?"

"That Hawke is not simple," the dull voice shook his head, "He’s an old B-level, single-handedly created the current Menshu Group Mercenary Corps, spent his whole life battling and killing. Now, at over eighty years old, he can still kill Wild. His strength is extraordinary, and moreover,"

The dull voice paused, "Do you know who his brother is?"

"Is his brother very famous?" The sharp voice almost immediately responded.

The entire conversation paused momentarily.

But soon, the rough voice hurriedly chimed in, "Is it a big shot from Ains?"

"Once from Ains," the dull voice seemed ready to stop being cryptic, directly saying, "His brother is called Adric."

Hiss—hiss—

Under the gentle music came the sound of two sharp intakes of breath.

"That one, the former President, that Adric?" the sharp voice stammered.

"Brother, is there even a question? For someone whom Uncle Mete pays attention to, he should at least be the President," the rough voice sounded along with the noise of a seeming elbow collision.

"That’s the President," the sharp voice lowered slightly, "Wild even went to hunt down the President’s brother?"

"It’s the former President," the rough voice quickly said, "He abdicated, so he’s not the President, the current President arranged people to hunt down a wanted criminal, there’s no problem, even if it’s the former President, he can’t say anything."

"That’s not quite correct," the dull voice whispered, "Adric is a man of deep insight, known for his profound judgment, has good relations with major powers. Based on his previous election results, if he continues to run, he will almost certainly win once more, possibly even twice. But, he chose to retreat bravely from the Gray Stone Palace."

"Sounds terrifying," the rough voice muttered, "I don’t know what he saw."

"Sounds not very smart," the sharp voice raised loudly, "That’s the President, the most powerful person in the Federation. Just gave up so easily? No matter what he saw, as long as he’s President, he can face it. If he’s not President, he can’t handle it."

"Sounds like Hawke had a pretty good background," the rough voice interrupted, "Why become a wanted criminal?"

"That’s the crux of the problem," the dull voice slowed down, "Hawke, it seems his son participated in Ains’ grand parade."

The scene once again fell silent.

"This guy ends up mingling with those mobs," the rough voice whispered, "Did his brother not stop him?"

"Allegedly the two brothers don’t get along well, hardly communicate," the dull voice said casually.

"Then Mr. Skewis must really hate this Hawke," the rough voice murmured.

"Yeah," the dull voice sighed, "Mr. Skewis really wants to catch this Hawke, but this guy is too cunning, even the Intelligence Bureau can’t find his information."

"After all, he’s a B-level Extraordinary, and can easily kill Wild," the sharp voice muttered, "Not catching him is normal."

"For such a powerful beast," the rough figure spoke softly, "You can only set a trap to kill him."

"It seems like I’m being summoned over there," the dull voice slightly smiled, "I’ll go have a look."

With that, there were gradually distant footsteps.

"Second brother," the sharp voice gently rang out, "Have we established a connection with Uncle Mete?"

"Uncle Mete is giving us a choice," the rough voice calmly answered.

"What choice?" the sharp voice paused.

"Do you know which group little sister is a director in?" the rough voice casually asked.

"Menshu Group, how—" the sharp voice suddenly paused, "Do you mean, little sister knows Hawke?"

"Not just knows, I’ve subtly chatted with little sister before," the rough voice murmured, "That Hawke is one of her ’allies’ in Menshu Group."

"Wait," the sharp voice raised slightly, "What are you trying to say exactly? My brain can’t keep up."

"Hawke just killed Wild, and little sister immediately contacted Uncle Mete, even back then the Gray Stone Palace hadn’t responded clearly," the rough voice calmly stated, "Do you see any connection here?"

"What do you mean?" the sharp voice blinked, "What are you trying to say? Wild was actually killed by Hawke on little sister’s order?"

"Right." the rough voice directly answered.

"Huh?" the sharp voice paused, "Second brother, you can’t joke like that. Why would little sister want to kill Wild?"

"The very reason we’re at this banquet," the rough voice rasped, "For Uncle Mete."

"Then aren’t we going to strike it big?" the sharp voice immediately got excited, "Little sister has done such a big favor, once Uncle Mete finds out, we can move downstairs."

"Do you think Uncle Mete doesn’t know?" the rough voice calmly inquired.

"What?" the sharp voice paused, "What do you mean?"

"Do you think little sister, considering her character, would beat around the bush?" the rough voice calmly argued, "She might have even discussed with Uncle Mete beforehand."

"But why," the sharp voice blinked, "Uncle Mete just said he didn’t know?"

"Because he cannot know," the rough voice paused, "Mr. Skewis trusts Wild a lot, so whoever killed Wild is Mr. Skewis’ enemy. And whoever avenges Wild can become Mr. Skewis’s right-hand man."

"Wait," the sharp voice seemed perplexed, "What does this have anything to do with us?" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Uncle Mete hopes we’ll help him complete this task." the rough voice calmly said.

"Complete what? Kill Hawke? Just us?" the sharp voice slightly raised its tone, even overpowering the music.

"Uncle Mete can handle the trap, and we need to deal with the bait," the rough voice whispered.

"Bait? What bait?" the sharp voice hesitated, "Are you thinking of making little sister...?"

"Hasn’t she bullied you enough?" the rough voice calmly inquired.

"But she’s still little sister; without her, we’d have been kicked out of the family long ago." the sharp voice’s tone gradually lowered.

"Do you know who Uncle Mete most wants to die now?" the rough voice whispered.

"Hawke?" the sharp voice rasped.

"No, it’s the person who knows how he rose to power," the rough voice firmly stated, "For Uncle Mete, Hawke can run, but the ’bait’ must die. Ideally, both should die together."

"But—" the sharp voice slightly opened.

"Do you want to live like this, humiliated, for your whole life?" the rough voice calmly questioned, "Wait for little sister to come back, I’ll figure out a way to make her contact Hawke, meanwhile let Uncle Mete prepare the trap, whether we can rise and advance depends on this time, think about it."

Saying that, the rough voice seemed not to await sharp voice’s response, and immediately departed.

The undulating music rose again in the banquet hall.

Standing outside, He Ao shook his head, glanced at the recording symbol on his bracelet, reached out and turned off the recording. He raised his hand, gently tapped the banquet hall’s wall.

In that instant, invisible vibrations swept across the building, carrying tiny mechanical tremors through the entire banquet hall.

Crack—crack—

Dense cracks, instantly spreading along the wall, reaching the top of the banquet hall.

By this time, he also successfully bypassed the banquet hall, seeing a row of low buildings behind it.

Unlike the luxurious rooms on the fifth floor, these buildings were somewhat cramped, looking like temporary cabins built for servants, slightly expanded.

He Ao raised his gaze, looking at the room number in the middle of that row of buildings.

509.