Could Dafeng really be a problem? Lan Xiaoru's heart lurched. This suspicion had taken root half a year ago. Though Dafeng-ge had never raised it openly, his efforts to probe the Center's headquarters by every means imaginable had been far too conspicuous. It was hardly strange for branch personnel to harbor such curiosity, yet few were as zealous as he. Given Lan Xiaoru's cautious, suspicious nature, a thorough investigation had been inevitable.

Only—even if Dafeng could command the entire Red Conch Branch, his handful of men and meager strength could never have dealt with Number One. The man was an early-Foundation-stage expert, after all! Even hopelessly outnumbered, he should at least have been able to flee with his life.

"According to Dafeng's report, it was supposedly the work of a Heaven-Dao-stage expert from the Primordial Alliance. The man had also tamed a gigantic Blood Corpse Worm. Number One engaged him in battle beneath the sea, and afterward all trace of him vanished. Most likely they destroyed each other," the Spectacled Doctor said with a sigh.

"The Primordial Alliance? How did they provoke someone from the Primordial Alliance?" Lan Xiaoru frowned at this. In truth, ever since learning that the Primordial Alliance had emerged into the world, she had kept people searching for intelligence on them. Though she had yet to make direct contact, she had learned a good deal through various overt and covert channels, and she could not help voicing her doubts: "Why have I heard that the Primordial Alliance's people have all been recalled as of late?"

"I didn't ask about that in detail. I only heard the man was from the Bixie Sect—probably one of the few cultivators the Primordial Alliance keeps operating on the outside," the Spectacled Doctor speculated.

"Perhaps." Lan Xiaoru's expression was unreadable. After a moment of silence she gave a cold snort. "Curse it. Of the first batch of ten, this one was the only success, and now the second batch has hit a bottleneck because we can't find test subjects that meet the requirements. And now this—the sole surviving Number One has run into trouble. How am I supposed to explain this to the higher-ups?"

"Dr. Lan, I do have an idea." The Spectacled Doctor's lips suddenly curved.

"What idea?" Lan Xiaoru looked at him.

"Finding test subjects in the mortal world who meet the requirements is like fishing a needle from the ocean—that's the crux of our bottleneck. But aren't there ready-made targets right in front of us?" The Spectacled Doctor smiled sinisterly.

"You mean the Primordial Alliance?" Lan Xiaoru's brows knitted slightly.

"Exactly. Think it over carefully, Dr. Lan. Our task is to mass-produce Foundation-stage experts, and it would of course be best if we could achieve that under mortal-world conditions. But since we've hit a bottleneck, why not shift our approach? If we find a way to bring over a Foundation-stage expert from the Primordial Alliance, controlling him would be far easier than manufacturing one ourselves—wouldn't it?" The Spectacled Doctor pushed up his trademark black-framed glasses.

"Go on." Lan Xiaoru's expression did not change.

"As long as we can control the first one, acquiring a second and a third will be much easier. Before long we could command a whole host of Foundation-stage experts! That way, not only can we meet the higher-ups' demands, we might even go a step further and begin experiments in the mass production of Golden Core-stage experts. After all, those people come from the Primordial Alliance, and their qualities in every respect must far surpass mortal-world cultivators. With them as experimental samples, the success rate is bound to rise dramatically!" The more the Spectacled Doctor spoke, the more excited he grew. In his own eyes, this was nothing short of a genius idea.

"That's not a bad idea." Lan Xiaoru could not help but feel stirred as she listened. She knew very well that mass-producing Foundation-stage experts was only the first step; the next would inevitably be the mass production of Golden Core-stage experts. Yet the mortal world's experimental samples could barely satisfy even the Foundation-stage requirements—as for Golden Core, that was not even worth contemplating.

For their experiment, the quality of the samples was the single most decisive factor. The same experimental methods that succeeded effortlessly on Cloud-Tier Island simply would not work in the mortal world. No matter how they refined their methods, the success rate refused to climb, and the root cause was ultimately the wretched quality of the samples. They could not compare with Cloud-Tier Island in the slightest.

And now the Primordial Alliance had suddenly appeared. Even if their strength could not match Cloud-Tier Island, they were vastly superior to the mortal world—these were practically human materials delivered right to their doorstep!

"Dr. Lan, the second batch of human trials has been deadlocked for half a year now with no substantive progress. Even if the higher-ups don't say so openly, they're surely displeased in private. We desperately need results," the Spectacled Doctor urged.

"But the Primordial Alliance is no trifling matter. If word ever leaks out, it will pose an enormous threat even to our headquarters. This must be reported to the higher-ups for discussion—we absolutely cannot act rashly." Lan Xiaoru retained enough rationality after all. To charge ahead on a hot-headed impulse in a matter like this would be to poke a hole in the heavens themselves.

"Yes, yes, it's a grave matter—we must certainly seek instructions from the higher-ups," the Spectacled Doctor hastily agreed.

"By the way, transfer Dafeng here. He's the branch's top man, and he's had direct contact with the Primordial Alliance's people. He should know some useful intelligence—have a good talk with him," Lan Xiaoru instructed.

"Understood." The Spectacled Doctor nodded. As for the earlier suspicions about Dafeng-ge, those were set aside for the moment. After all, Number One had investigated for half a year and turned up nothing substantive, which showed the man was essentially clean. Besides, even if they brought him to the Center's headquarters, he would have no access to core secrets, so even if there were a problem, nothing could go wrong.

A short while later, the Spectacled Doctor relayed Lan Xiaoru's orders. Dafeng-ge was overjoyed when he heard them. It had been nothing more than a flash of inspiration, yet by bluffing and scheming he had actually managed to fool them!

Even Wei Zhao had not expected things to go so smoothly. He had always wanted to probe into the Center's affairs, and now Dafeng-ge would be summoned straight to the Center's headquarters because of this incident. Firsthand intelligence would then be easy to obtain—a genuine and unexpected delight.

Still, Wei Zhao was not about to celebrate too early. He warned: "They may seem to have taken the bait, but that doesn't mean they trust you completely. Summoning you there may simply be for convenience of investigation, so you must be extremely careful. Once you're there, say little and observe much. Never be rash, and don't go doing anything deliberate. Do whatever they tell you to do—safety first." (To be continued.)