"Hello, this is Hawke." Standing beneath the towering high wall, He Ao quietly spoke into his wristband.

Upon hearing He Ao’s voice, a voice even older than his came from the other end of the line, "I saw the wanted notice. I couldn’t reach you on your old number. How are you doing now?"

"I’m okay, no problems," He Ao calmly replied, "The Menshu Group won’t really come after me. The conglomerates are not united, and for now, I am not their target."

"You’ve always been sharp about the situation," the raspy voice on the phone remarked, "So what do you need me to do?"

"The current director of the Intelligence Bureau," He Ao asked softly, "Do you know him?"

"Yes, but not very well," the raspy voice replied, "Although I conducted a large-scale purge of the Intelligence Bureau under the pretense of assassinating the President, I actually never gained control of the bureau. You know, my roots weren’t deep, and I needed support back then."

"So who did you ’sell’ the Intelligence Bureau to?" He Ao asked in a low voice.

"Rockville Energy Group, with a link through Nord Finance. They have placed a lot of their people in the Intelligence Bureau," the voice on the other side said slowly, "I appointed an Intelligence Bureau director, but he was quickly marginalized by them. I didn’t manage them afterward; you know, I only worked there for a few months."

"Who does the current Intelligence Bureau director belong to?" He Ao quickly asked.

"Kemingda appointed an Intelligence Bureau director, but he didn’t focus on the bureau and had ideas of sidelining it. The director he appointed was capable," the voice had a tinge of regret, "but Kemingda didn’t last long. When Skewis took office, he fired that director and appointed a newcomer from the old Intelligence Bureau team."

"The old Intelligence Bureau team?" He Ao slightly raised his eyebrows, "People from Rockville Energy Group or Nord Finance?"

"I don’t know," the raspy voice hesitated, "I’ve already left Ains and distanced myself from the center of power. They wouldn’t let someone already retired access core secrets."

Hearing this, He Ao was silent for a moment, "Then who knows the whereabouts of the current Intelligence Bureau director?"

The phone was silent for a moment, and then the raspy voice slowly emerged, "I don’t suggest you get involved in this right now. That place is the eye of the storm. It’s extremely dangerous, and you could easily die there."

Upon hearing these words, He Ao paused, then rasped, "Ed, Erian is dead. The Intelligence Bureau arranged for gang members to ambush their residence, killed him, and took his body away."

A brief silence fell over the other end of the line.

He Ao’s words did not pause; his voice hoarse, he continued, "He was my only child."

The world inside and outside the phone seemed to quiet down at that moment.

"I don’t know what happened after this new director took office. I only know that his name is ’Wild,’" finally, the old voice on the other end said softly, "Before he took office, there seemed to be some conflict with the Ellison family. After taking office, he also seemed to retaliate against them. These ancient families have intricate networks; perhaps they know something."

"Got it." He Ao nodded slightly, preparing to hang up.

Just then, the old voice on the other end spoke again, "Brother, be careful."

He Ao paused slightly, then nodded and said, "Okay."

He raised his hand to hang up the phone, then quickly opened the cloud contact list and dialed another number.

This wristband was one he had bought to activate a new Eve, replacing Hawke’s original wristband, which was damaged in battle. The phone card was also a newly purchased anonymous one.

Beep—

The call went through but was immediately hung up.

He Ao did not stop and immediately dialed the number again.

Being hung up on with an unknown number is quite normal.

This time, the call connected, and a gentle yet slightly enchanting voice answered, "Let me guess who’s calling me? Old handsome?"

"It seems you haven’t given this number to many people," He Ao said calmly.

"That’s right. You don’t know how important you are to me. You have always been on my mind," the voice on the other end laughed, "You don’t know how much I miss your presence. The board members are like fish who just learned to walk—a bit clueless, and sometimes they are so stupid it makes me want to laugh."

Then, changing her tone suddenly, she laughed and asked, "Old handsome, why did you suddenly want to call me? Aren’t you afraid I’d report you?"

"Medala, I have something to ask you," He Ao asked directly, "Do you know where Wild is right now?"

"Wild? Which Wild?" the enchanting voice puzzled, "Are you talking about one of our friends?"

"Not my friend," He Ao said calmly, "Wild, the current director of the Federation Intelligence Bureau, do you know where he is right now?"

"Why are you looking for him?" Medala’s voice carried some confusion.

"Don’t pretend," He Ao said directly, "The Priest from the Church of the Grim Reaper who came to kill me, did they have anything to do with the Intelligence Bureau? You knew from the start that the Intelligence Bureau wanted to deal with me, right."

"Hey, hey, hey, old handsome, why are you being so fierce," Medala laughed, "Bullying girls is not gentlemanly behavior."

"Yes or no." He Ao asked softly.

"Actually, I’m not that clear. It’s just speculation after the fact," Medala laughed, "After all, you know, the people from the Intelligence Bureau have been very close to Rockville Energy Group lately, and dealing with you seems to be what Rockville Energy Group demanded. Of course, it might also be what the Church of the Grim Reaper demanded. According to the ancient adage, a friend’s enemy is an enemy,"

She said softly, "I suppose the Intelligence Bureau harboring animosity towards you is quite normal."

Then, after a brief pause, she continued, "Are your injuries healed now? It might be dangerous to go looking for the Intelligence Bureau’s director; that guy seems to be B-level as well."

"My son is dead," He Ao stated directly, "The work of the Intelligence Bureau people."

The other end of the phone was silent for a moment, seemingly shocked by the fact He Ao disclosed.

After a brief silence, the other side slowly spoke again, "But revenge is not urgent for now. You need to know that Wild now represents more than just the Intelligence Bureau."

"My son’s body is with him." He Ao calmly stated again.

This time, it was the phone’s turn to fall completely silent.

After an unknown period, Medala sighed softly, "Old handsome, the positions we are in now are different. If I give you information on Wild and it turns out, it would be very dangerous. I will help you by covering up your target, and that’s about it."

With that, she directly hung up the phone.

He Ao looked down at the wristband screen, his expression calm.

After a brief pause, a new email arrived.

He opened the email, and the sender was anonymous with an untraceable network address.

A single address was in the email: [Vicat City, Stia Hotel, Presidential Suite, the target may leave at any time.]

Beneath was a signature marked with a fiery red lip print.

As He Ao opened the email, after a brief pause, it automatically deleted itself, and a popup saying ’the email you are reading does not exist’ appeared.

Clearly, in a sense, Medala’s communications were under surveillance, hence the reluctance to speak openly over the phone.

She must have been secretly arranging people to track the Intelligence Bureau Director, or else she wouldn’t be able to report the location so quickly.

Of course, it might be that her paternal family, the Ellison family, had always been monitoring the Intelligence Bureau Director, and she was simply using borrowed means for her ends.

He Ao understood very well that Medala could never truly abandon this opportunity.

Her current power all derives from her father; however, her father is just a branch within the Ellison family. To gain more family resources, she needs to further prove herself.

Eliminating the family’s enemy is one way to achieve this.

Ayd wouldn’t deceive his brother; when he pointed He Ao toward the Ellison family, he knew ’Hawke’ had a good relationship with Medala. It was actually a hint for He Ao to seek Medala.

As for Medala, she must have been watching since the night of ’Hawke’s’ pursuit, when she showed goodwill to He Ao.

However, from this perspective, she and He Ao share the same interests.

This, in turn, made He Ao somewhat trust her.

If there’s no interest relationship, Medala can betray her teammates at any time, but binding through interest, Medala is quite reliable.

Clearing his thoughts, He Ao looked towards the city gate not far ahead.

Vicat City is relatively far from here, even Hades would take a long run.

——

Ains Gray Stone Palace

A man with fluffy golden curls and handsome features was sitting by the window in the sunset, flipping through a book.

"Mr. President," a young woman walked in with a thick stack of documents, handing them to the handsome man, "Today, five more cities saw conflicts between the corporation and the protest groups, resulting in casualties."

"How’s the situation?" The handsome man put down the book, raising his head to look at the woman.

"Three people died, and over a dozen were injured," the woman said hoarsely, "These conflicts have intensified the confrontations, and some protest groups have even started attacking the corporation’s branches and industries."

"Can’t these corporations hold back a bit?" The handsome man frowned slightly, rubbed his brow and sighed, "I’ve warned them many times."

"We also routinely inquire with the corporations," the young woman said softly with her head down, "They claim the decisions were made privately by mercenaries, and these protest groups have infringed on their private territories. They also have the right to ’counterattack’ the invaders."

Upon hearing this, the handsome man paused for a moment and said quietly, "Alright, let them handle the aftermath themselves. We just need to deal with Christos and prevent these foolish scoundrels accustomed to acting high and mighty from attracting more enemies for us."

He raised his hand, rubbed his brow, and continued to ask, "What about the marches? Which cities are still having marches now?"

"The protest groups have never stopped," the woman said cautiously, "And the marches continue to expand. Now almost a hundred cities are experiencing marches, predominantly in big cities. The more prosperous the city, the more likely marches are to occur."

She paused for a moment before continuing, "Moreover, due to the bloodshed between corporations and protest groups, many places are seeing further escalation in the marches, and..."

"And what?" The handsome man raised his head, looking at the woman.

"And," the woman hesitated, "One main demand of the marches is to urge the local Senators and Congressmen to impeach you."

"Fools," the handsome man pressed his hand onto the book, the veins on his hand slightly bulging, "For a Mayor of Dawn City, whom they may have never met, and that Evil God ’K’, they are willing to risk their lives against the corporations; truly stupid to the extreme."

The young woman cautiously kept her head down, not daring to respond.

"Any other matters?" The handsome man took a deep breath, seemingly calming himself, and raised his head to look at the woman.

"Also," the woman glanced at the handsome man, "The Intelligence Bureau has sent word that the previous President Kemingda’s body still hasn’t been found."

"Then let them keep searching," the handsome man said with a slightly dark expression, "No matter the cost, it must be found."

"Understood." The woman nodded slightly.

"Also," the handsome man lifted his head, "Where’s that Old Geezer from the Federal Bureau of Investigation? He hasn’t returned to Ains? He should have come to see me by now!"

"The Federal Bureau of Investigation says the old director is still out investigating the whereabouts of Angel Tier exotic beasts, and they haven’t been able to contact him," the woman said softly, "If they manage to reach him, they will inform him of the situation immediately."

"They can’t contact the director; are the rest just useless?" The handsome man said coldly, "None of my instructions have been followed, not a single clue about the protest groups has been relayed."

With her head down and body tense, the woman cautiously said, "I’ll go urge them again..."

"Don’t be nervous, it’s not your problem." The handsome man shook his head and raised his head, looking through the old-style glazed window and the crossed protective bars outside, at the sunset.

Finally, he sighed, "It’s alright, you go ahead and be busy."

"Okay." The young woman nodded slightly.

"Oh, by the way," right then, the handsome man suddenly raised his head and called the young woman, "Kemingda, the former president, has already been interred."

Upon hearing this statement, the woman paused slightly, then nodded lightly, "Yes, I’ll keep that in mind."

Subsequently, the woman slowly retreated and exited the room.

Click—

Once the door was tightly shut, the veins on the handsome man’s hand that pressed against the book cover bulged prominently.

Rustle—

His fingers curled, tearing the book cover along with the upper half of the inner pages into a wad of crumpled paper.