Ribbons' room was in disarray, in every sense of the word.
The two disheveled men in the room were panting heavily—Reid from exhaustion after delivering the beating, and Ribbons from taking it.
As for why Reid, who had been throwing punches the entire time, was also in disarray, it was because Ribbons had retaliated at one point, willingly taking several blows to the face just to strike back.
Though Reid dodged in time, his clothes were still tugged.
Since Ribbons was no weakling, he ended up tearing Reid's clothes.
Reid's heavy breathing wasn't due to poor stamina but rather the difficulty of controlling each punch to inflict pain on Ribbons without hurting him enough to make him upload his consciousness and retreat to Veda for a new body.
After all, Reid felt it would be a waste to come all this way just to give Ribbons a beating.
Meanwhile, Ribbons endured Reid's assault, reasoning that as long as the other party didn't intend to kill him outright, he still had a chance to see Reid humiliated.
Setting a trap without witnessing Reid's dismayed expression would feel like a loss to Ribbons anyway. Besides, taking a beating didn't really affect him—when had he ever been afraid of pain?
So, when Reid had vented his frustration, he casually righted a chair, picked up the overturned wine bottle and glass, poured the dregs of the wine, and downed it in one gulp before saying with a laugh:
"Alright, the wine's finished. Now, tell me what you wanted to say earlier. After you're done, we'll settle the final score."
Ribbons was rendered speechless by Reid's shamelessness, thinking to himself that this man was nothing but a savage.
However, even with his face swollen in multiple places, his eyes blackened, and his speech slurred from several missing teeth, Ribbons suppressed the urge to curse and said:
"The organization behind you once claimed to have been passed down through multiple centuries. Now I believe it, because you clearly understand nothing about etiquette—like a barbarian, you only know how to use your fists."
Hearing this, Reid shrugged and replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world:
"No, I think I've been quite polite. Facing someone who wants me dead, I only used my fists instead of grinding his bones to dust.
Also, I don't know if you've heard this saying: studying is for speaking politely with others, while training in martial arts is for making others speak politely to you.
Clearly, you, who planted bombs in the manor ahead of time, had no intention of speaking politely with me. So, I had to beat you until you were willing to do so."
Ribbons wasn't particularly surprised that Reid mentioned the bombs. If Reid couldn't even detect such an obvious trap, Ribbons would have overestimated him.
Nevertheless, Ribbons directly ordered Veda to detonate the bombs, wanting to see if Reid was bluffing. If it worked, he'd get to see Reid's expression before being buried alive; if it failed, he had a backup plan.
Since the electronic detonators on the bombs had long been destroyed, no explosion occurred.
Reid, who had learned through his built-in earpiece that Ribbons had attempted to trigger the bombs, grinned viciously and said:
"Well? The bombs didn't go off, did they? But it seems I haven't hit you enough—you still aren't willing to speak politely with me."
With that, Reid stood up, cracking his knuckles, ready for a second round.
But Ribbons had no interest in enduring another beating—to him, it was nothing short of humiliation—so he said:
"I advise you to calm down. You don't actually think those underground bombs are the gift I prepared for you, do you?"
Reid immediately became intrigued upon hearing this. He stopped being in a hurry to throw punches, realizing that for someone like Ribbons who could switch bodies, psychological torment would be far more effective than physical damage.
So Reid began counting on his fingers, listing items one by one:
"If the underground bombs aren't the gift, then have you ambushed Mobile Suits around?
No, I'm absolutely certain there aren't many A-Laws MS in the vicinity.
Then have you ambushed eight hundred assassins around this room?
Alright, that's a joke. Probably only your people and mine know about the bombs underground in this building. Among the Quasi-Innovators here, besides you, there's only Regene Regetta.
If he knew you planted bombs underground trying to bury everyone here, his gun would probably be aimed at you instead.
Since there are no threats nearby, the threat must come from afar.
Missile attack is impossible - those are too easy to intercept.
That leaves only the Death Star Cannon deployed on the geosynchronous orbital equatorial power generation facility. But why do you think the Death Star Cannon can fire?
Wait, you haven't brought Celestial Being from the far side of the moon here, have you? If that's the case, then I really am in danger."
Reid's words made Ribbons' eye twitch - not from pain, but from wondering which of the Quasi-Innovators around him was the spy.
Because while the Death Star Cannon could have been revealed to Reid by Wang Liu Mei (since the Wang family participated in its construction), Celestial Being's location on the far side of the moon was top secret. Ribbons hadn't told anyone about it. If someone could have discovered it, it would have to be a Quasi-Innovator - and not someone like Regene Regetta whom he didn't trust.
However, Ribbons suddenly realized something: if Reid knew about Celestial Being's location, why would he come here? He clearly understood that without dealing with Veda, he couldn't touch Ribbons. There was only one possibility - Reid knew Celestial Being was above the far side of the moon but didn't know its exact coordinates.
Though Celestial Being was massive, compared to the entire area above the moon's far side, it was like being told there was an invisible football field somewhere in Earth's northern hemisphere - you'd know it was there but not where exactly, and you'd have to find it yourself.
Of course, major powers could eventually locate Celestial Being with that level of intelligence, but SDP clearly couldn't. While their technology was advanced enough, their parent organization prevented them from getting too involved in surface world affairs, leaving them short-handed and unable to organize ultra-large-scale operations.
Thus reassured that his base hadn't been exposed yet, Ribbons provocatively said:
"So what if you know? With Veda's protection, how do you plan to stop the Death Star Cannon from firing?"
As Ribbons spoke, the Death Star Cannon positioned above the AEU orbital elevator received firing commands and coordinates.
Since the order came from the highest authority, the commander stationed at the Death Star Cannon had no choice but to execute it immediately.
However, Reid's pacing and finger-counting speech wasn't just for Ribbons' ears - it was also meant for Hoshino Ruri and Nein.
The moment she heard about the Super Beam Cannon on the geosynchronous orbital equatorial power generation facility, Hoshino Ruri immediately locked onto it.
Without hesitation, she began the invasion.
However, just as Ribbons had said, the Death Star Cannon was protected by Veda's computational power, so it wasn't immediately hacked.
But Hoshino Ruri was anything but rigid. Seeing this, she immediately shifted her target. While the Death Star Cannon itself had Veda's computational protection, its mobility module below did not.
There was no helping it—since it was installed atop the equatorial orbital power generation system, the mobile equipment couldn't possibly detach from the equatorial orbital track. The mobility module and the cannon itself were necessarily separate systems. If they were directly connected, the designer of this system should've been shot on the spot.
The mobility system was instantly seized by Hoshino Ruri, rendering the Death Star Cannon unable to aim at the estate where Reid was located. Firing from geostationary orbit above the equator toward Europe meant even a one-degree deviation would miss by thousands of kilometers, let alone with Hoshino Ruri randomly maneuvering the cannon.
With coordinates impossible to lock, the Death Star Cannon naturally couldn't attack. The commander could only sweat profusely while ordering subordinates to urgently regain control of the mobility system.
Ribbons, who had been monitoring the Death Star Cannon, immediately learned about the loss of control over its mobility system.
But just as he prepared to allocate more of Veda's computational power to reclaim the mobility module, he suddenly noticed Reid's faintly mocking smile.
Ribbons jolted awake to the realization—Reid Isaac was playing him. The earlier violent display was meant to make Ribbons believe he'd never truly understood Reid, that Reid was just a brute.
In reality, Reid Isaac was baiting him into deploying Veda's massive computational resources for electronic warfare against his subordinate.
If Veda's processing power were heavily committed to electronic warfare, it would inevitably expose its location. Then Reid Isaac could pinpoint Veda's precise coordinates.
This realization sent a cold sweat down Ribbons' spine. That Reid Isaac was truly treacherous—he'd almost fallen for it.
Actually, Reid hadn't thought that far ahead. Though if things developed this way, Hoshino Ruri would inevitably have Nein launch a surprise attack on Veda, and he would indeed seize the opportunity to locate Veda.
But Ribbons had already fallen victim to overthinking. He sent another message to the Death Star Cannon command center, roughly stating: "Assault test failed. Launch plan terminated. Mobility permissions were too easily compromised. Commander must submit an explanatory report detailing network defense optimization measures."
Leaving aside the command center's frustration upon receiving this message—and their indignant thought that if this was just a test, they should at least return mobility control since they were currently racing from the former AEU orbital elevator position toward the former Human Reform League orbital elevator—Hoshino Ruri immediately notified Reid that Veda had withdrawn from the Death Star Cannon conflict.
Hearing this, Reid looked at Ribbons—whose face remained swollen like a pig's head yet still showed clear displeasure—and asked triumphantly, "Why'd you make Veda retreat? Don't you want the Death Star Cannon anymore?"
Seeing Reid's smug expression finally made Ribbons lose composure. He snapped, "You treacherous bastard! Trying to locate Veda through electronic warfare? Dream on! I swear, someday you'll kneel before me begging for forgiveness."
Reid could already sense Ribbons' fighting spirit rapidly fading. Compared to his words, it was clear the man was preparing to flee.
Reid couldn't let him escape like this, so he immediately combined what he had just said and reminded him:
"Is that so? But do you think you can leave now?
Guess whether I can find Veda through the path you're currently using to upload your consciousness.
You should know that your physical body can also serve as a terminal directly connected to Veda. Are you sure you want to leave it intact for me? Why do you think I didn't kill you directly earlier?"
Upon hearing this, Ribbons immediately dared not upload his consciousness anymore, because Reid's words made sense. After spiritual upload, a Quasi-Innovator's body wouldn't die immediately but would become vegetative. As long as Reid retrieved his body, he could ensure it wouldn't die, and there was a real possibility he had means to reconnect this body to Veda.
After all, Ribbons couldn't set Veda to deny his own access—it would be like asking God to create a door he himself couldn't open.
However, Ribbons quickly realized that Reid Isaac probably didn't have a hundred percent certainty of finding Veda through his body. If he were that confident, he wouldn't have warned him but would have simply let him go.
But even if there was only a ten percent chance Reid could find Veda through his remaining body, Ribbons didn't dare gamble. So he began observing the room for anything that could allow him to commit suicide immediately.
Unfortunately, Ribbons found no opportunity. Crashing into a wall to kill himself required acceleration, and Reid clearly wouldn't give him that chance.
The same logic applied to crashing into table corners or other sharp objects.
Ribbons genuinely regretted not carrying a gun with him—then he could at least kill himself now even if he couldn't kill Reid.
And he couldn't count on Regene Regetta either. Outside were three of Reid's subordinates, so Regene alone couldn't break through.
Therefore, Ribbons had no choice but to back down. His tone softened again as he asked:
"Reid Isaac, what do you want? Just say it."
Seeing this, Reid knew he had applied enough pressure—any more would be counterproductive. After all, his claim about connecting to Veda through Ribbons' body was pure bluff—he didn't actually possess such technology.
So Reid put on an expression that said "are you kidding me" and replied:
"Ribbons, has your memory failed you? Have you completely forgotten what I said during our last meeting?"
With such a clear reminder, Ribbons naturally recalled that during their last encounter, Reid Isaac had hinted at wanting to know the secret of Quasi-Innovator longevity.
But Ribbons knew that Quasi-Innovator longevity required cultivation from the embryonic stage—the technology couldn't be used on adults, nor even on infants still in the womb during late pregnancy.
However, Ribbons didn't dare directly tell Reid that Quasi-Innovator longevity couldn't achieve his desired effect, fearing Reid would simply capture him for extended research. That would force him to upload his consciousness and escape, greatly increasing the risk of exposing Veda.
So Ribbons could only begin his own bluff, stating directly:
"I can give you the complete manufacturing process for Quasi-Innovators, but I'm not sure if it can grant you longevity."
Ribbons' compliance satisfied Reid. Although he still wanted the Quasi-Innovator spiritual upload technology, he couldn't ask for it now—otherwise, his earlier bluff to Ribbons would be exposed.
After all, you didn't even mention using mental upload technology when talking about using your own body as a terminal to find Veda.
Reid could only pin his hopes on the Quasi-Innovator manufacturing process containing mental upload technology.
So Reid directly laughed, a rather radiant smile, and said:
"Fine. Transfer the technology to the IP server I give you, and I'll let you go."
After speaking, he immediately recited the IP address synchronized from Hoshino Ruri.
Ribbons' memory clearly didn't require Reid to repeat it twice. He simply retorted directly:
"I can upload the technology, but how can you guarantee I'll be released after uploading it?"
Hearing this, Reid grinned widely and said:
"Guarantee? There's no guarantee. I'm more worried you might send incomplete technology. So I must verify the authenticity of the technology before letting you go.
Don't worry, verifying authenticity only takes about an hour.
As for you, besides believing I'm a man of my word, you have no other safeguards. After all, right now I hold the knife and you're the fish on the chopping block."
Upon hearing this, Ribbons immediately fell silent. He could only transmit the data first, just as Reid said - he currently had no qualifications to bargain.
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