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Translator: CinderTL
The Lord of the Mist nodded and began his analysis:
"First, we absolutely cannot choose an institute in Old Day City. That region has already been infiltrated by the Spirit Energy Clan. I even suspect the entire city might be under their control."
"Even if they haven't fully taken over, developing there would inevitably lead to conflict with the Spirit Energy Clan, which would hinder our early progress."
"Second, the institute in Winterfrost City is also not a viable option. With my current strength, I'm no match for Mu Qing, and her Dawn Battle Group is stationed in the supply zone on the front lines of Winterfrost City. They're likely to have close ties with the city's major research institutes, increasing the risk of an encounter. It's too dangerous, so we'll discard it."
Feng Qi nodded in agreement with the Lord of the Mist's analysis. "Continue with your reasoning."
The Lord of the Mist nodded gravely. "The institute in Future City is also out of the question. Future City is almost completely controlled by the Black Shadow Faction. With our current strength, we stand no chance against them, so we must abandon any thought of Future City's institutes."
"We have two cities to choose from: Star City and Victory City."
The Lord of the Mist glanced at Feng Qi and continued:
"In terms of overall strength, Victory City definitely surpasses Star City. After all, Victory City's military department is the strongest among the five major cities, and both the Victory Research Institute and the Galaxy Research Institute rank among the top in their respective fields. However, Victory City is also the most strictly controlled city. Infiltrating its research institutes would carry significant risks, and failure could leave us with no chance of escape."
Hearing this, Feng Qi couldn't help but nod.
Victory City's overall strength was indeed the strongest among the five major cities.
Before he gained the ability to traverse the future, his dream had been to enroll in the cultivation class at Galaxy Academy in Victory City. After graduation, he planned to join the Galaxy Research Institute as a technique researcher or return to Star City to join the Tiger Soul Research Institute and conduct cultivation technique research.
Whether in terms of resource acquisition or influence, choosing Victory City would clearly yield the greatest benefits.
The problem was that Victory City was teeming with powerful individuals.
It had even once implemented a universal militia system, meaning discovery during infiltration of the Victory City Research Institute would have severe consequences.
Feng Qi fully agreed with the Lord of the Mist's analysis.
The Lord of the Mist continued his analysis:
"Considering the risks, I believe Star City would be our best choice. Moreover, Star City's research institutions are quite strong, particularly the Tiger Soul Research Institute and the Scarlet Research Institute, whose capabilities perfectly match our needs."
Feng Qi was stunned by this statement.
He hadn't expected the Lord of the Mist to even consider the Scarlet Research Institute.
The Lord of the Mist continued:
"Actually, I'm leaning towards the Scarlet Research Institute now."
"During the journey here, I used my authority to investigate this institution. I discovered it's an independent special organization in Star City with numerous privileges. Its research projects are particularly mysterious, and it publishes the least amount of information among all the major urban institutions. This level of secrecy would be highly beneficial for our development after infiltration, making it difficult to expose us."
Hearing this, Feng Qi shook his head inwardly.
If the Lord of the Mist truly infiltrated the Scarlet Research Institute, his entire Sacrifice Line would be ruined.
Compared to the initial, short-lived Sacrifice Lines, which only required him to record the content via email, this current Sacrifice Line required him to read memories to understand the entire process.
For example, with this Sacrifice Line, he couldn't constantly check his email. Moreover, with the Lord of the Mist constantly nearby, using the email repeatedly would be too risky.
Therefore, reading memories was the optimal choice for future Sacrifice Lines.
However, reading the memories of a Sacrifice Line depended on the existence of the Scarlet Research Institute.
The Lord of the Mist's plan to infiltrate the Scarlet Research Institute was undoubtedly meant to cut off his escape route.
If the Lord of the Mist succeeded, all his efforts in this Sacrifice Line would be wasted, and another version of himself wouldn't be able to access its memories.
He didn't know what in the future would cause the Lord of the Mist to change his mind and abandon the Scarlet Research Institute.
But what if, because of his influence, the Lord of the Mist hadn't changed his mind?
The situation had completely spiraled out of control.
With this thought, Feng Qi immediately spoke up:
"What about the Tiger Soul Research Institute? Why aren't we considering it?"
"We've certainly considered it. It's a cultivation technique research institution with far greater influence than the Scarlet Research Institute. It also controls the media channels in Star City that publish cultivation techniques. However, compared to the Scarlet Research Institute, the Tiger Soul Research Institute is too high-profile, constantly drawing the attention of Star City. If we were to infiltrate it, any internal changes would be amplified and could potentially attract the attention of powerful humans. Weighing the pros and cons, the Scarlet Research Institute is clearly the better choice."
Hearing this analysis, Feng Qi opened his mouth but said nothing more.
From the Lord of the Mist's perspective, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of each research institute, the low-profile and mysterious Scarlet Research Institute was indeed the optimal choice.
Upon closer reflection, Feng Qi realized that the Scarlet Research Institute was too low-profile.
Because of its excessive discretion, it would have no means of countering the public relations onslaught from the Technology Research Institute in the future.
The Tiger Soul Research Institute truly held the real media influence in Star City.
Every year, it hosted various Tiger Soul cultivation technique competitions and concept challenges, frequently released the latest news on cultivation technique research, and even collaborated with other cultivation technique research institutes to promote reforms in the cultivation system.
Compared to the Tiger Soul Research Institute, the Scarlet Research Institute was a world apart.
The former was a star institution, dazzling the public with its glamorous image and constantly releasing exciting research news.
The latter was a mysterious organization, so secretive that many didn't even know what its research projects were.
Moreover, the Scarlet Research Institute never recruited from universities. Its entry requirements were several levels higher than the Tiger Soul Research Institute's, and the multi-layered screening process before admission could take a considerable amount of time.
Given this, it was entirely understandable that the Scarlet Research Institute had little public influence.
Regardless, he resolved to change the Lord of the Mist's mind and dissuade him from infiltrating the Scarlet Research Institute.
The Lord of the Mist's plan was essentially a "home invasion."
If the Scarlet Research Institute were compromised, his entire villainous timeline would collapse, leading to utter defeat.
Moreover, the Scarlet Research Institute was not a place the Lord of the Mist could easily infiltrate.
Just Wei Wei alone would be an insurmountable obstacle.
After all, the Scarlet Research Institute's core focus was on researching domain creatures. No matter how skilled the Lord of the Mist's disguises were, he would easily be exposed within its walls.
He kept these thoughts to himself.
He planned to gradually influence the Lord of the Mist's thinking over the next few days.
After some casual conversation, Feng Qi could see the Lord of the Mist's unwavering determination to infiltrate the institute. Preliminary ideas for the infiltration plan began to take shape during their discussion.
In the days that followed, the Lord of the Mist devoted himself to strengthening his power.
The batch of spiritual resources transported from the humanoid Resource Repository became a crucial guarantee for his power enhancement.
During this time, the Lord of the Mist also held a memorial service at the estate of the Death Star Third Battle Group, commemorating the warriors who had fallen on Heijue Island.
However, his grief was merely superficial; his heart remained unmoved. It was all a formality, performed to put on a show for the other warriors.
After handling internal affairs, the Lord of the Mist chose to enter seclusion for cultivation.
Meanwhile, Feng Qi remained busy. In addition to managing the battle group's affairs daily, he also carved out time for intense physical training.
Even though he knew his fate on this Sacrifice Line was death, he never once indulged in self-pity or despair.
Sacrifice was his choice, but that didn't mean the him on this timeline wasn't a living, breathing being with his own thoughts and emotions.
This was his attitude toward life on this Sacrifice Line.
Six months later.
After his usual morning training, Feng Qi arrived at the Group Commander's Office.
He brewed a pot of tea before settling at his desk and picking up the battle group's daily report.
After spending half an hour reviewing it, he opened a drawer and retrieved a tablet to check the latest frontline intelligence from the Old Day City East Supply Zone.
But when he saw one particular news item, his expression changed.
The news included a photograph.
The object in the picture was all too familiar to him: the Miracle Bloodstone.
(End of the Chapter)
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