Chapter 272: A Plan in the Shadows
At his words, all eyes in the room turned to focus on Kamisato Ayato.
Facing the expectant gazes of his comrades, Ayato offered a faint, confident smile. "I do have a potentially feasible plan, but it will require the assistance of the Lesser Lord Kusanali." He then shifted his gaze to Natsume. "Therefore, Traveler, I'm afraid I must trouble you to visit the base in a couple of days."
"Bringing Nahida over isn't a problem, but…" Natsume's mind immediately jumped to Nahida's unique abilities. "Ayato, you're not planning to have everyone watch the competition inside a dream, are you?"
"And what would be wrong with that?" Kamisato Ayato raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "To give everyone a performance that feels like a beautiful, waking dream… It would surely be an unforgettable experience for them. Is that not excellent publicity?"
"But there's a significant loophole," Natsume countered, pointing out the obvious flaw. "A spectacle like that would only exist in people's memories. The cameras and video recorders brought by the audience, not to mention the broadcast equipment from television stations, wouldn't capture a single thing. People would definitely realize something is amiss."
"That is where 'Noah's Ark'comes into play." Ayato calmly refined the plan, laying it out step by step. "As everyone enters the venue, we can inspect all electronic devices under the guise of security and accident prevention. We'll use that opportunity to install a small plugin. Once the performance concludes,'Noah's Ark'can help import everything that was'filmed' within the dreamscape directly into the cameras and recorders. This also serves a dual purpose: it prevents any malicious individuals from causing trouble or capturing things they shouldn't."
The plan, Natsume had to admit, sounded surprisingly feasible.
The mention of malicious individuals brought another question to her mind. "By the way," she asked, her curiosity piqued, "regarding the incident at the previous finals venue, did you ever find the people responsible?"
"Rest assured, we have." Ayato's voice, once light and strategic, gradually dropped, taking on a chilling edge. "We've already served them their appetizers. The main course will be offered after the finals are over."
Meanwhile, in a dark, musty corner of an ancient mansion, a furious voice shattered the silence.
"Useless! All of you are completely useless! You can't even handle a simple task! Not only have you failed to find the venue for whatever event they're holding, but that young punk from the Kamisato Clan actually came knocking on our door! Didn't you swear you left no clues?"
A slightly aged, reedy voice rang out, thick with anger and deep dissatisfaction.
"I… I don't know what happened, Patriarch. We truly left no traces behind. Even the police couldn't connect it back to us," the other man stammered, his voice betraying a guilty conscience. "Maybe that kid just got lucky—a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse. He must fear your influence, Patriarch, so he…"
"Shut up!" the aged voice cut him off impatiently. "Are you telling me you're unsure if he would pay the exorbitant price to have the Jade Chamber terminate their cooperation with our family's company?! Don't insult my intelligence with such pathetic excuses!"
The subordinate flinched, then tried to shift the blame. "But that woman, Ningguang, is far too nosy! Why is she interfering in matters between our family and the Kamisato Clan? We really should teach her a lesson."
At this, the man known as the Patriarch lowered his voice, a dangerous quietness settling over his words. "So, how did that operation go? Don't tell me you failed to deal with a single woman as well?"
Hearing this, the subordinate's voice grew even guiltier, and he stammered his reply. "I… I saw that Ningguang always had people around her, so… so I switched targets."
"I… I thought that Ganyu looked frail and weak. And since she's Ningguang's secretary, she would definitely be an easier target…"
"So, did you kidnap her?" the Patriarch lost his patience, his voice a low growl as he demanded the result. Whether it was Ningguang, Ganyu, or even that quiet one, Keqing—surely they had managed to capture at least one of them?
Pressed by his master's urgency, the subordinate swallowed hard, his voice beginning to tremble uncontrollably. "Th-that woman… that Ganyu… sh-she's a monster!"
"I saw it with my own eyes! That woman, sh-she pulled a bow out of thin air! And then… then hail started falling from the sky…" The subordinate's words were a jumbled, incoherent mess, his voice laced with raw, undiluted fear.
"Enough! Stop making up such ridiculous stories!" The Patriarch slammed his hand on the table, the sharp crack echoing in the dim room. He glared at his subordinate, his eyes blazing with disappointment and rage, utterly unconvinced by such a fantastical excuse.
But the subordinate was unwilling to give up, desperate to be believed. "It's true, I'm not lying to you! My men are still lying in the hospital right now, suffering from severe frostbite and blunt-force trauma!"
He tried to explain further, but the Patriarch cut him off without a shred of hesitation, waving a dismissive hand. "I will give you one last chance," he said, his voice dropping to a frigid whisper. "I do not want their finals to proceed smoothly."
"If you fail this time, too…"
The aged man let the threat hang in the air, unfinished. But the tone grew increasingly harsh, a promise of unspeakable consequences that sent a chill far colder than any frostbite down the subordinate's spine.
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