Translator: CinderTL
To pit the Technology Research Institute against the Tiger Soul Research Institute, Feng Qi had tried numerous tactics.
None of them had worked.
Both the Technology Research Institute and the Tiger Soul Research Institute were exceedingly cautious.
During a core meeting of the Technology Research Institute, the Behind-the-Scenes Domain Faction controlling the institute decided it was unwise to act rashly without fully understanding the Tiger Soul Research Institute's true nature. They urged restraint.
After the meeting, Feng Qi's subsequent plans became increasingly difficult to execute.
Though he was the de facto leader of the third battle group, it was highly likely that the Behind-the-Scenes Domain Faction had planted spies within the group to monitor him.
His previous aggressive actions could be explained as an attempt to investigate the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
Now that a decision had been made in the meeting, he could no longer afford such recklessness.
Otherwise, he would likely be stripped of his position as "group leader" and demoted back to the fourth tier of the core circle.
This was something Feng Qi desperately wanted to avoid.
Yet during his time commanding the third battle group, he hadn't been entirely without gains.
From the intelligence provided by the Behind-the-Scenes Domain Faction behind the Technology Research Institute, he had learned a crucial piece of information.
Numerous Domain Forces are currently attempting to infiltrate human factions.
The Behind-the-Scenes Domain Faction behind the Technology Research Institute is just one of many. Besides the known Tiger Soul Research Institute, there may be other Domain Forces already embedded within human factions, or actively infiltrating them.
However, the Technology Research Institute has not explicitly stated the reasons behind these Domain Forces' actions.
From this information, Feng Qi confirmed a previous suspicion.
The Lord of the Mist had once said, "I did not win, but humanity has already lost."
The underlying meaning of this statement was clear: he had defeated Human Civilization, but not the other Domain Forces.
The existence of the Technology Research Institute and the Tiger Soul Research Institute was already troublesome enough. The thought of other Domain Forces already embedded within Human Civilization, or actively infiltrating it, made Feng Qi realize that his counterpart in the other timeline still had a long road ahead.
His task now was to navigate this timeline well, creating more value for his counterpart.
To shine his remaining light before life faded.
In the days that followed, Feng Qi continued to serve the Technology Research Institute, gathering more intelligence.
However, the plan to confront the Tiger Soul Research Institute had become nearly impossible to execute.
It was then that Wei Wei contacted him.
After deliberation, the Scarlet Research Institute's high-ranking members devised a plan to provoke the technology research institute into actively confronting the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
The plan was simple: inform the technology research institute that the Tiger Soul Research Institute was attempting to sabotage the Spirit Energy Nanoworm Project.
Knowing that the Tiger Soul Research Institute had made the first move, the technology research institute would inevitably retaliate.
Feng Qi knew that a werewolf from the Tiger Soul Research Institute might already be embedded within the technology research institute. But how to find him, and how to explain his knowledge of this intelligence, remained an insurmountable problem.
The Scarlet Research Institute, however, had already devised a solution. They intended to deliberately expose this information to lay the groundwork for a confrontation between the technology research institute and the Tiger Soul Research Institute.
To achieve this, the Scarlet Research Institute replaced all the data within their Twilight City Scarlet Base, leaving only some unimportant files and planting numerous "intelligence reports."
Among these was a Scarlet Research Institute investigation report. It claimed that the Tiger Soul Research Institute had infiltrated the technology research institute and was attempting to launch the "Interference Source Project" to disrupt the creation of Spirit Energy Nanoworms.
The Scarlet Research Institute had no evidence to support these claims, but that didn't matter as long as the technology research institute believed them.
In the previous timeline, the Scarlet Base in Twilight City was breached by the technology research institute years after his death.
But this time, the Scarlet Research Institute decided to accelerate this historical event.
They chose to openly confront the technology research institute, deliberately provoking a counterattack.
After Wei Wei informed him of the Scarlet Research Institute's plan, the operation commenced.
Scarlet Research Institute's subordinate battle groups launched an offensive against the technology research institute, quickly drawing the attention of its top leadership.
As the Scarlet Research Institute had anticipated, the technology research institute swiftly retaliated against their assault.
Their first target was the Scarlet Base in Twilight City, which had already been planned for destruction.
After breaching the base, the technology research institute obtained extensive intelligence on the Scarlet Research Institute and uncovered a crucial piece of information:
The Tiger Soul Research Institute had infiltrated the technology research institute and was even attempting to sabotage their most prized project, the Spirit Energy Nanoworm Project.
This revelation shook the core circle of the technology research institute, triggering an internal investigation.
During this phase, Mo, the technology research institute's most enigmatic figure, developed a new piece of black technology at the behest of a Behind-the-Scenes Domain Entity:
The Truthspeaker Device.
This massive machine, over two meters tall and three meters wide, employed Spirit Energy Technology.
Once activated, anyone lying on it would gradually lose consciousness.
In this state, their mental defenses would crumble, and they would blurt out any information requested, based solely on their memories.
Upon learning this, Feng Qi felt a surge of urgency.
Fortunately, he wasn't among the primary targets for investigation.