Lu Yin was astonished by You Fang's unshakeable confidence. "Is that why you are willing to grant me the power to monitor the entire Transcendent Universe, Senior?"
You Fang replied, "You’re answering pretty quickly, but your conclusion is wrong. I always intended to give you access to the surveillance system."
The man’s expression suddenly turned solemn. "After all, only by giving you what you want will I be able to see your true intentions."
The sight of the Transcendent Universe’s starry expanse was not much different from the Fifth Mainland’s. The sun of the You family's home planet soon dipped down to reveal the night sky, which let Lu Yin see one of Lele’s miniature bestowal art carriers hovering nearby in outer space. It subtly illuminated the planet, shining down upon billions of people.
As he looked up at the bestowal art carrier, he noticed that it was shaped like a rabbit. The strange shape gave Lu Yin a bit of insight into Lele's rather twisted sense of humor. The billions of people living on the planet had no option but to live with that bizarre moon.
Over the course of his day, Lu Yin’s interactions with both You Fang and Lele had given him the impression that both father and daughter were rather flippant about everything. They seemed to have no concerns and were extremely self-confident. In fact, their portrayed confidence was so extreme that Lu Yin would believe it if they thought that they were the true rulers of the Transcendent Universe.
How many black energy converters did the You family have secreted away? Lu Yin was quite curious about that. Furthermore, how much further had they developed the Bestowal Art beyond what they had released to the public?
"I made it look really cute, didn't I?" You Lele chirped, pointing up at the night sky as she suddenly appeared just outside the courtyard that Lu Yin had been given.
Xu Yue also arrived. "Lele, you are completely shameless! How is that pig cute?"
"It's clearly a rabbit! Stupid Yue Yue!" Lele responded furiously as she started chasing Xu Yue around.
Lu Yin closed his window. You Lele was really stubborn. She was keeping an extremely close eye on him. The You family had to have a deeper purpose in targeting him so openly, but Lu Yin had never dealt with such a situation before.
Truthfully, it was quite a pain to deal with people who were both intelligent and extremely confident, especially because the father and daughter duo had actually hit the nail on the head.
Normally, Lu Yin and the rest of the bureau would have to comb through the gathered data before they could determine where to start investigating.
Lu Yin went to meet with You Fang again, and he asked that the Voidforce Universe’s bureau members be granted access to the Transcendent Universe’s coordinate seal.
The man did not refuse, and he even personally led Xuan Qi to the coordinate seal and allowed the young man to leave a mark on it.
Each universe in the Sixverse Association had coordinate seals that foreigners were allowed to use to find and access the universe. In the past, Xuan Qi had not had a high enough status to qualify to use it, but that had more than changed.
Now, Lu Yin had gained open access to both the Voidforce Universe and the Transcendent Universe. He was also able to get to the Three Monarchs Universe with the members of the Fenglei clan. He was still missing access to the Arboreal Realm, the Lost Clan’s universe, and the Cyclic Universe.
In the following days, You Lele sat outside of Lu Yin's quarters every single day. She had no concern for appearances, and no one in her family reprimanded her for her behavior. She only watched Lu Yin, which was both exhausting and frustrating.
…
Tearing through the void, Lu Yin returned to Aeternus Nation.
The You family was absolutely convinced that Xuan Qi had an ulterior motive in approaching them, and since that was the case, there was no need for him to continue hiding things. He would allow them to figure things out—that is, if they were able to do so.
After arriving in Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin met with Luo Lao'er and took him back to the Transcendent Universe.
"Brother-in-law, can you really enter the Transcendent Universe on your own now? Not even I can do that!" Luo Lao'er exclaimed in surprise.
Lu Yin had brought Luo Lao'er to the Transcendent Universe so that he could get in touch with his mysterious information broker. As long as Lu Yin was in the Transcendent Universe, he would be able to use either his die's Possession by consuming the Transcendent Universe's resources, or he could use Luo Lao’er’s methods. At the moment, Lu Yin had none of the Transcendent Universe’s resources, so he hoped to be able to buy some hints on where to start investigating.
"He has it!" Luo Lao'er shouted as he stared at the information appearing on his dark green lens.
Lu Yin arched a brow. Was it actually possible to buy information on spies? "Is it really completely impossible to find out who this person is?"
"At the least, I can't find out," Luo Lao'er said helplessly.
Lu Yin's eyes flashed. It seemed that his first order of business was going to be to acquire some of the Transcendent Universe’s resources. Possessing people to obtain their memories remained his most reliable method of acquiring information. If Luo Lao’er’s information broker was able to sell information regarding spies, then this person had most likely already uncovered Luo Lao'er's true identity, and they might have even discovered clues regarding Lu Yin's true identity.
At this thought, Lu Yin quickly sent Luo Lao'er back to Aeternus Nation.
At the same time, elsewhere, illuminated by a dim firelight, a man appeared rather confused. "Luo Qian? Why is he buying information about spies? Has he returned?
"There's no reason for him to buy information about spies. If he’s doing that, then who is he buying the information for? The You family? Or could it be someone else?
"Monarch Mu has vanished, as has the Fenglei clan, but Luo Qian just returned out of the blue and tried to buy information on spies. Intriguing… Is the You family supporting him?
"In collaborating with the Transcendent Universe, the Three Monarchs are essentially cooperating with He Ran. That means that the You family might be the group that is currently going against the Three Monarchs."
…
Five days after arriving in the Transcendent Universe, Lu Yin decided to investigate the recent destruction of research data.
The research results had been destroyed by spies, which had led to Xie Wu, Zuo Yu, and several others being punished. If not for Lu Yin’s intervention, Zuo Gong would have been forced to step down from the Ruling Council, and Xie Wu would have died.
"I have some fated connection to this incident, and I am a man who believes in fate." Zuo Yu led Lu Yin and the rest of his team to where the records had been destroyed.
Naturally, if they were going to investigate the incident, they had to ask the people who had been directly involved.
"Where's Xie Wu?" Lu Yin asked.
Zuo Yu's expression fell. "He's returned to being He Shu's dog."
"He Shu took him back?" Lu Yin was surprised.
"Xie Wu has been with He Shu for many years, and he knows He Shu too well. If Xie Wu dies, He Shu wouldn’t care, but as long as Xie Wu is alive, He Shu will definitely keep him close." Zuo Yu’s voice dropped low. "He has betrayed your kindness."
Lu Yin chuckled. "It doesn’t bother me. We were never friends anyways."
"There's really no need to investigate what happened to the data. There aren’t any clues. The spy who destroyed the information has an innate gift related to concealment. There are some people who suspect that they might have a connection to the Cloudflow Universe," Zuo Yu said, sharing everything she knew with Xuan Qi. It was true that the Cloudflow Universe’s unique energy did have some properties that helped people to remain hidden, but Zi Jing had already mentioned to Lu Yin that everyone from the Cloudflow Universe had been placed under the Transcendent Universe’s surveillance, though this was a secret to most people.
The Transcendent Universe had thoroughly analyzed the Cloudflow Universe, which meant that the indigenous people of the Cloudflow Universe were unable to hide any of their actions from the Transcendent Universe.
Who had suggested that the destruction of the data might have been perpetrated by someone from the Cloudflow Universe? Did that person not have a thorough understanding of the Transcendent Universe? Or was it possible that they were actually trying to keep the true culprit hidden?
"Who suggested that someone from the Cloudflow Universe could be responsible?" Lu Yin asked.
Zuo Yu responded, "Quite a few people have been talking about it, and the rumors have already become quite widespread."
Lu Yin turned to You Lele. "Help me look into who first started spreading these rumors about a connection to the Cloudflow Universe. Use your family's influence, as there might be some problems if this person holds a high position."
You Lele's eyes lit up. "I didn't think of that. You actually do have a bit of skill when it comes to digging up spies."