This was an extremely tidy room, with the floor, walls, and ceiling all covered in a layer of pristine white; the bright and glaring light filled the interior, leaving no place for shadows to hide.

Derby and Zephirin were clad in tight restraint suits, with circles of iron chains binding them. A faint glow moved along the chains, sealing the Ether within them. In their current restrained state, they were no different from lambs awaiting slaughter.

Zephirin had already fallen unconscious, his head drooping, cheeks drenched in sweat, eyes overflowing with a trace of blood, making it look as if his red eyeballs had melted.

Ivan removed his hand from Zephirin's head, shaking his own in frustration, before turning his gaze to Derby.

Noticing Ivan's gaze, Derby recalled the ordeal Zephirin had just endured. Fear caused Derby to struggle continuously, but no matter how forcefully he fought, he remained firmly bound in place, unable to move.

Ivan scrutinized Derby, understanding from the report documents that Derby was a Negative Power User, which meant dealing with him would be much more troublesome than dealing with Zephirin.

Fortunately, Ivan was not dealing with such a Negative Power User for the first time. He deftly picked up the awl and pierced it through the holes in the restraint suit.

Piercing pain emanated from within, and Derby trembled in agony. But this was not the end; there were many holes in the restraint suit, and Ivan leisurely pushed one awl after another into Derby's body.

These awls were not ordinary, mundane objects, but an Alchemy Armament. Under their grinding grip, Derby's Rectangular Soul Critical began to collapse, becoming riddled with holes.

Ivan instructed, "Open your mouth."

Derby hesitated, but recalling Zephirin's ordeal, he reluctantly opened his mouth and bit down on the towel Ivan handed to him.

Then Ivan picked up a razor, meticulously cleaning the hair on Derby's forehead, pressing his palm against his forehead.

The Alchemy Matrix emerged from Ivan's arm, and with the Secret Energy seeped from the Void Spirit School, Derby's consciousness was invaded.

"Mmm! Mmm!"

Derby convulsed violently as if electrocuted, his eyes turning white, and blood seeped onto the white towel.

The mental anguish far surpassed the physical torment. A piercing buzzing sound endlessly echoed through Derby's mind, as if someone was squeezing his skull with a drill, boring through flesh, penetrating bone, and stirring the soft brain tissues into a bloody mess.

Thousands of nerves wailed in agony, physiological instincts forcing Derby to lose consciousness, but before his awareness fully extinguished, the pre-injected potion took effect, reinforcing Derby's rational mind and keeping him awake.

The intrusion did not last long. Ivan lifted his hand, the aura dispersed, and he withdrew the Secret Energy.

Exploring others' consciousness was also quite exhausting for Ivan, similar to asking someone to finish a book within minutes and capture key information from it.

Derby, like a dead man, collapsed entirely, blood slowly soaking the towel, dripping at the end. In similar past cases, the towel had clogged the prisoner's mouth, causing vomit to block the airway, leading to their suffocation.

Suffocation couldn't kill the Night Race, but Ivan habitually pried open his mouth, extracted the towel, and turned to leave the room. Once outside, Ivan removed his gloves and took a deep breath.

Just like usual, he returned to his office to document the fragmented intelligence gleaned from invading their consciousnesses.

Before Ivan could write a few lines, the desk phone buzzed. When he picked up the receiver, a familiar voice spoke.

"How is the situation?"

"Average," Ivan replied, tapping a pen on the desk, "Their memories were encrypted, and I only managed to collect some fragmented information."

Looking at the neat handwriting on the paper, Ivan continued, "I'm trying to integrate them together."

"Alright," the voice on the other end paused, "Serey came this morning."

Ivan clenched his pen, tension showing on his face, "What happened?"

"Nothing much," Fuen said, "just a simple catch-up, and some... information regarding this matter."

"We've now confirmed that the alterations in the 'Dawn Oath' were made by Serey to hide someone, and as long as we identify that person, we might find a lead."

"But that was a hundred years ago."

"There are quite a few survivors from a hundred years ago."

Ivan took a deep breath, "Alright, I'll report this to the Decision Room, anything else?"

Glancing at the itinerary, Ivan's schedule for the next few days was completely packed.

"Actually, regarding this matter, I have another hypothesis."

"Let's hear it."

Fuen said, "Don't you think the Night Race's invasion this time is too reckless? Be it Ralph's betrayal or the Night Race's targeted attack, they are facing the Fortress of the Morning Wind."

Inside the Fortress of the Morning Wind is the traitorous Ralph, outside is Derby, commanding numerous alchemy creatures in suicidal attacks through Blood Boiling, then there's Zephirin infiltrating the Void Realm defenses using Soul-Breaking Poison, and all those Night Race participants...

Their plan is perfect, but no matter how perfect the plan is, it seems incredibly reckless and ridiculous in the face of this insurmountable difficulty.

"Initially, I couldn't understand these things, but after Serey found me, I suddenly realized."

Fuen spoke of this terrible possibility.

"Perhaps the Regent King's goal is not the Clarks family or the 'Dawn Oath.'

To the Regent King, compared to the hatred towards the Clarks family, what they find truly intolerable should be Serey's betrayal."

Fuen felt this situation deeply; on that night, he hated Ralph's treachery more than the Night Race.

"The Regent King must know something, like the identity of the person Serey has hidden away. He is using this to launch an attack on us, with the aim of drawing out Serey."

A crisp sound rang from Ivan's hand; the pen he held was broken, ink spilling from the cracks like black blood.

Ivan murmured, "Since the Dawn War, Serey has been hiding in the Undying Club; as long as he belongs to the Undying Club even for a day, no one can harm him; similarly, he cannot interfere with this world, existing only as an absolute observer."

"The Regent King's true purpose is to send a signal to Serey; he knows who that person is, and he's trying to drag Serey into the water. If Serey wants to continue protecting that person, he is bound to leave the Undying Club,...then he can be killed."

In the receiver, Fuen's voice was oppressive and deep.

Ivan sighed, "For someone?"

To go so mad for a person sounds both romantic and foolish.

"Who knows? Don't be fooled by Serey's appearance, he is actually incredibly mysterious," Fuen speculated. "Perhaps 'that person' is just a codename for something else?"

Ivan asked, "Have you spoken to Serey about this?"

"No, I don't think I've ever truly understood Serey, just like I've never understood what's truly in the Eternal Sun Island.

But I know, Serey is a proud and ruthless figure, as evident from his choice to destroy the Eternal Night Empire for that person. If I told him these things, he would likely immediately leave the Undying Club and go head-to-head with the Regent King."

Fuen's voice paused, "This is no longer an era from a hundred years ago; even if Serey looks young, he's actually an old fellow, full of power, but burdened by the cumbersome Alchemy Matrix he carries.

For Serey, the world now is fraught with dangers, no matter how proud the Night Race Lord is, all he holds is a crude and blunt sword."

The Alchemy Matrix is engraved into the soul, once implanted, it can never be altered; for someone like Serey, who has a far longer life than Ralph, the Alchemy Matrix Serey implanted can almost be described as 'primitive.'

"Retired people should remain retired. I persuaded him, this matter will be handled by the Order Bureau."

Fuen went on to remark, "Sometimes I also find it strange, Serey is truly a scoundrel, yet he indeed is my friend."

Ivan said, "I will focus on monitoring the Undying Club's movements."

"Alright, thank you."

Fuen hung up the phone, his words filled with deep puzzled thoughts.

No one knows what Serey is truly thinking, just like no one knows what really happened during the Dawn War.

Ivan paused, his gaze fixed on the paper on the table, with ink soaking through it, Ivan let out a long sigh, crumpled the paper into a ball, tossed it into the trash, and rose to wash his hands.

As he opened the door, a mysterious figure was standing at the entrance; Ivan immediately became alert. Just as he was about to launch an attack, that sense of unfamiliarity gradually faded and a sense of recognition flowed back.

As if picking up a forgotten memory, Ivan looked at the visitor with sudden realization and then could hardly bear to gaze, as if sympathizing with them.

After taking several seconds, Ivan recalled the identity of the person, but the strange feeling still affected him. He tentatively spoke the name from his memory.

"Church?"

The familiar yet unfamiliar face said, "Hello, Leader, it's me."

"Church Burton."

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