Chapter 888 - 580: Mastermind (Part 2)

Lu Li casually tossed the brief over. "Take a look at what’s inside."

Gu Wei hesitantly opened the brief. There was only a very short message on it, roughly meaning that the Northern Crown and Hercules Great Wall had been attacked by hundreds of iron-based lifeforms, that they were unable to resist, and had therefore sent a distress call to the Galaxy Alliance.

The message itself wasn’t anything special.

The thing that mattered was that Gu Wei instantly grasped the implication.

He raised his head, frowned, and said, "The Martial Hero Race is the only level-four civilization in the Cosmos. If even they can’t resist hundreds of iron-based lifeforms, the Galaxy Alliance stands even less of a chance. Yet they’re sending out a distress call. In my view, it’s almost certainly because they want to invite you, Mr. Lu, to step in."

Lu Li smiled. "That’s right, they do indeed want to ask me to lend a hand."

Gu Wei asked, "Then are you planning to act? Or perhaps send the Superpower Legion over?"

Lu Li said bluntly, "With the help of the Infinity Gauntlet, the Superpower Legion can still manage against ’Extinction’. But as for trying to oppose the ’Emperor’... that is, that iron-based lifeform whose body stretches for hundreds of light-years, plus the two under its command that are each thirty light-years long, they might not be up to the task. So unless I personally take the field, there is no one, no individual or civilization, in this entire Cosmos who can deal with this group of iron-based lifeforms."

Here he paused for a moment. "As for whether I make a move or not, that’s no longer for me to decide."

Gu Wei was stunned. "Could there be someone else who can advise you on this?"

Lu Li put down his crossed leg and looked over with a very serious expression. "Yes. And that person is... you!"

"How would I dare to advise you..." Gu Wei got halfway through his sentence, then suddenly realized what was going on. "You mean you want to use this incident—the iron-based lifeforms attacking the Northern Crown and Hercules Great Wall—to help me accumulate enough prestige? Or rather, to let everyone in the Cosmos know that I’m your representative?"

"Exactly."

Lu Li snapped his fingers. "So, next I’ll be turning away all visitors. Then you’ll find a way to spread some word, making it clear that only you, Gu Wei, are able to see me. As for what comes after, I don’t need to teach you, do I?"

Gu Wei immediately said, "I understand, I know what to do."

Lu Li nodded slightly. "Good, then. Our future ’Lord of Ten Thousand Stars’ for the Milky Way Galaxy—let me congratulate you in advance."

Gu Wei hurriedly said, "Thank you, Mr. Lu, for your cultivation. No matter what happens in the future, I, Gu Wei, will absolutely follow only your lead."

Lu Li’s gaze grew deep. "I hope you can remember these words—especially that even if I’m no longer in this Cosmos, you still won’t go back on them."

Gu Wei said very seriously, "For you, Mr. Lu, to cultivate me to such an extent, to let me reach a status others wouldn’t even dare imagine, I naturally understand the grace of being recognized and elevated. Whether you are still here or not in the future, I will look after all your family and friends."

Talking with a smart person is simple.

Lu Li was very satisfied with his attitude. "That’s enough for me. In fact, I’m just buying a bit of insurance. Let me put it this way: even if I leave this Cosmos, my family and friends will still have the Superpower Legion to protect them, and they themselves possess power no weaker than, perhaps even exceeding, the Superpower Legion. In addition, I’ve given them a whole pile of Divine Artifacts as protection. So it’s best that no one gets any ideas about them. Otherwise they won’t even know how they died."

Of course Gu Wei could hear that Lu Li was warning him. "I know what I should do."

Lu Li grunted in acknowledgement. "Good. Stay here for another half hour or so, then leave right on time."

Gu Wei asked with a hint of doubt, "Half an hour?"

Lu Li laughed. "Yes. Someone will be coming to visit then. I’ll have Aunt Huang turn them away at the door. When they see that you’ve just come out of my place, they’ll remember you—and might even come knocking on your door."

Gu Wei suddenly understood. "Got it."

The two then chatted idly for a while longer.

This time they didn’t talk business again, just shot the breeze about everything under the sun.

Half an hour later, Gu Wei took the initiative to get up and take his leave.

He walked slowly to the front gate of the small villa, about to have the driver bring the car around so he could leave directly.

Suddenly, a very spacious off-road vehicle drove up on the road ahead.

Gu Wei deliberately slowed his steps so that people would see he was coming out of Lu Li’s home.

A moment later, the off-road vehicle stopped.

A young man who looked like a bodyguard got out first from the front passenger seat.

He quickly walked around to the rear door and opened it very respectfully.

Out of the car "squeezed" an alien with a fairly large build, green skin all over, and antennae on his head.

Then that bodyguard-like young man briskly walked to the other rear door and respectfully opened it again.

This time, a big shot from Huaxia got out.

Gu Wei recognized him. It was the same big shot, Fu Qin, who had been stationed in the Northwest Region when Lu Li went there earlier to establish the super base.

As for that alien, although Gu Wei didn’t know him personally, he could tell from his appearance that he was a Kebi Star Person.

Fu Qin also didn’t seem to have expected to run into Gu Wei here. He took the initiative to greet him. "Old Gu, long time no see."

Gu Wei returned his smile and replied, "Old Fu, it really has been a while. Are you here to visit Mr. Lu?"

Fu Qin laughed. "That’s right. Carlo, the Galaxy Alliance’s diplomat, came to me asking for an introduction to visit Mr. Lu. Oh, by the way, is he at home?"

Gu Wei blinked. "Why don’t you just ring the doorbell and find out?"

As he was speaking, his driver pulled up in the Audi.

Gu Wei didn’t give Fu Qin any chance to ask further. Pointing at the car, he said, "My car’s here. I’ll get going first. Let’s have tea together sometime when we’re free."

"All right, take care."

Fu Qin waved his hand.

Gu Wei got into the car, and the Audi slowly drove away.

Carlo looked at Fu Qin and asked through a high-tech translator, "Who was that just now?"

Fu Qin stared for a moment at the receding Audi that Gu Wei was in, then turned back and said, "Oh, he’s someone within our system, with quite a high position. Supposedly he has a very good relationship with Mr. Lu. His name is Gu Wei."

"Gu Wei?" Carlo repeated the name, as if committing it to memory.

Fu Qin didn’t waste words. "I’ll go ring the doorbell and see if Mr. Lu’s at home. Since Old Gu showed up here, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance he is."

Carlo said, "All right, I’ll trouble you then."

Fu Qin replied, "No problem," then walked up to the gate and pressed the doorbell.

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

After it rang several times, a middle-aged woman’s voice suddenly came from the other side. "Who is it?"

Fu Qin quickly plastered a smile on his face. "Hello, I’ve met Mr. Lu once before. My name is Fu Qin. I have some matters I’d like to discuss with him today. Would it be convenient to let us in to see Mr. Lu?"

The middle-aged woman said, "Oh, sorry, Mr. Lu isn’t at home. Come back another time."

With that, she hung up with a click.

Mr. Lu isn’t at home?

How is that possible!

Just now Gu Wei had been standing at the door, and he’d even been evasive, saying to ring the doorbell and see.

Fu Qin wasn’t stupid. He understood the "art" in Gu Wei’s wording, and naturally realized that Mr. Lu was inside. The reason the middle-aged woman said he wasn’t was almost certainly because they’d anticipated that he and Carlo would show up and didn’t want to see them.

Carlo had also heard the exchange between Fu Qin and Aunt Huang through the translator.

He was rather straightforward and said with clear disappointment, "If Mr. Lu isn’t in, then forget it. We’ll just come visit another time."

Fu Qin hesitated for a moment, then turned and asked, "Mr. Carlo, are you really in a hurry to see Mr. Lu?"

Carlo smiled. "I’m not in a hurry, but the two Martial Immortal Race liaisons might be. I’ll be honest with you: Venerable Lupar hadn’t planned on disturbing Mr. Lu’s peace at all. It’s just that the Martial Immortal Race people showed up suddenly, so he had no choice but to ask me to bring them over. Mm, I can adapt to your Earth environment, but those two from the Martial Immortal Race can’t, so I didn’t bring them back here just yet."

Fu Qin thought for a moment. "Here’s what we’ll do: in a bit, let me meet those two from the Martial Immortal Race. If they really are in a hurry to see Mr. Lu, I might have a way."

Carlo agreed. "All right."

Fu Qin actually wasn’t sure whether the plan he was mulling over was viable, but he’d been given orders from above to cultivate as good a relationship as possible with these aliens in order to obtain more resources or technological support. Otherwise, he’d never have gone to the trouble of accompanying Carlo here to look for Lu Li—he wasn’t just idling around with nothing better to do.

He figured that since Gu Wei could walk out of Lu Li’s home, as long as he could persuade Gu Wei, chances were they wouldn’t be turned away again.

That was what he thought, and he genuinely believed he’d come up with a solution.

Little did he know that all of this was already encompassed within Lu Li’s grand design!