Chapter 242: Chapter 242 Founder

Chen Ke glanced up and down the street, where few pedestrians were seen, and in the distance at the street corner a car turned and merged onto another road, its headlights briefly illuminating Chen Ke before vanishing quickly.

The nights in the Lower District of Opportunity City were far less lively than those on Raffi Road.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Chen Ke adjusted his tie and, as usual, with hands in pockets, walked across the road with a relaxed stride, as if he lived there.

The paths between villas were not very wide, just wide enough for two small cars to pass side by side, and the slope of the road was steep.

Chen Ke looked over at the neighboring villa–it was dark and deserted, very fortunate–then he glanced over the wall at the target villa.

There was no one in the courtyard, which was the front of the villa, and orange-yellow light shone from a second-floor window, indicating the target was upstairs.

He circled the villa along the fence and when reaching the side, heard the sound of something heavy falling into a pool from the backyard.

“Hmm?” Chen Ke frowned.

He made his steps lighter and quickly, quietly moved towards the back of the villa, peeking carefully over the wall.

Chen Ke saw a figure with their back to him, who had just entered the house and casually shut the door behind them; the silhouette suggested it was a woman.

With the light shining from the second-floor window, Chen Ke also saw the blue water of the pool rippling, with three bodies floating on the surface.

Now that was very intriguing…

He drew a Glock 17 from his holster and screwed on a suppressor, causing the length of the gun to nearly double.

Before he had access to the Type 67, Chen Ke hadn’t thought this length mattered, but now it felt uncomfortable–it was too long, and with the suppressor, it couldn’t be slipped back into the holster, and each time he had to manually unscrew it and stow it in his pocket, which was very inconvenient.

Chen Ke kept the gun by his side and glanced around before calming his breath, placed his left hand on the fence, and lightly vaulted over into the villa’s yard.

“Tap…”

His feet touched the ground, and Chen Ke, now within the villa courtyard, immediately crouched and hid in the shadows, temporarily unnoticed.

Activating his Spiritual Vision, all humanoid objects in the vicinity couldn’t escape his scan; in the two-story villa, there were only two people.

A woman was calmly ascending the stairs, while a man paced back and forth anxiously in a lit room.

The woman could not yet be confirmed as the one Chen Ke had encountered in the restaurant, but he was very curious about the three bodies in the pool.

He approached the pool quietly and swiftly, keeping to the shadows, careful not to step into the light cast from the windows.

From about four or five meters away, Chen Ke surveyed the pool.

He saw three bodies, each draped in a black trench coat, floating on the water with their backs slightly arched, the rest of their bodies submerged.

The limbs of the three bodies were exceptionally slim and elongated, clearly not normal human beings.

He looked up at the second-floor window; the two in the building seemed to be meeting, apparently discussing something, making it unlikely for them to suddenly approach the window.

With his hands supporting the gun, Chen Ke stealthily moved to the edge of the pool and looked closely at the bodies in the water–seeing them more clearly, he realized they were all monstrosities from Yasla.

Chen Ke couldn’t forget the appearance of these monstrosities; they possessed Transcendent abilities but did not use Holy Diamonds, which particularly intrigued him.

The pool water was crystal clear to the bottom, proving these three had not bled. Without the use of guns or Holy Relics and no sound of a struggle heard along the way, it seemed that whoever had killed them was far more formidable…

Chen Ke moved away from the pool, slunk to the villa’s back door, and tentatively turned the doorknob–it was unlocked.

Without a second thought, he quietly opened the door, slipped into the dark interior, and shut the door behind him. Crouching down, Chen Ke completely melded into the darkness. With the aid of his suit, his level of concealment reached 100%.

At this moment, to anyone else, Chen Ke was like a nonexistent entity, naturally overlooked by human perception, akin to the dust on the ground, and moving silently even while crouched, thanks to the legendary suit he wore.

He silently ascended the stairs and saw the only room with light seeping through the door gap. Disengaging the safety on his Glock, Chen Ke pressed against the door. The two people were inside; rushing in and eliminating them would take no more than 2 seconds.

But Chen Ke was curious about their conversation, and his intense curiosity led him to slowly lower the gun and quietly listen.

Inside, the voices of a man and a woman could be heard; the woman’s voice matched exactly with the one he had encountered in the restaurant, clearly the same person, while the man’s voice sounded somewhat elderly and quite agitated, likely the target.

“Professor, I suggest that you should be more concerned about your safety, professor. Just a simple meeting and I’ve already encountered three people who wanted to kill you,” the woman said, her tone somewhat mocking and casual.

“If that’s my fate, I would gladly accept it. Our meeting was inevitable, wasn’t it?” the male voice said.

“The past can be changed, Professor. Time won’t always be on your side…” the female voice remarked.

“Yes… the future is always filled with uncertainties…” the male voice replied.

“Your future, but for me, it’s the past. Enough talk, Professor. Have you found out the identity of the Founder?” the female voice asked.

“I utilized my connections, investigated many backgrounds, and found tens of thousands of candidates who fit the profile of the Founder…” the male voice said helplessly.

“Tens of thousands… You know, Professor… that range is a bit large…” the female sighed.

“You’ve also said that he might not necessarily be here. And it’s quite possible that it does not fixate on just one person; anyone inspired could potentially be the Founder…” the male voice reasoned.

“I know… This task is challenging, but time is not unlimited, and I’m racing against it…” the female voice said.

“Why must you find him… Can’t you use the method you mentioned… to create a Founder?” the male voice wondered.

“You still don’t quite understand the concept of time, Professor. What has already happened decides what hasn’t yet occurred, but conversely, what is yet to come depends on what is now…” the female voice explained.

“You mean…” the male voice was somewhat puzzled.

“We don’t know when the Founder first had that idea; if we rashly create another, the events that follow could only become more complex… and deviate from our goal.” the female voice stated.

“I see… Time is truly wonderful…” the Professor exclaimed.

“Instead of marveling here, Professor, why not think of a way to narrow down those tens of thousands to a few hundred or dozen?” the female voice suggested.

“I understand… This might take a lot of time…” the male voice acknowledged.

“It doesn’t matter to me, Professor, see you in a few minutes.” the female voice said with a laugh.

“Heh… For you it’s a few minutes… The last time we met was six years ago…” the male voice gave a bitter smile.

“Your efforts will be rewarded, everything will be worth it.” the female voice assured.

“This concerns humanity’s welfare and future… It’s my noble mission… and you have shown me the ultimate nature of time… I’m already completely satisfied.” the male voice declared.

“That you think this way pleases the Foundation.” the female voice said.

“I can tell you a few of the most likely candidates; you can start looking for them.” the male voice suggested.

“Oh…? What are their backgrounds?” the female inquired.

“Professor Mansis from the Spiritual Ability Research Institute of the United Federation, Fei Huang Republic’s president of Li’s Heavy Industry, Li Moyang…” the male voice listed.

“They all sound like high-profile and influential figures. The Founder I’ve heard about doesn’t seem similar at all… he led an inconspicuous life his entire life… If he was high-profile, we would know who he was.” the female voice pointed out.

“You’ve given too few clues… we only know he’s male, and there are no distinct years of birth or death, no known ethnicity or nationality, only one clue that’s not a clue…” the male voice lamented.

“He saw an angel…” the female murmured.

“What does that even mean…?” the male asked.

“We don’t know… but we will continue to find a way, Professor, keep screening the candidates, let’s touch base later.” the female voice proposed.

“May humanity prosper forever…” the male voice intoned.

The conversation between the two ended, and the woman seemed ready to leave, but Chen Ke did not move, because the legendary suit provided him the best camouflage.

At that moment, something eerie happened. Through the door, Chen Ke saw that one of the blue outlines had vanished…

The woman had just vanished…

“What the hell…” Chen Ke startled, unclear how she had disappeared. Could she also open a Teleportation Gate?

Moreover, Chen Ke didn’t understand any of the content of their previous conversation, only knowing that the woman was tasking someone with the search for a Founder…

Chen Ke felt more uneasy, held up his Glock, turned the doorknob, and entered the room, which now contained only a white-haired, crisply dressed old man.