Chapter 217: Incubation

……

At the same time, Antonio once again walked into the underground laboratory wearing sterile work clothes. However, his arrival drew dissatisfied looks from the lab director, Professor Kevin Nehr, and Council President Cressy Jakes.

"You shouldn't be here, Antonio!"

Cressy Jakes frowned: "Don't you know the people from Nathan Sports Group are watching you? The new head of the Information Department hired by Rising Sun Company, Jeremy Burt, is no pushover either—he was once a pillar of the Sky Eye Detective Agency."

"Of course, how could I not notice? You know, every day when I go out now, at least two teams are following me, a dozen people, and they don't even bother to hide. A bunch of shit! But this place is only a hundred meters from my club after all, and it's easy to fool them."

Antonio shook his head: "Enough, Cressy. I came to find out how our progress is going. I heard our illusionist has arrived, right? When can that little girl truly hatch?"

"The progress is gratifying."

Professor Kevin Nehr answered: "Her negative emotions have reached the threshold for three consecutive days. As long as it continues for about seven more days, the Rebirth Egg inside her will hatch."

"So we have to wait another seven days?"

Antonio frowned deeply: "Cressy, waiting like this won't do. I think we'd better take action. We can't ignore that Andre anymore. I hope the headquarters can send one or two top-tier magical shadowers to cooperate with my operation here."

"Action? You want to kill that lucky Andre, don't you?"

Cressy Jakes said flatly: "Things aren't that simple, Antonio. For a top sponsored athlete like him who brings huge profits to Nathan Sports Group, they will definitely provide him with 'Emergency Teleportation' and 'Divine Protection' scrolls. Also, if I were Dwight Payton, I might even ask a legendary mage to place a coordinate anchor on him. Once that lucky Andre is in life-threatening danger, high-level outlaws will show up at any time."

"Are you doubting? Antonio. Nathan Sports Group has such resources and power, and Dwight Payton's influence is not limited to Nathan. Don't you know? Before joining Nathan, he was already an field operations supervisor at the FBI, a C4-level senior official, only three levels away from the D4-level FBI director. In fact, I've received news that a week ago, Dwight Payton had someone place an order with the legendary alchemist Schroeder. They spent a fortune to forge a ring for that kid, with a permanent 'Directed Teleportation' that is immune to most dimensional anchor spells, and a legendary 'Divine Protection'. This thing will be delivered to him within a day or two at most."

Antonio was momentarily stunned, then showed anger: "You should have told me this earlier, Cressy!"

If he had known about the ring earlier, he wouldn't have waited until now without acting. As for those high-level outlaws, Cressy Jakes might be right, but he still wanted to try.

"What difference would it have made? Would you have killed that kid earlier then? You wouldn't, Antonio. The reason you have this thought now is because that kid has hurt you, right?"

Cressy Jakes shook his head dismissively: "I know the consequences, Antonio. After all, he is a listed heir of the Wiltonstein family. His mother was once favored by Conshuri Wiltonstein, they say. If he dies in an unnatural way, who knows what the consequences will be? We can afford to offend Dwight Payton, but we cannot afford to offend Conshuri Wiltonstein. Not if you want to continue your career in this city."

"But I can't just keep defending passively."

Edwin Antonio snorted: "Do you know my situation now, Cressy? In the Blood Hand Gang now, thirty to fifty people die every day. Of the thirty-seven combat groups I had, thirteen have been wiped out, and more than twenty outlaws have died. Those guys under me are getting restless; they're eyeing my position. Do you know why that bastard's men can stir up trouble in the east of the city? Someone is deliberately cooperating. Those bastards want to see us make a fool of ourselves."

"You don't want to see me overthrown, do you? Without the help of the Blood Hand Gang as an外围势力, it will be hard for me to provide effective cover here."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Antonio."

Cressy Jakes chuckled: "They can't shake you, right? The thirteen combat groups you lost can be replenished within a month. You still have Black Axe Richard and Mad Blood Alonzo. As long as they're around, your position in the Blood Hand Gang is as solid as the Alps. Even if they're gone, I'm still here. I won't allow a change of leadership in the Blood Hand Gang, unless they don't want to stay in this city."

"You?"

Antonio looked at him with suspicion: "Council President Jakes, you did have such power before. But now, the newspapers are full of scandals about you. I hear the Conservative Party is also quite排斥 you now. These past two days, I've stuffed over seven million golden shields into the East District Police Station, but I still can't feed those greedy jackals. They no longer buy your influence, Council President Jakes."

"Just small tricks from Mr. Payton. Those so-called scandals have no evidence. He's just using this method to undermine my political reputation. But as long as the seventy-nine farms in the eastern suburbs and the black poor in the South District still support me, my position in Atlanta is unshakable. That is my foundation—"

"Wow, our council president is still so naive?"

Antonio sneered: "The key is that the FBI and the Cathedral of Light are also investigating this. And you still need seven days! Who knows what the situation will be like after seven days? Maybe my head will be chopped off and stuffed in some toilet, just like I did to others before. I think once they learn the truth, both you, Cressy, and I will be swept into the trash bin! Even I have considered giving up this turf in Atlanta, yet you still have such naive thoughts."

"You're right, but Antonio, the allure of Life Grant is beyond your imagination. So even if the FBI and the Cathedral of Light intervene, Atlanta's political situation won't completely lose balance. Who do you think those Life Grant slots we gave away belong to? Antonio, I guarantee that once the Calamity Fire Dragon Girl is successfully reborn, everything in Atlanta that belongs to you will still be yours. As long as the FBI has no evidence to indict you, they can't touch you. This is a society of law, isn't it? And everything now is just a small trouble."

Cressy Jakes shook his head, unconcerned: "Also, don't forget that Halloween is two days away. We have a backup plan. It might reduce the completion of the Rebirth Egg, but if we have no other choice, the Calamity Fire Dragon Girl can still return from this girl's body."

"So there's really no need to worry, Antonio. Haven't we already arranged it? On Thursday afternoon, we'll make him completely disgraced. That kid can only wage war against you because of Nathan Sports Group's support and his带货 ability. But if all that is gone, he's just an ant for you to toy with. I guarantee that on Thursday, we'll take care of him. His combat talent is high, but he's still just a level five magical swordsman. You know what preparations I've made, right? Poor Andre will be crushed by Cadeo Rhodes's sword."

Seeing that Antonio was convinced, Cressy Jakes turned to Professor Kevin Nehr: "I heard hesitation in your words just now? Is there another problem with activating this Rebirth Egg?"

"It's not exactly a problem."

Kevin Nehr smiled bitterly: "In theory, we just need to keep her negative emotions at the threshold for a continuous period, right? But as I told Mr. Antonio a week ago, deep in her heart, she still holds a glimmer of hope, an unrealistic fantasy. This Hazel hopes to be saved. I originally thought that with the arrival of the illusionist, this problem could be solved. But the current situation is that we've only forcibly suppressed this hope, not completely extinguished it as I had anticipated."