After a series of brief and concise operations, the information about Zero was sold by Hades to the Parkland chaebol for about 30% more than the purchase price. Parkland, despite being a big company in the wilderness, is not qualified to meet Hades in person. Intelligence is traded through a dedicated liaison channel for the Dark Merchant, and no images appear during the entire process.

After seeing Parkland transfer credits into the Dark Merchant's account, Hades stood up and left the room. The moment he stepped out of the room, a hexagonal lattice appeared on the surface of everything from the ceiling to the carpet, from the fireplace to the walls. As each lattice fades away, the room goes dark, becoming an inorganic set of data, waiting to be reactivated the next time.

Hades was walking in the darkness, and in front of him, there was a glowing door. That's where the exit is, and when the virtual room disappears, so does the virtual information that acts on Hades. The golden light, which was as bright as the sun, quickly lost its luster, and his handsome face was quickly covered with wrinkles, and the originally bright skin gradually lost its moisture, and even old age spots quietly appeared on his face and the back of his hands.

In just a few seconds, Hades completed the physiological process from young adulthood to old age. By the time he stepped out of the exit, Hades was no longer young, but an old man in his sixties. It's just that those jewel-like blue eyes are as radiant as ever.

The alloy door behind it closed automatically, and a bookcase moved from the left, hiding the secret door behind it. It's a 200-square-meter office with a retro décor that's just like the virtual room. The difference is that instead of a painting of the Mona Lisa, the walls of the office are covered with a religious picture.

Dinner at zuihou!

The old man stared at the scroll, he was not a believer in Christianity. Hanging this painting in the office is purely for personal preference.

"Zuihou's Dinner" is one of the masterpieces of Leonardo da Vinci, which contrasts the peace of Jesus and the betrayal of Judas through realistic expression. Trust and betrayal are melodies that are not lacking in any era, and this is true in the old era, and even more common in the new era. Conflicts of interest, differences of ideas, in this era of rapid change, betrayal sometimes only needs to be a piece of black bread.

In the old man's old years, he also betrayed his ideals like Judas. But everything is just to live better, so the old man has no regrets.

"One day, I will prove you wrong...... You are not Jesus, and even Jesus cannot save everyone. There is no savior in this shijie, only someone who guides them in the right direction. And I'm doing it," the old man whispered, but the words were as strong as his rock-like determination.

At this moment, the phone on the desk rang. The old man was still looking at the painting, but he said to the room, "Answer." ”

The voice-activated system immediately worked, and the phone switched to amplification mode, followed by a pleasant female voice ringing from the phone: "Dear Speaker O'Gllock, Dr. Shauna just called you. He asks you to visit the Academy of Science and Technology at your convenience, and the research project numbered WX1875 has made new progress. ”

When he heard the special number, the old man's eyes finally left the painting, and he said lightly to the woman on the phone: "I understand, Christine, please prepare me for the trip." In 15 minutes, I will arrive at the Institute on time. ”

"I do as you command, Your Excellency. ”

At the end of the conversation, the old man looked at the red lightning outside the standing window, and the corners of his mouth pulled out an arc.

No one could have imagined that the leader of the Dark Merchant, Hades, who suddenly appeared thirty years ago and has grown rapidly to this day, is actually the speaker of the Dark Council, Oglok. In fact, if it weren't for the silent support of such a behemoth as the Dark Council, the Dark Merchants would not have been able to develop on the mainland so quickly. In turn, through the operation of the Dark Merchant, Oglok holds most of the secret information of the continent in his hands.

Of course, the Dark Merchant is Oglook's private agency. So no one in the parliament knows about it.

From the office building where Oglock is located, you can see a city shrouded in darkness, which is the headquarters of the Dark Council...... Eternal Night City!

Eternal Night City is located at the northernmost point of the coastline, with an endless stream of polluted waters in the background. The city is about the size of Asgard, except that Asgard has hollowed out the Jurian Mountains and built out of thin air in the belly of the mountain. The city of eternal night is a rebuilt city based on the city of the old era that has not been completely destroyed, which is somewhat similar to Remut, except that the Dark Council is not comparable to Remut in terms of financial resources and resources.

After half a century of operation, the heart of the city has largely been restored to its original appearance, with towering buildings, dense cobwebbed city roads, and streetlights dotted with the city. If you don't look at the red electricity that radiates clouds in the sky, then this city is not much different from the developed cities of the old era.

However, the buildings on the outskirts of Eternal Night City have been almost completely cleared. Here, the Dark Council built fortifications and factories lined it up. In the southwestern suburbs of the city is the seat of the Institute of Science and Technology. The Academy of Science and Technology is mainly engaged in the research of genes, biochemistry, ability formulas, and even weapons and equipment and war machinery.

Fifteen minutes later, a black sedan stopped in front of the main building of the Institute of Science and Technology. Two guards in black suits opened the door, and Oglok got out of the car on crutches. He looked up at the top floor of the building, just as a flash of red lightning fell from the sky, causing a layer of red light to appear on the top floor of the building.

Moments later, Ogllock took the elevator to the top floor. On the top floor of the main building is the office of the dean of the Academy of Science and Technology, but in this room, which is no less than Ogllock's office, the speaker sees a chaotic and busy scene.

In the office, all kinds of data reports were thrown to the ground, and as many as a dozen assistants came in and out with tablets or materials, but no one had time to stop and say hello to Oglok. But the Speaker doesn't care about this lack of courtesy, and it's no secret that the Academy of Science and Technology is dominated by lunatics and workaholics, so Oglock doesn't expect to meet gentlemen here.

From a mountain of papers, Ogllock met with Dr. Shauna, the director of the Academy of Science and Technology. The Doctor is in his sixtieth year, and his hair has long since fallen out, but his bald head is very smooth. He wore thick glasses and his gray, even yellowish white coat, and was writing down something.

Even in this era of universal access to plain computers, Dr. Shauna still maintains the habit of the old generation to record the evolution of formulas and important achievements, using pencil and paper. For this reason, Oglok had to assign a special assistant to the Doctor to record the important formulas he had learned from his research into the vast database of information in the Dark Council's brain terminal.

Oglok tapped the Doctor's desk with his cane, but the Doctor ignored him. Oglok could only cough helplessly before diverting the doctor's attention from the report. Seeing Oglok, Dr. Shauna stood up happily and said, "You're here, good! Come and see what we've found and guess what we've found." haha, is a set of source code. Ogy, this is a set of source code that we have never seen before!"