Chapter 1578: Meeting with Abigail Rose

Returning to their car was much easier. As they moved through the shadows, Lory and Zhao Li Xin slipped past the guards with light, precise steps, using blind spots and rocks to get past them.

It didn’t take long for them to reach their car. Once they got in and left, Zhao Li Xin started the car and drove away while Lory immediately took out her phone and called Fredhardt.

As soon as the phone was picked up, Lory immediately told everything she had discovered, from the hidden tunnel and truck tracks to Orsus’ involvement and the possibility that Jacob Augburn’s Anchora was also involved.

On the other end of the line, Fredhardt fell silent for a moment, then muttered under his breath, "No wonder..."

He took a slow breath before continuing. "I’ve been trying to find a pattern among all the countries that were attacked by Bael around the same time. At first, I looked for any unusual activity from Argus, Dragxtarn, or Paladin in those countries, but I couldn’t find anything concrete."

He paused briefly. "But when you mentioned Orsus and Anchora, things started to make sense. Both companies have major partnerships in those countries. That would give them the perfect opportunity to move equipment, personnel... or something else entirely."

"Well," Lory said thoughtfully, "Honestly, I didn’t expect their partnership to still be active after everything that happened in Aeon, especially Anchora. After the feud with the Hamilton family, I thought they would just be thrown away like useless trash, but who would have thought..."

She leaned back in her seat. "It never crossed my mind that Jacob Augburn managed to reach out to Amanda Haynes."

Fredhardt said with a slight sneer, "Even so, you have to admire his toughness. Look at that, Lory, you finally have a rival who can match you."

"Ha ha..." Lory give sarcastic laughs

"All jokes aside, his actions shouldn’t be too surprising. If you look at their history, the Augburns have always had ties to Luxemborough and the S.A.I.N.T. organization. It was only with their help that the Augburns family was almost successful in suppressing the Hamiltons’ family, if not for your intervention," Fredhardt teased.

"My bad," Lory replied cynically.

Fredhardt then continued, "By then, they should realize that if they are abandoned by S.A.I.N.T. and Luxemborough, they will truly be finished, because Hugo and Edmund won’t let them get away after what they did to their family, so the only way to survive for the Augburn family is to be accepted back by their old masters, somehow...surprisingly, Jacob seem has found a way to make himself useful again."

"I wonder what Jacob can offer...." Lori pondered, "Anchora works in the food industry, right? What do you think they can offer to make the organization and Luxemborough to take them back?"

"Don’t forget Orsus is in the tech industry," Fredhardt reminded her. "And Amanda’s sister is a bioengineer."

"Who knows," he sighed. "But don’t forget Amanda’s sister, Elena Reynolds. She works in biotechnology and is known to be a very talented biomedical engineer and biologist."

"Now that you remind me, that doesn’t sound good," Lory pressed her lips together.

"You think?" Fredhardt quipped

"You know what, at first, I had a plan to rope her over to our side, but for some reason, she was very hostile toward me."

Fredhardt rolled his eyes. "That might have something to do with Ethan Hamilton."

"What about him?" Lory asked indifferently. As far as she was concerned, she had already said more than once that she was married. If Elena refused to believe it, that wasn’t her fault.

Fredhardt understood Lory’s attitude. After all, Elena was already too involved. Furthermore, after seeing what she was capable of, Fredhardt didn’t think keeping someone as ambitious and ruthless as her was a wise decision.

"Anyway," he said, shifting the conversation, "you’re on your way to Veregio city, right?"

"Yes." Lory nodded slightly.

"Fargo told me to meet with this woman if I wanted to know anything suspicious going on in the Arwegian region, and I intend to find out which officials are involved with Orsus and Anchora, because none of this could have happened if someone in the upper levels of government gave them permission, so I want to know who that person is."

"Well, lucky for you," Fredhardt said casually, "Robert Augburn was reported to be visiting Veregio."

"Oh?" Lory raised a brow. "What’s he doing there? I thought they would’ve left before the attack."

Fredhardt let out a cold chuckle. "One name," he said. "Abigail Rose."

Lory’s eyes lit up, she leaned closer to the phone and whispered dramatically, "What?"

"Uh-huh," Fredhardt replied, her tone shifting to that of an old neighbor eager to share some juicy news. "People say, we shouldn’t mix business with pleasure... but the old man just can’t seem to control himself."

"Ohh...this Abigail Rose must be amazing," Lory’s voice was etched with admiration. Then she remembered the haughty woman she had met once, "Oh no, Mrs. Augburn will not be happy to hear about this."

"She will not," Fredhardt continued, his voice shifting into a mischievous tone, " Therefore, I advise you again to find Abigail Rose and make her want to cooperate with us."

A brief pause. "Preferably... willingly." Then he added casually, "Oh—and feel free to use Fargo’s name. You know... Apparently, the ’femme fatale’ Miss Rose has quite the soft spot for our Fargy."

"Oooh...I knew it!" Lory’s face lit up, "Oh, this is gonna be fun." Lory barely held her excitement for the next task.

Then she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, by the way, I sent something to N.I.M.S. for testing."

"Oh?" Fredhardt sounded mildly curious. "You used the usual channel, right? What did you send?"

"I’m not sure what it is yet," Lory replied. "That’s why I need you to check it."

"Understood, I’ll take care of it," Fredhardt said.

There was a brief pause before he added, "By the way, no matter what happens, always watch your back, Princess."

"Got it," Lory replied casually before ending the call.

As they drove along the road, the damage became more obvious the closer they got. Several buildings stood half-ruined, their walls split open like broken shells.

Windows were shattered, leaving jagged shards of glass clinging to the frames. Some structures had collapsed entirely, reduced to piles of twisted steel and cracked concrete.

The asphalt road was no better. Deep gouges and fractures ran across it, as if something massive had clawed through the ground. In several places, the black surface had been scorched by explosions, the burn marks spreading outward like dark, ugly scars.

A few sections of the road had been sealed off with warning barriers. Heavy construction machines rumbled loudly as they worked to repair the damage.

Excavators clawed at the broken asphalt while cranes lifted slabs of shattered concrete from the roadside. Workers in bright safety vests moved through the dust and noise, guiding the machines and clearing debris piece by piece.

The air was thick with the smell of burned metal and hot tar. Despite the steady activity, a strange heaviness lingered over the area. Conversations among the workers were quiet and brief, their expressions tense as they focused on their tasks. It was clear that the city was trying to recover, but still no one knew if the next attack would happen again.

After another six hours, they arrived at Veregio country. As one of the big cities in the arwegian country, and Veregio was widely known as the entertainment hub of the region. The city catered to everyone: luxurious clubs and theaters for the wealthy, lively bars, street performances, and crowded night markets for ordinary people.

On normal days, the city would glow with neon lights, music spilling from every corner, laughter and chatter filling the streets until late into the night.

But tonight, Veregio felt different.

The recent Bael attack had cast a shadow over the city.

The streets were noticeably quieter. Many shops had closed early, their once-bright signs dimmed or switched off entirely.

Even the few pedestrians walking along the sidewalks moved quickly, their voices hushed as if afraid to disturb the heavy atmosphere lingering in the air.

A faint tension hung over the city like an invisible fog. Even the nightlife, something Veregio was famous for, seemed subdued tonight.

Lory parked near the city center and looked out through the car window for a moment, silently observing the unusually quiet streets.

Then she checked into a nearby hotel that looked quite expensive, perhaps because it was located not far from the Grand Ivory Club, the place Fargo had mentioned. The suite they booked was on one of the higher floors, giving them a clear view of the elegant glass building across the street.

The club stood tall and dazzling in the night, its glass walls glowing under layers of golden lights, sparkling like a polished diamond amid the darker surroundings of the quiet city.

"What kind of place is this so-called gentleman’s club?" Zhao Li Xin asked, staring at the illuminated building through the window.

Lory followed his gaze. "Oh, that..."

She thought for a moment before answering. "Simply put, it’s a members-only place where the rich and famous gather," Lory said.

"A place where wealthy people indulge themselves with expensive wine and liquor, lounging on velvet chairs while smoking fancy cigars and watching performances that make them feel cultured... a place that allows them to believe they are more important than they truly are."

She paused briefly before adding with a faint smile. "And of course, no place satisfies a man’s ego more than the company of beautiful women."

Zhao Li Xin narrowed his eyes slightly. "So... a high-end brothel?"

"Not really." Lory shook her head. "Prostitution is illegal, and the government wouldn’t allow such behavior to occur openly."

After all, prostitution in any form is still considered taboo in society, and people like them care more about their reputation than anything else."

"Still, trich people would do whatever they want," She lifted her hand and waved it vaguely.

"So they simply find a way around it. Instead of calling them whores, they call these women escorts. When intimacy is exchanged for money, they don’t call it prostitution; they call it dating. And when a man keeps one woman exclusively and secretly in exchange for financial support, they don’t call her a mistress but a girlfriend... sometimes they even convince themselves that what they’re doing is a form of love."

"Amazing, right? How people like to fool themselves." Lory winked.

"Though it’s never entirely clear who really holds the reins, the man or the woman." Lory left out a small chuckle.

Zhao Li Xin had seen many women like that before. Some of the most skilled among them even worked under the vermillion palace led by Bei Li Yan.

"And this woman you’re about to meet," Zhao Li Xin said slowly, still watching the glowing club across the street, "I assume she must be opportunistic, perhaps a little greedy, and very manipulative to be able to maneuver herself among these men."

Lory’s smile deepened slightly. "I believe she might be that kind of woman," she admitted. "But I also have a feeling she still has her own bottom line. If not, Fargo wouldn’t have allowed me to meet her... and neither would Fredhardt."

She rested her cheek lightly on her hand, her eyes drifting back toward the dazzling building across the street. "Actually," she added with quiet curiosity, "I’m rather interested to see what kind of woman this Abigail Rose really is."