Xiao Feng looked at Lin with a faint smile and said, "I want the coordinates of as many E-class magical beasts as you can provide. If possible, add some D-class ones too—I wish to see if I have the strength to challenge them."
His words left both Rice and Lin momentarily speechless. Rice exaggeratedly exclaimed, "You're out of your damn mind! I'm not going to throw my life away hunting D-class beasts with you! If I go along, I might as well declare myself a lunatic!"
Lin, however, remained composed and asked with a calm smile, "What is it that you're truly after? Why are you collecting so many E-class beast coordinates?"
"I need money—a lot of it—and quickly. As for the real reason, I can't tell you yet. It's not that I don't trust you; I'm just afraid that if word leaks, it could bring danger upon us all. So for now, don't ask questions—just help me find a way to make money."
Lin furrowed his brow. "You're definitely plotting something big—perhaps something that would harm the Alliance. Well, if it's against the Alliance, I'm all in. Anything that weakens them strengthens us, Kill. That's all I'll say. Here's to our cooperation. I'll wake Thunder Eye right away and get him to dig up all the intel on E-class beasts for you."
Xiao Feng gestured with a courteous wave. Lin chuckled and walked away.
Rice stared at Xiao Feng in disbelief. "What exactly are you planning? The more I try to understand you, the less I can grasp what's in your mind."
Xiao Feng only smiled. "Just wait. When the time is right, I'll tell you everything."
Thunder Eye, looking utterly miserable, was dragged out of his room by Lin and thrown in front of a computer. "Hurry up and gather all available data and known locations for E-class magical beasts!"
Thunder Eye grumbled, "What do you need so much E-class data for? You can't even kill them!"
Lin laughed lightly. "With Xiao Feng and Rice on board, we actually might."
Thunder Eye glanced at the two from afar, clicked his tongue, and then his fingers began dancing rapidly over the keyboard. Like a stroll in the park, he slipped into the Alliance's classified database, extracting every bit of information on E-class magical beasts and downloading it onto a data chip.
"Now download the D-class beast data as well."
With a few more keystrokes, Thunder Eye pulled that up too.
Then Lin's ambition surged even further. "Download the C-class beast data as well…"
"Are you insane? Or just high? C-class beasts are meant for Level 8 ability users. You two barely reach Level 5, and you think you can mess with C-class beasts?"
"Calm down. I'm not saying we'll fight them right away—just download the data. We might need it."
Shaking his head, Thunder Eye complied. Within minutes, he had collected intelligence that had taken the Alliance's intelligence division untold resources to gather. If their head of operations ever found out, he'd probably cough up blood in rage.
Lin took the chip and slotted it into a specialized wristwatch. With two taps, the screen sprang to life, expanding outward on both sides and forming a fully functional tracking interface.
Lin grinned as he gazed at the glowing green dots—representing E-class beast locations—some of which were even moving. "Flawless…"
"If we could link this to satellite imaging, it'd be even better."
"How would that work?"
Thunder Eye grabbed the watch, hooked it up to the computer, typed in a slew of programs, and uploaded them to the device. After some quick adjustments, he unhooked the cable and proudly handed it back. "Try it now."
Lin turned it on again. This time, a satellite map appeared. Zooming in on a single green dot revealed a high-resolution image of a magical beast.
His eyes widened in astonishment. With this, they effectively possessed real-time tracking of every E-class beast on Earth. Clapping Thunder Eye on the shoulder, he exclaimed, "Outstanding—truly outstanding."
"Ow, easy! That hurts…"
Lin handed the watch to Xiao Feng, who was equally impressed and strapped it onto his wrist. Zooming in on Godo City and its fifty-kilometer surroundings, he found several green dots nearby. Randomly selecting one, the screen magnified to show an enormous, four-horned rhinoceros.
Staring at the image, Xiao Feng murmured, "Just how tough is that thing's armor? Should we take it down first?"
"Let's check its stats…"
He opened the data: "Exceptional defense, capable of withstanding machine gun fire; immense strength, able to topple tanks. However, it only moves at a maximum of 40 kilometers per hour. Hmm… there may be an opening."
"Goddamn it, Xiao Feng, are you insane? This is what an E-class beast looks like—it can shrug off heavy firepower! You can't be serious…"
Xiao Feng chuckled. "No one's forcing you to come. If we succeed, we'll split the profits from the crystal core with Lin. Do you know how much a core from an E-class beast is worth?"
A long string of digits danced through Rice's mind. Gritting his teeth, he growled, "Fine. I'm in. But we need to prepare thoroughly."
"What kind of preparations?"
"We need to visit Glass and get some rocket launchers, bombs—whatever we can."
"Sounds good. Let's go."
Lin, however, doused Rice's enthusiasm with a cold dose of realism. "I doubt any of that will help. The Alliance already knows these beasts' locations and surely tried to eliminate them. Think about it—if even their advanced weapons didn't succeed, what does that tell us?"
Xiao Feng's expression grew serious. "You're right. The fact that these creatures still roam in such numbers means there's something more going on…"
Rice asked hesitantly, "Like what?"