Chapter 589: The Lord of Red Dust Amidst the Flowers

Chen Ling was very familiar with the scroll on the table; it was the one he had retrieved after infiltrating the Big Dipper Consortium disguised as a special envoy of the Golden Society. There was even a Jack of Spades mark on the back of the scroll.

So this thing was smuggled out of the Red Dust Base by the Jack of Spades?

"The Jack of Spades tampered with this painting; the real content is hidden beneath the original image... Open it and see."

Chen Ling unfolded the scroll on the table, and after his gaze swept across its surface, his pupils contracted slightly.

Chen Ling clearly remembered opening this painting at the Big Dipper Consortium as well, but back then, it was a painting of a lady. Now, what was displayed before him was a beautiful figure in a scientific lab coat, sleeping amidst petals adorned with blood.

"The Jack of Spades infiltrated the Floating Life Painting and has been out of contact for so long, only to send out this one thing... It's a pity that we still haven't been able to decipher the content of this painting," the Ten of Diamonds sighed heavily.

"And we don't even know who this woman in the painting is..."

"The Lord of Red Dust."

Chen Ling spoke up suddenly.

As soon as these three words were spoken, the others present were stunned, looking at Chen Ling blankly. "What did you say?"

"The person in the painting is the Lord of Red Dust," Chen Ling repeated firmly.

"...How did you recognize her?" Jian Changsheng asked, unconvinced.

"I've seen her in the Era Archive."

This answer instantly convinced the other members of the Twilight Society. After all, with Chen Ling holding the [Spirit Treasure], it was indeed possible for him to return to the era before the Great Catastrophe and meet the Lord of Red Dust from back then, and Chen Ling had no reason to lie to them.

The Jack of Spades frowned and said:

"The Jack of Spades sent this painting out... what did he want to convey?"

"To let us know what the Lord of Red Dust looks like? Or is there a clue to her location hidden inside?" Jian Changsheng picked up the scroll and began to examine it carefully.

"These blood-like petals around the Lord of Red Dust are indeed rare... Maybe we really can use this as a clue to find the location of the Red Dust Base. The Lord of Red Dust is right there!"

"I've been in the Red Dust Domain for so long and have never seen these kinds of petals. Ten of Diamonds, have you?"

"I haven't either."

Just as everyone was studying the surrounding petals, Chen Ling, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke:

"Have you realized a problem?"

"What problem?"

"The Lord of Red Dust is not staying in a life-support pod to extend her life."

Everyone froze in place.

Only now did they notice the most important part of the painting... the Lord of Red Dust herself.

Previously, whether it was the Lord of Ruoshui or the Lord of Aurora, they were all immersed in life-support pods, with every means used to extend their lives since over three hundred years ago—fusion experiments, drug formulations, and even attempts to replicate their "theories" themselves...

Only the Lord of Red Dust was not immersed in a life-support pod, and there wasn't even any scientific equipment visible around her. She was just lying there naturally, as if sleeping amidst red petals.

"How is this possible... If there's no life-support pod, she should have died of old age hundreds of years ago."

"What are the people at the Red Dust Base doing? They actually let her lie in a bed of flowers?"

"Come to think of it, don't you find it strange? Up until now, the Red Dust Domain hasn't shown any signs of collapse, nor has there been any Gray World intersection... This indicates that the Lord of Red Dust's domain is still in a very stable state."

This statement once again awakened everyone. Previously, when the Aurora Domain was on the verge of destruction, the frequency of Gray World intersections was gradually increasing. Not only could it not cover the seven major districts, but even after retreating to Aurora City, disaster intersections appeared. Even the disasters of the Forbidden Sea could sense the weakness of the Lord of Aurora and surrounded the area in advance.

But the current Red Dust Domain shows no signs of collapse at all!

"Could it be that there is still a long time before the Lord of Red Dust's lifespan comes to an end?"

"But the Red King's prophecy has never been wrong. If he said the Red Dust Domain is going to perish, then it really is going to perish... Where exactly is the problem..."

Everyone gathered around the Jack of Spades' painting, lost in deep thought.

"Perhaps the key to the problem is not with the Lord of Red Dust..." Chen Ling thought of those spies from the Wuji Domain, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I've also gained some things during this time..."

As Chen Ling truthfully recounted everything that had happened since he returned to the Red Dust Domain, the surprise in the eyes of the others grew even more intense. They were not only shocked by the speed at which the Wuji Domain had acted, but also impressed by Chen Ling's ability to play both major factions.

The Floating Life Painting and the Wuji Domain were like two spinning tops, being played around by Chen Ling's whip...

"Could it be that the crisis in the Red Dust Domain comes from the Wuji Domain?"

"Regardless, let's find a way to locate the Red Dust Base first," Chen Ling said proactively. "As long as we can rescue the Jack of Spades, all the doubts might be resolved."

"That's right... But over the past few months, the Six of Spades and I have actually searched almost every possible place in the main city, and there's still no sign of the Red Dust Base."

"Could it be buried underground, like the Aurora Base?"

"It's hard to say... This place isn't like the Aurora Domain, where law enforcement officers walk the streets and people are always entering the Aurora Base, so you can find the entrance if you just pay a little attention. The Red Dust Base is too mysterious; neither the ordinary residents nor the police officers responsible for maintaining order have ever heard of its existence."

Chen Ling pondered for a long time, quickly listing things on a notepad:

"Now, we have a few plans... First, based on the petal clue on the scroll, we cast a wide net and use my connections and influence to see if we can find this place;

Second, find someone who might know the location of the Red Dust Base and try to get information from them;

Third, find a way to lure out members of the Floating Life Painting, then secretly follow them to find the Red Dust Base...

Relatively speaking, the third method is too risky. We finally have an absolutely safe habitat, so luring out the Floating Life Painting is still too risky."

"I agree. We haven't reached the point where we must take risks yet. We can try the first two plans first..."

"The first plan is easy enough. With the Six of Hearts' current popularity, he can completely use the name of commercial performances to approach major consortia and political groups. The problem is this second plan...

In this Red Dust main city, who is most likely to understand the ins and outs of the Floating Life Painting and know the location of the Red Dust Base?"

The few of them thought for a moment, and as if they had thought of something, they all turned to look at Chen Ling, their expressions somewhat subtle...

The corner of Chen Ling's mouth twitched slightly, and at this moment, a name also surfaced in his mind.

"Sorry, Director Wang..."