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Madiath's affected smile caused Dirk's eyes to narrow slightly.
After all, Madiath was right.
Dirk had long anticipated this outcome.
It was not something difficult to predict.
Previously, during his meeting with Fang Li, Dirk had confirmed that this person would pose an obstacle to him.
In this situation, Dirk's trump card was still in Fang Li's hands.
Moreover, Fang Li's master was the Monster Immortal, someone who made everyone wary.
If that individual spoke up, with their influence, even if it was somewhat difficult, it would not be impossible to pry Orphelia away from Dirk.
Thus, Dirk had already foreseen all of this and had made many preparations.
Unfortunately, Dirk's meticulous calculations had still overlooked two factors.
First: Orphelia's change in mindset.
Under Fang Li's influence, this Strega (Witch), who had previously been like a Doll under his control, had actually cooperated with Fang Li, causing a ripple in her previously drifting life.
Second: Fan Xinglou's determination.
To fulfill Fang Li's request, Fan Xinglou had invested far more than Dirk had imagined.
Additionally, Dirk had always been on guard against Fang Li, harboring a slight wariness, believing that once his preparations took effect, Fang Li would definitely make a move.
As a result, he had been completely deceived and had lost a significant amount of energy.
This reminded Dirk of something Fang Li had once said.
"A clever person may become the victim of his own ingenuity."
Dirk had been misled by Fang Li in this way, twice.
In the end, Dirk could not avoid losing Orphelia and could only watch as "Jie Long" and "Solnage" reached an agreement, causing him to lose Orphelia, his ghost card.
"This is really a bit troublesome now," Madiath shrugged and said. "That Strega (Witch) is the key to our plan. Now that she has been taken away, our plan can only be declared bankrupt."
"Stop talking nonsense," Dirk retorted irritably. "Indeed, Orphelia is the key to the plan; even the importance of all of us combined does not compare to hers. But before we met with you, hadn't you already been planning?"
In other words, before Orphelia appeared when Dirk and Madiath had not yet cooperated, Madiath had already been preparing the so-called plan.
"That guy who only uses other people's bodies to run around is the same, right?" Dirk stared hard at Madiath and said. "You had already done a lot before I showed up, hadn't you?"
The person Dirk was referring to was, of course, Valda.
"If you're talking about Valda, she's still adapting to the new body. It's quite rare to find someone with a high compatibility rating with her, and she just managed to find one recently," Madiath said evasively. "So now, we can't rely on her power anymore, can we?"
"So stop talking nonsense!" Dirk interrupted Madiath rudely. "I don't care what that mechanical woman is like; I just want to know what you plan to do now! You're the one who established a non-aggression treaty with those people!"
"On this point, I would like to investigate," Madiath sighed and said. "Unfortunately, we no longer have the ability."
Madiath's words made Dirk's brows twitch.
"Think about it carefully; that man has already become a threat we cannot ignore, hasn't he?" Madiath said straightforwardly. "That 'Banyuu Tenra' is willing to go to great lengths to negotiate with two Integrated Enterprise Foundations for him. That 'Lonely Poison Strega (Witch)' is now by his side, and in this year, he has gained unimaginable growth. If we want to confront this force, we must invest all our energy."
"But that's not feasible, is it?" Madiath looked at Dirk and said. "For us, what truly matters is the plan."
"…Are you saying that Orphelia's value isn't worth us investing all our energy?" Dirk said coldly. "Even if Orphelia is the key to the plan, isn't that the same?"
"If this 'Key' is unique, then we must take it back." Madiath said with a hint of meaning. "However, if there is not just one, then we need to consider it carefully."
Dirk's eyes suddenly sparkled.
For these people, Orphelia was not important at all.
What truly mattered was not the person "Orphelia-Landlufen," but rather the results of the "experiment" that Orphelia represented.
"The technique to create the 'Lonely Poison Strega (Witch)' was only successfully achieved once by Arlequint, and there has been no success since."
Madiath explained with a confident tone.
"However, they have not given up on this experiment."
Dirk understood what Madiath was implying.
At that moment, Dirk spoke up.
"Are you suggesting you want to create another 'Lonely Poison Strega (Witch)'?"
Hearing this, Madiath did not answer directly but smiled and said, "According to our calculations, as long as we find a suitable sample, the success rate is over 90%!"
However, finding that "suitable sample" was the most challenging issue.
If it were easy to find, there wouldn't have only been one Orphelia born over the years.
"Of course, finding an exact match would be very difficult, but lowering some requirements to create a substandard version shouldn't be a problem."
Madiath casually stated this harsh reality.
"I believe that instead of provoking those people, this approach would actually be more beneficial for us to restart our plan."
Madiath's calm demeanor only fueled Dirk's anger.
Emotionally, Dirk wanted revenge.
Rationally, he recognized Madiath's perspective.
And Dirk's rational side far outweighed his emotional side.
Thus, Dirk felt even more frustrated.
So, Dirk made one last attempt.
"...What if that guy comes to obstruct us again?"
To this, Madiath only provided one answer.
"Then we will have to see if that person is still here at that time."
After all, if they wanted to restart that so-called plan, it was impossible in the short term.
And during this time, Fang Li would likely graduate and leave this city.
Given this, the matter still had nothing to do with Fang Li.
Perhaps, in the future, some righteous protagonist would stand up to stop these people, but unfortunately, that person was destined not to be Fang Li.
This was the last intersection between Fang Li and these individuals.
Nothing more than that.
(End Of This Chapter)