When the scene fell into a bit of silence, Shang Jianyao suddenly said with "horror":

"You want to kill us to silence us?"

Butler Ulrich paused for several seconds before responding:

"Mr. Di Marco has allowed you to bring weapons, but not to wear military exoskeletons."

Quite confident… Jiang Baimian came back to her senses and decided to agree after a little thought:

"Okay."

Regardless of Di Marco's reasons for suddenly wanting to see them, this was a rare opportunity.

Moreover, before entering the "Underground Ark," they could report to the Vigilance Church to ensure more safety.

As they walked out towards their jeep, Jiang Baimian didn't hide her confusion and directly asked Butler Ulrich:

"Why did Mr. Di Marco suddenly change his mind? He refused our meeting request yesterday."

Ulrich slowly shook his head:

"I'm not too sure either. I'm just following my master's instructions."

Jiang Baimian was about to ask if anything unusual had happened inside the "Underground Ark" from last night until now, or if Di Marco had learned any new information when Shang Jianyao curiously asked:

"Are you really sure that's still Mr. Di Marco? He's been wearing a mask every day recently."

Good question… Jiang Baimian closed her mouth and waited for Ulrich to respond.

Ulrich glanced at the four members of the "Old Task Force":

"If one of you were replaced, even if the imposter's hair color, height, and build were very close to the original one, and they always wore a mask, wouldn't you be able to recognize them?

"If it's just a brief contact in an emergency, it might indeed be confusing, but living together every day, habits, behaviors, hobbies, demeanor, and accent are hard to hide, unless you've observed them for many years in advance, which is unlikely within the 'Underground Ark.' Everyone knows who's dead and who's alive."

"Indeed," Jiang Baimian agreed with Ulrich's statement.

After they got into their respective vehicles, they headed towards the Vigilance Church on the north side of the city ruins.

After exchanging a few words with Watcher Song He, the four members of the "Old Task Force" followed Ulrich to the first basement level and entered one of the elevator lobbies.

There were three seemingly heavy, dark gray elevators here, with two small LCD monitors embedded in the spaced areas.

After Ulrich communicated with the "Underground Ark" internally via video, one of the elevators opened its doors.

The interior of the car was well-maintained, with a wood-colored floor and metal walls that were mirror-like.

"The private reception room is on the second basement level, which will make it relatively easier for you to escape the Ark," Ulrich introduced.

"Thank you," Jiang Baimian didn't know how to respond and simply imitated Shang Jianyao.

As they spoke, the elevator doors closed in front of them, and the car slowly descended.

Soon, the elevator stopped, and the four members of the "Old Task Force" saw a beige-colored long carpet outside.

Following the thick carpet and the hallway lit by wall lamps, they arrived at a room guarded by as many as eight people.

Two of them were even wearing dark gray military exoskeletons, which appeared to be newer models.

No wonder they allowed us to bring weapons… Long Yuehong suddenly realized.

The "Underground Ark" held an absolute advantage in firepower!

Ulrich knocked on the door, waited for two seconds, and said:

"Master, the guests have arrived."

"Let them in," a slightly magnetic voice came from inside the room.

Pushing open the red wooden door with reliefs, Jiang Baimian habitually glanced around, taking in the situation inside.

This seemed to be a very normal reception room, with a coffee table, a sofa, a carpet, a wooden cabinet, chairs, and a crystal chandelier, nothing special except for being more luxurious.

At this moment, only Di Marco was in the room.

His temples were flaxen, he was wearing a black cassock with an old-world style, a matching old-fashioned soft hat, and a mask with a black background and white patterns. Because he was sitting, his height was not very visible.

With a light blue gaze, Di Marco pointed to the long sofa opposite the coffee table and said:

"Sit down."

After Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and the others took their seats, Butler Ulrich exited the room and closed the heavy wooden door.

Just as Di Marco was about to speak, Shang Jianyao suddenly smiled:

"You are not a qualified Vigilance Sect believer."

Di Marco placed his right leg on his left leg and asked without any anger:

"How so?"

His voice was a standard baritone with a touch of magnetism, using pure Old World Nu Lake area Red River language.

"Your guards are all outside the door. If we launched an attack without warning, we could completely subdue you before the two military exoskeletons could support us, making you a hostage," Jiang Baimian explained in place of Shang Jianyao. "That's not vigilant enough."

Di Marco leaned back slightly and laughed:

"Perhaps it's because I have enough confidence?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Jianyao asked again curiously and excitedly:

"Are you stronger than that merman god envoy?"

Di Marco was speechless for a moment and said after a few seconds:

"Perhaps there are other arrangements in the room."

He didn't continue the topic, raised his hand to touch his black-and-white mask, and breathed a sigh:

"I asked you here to talk about the temple on Lake Heart Island, to talk about Yan Hu."

Yan Hu… that sleeping "god"? Jiang Baimian asked in slight surprise:

"You know Yan Hu, no, did your ancestors know Yan Hu?"

She didn't expect that it was because they had explored the temple that they had received Di Marco's invitation.

Di Marco leaned back on the back of the single sofa and smiled:

"In the early years, when my great-grandfather and grandfather were still alive, they heard about Lake Heart Island and Yan Hu.

"That was at the end of the Era of Chaos. The Ark began to connect with the outside world and exchange supplies. My grandfather's intelligence officers and the relic hunters in the surrounding area—ha, they probably weren't called that back then because there wasn't a Hunter's Guild yet—anyway, they all noticed the situation on Lake Heart Island and learned of Yan Hu's existence.

"Yan Hu had demonstrated unusually magical and powerful abilities and was treated as a god. It wasn't until we accepted the Vigilance Sect and believed in 'You Gu' that we realized this might be a very powerful Awakened.

"Initially, we had too many things to deal with and never had the opportunity to establish contact with Lake Heart Island. Later, they suddenly sealed off the island, and no one went out again.

"Gradually, my grandfather and father forgot about this matter. In any case, the changes on Lake Heart Island didn't affect the Ark.

"Last night, I heard that you went to Lake Heart Island and explored Yan Hu's temple, and I suddenly became a little curious, so I thought of inviting you to chat."

This is probably more than just a little curiosity… This matter can actually make you break the "Underground Ark's" many years of rules and invite outsiders in… You and Yan Hu must have some kind of connection… In that instant, several thoughts flashed through Jiang Baimian's mind.

"I see." She put on an act as if she understood everything and roughly recounted her and Shang Jianyao's exploration, the only thing she didn't mention was that when Shang Jianyao used his Awakened ability to influence the sleeping Yan Hu, he saw someone crawling in the darkness and begging for help.

Di Marco tapped the armrest of the sofa lightly with his right index finger, repeating a phrase as if lost in thought:

"A new world…"

He seemed very concerned about this.

A few seconds later, Di Marco glanced around and said with a smile:

"Thank you for sharing. Don't you want to know about the Old World? You can ask questions now."

He didn't delve into the details, giving people the feeling that he didn't care at all whether the "Qian Bai Team" had hidden any gains.

This was extremely contradictory to the concern he had shown earlier.

Jiang Baimian restrained her doubts and asked:

"Mr. Di Marco, did your ancestors know in advance that the Old World would be destroyed?"

Di Marco shook his head:

"He was just a fanatical doomsday enthusiast who happened to be relatively wealthy and influential."

"Then were there any signs before the Old World was destroyed? Did you encounter anything before you hid in the 'Underground Ark'?" Jiang Baimian continued to ask.

Di Marco said in a reminiscent tone:

"I heard my grandfather mention that they initially decided to hide in the 'Underground Ark' to avoid a sudden war. As a result, not long after, the 'Heartless Disease' broke out outside.

"The inside was not spared either. Many servants turned into 'Heartless' without warning, bringing a bloody chaos. My great-grandfather then led my grandfather and other family members to further isolate themselves. Fortunately, the 'Heartless Disease' didn't seem to be contagious."

As expected, the disordered war and the "Heartless Disease" are the superficial reasons for the destruction of the Old World… Even people who hid underground in advance can get the "Heartless Disease"? The company only organized survivors to enter the underground building after the "Heartless Disease" broke out… Jiang Baimian remembered a few key points and then asked about other things.

After some conversation, they gained some understanding of the state of the city ruins of Redstone Collection in the Old World:

The area west and north of Nu Lake belonged to the Ashlanders, while the area east and south of Nu Lake entered the Red River Basin. Nu Lake was the border between a country that spoke Ashlander and a country that spoke Red River language.

Therefore, some of the islands in the lake were inhabited by Ashlanders, and some were inhabited by Red River people.

The city ruins of Redstone Collection were located in the southeast corner of Nu Lake, and originally belonged to the Red River country, but because it was a border city, many Ashlander immigrants settled there, and the population ratio exceeded 30 percent.

Di Marco's ancestors were the largest builders in the city's country and maintained good relations with many local councilors.

"Thank you for your answer." After confirming that she couldn't extract more information related to the destruction of the Old World from Di Marco, Jiang Baimian sincerely thanked him and then added, "We still have two simple questions."

Not giving Di Marco a chance to refuse, she directly asked:

"Have you ever met a relic hunter named Lars?"

As she spoke, she took out the photo that Lehman had given her.

"Lars?" Di Marco suddenly laughed. "You can go back and tell Lehman that Lars has found his true love in the Ark. If he doesn't believe it, he can come to the Vigilance Church, and I'll let Lars have a video conversation with him."

"Huh?" Jiang Baimian and the others never expected such an answer.