After dinner, Yu Lian first found a secluded small hotel near the Lightyear Stadium and booked the quietest small room. He first took out the materials he had obtained from the Shared Foundation and read them carefully once again.
An retired Lieutenant General, who had already been discharged from military service, was disgraced, could only engage in some civilian affairs, and was about to completely withdraw from the stage of history in a few years, actually had a spiritual energy user among his staff. If this isn't a problem, then what is?
However, what does "possibly carrying a spiritual energy treasure" mean? This information is too ambiguous, isn't it?
...Forget it, even if the Shared Foundation is the most reputable and capable intelligence dealer in the universe, it is not an omniscient and omnipotent god after all. If they could casually find out someone's ancestors eight generations back, plus the color of their underwear that day, then the first ones to destroy them would be the two great empires and the Virtual Spirit Temple.
This information is enough for action! The rest will be acting on opportunities.
Yu Lian pondered for a moment, took out the equipment he had obtained from Autumn Mountain Yawata, and began his "I reckon" work.
The more than a hundred small videos of making light spears with crude methods in his previous life were still fresh in Yu Lian's mind, and he hadn't forgotten these techniques, which was indeed a gratifying thing.
Two hours later, all the equipment was ready. Yu Lian packed them into a large backpack, put on his inconspicuous young man's hooded outfit again, and left the hotel.
He went straight to a Century Time Hotel, which was also his destination for this trip.
According to Marshal Paris, his destination for this trip—Lieutenant General Vincent, who absolutely had to die—was to appear here today and hold two consecutive charity banquets, claiming to establish a foundation to assist disabled veterans.
In fact, this foundation was indeed established and received support from many wealthy businessmen and philanthropists. For a period of time afterward, it did indeed help many veterans who had fallen into poverty.
As a result, Vincent, the coward who became the shame of the Commonwealth military in the New Paris Incident, instantly became the benevolent Vincent, and his reputation was instantly whitewashed. Later, some media began to get involved, finally launching an "investigation into the truth" of the New Paris Incident, and it's unclear what they were doing for the nearly twenty years before that.
Thinking of his mother who sacrificed in the New Paris Incident, Yu Lian didn't know whether to cry or laugh. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, quietly hid in the alley behind the hotel's back door, and waved to a young man dressed as a waiter who was coming out to take out the trash.
The young man stared blankly at Yu Lian, hesitated for a moment, but still walked over.
Yu Lian looked directly into the other's eyes and asked bluntly, "Today, is there a General Minqi Vincent who has booked a certain banquet hall at the hotel?"
The young waiter's eyes were a bit confused, but after a few seconds of daze, he still shook his head and said, "Sorry, sir, the hotel has an obligation to keep guests' private information confidential. I cannot disclose it to you."
Yu Lian didn't know whether to cry or laugh. The mental resistance of such a small waiter was much higher than that of high-ranking officials and military elites like Governor Yamadera and Captain Waylier.
"Who said Earthlings are beyond saving? Aren't there plenty of reliable young people?" Yu Lian smiled.
"Ah?" The young waiter was puzzled, but he felt that the other party was probably complimenting him, so he also smiled.
Yu Lian looked him up and down, finding that his height and build were similar to his own, then smiled and asked, "...By the way, how did you come to work here?"
"Ah, I just came yesterday..."
So, Yu Lian gave a thumbs up, showing his respect to the other party, and then unhesitatingly knocked him out.
Yu Lian dragged the young waiter deeper into the back alley, stripped off his uniform and ID card, and incidentally slipped a thousand yuan into his shirt. Only then did he put on the other's uniform and swaggered in through the back door.
The back door led to a busy kitchen, where at least a dozen people were busy cooking various dishes. Yu Lian walked along the aisle, swaggering forward. Whenever someone's gaze shifted to him, he would naturally dodge their attention with a sidestep, a crouch, or a turn.
Yu Lian thus directly passed through the back kitchen, picked up a tray with wine bottles and glasses, and then continued forward. He passed through the back kitchen and preparation room, pushed open a door, and ahead was a corridor. At the end of the corridor, it should connect to the assembly hall and restaurant.
"What are you doing with the wine? The banquet is tonight!" A lobby manager saw Yu Lian and quickly came over, saying, "Hurry, go upstairs to help, the Roman Hall on the second floor."
"My, mine is the Antioch Hall on the third floor."
"Are you confused? Today, only the Roman Hall has a gathering!" The lobby manager shouted, then looked at Yu Lian with a strange expression, "Wait, I don't know you! What are you..."
"I just came yesterday."
"Oh, yesterday...is that so?" The manager was a bit confused.
"By the way, is the Roman Hall on the second floor booked by a Lieutenant General Minqi Vincent?"
"No, it's Mr. Kord from Blue Standard Company, who booked it for two days. However, he did book a luxurious suite here for Lieutenant General Vincent..."
Confirmed, another familiar name. Yu Lian nodded, snapped his fingers, put down the tea tray, and walked away. By the time he was far away, the manager suddenly came to his senses, looking around in confusion, "Oh, why am I here?"
Yu Lian walked quickly with his head slightly lowered, letting the crisscrossing shadows obscure his face.
He appeared very humble with his lowered gaze, but his movements were swift and agile, completely in the manner of a well-trained waiter at a standard five-star hotel. He ascended to the second floor without any suspicion, found the so-called Roman Hall, and indeed it was being set up for a banquet. A poster board was placed at the main entrance of the hall, roughly stating "Retired Veterans Mutual Aid Discussion" and that the banquet would officially begin at 8 PM.
Two men dressed as wealthy businessmen stood not far from the poster board, conversing in low voices with mocking smiles. The content of their conversation naturally fell into Yu Lian's ears.
"So, Coward Vincent is back in the country with nothing to do and wants to beg for alms?"
"Didn't they say the parliamentary hearing had cleared his name? He didn't desert."
"Ha, a parliamentary hearing? Can you believe that?"
"At least it shows that he's now connected with some important figures and is back in favor, so it's good to make connections. It's only a matter of ten to twenty million, don't think I don't know that the fake antiques you bought last month cost more than that. It's better to use it for charity."
"Those are all genuine! Besides, why should my money be used for charity? Don't retired veterans have pensions and subsidies? Are they handless and legless and unable to work?"
"Hmph, this gathering was organized by Mr. Kord from Blue Standard Company. Are you donating or not?"
"Nonsense! Of course, I'll donate! Are you donating?"
"Nonsense, of course, I'll donate, otherwise why would I come so early?"
"Tsk, still hoping to come early and see if I can make connections with some important figures."
"That's why we're stupid, how could important figures come so early? Speaking of which, downstairs at this hotel...hehehe, some Terrabi girls have arrived..."
"You're really disgusting!"
"Going?"
"Going! Just be disgusting until eight o'clock and then come up!"
The two rich men were about to find a place to kill time, and before that, Yu Lian had already walked into the hall, discreetly placing the items he had prepared in his pocket into various indoor green plants.
These were button-sized listening devices he had personally modified, even more inconspicuous than a robot vacuum cleaner, but with excellent signal collection. The signal concealment device within them was even a future technology, making them very difficult to detect even with the most precise military instruments.
As a hero who had researched how to make light spears with crude methods in the future, it was quite reasonable for him to possess such skills.
Of course, no one would use the most advanced anti-espionage military instruments to scan this five-star hotel. Yu Lian figured he shouldn't have any problems. He worked as a waiter in the Roman Hall for two hours, scattering a dozen buttons throughout the hall, and incidentally helped arrange the interior decorations and confirm the menu.
He then went downstairs via the cargo passage and returned to the hotel lobby.
Yu Lian was about to leave the hotel, change his clothes, and then come back to wait for his prey.
However, just as he was about to leave, he heard a commotion at the entrance. His heart instinctively beat a few times faster, he frowned slightly, quickened his steps a little, and darted directly into the portico corridor on the left side of the lobby.
Then, four uniformed soldiers entered through the door. The two non-commissioned officers were both around thirty years old, robust and sharp-looking, clearly intimidating bodyguards. One Captain was only twenty-three or twenty-four, and though young, he had a capable demeanor, very much like a civilian elite. He was actually Yu Lian's "old friend," the famous former president of the Blueblood Brotherhood, that two-faced rotten scoundrel Hayden Waylier.
This guy actually wasn't affected by the "Academy Peeping Incident" and came out to fool around again!
Thus, the remaining General, about fifty years old, was naturally Waylier's boss, General Dawn Schwartz, the Chief of Staff who had awarded Yu Lian his medal.
A large group of well-dressed dignitaries and long-waiting reporters swarmed over, like seagulls spotting a fishing boat.
Needless to say, they must have also come for the so-called Veterans Mutual Aid Foundation.
...This was, somewhat of an unexpected "surprise."】}