French Embassy in Japan.
A tall, slender man with sharp features and a hooked nose polished his monocle.
Within the French Embassy stood a spacious private office.
The man's identity was self-evident.
As France's ambassador to Japan, recently beginning his second term, Eric currently felt somewhat vexed.
The source of his irritation was none other than the man currently video-calling him—that damned English troublemaker.
"My dear Ambassador Anthony, might I inquire as to the important matter prompting this special video conference invitation?"
Eric wore his diplomatic smile like a mask as he addressed the computer screen.
At this moment, on the computer screen, the elderly Anthony Eden with greying hair, age spots dotting his face and cloudy eyes slightly raised his gaze and chuckled softly:
"Eric, my old friend, I must share some good news with you."
"Just earlier, the Hidden Management Department sent word that our young Eastern friend has agreed to attend tomorrow morning's meeting."
"Oh?"
Eric paused in cleaning his glasses, putting them on his left eye before saying meaningfully:
"An Eastern friend? Director Luo? Now that's an interesting description."
Hearing Anthony, that English roast beef, actually refer to Luo Shu as an 'Eastern friend', almost made Eric burst out laughing.
After all, the last person Anthony had called a friend was Eric himself.
And that time, Eric had been royally screwed over by this English troublemaker, nearly losing his second term and getting recalled home.
Now, this old bastard was calling Luo Shu a friend too, which made Eric both grit his teeth in anger and struggle to suppress his laughter.
But amusement aside, Eric was somewhat surprised that Luo Shu had agreed to attend the meeting.
After all, the meeting's agenda was something everyone knew full well.
Even if Luo Shu was too young to understand, there were plenty of professionals within the SDS who would have briefed him thoroughly.
Under such circumstances, Luo Shu still agreeing to participate made Eric slightly nervous.
Young people, especially powerful young ones, were inevitably impulsive.
Before becoming an ambassador, Eric had worked in France's special investigations bureau, handling mystic side conflicts, developing private connections with several mystic side figures.
Thus, he knew some of the unspoken rules among the mystic community.
This knowledge made Eric increasingly concerned about the meeting.
'This could turn messy. Should I reinforce security? No, against monsters like Demigods, security would be meaningless...'
While thinking this, Eric said calmly:
"So, Ambassador Anthony's purpose was simply to notify me about the Hidden Management Department's participation?"
"If that's the case, thank you for the reminder. I'll attend tomorrow's meeting as usual."
Hearing this, Anthony's eyes narrowed as he cursed internally: 'Damn French frog.'
Having worked alongside Eric in Japan for over four years, Anthony knew exactly how troublesome this dishonourable frog could be. The bastard clearly understood his intentions but was deliberately avoiding the topic.
Before Eric could cut the call, Anthony had to intervene:
"Eric, what if we cooperate this time?"
"Hmm?"
Eric, who'd been about to disconnect, paused before replying in mock surprise:
"What do you mean, Mr Anthony? Cooperate? As fellow EU members, aren't we already closely united?"
'EU cooperation? Could that even be called cooperation? The kind where you build businesses while I sabotage them? Where you construct walls, and I tear them down?'
Anthony gave a hollow laugh, his smile not reaching his eyes:
"Closely united? I suppose we are. But we could become even closer."
"For instance... jointly studying a Demigod!"
Eric's eyelids twitched slightly, but he showed no other reaction.
Unsurprised, Anthony continued with a chuckle:
"Eric, you surely understand the allure of a living Demigod."
"Such allure would be truly regrettable to miss out on."Hearing this, Eric sneered, "Even if you ally with me, you're destined to fail in gaining much initiative at tomorrow's meeting..."
Then, Eric abruptly changed the subject and asked:
"What's Iman's stance?"
Though he mentioned Iman, both men understood.
Eric was actually considering America's position.
Whether America wanted to obtain a live Demigod, Eric naturally knew they'd be willing.
But whether they were willing to openly clash with the SDS—that was another question entirely.
After all, the SDS headquarters was in America, and their network was deeply rooted there. Whether America had direct channels to contact Luo Shu, the Demigod from the Hidden Management Department, and obtain his data outright—no one could say for sure.
But if Anthony's current outreach had Iman backing him, things might get interesting.
Had a rift formed between the SDS and America's higher-ups?
Or was Iman wary of China's stance and using Anthony to test his position?
There were far too many possibilities, and Eric couldn't afford to overlook them.
Facing Eric's question, Anthony chuckled and said:
"Iman? His stance aligns closely with mine."
'So no connection had been made—Iman had refused to cooperate with Anthony?'
Eric couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Then, Anthony continued:
"Eric, you should know that compared to Li Yizhou, our advantages aren't significant."
'So he'd contacted both Li Yizhou and Iman, but neither deal went through?'
'That meant the brute Nikolai from Russia must have been approached, too. Was this old fox Anthony hinting that he'd reached an understanding with Nikolai and Iman to counter Li Yizhou's faction?'
'But in reality, both China and America had rejected Anthony's cooperation—or perhaps his terms were too harsh. Was Anthony trying to drag me and Nikolai into tearing a piece of meat from their mouths?'
Eric's mind raced before he finally asked Anthony:
"My dear Anthony, what exactly are you after?"
Eric strongly suspected Anthony had more than just him in his schemes, and this direct question would yield no answers.
Sure enough, Anthony merely chuckled in response:
"Aren't we all after the same thing?"
'A live Demigod? Now that's a hot commodity...'
Eric fell silent at those words.
After a pause, facing Anthony's evasiveness, Eric replied just as vaguely:
"If possible, I'll offer some cooperation during tomorrow's meeting."
"I look forward to your assistance."
With that ambiguous reply, Anthony's face vanished from the computer screen.
The screen flickered, then went dark, reflecting Eric's pensive expression in the LCD monitor.
After several minutes of contemplation, Eric suddenly picked up the red phone before him and instructed his secretary:
"Get me Li Yizhou—yes, the Chinese ambassador."
...
Meanwhile, at the English Embassy in Japan.
After hanging up, Anthony also picked up his phone and calmly said:
"Connect me with Russia's Nikolai first, then arrange a call with Li Yizhou afterwards."