Gu Siyu saw her elder sister surrender to Ye Ling on her behalf. She didn't struggle much and, getting up from the ground with difficulty, followed Gu Yixue's example by kowtowing to Ye Ling and pledging, "Gu Siyu is willing to follow my sister and serve Master."
Bai Qiaoxin Mo, behind Ye Ling, saw the two sisters in suits kneeling respectfully before Ye Ling. She couldn't help but say to Ye Ling, "Master, although these sisters seem to have pledged loyalty to you, no one knows if they are truly loyal."
"What if they are threatened by the Dragon Department again and betray you, Master?"
Upon hearing Bai Qiaoxin Mo's words, Gu Yixue's eyes flickered slightly. She quickly said to Ye Ling, "Master, our loyalty is as clear as the sun and moon! Please believe us, we will never betray you!"
Bai Qiaoxin Mo muttered, "Anyone can say anything. Who really knows?"
Gu Yixue's eyes clearly showed a hint of panic at being retorted. She was afraid that Ye Ling would misunderstand and kill them, so she wanted to express her loyalty to Ye Ling.
However, faced with Bai Qiaoxin Mo's questioning, Gu Yixue couldn't find any point to refute and only became more flustered.
After all, Bai Qiaoxin Mo was Ye Ling's disciple, and they had just been enemies. No matter what, Ye Ling would believe his disciple, not them, outsiders.
Seeing that the Gu sisters were being driven to distraction by Bai Qiaoxin Mo, Ye Ling couldn't help but shake his head and smile. He said to Bai Qiaoxin Mo, "That's enough. Don't trouble the sisters. I'm not looking for confidantes, so the standards aren't that strict."
To Ye Ling, the Gu sisters were merely tools to understand the Dragon Department. After the matter concerning the Dragon Department was resolved, Ye Ling would set them free. What they did afterward would have nothing to do with Ye Ling.
Even if they defected again, it would have no impact on Ye Ling.
In the end, the strength of the Gu sisters was too low to affect the overall situation.
Seeing that Ye Ling had extricated them, Gu Yixue breathed a sigh of relief. She then thanked Ye Ling, "Thank you for your trust, Master. My sister and I will definitely not disappoint you."
Ye Ling nodded, healed their injuries with his spiritual power, and then said, "Get up. I have some questions for you."
When Gu Yixue saw that her injuries had completely healed, and even her sister's broken hand had regrown, her beautiful eyes widened in shock, and she froze on the spot!
The strength Ye Ling displayed far exceeded her imagination!
After a moment of stunned silence, Gu Yixue finally came back to her senses. She quickly pulled Gu Siyu up and said excitedly to Ye Ling, "Thank you, Master!"
Seeing the sisters' excited expressions, Ye Ling just smiled and then asked, "Tell me, what happened in the Dragon Department? This living area should be the most populated part of the underground base. Why is there no one here now?"
Gu Yixue did not hide anything and frankly replied, "Reporting to Master, not long before Master arrived here, a group of high-ranking officials from the Dragon Department brought a group of black-robed people here to perform a grand ritual."
"After that, everyone in the living area mysteriously disappeared."
Ye Ling raised an eyebrow and asked, "You don't know where those people went?"
Gu Yixue shook her head, "No. At that time, my sister and I were not on this level, and Long Fei had cut off contact between the levels. Other employees within the Dragon Department still don't know what happened here."
Ye Ling continued to ask, "What role did Long Fei play in this matter?"
Gu Yixue thought for a moment before replying, "Long Fei didn't seem to welcome those black-robed people and opposed what those high-ranking officials were doing. However, it seems he was blackmailed and had to follow their arrangements."
"So that's how it is..." Hearing Gu Yixue's answer, Ye Ling lowered his eyelids, lost in thought.
After a moment of contemplation, Ye Ling said to the Gu sisters, "I understand everything. You can wait outside first."
"Yes..." Gu Yixue and Gu Siyu responded respectfully and quickly retreated.
Seeing that the two sisters had left, Bai Qiaoxin Mo couldn't help but ask, "Master, you can't even be sure if what they said is true, and you just let them go?"
"Without any countermeasures, what if they run away?"
Ye Ling said, "The questions I asked are not confidential. Anyone from the Dragon Department can easily find out by asking others. They have no reason to lie."
"Besides, given the current situation of the Dragon Department, where could they possibly run to?"
Bai Qiaoxin Mo frowned and hesitated, "But I still don't trust them."
Ye Ling leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes, and said, "I've noticed that you, my girl, are too suspicious. Instead of worrying about others, you should take care of your own affairs first."
"Understood..."
After being admonished by Ye Ling, Bai Qiaoxin Mo knew she had spoken too much and stopped talking, continuing to massage Ye Ling's shoulders and back.
The room fell silent again.
Not long after, the barrier in the room was removed. Long Fei, with a smiling face, re-entered with the Gu sisters and said to Ye Ling, "I apologize for keeping Your Majesty waiting."
"My procedures are all prepared. We can now proceed to the lowest level."
Bai Qiaoxin Mo glared at Long Fei and complained, "You're acting as if nothing happened."
Long Fei just chuckled at Bai Qiaoxin Mo's complaint and didn't respond directly.
With the Gu sisters'蛊种 (gu worms) gone and Li Wuxin having disappeared from the room, Long Fei could roughly guess what had happened here even without asking.
However, since Ye Ling didn't bring it up, he was naturally happy to play dumb and gloss over it.
Ye Ling, as if unaffected by what had just happened, stretched lazily and said to Long Fei, "Since you're ready, let's go. Time is limited, and we need to resolve this quickly."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Long Fei paused, then, as if he understood nothing, respectfully bowed to Ye Ling and said, "Your Majesty, allow me to lead the way."
Soon, Long Fei led Ye Ling into the elevator, heading directly to the lowest level of the base.
Compared to the bright spaces of the other levels, this lowest level was extremely dim. The surroundings were all exposed rock walls, with only a few red lights embedded in the walls for illumination.
Upon exiting the elevator, Ye Ling saw a massive stone gate directly opposite the elevator. On either side of the gate were carvings of figures seated on thrones.
Both statues were headless, but they exuded a powerful aura, collectively supporting a barrier.
It was clear that Ye Ling's divine soul couldn't probe this lowest level before because of the barrier supported by these two statues.
Ye Ling glanced at the two headless statues, feeling that the aura they exuded was very familiar, but he couldn't recall where he had encountered it before. He then asked Long Fei, "What are this stone gate and the statues above?"
Long Fei replied, "I'm not afraid of Your Majesty laughing, but this stone gate was here before our base was built. We don't know who the people above are."
"We've also sent experts to analyze it. This stone gate is hundreds of millions of years old. But back then, humans didn't even exist. We don't know how this gate appeared. The origin of the gate remains a mystery."
Ye Ling joked, "Isn't this a major discovery? And you're keeping it hidden?"
Long Fei laughed, "Your Majesty, please don't tease us. Our base was already built and in use when we discovered this stone gate later. If we publicized this discovery, wouldn't it be as if our base was built in vain?"
"That makes sense."
Ye Ling nodded, then asked again, "I see this lowest level only has this stone gate. Where are the top-secret projects you mentioned?"
"They are inside the stone gate. Your Majesty, please follow me."
Long Fei walked towards the stone gate, but before he could take a few steps, an overwhelmingly suffocating pressure emanated from the stone gate, directly forcing Long Fei to his knees!
Rumble...
The stone gate slowly opened, and a rather childish voice came from within, "Ye Ling, we've been waiting for you for a long time..."