Yama Rising

Franklin wore a furious expression as he stood in front of the window in silence, and only after a long while did he ask through gritted teeth, "What about during the conference? Did they arrange a research team to appear during the conference?"

Generally speaking, reports of durations of half an hour, 45 minutes, 60 minutes, and perhaps even longer in some special cases, were delivered during international conferences like this. Of course, the durations of the reports were decided based on their level of importance.

For many small underworlds, they were perhaps unable to earn a half-hour time slot even over the course of several centuries, whereas for the four pillars, 45 minutes was a bare minimum, and 60-minute reports were very commonplace. Furthermore, this was the end-of-year energy resource wrap-up conference, and according to past conventions, all reports were expected to go overtime.

"… No…"

Franklin swung around violently as his lips trembled with rage.

"Then what the hell has the Cathayan Underworld come here to do?!" His voice was filled with unbridled fury as he yelled, "We are the Euler's Gem No. 1 Energy Resource Research Station, an organization that they've signed a research and development agreement with! Is this how they treat their allies?!"

Thump! He slammed his fist violently onto the glass with an expression that was twisted with rage.

The scientist beside him sighed, "Benjamin, the agreement that we've signed only begins to take effect after we enter the Cathayan Underworld. Prior to that, they have no obligation to report the progress of their research and development to us."

Franklin closed his eyes as he gently held a hand over his own chest. "There's no longer a heart here, but I still have my passion for science! We are standing on the cusp of a new era! It's only one step away, yet I can't take this step forward! Can you understand how I feel? The agreement that we signed is due to take effect in three years, and I had thought that they would perhaps occasionally miss a monthly or quarterly progress report here and there, and I was prepared to accept that, but look at what they're doing! Do they look like they have any intention of showing the rest of the world their progress?"

He heaved a long sigh as he said, "Perhaps Archimedes really was right."

He wasn't the only one who was beginning to think this.

………………………………………………..

"The Cathayan Underworld doesn't isn't going to hold a press conference?" Röntgen stared at the servant with a stunned expression. "Are you sure you didn't misread the schedule?"

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Röntgen," the servant replied with a wry smile. "All of the scientists participating in this conference, including yourself, have instructed us to notify them of the Cathayan Underworld's press conference time slot, but the Cathayan Underworld doesn't seem to have any intention of holding a press conference at all…"

Fuck!

Röntgen buried his fingers into his own hair as he clawed at his own scalp in fury.

Are you just going to accept that the entire world is going to turn on you?! You haven't released anything in the entirety of the past year! Your credibility has already plummeted down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench! Are you seriously oblivious to the fact that this is the final chance that the world is willing to give you?!

Never in history had there been an instance where all of the world's scientists had withdrawn their patent usage rights at once, but this was a project that was going to usher in the next era!

Was the Cathayan Underworld really not concerned that everyone's patents would be made inaccessible to them? If that were to happen, even if they managed to develop the new energy resource, it would have to be shared with the rest of the world due to the unauthorized usage of patents!

"If they would just ask, if they would just release even the slightest bit of reliable information, I would gladly offer up my patent usage rights for free! Why aren't they doing that?!"

In this instant, all of the scientists were stunned by the schedule of the energy resource conference.

"Are you sure the Cathayan Underworld didn't apply for a time slot? Maybe there's been a mistake?"

"Have they gone insane?! Are they really going to make the entire world their enemy?!"

"Are their heads filled with dog shit?! Do they really think they can leave the entire world hanging just because they have the new energy resource in their grasp?! How arrogant and foolish do you have to be?!"

……………………………………

The presidential suites of the Skeletal Sailboat were situated on the very top floor, and from there, one could see the entirety of Dubai.

Even though this was the best hotel in Dubai, it only had 10 presidential suites. The decor was exceptional, and each presidential suite was constructed in a different style such as middle eastern, south Asian, and styles corresponding with the four pillars, and each suite was the work of renowned underworld designers.

Qin Ye was seated on the sofa on the balcony, looking into the distance. The sand of the desert in the distance was being swept up by the wind, forming an illusory yellow veil that gave off the unique and primitive beauty of the desert.

Zhao Yun was standing beside him, and on this occasion, he had put on a suit. He raised his wrist to take a look at his watch, then said, "Your Excellency, the conference will commence in half an hour."

Qin Ye nodded in response as he cast his gaze toward the foot of the building. The distance from the top floor to ground level was well within his visibility range as a Yama-King, and he could already see a series of precious Yin beast, strapped to the backs of which were luxurious saddles, the type that normal netherworldly citizens wouldn't be able to afford even after working their entire lives.

"There are three Yama-King level auras among them," he suddenly remarked. "One is a nascent Yama-King, another is a mid Yama-King, and the final one is an advanced Yama-King. The first two are our old friends, Archimedes and Aristotle. I don't like facing opponents like them, but I have to admit that they are irreplaceable figures in the academic world."

Without their contributions, perhaps mathematics and physics wouldn't even exist.

Even though they had already entered the political sphere, their statuses in the academic world were completely beyond dispute and reproach.

Zhao Yun's expression changed slightly as he said, "The final one is Death God Osiris of the Aegyptian Underworld. As the hosts of this conference, it's only to be expected that the Aegyptian Underworld would send out a death god."

After a brief moment of silence, Qin Ye suddenly said, "I'm beginning to have second thoughts about you making you play such a shameless role now. Isn't this going to tarnish your reputation?"

"I'll be fine," Zhao Yun replied in a calm voice. "Prior to coming here, you decided to play that role yourself, and I disapproved of that plan from the very beginning. Thankfully, the panel of advisors were able to convince you to delegate that role to me."

Acting as the ruler of an underworld nation could be a very lengthy job, and underworld rulers were changing their facades every day depending on the situations that they faced.

"There are some things that would be more appropriate for us to do than for yourself. It's still not quite right for us to present ourselves as too aggressive and unyielding to the rest of the world. As such, I'll play the role of the aggressor, while you do the rest. Speaking of which, I'll be counting you, Lord Qin."

Qin Ye didn't immediately reply. Instead, he quickly ran through the plan provided by the panel of advisors in his mind, then opened his eyes as he replied with a firm nod, "You can count on me."

Right at this moment, the sound of door-knocking rang out, and after being given permission to come in, a servant made his way into the room before extending a respectful bow. "Esteemed Yanluo Qin, it's time for you to go to the conference hall. The energy resource conference is going to commence in 25 minutes, and most of the guests have already arrived."

He paused momentarily here before adding in a careful manner, "Of course, that also includes all of the invited scientists."

"Who told you to come here?" Qin Ye asked in a casual voice as he set down the coffee cup in his hand.

The servant gulped nervously before replying, "My apologies, esteemed Yanluo Qin, but Lord Archimedes of the World Energy Resource Research Organization insisted that I relayed this message to you."

"Alright, you can go now," Qin Ye instructed in a calm voice, and the servant immediately departed.

A cold smile appeared on Qin Ye's face as he cast his gaze out the floor-to-ceiling window.

Was this a reminder or a threat? In any case, it didn't matter.

"We didn't come here with the intention of being civilized and reasonable anyway."

He rose to his feet, and Zhao Yun followed along behind him. After opening the door, two rows of Yin soldiers standing outside on either side of the door immediately stood up straight and gently tapped the ends of their spear against the ground. At the same time, one netherfire lamp after another lit up in succession along the corridor, lighting the path for Qin Ye.

After making his way down two floors along the palatial staircase, they arrived at the conference hall of the Skeletal Sailboat.

This floor was over 10 meters tall, and it had been constructed in the ancient Aegyptian style, giving it the appearance of a royal palace from ancient Aegypt. Extremely beautiful statues were present all around the room, and paintings with a very pronounced Aegyptian style had been drawn directly onto the walls.

Within the spacious hall was a series of tables and chairs constructed from some type of white stone material. Many of the chairs were already occupied, and there was no lack of familiar faces to Qin Ye among them. At the very front of the hall were five three-meter-long tables with extremely intricate carvings engraved onto their surface.

In the instant that Qin Ye and Zhao Yun entered the hall, everyone's eyes immediately turned toward them, and all of the scientists were staring at them so intently that it was as if they were trying to bore holes directly into their bodies. Qin Ye's gaze passed straight over them before settling on the three Yin spirits at the very front.

They were Archimedes, Aristotle, and the mummy-like Osiris, who was wearing a lavish crown and holding a snakehead staff in his hand.

"Long time no see, Yanluo Qin," Archimedes said with a polite nod. "It's a pity that your research team isn't with you."

The netherfire in the eyes of all of the scientists present flickered slightly at the mention of the absence of the Cathayan Underworld research team.

As soon as Archimedes's voice trailed off, another voice immediately rang out. "Mr. Qin, where is your nation's research team? When are they going to arrive?"

The one who had spoken was a scientist.

Qin Ye didn't even appear to have heard him as he nodded to acknowledge the three death gods, and then made his way over to the front of the hall without even sparing a single glance at all of the scientists present.

Only after they had taken a seat did Zhao Yun finally reply, "Who told you that the Cathayan Underworld's research team was going to come here? Do they have to be here? These are the internal affairs of the Cathayan Underworld, why do we need to explain this to all of you?"

Whoosh!

The netherfire in the eyes of all of the scientists present flickered violently upon hearing this.

One's attitude could often be extrapolated from the very first thing that they said, and Zhao Yun had made his attitude very clear: "these are the Cathayan Underworld's internal affairs, so it's none of your business!"

Archimedes and Aristotle were also rather taken aback to hear this, and they turned to stare directly at Zhao Yun before turning to each other as they exchanged a glance.

They could smell the figurative scent of gunpowder in the air!

"What an aggressive attitude!" Aristotle exclaimed in a low voice. "This is exactly how the second King Yanluo liked to do things back when he was in power… Is the Cathayan Underworld returning to its old ways?"

Archimedes's brows furrowed slightly as he replied, "I don't think so. Judging from the few interactions we've had with the third King Yanluo thus far, I can tell that prefers to play within the rules and silence all of his enemies within the constraints of the rules. If they wanted to return to their aggressive and unyielding ways, then they would've continued in the second King Yanluo's style during the conference for the re-signing of the treaty on the non-proliferation of forbidden arts!"

He cast a wary glance toward Zhao Yun. All of a sudden, he had a feeling that something bad was going to happen on this day!

It felt as if they were going to be taken back to those times when that brutish bully of a King Yanluo was still in power!