Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye - Chapter 385

Chapter 385: Chapter 385: Seeing Is Believing — A Subtle Understanding Between Rivals
Aboard the helicopter en route to the Daskhollow secret laboratory, Luca and Drumph were engaged in casual, scattered conversation.

An hour earlier, Shelter 102 had successfully established contact with the Daskhollow lab.

To everyone’s surprise, the lab accepted Drumph’s proposal for cooperation almost immediately, without hesitation or deflection.

“Do you think there might be something shady going on here?” Drumph asked, his tone laced with concern.

“Could Zenith Technology Company be using this so-called partnership as a cover for some hidden agenda?”

What could Luca say to that?

All he could do was agree—because he had just escaped from the clutches of Zenith Technology Company not long ago.

“Of course. There’s no way Zenith is cooperating out of goodwill. They’ve never offered us help before—not even once.”

“Then we’d better be careful,” Drumph said gravely.

“We mustn’t disclose any critical information to them.”

Neither of them fully trusted the situation.

But now that they had committed to working with Zenith, there was no turning back.

The helicopter soon pierced through the layers of violet mist.

As they approached the lake overhead, the water abruptly vanished, revealing a massive hollow in the earth below.

At the center of that hollow was a large landing pad.

“Latest transmission from Zenith Technology Company,” the pilot called back over his shoulder.

“They’re inviting us to land directly on the pad.”

Drumph gave a slow nod.

“Proceed with the landing. But stay alert during descent. No exceptions.”

He still feared a potential ambush from Zenith.

But in the end, his concerns proved unnecessary.

The helicopter touched down smoothly on the landing pad.

The moment the support struts deployed, Luca spotted three figures already waiting: Liam, Minister Brown, and—standing in front of them—a striking blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman.

It didn’t take Luca long to figure it out.

That woman had to be the special agent sent by Zenith Technology Company’s headquarters.

Naturally, under the circumstances, his full attention shifted to her.

“Welcome, Mr. Drumph. And Mr. Luca.”

The woman stepped forward with a composed smile.

She came across as genuinely warm and welcoming, and naturally, neither Drumph nor Luca saw any reason to respond with hostility right from the start.

The atmosphere during their initial meeting remained quite amicable.

“Let’s not just stand around out here,” Commissioner Nova said with a smile.

“There’s still some residual violet mist in the air, and it’s toxic to humans. Let’s move inside the facility.”

With that, she led Drumph and Luca into the interior of the base.

Eventually, the group arrived at a spacious, well-lit conference room.

“I’ve already gotten a general sense of your proposal,” Nova said, smiling.

“In truth, Zenith Technology Company is also willing to cooperate with you in fighting the monsters.

But after the destruction of our Dragon Gate Mountain research facility, our presence around the Imperial Capital has grown quite limited.”

Drumph nodded in acknowledgment, accepting her explanation, though a faint trace of concern appeared on his face.

“So… are you saying you won’t be offering us any support?” he asked.

“That’s not what I meant,” Nova replied, before Minister Brown quickly jumped in to elaborate.

“I can submit a request directly to headquarters—see if they’ll approve the redeployment of forces from the Daskhollow base to the Imperial Capital.

If that goes through, we’ll be in a position to assist you in eliminating the monsters.”

As he spoke, Minister Brown couldn’t help but glance repeatedly in Luca’s direction.

His gaze was filled with mixed emotions.

On one hand, he deeply resented Luca—his escape had dragged Brown into serious trouble.

But on the other, he also looked forward to the possibility of working with him.

After all, in Brown’s mind, Luca was the most powerful individual he knew of.

“Contacting headquarters will probably take quite a bit of time, won’t it?”

Luca finally spoke up, his tone casual, almost offhand.

“The Imperial Capital might not last that long.

Isn’t there any way you can act without waiting for permission?”

His laid-back tone irked both Liam and Minister Brown.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit disrespectful?” Liam snapped, clearly annoyed.

“We’re already doing you a favor just by agreeing to cooperate.

And now you’re suggesting we go into combat with dangerous monsters without authorization from HQ?”

Luca glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

“That was just my personal suggestion. If it’s off the table, then so be it.

But I suppose this only shows your so-called ‘willingness to cooperate’ is still just lip service.”

“We’re not lacking sincerity in this cooperation,” Commissioner Nova said with a gentle smile as she stood up.

“How about this—you wait here for a moment. I’ll contact headquarters right away.”

Everyone present agreed to her suggestion without objection.

Luca and Drumph remained in the conference room while Nova exited swiftly with the other two.

“So?” Drumph asked in a low voice, turning to Luca. “Do you think they genuinely want to cooperate with us?”

Luca, his expression unreadable, replied flatly,

“It looks like they do. But our earlier conclusion still stands—there’s no doubt they’re hoping to gain something from all this.”

As they spoke, both men remained highly alert.

They were well aware that the conference room was almost certainly under surveillance.

So they each used their own abilities to block any monitoring systems.

During the meeting, Luca had taken the time to closely observe the three representatives from Zenith Technology Company.

To him, Minister Brown and Liam posed no real threat.

They were mediocre in ability yet bloated with self-importance.

But Nova… Nova was another story entirely.

Though she maintained a facade of warmth and approachability, Luca could tell she was anything but harmless.

He sensed a cold cunning beneath her polished demeanor.

She was the kind of person who could become a significant danger to him down the line.

“Looks like this one’s going to be just as troublesome as Zenobia,” Luca thought to himself grimly.

—

Just outside the conference room, in a nearby corridor, Commissioner Nova flipped through the documents in her hand, a smile still playing on her lips.

“Seeing really is believing. Luca… is an incredibly difficult opponent.”

Her remark left both Minister Brown and Liam visibly stunned.

Of course, both men already acknowledged that Luca was a powerful figure.

But neither of them understood how Nova had reached such a decisive conclusion about him based solely on a single conversation.

“Why do you say that?” Minister Brown asked, frowning.

“Is it just because he acted so relaxed during the meeting?”

“Of course not!” Commissioner Nova replied cheerfully, clearly in a good mood and more than willing to explain herself.

“Yes, the fact that he remained relaxed throughout the meeting is part of it—but more importantly, he was watching us the entire time.

I could see it in his eyes—he recognized that I’m a very difficult opponent.”

As she spoke, the smile on her face grew even brighter.

She genuinely looked forward to clashing with a strong adversary.

Only against someone formidable could she truly unleash her full capabilities.

Initially, she had been quite displeased about being reassigned by headquarters.

But the moment she met Luca, all that resentment evaporated.

Now, her mind was fully engaged, carefully mapping out her strategy.

Minister Brown and Liam exchanged uncertain glances.

They still didn’t fully understand her reasoning—but it wasn’t their place to question it.

Now that Commissioner Nova had made up her mind, all they could do was follow her lead.

“So what should we do next?” Minister Brown asked, somewhat foolishly.

“Are we really going to contact headquarters about this?”

Nova’s smile vanished instantly.

“You truly are dense,” she snapped.

“Do you seriously think this situation is important enough for headquarters to care? We don’t need to involve them.”

With that, she turned on her heel and strode briskly back toward the conference room, Brown and Liam hurrying to keep up behind her.

“The headquarters has approved our plan,”

Nova declared with a pleasant smile as she pushed open the door to the meeting room.

“That’s wonderful news!” Drumph responded, visibly excited.

“So—when can you be ready to move out for the Imperial Capital?”

Although he was well aware that there had to be some kind of hidden agenda behind all this, he didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on it now.

All that mattered was that stronger forces were finally stepping in—and the sooner they could intervene, the faster the crisis in the Imperial Capital could be resolved.

“We’ll need about two or three days to make the necessary preparations,” Commissioner Nova replied calmly.

“After all, the situation in the Imperial Capital is extremely dire. If we don’t prepare thoroughly, our support might end up being ineffective.”

Her response didn’t surprise Drumph or Luca in the slightest.

Drumph had no intention of making any unreasonable demands.

“No problem at all,” he said.

“Then let’s depart together in three days. During that time, we’ll also be preparing on our end at the shelter.”

With the operation timeline settled, both sides naturally went their separate ways to begin preparations.

Just before leaving the Daskhollow secret lab, Luca posed a final question to Commissioner Nova.

“As far as I know, your original purpose in coming here was to interrogate me.

So tell me—have you abandoned that plan?”

By the time Luca finished his question, the helicopter had already lifted off into the air.

Nova looked up at him with a pleasant smile and responded slowly,

“Of course I haven’t abandoned it. I still intend to question you—

and I do hope you’ll be willing to cooperate when the time comes.”

And just like that, the first round of probing between them came to a close.

Both sides kept their cards close,

but both had also decided—for now—to continue cooperating.