Chapter 570 New Clues
"That's right. I was totally freaked out when I ran into those folks. We just crossed paths, and I thought about saying hi, but they clearly weren't interested and just walked off," Pietro said, shaking his head with a wry smile.
"Do you know why they were there? You're talking about the Diamond Oasis Hotel, right?" Ethan asked, frowning.
"No clue, man. They were all Half-Step Grandmasters and didn't look friendly at all. No way I was gonna ask them anything. I figured they might be from Celestia Vale, and those guys are always a bit stuck-up, so I didn't think much of it," Pietro explained, shaking his head again.
"Should we go check out the Diamond Oasis Hotel?" Angela suggested.
"If we need to, sure. But I'm worried those guys were just passing through, and we might find nothing," Ethan nodded, but he didn't seem too hopeful about the Diamond Oasis Hotel.
"Oh, I just remembered something interesting," Pietro suddenly spoke up.
"Spill it," Ethan's eyes lit up, and he perked up.
"I saw five people. Four of them were definitely late-stage Half-Step Grandmasters, but the fifth one was a mystery. Two of the others were holding him, almost like they were restraining him. And it didn't look like they were on the same team," Pietro described.
"How can you be sure that person was also a Half-Step Grandmaster?" Ethan frowned.
"Well, I couldn't tell his level, but he couldn't be a master level, right? No way a master level would be restrained by four Half-Step Grandmasters," Pietro speculated.
"Do you remember when you saw them?" Angela asked.
"Yeah, it was three days ago," Pietro blurted out.
Ethan and Angela exchanged a glance. Clearly, this happened before last night's events, so the person being restrained couldn't be Giuseppe.
"Alexander, check out the Diamond Oasis Hotel for me. I'll send you the details in a bit. Help me track down a few people," Ethan called Alexander, gave him instructions, and then hung up.
"Should I get the intelligence department involved?" Angela suggested, frowning.
"No need, I trust my people. Plus, I don't want to share this clue with others; too risky," Ethan shook his head. His words were polite, but he didn't trust the intelligence department to keep the clue from leaking.
Angela fell silent. Since deciding to be with Ethan, she had firmly stood by his side. If he had said this before, she might have gotten angry.
Walking out of the so-called Martial Arts Association, Ethan sighed, "Calling it the Martial Arts Association is a joke. It's more like a loose civilian group. Maybe it can only maintain a bit of dignity and superiority in front of regular folks."
"Man, there's no other way around it. Most folks who start learning martial arts young end up stuck in the middle, wasting their education and other skills. Besides joining the Martial Arts Association to find a way out, what else can they do?" Marco agreed, shaking his head with a wry smile.
Maybe a few presidents and vice presidents in the association could hit the Half-Step Grandmaster level and live better, but for regular martial artists, most end up as bodyguards or even muscle for the rich. That's the harsh reality.
This got Ethan thinking about the sects he ran into in the Northwest.
'If what's going down in Everglow is tied to those sects and the Sacred Wood I've got, then which sect do those Half-Step Grandmasters Pietro saw belong to? Could it be the ML Guild?' Thinking of Brian and Tyler, Ethan had a feeling he might run into those two again.
"So, where to next? Should we hit up the Diamond Oasis Hotel?" Angela asked Ethan.
"No need, let's wait for my guys to report back. We should hear something soon." Ethan shook his head. According to Pietro, he just bumped into those people by chance, and they seemed to be just passing through and had already left the Diamond Oasis Hotel.
Just as he finished speaking, Ethan's phone rang. It was Alexander, showing some serious efficiency.
"Mr. Wilson, based on the clues you gave me, I tracked their movements." Alexander's voice came through as soon as the call connected, not letting Ethan down.
"Where?" Ethan asked straight up.
"Near the Riverstone Reservoir in the northeast of Everglow. I could only track them to the area around the reservoir after they left the Diamond Oasis Hotel. Beyond that, it's a surveillance blind spot, heading into the mountains," Alexander explained.
"Got it. Thanks. Didn't you say you needed $3 billion for a super intelligence network? I'll have Beverly transfer the money to you soon, so you can start prepping." Ethan was pretty satisfied with the result and made a promise, remembering Alexander's previous request.
Marco and Angela were both taken aback by Ethan's sudden generosity.
"Ethan, you don't plan to infiltrate military intelligence, do you?" Angela suddenly had a wild thought.
"Do you think the military is worth $3 billion? I want intel that even the military can't get," Ethan explained to Angela, amused.
"Wow, Ethan. Can I ask how rich you are now?" Marco asked, looking at Ethan with admiration.
But this question stumped Ethan. It seemed even he didn't know how loaded he was now. Money was just numbers to him. Tens of billions of dollars seemed like pocket change.
"Marco, why do you ask?" Angela asked suspiciously before Ethan could answer.
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