Sky Curtain: The upright ape and Uncle Crocodile have been exposed.

Chapter 22: The Eagle's Plan.

The meeting in the Bear District ended quickly.

Igor stood up, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the four high-ranking officials present. His voice was not loud, but it weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like a dull knife.

"You can leave now."

Just as the four were about to get up, he added another sentence.

"But let me say this first: anyone who dares to betray me, I'll be the first to kill him."

The air in the conference room suddenly tightened.

An unnatural expression flashed across the faces of the leaders from the four countries.

"No, no."

"Don't worry, Mr. Igor, we know what we're doing."

"The Russian bear is our boss, and that will never change."

"Betrayal is absolutely impossible."

He spoke a few words of loyalty in a hurry, as if afraid that he would appear guilty if he hesitated for even a second.

Igor didn't reply, but simply waved his hand, indicating that they could leave.

The four people filed out in quick succession, and only after they left the bear enclosure did one of them secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

John Bull's senior executives walked through the corridor back to their own area.

An accomplice stepped forward and opened the conference room door.

The door opened.

The two of them stood frozen at the doorway.

The guest seat in the conference room, which should have been empty, was already occupied by someone.

Dressed in a suit and tie, with his legs crossed, he held a cup of coffee he'd somehow gotten his hands on and was leisurely looking at the secondary screen of the surveillance system on the wall.

Hearing the door open, he slowly turned his head, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Mr. Spencer, we've been waiting for you for a long time."

Spencer was one of the three top executives at John Bull, and he was at the forefront.

Before he could even lower the hand that had pushed the door open, he froze at the doorway.

"What brings you here, Hopkinley?"

Hopkinley put down his coffee cup and smiled slightly.

"Make a deal with me, and you're guaranteed to make a profit."

Spencer frowned slightly, stepped into the room, and the two men behind him followed, closing the door behind them.

"What do you mean?"

"Work with me."

Hopkins leaned back in his chair, speaking in a nonchalant tone.

Spencer narrowed his eyes.

"You want me to be a traitor?"

"Don't say it so harshly."

Hopkins waved his hand.

"You're just aiming for a higher position."

"It's only natural for people to strive for higher positions."

Spencer was silent for a few seconds, then pulled out a chair, sat down, and looked up at him.

Tell me about it.

Hopkins leaned forward slightly and tapped his finger lightly on the table.

"Your alliance consists of five people: Bear, you, Indian, Monkey, and Hanscat."

"If I get beaten by the Russian bear, will all five of you advance?"

He paused, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"I don't think so. You can't handle the Dimorphodon from South Korea and the Maniraptor from France. As for the Dimorphodon, you can't even get close to it."

"At least one or two out of the five should be eliminated."

Hopkinley's gaze fell on Spencer's face, his voice not loud, but as precise as a nail driven into the heart of the matter.

"Is it possible... you're the one who gets eliminated?"

Spencer frowned but remained silent.

Hopkinley leaned back in his chair, his tone relaxed, as if he were discussing something that was already a done deal.

"Things will be different if you follow me."

"I'm number one, and the Korean Dimorphodon is most likely number two."

"Even with the Gallic dinosaur, you're still fourth in third place."

He shrugged.

Why risk your life?

"And the higher the ranking, the better the rewards. A guaranteed top four spot is much better than being cannon fodder on the Russian side, isn't it?"

Spencer was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

"What about the land of cherry blossoms?"

Hopkinley chuckled, his tone carrying an undisguised contempt.

"Just a dog."

"If there's a spot, we'll give it to fifth place; if there isn't, then we'll just have to sacrifice it. It's not the first time."

Spencer lowered his head and tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the table, as if weighing something in his mind.

After a long while, he raised his head.

"Go back and wait for my news. Let me think about it."

Hopkinley stood up, straightened his suit collar, paused at the door, turned his head, and looked calmly at Spencer.

"You're a smart person, you'll give me the answer."

The door closed.

The footsteps faded into the distance.

Spencer sat in his chair, staring at the closed door, motionless for a long time.

……

The Eagle Zone.

Hopkins pushed open the door and casually took off his suit jacket, draping it over the back of his chair.

Brennan sat up from the sofa.

"How is it?"

"Simple."

Hopkins picked up the now-cold coffee on the table, took a sip, frowned, and put it down again.

"What about the cherry blossoms?"

"It's done."

Brennan nodded.

"The matter of the interference card has been communicated, and they have agreed to cooperate."

Hopkins sat down on the sofa and crossed his legs.

Brennan turned to the side and lowered his voice.

"So, how do you plan to position John Bull as the chess piece?"

Hopkins' lips curved into a slight smile.

You'll find out soon enough.

Brennan stared at him for two seconds without asking any further questions, but his brows remained furrowed.

"Even if John Bull were to turn against us, we still wouldn't be a match for the other three!"

"The flower-shaped ridge-backed dinosaur is generally underdeveloped; it might not even be able to withstand a single family from the front."

Hopkins leaned back on the sofa and tapped his finger lightly on the armrest.

"The cherry blossom's ridge-backed dragon is not meant to block people."

"John Bull's role isn't to relieve our stress either."

Brennan was taken aback.

"What is that?"

Hopkins did not answer directly, his gaze passing through the semi-transparent partition and landing on the direction of the sky, his voice not loud but very steady.

"As for the rest... I have a way, you'll see when the time comes."

……

Dragon Kingdom District.

Commander Hua picked up the communicator, hesitated for two seconds, and then dialed the number.

The phone rang more than a dozen times before the other end slowly answered.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Xia's voice was languid, as if she had just been woken up from a nap.

Commander Hua took a deep breath, trying to make his tone sound calm.

"What are your plans for the third phase?"

"Keep it up like this."

Lin Xia spoke casually.

"What else can we do?"

Commander Hua's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped the microphone.

"Once they finish their war, their target will shift to us."

"You can't expect all animals to be unable to swim!"

"The probability is too low; we can't gamble on it."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Lin Xia's voice came over, her tone unchanged, still that carefree and nonchalant tone.

"Don't worry, just leave it like this, no need to move."

"I wouldn't joke about my own life."

beep.

The phone hangs up.

Commander Hua held the microphone, listened to the busy tone on the other end, his lips moved, but in the end he didn't say anything.

He slowly put down the receiver, turned to look at the boy in the sky who had already hung up the phone and crossed his legs again, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

You wouldn't risk your life, would you?

But the joke you've made has affected all of our lives.