Chapter 902: Chapter 596: Master Sliver [05] Frank Ford: I Want to Find Northwest All-Knowing [02 Updates]

Ryan Ford thinks that if bluffing could be rated, Nora Scott would definitely be the one perched at the top of the pyramid.

He doesn’t know how Nora manages it.

Clearly arrogant and self-important, she lacks true skills and talents; obviously, her results are trashy, her blueprints are sloppy, and they show no achievements.

Yet she is dead set on the basic principle of "I am the best in the world" and firmly believes in the main idea that "you all are garbage," never swaying from the three guiding policies of "criticize you to death, anger you to death, irritate you to death."

As if once the time comes, perfect blueprints will fall from the sky, allowing her to effortlessly crush the competition with the glow of a protagonist.

What’s deadly is—

This kind of blind confidence is quite convincing.

If he hadn’t repeatedly brainwashed himself with "she’s just a fool, she really has no skills," he might have truly believed at some point that she was some kind of otherworldly master with powers beyond the understanding of us ordinary folks.

I’m convinced.

Ryan has never seen such an oddball and only finds himself amazed—utterly awed.

"I’ll give you a choice," Ryan pressed his temples, finally speaking amidst the furious noise, staring across the long table at Nora, enunciating each word, "One, leave now, and I’ll pretend I never heard the promise you made a week ago. Two, write a promise note, jot down the promise from a week ago, to prevent you from turning your back on it later."

"..."

The whole place fell silent.

A million!

This figure, if it were real money, would be no joking matter.

"Alright." Without a pause, Nora agreed cheerfully, then glanced around, beaming as she asked, "Shouldn’t you all put your promise in writing too? I’m afraid you might renege."

The crowd: "..."

Hell no on the reneging! We should be the ones worrying about that, shouldn’t we?!

That’s a million!

Swayed by the lure of money, the experts finally decided to temporarily suppress their anger and not force Nora to leave, instead choosing to "endure humiliation" and write a promise note.

In their view, although the meeting didn’t go as they hoped—it wasn’t easy dealing with Nora’s antics—the overall outcome was satisfactory.

For example, Nora indeed has no real abilities, so their judgment wasn’t wrong.

For example, having Nora write a promise note to avoid empty promises.

As for the ridiculous notion of humiliating Nora... they’ve come to terms with the fact that for someone like Nora who has no sense of shame, "humiliation" simply doesn’t exist.

*

After exchanging promises, Ryan announced the meeting’s adjournment.

Not entirely smooth.

But for the sake of money, the experts told themselves to bear it.

Frank Ford and Thomas Langley lingered at the back of the group, feeling indescribably perplexed and exchanging knowing looks.

Then—

"Granny!"

Just as Shaw returned and saw Nora in the crowd, he immediately shouted, startling everyone three times over.

The experts: "..." Damn, this brat returned!

Frank Ford and Thomas Langley instinctively rubbed their ears, puzzled about who this "Granny" referred to among a group without women. As they glanced up, they saw the burly ruffian heading straight for Nora.

Frank and Thomas: "..."

"Granny, have you finished the meeting? Did you bring the blueprints?" Shaw asked.

"Yes." Nora took the folder from Pedro Langley and handed it to Shaw, "You can take a look first."

"..."

The experts who had wanted to avoid them almost dropped their eyes in shock at Nora’s move.

—You’re seriously showing that kind of Ghost Talisman to someone?!

They pondered that although Nora and Shaw are both ruffians and have a deep bond, Shaw is a top craftsman domestically and globally, with discerning taste. So they all halted, waiting to see Shaw’s reaction, even secretly hoping for a falling out between the two.

In their hearts, a little voice chanted: Fight! Get into a fight!

But then, another jaw-dropping scene unfolded.

Shaw casually flipped through a few pages and exclaimed, "Whoa, amazing!" His eyes gleaming, "Absolutely amazing, Granny, you’ll always be my pride."

The experts: "..." Damn your stupid pride!

Unable to bear it, they vehemently accused:

"Shaw, I thought you had some backbone. How can you suck up to a woman to such a degree?"

"Can something like that really be your pride?"

"You’ve totally lost it! Snap out of it!"

"Shaw, you’re a national-level craftsman. You can’t speak carelessly or suck up indiscriminately."

...

Suddenly accused, Shaw looked baffled and blinked, "Huh?"

He turned to Nora, "Granny..."

"Let’s go."

Nora Scott walked past him, already a distance away, waving her hand.

Shaw shouted, "Leave the blueprints with me!"

"Okay."

Nora replied indifferently with one word.

Once Nora and Pedro Langley had walked away, Shaw rolled up his sleeves, glanced around at these experts, and lifted Nora’s blueprints, "Can’t understand it, huh?"

The experts: "..." Is this what you call not understanding?!

Unexpectedly, Shaw nodded and said seriously, "Well, with your expertise, how could you possibly understand?"

"..."

Dear God, please send down a bolt of lightning to strike him dead.

He’s completely brainwashed by Nora Scott!

This project has been tarnished beyond redemption!

Frank Ford and Thomas Langley looked at each other silently.

The soon-to-be wife of Pedro Langley... has truly given them too many "surprises."

*

Thomas originally planned to stay for just one day to meet Master Sliver. And Frank had initially decided to stay with the 1101 engineering team.

However, due to the unexpected encounter with Nora and Pedro, and the fact that Pedro had accommodations nearby, they shamelessly latched onto Pedro, asking him to free up two rooms for them, blatantly interrupting Pedro and Nora’s alone time.

At nightfall, the pair showed up at the cabin on time for dinner.

"Loxley."

"Butler Loxley."

Frank and Thomas greeted Butler Loxley warmly, the one who held the power over their meals.

Butler Loxley smiled cheerfully.

Pedro Langley sat on the rattan chair, his face clearly spelling "not welcome."

Frank: "Where’s my sister-in-law?"

Thomas: "Where’s my younger sister-in-law."

Pedro did not respond but asked, "When are you leaving?"

Just arrived and already asking them to leave, not a sign of hospitality whatsoever. However, the pair were thick-skinned and didn’t mind, pretending not to hear.

They chatted disjointedly, scavenging for food, pouring tea, then found their own seats.

Later, they ignored Pedro and started chatting among themselves.

"Thomas, do you have connections in the Northwest? Can you help me find someone?" Frank asked while biting into an apple.

"Who?"

"The Northwest All-Knowing."

"I’ve heard of her, quite a legendary figure." Thomas nodded slightly, suspiciously questioning, "Why are you looking for her?"

"Around this March, our mentor took on a project near Loulanel for exploration. On the way, we were robbed by a band of bandits, and a friend we were partnering with got caught up in it—"

Upon hearing this, Pedro’s brows subtly moved, suspiciously asking, "Was that unlucky exploration team yours?"

"Master Pedro, you’ve heard about it?" Frank was startled.

"Yes." Pedro responded, then promptly asked, "That partner, named Miguel Smith?"

"Yes, that’s him. Do you know him?"

"Yes."

"Back then, I was the one who invited him to Loulanel, he originally planned to go to Cloud City." Frank sighed, then perked up, "But this time, with the All-Knowing on board, we can bring him along! Definitely safe!"

Pedro said lightly, "He’s not available."

Frank asked in surprise, "Isn’t he unemployed? What’s up, found a job?"

"..." Pedro lifted his eyelids slowly, "Inheriting the family business, no time."

Frank: "..." That’s really tough.

Frank sincerely sympathized for three seconds, then the conversation returned to the topic of the All-Knowing.

"At the beginning of the year, the exploration project will restart, and our mentor wants to hire a reliable guide. Upon inquiry, we found the most famous one is the ’Northwest All-Knowing.’ They say her tasks have zero failures, let alone in the Sand Delta, but throughout the Northwest, she’s someone who invokes fear."

Young master Frank, not experienced in the Martial World, mentioned this with a bit of excitement.

Just hearing such rumors is thrilling!

"The mentor wants her as the guide, and entrusted me to gather information. Then, upon inquiry, it turns out she hasn’t taken any orders in one or two years." Frank was troubled, "They say you need specific channels to find this All-Knowing? Thomas, you hang around the Northwest often, do you have any idea?"

Thomas paused.

Just about to say "we can give it a try," suddenly heard a nonchalant inquiry coming from upstairs—

"What do you need me for?"