The Shelter Game: Me, Starting with a Tenfold Drop Rate

After careful consideration, Irving went directly to find Andy. At that moment, Andy was discussing with his subordinates whether they should head straight to the location of the Night Blades' secret base provided by Elder Howard.

"Boss, I think going directly to this address is too dangerous. If the address is legitimate, the Night Blades' strength there must be very formidable. Our manpower alone would be insufficient to deal with it. Therefore, I think we should request backup from headquarters.

If they learn about this information, they will definitely send us strong reinforcements," one of the ordinary members of the Angel Guild suggested outright.

In his view, the strength of the Starling City Angel Guild was not enough to destroy the Night Blades' secret base in Starling City.

Andy nodded, then shook his head. He agreed with the assessment but found himself unable to make a decisive call. Before Anna left, she had given him orders that all his actions must follow Irving's commands. Until he could understand Irving's specific intentions, he would not take any rash actions.

Just then, Irving suddenly pushed open the door to the conference room and walked in. His arrival drew everyone's attention.

Seeing Irving, Andy finally let out a sigh of relief. "Daniel is here; let's hear what he thinks," Andy said directly to the people in the conference room.

The others in the room felt rather uneasy upon hearing this. Since they were unaware of Irving's true identity, to them, a person named Daniel had suddenly become Andy's assistant, swiftly gaining his absolute trust.

Ordinary members of the Angel Guild held a certain hostility toward Irving, who was disguised as Daniel. Irving was certainly aware of this situation. However, he felt it was not a big deal, as he believed he only needed to complete the task of dealing with Elder Howard. Once that task was accomplished, he could leave this place.

"I think we should split up," Irving announced before everyone. "I just received another important piece of information from the person who provided us with details earlier."

He then revealed the information Elder Howard had shared about the disc containing the Night Blades' data.

After Irving finished sharing the information, the members in the conference room fell into an awkward silence.

"What's wrong? Do you think this information isn't very important to us?" Irving asked the group, observing their reactions.

"This information is certainly very important to us. However, I want to ask you a crucial question. Why didn't the person who provided the intel tell the boss about this? Why did he only tell you?" one of the ordinary Angel Guild members directly questioned Irving.

With a smile, Irving shook his head. "I don't know why that situation occurred."

Irving's answer did not satisfy the people in the conference room. However, at that moment, Andy stepped in. "I think discussing this matter is pointless. Since we have this information, we should take action immediately."

As Irving spoke, Andy had already grasped his intentions. Therefore, he issued his orders right away. Andy would personally lead his subordinates to the area around the Night Blades' secret base in Starling City, while Irving would go alone to the location mentioned by Elder Howard to retrieve the disc containing the Night Blades' data.

The members in the conference room were not pleased with Andy's decision. One ordinary Angel Guild member stood up and said, "Boss, I think you're being a bit too lenient with him. I really don't see what sets him apart. His strength isn't particularly impressive, and he hasn't contributed anything significant. Why do you trust him so much? Why do you think his judgment is infallible?"

Faced with the other members' doubts, Andy found himself momentarily at a loss for words. He needed to provide a flawless answer. If his response was full of holes, Elder Howard within the base would quickly catch on.

While Andy was deep in thought, the conference room door was pushed open again. A person whom Irving was very familiar with walked into the room—Nick.

"It seems you all have been arguing. What's the issue?" Nick asked as he entered, first glancing at Andy, then smiling and nodding toward Irving.

Nick had come here because Anna and Aron had sent him. They believed that relying solely on Andy might not be enough to assist Irving in achieving success, so they specifically sent Nick along.

When Nick arrived in the conference room, everyone quickly stood up. Although Nick did not hold a high position at the Angel Guild headquarters, his status was unparalleled in other branches of the Angel Guild.

Andy immediately recounted the events that had transpired to Nick. Nick nodded, "I believe your orders are completely justified. If it were me, I would issue the same commands. Although I'm not very familiar with Daniel, I trust your judgment regarding him."

Nick's words successfully helped Andy out of a tight spot. After Nick spoke, the other ordinary members of the Angel Guild found it difficult to continue targeting Irving.

"I will be joining you in your actions moving forward. Let's discuss the specific operational arrangements among myself, Andy, and Daniel. The rest of you can leave for now," Nick said, issuing his directive. Although the others were still somewhat dissatisfied, they had no choice but to comply with Nick's orders.

Once the others had left, Nick turned directly to Irving and asked, "What exactly is your plan? Are we just playing house here?"

In response to Nick's inquiry, Irving replied calmly, "My plan has already achieved significant success. Elder Howard is at the base we are currently in."

Irving's statement caused a look of surprise to spread across Nick's face. "What did you say? Elder Howard is already at the base! Then what are we waiting for? We need to take action quickly! Trapping him in the base is a great opportunity to eliminate him!"

In response to Nick's suggestion, Irving shook his head. "Doing so would only alert him. I intend to send everyone out. We must give Elder Howard an opportunity to act."

Irving's words made both Andy and Nick understand his strategy. Irving's plan was to send everyone out of the base and then secretly observe what actions Elder Howard would take. By deliberately giving Elder Howard the chance to act, Irving assumed that Elder Howard would not easily miss it.

"You really are a risk-taker. But I must warn you, if Elder Howard obtains any information related to you, you will find yourself in grave danger," Nick said. Although he agreed with Irving's plan, he felt it was necessary to remind him.

Irving nodded heavily. "I'm well aware of what you're saying, and I'm prepared to handle any unexpected situations that may arise. There's a saying: 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.' If we lack the resolve to take risks, how can we ever achieve success?"

With Irving having made his points clear, Andy and Nick decided not to waste any more time. The three quickly formulated an action plan. Nick would lead a portion of the team to the location of the Night Blades' secret base, as provided by Elder Howard, while Andy would take another group to retrieve the disc containing the Night Blades' data.

Once everyone had departed, Irving would remain hidden within the Angel Guild's base. He planned to observe Elder Howard's every move and, during this process, discern the true intentions behind Elder Howard's actions.

Nick and Andy moved swiftly, departing with their respective teams that very afternoon. After confirming that all members had left the Angel Guild headquarters, Irving concealed himself in his room. He had no intention of leaving, as he could monitor Elder Howard's movements from there.

Elder Howard was, of course, fully aware of the actions of the Angel Guild members. However, after they left, he did not act rashly. He had a strong suspicion that this might be a trap set by the Angel Guild.

After about one to two hours had passed, Elder Howard finally decided to make his move. He channeled the mist surrounding his body into the ventilation system and quickly made his way to Andy's office. The moment the mist reached Andy's office, Elder Howard swapped places with it and appeared directly in Andy's office.

At that moment, Irving was already positioned in the adjacent room to Andy's office. He understood that Andy's office contained a wealth of critical intelligence. However, he did not intend to interfere with Elder Howard's actions. He wanted to observe which pieces of intelligence Elder Howard prioritized.

Elder Howard did not spend much time searching in Andy's office; he quickly found the information related to Irving. However, rather than reading it immediately, he simply stuffed it into his pocket.

After that, Elder Howard began to search for other intelligence. The types of information he looked for were quite varied, some concerning the official forces of Starling City and the City of Warding, while others related to the Ocean Group and the Green Ivy Company.