“Look, it’s Ellera.”
“I heard she made a dirty deal with Mistress last night, is that true?”
“Don’t know, we’ll have to find out for ourselves.”
“I’ve already arranged for a dozen or so young women, as you instructed. Hopefully, she can still handle them tonight.”
“Are they pure? Ellera’s standards are very picky.”
“This…”
Hey, hey, I heard all that, you guys.
Listening to the whispers around her, Luoyou felt incredibly pleased.
There’s nothing like being watched by so many people.
And everyone had to read her mood, sending their family’s daughters over, but she still turned them down!
Heh! That’s the difference between people!
“Ms. Ellera, can you spare a moment? Just three minutes, only three minutes!”
“What kind of quality are you? I only need one minute! Just one minute, Ms. Ellera. If you don’t like what you hear, you can take my head!”
“Half a minute from me!”
“Damn it, I’ll do it in ten seconds!”
If only these people weren’t such fools.
Luoyou shook her head, somewhat understanding their desperation.
Right now, she was like a bus everyone wanted to board.
…This analogy sounded a bit strange?
But that was the idea—if you got on, you’d rise to glory; if not, you’d be left behind to be swallowed by the masses.
Since those seeking her out were all low-level factions, and none of “those people” had appeared, Luoyou decided to seek out the Organization instead.
Her main goal was to find Yue for a talk and to understand the Organization’s stance on this matter.
Although a night had passed, most factions still left people at the banquet hall.
Luoyou didn’t find Yue immediately but managed to meet some High-Level Members of the异人 Organization.
“Yo, isn’t this… that guy?”
Luoyou approached a man she vaguely remembered, asking, “Where’s Yue?”
“L-Lord Herrera!”
The man was so shocked he stood up immediately and whispered, “Do you need something? I’m Yue’s direct deputy. If you have a message, I can pass it on.”
“Just tell him I want to see him.”
“All right, I’ll contact him now.”
After making a call, the man said to her, “Can we arrange it for tonight?”
“That’s too late.”
“I’ll negotiate again.”
Luoyou was annoyed, thinking how arrogant Yue was, daring to make her wait until nightfall.
It was always others waiting for her, never the other way around!
The man spoke briefly with Yue before handing the phone to Luoyou.
“Hello? You really dare make me wait till tonight?”
Luoyou took the phone and immediately complained.
“There’s something urgent. If you want, you can come to this place.”
Yue gave her an address and then hung up.
Luoyou narrowed her eyes.
For something to be urgent enough to hang up on her, it could only be…
“Heh, looks like you’ve already started negotiations.”
Luoyou thought about informing Little Red Riding Hood, but changed her mind.
She’d see how the Organization handled this first.
***
Half an hour later—
Inside a noisy local bar.
Neon lights flickered painfully in the eyes, drinks and cocktails were abundant, and everywhere were girls half-dressed and lecherous men.
Reaching room 3502, several guards stood watch outside.
Luoyou ignored them completely and opened the door to walk in.
Inside, Yue sat in the center of the sofa, but surprisingly, she was alone.
“Yo, you’re here.”
“Are you playing me?”
“No, no, no, how could I play you? I’m just setting the stage.”
Yue smiled and stood to greet her, then closed the door, her expression instantly turning serious.
“Someone tried to assassinate me in secret, but I dealt with it already.”
Hmm?
Luoyou’s eyes flickered with a hint of interest.
At this time, someone trying to take out the leader of the world’s largest unofficial armed force—that was bold.
“You’re not really in danger, right? You’re a Fused Warrior, after all.”
“That’s true, but shouldn’t you at least be a bit worried?”
Yue lifted a folding sofa to reveal a corpse inside—a man, apparently also a Fused Warrior, with unnatural features on his body.
“This guy was only at the Ghost level. When he tried to attack me, I ambushed and killed him first. The news probably hasn’t spread yet.”
Luoyou examined the corpse, then used her Crimson Authority to probe its traits.
“They share similarities with the Fused Warriors I eliminated earlier.”
“You mean the ones who sent the Angry Giant Spirit to attack you?”
“Probably.”
“Well, enough about me. You’re here to confirm the stance, right?”
Yue spread her hands and asked sincerely.
“To be honest, I’m still hesitating.”
“There’s no time for hesitation now,” Luoyou said, making a gun shape with her hands.
“If you hesitate, the government will bang you without a second thought.”
Though the Organization was now seen as a guardian of order, everyone remembered their past as a sinister group.
If they turned against the government at a critical moment, they’d instantly become the biggest source of chaos, and the state would never forgive them.
On such matters of right and wrong, even a second of hesitation brands them as untrustworthy in the eyes of decision-makers, and what follows is a reckoning.
“There’s still some time. They’re showing restraint because of you.”
Yue crossed her legs and asked, “And you? What’s your attitude? The Organization usually follows your lead.”
“Follow me?”
“Of course. It’s simple: what you want to do generally gets a green light, and what you don’t want to do, no one else can do either.”
Luoyou nodded.
It was indeed the case.
No matter how carefully others planned, if she suddenly changed her mind and intervened halfway, she could stir things up and ruin everything.
“As long as it doesn’t interfere with my pleasure.”
“That means you stand opposed to those people.”
“Maybe, but if they offer me conditions that tempt me, I might agree.”
“Heh, impossible. What could they possibly offer that would tempt you?”
Yue smiled.
If such a thing existed, it would have to be an ancient artifact.
Thinking of ancient artifacts, Yue’s expression darkened.
“I have new intelligence about the ‘Box.’”
Luoyou raised an eyebrow.
“Tell me.”
“Remember Kui?”
Yue knew Luoyou’s memory for small fries was weak, so she reminded her, “He was the second-in-command you took out.”
“Oh, right. What about him?”
“We found clues from him. According to my investigation, he had close dealings with ‘those people’ some time ago.”
“I uncovered information about the Box from some threads Kui left behind.”
The Box!
It was said to hold the secret origins of the World Sea.
To obtain it was to hold the key to prosperity for thousands of years to come.