“I’ll make this clear first—I’m not as easy to deal with as Ellera. Trying to seduce me with beauty is impossible.”
The charming woman didn’t respond but instead began to introduce herself.
“This is my business card. Please take it.”
Luoyou took it and looked closely.
Bai He—wow, just the name alone sounded like trouble.
And you say you’re not here to seduce me!
But Luoyou knew this was definitely not her real name, most likely something made up on the spot.
“Cut the crap. You’ve called me over multiple times. It’s probably about the Black Candle Giant Spirit, right? …Ms. Ailiel knows quite a bit of the inside story.”
Since her purpose had been seen through, Bai He no longer bothered with testing or dragging things out and spoke plainly, “Ms. Ailiel, your goal is to defeat Ellera, isn’t it? Join us, and you can make that dream come true.”
No pleasantries, no beating around the bush.
Just lacked credibility.
Luoyou leaned back tactically and said loudly, “What? Who? Don’t you know it was Ellera who contacted me?”
Although Yue had informed her to attend this offline meeting, on the surface, how else would Yue have contacted Ailiel?
It still had to be through Ellera.
Bai He’s expression remained cold.
“Do you really think someone like you cares about that?”
“You don’t know. Ellera is my revenge target, my conquest. How could I—”
“Got it. You want more money?”
“No, what I mean is: it has to be something I accomplish myself for it to mean anything.”
Luoyou calmly refused.
She wasn’t as flighty as usual today because now Chi Yu’s personality was influencing her.
“But since you came to meet us, you must have a request. Go ahead and say it. We’ll satisfy you as much as possible within our limits.”
“Are you willing to?”
“Depends on what it is.”
Luoyou’s index finger lightly tapped the table, the ticking sound stretching time endlessly.
In her gradually restrained breath, she finally asked, “Rumor has it… you have information about the Box.”
At that moment, the depths of Bai He’s eyes completely froze, and she didn’t reply immediately.
Luoyou carefully observed her reaction.
Finally, Bai He responded.
“I don’t know where you got such absurd news from, but my answer can only disappoint you.”
“Then there’s nothing to discuss.”
Luoyou stood up without a trace of hesitation and left.
“Ms. Ailiel, if you have any other demands—”
“None. That’s my only request. Everything else is off the table.” Slam.
The door of the private room shut, Bai He’s face darkened completely.
She immediately took out a laptop and began a secret call with someone on the other side of the Earth.
“You heard everything, right?”
Bai He said.
“I did. Didn’t expect the Box’s intelligence to be known by Ailiel. Kui was killed by her, so it must have leaked from Kui’s side.”
The voice on the other end of the video call was encrypted into an indistinguishable electronic tone, making gender impossible to identify.
Bai He’s voice lowered, “If this rumor spreads, we’ll immediately become the target of everyone’s ire. Everyone will want a piece of us.”
“Why don’t we just agree with her? She won’t get to see anything truly useful anyway.”
“But we still don’t know Ailiel’s background. Was she born a fusion warrior? Impossible. She must have some backing, someone who provided her with materials from two top-tier dimensional beasts to make her what she is now.”
Bai He analyzed the pros and cons in detail, “If we agree to her, it’s basically exposing our hand.”
“But you know, Ailiel’s existence is necessary.”
The electronic voice replied coldly and unemotionally:
“The Magic Alliance is now controlled by Manjusaka. That woman is crazy; she’s done something that breaks all taboos. We can’t predict what she’ll do next with such unorthodox methods.”
***
The sudden shift in the Magic Alliance gave them a sense of urgency.
No one expected that the magic girl, once seen as obedient and incapable of independent action without orders, would proactively bare her fangs to the outside world.
It all stemmed from Manjusaka. She was far too dangerous!
“The organization has already started global campaigns attacking the Magic Alliance, but Manjusaka definitely won’t care. To find us, she’ll use every means possible. We can no longer proceed step by step.”
“But we can’t agree to the Dark Witch’s demands.”
Bai He said coldly.
“Then we’ll use other methods! Whatever it takes, the Dark Witch is a must-have for us.”
At this very moment—
“That was fast.”
Yue saw Luoyou returning so soon and knew the talks must have fallen through.
She just didn’t expect it to end so quickly.
“They’ll probably take a hardline approach against you next.”
“I was just waiting for them to go hard on me.” Luoyou smiled mysteriously.
If they really had ancient artifacts, then bring them out and show me.
If they don’t reveal them, there won’t be another chance.
The world keeps turning with or without anyone.
Even if Luoyou’s gear stops turning here, other places keep spinning nonstop.
Since the Magic Alliance led by Manjusaka began its uncharacteristic course of action, public opinion about magic girls had been inflamed.
“Are magic girls still the people’s magic girls?”
“I told you, these guys from the Boundary Sea have no good intentions. They’re infringing on other countries’ sovereignty!”
“Already more than ten countries have jointly labeled the Magic Alliance a group to be wary of, and we must follow suit and boycott!”
“Manjusaka! What are you doing? You’re ruining the future of magic girls!”
“But do the other magic girls agree with what you’re doing, Manjusaka?”
The internet was filled with all kinds of comments.
It was obvious someone was stirring the pot, putting the Ten Seats on the grill, especially targeting Manjusaka with vicious remarks.
But no matter what was said, the general public mostly supported the magic girls’ actions.
After all, it wasn’t their sovereignty being violated.
Instead, many thought those opposing them had something to hide, especially the rich and powerful.
However, governments in various countries were indeed growing wary of the magic girls, especially in countries far from the Boundary Sea, where the restrictions were strictest, some even outright banning magic girls from entering.
As for those countries close to the Boundary Sea, still relying on magic girls to fight dimensional beasts, they remained relatively restrained but increased their attention to the Magic Alliance’s movements, restricting their additional actions to some extent.
Besides that, there was another factor restraining Manjusaka and the others—
Previously, the Aurora Witch had ventured deep into the Boundary Sea and killed several top-tier Dragon-class dimensional beasts, an impact that had now begun to subside.
The frequency of dimensional beast appearances started to rise again, leaving most of the Ten Seats no energy to manage other matters.
Moreover, with the arrival of the Boundary Sea tide, guided by the tide, more new Dragon-class dimensional beasts would find the sanctuary of the Boundary Sea Gate.
Their alliance’s partners would only increase, adding great pressure.
Under these circumstances, Manjusaka’s methods became more aggressive.
At the end of January, another major international incident occurred.
A video circulated online showing the leadership of a European country discussing plans to smear magic girls, including murder framing, defamation, and other schemes.
The video sparked public outrage, and several high-ranking officials, including the president, resigned in shame.
The content of this video was not important to many other countries.
What mattered was—how was the video filmed?
Judging by the angles, it looked as if someone was standing right beside them filming, even moving around, while those boasting their tricks were completely unaware, exposing themselves in disgrace.
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