Chuyao was a cautious, good girl.
Even when she went out to watch some drama, she made sure to prepare thoroughly: she checked if her clothes were decent, if she had her mobile phone, and if she had the critical props ready for emergency evacuation.
The first few items were no problem.
The JK sailor suit and plaid miniskirt were perfect for the scorching summer. But when it came to the final item, she pulled the soulstone from her pocket to check it and was so startled she nearly dropped it.
“Eek!”
The soulstone, which had originally emitted a faint, deep-blue glimmer, now shone with a light that was incredibly pure.
How pure? Put it this way: the energy lamp on Ultraman’s chest right after he transforms was about that same color.
More importantly, Xu Chuyao knew what this represented.
“Hey, Shen Ning, are you there? How did you do this?”
Truth be told, Shen Ning had fallen in love with this feeling.
Ever since she changed the “Kingdom” to the “Empire” and issued the conquest order, a storm of blood and fire had swept through the Crystal Stone World.
Imperial Guards were everywhere on the White Mist Plain.
Those Aberrant Variants, whose minds were still muddled, were no match for them; once captured, they were sent straight to the Hourglass Square.
For a moment, the “hospital” looked more like a concentration camp.
Although the phrasing sounded a bit harsh, this sensation of “using the most iron-blooded methods to do the most gentle things” felt wonderful to the young girl.
‘I should still mention it, but you really are someone who falls in love with whatever profession you’re in,’ the Sexual Suppression Projection immediately voiced its counter-argument.
‘The first time you sang on stage, you fell in love with singing. The first time you gave a speech, you fell in love with public speaking. And now, the first time you’ve implemented iron-blooded policies, you’ve fallen in love with ruling.’
Some spoke harsh truths, while others spoke pleasant words. The Broken Shadow spoke up for justice. ‘Don’t say that. She simply happened to find her direction.’
‘That’s different,’ the Sexual Suppression Projection snorted. ‘After she fell in love with Chuyao for the first time, she only loved Chuyao.’
Shen Ning was slightly stunned, feeling like something was a bit off about those words.
No, she couldn’t overthink it. She needed to get down to business; Chuyao was rushing her.
The girl thought to herself as she calculated the number of newly “treated” people over these past few days. Adding in the initial ten thousand or so, there were now nearly 15,000.
Could they split this world by gathering everyone’s strength?
Standing in the upgraded Fossil Corridor, she looked up at the pale white sky and made a casual swiping motion. She didn’t mean anything by it; she was just testing it out.
*Crack!*
Like a bolt from the blue, everyone in the Crystal Stone World looked up.
A rift appeared in the white firmament, and prismatic light slowly seeped through before falling like raindrops.
The white mist shrouding the plains dissipated rapidly, and colors never seen before dyed the land.
“How beautiful,” Mellon said with deep respect as he walked over from nearby.
“Empress, I have never questioned any of your decisions, but I never imagined they would be so magnificent.”
‘Me? Did I do that?’
The girl almost scratched her head, but to maintain her dignity as the Empress, she forcibly kept her expression neutral.
In theory, she had indeed done it, as she had just swiped at the sky… but didn’t Chuyao say that the Empire’s population had to exceed two-thirds of the total population?
The Crystal Stone World had nearly 40,000 people in total; two-thirds would be at least 26,000. But the Empire’s population was only 15,000, still a full 11,000 short.
Yet, looking around, people were cheering all over the colorful plains.
Why?
‘The new passive you got just last month.’
[All for me, I for all: When you use collective power, double it.]
Even with Shen Ning’s Culture Class grades, she understood after a bit of thought—15,000 doubled was 30,000, which well exceeded two-thirds.
‘But I just told Chuyao a few days ago that I could only recruit a few hundred people a day…’
‘Yes, so you should consider how to explain this to her now.’
As soon as the thought finished, a small gate radiating prismatic light appeared above the girl’s head and sucked her in.
‘The gate has become so beautiful…’
That thought flashed through Shen Ning’s mind.
She closed and opened her eyes, and the vibrant colors of the Crystal Stone World vanished, replaced by a coldly decorated single room and a beautiful girl staring at her with puffed-out cheeks.
She was so beautiful.
If your wife looks like this, then she isn’t your wife—she’s my wife.
‘That’s not necessarily true,’ the Sexual Suppression Projection said. ‘My wife really does look like this.’
Broken Shadow: ‘Me too…’
Milky Ning Reflection: ‘+1.’
‘That’s true.’
Shen Ning’s mind wandered for a moment, and by the time she snapped back to reality, Xu Chuyao was already standing in front of her, looking her up and down carefully with a slightly darkened expression.
“Shen Ning, are you… Rank 5?”
Was she Rank 5?
Oh right, it seemed she was. That familiar yet strange sense of power appeared in her body again, eager to be tested.
Before she could feel it out in detail, her wife leaned in close, her beautiful eyes staring straight at her.
‘Oh no, how do I explain? I haven’t thought of anything at all…’
“Good! Good, good, good! This is great! Finally, some good news!” Xu Chuyao patted Shen Ning’s shoulders with her small hands.
“It seems my constant nagging these past few days and having the Teacher supervise you was very effective!”
Shen Ning breathed a quiet sigh of relief and listened cautiously for a while.
Her wife kept praising her, even saying things like, “You actually progress faster when the Teacher isn’t around; this is the effect of self-motivation,” without questioning the reason at all.
Chuyao was so understanding; it was truly wonderful.
After several minutes of praise, Xu Chuyao finally asked a question.
“Since you’re already Rank 5, let’s take care of Wen Shengqing and Chu Cang. They’re out in the open while you’re in the shadows. Hit them hard with that ability of yours; they definitely won’t be able to react in time!”
Whatever Chuyao ordered, Shen Ning immediately followed. She focused her mind and tried to use that mysterious power to apply causality to those two men.
She felt the power surge out, and a moment later, she felt it return.
“It… doesn’t seem to be working,” Shen Ning bit her lip. “It failed.”
Xu Chuyao’s eyelids twitched. “It failed?”
“Yeah… I don’t know how to describe it. It’s like… the timing isn’t right, or the conditions aren’t met?”
The Butterfly Effect could have “insufficient conditions”?
Xu Chuyao thought about it and realized it made sense. If key conditions were missing, it really wouldn’t be easy for the move to take effect.
After all, the opponents were experts of the same rank; how could they be directly influenced so easily?
She recalled the “Final Destination” movies she had watched, with those chain-reaction death mechanisms. But even in the plot, some people survived by hiding in “safe houses.”
Shen Ning hadn’t seen the movie; she just felt a bit gloomy that she couldn’t help.
‘It’s fine. This move is very strong. You’ll know when it’s useful,’ the Broken Shadow comforted her.
But Shen Ning still felt a bit bad that she couldn’t help Chuyao right now.
At that moment, Xu Chuyao waved her hand.
“It’s fine! If there are no conditions, we’ll create them! But there’s no rush right now. Let’s go outside and watch a good show first.”
—
Chu Cang had a faint suspicion regarding Wen Shengqing’s Rank 5 ability.
Back when they hadn’t completely fallen out, they had a decent superficial relationship and often had small gatherings. They were close to each other, yet guarded.
Chu Cang often used his words to test the waters, trying to induce the other party to utter an “Oath.”
That was his own Rank 5 ability.
As for Wen Shengqing, he also had his own little schemes during their chats. Chu Cang noticed that the man would sometimes deliberately propose opposing viewpoints to guide an argument, yet he always knew when to stop, as if he were unwilling to expose his ability.
Outside the Council Spire, he led several councilors into a car, but he first reached out and pressed the driver’s shoulder, signaling him not to depart yet.
He already had some guesses.
“They will argue over responsibility.”
The councilors were stunned for a moment.
“General, they have always distorted the truth and stirred up trouble, but we will definitely not back down!”
“Exactly! Zhou Tian was out on official business, and the Old Speaker personally handled the aftermath last time. That Peter Mo was the one who provoked him. Even if this blows up, they are the ones in the wrong!”
Chu Cang said with a smile, “It’s good that you all have high morale and are working together. However, regarding today’s matter, please follow my arrangements. This is for our ultimate victory.”
After calming everyone down, he pointed in the direction where the incident had occurred.
“When the argument starts, besides the two people involved, they have five people, and you happen to have five people as well. Four of you should just stick to your positions, but as for the last one…”
“Judas.”
Sitting in the back row, a man whose dress and appearance were quite exotic raised his hand. “General, I am here.”
“You will use a neutral statement,” Chu Cang ordered. “Say that both sides are at fault.”
The others looked at each other, not understanding what this meant.
Judas scratched his head. “General, although I have this name, please rest assured that I’ve staked my life on your path. I would never commit an act of betrayal!”
Chu Cang’s old face twitched slightly, and he felt a bit embarrassed. It wasn’t that he doubted his subordinate’s loyalty, but… he really had thought of arranging for him to do this because of that name.
There was no other reason; he had simply associated it with the historical allusion.
“I believe in you, and please believe in me as well. I would never doubt anyone,” Chu Cang said loudly. “This arrangement is part of my plan. Just follow it.”
This wasn’t a lie; he really didn’t doubt them because these people had long ago made an “Oath.”
After giving the instructions again, he turned and patted the driver’s shoulder. “Let’s go. We can depart now.”
Meanwhile, the other party had already arrived at the scene, but Wen Shengqing sat alone in a car parked slightly further back.
From a distance, Wen Shengqing’s gaze narrowed slightly as he saw Chu Cang’s vehicle approaching.
“Chu Cang, I didn’t want it to come to this. You brought this all on yourself.”
He took a Scales Pendant from his pocket, put it around his neck, and then pushed the door open to exit the car.