"Are you trying to poach Shengshen? Were you just exaggerating earlier?" After hearing Daniel's words, Hibiscus looked at him suspiciously. As a university student in Lungmen, she wasn't stupid. If Daniel hadn't added that last sentence, she might not have doubted him.
"Whether it's an exaggeration or not, you should know in your heart," Daniel said calmly. Although it might seem like he was taking advantage of Beanstalk's situation, it was indeed a good opportunity.
"Can you really recover Shengshen's lost wealth? The Nearl Guard Bureau hasn't made any progress on this case." Hibiscus looked at Beanstalk, who was visibly downcast after Daniel's words. She wanted to comfort her but didn't know how. If it were a fight, she wouldn't hesitate, but this wasn't something that could be resolved with fists.
"Of course. As I said earlier, those people dared to do this to Miss Wan Shengshen because she had no backing. Similarly, recovering her lost wealth is the same. The Nearl Guard Bureau has many things to deal with daily, so they naturally can't devote much effort to this." Daniel paused for a moment before continuing, "But if it's an order from Lungmen's Governor, Wei Yenwu, I believe this matter can be resolved quickly."
Normally, a case like Beanstalk's wouldn't attract Wei Yenwu's attention. He wouldn't waste his time on such trivial matters. As for the Nearl Guard Bureau, with Ch'en there, they might want to investigate, but such cases are difficult to crack, and with the Reunion Movement attacking Lungmen, they simply don't have the resources to spare.
"Sir, do you know Governor Wei?" Old Lee interjected, stopping Hibiscus from speaking.
"No, but that doesn't mean I can't ask for his help." Daniel raised his voice slightly and continued, "I assume you've all heard what I said. You've been following me for a few days now. Report this matter to Governor Wei and ask him to handle it. While it might be a small matter to him, it could change someone's life."
Silence fell after Daniel's words. No one spoke, and Hibiscus looked around, trying to see if anyone was hiding nearby.
"Regardless, she is a citizen of Yan. As the highest authority in Lungmen, shouldn't he address such injustice?" Daniel continued, regardless of whether anyone responded.
Were there people hiding nearby? Of course, and they were directly under Wei Yenwu's command—his shadow guards. Given Daniel's high-profile appearance in Lungmen and his interaction with Swire, Wei Yenwu couldn't ignore him. For someone like Daniel, who stood out so much, Wei Yenwu would naturally take notice.
On Terra, national-level forces were incredibly powerful. Each country had its own formidable military: Ursus's Emperor's Blades, Yan's Imperial Guards, Kazimierz's Silver Pegasi, and others like the Absolutionists, the Queen's Voices, and the Snow Priests—all possessed immense strength.
The shadow guards were no exception. Even Ch'en might not be able to defeat one in a one-on-one fight, and that was assuming the shadow guard wasn't one of the elite. This spoke volumes about their strength.
Jie's fish ball shop was located on a street near the port, with a clear view of the surroundings. Under normal circumstances, no one could hide so close without being seen. However, this didn't account for Originium Arts. Invisibility and similar Originium Arts were not uncommon in this world.
During his time in Lungmen, Daniel had learned a bit about Originium Arts. While they resembled superpowers, with each person's Originium Art being unique, there were also universal Originium Arts that could be learned. Yan's Celestial Masters' Institute was one such place where people could learn these arts.
In other words, it was like the difference between innate supernatural abilities and cultivated techniques in *The Outcast*.
"It seems this alone isn't enough to get Wei Yenwu to act. Let me add another bargaining chip. In return, I need you to ensure that everyone involved in this matter gets what they deserve, recover Miss Wan Shengshen's lost wealth, and compensate her." Daniel raised his voice again.
"Tell Wei Yenwu that Koschei is still alive."
While Daniel could handle Beanstalk's situation himself, it would take a lot of time. Having Wei Yenwu handle it would be much simpler, as this was his city. As for the bargaining chip, Daniel had plenty.
Helping Beanstalk was a decision he had made earlier in the afternoon. The idea of starting a film company came to him after meeting her. In that moment, he thought of someone who loved making movies—Nian, from *Arknights*.
Nian, Ling, and Dusk—three operators he had desperately wanted but never managed to pull in his past life. Now, he had the chance to gather them in the real Terra. He could even film *The Great Chief Returns* and *The Raging Waves*, and get Wei Yenwu and Lin Gooru to star in them.
The mention of Koschei's name immediately caused Lin Gooru and Old Lee's expressions to change. Even the shadow guards following Daniel in secret couldn't help but hold their breath.
"Who is Koschei?" Hibiscus asked, confused by the sudden tension.
"This is not something you should know. Remember, never mention this name again. For your sake, it's best to forget it." Old Lee spoke sternly to Hibiscus and Beanstalk, then gave Daniel a deep look.
Seeing Old Lee's gaze, Daniel couldn't help but smile. It wasn't that Old Lee was funny, but rather that seeing him reminded Daniel of the time Old Lee ran into his old friend in Shangshu. Thinking his friend was in the same boat as him, only to find out his friend had become a life winner. There was also the infamous "Old Lee, I want two bowls."
"Boss, are our fish balls ready?" Sensing that one of the shadow guards had left, Daniel called out to Jie. Jie would later join Rhodes Island, and despite being a simple seafood vendor, he was often mistaken by some in Lungmen as the underground boss or a hidden professional assassin.
Even Hibiscus wasn't spared from these rumors, which later led to a big misunderstanding that only deepened over time. In fact, just based on appearance, Jie, being from Ursus, did look like a tough character. Even some people at Rhodes Island thought so when they first met him.
"Coming." In fact, the fish balls had been ready for a while, but Jie had held off serving them to avoid interrupting Daniel's conversation.
"The taste is really good." It had to be said that Courier's recommendation was spot on. No wonder Old Lee often came here for fish balls, or had Hibiscus buy them to take home.
"Miss Wan Shengshen, I believe your situation will be resolved soon. If you decide not to continue in the film industry, that's fine. But if you want to, you can come to me. I can't promise much, but funding won't be an issue."
Not only was funding not an issue, but Daniel also had plenty of scripts.
"I'll think about it." Beanstalk was still in a daze. Her simple nature had never imagined things could be so complicated, especially the mention of Oripathy, which left her shaken. Beanstalk didn't discriminate against the Infected, but that didn't mean she wanted to become one.
"Shengshen, are you okay?" Hibiscus looked at Beanstalk with concern.
"I'm fine. I just need some time to think."
"Governor Wei."
While Daniel and Ansel were enjoying their fish balls and delicious fish soup, the shadow guard who had left arrived at Wei Yenwu's office. Even at this hour, Wei Yenwu was still working.
"I'll step out for a moment." Seeing the shadow guard arrive, Lady Wen, who was accompanying Wei Yenwu, prepared to leave, but Wei Yenwu stopped her.
"Just say what you need to say." Wei Yenwu trusted his wife completely.
"It's about Koschei." The shadow guard relayed what Daniel had said about Koschei being alive, as well as the situation with Wan Shengshen. For the shadow guard, anything related to Koschei was of utmost importance.
"Impossible. He's dead." Upon hearing that Koschei was still alive, Wei Yenwu immediately stood up from his seat. He had been keeping a close eye on Koschei and had received news of his death at Talulah's hands.
At first, Wei Yenwu hadn't believed it, given how formidable Koschei was. But after multiple confirmations, he had finally accepted that Koschei was dead.
"It seems he's trying to negotiate with you. Let me handle Wan Shengshen's situation."
"No, I'll take care of it."
"Let me do it. I know a bit about Wan Shengshen. Shirayuki enjoys her movies. She mentioned that Wan Shengshen had been unlucky recently, running into scammers. I didn't expect it to be something like this." Lady Wen's tone turned serious. "If Koschei is truly alive, then the Reunion Movement's goals are far more complicated than we thought. Talulah, Ch'en... Sigh." Lady Wen couldn't help but sigh.
Originally, Wei Yenwu and Lady Wen had assumed that the Reunion Movement's attack on Lungmen was Talulah seeking revenge for past events. In their eyes, Talulah, raised and educated by Koschei, must harbor deep hatred for them.
Raising an enemy's child and teaching them to seek revenge was entirely in line with Koschei's methods. Lungmen had been wrested from Koschei's grasp by Wei Yenwu and others, and such a deep grudge would not be forgotten.
But if Koschei was still alive, then this was a joint plan between Talulah and Koschei, and it wasn't just about revenge. Perhaps Koschei wanted to reclaim Lungmen.
Lady Wen sighed because she realized this. If it were just Talulah seeking revenge, things would be simpler. It was only because Ch'en hadn't fully matured yet that Wei Yenwu might have willingly died at Talulah's hands. After all, Talulah's father had indeed died by Wei Yenwu's hand, wielding the Chi Xiao sword.
But now, if things continued to escalate, history might repeat itself—siblings shedding each other's blood.
"Don't worry. No one will take Lungmen from me." Lungmen was Wei Yenwu's bottom line. In the past, he had killed Talulah and Ch'en's father for the sake of the city. Now, even if it pained him, he would do the same to Talulah if necessary, if only to prevent Ch'en and Talulah from killing each other.
At this point, Wei Yenwu had no idea that Koschei's goal was to incite war between Ursus and Yan. Firstly, he didn't know Koschei's true identity, and secondly, Wei Yenwu had been in communication with Ursus's higher-ups.
"Money really does make things easier. Next, I should go find Amiya. But Wei Yenwu is surprisingly patient." Daniel had expected Wei Yenwu to meet him soon, but it seemed he was wrong.
"It's chaos out there."
As Daniel and Ansel entered Lungmen's slums, the sound of continuous gunfire, angry shouts, and painful screams filled the air. The slums were in complete disarray, with every household keeping their doors tightly shut.
"Amiya, clearly a rabbit, but her ears don't look like rabbit ears. Is it because of her Chimera bloodline?" Standing on a dilapidated building, Daniel watched the intense battle below—Rhodes Island versus the Reunion Movement.
To be precise, it wasn't just Rhodes Island. Among Amiya's group, he also saw a red-haired Sankta and a wolf—Exusiai and Texas.
Besides them, there was also the plump fox from Blacksteel International, Liskarm, and the wealthy cat-eared girl, Franka.
"Big Cat is here too. How violent." Watching Big Cat—Huang—jump down from a Reunion Movement building and ambush them, Daniel couldn't help but sigh.
Big Cat, of course, was Huang, one of the operators he had most wanted in his past life. Back then, he was a clumsy Doctor at Rhodes Island, so he preferred operators who could block two or three enemies at once. Single-block operators were useless to him, as he wasn't the "Demon of Babel." Even when copying strategies, he often failed.
This puzzled him. He followed the steps exactly, sometimes even with better setups, but for some reason, he kept failing. It was a mystery he never solved.
In the game, the bloody scenes were censored, but in reality, they were unavoidable. Just imagine what would happen when Huang's chainsaw hit a human body. That's exactly what was happening now.
This was war, and no one held back, even if they were all Infected.
The people on the battlefield were used to such scenes, but even Ansel, standing beside Daniel, showed no reaction. This gave Daniel a deeper understanding of the darkness in this world. Knowing something and seeing it firsthand were two completely different things.
"That must be Misha. And W."
With his Observation Haki, Daniel easily detected W hiding nearby, watching the battle. Misha's death later was largely tied to W's actions, though W had been trying to stop Talulah from crashing into Lungmen, which ultimately led to the tragic deaths of both siblings.
"Who are you?" When Daniel and Ansel appeared in front of Amiya's group, they immediately raised their guard.
"Someone looking for Rhodes Island to treat an illness." Daniel waved at Amiya with a smile, then walked toward the wary group with Ansel.
Seeing that Daniel and Ansel meant no harm, Huang, Exusiai, Texas, Franka, and Liskarm quickly put away their weapons.
"An illness?"
"Yes, her Oripathy is quite severe and needs treatment." Daniel briefly explained Ansel's condition.
"I understand. Miss Ansel can come back to Rhodes Island with us." Rhodes Island never turned away those seeking treatment, and Amiya didn't even discuss the cost.
"Hello, Amiya. Let me introduce myself properly. I'm Daniel." Daniel walked up to Amiya and reached out to touch her rabbit ears. Having met Amiya, not touching her ears would be a missed opportunity.
"Stop! What are you doing?" Daniel's action immediately alarmed the woman standing behind Amiya, who also had rabbit ears. She raised her war hammer, ready to strike.
"Violence, it's okay. Mr. Daniel means no harm." Amiya quickly stopped her. As the heir to the Demon King, Amiya wasn't as weak as she appeared.
"So this is Violence, the Amiya fanatic." The people Rhodes Island took in had various reasons for joining. Some followed Kal'tsit, but Violence's world revolved entirely around Amiya, with the Doctor and Kal'tsit coming second. Even Theresa took a backseat.
"Mr. Daniel, are you also an Infected?" Amiya's face turned red as Daniel touched her ears, and she quickly pushed his hand away.
"No." Just as Daniel answered, Amiya's communicator beeped. She answered it, and on the other end was Ch'en from the Lungmen Guard Bureau.
"Officer Ch'en, we've found Misha and are heading to the rendezvous point." After briefly explaining the situation, Amiya hung up and nodded at Daniel. The group then set off.
Since the Lungmen Guard Bureau couldn't enter the slums, Ch'en couldn't bring her team there and had to wait outside for Amiya.
This was why Rhodes Island had to handle the search for Misha in the slums. Even with the chaos caused by the Reunion Movement infiltrating the slums, the Nearl Guard Bureau couldn't act freely.
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