"Hm?"
Blade, whose steps had been halted by Firefly, paused slightly. Then, as if somewhat mockingly, he turned his head back and spoke coldly.
"What? Have you changed your mind? Want to grant me death?"
"No."
Our Miss Firefly shook her head. Her attitude remained as firm as before.
"I said it already. We are companions. I will not act against my companions."
"Then what else do you want to say?"
Hearing Firefly's words again, Blade's brows were now tightly locked. Since this girl was unwilling to send him to death, why did she call out to stop him? Was she just toying with him?
Seeing Blade looking at her with tightly furrowed brows, Firefly also understood what was in his mind.
"I cannot grant you death, but I might be able to help you fulfill another long-cherished wish."
"Another long-cherished wish? Could it be…!"
When Firefly mentioned another long-cherished wish, Blade's expression froze. His eyes widened until they nearly split, filled with shock and disbelief.
"You mean… Baiheng…"
———————————
"Director Topaz, as per your request, your dinner has been prepared. Shall I serve it to you now?"
In the endless sea of stars, aboard an Interastral Peace Corporation navigation ship, our Lady Topaz had just remotely finished handling some transmitted documents from Pier Point when she heard a subordinate's voice from outside the room.
In response, our Lady Topaz wrinkled her delicate nose slightly. A thoughtful look appeared in her beautiful phoenix eyes.
She did not remember instructing any subordinate to prepare dinner. Moreover, from the other party's tone, it was prepared according to her instructions… This was quite interesting.
It was worth noting that to maintain her good figure, aside from necessary banquets and social engagements, our Miss Topaz generally would not take dinner on her own initiative.
"Bring it in."
After reviewing the last document in her hand and confirming it was correct, Topaz signed her name at the end of the electronic file, put the document away, gently brushed her hair aside, and replied to the subordinate outside the door.
"Excuse me."
The door to the temporary office was gently pushed open from the outside. A female employee wearing the company's formal uniform carefully pushed in a meal cart, approaching Topaz cautiously and unhurriedly.
After arriving beside Topaz, she gave a slight bow, then opened the meal tray and presented the dinner before Topaz.
"Director Topaz, today's dinner is fried shrimp, Edo Star snowflake Wagyu with butterfly pasta, and the dessert is a molten chocolate lava cake. Please enjoy."
The female employee wore a refined smile as she carefully introduced today's dinner to Topaz.
"Mm, I understand. Thank you for your hard work. However…"
Topaz nodded with a smile in response, but then her tone suddenly changed.
"However, I don't recall ordering dinner. Miss Subordinate, could you explain this to me?"
Faced with Topaz's inquiry, a trace of panic clearly appeared on the female employee's face. However, her good upbringing still allowed her to steady herself temporarily. After another light bow, she continued to answer.
"Director Topaz, I'm not very clear about this either. I'm just a small fry responsible for delivering meals, so I'm very sorry."
"Small fry?"
Upon hearing the words "small fry," Topaz couldn't help but chuckle. Her gaze gradually turned sharp as she let out a cold snort.
"You say you're a small fry, huh. Heh, yes, you might be a small fry."
"But, heh…"
Topaz stood up from her seat with a cold smile. Gazing at the female employee before her, she suddenly drew the Imaginary Pulse Pistol from her waist and fired without hesitation at the woman's heart.
With a whoosh, the bullet shot out under the compressed pulse of Imaginary energy. In a flash, it pierced through the female employee's chest.
"You…"
All of this happened in an instant. In barely a breath, the female employee discovered a hole had been shot through her chest, and her entire body then collapsed limply.
However, what was astonishing was that a bright light suddenly flashed across the fallen female employee's body. Immediately afterward, in Topaz's sight, the already dead body transformed into another appearance.
"This… how could it be this thing?"
Examining the remains before her, Topaz's brows furrowed deeply. This canine-like figure, the muscles full of agility and explosive power, and the faintly discernible aura of Abundance abomination — everything pointed to the identity of the monster before her.
"Borisin? How did they get onto the company's transport ship?"
After confirming the female employee's true identity, Topaz did not hesitate. She directly took out the 'Topaz' stone representing her Debt-Collecting Jade from her storage box, activated the limited power within it, and performed an armed transformation.
Aboard this Interastral Peace Corporation navigation ship, her rank and position were undoubtedly the highest. Now that these Borisin had appeared so brazenly before her, it meant the entire ship had most likely already fallen under their control.
In that case, directly using the power of a Cornerstone for a swift counterattack was the optimal solution.
External cabin section of the company navigation ship…
"All of you, behave yourselves! If I find anyone trying to send a message, you'll become my rations!"
A Borisin soldier holding a weapon glared at the company employees huddled on the ground with their heads in their hands and roared ferociously.
They were Borisin disguised as company employees. Originally, they had planned to use the company's power to infiltrate the rapidly developing planet Jarilo-VI and accumulate strength for their future glorious hegemony.
However, what surprised them was that the moment this group of Borisin arrived on Jarilo-VI, they felt a special power coming from nowhere, pressing down on their bloodline power like a mountain.
Seeing that their power could not be used on Jarilo-VI and that even surviving there would be a luxury, these Borisin ultimately had no choice but to retreat and planned to head to the Xianzhou Luofu with the starship.
But at that moment, they unexpectedly heard about Topaz — a senior executive of the Interastral Peace Corporation's Strategic Investment Department, a big shot with P46-level authority. Most importantly, she was also heading to the Xianzhou Luofu.
With that, a plan formed in the Borisin's minds. If a P46-level executive were to meet with misfortune, would it spark a war between the company and the Xianzhou?