"Everything went smoothly. I've already talked with the general of the Yaoqing, and we'll be signing the contract soon."
"Because those Abominations of Abundance have some devices that can resist even an Emanator's attacks, the Yaoqing would have had a tough time without our help, and there might have been unnecessary casualties."
"As far as I know, General Feixiao is a smart person and knows how to make the right choices."
In the corner, Jade was reporting her progress to her superior.
Because the IPC had deep cultural exchanges with the Xianzhou Yaoqing, the Yaoqing's culture had already merged with the IPC's, so planting moles inside was almost too easy.
Every time the Yaoqing sent out an expedition, the IPC would immediately get the news, and then the IPC would send someone to follow nearby.
If the Yaoqing won, then that was that.
If the Yaoqing ran into trouble, the IPC would immediately show up in front of the Yaoqing's general to discuss reinforcements and the spoils of war.
For the past few months, the Yaoqing had kept winning, so there hadn't been a chance, but this month, they finally ran into trouble.
As a result, Jade, a director from the Strategic Investment Department, was sent to negotiate.
Once the contract was signed, this deal would be a huge win.
[Yes, a small investment for huge gains. You did well.]
On the other end of the call was Jade's superior, known as Diamond, the leader of the Strategic Investment Department and also an Emanator of Preservation.
Right after hanging up, Jade took out the contract she had prepared, made a few adjustments, and then happily went off to find Feixiao with it in hand.
In her mind, this deal was already a sure thing, and there was absolutely no way anything would go wrong.
===
At the same time, in the conference room, the group of commanders who had been full of confidence just moments ago because of the IPC's reinforcements now looked gloomy and anxious, as if they had just lost their parents.
"Jiaoqiu, still nothing? What's wrong with the general?"
Moze, who was always a bit gloomy, looked even gloomier than usual.
"No idea... I just can't figure it out..."
Jiaoqiu held his forehead and sighed heavily.
Honestly, there was no helping it, because now their pillar of strength, the Merlin's Claw Feixiao, had all of a sudden fallen into some kind of deep sleep.
And the worst part was, Feixiao had entered a mysterious state where she was visible but strangely untouchable.
Anything that tried to touch her would just pass right through, like an illusion or a hologram.
If Feixiao hadn't been pounding the table just a second ago, everyone would have thought this was some kind of prank.
However, everyone trusted Feixiao completely, so they were sure she would never joke around right before a decisive battle.
In other words, she had run into trouble, and the trouble was something no one here could solve.
Helpless, Jiaoqiu could only call Jade over for help.
"Hiss..."
Upon learning of Feixiao's bizarre condition, Jade sucked in a breath.
'How would I know?'
Seeing Feixiao's current state, Jade was just as confused, having never seen anything like this before, and even the IPC's database had no record of such symptoms.
It could only be a hologram, yet all the commanders—along with Feixiao's healer and counselor, Jiaoqiu—refused to admit it, insisting it wasn't.
Jade truly had no solution for this.
'Of all times, why now... the contract isn't even signed yet...'
She couldn't help but sigh in helplessness.
No one other than the general was authorized to handle this business.
It wasn't that they were worried the Yaoqing would refuse to pay, but if the contract wasn't signed, meddling would be against the rules, and they would have no justification.
After all, this was a business involving half a planet's resources—she didn't want to get herself tangled up in trouble because of it.
In the end, Jade decided to wait until Feixiao returned to normal.
As a result, the IPC and the Yaoqing simply waited in silence.
In the conference room, a whole crowd of people kept racking their brains for ways to get Feixiao back to normal.
What they didn't know was that, at this moment, Feixiao was having a dream.
She was dreaming of her childhood, dreaming of the occupied lands, the borisins, the foxian compatriots, and a mysterious man.
===
Koolur, Underground Prison.
At this moment, Lucian was preparing to break down the cell door and wanted to confirm if things were as he suspected.
If his guess was right, this script really was from when Feixiao was still a child, back when she was a war slave of the borisins.
However, just as he was about to act, voices came from the prison entrance.
"Heh, this little thing actually showed signs of atavism mutation."
"What a shame, though... this little thing is so tender and cute. I've been eyeing her for a while—she'd taste great steamed."
"You dare eat what belongs to the Wolf-Headed Master? Do you have a death wish?"
As the voices drew closer, the light of the torches soon cast the shadows of two werewolf-looking beings known as borisin on the wall.
*Clatter—*
Lucian also heard the sound of iron chains dragging along the floor.
Before long, the two arrived at the cell where he was locked up.
He saw two borisins standing in front of his cell, noticing that the one on the left was holding a thick iron chain.
At the end of the chain was a girl, and behind her was a long trail of blood.
It seemed she had been dragged here the whole way.
"Huh?"
"When did this cell get another slave?"
Seeing Lucian, the borisin on the right pointed at him, confused.
Hearing his companion's words, the one on the left looked carefully, and sure enough, there was an unfamiliar slave.
"No fox ears, no tail..."
*Sniff-Sniff—*
Both borisins stretched their necks, sniffing at Lucian through the iron bars.
"Holy crap, this slave smells great... Hey, the Wolf-Headed Master didn't say anything about this slave, right?"
"Yeah, this one's fine to eat. Let's sneak him for ourselves."
Unable to hold back any longer, the borisin on the left lifted the chain and flung it aside, sending the girl tied up in the chains crashing to the ground with a dull thud.
Yet, the girl made no sound—it was unclear if she was dead or just unconscious.
*Scwing—*
As the cell door opened, the two borisins quickly entered, ready to feast on Lucian.
As Lucian saw the two beasts baring their fangs at him, drooling, he couldn't help but feel a wave of disgust.
"Scram!"
Lucian roared in disgust, and a surge of Imaginary energy followed his voice.
It instantly blasted the two borisins apart.
*Splat!*
Blood splattered onto the wall, looking gory and disgusting.
Without even glancing at the two dead borisins, Lucian calmly stepped out of the cell and raised his right hand to snap his fingers.
*Snap!*
With a crisp snap of fingers, all the torches suddenly flared up, flooding the underground prison with light.
Lucian walked up to the girl who had been thrown by the borisin, knelt down, and examined her closely.
White hair, fox ears, no tail, and a beautiful, heroic face.
No doubt, this girl was none other than the future Merlin's Claw, Feixiao.