Topaz stared blankly at the scene unfolding before her eyes.
She had witnessed countless strange and wondrous sights as an IPC executive, but this absurd spectacle was entirely unprecedented.
The scene before her felt like a bizarre fusion of dream and reality—so fantastical and surreal that children would surely laugh without a care, entertained by its whimsical absurdity.
But for any thinking adult, the implications of such a display were chilling. The power exhibited by that cat rivaled—or perhaps surpassed—what she herself could achieve using her full Stoneheart abilities.
Jarilo-VI still harbors this kind of strength? I may need to reconsider my strategy.
No, even more critical than sheer power was the sheer impossibility of everything she'd just seen. She needed to approach this carefully.
Topaz stood motionless, her mind rapidly considering countless possibilities.
She remained lost in thought until a sudden, agonized cry snapped her back to reality:
"Nooo!"
Turning quickly, she saw another cat identical to the first kneeling dramatically, staring upward with exaggerated anguish.
She hadn't expected these cats to speak as well.
Yet, compared to everything else, the fact they could talk was practically mundane.
More shocking was that such an absurdly powerful creature was apparently part of an entire species?
Could it be that the Jarilo-VI she knew wasn't truly the complete picture? Just when she'd thought she had a thorough grasp of this planet, new questions suddenly flooded her mind.
But after seeing familiar faces like March 7th and Dan Heng, her brows knitted slightly. Perhaps the simpler explanation was that these two cats weren't native to Jarilo-VI at all.
She pressed her lips lightly, hesitated a moment, then walked toward Yevenko's group.
As for the remaining True Stings, without the giant bug's protection, they had become easy targets, quickly falling under IPC's overwhelming firepower.
Since she planned to discuss matters with Yevenko's group, she owed them at least this small gesture of respect.
As for Yevenko, the real reason behind his theatrical sobbing was simple—the giant True Sting's [Exploration Value] had slipped through his paws again!
Why couldn't I ride faster than Tom, the Piggy Bank Knight, even though I was riding Raiden Ei? Was my purity not high enough?
Next time, he'd definitely monopolize all the [Exploration Value] for himself!
…Assuming, of course, he could actually beat it alone.
Regarding the remaining True Stings, Yevenko wasn't especially interested. Repeatedly farming [Exploration Value] from the same species yielded diminishing returns.
But even a tiny mosquito was still meat. If a bug approached him, he'd still give it a casual smack with the flyswatter.
Tom soon returned triumphantly atop Numby.
Hopping off Numby's back, Tom gave the little piggy bank a friendly high-five. Then, with some reluctance, they parted ways and returned to their respective owners.
Topaz scooped Numby into her arms as it leaped toward her, softly exclaiming:
"Numby, are you alright?"
Carefully inspecting Numby from head to toe and seeing no injuries, Topaz exhaled softly in relief.
Aside from her corporate duties, her greatest personal pleasure was caring for the countless adorable creatures scattered across the galaxy—which was precisely why she'd adopted Numby.
If not for the unsettlingly surreal display she'd just witnessed from the cat, Topaz would definitely have struggled not to reach out and pet it as well.
After all, fluffy creatures were simply irresistible. Of course, Numby's smooth porcelain-like texture was delightful in its own way.
As she approached the group, her eyes caught sight of Bronya, and a flash of understanding passed through her expression.
"As expected. Cocolia sent you away as well."
"I'm now ninety percent sure she's no longer in the council hall."
"With the Swarm infestation worsening, she's forced to play her trump card."
Bronya's brows furrowed in concern. "What do you mean by that? Where else would my moth—where else would the Supreme Guardian be, other than overseeing matters from the council hall?"
Even Bronya sounded uncertain now. Cocolia's recent actions were undeniably suspicious. The Underworld was clearly facing an outbreak of True Stings, yet not a single Silvermane Guard had been dispatched, as if the entire region had been abandoned.
Could it be true, as Seele had suggested earlier, that her mother truly no longer cared about the Underworld residents?
Topaz continued:
"I suspect the Swarm's arrival predates our expectations—it was likely held back by another force."
"From my investigation, I learned that although you described Cocolia as somewhat cold, she's undeniably competent and composed."
"Under her rule, Belobog's condition hasn't worsened unnecessarily; the problems caused by the Stellaron are beyond her control."
"But during our earlier conversation, I noticed her becoming increasingly agitated, as if something beyond her control had suddenly occurred."
"I originally thought the source of her agitation was the Swarm."
"But now I realize this anxiety is recent. At first, I wasn't certain—but now, I think I might understand."
Topaz's gaze lingered meaningfully on Yevenko and Tom.
Forget Cocolia—if these bizarre beings appeared suddenly at IPC headquarters, the entire corporation would probably descend into chaos for weeks.
Power was one thing, but the real issue was that their existence completely defied all common sense.
Who knew exactly what their limits were? They were total unknowns.
If it ever came down to it, probably only beings on the level of Aeon Emanators could reliably handle them—but such powerhouses were rare, even across the galaxy.
Hearing Topaz's insight, Yevenko immediately understood that despite everything, Cocolia was ultimately returning to her original path—even faster this time.
Truthfully, Yevenko's earlier "light-hearted teasing" of Cocolia hadn't been purely about harvesting [Exploration Value]—definitely not just about that!
His goal was to amplify Cocolia's emotional response, hoping she'd regain some of her original humanity, rather than fully succumbing to the Stellaron's influence.
At first, he'd thought it succeeded since Cocolia clearly showed more genuine emotion afterward.
But now it seemed that despite regaining some emotion, pressure from both the Swarm and IPC had pushed her deeper into the Stellaron's grasp.
After all those years of corruption, Cocolia had fully convinced herself that the Stellaron represented Belobog's only path to salvation, the only way to restore its greatness.
Yevenko finally spoke:
"I sense that Cocolia's reliance is on the Stellaron. She might even be directly connected to it."
Hearing this, Dan Heng and March 7th exchanged knowing glances, nodding thoughtfully. They understood Yevenko's vague intuition was usually accurate.
"So how do we find her?"
That was indeed a difficult problem—even Yevenko wasn't sure if Cocolia had moved the Stellaron's location. Did they really have enough time to search each possible place individually?
At that exact moment, Tom suddenly jumped forward.
Wearing a bright yellow safety helmet on his head and holding two curved metal rods in his paws, Tom confidently pointed both rods straight toward a certain direction.