On the same ship, Qingque wore light armor, two golden ribbons trailing behind her like a cape. Beside her stood Fu Xuan, a pink-haired loli girl with a shy expression.
Among the Luofu's populace, a touching story circulated widely: in recent years, General Qingque, beloved by many, valued grassroots workers, frequently visiting them to offer encouragement. One overlooked, low-performing employee, under the General's enthusiastic support, worked diligently, rose through the ranks, and was even poised to become the Master Diviner of the Divination Commission.
Of course, that was the version suitable for public broadcast.
Within the Seat of Divine Foresight, however, a different version spread by word of mouth:
It was said that the newly appointed General Qingque, despite her small stature, was no less adept at workplace power plays than seasoned leaders with centuries of experience. For instance, a certain overlooked employee from the Divination Commission had succumbed to General Qingque's authority, frequently called to the General's office under the pretense of "overtime," unable to leave for an entire day.
And General Qingque's catchphrase was widely known throughout the Seat of Divine Foresight:
"(Victim's name), you don't want ( ) to happen, do you?"
In a room just one wall away from the deck:
"Sigh, Fu Xuan, you're getting real good at this," Qingque lounged on the sofa, smirking mischievously. "If you keep this up, how's this General supposed to bail you out?"
Fu Xuan turned her head. "General, are you talking about work or last night?"
Qingque grinned wickedly. "What do you think? Come, get closer to your General."
Bang bang bang—
Just then, a knock came at the door, followed by a leisurely voice. "General Qingque, it's Jing Yuan. I have urgent matters to report."
The smile on Qingque's face froze, and she pouted, opening the door with annoyance. "Old Jing, you shouldn't have come."
"Sorry, but here I am."
Jing Yuan was dressed in nightclub-chic attire, complete with sunglasses perched on his head. He strolled in casually, giving Fu Xuan a warm greeting. "Yo, Miss Fu's here again?"
Fu Xuan shot him a glare and scurried out of the room.
Click.
As the door closed, Qingque stiffened, then threw herself at Jing Yuan's legs, tears welling in her eyes. "Old Jing! You're finally back! Do you know how tough these past two years have been since you disappeared? Look at me—I'm so stressed, I've shrunk!"
Jing Yuan smiled. "Stressed? You mean enjoying a two-day workweek at the Seat of Divine Foresight, strictly adhering to an eight-hour workday, and teasing junior female staff?"
Qingque rolled her eyes, flopping back onto the sofa. "Can't you play along a little? I'm the one who got you this cushy life, you know."
Jing Yuan patted her head. "Alright, let's get to business. I'm here to entrust you with something very important."
"I've read your reports from the past two days. Abominations of Abundance, the Antimatter Legion, traces of Borisin, and now the rebirth of the Ambrosial Arbor—these signs all point to someone targeting the Ambrosial Arbor's mysterious roots beneath the Ancient Sea."
"If my guess is correct, our opponent this time might be the legendary Lord Ravager, Phantylia."
"In the worst-case scenario, they've already reached the Arbor's roots and stolen the power of [Abundance]."
Qingque froze. "So, should I call the generals of the other Xianzhou ships for backup?"
Jing Yuan smiled without answering.
"Alright, I get it, that's not realistic," Qingque sighed. "So I'm stuck doing the heavy lifting? My Celestial Jade skills aren't even maxed out yet. How about we call in some star-level weapons? I'm not sure I can handle this…"
"Don't joke around. This battlefield is on the Xianzhou's mainland. Rashly using weapons would only lead to mutual destruction."
Jing Yuan said, "Leave the Lightning Lord to me. I'll fight this battle."
"Old Jing… you're not kidding, are you?" Qingque asked, incredulous. "You're already living the life you wanted. I thought you were about to save up enough to tour the cosmos. Why take such a huge risk now?"
"If I don't fight, are we going to let you youngsters do it?" Jing Yuan shrugged. "Besides, I'm not necessarily alone."
"For example?"
"For example, certain off-world heroes, or a certain friend who only gets one day off every half-month," Jing Yuan said, glancing out the window with a smile. "I believe our friends are on their way here."
In Jing Yuan's phone inbox, the top message was a notification of an 800-credit-point transfer.
At that very moment, on the mainland of Scalegorge Waterscape, a certain figure who had just been scammed out of 800 credits was looking at their navigation, head down, trudging toward the battlefield.
Qingque was silent for a moment. "Can I ask something?"
"Hm?"
"What's with your outfit today?" Qingque pointed at Jing Yuan's nightclub-style attire, her face showing a hint of disdain. "You didn't start working as a nightclub escort for money, did you?"
"Hey, don't just slander my good name!" Jing Yuan protested. "This is clearly for the show effect Little Guinaifen set up for me. Plus, these clothes are rented—I've got to return them later!"
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"Old Jing?! You've been changing for half an hour! Where are you?!"
Guinaifen shouted frantically at the changing room. "The livestream audience is getting impatient! The PK's about to start!"
"…"
"Hey, I'm talking to you—"
Furious, Little Guinaifen yanked open the changing room curtain, only to see an empty room. A giant question mark popped above her head. "Wait… where're my clothes?"
"Those cost me 50 credits an hour to rent! No… Old Jing? Old Jing?!"
…
"Ambrosial Arbor branch… Ambrosial Arbor branch… where the heck is it?"
Bailu looked around, puzzled. She wasn't unfamiliar with Scalegorge Waterscape—it was her hometown, after all. It was here that she'd signed that indentured servitude contract, losing her freedom.
But why was this place so run-down? Didn't the Dragon Masters always call it the Vidyadhara's holy land? Why didn't they hire a cleaner periodically… Wait, this was the Vidyadhara's holy land. Who'd open a store branch here?
Bailu froze on the spot—had she been scammed again?
Ughhh… scammers are the worst!
Boom!
As Bailu sulked, a loud explosion nearby caught her attention. At that moment, she faintly sensed a familiar power, one that shared her origin, calling to her from somewhere ahead.
"What's… this feeling?" Bailu murmured. After two seconds, with a "might as well check it out" mindset, she decided to get closer.
A few steps later, a familiar gray-haired figure came into view. Bailu rubbed her eyes in disbelief, and just then, the figure seemed to sense her too, turning to look.
—"Bailu?"
—"Stelle?"
Recalling how her rare day off had been interrupted by some random person, and how she'd been scammed out of 800 credits before bed, Bailu couldn't hold back anymore upon seeing her good friend. She opened her arms and ran toward Stelle. "Stelle—!"
Stelle set down the little Stellaron, opening her arms and running toward Bailu. "Bailu—!"
"Stelle—!"
"Bailu—!"
"Stelle—!"
"Bailu—!"
The little Stellaron nearby: "Aba aba?"
Bailu threw herself into Stelle's arms, her face full of grievance. "Stelle, I got scammed out of 800 credits and tricked into coming to this dump. I didn't expect to run into you, waaah—!"
Stelle's lips twitched. Sis, we've only been apart for less than a day, and you're already this miserable?
"Hey! You over there, stop hugging in public like that!"
March 7th, in the middle of fighting, saw this scene. Ignoring the mara-struck Blade in front of her, she paused to scold, "Let go of my Stelle!"
Bang!
Blade seized the opportunity, charging forward and elbowing March 7th away.
Stelle & Bailu: "…"
Seeing March 7th and Dan Heng's battle turning against them, Stelle suddenly remembered something and grabbed Bailu's hand. "My dear Bailu, for the sake of our deep friendship, can you do me a favor?"
Bailu's eyes sparkled as she nodded vigorously. "Sure, sure! We're best friends, just say it!"
"Help me take down that black-clad swordsman up there, and I'll give you 8,000 credits, deal?"
Bailu's eyes lit up. "Stelle, you mean it?!"