The moment she left Qlipoth Fort, Topaz immediately headed outside the city to meet up with her subordinates.
"Everyone, behave yourselves. Starting now, our plans have changed. This planet's debt has been forgiven."
Topaz had practically run all the way out.
She was worried that one of the employees she brought might accidentally offend the local residents.
The IPC staff had no idea what was happening.
To them, it seemed absurd.
How had Director Topaz gone inside for only a short while and suddenly decided to forgive the debt?
Did this planet possess some kind of special value?
"If I discover anyone causing trouble for the locals, you're fired on the spot."
Her next sentence instantly silenced every question.
Belobog was immediately labeled as a place that absolutely could not be messed with.
"Director Topaz, is it really that serious?"
One employee couldn't help asking.
This was merely a planet that had been isolated for seven hundred years.
Did it really warrant such caution?
"Of course."
"If we're careless, even I could end up getting fired."
Although a P45 executive held an extremely high position within the company,
Topaz understood very well that she was still ultimately just a senior employee.
Meanwhile, Su Ran was someone the entire Interastral Peace Corporation wanted to curry favor with.
If they truly did something inappropriate to a world that might be his home planet, even Diamond probably wouldn't be able to protect her.
At that moment, the employees became even more terrified.
Some were already regretting coming here with her.
Who would have guessed that such an unremarkable little planet possessed such terrifying backing?
Even Director Topaz herself could potentially lose her position over it?
"Hello? Boss Diamond? This is Topaz. I have important intelligence to report."
She immediately contacted her superior.
The head of the Strategic Investment Department—
Diamond.
"I found traces of Genius Society member Su Ran on Jarilo-VI."
"This planet appears to have deep ties to him. He is its owner."
As for whether it was actually his homeworld, that still required further investigation.
However, since the planet belonged to Su Ran, the IPC could no longer proceed according to the original plan.
"Understood."
Diamond's instructions were simple.
Exactly what Topaz had expected.
Assist Belobog's reconstruction.
If necessary, establish access to the interstellar market.
Even if they couldn't cooperate directly with Su Ran, they could at least create a channel of communication.
For the IPC, that was extremely important.
To this day, they still hadn't had many opportunities to interact with him.
Fortunately, the company was patient.
Though admittedly, that level of patience was reserved exclusively for geniuses.
After ending the call, Topaz let out a deep breath.
She genuinely felt happy for this planet.
Another world had been rescued from the catastrophe brought by a Stellaron.
That carried extraordinary significance.
The next step was conducting a comprehensive survey of Jarilo-VI and developing the optimal reconstruction plan for Belobog.
The real problem, however, was figuring out whether this was actually Su Ran's homeworld.
Surely she couldn't just ask directly?
That would make the IPC seem suspiciously interested.
While Topaz was still pondering the matter—
A starship descended from the sky.
A vessel from the Xianzhou Luofu.
Topaz froze.
Why was the Xianzhou Alliance involved too?
A young Foxian woman stepped off the ship and glanced curiously at the IPC personnel gathered outside the city.
"You're... people from the IPC?"
"I'm Topaz, one of the Ten Stonehearts under the Strategic Investment Department."
"You may call me Topaz."
"And you are, Miss Foxian?"
Topaz introduced herself.
At the same time, she looked at the newcomer with growing nervousness.
How was all of this happening on a recently reopened planet?
The coincidences were becoming ridiculous.
First Genius Society member Su Ran.
Now the Xianzhou Alliance.
"My name is Qingni."
"I'm an employee of the Sky-Faring Commission of the Xianzhou Luofu."
The visitor was none other than Yukong's adopted daughter, Qingni.
The moment she heard that this planet belonged to Uncle Su Ran, she had enthusiastically volunteered for the trip herself.
Yukong had tried to stop her.
And failed.
It seemed that, as an adopted daughter, Qingni cared more about her mother's happiness than Yukong did herself.
The rebellious girl had somehow matured.
To the point that even Yukong found it strange.
Especially since she and Su Ran hadn't formally defined their relationship yet.
Yet Qingni was already involving herself in everything.
Anyone seeing the situation might think Su Ran had shown up with a daughter to meet Yukong.
"I see. An envoy from the Xianzhou Luofu."
Truthfully, Topaz wasn't especially wary of the Xianzhou Alliance.
After all, the Xianzhou primarily followed the Hunt's path.
Under normal circumstances, they rarely interfered with the IPC's business.
She wasn't worried about them competing for contracts.
Compared to the IPC, the Xianzhou wasn't the ideal choice for Belobog's reconstruction.
There was no danger of them stealing the deal.
"Still, what brings a representative of the Xianzhou to this planet?"
While she wasn't worried, she still needed to understand the other party's intentions.
This world was currently one of Topaz's highest-priority assignments.
She couldn't allow anyone to complicate matters.
"Oh, I'm just here to see the planet Uncle Su Ran owns."
"And to deliver the Xianzhou's goodwill to this world's administrators."
Qingni didn't suspect Topaz's intentions at all.
Yukong had sheltered her too well.
She simply lacked experience.
The only reason Yukong had permitted this journey was because it used the Stargate.
Otherwise, she'd never have agreed.
"...Uncle Su Ran?"
Topaz repeated the title.
The phrase felt incredibly strange.
Su Ran wasn't very old, was he?
He should be around her age.
Possibly even younger.
So how could he possibly have such an... elderly junior?
"If you don't mind me asking..."
"How old are you?"
Topaz felt her brain beginning to malfunction.
Then she learned Qingni's age.
And discovered that she was several times older than Su Ran.
Topaz froze completely.
Why did Su Ran have a junior who was several times older than himself?
He wasn't even a Xianzhou native, was he?
So how exactly had he managed to become connected to the Xianzhou like this?
—------------------------------
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