Soon, everyone followed Jing Yuan and walked towards the Alchemy Commission.
The sound of footsteps gradually faded away.
The Seat of Divine Foresight became quiet once again.
Only Stella and the miserable [Jing Yuan] remained.
Along with a mountain of paperwork.
Stella sat in her chair, holding a teacup, watching [Jing Yuan]'s back as he lay slumped in the pile of documents. For some reason, he looked like a hard-luck white cat with its ears drooping down.
[Jing Yuan]'s head was buried in the documents, motionless, like a statue of despair.
After a long while, he slowly raised his head.
Two obvious dark circles hung under his eyes—though with his constitution, such things shouldn't exist, but exhaustion was written directly on his face.
"Original self..."
His voice was hoarse, as if his throat had been worn out by the paperwork.
"Please tell me..."
He paused and took a deep breath.
"Who else is among the characters you already possess?"
Stella blinked.
[Jing Yuan] with difficulty raised his hand and pointed to the mountain of documents in front of him.
"Capturing so many Disciples of Sanctus Medicus all at once..."
There was a hint of accusation in his tone.
"The clerical workload has skyrocketed instantly."
So?
You want me to summon someone to help you work?
Stella put down her teacup and opened the system panel.
The light screen unfolded before her eyes, with rows of character lists neatly arranged.
She read down the list:
"[Seele], [Clara], [Little Herta], [Cu Chulainn], [Hook], [Qingque], [Luocha]..."
"Wait!"
[Jing Yuan] suddenly interrupted.
His voice was so urgent it was like a drowning man grabbing a piece of driftwood.
Stella looked up: "Hmm? What's wrong?"
[Jing Yuan]'s eyes were terrifyingly bright.
He said solemnly: "Please summon her."
"Her?"
"[Qingque]."
Stella was stunned for a moment.
But she still nodded.
Raising her hand—
Light flickered.
A figure gradually solidified within the light.
[Qingque] appeared in the center of the Seat of Divine Foresight's main hall.
She blinked, her expression dazed, still clutching a tile in her hand.
She looked around, her gaze sweeping over the mountain of documents, over [Jing Yuan] slumped in the pile, and finally landing on Stella.
"Original self? What's the matter—"
Before she could finish her sentence.
A white shadow flashed past.
[Jing Yuan] rushed over at a speed completely inconsistent with his lazy persona and grabbed [Qingque] by the back of her collar.
[Qingque]'s feet left the ground, her whole body like a cat caught by the scruff of its neck.
"Wait—wait—General?!"
She struggled, but [Jing Yuan]'s hand was as steady as an iron pincer.
Lifting her, [Jing Yuan] walked back to the pile of documents in three steps.
Then—
He pushed her down into the chair.
The movement was crisp, smooth, and completed in one go.
[Qingque] landed on the chair, right in front of that mountain of documents that reached for the clouds.
She looked down at the documents.
She looked up at [Jing Yuan].
She looked down at the documents again.
She looked up at [Jing Yuan] again.
Her complexion turned from rosy to pale at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Her neck turned stiffly, like rusty gears, as she slowly shifted her gaze toward the smiling [Jing Yuan].
"General..."
Her voice trembled.
"You can't do this!"
Her grief and indignation were beyond words.
[Jing Yuan] had already returned to his own seat, picked up his teacup again, and took a sip with a smile.
"That's why I'm accompanying you."
He said, his tone as gentle as if they were chatting about the nice weather today.
"If there's anything you don't understand, ask me."
[Qingque]: "..."
[Qingque] looked down at the documents in front of her.
The first one: Summary report on the clearing of the third stronghold of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
The second one: Interrogation records of prisoners from the seventh stronghold of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
The third one: Inventory of supplies seized from the twelfth stronghold of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus.
The fourth one...
The dense text was like countless ants crawling on the paper.
[Qingque]'s eyes began to spin.
"I... I don't know how..."
"You can learn, I'll teach you."
[Jing Yuan] took another sip of tea.
"Don't you love slacking off the most? The prerequisite for slacking off is finishing your work; only then can you slack off with peace of mind."
[Qingque]: "...That logic seems wrong somewhere."
[Jing Yuan] smiled: "Where is it wrong?"
[Qingque] opened her mouth, then closed it again.
That's true, but this isn't my job at all!!!"
Stella sat in the chair nearby, holding her teacup, watching this scene.
Silence.
Silence was the Seat of Divine Foresight today.
She silently took a sip of tea.
Tragic.
[Qingque] was truly tragic.
Having just been summoned, without even catching her breath, she was forced into a chair to work.
This treatment was even more tragic than [Jing Yuan]'s.
At least [Jing Yuan] was working for himself; [Qingque] was being forced to work.
The sound of footsteps came from outside the door.
Everyone had returned.
Jing Yuan walked at the front, followed by Welt, Dan Heng, March 7th, Stelle, Yanqing, as well as [Jingliu], [Dan Feng], [Bai Heng], [Yingxing], and others.
They pushed open the door—
And then collectively froze.
March 7th's eyes bulged wide.
Stelle's eyebrows shot up to her hairline.
The corner of Dan Heng's mouth twitched.
Welt pushed up his glasses.
Jing Yuan's footsteps stopped at the doorway.
He looked at [Qingque] sitting in front of the pile of documents.
He looked at the pen that had been stuffed into her hand.
He looked at the mountain of documents in front of her that was taller than a person.
He looked at the expression of having lost all will to live on her face.
Then he looked at [Jing Yuan] nearby, who was leisurely drinking tea.
"..."
Jing Yuan was silent for three seconds.
Three seconds later, his expression became very complex.
"You're doing this..."
"Finding someone to help."
[Jing Yuan] put down his teacup, smiling calmly.
"I can't handle so many documents alone; isn't it normal to find an assistant?"
Jing Yuan looked at [Qingque].
[Qingque] was already slumped in the pile of documents.
Her face was buried in the paper, motionless.
Like a sparrow pretending to be dead.
"...She doesn't seem very willing."
"She's willing,"
[Jing Yuan] said.
"She just hasn't adapted yet."
[Qingque]'s voice came out muffled from the pile of paper: "General, I never said I was willing..."
"You didn't object just now."
"I didn't get the chance..."
"Then that means you're willing."
[Qingque] raised her head, her eyes filled with accusation.
But [Jing Yuan] had already turned his head to drink tea.
Stella watched this scene and silently took a sip of tea.
So this is how the High-Cloud Quintet interacts?
Each one better at piting others than the last?
Jing Yuan withdrew his gaze and prepared to walk in.
But just as he took a step, he suddenly paused.
He looked at [Qingque].
Then he looked in a certain direction.
His gaze gradually became subtle.
"Wait."
He spoke.
"You summoned [Qingque]..."
He paused.
"Then the Qingque on my side..."
Stella blinked.
Everyone blinked.
The air suddenly went quiet.
The Qingque who was currently slacking off at a game table in Exalting Sanctum suddenly sneezed violently.
"Achoo—!"
She rubbed her nose, looking dazed.
"Why do I always have an ominous premonition?"
A fellow player nearby asked: "What's wrong? Caught a cold?"
Qingque shook her head and looked around.
It was broad daylight, the sun was shining, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
But her back felt inexplicably cold.
As if she were being watched by something terrifying.
"...It's nothing."
She looked back at the game table.
"Continue, continue."
But that ominous premonition wouldn't go away.
Strange.
Truly strange.
Why does it feel like someone is targeting me?
Inside the Seat of Divine Foresight.
[Qingque] lay slumped in the pile of documents, her voice weak:
"General... I really don't know how to handle these..."
"Learn."
[Jing Yuan] didn't even look up.
"Am I not teaching you right now?"
"But..."
[Jing Yuan] put down his teacup and picked up a document.
"Look, this one is a list of prisoners. You need to classify and file them by name, age, identity, and crime."
[Qingque]'s eyes were spinning: "...Why do they need to be classified?"
"Because it'll be convenient to check the next time we capture people."
"Next time? There's a next time?!"
"Of course."
[Jing Yuan] smiled.
"The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus are just the beginning. Later there will be Lord Ravagers, Stellaron, and all sorts of messy things. Paperwork will only increase, never decrease."
[Qingque]'s face turned completely white.
Stella silently took a sip of tea.
Tragic.
Truly too tragic.
But for some reason, she kind of wanted to laugh.
Watching [Qingque]'s processing speed get faster and faster, Jing Yuan's eyes silently lit up.
——————
Meanwhile.
On the outskirts of the Alchemy Commission.
"Tingyun" stood on a high platform, looking down at the Cloud Knights below.
They were dragging a group of Disciples of Sanctus Medicus members who had been beaten like dead dogs toward the Seat of Divine Foresight.
Some of those people were unconscious, some were moaning, and some tried to struggle but were immediately pinned back down.
"Tingyun" narrowed her eyes, her folding fan swaying gently.
The expression on her face didn't change.
But her gaze gradually became subtle.
Wait...
How long had she been gone?
Less than two hours, right?
Two hours ago, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus were still alive and kicking, preparing to cause trouble.
Two hours later, they were being dragged away like dead dogs?
She looked at those prisoners.
One, two, three... too many to count.
Wiped out?