"Exactly!"
Excitement glittered in Victor's eyes as if he could already see success.
"You find a way to wheedle all its secrets out of Holy Lord—especially the specific location of its palace filled with countless treasures! Leave the rest to me."
"I'm a principled and honest person!"
He paused, a hint of cunning flashing across his face.
"So I won't spout nonsense like'splitting the treasure with you'—I wouldn't even believe that myself."
He shifted his tone, his voice dripping with temptation:
"But I wouldn't mind you taking the part you truly want, like the Golden Rooster King Treasure."
"After all, you know, it's not your own stuff, so spending it doesn't hurt at all, right? Think about it~"
Victor's words were like demonic whispers from the abyss, each syllable striking the most desired and feared corners of Valmont's heart.
He breathed rapidly, his eyes struggling intensely as memories of running errands for Holy Lord only to be brushed off and scolded flashed through his mind.
In the end, his desire for the treasure and distrust of Holy Lord overwhelmed everything else.
He took a deep breath, his gaze gradually firming, even taking on a hint of ruthlessness, and extended a hand toward Victor:
"Pleasure doing business!"
"Pleasure doing business."
Victor's face instantly bloomed into a smile as he vigorously shook his hand.
Two hands clasped tightly together; a scheme to "clean out" an ancient demon had just reached a consensus in broad daylight, under everyone's watchful eyes.
Nearby, Afan, Rasu, and Nathan exchanged glances, feeling like their boss had... boarded a pirate ship?
And one that looked particularly unreliable at that!
Twenty minutes later.
Tyler crossed his arms, coldly watching the luxurious private helicopter emblazoned with the Dark Hand logo slowly descend onto the hotel's front lawn, letting out a disdainful snort.
He turned to Victor, who was eagerly heading toward the cabin door, his tone laced with undisguised doubt and warning:
"Aren't you afraid they'll turn on you? These guys are nothing but ungrateful snakes."
"Hey!"
Enid immediately took offense, her azure eyes glaring at Tyler, her cheeks puffing out slightly.
"Tyler! Watch your words! Did you have to use 'ungrateful snakes'?"
As a werewolf, she felt her entire species had been insulted.
Tyler paused, realizing his slip, and turned his head stiffly, muttering, "Sorry, no offense meant."
"No need to worry."
Wednesday's voice was calm and even. She smoothed her skirt, her gaze sweeping over Afan and Rasu standing obediently and almost obsequiously beside the helicopter.
"As long as the 'carrot' Victor offers is sufficiently large and tempting, and the'stick' he holds is sufficiently hard and lethal, they will naturally behave more obediently than the most rigorously trained hounds."
Hearing this, Enid pursed her lips and muttered under her breath:
"That still sounds... a bit offensive."
After all, wolves are canines too.
"Haha, exactly! Look how well-behaved they are!"
Victor had already climbed into the helicopter first, excitedly taking the pilot's seat and waving energetically at the three still standing below.
"They even sent a private helicopter! Come on up! It's my first time flying one of these; it looks way cooler than in the games!"
"Got it!"
Enid's attention was immediately diverted; her curiosity about the helicopter overwhelmed everything else. Happily pulling Wednesday's hand, she ran toward the helicopter.
"Wednesday, hurry! We've never been on a private helicopter either!"
Although Wednesday's face remained expressionless, her footsteps obediently followed Enid.
Tyler watched the two excited girls, then glanced at the maniac in the pilot's seat, rubbing his hands eagerly, and sighed deeply.
Resigned, he dragged his weary steps and was the last to board the aircraft.
The cabin door closed, and the roar of the rotor blades intensified.
Just as the helicopter's engine roared, its blades spun at high speed, and the fuselage trembled slightly, about to lift off—
Victor's cheerful and exploratory words, like a delayed-action bomb, exploded in Enid's, Wednesday's, and Tyler's minds:
"...It's my first time flying one of these..."
First time... first time... The trio, who had been somewhat excited and expectant moments ago, instantly stiffened, their movements freezing as if someone had hit pause simultaneously.
Enid's smile froze, Wednesday tightened her grip on the dark codex, and even Tyler's perpetually gloomy expression cracked slightly, his pupils contracting.
Inside the cabin, only the deafening roar of the rotor blades remained, along with a dead silence named "profound anxiety about an unknown fate," silently spreading.
And at that moment, Victor, sitting in the pilot's seat, gazed at the dense, dazzling array of instruments and controls before him and revealed a smile as pure and radiant as a child discovering a new toy.
"So... which button should I press first?"
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