"Phew, finally finished talking. As expected, trying to be a leader is truly exhausting..."
Inside the room, Cerydra let out a sigh, murmuring to herself in distress.
But there was no other way. She had projected this persona from the very beginning, so in front of others, she had to maintain that leader-like posture.
After all, if she didn't maintain this dignified persona well, her lack of deterrence might lead to a bunch of traitors appearing.
Though she wouldn't care much about these so-called "traitors"—since they couldn't threaten her regardless—dealing with them would be a real hassle. She had established this faction in the first place to make grinding for stellar jade easier; she didn't want to end up being even busier because of it.
"Forget it, I won't think about it anymore." She shook her head, tossing the messy thoughts from her mind before lying down on the bed, recalling Bartholos's words from earlier.
[Big sis, the way I see it, that person is just too conscientious. Not like me—I'm a spirithief, after all.]
[If I were that person, I would accept that loyalty with a clear conscience. After all, why not use something you got for free?]
[It's just like stealing; once I've stolen something, it's mine. I don't care who the original owner was.]
[Besides, if it's really unbearable, just have that person tell the truth to that subordinate and let the subordinate choose instead.]
[If that subordinate is willing to continue recognizing that person as their master, it proves the subordinate is also using that person as a replacement for the original owner to show loyalty. In that case, there's no need for that person to feel guilty anymore; since they're both using each other, just use them however necessary.]
[If the subordinate isn't willing to continue recognizing that person as their master, then just stop using them. Anyway, it was her own choice; consider it paying the price for one's own conscience.]
[So, big sis, I don't think this is a matter of "accepting loyalty that doesn't belong to her with a clear conscience," but rather whether that person is willing to bear the risk of losing this subordinate.]
...
"Bartholos was right. There really is no such thing as 'loyalty that doesn't belong to oneself.' Instead, I thought too much and ended up confusing myself."
Tell the truth and let Hysilens make her own choice. She had done everything she should and could do, so why should she continue to obsess over this matter?
If Hysilens didn't accept it, she would simply consider her "queen" piece non-existent. In any case, with her current strength, losing one Hysilens wouldn't cause any problems.
"However..." Suddenly, she remembered something. "I wonder which timeline the Hysilens I summoned is from."
"Could it be the Hysilens from the 3.5 plot? If that's the case, Hysilens most likely won't agree to this request. After all, she still has to guard Lygus..."
"Sigh, forget it. Thinking is useless. I'll ask the next time I summon her. Perhaps by then, she will have made her choice."
At this, she closed her eyes and began to rest.
...Meanwhile, on the other side...
"A rescue commission?"
While browsing through daily commissions, Firefly suddenly scrolled onto a newly posted one.
Seeing the five million credit bounty on it, she clicked the commission out of curiosity.
[High-Value Missing Persons Commission]
[Search Target: [Image]]
[Requester Codename: Kongyi]
[Location of Disappearance: The target disappeared on August 29, 2277, within the national government internal facilities of Sop City, located in the Pan-Pacific United States.]
[Commission Requirements: The method of search is not limited, but ensure the operation is stealthy. Avoid causing a major disturbance that could indirectly lead to the target suffering serious or fatal harm.]
[Commission Brief: The requester highly suspects that internal personnel of the Sop City national government took the target. Therefore, key clues are likely hidden within government agencies, requiring mercenaries to infiltrate for intelligence gathering.]
[Completion Conditions and Rewards: Must confirm the target's current precise location. Bounty: 5,000,000 credits. Extra Conditions: If the mercenary assists the requester in successfully implementing a rescue, an additional 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 credits will be added based on actual contribution. Specific details must be discussed with the requester.]
"Lu Zhaoran?"
Looking at the photo in this commission, Firefly recognized the person instantly. Then, her brain stalled for a moment.
But she reacted quickly.
Didn't Lu Zhaoran say she was going to the national government side earlier? There had been no news until now; it turns out she was captured by the other side?
Thinking back to when Lu Zhaoran confidently said, "I'm a space-type after all, I have ways to save my life; if I want to run, they can't stop me," Firefly felt a wave of speechlessness surge in her heart.
"Accepted! I want to see exactly what's going on here!"
With that, her fingertip clicked the "accept commission" button without hesitation.
...
At the same time, in the pit bottom district, inside the Countercurrent Alliance's combat base no. 3.
"Zhenyi, look, there's movement right after you posted this commission."
A burly man who was wiping a weapon brightened his eyes and quickly shoved the terminal into Lin Zhenyi's hands.
"Hmm? Let me see."
Seeing this, Lin Zhenyi immediately took the terminal and looked at the mercenary who accepted the commission.
[Accepting Mercenary: Sam]
[Mercenary Rank: S rank]
[Career History: ...]
"...S rank?"
Lin Zhenyi was a bit stunned. He didn't expect his commission would actually be taken by an S rank.
"What? An S rank mercenary actually took your commission?" Hearing that letter, the burly man who had been exercising nearby stopped abruptly and rushed over in a few large strides. "Generally speaking, don't S rank big shots keep their eyes on jobs worth over ten million? Why would they take one for five million?"
As his gaze swept across Sam's jaw-dropping resume, he murmured in shock:
"Individually wiped out the S- rank threat organization Forest's Wrath, destroyed the Greenshade Spring forest forbidden zone and its source, annihilated an A+ rank exotic beast pack, killed an S- rank exotic beast... my goodness! When did such a monster appear in the Mercenary Association?!"
After finishing the resume, the burly man's eyes widened, full of disbelief.
Then, he turned around and slapped Lin Zhenyi's shoulder hard, saying with an incredible excitement in his voice:
"Zhenyi, kid, you've hit the jackpot this time! A ruthless character of this level would usually require a commission of at least twenty million to be moved! I didn't expect they'd be hooked by your five million credit commission!"
"Indeed..."
Lin Zhenyi looked at the information on the screen, also feeling a daze.
But this surprise was quickly replaced by a deeper doubt.
"Why would it accept our commission? This is very irrational."
He looked at the information displayed on the terminal, his brows furrowed.
"Setting aside that our commission is only between five to ten million, the key is that our commission location is here in Sop City of the Pan-Pacific United States..."
"But according to this S rank powerhouse's previous commission records, hasn't it been active over in the Empire of Europa? Why suddenly accept a commission from this country?"
Speaking of this, he looked up at the burly man, who had also realized the problem, and spoke with a heavy voice:
"You should know, the distance between these two countries isn't exactly short..."