"Xiaoyu, listen to your father," Han Dayu said, his tone tinged with helplessness. "I understand, really, but some things simply leave us with no choice. Look at the mess we're in. If this were in the past, do you think I would have been this helpless? I truly have no solution right now."
Xiaoyu clenched her fists, disappointment flooding her heart. She could hardly believe that these words were coming from her father.
"How much did he promise you?" Xiaoyu gritted her teeth and asked.
"One spirit stone," Han Dayu said, raising a finger.
Xiaoyu nearly laughed in frustration. One spirit stone… So that's how much she was worth—just one spirit stone!
As Xiaoyu fell silent, her phone suddenly rang.
When she saw the message, her heart trembled.
Five spirit stones, thirty spirit crystals!
It was only when she saw the message was from Liang Jinyu that she remembered the hush money promised by Xu Que.
"I'll give you two spirit stones," Xiaoyu said, looking at her father. "Let's sever our father-daughter relationship."
Han Dayu was stunned, unable to respond for a long while.
"You're hiding something, aren't you?" he finally asked.
Hearing this, Xiaoyu's heart sank. Memories of her ordeal in the otherworldly space surfaced, and in that moment, she seemed to understand everything.
"I agreed to work for Liang Jinyu," Xiaoyu said coldly. "The price is two spirit stones."
"You're my precious daughter, and you think two spirit stones will settle things? Tell that Liang person, at least four, or forget it!"
Han Dayu's initial words stirred some emotion in Xiaoyu, but the latter part of his sentence shattered her. She was thrown back into the abyss.
"Fine, I'll negotiate with her," Xiaoyu said, clenching her fists and holding back tears as she swiftly exited the office.
---
In the Grand Prospect International Building of Magic City:
By the time Xu Que returned, Kun Shao and the others had already come back, their haul from their journey into the rift no less than expected.
"Xu, the new rifts are about to open. Should we proceed with the original plan?" Huang Bo asked.
"Of course," Kun Shao said smugly, "now the Blast Heaven Hunter company is nominated as number one by all the major netizens."
"Cough," Xu Que cleared his throat and said, "The plan may need some adjustments. Some cities have withdrawn their permission for us to settle. So, I want to redistribute the cities we have on hand."
At Xu Que's words, Zhao Xian and Qi Shan exchanged glances, both understanding the crisis the company was facing.
"Xu Ge, you shouldn't have helped them. They were clearly trouble from the start," Kun Shao said angrily.
Xu Que smiled. "It's fine. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. And I've been in touch with some foreign countries. I believe some small nations will be willing to collaborate."
The mention of international dealings left everyone momentarily stunned, but they soon perked up.
"Xu Ge, I want to go to country R! I want to conquer the women of country R!" Kun Shao immediately stood up, showing off.
"I also want to go to country R…" Yue Yun said, raising his hand awkwardly.
Instantly, all eyes turned to the two of them. No one needed to ask; they all knew what they were up to.
"For now, we won't get involved with country R. But the countries to the west should be very welcoming," Xu Que continued.
Although Huang Bo's face remained calm, his fists clenched tightly, a detail unnoticed by the others.
"Alright, let's stop discussing that for now. I'll redistribute the tasks," Xu Que said.
With that, a new task list appeared before everyone.
---
After seeing their new assignments, Yue Shan and Yue Yun were taken aback, as everyone except them had been given new tasks.
"Xu Ge, we haven't been assigned anything," Yue Yun said, raising his hand.
"I know. Your tasks are more special. I've given you two three separate assignments," Xu Que explained.
The mention of special tasks stirred excitement in Yue Shan.
Xu Que walked over to Kun Shao, triggering the trade system. "These six diaries, you should pass them around. Remember, only those present here are allowed to read them. I don't want anyone else to know what we, the Blast Heaven, are holding onto."
The others turned their gaze toward Kun Shao as he prepared to receive the mysterious diaries. Kun Shao, who had merely been joking earlier, was stunned to find that Xu Que had entrusted him with such significant material.
"Read them quickly, and pass them on to the next person. I'll be destroying all the diaries shortly," Xu Que instructed.
"Okay," Kun Shao said, quickly flipping open the first diary.
After reading through two entries, Kun Shao finally understood why the pioneers in the otherworldly rift had been tasked with transporting employees.
As soon as he opened the "Travels of Witness Lu Bokar," he quickly traded the first two diaries to Zhao Xian.
Upon reading the new entries, Kun Shao's face turned deathly pale.
Xu Que, unperturbed, continued to send messages as the others looked on, intrigued by Kun Shao's reaction.
Kun Shao suddenly exclaimed, "Holy crap, Xu Ge, is this for real?"
"Do you doubt that I made this up?" Xu Que retorted with a frown.
"No, that's not what I meant," Kun Shao waved his hands. "But damn, this is seriously blowing my mind."
"Nothing to worry about. I've destroyed more sensitive records before, and I didn't show them to you because I didn't want to unsettle you."
Hearing this, everyone's curiosity intensified, as they wondered just how many secrets Xu Que had under his control.
As time passed, each person read through the "Travels of Witness Lu Bokar," and all of them were shocked. At first, they thought it was nonsense, but when compared to the current situation on Blue Star, the similarities were uncanny.
Realizing the truth, they had no choice but to accept it.
"Xu Ge, why don't we hand this over to the authorities?" Huang Bo asked curiously.
"Do you think it would be useful? Would it change the current situation?" Xu Que countered.
Huang Bo pondered for a moment before shaking his head. He hadn't understood earlier, but Xu Que's mention of the current situation made it clear.
"This matter is for us to know. If the state finds out, they'll publicize it, and that could cause widespread panic, even to the point where extremists might destroy an entire nation!"
Everyone understood then. As long as the population numbers didn't keep declining, Blue Star could survive.
"Xu Ge, does your wife know about this?" Yue Qing asked.
"I haven't told her. She has military connections. If she learns about these secrets, do you think they'll remain secrets?" Xu Que answered flatly.
"But aren't you worried that we might leak the information?" Yue Qing asked, concern evident in his voice.
"I trust you all, which is why I'm sharing these with you. If you can't even keep this secret, I doubt you deserve to be here," Xu Que said, his words simple but full of both warning and trust.
The remark left Yue Qing slightly unsettled, unsure how to respond.
As Yue Shan finished reading, everyone in the room understood the gravity of the diaries and what Blue Star was truly facing.