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"The doctor's warehouse was sealed off, why was your storage space not affected?"
"Good question—I don't know."
Paimon arrogantly stuffed a whole box of cookies at Haiya: "In Sora's words, maybe the rules don't apply to me? Or maybe Party A thinks I'm not a threat?"
"That's possible. Cocolia, what do you want?"
"Just a simple replenishment will do...I don't feel tired at all now."
Cocolia was still spreading the word - although this woman had seemed unpleasant to the eyes of the upper class before, she was somewhat reliable after becoming a partner.
She wanted to perform well so that Kong Shao could dig up some meat from Bay City, or she might have hoped that Kong would temporarily forget about his daughter and focus more of his interest on her.
Her model-like figure and her agile appearance like a female leopard in battle made her and Banya have two different charms, but unfortunately, Kong never looked at her straight in the eye, which made her unsure - did he prefer women who were dependent and lacked their own opinions?
Kong Ye probably understood her eagerness to demonstrate her own value, but he didn't point it out and let her do the work first - after all, whether Haiya could be taken out safely by them really depended on Cocolia.
"How far is the next wave of troops from here?"
"The gathering place is seventy kilometers away. We can avoid them and not engage them unless necessary. They have no complete command system and are just wandering around."
"Ah."
She took the energy bar handed over by Sora, but she saw that Sora had no intention of eating.
"Don't you want to save some for yourself?"
"...I have a star core in my body, and I have two hearts, so I'll give you the food."
"Then I can save—"
"If you have already determined that you will no longer identify yourself as a human being, fasting now is fine. But if you are just trying to show me that you are saving supplies to win my favor, I suggest you forget it. It's not necessary. Our interests are aligned for now, and you know this very well. I will not label you because of the previous unhappiness, nor will I think highly of you just because you pretend to be 'thrifty'."
Sora forced it on her.
"You are a very pragmatic man."
There was a hint of complexity in Cocolia's eyes.
She was afraid of Kong before and tried to test him many times, but Kong's straightforward personality made him very worry-free - the scary thing about this man was that he always told the truth but was extremely confident and not afraid of being targeted by others.
A woman who often pretends to be nice but harbors evil intentions - this is how Cocolia positioned herself. Although most of her bad decisions were made under the influence of the Star Core, she just felt ashamed in front of Sora. After all, even at her age when she just took over as the Great Guardian, she was not an innocent young woman.
No wonder he looked down on her. Perhaps what he admired was Banya's clear stupidity - a quality she had abandoned when she was in college.
"You don't have to be so nervous during rest time. Just leave the sentry duty to the system."
Kong saw that she was still standing and pointed at the stone pestle opposite her:
"Tell me how you induced Xinghe and Buliren to attack the insignificant Seventh Regiment first when you regained consciousness?"
"You're actually curious about this? I thought you could guess why I'm obsessed with the northern defense line."
"I can't read minds when I'm not using my psychic powers, and I can only partially understand the deep thoughts of even the star cores - otherwise you can't fool them, right?"
Kong crossed his arms and said, "The battle had already begun before the ranger team arrived at Yongdong Ridge. You hinted to yourself that you were being manipulated and must take the blame with Bu Liren."
"Yes, the first reason is that the Seventh Regiment is wavering."
"Hmm? A fence-sitter? But he finally sided with us."
"In this war, there can only be troops that resolutely side with me and YaYa, and there can be no fence-sitters. He made the wrong choice and did not immediately obey YaYa's command. The garrison commander of the Seventh Regiment is a weak guy, and I put him in that position myself. But as the factions become clear, I am worried that he will stand in the way of the Pillars of Creation. In addition, this will make it easier for Bronya to conduct a liquidation. The northern garrison suffered the least personnel losses in the several planned consumption of the star core, and may threaten her rule after the war."
"...very thorough. They also provide us with a convenient excuse to go to war with Bu Liren, since the other party has nominally sided with the opposition?"
"Don't you know everything?"
Cocolia sighed: "This little dispute on the ground is just a game for you, right?"
"But how did you convince the Star Core? If this is a vicious plan that threatens it, it will not be able to react?"
"Because it still has a fantasy of building a new world. With the help of Bu Liren, it can absorb the extreme emotions of human beings and make the Rift generate more Rift creatures. Maybe it won't have to leave its homeland, nor will it have to detonate the Legion bomb."
Kokolia said calmly: "We all had a sense of luck, but the opposition acted too quickly. When the war started, it had not yet made a complete escape plan...so we won."
She corrected herself immediately, her tone surprisingly showing a hint of submission: "...I mean, you win."
324. Bet your husband has the right to possess for one month
"This is not a personal war, there is no personal victory... I admire you a lot. I have seen many people who failed to overcome temptation and continued down this path until the end."
Kong stared at Cocolia's face for a long time, which should have made him PTSD, but in the end he actually showed a relieved expression that surprised the other party.
"At least your trajectory proves once again that fate can be changed, and that similar yet different people do not necessarily end up following the same old path."
"…Have you ever helped someone like me?"
"I helped a mother who looked like you before, but unfortunately, I failed last time and was unable to convince that woman to return to the right path."
Sora leaned back: "I thought about it, if you refuse to get up, how will I explain it to Bronya later... Honestly, I don't want to see her disappointed expression again, pretending to be calm, and then comforting me that I have tried my best."
"Why do you sound like you've known me and Yaya for a long time?"
The other party's inexplicable familiarity with herself and her daughter confused Cocolia, and she felt that he might be helping them because of this familiarity.
"We didn't know each other before. It's just that I encountered a similar situation, and I chose to help you to make up for the regret. I guess that's my mentality."
Sora shook his head: "... Cocolia, when you fought the star core for your daughter, you had already saved yourself. The external forces from the doctor and the captain were just icing on the cake... So instead of observing and testing me, you should plan carefully now. If you don't become the Great Guardian, how can you continue to assist your girl?"
"I thought about hiding myself as a consultant and following her around, but it was hard to do."
Cocolia slowly regained the relief she had felt when she witnessed Sora's rage and released her emotions.
For some reason, after being praised by Kong from the side, she actually felt a little excited for a moment... Maybe it was because she had subconsciously acknowledged the other party's dominant position.
"You have used some kind of long-distance communication. If possible, I hope to use this method to help Yaya...get everything done while staying as far away from her as possible."
"Have you decided where you want to go? The places I suggested to you are all good. Or you can talk to them about whether there is a place for you somewhere else in the universe."
"I thought about going with the Sea Ranger. The star core destroyed almost everything in Beloberg, and there are still many places in the world that are being poisoned by them. This gave me the idea and reason for revenge."
But she looked away from the biscuits and glanced at Sora quietly: "...But the train is doing similar things, and it's not in the name of revenge...Since you won't delve into the past of the Nameless Guest, are you willing to accept me?"
"...I see you don't really want to get on the bus, you just want to supervise me, right?"
Once again, Sora saw through what Cocolia was thinking.
"This is a mother's responsibility, please understand me. I don't have to replace Yaya, but I want to make sure she lives with more dignity and make my atonement more meaningful." This time she was finally neither humble nor arrogant.
"I won't use Banya for anything. She just needs to stay strong and keep Beloberg and fulfill the employment agreement we agreed on before."
“But when the ice melts, we’re going to face a global war – will you give up your investment here?”
After confirming that Sora didn't like servile people, Kokolia had accepted his habit of giving equal dignity to his interlocutors - this was a truly noble person.
"The Talent Club won't let that happen."
Kong said confidently, "In order to make this a suitable place for workers to gather, the company will also help maintain the current ecology of Yalilo VI, but the price is that the planet will continue to be frozen until you are able to send out Iron Guards to clear out the frozen legions everywhere on the planet."
"Hmm? But we have been attacked by the thawed enemies..."
"Don't worry, it will cool down again soon."
Sora raised his head again: "As long as they react."
……
Far outside the Rift, even though all connections were cut off, Heita felt as if she was being called by Sora, and her nose started to itch. She rubbed the tip of her nose in a very unpresentable way, and Ruan Mei, who was beside her, also sneezed. She hadn't sneezed for decades, and this abnormal reaction made her look around, as if she was looking for Sora's shadow.
"He seems to agree with my plan, Black Tower."
"Are you sure? Ruan Mei, this will extend the ice age in Yalilo for another thirty years—"
Heita was quite critical of Ruan Mei's "inhumane" approach:
“We are here to solve the disaster problem in Beloberg, not to aggravate it.”
"Then do you have any other way to deal with so many legions? Ms. Black Tower, low-orbit monitoring shows that three legions have resumed their active state. If this continues, we will be swimming in a sea of virtual soldiers."
"Very funny joke, Screw."
Seeing that Luosi also stood on Ruan Mei's side, Heita was very unhappy.
Perhaps this was the first time that Heita's emotions far outweighed her rationality in the discussion. The reason was that she was afraid that the rapid global cooling would freeze Kong in the snow.
Now no one knows whether he still has the ability to overcome low temperatures. Luosi and Ruan Mei’s “indifference” and “lack of consideration” once again make her feel ridiculous.
But judging from Ruan Mei's expression, she didn't seem to be indifferent to Kong, but rather felt that this was the best way to help Kong while continuing his strategy:
"Song will accept the strategy of exchanging space for time, Black Tower. Otherwise, we will have to organize a large-scale interstellar migration. You don't think the current population of Bay City can afford the war with the Legion, right?"
"...Then at least let the guardian make the decision."
Black Tower hopes that Bronya can take charge of the situation:
"Dr. Kong trained her in the hope that one day she could choose a way out for the residents of Bay City."
Oh my god, is this really something I would say?
Heita felt her face getting hot, she couldn't even bear to hear this excuse.
"She is also inside the Rift. We must act quickly, Black Tower."
"Don't think I don't know that low temperatures won't affect the mechanical brothers you're interested in, so you support this less consuming plan—"
This was not the first time these geniuses had quarreled, but this time it was particularly intense.
"This is a truly sad accusation...Ms. Black Tower."
"Screw, you are a member of the Idiot Club! You haven't learned a thing from Elijah Salas!"
"…Dr. Kong would not be happy to see you so hysterical, Heita, calm down."
"Why would you ask me to stay calm? He's my man, not someone with a mechanical brain like you! If he turns into an ice sculpture, not only will our plan come to a halt, but I'm afraid we will never have any cooperation with this crappy club again!"
It wasn't just geniuses present at the meeting. Yuyun was so frightened that he dared not utter a word, and Topa wished he could bury himself in the ground - you know, Black Tower's student had just made public his relationship with Dr. Kong, and the news had spread widely in the company. Black Tower's self-exposure directly shattered everyone's tacit understanding.
"...I will help you restore the planet's ecology. It won't take thirty years. Black Tower, if Kong is here, he will definitely agree with my and Screw's method. You like to bet, do you want to bet that he would rather endure the threat of low temperature and support us in making the planet cold again?"
“…Huh, huh…”
The whole body of Heita seemed to be swelling up.
For a moment, she wanted to jump over and slap Ruan Mei in the face again, but this time she saw that Ruan Mei's expression was not as indifferent and fake as before. Instead, she was very serious. It was obvious that she had carefully considered the risks, but still insisted on completing the work that Kong left for her before he disappeared.
Heita is worried about Kong's personal safety, while Ruanmei is worried that Kong will not be able to fulfill the promise he made to the residents of Yalilo and Bronya.