After giving his reply to the Xianzhou Luofu, Lucian personally teleported the Xianzhou Cangcheng near Jarilo-VI, then contacted Neergul in Koolur to organize a meeting to discuss an alliance between the three civilizations.
Done with that, he immediately returned to the Qlipoth Fort and waited.
It was the same process as always—letting different civilizations get to know each other so they wouldn't mistake allies for strangers later.
"Xianzhou? What are they here for? No, in the first place, why are they here?"
Herta, noticing the many starskiffs—the unique bio-ships belonging only to the Xianzhou Alliance—arriving one after another from the sky, couldn't help but ask Lucian beside her.
"You're an Emanator of Abundance. How did you end up connected with the Xianzhou? Aren't you afraid they'll mistake you for an abomination and drag you off for questioning?"
"Who knows?" Lucian smiled calmly. "Maybe they came because I'm their Arbiter-General?"
"Yeah, funny..." Herta shot him a scoffing look, curling her lips into a smirk. "Who would believe that? Do you even have the will of the Hunt? Yes, the Xianzhou Alliance may receive blessings from the Abundance, but to be an Arbiter-General, you need the will of the Hunt. You, an Emanator of Abundance—where would you get the will of the Hunt? Have you gone nuts?"
Hearing her ramblings, Lucian chuckled.
"Wanna bet?" Lucian asked with a half-smile, looking as if he were setting up a conspiracy.
Herta, having already fallen for his tricks before, narrowed her eyes and grew suspicious.
"Hmph, no bet." Herta snorted and replied decisively.
Lucian's lips curved slightly, showing a fleeting expression of triumph.
Herta, upon catching this, suddenly changed her mind.
"Fine, a bet!" Herta exclaimed with a hurried expression. "We have to bet! I already saw through your little trick!"
In her mind, Lucian's fleeting expression said, "If we don't bet, that's perfect. I'm not an Arbiter-General, after all, so I'd lose. But since you rejected my bet, the upper hand is mine again."
Knowing such humiliation, someone like Herta could never endure it.
'Hmph, you wanna play dirty and try to secretly press me down? Dream on. Watch me flip the tables on you.'
Just as this thought formed in Herta's mind, Lucian spoke up.
"Well, let's keep the bet small, so we can both save face."
"No, small's boring." Herta shook her head. "Let's go big. If I win, I'm not working for you anymore, but you still have to let me see Droidhead."
"Oh?" Lucian raised his eyebrows, then gave a calm smile. "In that case, if I win, you gotta put on a maid outfit and show me for one hour. Right—just to be clear, I mean you, Herta herself, not your puppet. You dare?"
"Hmph, using retreat as an advance?" Herta scoffed with a frown. "You think that'll scare me? Bet! Of course I'll bet!"
"Herta, oh Herta..." Lucian chuckled, his voice soft. "You see, where I come from, there's a saying—'you're outsmarted by your own cleverness.'"
As these words fell, Herta caught the conspiratorial look on his face, and unease quickly crept over her.
'No way... Did I fall for his trick again?'
Herta, gazing at the smiling Lucian, thought in disbelief.
'No... I know very well that the six Xianzhou ships already have their Arbiter-Generals, so this guy definitely isn't one of them...'
'But... they wouldn't suddenly add another Xianzhou ship just for him, right?'
As this thought flashed across her mind, Herta quickly shook her head.
'No way! He's just trying to scare me into canceling the bet so he can win.'
'Hmph! Nice try.'
Upon reaching this conclusion, Herta's confidence surged again—she puffed out her chest and gave Lucian a proud smile.
===
Outside Belobog, when Jade saw the Xianzhou-unique spaceships known as starskiffs soaring through the sky, she couldn't help but be curious.
"He even has ties with the Xianzhou Alliance?" Jade muttered to herself, her greedy eyes lingering on the fleet of starskiffs. "No doubt, this kind of network is worth a fortune..."
Now, she was convinced that coming to Jarilo-VI had truly been the right choice.
"Ma'am, a Xianzhou flagship has appeared beside our fleet!"
As Jade pondered what to do next, a P35 staff member suddenly rushed to her side and reported.
"After investigation, it's confirmed to be the Xianzhou Cangcheng—a Xianzhou flagship destroyed thousands of years ago!"
Upon hearing this, Jade's beautiful brows furrowed.
'Xianzhou Cangcheng...'
'It can't be... the long-destroyed Xianzhou ship has reappeared?'
'Is this some kind of supernatural event?'
Jade thought in bafflement, then accepted the mini-computer handed to her by the staff and watched the video footage from the IPC fleet stationed near Jarilo-VI.
As soon as she saw the footage, she was certain—from its shape and appearance—it was indeed a Xianzhou flagship!
Wasting no time, she quickly compared the flagship with the IPC database, and after confirming it several times, it was indeed the Xianzhou flagship known as the Xianzhou Cangcheng, which had been destroyed thousands of years ago!
Back then, the Xianzhou Cangcheng had traded frequently with the IPC, so plenty of its records remained.
'What's going on?'
Jade thought hard, trying to make sense of this absurd situation.
'How can a Xianzhou ship that was destroyed so long ago suddenly appear again? And right here on Jarilo-VI, of all places...'
'No... No matter the reason, my instinct tells me this must be connected to Lucian...'
'I have to act fast. No matter what, we need to get involved.'
Realizing it was a business opportunity with guaranteed profits, Jade quickly gathered her things and headed back to Belobog.
===
Belobog, Qlipoth Fort.
At this moment, Neergul, representing Koolur, arrived once again at the reception room in Qlipoth Fort.
Cocolia, representing Belobog, was accompanying Neergul, waiting for the representative from the Xianzhou Cangcheng.
Lucian and Herta, on the other hand, stood by the entrance door outside to decide the winner of their bet.
Before long, when a fleet of starskiffs landed, a group of Cloud Knights escorted a scholar-looking man toward Lucian.
"General, everything is ready—the alliance plan is fully prepared."
He was none other than Chief Counselor Xuanlian.
He bowed to Lucian upon arrival and respectfully addressed him as 'General.'
Herta, who witnessed this, widened her eyes in disbelief.
'What the hell? Are they actors paid by him?' Herta thought with a speechless expression. 'No... Impossible—not with such a big setup...'
Even after witnessing such a display, she still couldn't believe Lucian could be a Xianzhou Arbiter-General. Besides, she knew all the Arbiter-Generals, and she was sure as hell none of them was Lucian.
If that was the case, which Xianzhou was this?
"Hey, which Xianzhou are you from?" Herta asked urgently.
"Madam Herta, we are from the Xianzhou Cangcheng." Xuanlian glanced at her and replied politely.
'Xianzhou Cangcheng?'
Herta frowned, then pulled out her phone and searched the galactic encyclopedia.
A few moments later, she finally found it—the Xianzhou Cangcheng, devoured by a living planet in Year 6300 Star Calendar.
'What the... It got annihilated?' Herta frowned deeply. 'Damn it, I'll see for myself if it's real or not.'
Under Lucian's teasing gaze, she immediately piloted a ship toward the docked Xianzhou Cangcheng.
Because it concerned her pride and dignity, she had to confirm it personally.
Lucian just smiled calmly, paying Herta no mind.
As far as he was concerned, the maid outfit was already a done deal the moment she accepted the bet, so there was no escape.
"General, the Luofu has invited the Cangcheng over for closer observation."
Just like Koolur, the people of the Xianzhou Cangcheng now carried two sets of memories—one of being devoured by Rahu, and the other of being saved by Lucian.
However, since they were now alive and well, and Lucian's existence was indeed real, there was no need to decide which memories to believe in—they would embrace the second set of memories with open arms and carry on.
"Yes, I know. I will go there as well." Lucian responded with calm detachment. "More contact will do good—after all, you are all people cut off from the universe."
Xuanlian, never once questioning his words, simply nodded in agreement and said nothing.
In the end, Lucian handed the meeting matters to Xuanlian, while he himself found a quiet place to sip afternoon tea and bask in the sun.
Needless to say, this kind of life was why he needed capable people around him—saving him much trouble, letting him hold high office while still enjoying leisure.
Jade, representing the IPC's Strategic Investment Department, voluntarily joined the meeting between the three civilizations, and only then did she uncover the great secret she had pondered hard since earlier—all three civilizations were actually ruled by Lucian alone!
As soon as Jade left the Qlipoth Fort, she immediately reported this great secret to Diamond.
"Do you remember the Xianzhou Cangcheng? It suddenly reappeared, and Lucian is its Arbiter-General."
"Also, Koolur, once the borisin nest scoured clean by the Aeon of the Hunt, is now occupied by the foxians—and they serve him as their lord."
"I think we need to reevaluate his worth."
Upon hearing such a shocking report from Jade, Diamond thought he had misheard, but with the evidence laid out clearly before him, he had no choice but to accept the truth.
To rule three civilizations was already remarkable, but what seized his and the IPC's attention even more was the fact that more than one destroyed civilization had resurfaced, and all of it was tied to Lucian, which alone warranted deeper investigation.
[Jade, Lucian definitely still has secrets, so his full value has not yet been unearthed. Stay there for now. I want to know everything about him. We can share profits with him—even if we gain nothing, we must secure him firmly in our grasp. You know why.]
[Better yet, we could even invite him into the Strategic Investment Department. I'd grant him P46 rank if necessary.]
[Or if you need backup, the Ten Stonehearts are at your disposal. Do whatever you must. I only care about results.]
"Understood." Jade gazed at the sky, her lips curving into an elegant, calm smile. "All for the Amber Lord."
===
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