"A purple unidentified creature? Bartholos?"
Hearing Lu Zhaoran's words, Cipher immediately thought of Bartholos, who recently mentioned testing her friend's skills.
'No way. Bartholos was once Zagreus, the God of Trickery. Saying he failed in some back alley was just a joke. I didn't actually jinx him, did I?'
The corner of Cipher's mouth twitched at the thought. She opened the door.
Lu Zhaoran stood outside the bedroom. At her feet sat Bartholos, arms crossed over his chest.
"Boss, he appeared right in front of me, snatched the terminal from my hand, and bolted. I managed to catch him, though. He says he knows you."
Lu Zhaoran pointed toward Bartholos as she explained the situation. Before Cipher could speak, Bartholos cut in, clearly annoyed.
"Gahahaha! What do you mean, caught?"
He pointed a finger at Lu Zhaoran and shouted:
"I saw you possessed the power of instantaneous movement. Out of curiosity, I intentionally chose not to teleport away! If I truly wanted to escape, you wouldn't even smell my exhaust!"
Lu Zhaoran ignored the outburst, keeping her eyes on Cipher. Cipher pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
"Bartholos, I know you possess that ability. But couldn't you teleport away and then come back to prove it? Getting caught first and then claiming you could escape just makes you look like a sore loser. How embarrassing..."
"Hiss..." Bartholos leaned back in a tactical recoil, looking as if he just experienced a grand epiphany. "Sister Cipher is right! Why didn't I think of that?"
"Because you're stupid."
"Impossible! I am the greatest creation of Ancestor Zagreus! Stupidity is beneath me!"
"Not stupid? Don't forget how I caught you back then."
"If not for that woman with the golden threads, I never would've been caught so easily!"
"Uh, so Sister Cipher... who exactly is this?"
Watching their friendly interaction, Lu Zhaoran felt certain they were acquaintances. Still, she couldn't understand a word of their specific conversation. Cipher shifted her gaze from Bartholos and pointed at him to explain.
"This is a former companion of mine. As for his identity... he is a creation of Zagreus, the God of Trickery."
"God of Trickery? Zagreus? Who is that?"
Lu Zhaoran looked confused. She never heard that name before.
"Ancestor Zagreus is the—mph! Mmph mmph!"
Hearing someone mention Zagreus, Bartholos couldn't wait to start bragging. However, before he could finish a sentence, Cipher clamped her hand over his mouth.
"Zagreus was a senior of mine. He was an S-rank powerhouse. I learned my combat skills from him in the past."
With that, Cipher hauled Bartholos into the bedroom. She turned back to Lu Zhaoran with a bright smile.
"Lu Zhaoran, go ahead and handle your business. I need to discuss a few things with Bartholos."
"Sure. I'll leave you to it, Boss."
Lu Zhaoran understood Cipher wanted to keep certain things private. She tactfully closed the bedroom door and departed.
★ ★ ★
"Sister Cipher, why did you stop me from speaking?"
"I told you, this world differs from our original one. While cults exist here, gods seemingly do not. There is no need to mention the affairs of Amphoreus."
"Fine."
Bartholos looked a bit dejected but quickly bounced back. "So, Sister Cipher, what now? Shall we hunt for treasure? A Spirithief who doesn't seek treasure is a Spirithief in name only!"
"Don't worry about that. I have plenty of treasure for you to find."
Cipher pulled out her terminal and displayed the base intelligence Shen Yan sent her earlier.
"Look. See these base locations on the screen? I already raided one and made off with over six million Credits in one go."
"Sister Cipher... how much is six million Credits actually worth?"
Bartholos scratched his head, looking puzzled. Cipher thought for a moment before answering with uncertainty.
"If we converted all that money into gold, it would weigh about sixty kilograms?"
"Sixty kilograms... that doesn't sound like much. Back in the day, any random treasure we dug up felt like it held more than sixty kilograms..."
Bartholos gestured with his hands, trying to visualize the volume of sixty kilograms of gold.
"Enough. I told you this isn't Amphoreus. Treasure isn't just lying around for the taking. Be satisfied. When we finish the next job, we'll do a seventy-thirty split. How does that sound?"
Cipher sighed at his disdain for six million Credits. This guy saw too many high-tier treasures in the past; now even sixty kilograms of gold failed to impress him.
Bartholos's eyes widened. He instantly floated away from Cipher, pointing a trembling finger at her in disbelief.
"Who... who are you! Get off my Sister Cipher! My Big Sister would never give me a seventy percent split!"
"Heh. It seems you aren't happy even when I offer you an extra ten percent. Fine. Eighty-twenty it is. Decided."
Cipher rolled her eyes and flopped onto the bed, pulling out her terminal.
"Wait! I was joking, Sister Cipher! You are the number one Saint of Thieves in all of Amphoreus! How could you be possessed? Seventy-thirty! Let's stick with seventy-thirty!"
"Shut it, Bartholos. I need to rest. Go play by yourself and don't disturb me. We'll discuss the base raid tonight. As for the split, we'll see how you perform. Also, here. This is a communication slate similar to the ones in Amphoreus. Figure out how to use it."
Cipher tossed one of the stolen terminals to Bartholos.
"Yes, Sister Cipher! No problem, Sister Cipher!"
Hearing that the split was still negotiable, Bartholos perked up instantly. He immediately began fiddling with the device Cipher gave him.
Once Bartholos quieted down, Cipher switched her perspective. In an instant, her vision returned to Firefly.