The disheveled strands of hair brushed past the girl's vacant eyes; she seemed to have lost all courage and means of resistance, standing there, letting the fractured light divide her shadow into countless pieces.

Chichu Chun looked up, trembling lips asking the final question: "Why?"

"Do you remember what I told you?"

Xu Xiaoyou removed the mask, allowing Mori to see the face beneath without joy, madness, or distortion—only the tranquility of a deep autumn lake. From start to finish, this was the expression they wore.

"Repeat it."

Chichu Chun didn't understand why the other would ask such a question. She felt like a puppet manipulated by strings, repeatedly rejecting the reality before her, drawing a boundary between her heart and the outside world, severing all ties with her body.

She gave up thinking, gave up trying to pick up her pride and dignity, offered no resistance to Xu Xiaoyou's words.

"Clinging to the status quo only leads to self-destruction..."

A somewhat hollow voice trembled from Chichu Chun's moving lips, echoing in the empty room. The Octagonal Spider members around couldn't bear to look at the young master's humble and fragile state, silently turning away.

"Never easily believe what you see..."

"When you have the capability, become the dictator of the rules, not the compromiser..."

Xu Xiaoyou nodded, handing the gun to a nearby Octagonal Spider member, "Follow me."

This was said for the Chichu Chun behind. The members of the Octagonal Spider made way, and noticing the varied gazes around, Chichu Chun smiled, seemingly mocking her own pitiful and wretched state.

Stepping with heavy steps, passing through armed silhouettes, gradually vanishing under the pale light. In the darkness, Chichu Chun walked slowly, supporting her arm. Her scraped knees and legs were covered with dust; small cracked wounds continuously seeped blood, with shards of glass embedded in them. The tear stains on her cheeks had long dried, her head bowed, eyes dull and void.

The once lively, willful, and naive personality seemed to have been stripped from this young master. Walking in the corridor was nothing more than a numb puppet, its winding key spent.

In just a few minutes, it felt so long to Chichu Chun, and she didn't realize until later that she had come before an old man. This seemed like a hospital ward; the figures holding guns stood solemnly and sadly. The room was equipped with life support medical devices, and the old man lying on the hospital bed was connected to tubes, his breath weak.

Chichu Chun recognized the old man on the bed, "Sebastian?"

The old caretaker had shrunk a full size since she last saw him, emaciated to the point of being unrecognizable, his skin shriveled like bark. Where once he gave an impression of strength, now he appeared as a patient, life flickering like a candle in the wind.

Chichu Chun's desolate pupils contracted, stepping forward to hold the elder's hand, "Sebastian, is that you?"

"What have you all done to Sebastian?"

She scanned the surrounding figures, hoarsely questioning, and seeing the same sorrow on the faces of the Octagonal Spider members, Chichu Chun realized something, turning to look at Xu Xiaoyou standing by the door.

"I have completed our agreement, now it's your turn to fulfill your promise, Ghost."

"Of course..." the person on the bed slowly sat up. He was still wearing that neatly pressed old caretaker's uniform. The glow of the dying sun crept up the elder's upright frame, shining on the emblem of the 'Chichun Shu' family.

An Octagonal Spider member stepped forward, handing a Black Gold bordered bank card to Xu Xiaoyou, "Miss Xu, this is the Black Gold Card from the Northern Territory Bank. Inside is your reward."

The Northern Territory Bank, a branch of the Northern Territory Heavy Industry, is one of the subsidiaries of Cosmic Heavy Industries. All municipalities north of the Jotunheim Mountains line fall within the armed family domain of the 'Northern Territory Kingdom,' whose supreme leader is Odin, who has guarded the Land of the Far North Border for generations.

"Northern Territory Kingdom?" Xu Xiaoyou accepted the bank card.

It is said to have the second safest bank in the world; when war arrives, many noble families from war-torn regions convert their extensive family funds into gold stored there. Compared to the ethereal data flow of Oasis, the thick permafrost of the cold realm obviously gives them more peace of mind.

The Northern Territory Bank operates a relatively primitive business system, not opening withdrawal channels on the curtain. It seems she would need to visit the Northern Territory sometime. She was curious about what kind of reward a renowned Prism Tier Cleaner could offer her.

"Miss, I'm truly sorry for letting you see me like this." Sebastian slowly smiled.

Chichu Chun shook her head, gripping the elder's hand tightly, "What are you saying? Let's go home, back to Chichu City. My brother must have a way to cure your illness. Why didn't you tell me before?"

Even in her innocence, Chichu Chun guessed that this old caretaker who had looked after her since she was little was the rumored cruel and savage 'Roman'. Perhaps she had sensed it earlier; she secretly investigated the Octagonal Spider organization and sent people to inquire in Dickwido City, but they found not a shred of information about Octagonal Spider.

It seemed to have sprung from nowhere in Dragonfly Town, intruding into people's everyday lives, loudly proclaiming its glorious past, making itself look unprovokable. At that time, Chichu Chun had scoffed at it.

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