He tore through the Holy Grail War, and you still call him a dragon?

"What's wrong, my long-legged gal? Why the sudden melancholy?"

As old colleagues, Chip Girl Su Enxi and Joutou Mai often bickered and exchanged silly banter. As for Sanmu… her sharp tongue was icy and cutting, like a dagger from the polar regions—so by comparison, Su Enxi naturally chatted more frequently with Joutou.

"Melancholy my ass! I'm not some melodramatic shoujo who slips into 'fantasy mode' over every little thing."

Joutou lightly tossed back a pillow at Su Enxi, who was lounging on a genuine Stowe leather sofa and munching on chips.

"You better cut back on those damn chips! I get that you're using them to suppress your drinking urges, but you're way over the calorie limit already. If this keeps up, your figure's gonna take a serious hit."

"I don't give a damn!" Su Enxi rolled over mid-bite, still chewing. "I've been busting my ass these past few days—let me enjoy myself a little!"

Still half-lying down, she pointed toward the air like she was commanding an army from her chip throne:

"Look, the Chen family's head—he's great at scheming and forming alliances, I'll give him that. But a grand scheme needs endless little schemes to prop it up. See? We barely nudge the wheel and he's already scrambling like a mad dog!"

"And our dear Shirou? Doesn't even need to plot or push. A single stroke of genius from him is enough to shake the Shenzhou noble houses to their foundations and bring about reform! That's way more impressive than some shady clone experiment!"

She popped another chip in her mouth, as if watching a great drama unfold. "And now the Chen family's trying to drag the Gattuso family into this? Ha! It's so ridiculous it's killing me! This stage is getting more crowded by the minute."

"True enough… but aren't we also actors on that same stage?" Joutou Mai leaned back into the sofa. Her high ponytail, tied with a bright red ribbon, and long black bangs that hung gracefully along her cheeks, complimented her sporty outfit and eye-catching, envy-inducing figure.

Her mind drifted to the Chen family girl who had walked down a path of no return because of her identity as a clone. It was clear to anyone that, successful or not, her vengeance would only end in empty silence. That girl had no place to call home, nowhere to return to.

A thought surged within Joutou's chest, and she murmured quietly, "Perhaps it's because she doesn't know how to dream… that the lost chase shadows."

"What's gotten into you, Long Legs? Getting all poetic and moody on me?" Su Enxi reached out to ruffle her hair playfully, only to be slapped away. "Don't tell me your little contact Nono's got you all soft inside?"

Joutou shook her head.

"You know… at first, I thought the boss was leading Nono on because she pissed him off somehow. But today, when he asked me to deliver this vial to her… If this weren't our final contact, I'd almost think he was prepping her to join our team."

Su Enxi's expression instantly shifted to serious.

"You know that's impossible! The boss needs reliable tools like us. Not some high-profile, unstable mess like Chen Motong! Giving her the Dragon Blood Serum is just a way to push her to max utility. Don't start acting on your own—"

"I get it, I get it!" Joutou waved her hand. "But you know what, Chip? After all these days talking with Nono… she feels like someone desperate for any sense of safety. The type that'll cling to anything that looks like hope."

"She's not actually strong. She just wraps her fragile, anxious heart in a spiky, hedgehog-like shell. Today, she told me she didn't want to be the silly monkey in Journey to the West, waiting in a cave to be led away by Gattuso's Tang Sanzang. But deep down, she hopes someone will come for her."

"She thinks we're that someone. So she lets herself be used, follows every word I say—even knowing the truth. And yet, what we're doing is tossing her right back into the abyss. Alone."

Joutou's voice stayed calm, but Su Enxi's next words cut like a blade.

"You're not just empathizing. You see yourself in her."

Su Enxi understood. Joutou saw herself as the boss's "sword"—a tool. Ever since they made their pact, the boss's missions had become her reason to live.

In some way, Joutou didn't want to be discarded. Just like Nono didn't want to be abandoned by the one she thought might come for her.

"I get that. But you've got to let go of your savior complex and respect other people's fate… or wait, I mean—follow the fate the boss assigned them. Who knows? Maybe he does plan for someone kind to take her away."

Su Enxi shook her head. Her mindset was different from Joutou's.

She might look like the group's treasurer or a salarywoman, but she was really the boss's partner. When he said make money, she made money. When he went insane, she followed right along. But if he ever terminated their deal? She wouldn't jump off a cliff in despair.

—

Tang City, Zhou Residence.

Zhou Yuxuan was overseeing a cleanup team, fixing the aftermath of the exhibition match between Shirou and Old Tang—replacing paving and smoothing the scorched, shattered flooring.

Tang City spanned millions of square meters. The damage Shirou and Old Tang caused wasn't even a drop in the ocean. Even though the land was astronomically valuable, the returns they'd gain from this event dwarfed the losses.

"Yuxuan! Been a while! How come you've lost even more weight?"

A booming voice called out. A bearded man in a traditional long robe strode toward him, chest muscles so thick it looked like you could ride a horse across them. Next to him, Zhou Yuxuan looked like a bean sprout.

Yuxuan recognized him instantly—Wu Jianhong, head of the Wu family. But until recently, he'd only seen the man from afar during holiday visits, standing quietly behind the Nuwa Master. They'd never exchanged words.

But the tide had turned.

Ever since the Nuwa Master sent out video footage of Shirou's exhibition match, the noble families had done a complete 180. They were now lining up to seek meetings.

The Nuwa Master, overwhelmed with requests, had waved them all off, claiming she was too busy. So instead, they had turned their attention… to her most trusted assistant.

(End of Chapter)

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