175: I am a person who keeps his word.

Lin Mo said slowly.

These four words, devoid of any warmth, instantly caused Old Ghost's heart to be squeezed by an invisible hand, almost stopping its beat.

Keeping one's word?

Was it keeping his word to 'meritorious officials' like him who provided intelligence, or keeping his word to 'disposable trash' like Jay, who was casually wiped out?

He didn't dare to think, much less to ask.

"I am not a bloodthirsty madman."

Lin Mo's gaze shifted from Old Ghost's pale face, landing on the void.

The space where Jay once existed was now empty, not even a speck of dust remained.

"I only kill those who deserve to die."

"To me, Jay was a threat, so he died. And you..."

Lin Mo's gaze locked back onto Old Ghost.

His eyes were as calm as deep space, yet they made Old Ghost feel as if his soul was being frozen inch by inch.

"Your contribution this time is not small. That navigation chart is very valuable."

He changed the subject.

"So, everything I promised you will not be a single bit less."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Mo waved his hand casually.

Buzz—

An engineering robot glided silently, its mechanical arm steadily holding three sealed boxes that shimmered with a cold metallic luster.

Clang!

The three boxes were neatly stacked by the robot in front of Old Ghost.

The dull thud of the boxes colliding with the deck made Old Ghost tremble all over. The fear that almost made his bones fall apart was actually dispelled a little by this sound.

He looked incredulously at the three boxes of energy blocks before him.

This wealth was enough for him to buy a manor on any administrative planet of a third-level civilization and live out the rest of his life in drunken dreams.

He had originally thought that the best outcome he could hope for was a quick death.

But now... the other party had actually placed the reward in front of him.

This reality, beyond his comprehension, caused his brain to completely melt down, plunging into a blank state.

"This... this..."

Dry, meaningless syllables escaped his throat.

"You deserve it," Lin Mo's tone remained flat. "I said, I don't like to break rules. Because my rules are the rules."

Old Ghost looked at Lin Mo's deep, dark golden eyes, and a chill a hundred times more terrifying than facing death just now shot from his tailbone straight to the top of his head.

He understood.

The other party didn't care about this small amount of wealth at all.

Just as a divine dragon soaring through the nine heavens wouldn't care what ant it had stepped on, much less the ant's food reserves.

The other party fulfilled the promise not out of mercy, nor out of integrity.

But out of... absolute self-confidence that disregarded any other existence!

So confident that he disdained to break any 'rule' he had casually set.

This was even more despair-inducing than mere slaughter and destruction.

Just then, a light patter of footsteps came.

Gu Nianqiu, hugging her carrot pillow, poked her Little Head out from the Bridge passage, like a happy little bee returning from collecting nectar.

She saw Old Ghost kneeling on the ground, the three boxes of energy blocks in front of him, and his face filled with extreme fear and bewilderment.

The Little Girl blinked her clear big eyes, took off with her short legs, and pattered over.

From the pocket of her lace-trimmed Lolita dress, she pulled out a 'Courage Cookie' wrapped in candy paper with a bear pattern.

She handed the cookie to Old Ghost, and with a naive, pure tone, she earnestly said:

"Grandpa Old Ghost, don't be afraid."

"This is my new 'Eat and Be Brave' cookie. Brother Mo said, if you eat this, you won't talk nonsense!"

After speaking, she nodded vigorously, as if providing the most authoritative certification for the efficacy of her "magic cuisine."

Looking at this pure, almost saintly smiling face before him.

Listening to these childlike yet chilling words.

And then looking at Gu Zhixia not far away, leaning languidly against the 'Thunder Dragon' mecha that exuded endless divine power, idly polishing her spotless nails... Old Ghost felt his mind being torn in two by an invisible hand.

He had no doubt that if he revealed even the slightest improper thought, that seemingly harmless, stunningly beautiful woman would, in a way he couldn't comprehend, turn him into the second stain on the deck.

"Eat... I'll eat..."

Old Ghost, with trembling hands, took the 'Courage Cookie', didn't even look at it, closed his eyes, shoved it into his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and swallowed it whole.

A rich buttery aroma filled his mouth.

It was delicious.

But Old Ghost felt as if he had swallowed a branding iron hot enough to burn through his soul.

"Transaction complete."

Lin Mo's voice pulled Old Ghost back to reality from the abyss of breakdown.

"You can leave with your reward. I will arrange a shuttle to send you back to Safe Harbor."

His tone was still that business-like flatness.

But the next sentence, the temperature suddenly dropped to absolute zero, piercingly cold.

"Remember, everything that happened here today, you saw nothing, and heard nothing."

"The Leviathan Guild's fleet, having trespassed into a forbidden zone of the gods and angered the gods, has been completely destroyed by divine punishment."

"Vice President Jay also died in that divine punishment."

"This story, I think, you should know how to tell."

"If I hear any word that shouldn't appear, in any corner of the universe..."

Lin Mo didn't continue.

He merely glanced out of the corner of his eye at the empty spot where Jay had once existed.

This silent action contained a majestic killing intent ten thousand times more terrifying than any curse.

"Understood! This humble one understands!!"

Old Ghost nodded frantically, banging his forehead on the deck with dull thuds.

"Leviathan suffered divine retribution! It has nothing to do with the three... the three great gods! This humble one swears on my worthless life!"

"Very good."

Lin Mo nodded, no longer paying attention to this ant.

He turned and walked towards the main console of the Bridge.

On the huge holographic screen, a three-dimensional star map constructed by the "World Tree" hung silently.

In the center of the star map, a steel fortress, layered with countless defensive fire points and spatial barriers, was firmly locked by a constantly flashing, bright red hexagonal cursor.

That was the headquarters of the Leviathan Guild.

A behemoth that, in Old Ghost's eyes, was once as inviolable as a divine kingdom.

But at this moment, in Lin Mo's eyes, it was merely a fruit waiting to be harvested.

Gu Zhixia, who had just experienced a god-slaying battle and successfully fused three thunderous laws, slowly walked over.

She stood beside Lin Mo, looking at the tempting target on the screen. The hot flame named "conquest" reignited in her phoenix eyes, which had just calmed down.

She extended the tip of her tongue and licked her somewhat dry red lips.

The action carried a deadly allure.

"So..."

Her voice was hoarse from battle, and filled with an almost overflowing excitement.

"When do we... pay them a visit?"