32: Chapter 32 The Pledge of Allegiance
Fu Haoran finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the matter was over, when Lucifer's icy voice slammed into him: "Those ants just now have seen my true face and heard my full name; keeping them alive will only be a nuisance."
"No! Absolutely not!" Fu Haoran quickly shouted to stop her.
"They are my subordinates." Fu Haoran spoke at a rapid pace, "They are also the witnesses to our reunion; killing them would be unlucky."
Fu Haoran added to himself: "Besides, if this group is gone, my talent pool will shrink by more than half. Who will do the dirty work for me in the future!"
To protect his subordinates and leave himself a way out, Fu Haoran felt as if he had thrown away most of his lifetime's worth of integrity and dignity on this lie.
Lucifer looked at him for three seconds, and Fu Haoran felt a chill down his spine.
"...That makes some sense." She withdrew her gaze. "Death may be spared, but punishment is inevitable."
Fu Haoran let out a long sigh of relief.
This ancestor actually bought that?
"However, they used force against me just now. According to the dynasty's laws, this is a capital offense. Deleting their memories is already an act of mercy."
Fu Haoran swallowed hard, not responding.
Deleting memories is called mercy? Then what is not mercy?
Lucifer ignored his expression.
She looked down at her figure, and green light surged around her body once more.
Her height, which was over two and a half meters, slowly shrank.
One point nine meters. It locked in.
She lifted her eyes and looked at Fu Haoran.
Fu Haoran took a half-step back, but still had to tilt his head slightly. She was still taller than him.
"Height is too conspicuous; I'll suppress it for now." She said in a flat tone, as if stating a technical issue.
Fu Haoran nodded, very quickly.
In his heart, he had already cursed the system eight hundred times.
This thing can not only delete memories but also control physical form?
The system has really brought me an ancestor!
[System Prompt: SSS-level emergency mission "Conquer the Ancient Overlord" Phase 1 complete]
[Reward: Obtained one adjutant (Don't ask about loyalty, ask about survival rate. Don't count on her to do work for you; it is recommended to write your will in advance, lest you die too suddenly~)]
[Obtained temporary authority: Can request the target to act once (Trigger condition: Host is near death / Hive City is in peril)]
[PS: Don't get happy too soon. She is only keeping you because she "cannot verify the lie," not because she "likes you." After using this opportunity, if your affinity isn't high enough, you know what will happen.]
Fu Haoran's mouth twitched; he wanted to drag the system out and beat it up.
The strange thing was that Yuri and the others, looking at the suddenly appeared Lucifer, felt no sense of incongruity at all, as if she had always been supposed to be there.
Fu Haoran, however, felt as if he were walking on thin ice, nervous the entire time. Fortunately, most of the time, Lucifer was like an invisible person, silently following behind him.
Yuri and the others just assumed she was a helper Fu Haoran had brought back, and no one asked any questions.
When they returned to the surface, Wade was already waiting at the entrance.
He saw Lucifer and paused for a moment.
"Governor, this is..."
Fu Haoran braced himself: "A noble who defected to us."
Fu Haoran didn't care at all whether this excuse held water, or if his subordinates believed it. What if they didn't believe it? Could they dare to question him?
But Wade didn't doubt it. It was mainly because Lucifer's temperament was more aristocratic than the nobles themselves. That sense of detachment and oppression in her bones could not be faked.
Wade shifted his gaze and began to report on official business.
"Governor, the cleanup of the noble coalition battlefield this time has yielded significant gains."
"We recovered 12 rhino main battle tanks, 3 of which are damaged and require major repairs."
"Additionally, there are 8 chimera personnel carriers, 300 bolters, 50 crates of bolter ammunition, and 20,000 barrels of Promethium."
He closed the data pad: "The total value is approximately 850,000 throne coins."
"Holy crap!" Yuri immediately leaned in, his eyes bright. "850,000 throne coins? That's enough to buy a dozen-times-used frigate, right!"
"Is fighting wars actually this profitable?"
Fu Haoran breathed a sigh of relief. 850,000 throne coins were enough to repair the factory and expand the guard. Even if dealing with Lucifer was a headache, this haul was worth it.
Fu Haoran looked at Wade: "Prioritize repairing the 3 damaged rhinos, and take half of the remaining money to reward all the soldiers."
"The brothers have worked hard this time."
Wade didn't say anything, but his hand paused for a moment. Such a large sum of money, and he's just giving it away? Wade had never seen such a generous Governor.
He put away the data pad and continued to report: "There is one more thing."
"Victor of the Silver Thorn Family left the coalition camp privately three hours ago, bringing only two confidants, and is heading our way. He should arrive in about twenty minutes."
Fu Haoran raised an eyebrow: "Him? That makes sense. As the actual commander of the coalition, having lost the entire coalition, he has no way to explain himself upon returning. Since he's doomed either way, he might as well defect to me."
"This is actually an opportunity."
Wade cautioned: "Governor, that old fox Victor has always been cunning. Could his pledge of allegiance be a ruse? What if he leads us into a trap set by the old nobles?"
"What if it is a ruse?" Fu Haoran raised an eyebrow. "We lack a blade to pierce through the old nobles, and he fits the bill perfectly. I am willing to take that risk."
Twenty minutes later, Victor stood at the entrance of the command headquarters.
His collar was crooked, there were mud stains on his cuffs, and it was clear he had been traveling in a hurry. The noble medal on his chest was askew, and there was still uncleaned dust on his face.
Yet, he held his chin slightly high, his gaze sweeping across the command headquarters as if inspecting his own territory. Victor tried hard to maintain his aristocratic reserve, but the panic and embarrassment in his eyes could not be hidden.
But when his gaze fell upon Lucifer, his body stiffened abruptly, a flicker of fear flashed in his eyes, and he subconsciously looked away.
"Lord Governor, I come on my own behalf to discuss cooperation with you." Victor spoke, his tone feigning composure, but his confidence was clearly lacking.
Fu Haoran did not respond. One can imagine with their backside what the fate of a defeated commander would be.
Victor waited for five seconds. Seeing that Fu Haoran remained silent, his face flushed slightly, and he emphasized his tone: "I have come with sincerity!"
Just as Fu Haoran was getting a headache over how to grind away his stinking noble habits, the silent Lucifer suddenly spoke: "A defeated person must have the awareness of a defeated person."
Victor's expression stiffened. Just as he was about to retort, Lucifer spoke first: "Aristocratic reserve and pride are worthless in the face of absolute power."
"You come to defect today because you are at a dead end, not out of charity."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over Victor's disheveled appearance, her tone colder: "You cannot even protect yourself, yet you dare talk about aristocratic pride? In my eyes, you are not even as good as those ants from earlier; at least they knew to fear power."
Victor's face instantly turned the color of a pig's liver. His lips moved, but he couldn't squeeze out a single word. He wanted to retort, but meeting those dark green eyes of Lucifer, all his pride and reserve were instantly crushed to pieces.
Lucifer withdrew her gaze as if nothing had happened.
Fu Haoran saw this, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward; he quietly gave Lucifer a look of approval.
"This ancestor is dangerous, often deleting memories and putting on airs, but she is really useful for putting these stuck-up nobles in their place. It saves me the trouble of wasting my breath to grind away Victor's stinking habits."
"I do have bargaining chips." Victor finally revealed his trump card.
"This is the map of the old noble alliance's secret supply depots—the coordinates of five warehouses, hidden in abandoned mines in the Underhive and disguised civilian warehouses. Inside are the Promethium, munitions, and throne coins they have transferred over the years."
"This is their escape route—a secret spaceport under the Hive City. You can intercept their retreat from there."
"And this." He paused, "The list of informants the old nobles have planted in the Underhive. They are everywhere, in gangs and factories."
Fu Haoran's eyes lit up, and he reached out to take the data pad. This pledge of allegiance was too useful! It was practically tailor-made for him!
"These noble parasites are no different from the oligarchs of the Soviet era. They control the Hive City's energy, food, and interstellar trade routes, exploiting the lower classes and embezzling the Hive City's tax revenue."
"Not paying the Tithe is one thing, but they are also secretly transferring wealth! Hoarding military supplies, preparing to run away the moment the situation turns bad, not caring about the life or death of the Hive City at all."
"This old fox Victor has delivered a fine blade!" He looked at Victor. "What do you want?"
Victor gritted his teeth: "I want to replace the main branch of the Silver Thorn Family; from a side branch, I want to become the rightful head."
Fu Haoran smiled. "Deal."
He watched Victor's retreating back, already calculating in his mind: Five warehouses, one escape route, and a list of informants—enough to raid the nobles and turn everything upside down.
[Triggered new mission: Raiding for Riches]
[Warning: The harder you raid, the fiercer the retaliation from the remaining nobles will be, but the rewards will also be more generous.]
Fu Haoran's smile stiffened. "This system mission is still as toxic as ever... but I like it."