"When it comes to snakes, I've got quite a lot of stuff here!"
Upon hearing the customer's request, Pardofelis reacted quickly. Relying on her superhuman memory, she knew her inventory like the back of her hand.
In just ten minutes, she had gathered a strange assortment of items, such as a Snakey plushie, an ancient snake pendant, a snake sculpture, and a snake ring.
Some of these items looked cheap, while others were exquisitely crafted and looked quite valuable.
But no one present was short on cash.
Vill-V carefully examined the merchandise before her. "All these things... Li already has a snake plushie. As for me... I'll buy this sculpture. He quite likes collecting these."
"Then I'll buy this shirt with the snake pattern." Ashara chose the clothes and said with a smile, "Speaking of snakes, it reminds me of a very brilliant scientist."
"Oh? A brilliant scientist?" Vill-V's interest was piqued.
"Yes. Her name is Mobius, the foremost authority in the field of biological genetics. She's my idol." Ashara's eyes shone, her admiration plain to see.
However, Vill-V wasn't particularly interested in the field of life sciences. She just nodded in acknowledgment without investing much interest.
But while the speaker was careless, the listener was attentive.
Aponia didn't even glance at the snake-related items. She simply took out a nun doll, made in her own image, from her pocket.
"You all go ahead and buy what you want. When I give a gift, I generally prefer to give something I've made myself. That's what makes it meaningful." Aponia looked at the women huddled around the snake-themed trinkets, a contemptuous smile touching her lips.
These women probably had no idea that the only reason Fu Li liked snakes was because of that green woman.
The gifts were meant for him, but in the end, they would only benefit that green, wriggly snake. Aponia didn't even know what to say to them.
All she could say was, in this round, Mobius had profited immensely without lifting a finger, while she, Aponia, had successfully stolen the base!
Although her gift couldn't compare to Mobius herself, there was nothing she could do. That snake had too great of an innate advantage.
Aponia felt a little annoyed, but she was helpless.
She couldn't very well use her ability to brainwash her beloved Priest. That would be going too far.
After the others had prepared their gifts, Pardofelis was caught in a dilemma.
Her gaze shifted back and forth between the cheap Snakey plushie and the exquisite snake necklace, looking extremely hesitant.
After all, you can't make money off a gift!
After an intense internal struggle, Pardofelis picked up the pendant with a pained heart, comforting herself internally.
'This is a gift for the big boss. If he's happy, the return on investment will definitely be huge!'
With that, everyone had prepared their gifts. After Pardo helped wrap them, the group continued to wander around.
After all, buying gifts was just one part of relaxing. Vill-V's real mission was to help Ashara open her heart, meet more people, and ensure her humanity remained stable.
[In the following days, Vill-V took Ashara and the others on a tear through Twilight Street, eating their way through everything from street food to high-end restaurants.]
[Of course, the matter of the gifts was kept as their shared secret, intended to be a surprise.]
[As for you, Fu Li, you also accompanied them, and seeing their relationship gradually grow more harmonious, you were able to put your mind at ease.]
[At the same time, you received a letter from Mobius. As expected, it mentioned the strangeness of the Herrscher's corpse, making you feel a pang of guilt.]
[However, this wasn't a major problem!]
[You believe that with Mobius's abilities, she can certainly derive some research from the replicated corpse.]
[However, you are also hesitating whether to let Mobius know of Ashara's existence.]
[It's not that you don't trust Mobius, but you're afraid she might get excited and directly dissect the poor girl.]
[But that is also unlikely. After all, to Mobius, a living Herrscher is far more precious than a dead one.]
[There is also another important matter. You have heard about the latest developments among the higher-ups of the Mu Continent.]
[They plan to merge the DA organization and the Alan Institute, both of which you founded single-handedly, and use them as a foundation, adding some of their own people to establish 'The MOTHs Who Chase the Flame.']
[You have no objection to this, but you have keenly sensed their ulterior motive.]
[They want to insert their own people into the organization to dilute your power.]
[But you are not worried.]
"It's fine, Irene. They can send in as many people as they want. They're just delivering themselves on a silver platter."
Fu Li listened to Irene's report without the slightest concern. In fact, he found it a little amusing.
He had just been worrying about a lack of talent, and now others were rushing to send talent his way.
In that cycle with Aponia, he had obtained a weakened version of [Discipline].
As long as they dared to plant spies around him, one use of [Discipline] would instantly turn them into his own people.
In short, double agents.
"I'll leave the matter of the MOTHs' founding to you. Just give me a list of names when it's done."
"Yes, of course, Boss."
Hanging up the phone, Fu Li sighed. Although it was to be expected, it was still disheartening to see humanity already scheming against each other before The MOTHs were even officially established.
But just as he was lamenting this, the door to his room was suddenly pushed open. Pardofelis's small head peeked in, and she asked curiously, "Are you done with work, Li? The farewell party is about to start."
Seeing the adorable Pardo, Fu Li composed himself. They were still able to live happily for now; there was no need to expose them to these matters.
And so, he chuckled softly.
"Alright, I'll be right there."
---o---