Annihilation and Affection

Returning to Yan’an City, Aya Tone gazed at the bustling high-speed rail station, a sense of doubt stirring within him.

‘Would anyone truly dare to cause trouble in such a scene?’

‘And how did the President know the enemy would definitely attack Yan’an City?’

Country Z was vast; a single city within it could rival a small nation.

‘With so many cities in the south, why specifically choose Yan’an?’

‘Could there be something unique about this place?’

Unfortunately, no one could provide him with answers to these questions now.

“Big White, you’ve worked hard during this time. Please guard the kindergarten and protect Aya Jiu well.”

Putting away his phone, he walked with light steps towards the Vermilion Bird Guild.

If he couldn’t understand, he wouldn’t dwell on it.

The most important thing was to ensure Aya Jiu’s safety; everything else was secondary.

****

Three days vanished in the blink of an eye.

“President… you haven’t been tricked, have you?” Aya Tone leaned back on the sofa, scrolling idly through his phone.

Three days had passed, and not a single trace of the cult had been found.

As for that ‘Qian Mian’ they spoke of, not even a shadow had appeared.

This made him wonder if Fire Finch’s intelligence was flawed.

Unlike Aya Tone’s agitation, Fire Finch remained perfectly calm, even leisurely bringing a drink to her lips and taking a small sip.

“I’m not so easily deceived.”

She then added silently to herself, ‘Unlike you.’

“After a while, new dungeons will appear again. What will happen to the plan then?”

Dungeons appeared cyclically, and after some time, they would reopen.

“It’s not a big problem. You can just work a little harder then, can’t you?”

Aya Tone was speechless.

‘Is that how a boss should act? Even when I toiled like a beast of burden, it wasn’t this bad.’

‘Doing the same thing twice severely impacts motivation!’

Seeing Aya Tone’s exasperated expression, Fire Finch smiled, refraining from further teasing.

“It’s about time.”

“Huh?” Aya Tone opened his mouth, about to speak.

At that moment, a knock sounded at the door, and then Li Jia pushed it open, entering.

Seeing who it was, Fire Finch raised an eyebrow without surprise, teasing, “Oh, how rare. You actually knocked.”

Li Jia ignored her. After closing the door, she swiftly pulled Aya Tone into a tight embrace before he could even react.

“Tone~”

Suddenly held so tightly, Aya Tone’s body trembled. He tried to break free, but was astonished to find Li Jia’s strength inexplicably immense; even with all his might, he couldn’t budge her an inch.

‘Damn it!’

‘After a few days, had this woman consumed some rare heavenly treasure?’

‘How had her strength grown so much?’

“Let… let go… I need to breathe!”

“Hehehe~ So fragrant~ Kisses~” Li Jia paid no mind to what the little darling in her arms was saying. She had finally seized an opportunity and wouldn’t let go so easily.

“Let go!” Aya Tone was on the verge of tears.

He truly missed the Li Jia from half a year ago. Back then, her way of speaking and daily actions, if not flawless, were at least normal.

‘At least she was still considered normal!’

Now, she couldn’t even bother to pretend, constantly embracing him like a complete pervert.

“Stop messing around.” Fire Finch rubbed her forehead, feeling a share of responsibility for her best friend’s transformation.

Li Jia glanced at her indifferently. “What’s wrong? Are you jealous that I can hold Tone, while you’re sitting there all alone?”

Hearing this, Fire Finch’s fiery temper flared. She instantly appeared before the two of them.

Without hesitation, she delivered a sharp rap to Li Jia’s head.

“Get lost. How far have you progressed with your magic control?”

‘Jealousy, my foot! My sexual orientation is perfectly normal!’

Despite being hit on the head, Li Jia seemed to feel nothing at all, instead comfortably nuzzling Aya Tone’s soft, delicate face.

Mumbling indistinctly, she replied, “Halfway. I can enter the Dragon Transformation state for a short time, but if it exceeds half an hour, I’ll easily lose control.”

“Halfway? That’s enough!” A hint of pleasant surprise involuntarily appeared on Fire Finch’s face.

To be honest, this far exceeded her expectations.

In her original plan, Li Jia merely being able to avoid the backlash of magic was considered the limit.

With such a delightful surprise, it seemed the plan could be executed even more perfectly.

Originally, her intention was to instill fear, achieving a ‘killing a chicken to warn the monkeys’ effect.

But now… that wouldn’t be necessary.

She would annihilate them all!

‘When pulling weeds, why not remove them by the root?’

“Ah… can you let go now?” Aya Tone, eyes devoid of spirit, slumped in Li Jia’s embrace, his hands pinned and unable to move an inch.

‘If only he could turn back time!’

‘One misstep, a thousand regrets. He had been so careful, yet how had it come to this?’

‘He hadn’t sensed any magic fluctuations, making him momentarily careless.’

“No way! Tone is too naughty, never transforming in front of me.”

Feeling the embrace tighten further, goosebumps erupted on Aya Tone’s skin.

“Stop! I’m sorry, let go! Ah!”

****

Guild masters from Yan’an City, both large and small, gathered in the Vermilion Bird Guild’s conference room.

A heavy silence hung in the air.

“If any of you have questions or need clarification, please feel free to raise them directly.”

Everyone’s brows were tightly furrowed, their worried expressions deep enough to trap a mosquito.

Fighting against those fanatics, they saw absolutely no profit to be gained.

On the contrary, for the sake of Fire Finch’s plan, most of Yan’an City’s dungeons had been forcibly eliminated.

This had already cost them considerable profits.

As for the quests issued by the Vermilion Bird Guild, they were utterly useless to them.

The commissions were paid directly into the adventurers’ accounts from the Vermilion Bird Guild, leaving no room for them to take a cut.

“No problems. We fully endorse President Huo’s plan.”

‘Hah!’

Even with a thousand unwilling thoughts in their hearts, what could they do?

“Then I’ll leave it to all the guild masters.” Fire Finch offered a radiant smile.

If the four major guilds were state-owned enterprises, then these smaller guilds were private businesses.

Their standing was simply not on the same level.

Of course.

They had the right to refuse, but did they dare?

This was the headquarters of the Vermilion Bird Guild. Would they dare to defy her to her face?

“Without further ado, please return and mobilize as quickly as possible.”

Watching all the guild masters depart, Fire Finch stretched languidly.

She grumbled good-naturedly at the two people who were still clinging to each other, “Can you two please try to maintain some decorum?”

If she hadn’t needed them to hear the plan, she truly wouldn’t have brought them along.

It was too embarrassing.

Aya Tone, caught in the crossfire even while lying down, weakly lifted his eyelids and struggled symbolically.

‘Ugh!’

‘Couldn’t move at all.’

‘Don’t look at me, I’m helpless too. If possible, please save me.’

“Tonight?” Li Jia asked, nonchalantly playing with a strand of silver hair in her hand.

“Rats come out to forage at night, so of course, we must cater to their habits, mustn’t we?” Fire Finch lightly traced her crimson lips, the cold gleam in her eyes unwavering, as an aura of absolute annihilation emanated from her.

‘Did they truly believe she had merely been ‘guarding’ the guild all these days?’

‘This was her territory!’

If not for the initially vast distribution of dungeons within Yan’an City and a shortage of intelligence personnel…

Now, with fewer than a hundred dungeons remaining, did those rats have any choice left?

Even with a thousand faces, a thousand disguises.

Her network of informants had already uncovered their every trace.

Tonight would be the time to round them up!

Aya Tone: ‘Someone save me…’