"You're not a Nameless? Why are you an Envoy of Finality?!"
Disbelief was written all over Topaz's face. At first, she thought she was hallucinating out of sheer anger, but upon sensing him again, the aura of an Envoy of Finality emanating from Fu Zhu was still there.
---o---
Himeko, who had rushed over from a thousand leagues away to save the day, was also stunned for a moment when Fu Zhu revealed his identity as an Envoy of Finality. She had originally learned about the situation on Jarilo-VI by chance when she heard that Xing and March 7th were taking Fu Zhu to attend the festival. She had been worried that the three of them would run into trouble during their confrontation with the Company.
She hadn't expected Fu Zhu to be the one to give her a little 'surprise.'
However, after a brief moment of shock, Himeko's heart filled with relief and joy. From now on, she would no longer have to worry about Fu Zhu getting into any accidents during his adventures.
Xing and March 7th were also momentarily stunned before they started cheering. Although they didn't know why Fu Zhu had suddenly become an Envoy of Finality, it meant that their Astral Express now had an Envoy in its ranks. They would never have to fear encountering any Envoy-level powerhouses again!
"Heck yeah! Old Bro, when did you secretly evolve? You didn't even include me!"
Xing leaped onto Fu Zhu's back, her fair arms wrapping around his neck as she hung there, giggling and gleefully ruffling his hair.
Fu Zhu reached back to support her to keep her from falling, replying in exasperation, "What do you mean 'secretly'? You guys were busy ghost-hunting on the Luofu. What was I supposed to do? Should I bring you along for the next evolution?"
"Great idea! But Old Bro, if you evolve again, wouldn't you become an Aeon? Does that mean I'll be able to walk sideways across the entire universe?"
"If you want to reincarnate as a crab, I have no problem with that."
After a few sentences of banter with Xing, Fu Zhu turned his gaze back to Topaz, who was frozen in place. He raised an eyebrow and teased, "Ms. Topaz, am I now qualified to help Jarilo-VI refuse that unreasonable portion of the debt?"
Topaz's expression was stiff, cold sweat beading on her forehead. In her heart, she wanted nothing more than to slap herself a few times. Why did she have to take on this thankless and troublesome mission to Jarilo-VI?
Who would have thought she'd end up catching a massive fish like an Envoy on Jarilo-VI!
"Mr. Fu Zhu..." Topaz's tone became somewhat rigid as she forced a smile. "While this may sound presumptuous, I'm just a worker. Would it be possible for me to contact my superiors?"
Fu Zhu gestured towards the door. "Of course. I'm not a bandit, after all."
"Thank you."
After thanking him, Topaz hastily walked outside, found an empty corner, and anxiously dialed her superior's number.
A few moments later, the call connected, and a synthesized, mechanical voice came from the other end.
"Topaz, has something unexpected happened on Jarilo-VI? I don't believe this planet itself is worth you bypassing Jade to contact me directly."
Topaz took a deep breath and spoke seriously into the phone, "Minister, what I'm about to say might be a bit unbelievable. Please, you must not be too surprised!"
On the other end of the line, [Diamond] couldn't help but chuckle. "Topaz, when did you become a joker like Aventurine? If you have something to say, just say it."
Topaz thought to herself that she was probably overreacting. As a veteran of the Company, [Diamond] had seen far more of the world than she had.
"Very well, Minister, I'll get straight to the point. I encountered several members of the Astral Express on Jarilo-VI, and that person you asked me to keep an eye on, Fu Zhu, is among them."
"Mm, and then? He refused to trade the Redstone Technology, correct?"
[Diamond] had more or less guessed this would happen. It was normal for the creator of a technology that had never been seen or heard of before to be unwilling to let it circulate outside.
Thinking of this, [Diamond] spoke in a meaningful tone, "Topaz, you must remember that good things take time. If Fu Zhu doesn't agree the first time, you can ask a second time. We must let him know of our sincerity."
"That's not what I wanted to talk about, Minister. What I meant was... Mr. Fu Zhu objects to Jarilo-VI repaying the Company's debt because a group of Company employees made a few mistakes while assisting Jarilo-VI several hundred years ago."
"Mistakes?"
[Diamond] pondered for a moment before saying, "Since you feel it was a mistake, then it seems our people did indeed make some errors. But the fact remains that Jarilo-VI accepted the aid and signed the IOU. Since Fu Zhu brought it up, we can offer them a discount. Waiving a portion of the debt is not out of the question."
"But the problem is..." Topaz whispered cautiously into the receiver, "Minister, Mr. Fu Zhu is refusing all of the debt."
"What does he mean by that?" [Diamond]'s tone became displeased. "Is he planning to pick a fight with the Company? Although he is one of the Nameless, if he does this, he'll be the one at a disadvantage. Topaz, I authorize your request for special action against the Astral Express."
"...Minister, Fu Zhu is an Envoy of Finality."
Click.
The call was abruptly disconnected. Topaz, a dark look on her face, stared at her phone. A second later, a call from [Diamond] came through.
"That must have been a network fluctuation just now. I didn't quite hear you. Topaz, what did you just say?"
---o---
"Fu Zhu is an Envoy of Finality."
Click. The call was disconnected again.
This time, Topaz had learned her lesson. She waited for a short while, and sure enough, another call from [Diamond] came in.
"Ahem, I just went and chewed out those good-for-nothings in the tech department. To think the signal is this bad just a few star systems away. Isn't Jarilo-VI already free from the Stellaron's influence? I've long said we need reforms. Right, Topaz, what were you saying just now?"
Topaz patiently repeated herself one more time. "Fu Zhu is an Envoy of Finality."
The other end of the line fell silent. After waiting for a long time without hearing a response from [Diamond], Topaz looked at her phone with some suspicion, confirming that the call hadn't been disconnected. Only then did she ask cautiously into the receiver.
"Minister? Is there a problem with the signal again?"
"...No, I heard you very clearly..."
Topaz could hear [Diamond] taking one deep breath after another through the phone, occasionally punctuated by his curses directed at the intelligence department.
"Why didn't we have any intel on Fu Zhu being an Envoy of Finality! What the hell do those people eat all day?!"
After venting for a while, [Diamond]'s mood gradually calmed and eventually stabilized.
"So, you didn't get into any conflict with him, did you?"
Pouting, Topaz said with a sense of grievance, "If I had started a fight with Mr. Fu Zhu, do you think you'd be getting a call from me right now? You'd be receiving news of my death in the line of duty!"
"Good, that's good... Topaz, cancel all of our original plans. From now on, your goal is to befriend Fu Zhu as much as possible and mitigate our losses. Remember, that is, under the condition of befriending Fu Zhu!"