Inside the Seat of Divine Foresight, the winds of change were stirring.
"Kafka's bounty, a seventy-thirty split," Caelus declared, slamming one hand on the table.
"Why only seventy percent?!" Stelle immediately got angry, questioning him aloud.
"Sigh! And that seventy percent is theirs, we only get thirty! Thirty percent!"
Caelus put on a 'life is hard, poor Caelus sighs' expression.
He held up three fingers and waved them fiercely in front of Stelle's eyes twice, adding, "And this thirty percent is only out of respect for General Jing Yuan."
"Whose respect?" Stelle was greatly alarmed, her brow furrowing.
"General Jing Yuan's."
Caelus sneakily (and openly) shot a wink at Jing Yuan. The smile on Jing Yuan's face stiffened slightly.
As an old hand, how could he not understand the implication behind their words?
These two were asking for money while also calling him stingy...
"General Jing Yuan? I came all the way to the Luofu to be a savior, and I still have to rely on General Jing Yuan's respect?"
Stelle's little face seemed to flush red with indignation.
"Correct." Caelus flawlessly acted the part of a slippery advisor.
"I finally found my mother, a happy mother-daughter reunion, and I came to the Luofu to help. But I have to sell out my own mom for glory, and I have to rely on General Jing Yuan's respect? Wouldn't that make me a beggar kneeling for scraps?"
"And even then, countless people wish they could kneel for this opportunity," Caelus muttered under his breath.
Watching Caelus and Stelle put on what looked like a comedy double act, Welt remained silent.
Seele's fair little face was filled with confusion. In the strange atmosphere, she felt as if tangible spikes were growing out of the chair beneath her, making it impossible to sit still.
Only Bronya was completely at ease, eating from the fruit platter that Yukong had her secretary bring for the guests, occasionally feeding a piece to Seele.
March 7th had been holding a chestnut for ages without cracking it open, her jaw on the floor as she listened to the passionate debate, completely gobsmacked.
The tableau of the Trailblaze crew was broken by a long sigh.
"You two, please hear me out," Jing Yuan finally couldn't help but interject.
After a system hour of conversation and haggling...
The two youngsters, Caelus and Stelle, and the old-timer Jing Yuan had a delightful chat. Both parties hit it off immediately and quickly reached a consensus.
"Big Brother Jing Yuan, rest assured! With our Mom-Hunting Duo on the case, we will definitely bring Kafka to justice. The great task will be accomplished!"
Sitting by the low table in the reception hall, Caelus-Yunchang let out a deep, booming laugh and slapped his own thigh, which was adorned with a blue leg ring.
In a bold and forthright voice, Stelle-Yide clasped her fists in a salute and declared grandly:
"Caelus-cub is right! With our aid this time, Big Brother, we will surely strike down that Stellaron Hunter and send her packing in utter defeat!"
"Excellent, excellent! With my two worthy brothers taking the field, her capture is assured. You will prove yourselves as peerless heroes worthy of being recorded in the annals of history."
Jing Yuan laughed heartily, his voice ringing out.
Sitting beside and behind Jing Yuan, Yukong tried her best to smile, but her cheeks twitched like a PowerPoint presentation, and the corners of her eyes were twitching madly.
What in the world was all this?
How did General Jing Yuan get on the same wavelength as these two gray-haired kids?
Are they really reliable?
And also, they were just haggling intensely a moment ago. How did they suddenly start calling each other 'Big Brother' and 'Worthy Brother'?
Although General Jing Yuan looked young, he was actually quite old. On the Xianzhou, someone who looked like a child could be decades or even over a hundred years old. Two hundred was considered an adult on the Xianzhou.
Caelus and Stelle exchanged a look, their righteousness soaring to the heavens. Using tea as a substitute for wine, they downed it in one go.
"We will not fail our big brother's trust."
Caelus felt there was nothing wrong with calling him Big Brother. He and Dan Heng were of the same generation, and Dan Heng and Jing Yuan were of the same generation. Didn't that mean he and Jing Yuan were also of the same generation?
[Commission Quest: The utterly vicious and shameless Xianzhou general audaciously wants you to hunt down your dear mother. She is your beloved family and friend! Thus, with righteous indignation, you sold your mother for a good price.]
[Quest Reward: 60 Crystals. May your filial piety pay handsomely.]
Bronya, observing from the side, mentally clicked to accept the quest, muttering to herself.
Isn't this reward a bit too low?
A mother who is also a wife is only worth 60 Crystals?
But considering the difficulty of this mission, Bronya swallowed the complaint she had for the system.
Stelle's eyes had already turned into the shape of credit points.
One had to know, Kafka's bounty from the Interastral Peace Corporation was 10.8 billion, the highest of all the Stellaron Hunters!
Normally, if you ask me to help catch any other mother, I might just do it for some token reward.
But for a mommy with a bounty, if you don't give me enough of it, wouldn't it be wonderful to just catch her and deliver her to the Interastral Peace Corporation myself?
Don't even think about getting this baby to hand over my ten-billion-credit mommy for a paltry sum!
Under Caelus and Stelle's compelling arguments, Jing Yuan promised that if they helped capture Kafka, he would give them thirty percent of Kafka's bounty as a reward.
Over 3 billion credits!
Split that with Caelus-cub, and that's over 1.5 billion credits each. This was a huge score!
"Marvelous. It is settled. I will issue the order now and have Yukong share all intelligence and dispatch elite personnel to assist you in the search."
Jing Yuan waved his hand and began writing a formal order to send to Yukong.
Then he looked at the two gray-haired kids, his gaze a mixture of three parts curiosity, three parts strangeness, three parts doubt, one part amusement and playfulness, and three parts pity.
As a general skilled in strategy and planning, his ability to speak to people in their own language was already maxed out.
Both the lingering gaze of the Reignbow Arbiter and Caelus and Stelle themselves had truly piqued Jing Yuan's interest!
He decided to play along and meet them in a field where they excelled.
Jing Yuan thought about it and decided the money was well spent.
Fu Xuan had divined that it would be nearly impossible for the Cloud Knights alone to capture Kafka. Even if they succeeded, it would come at a considerable cost. Having the Astral Express join the capture team would greatly increase the success rate.
This was natural, of course. The reason Kafka had called the Express over was precisely to make the Xianzhou owe them a favor.
If the Express crew didn't make a move, she absolutely wouldn't reveal her location, and even if she did, she wouldn't be caught.
However, Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan were unaware of this cause and effect!
Jing Yuan had his suspicions about every aspect of the Stellaron affair, but he just couldn't figure out Kafka's objective.
Under these circumstances, spending 3 billion to catch a Stellaron Hunter that no one could catch for 10.8 billion—wasn't that a massive bargain?
The reason for only giving thirty percent was, on one hand, that the Xianzhou would also dispatch reinforcements to assist in the capture. On the other hand, it could be considered a small favor Jing Yuan owed Caelus and Stelle.
"During your stay on the Xianzhou, if you have any need for the Sky-Faring Commission or the Cloud Knights, please do not hesitate."
Jing Yuan smiled brightly.
"We won't hesitate."
Caelus and Stelle nodded furiously, which made Jing Yuan's mouth twitch. He was just being polite.
"I have other important matters to attend to and cannot stay long. Farewell."
With that, Jing Yuan's projection vanished.
"Alright!"
Caelus and Stelle high-fived each other.
Thanks to their telepathic understanding, the previous performance was naturally an act for Jing Yuan, but their demand for money was completely genuine. After all, Mommy Kafka's bounty was truly huge.
They'd just scammed 3 billion credits so easily!
Watching the two unabashed gray-haired kids, Yukong was silent for a long while before sighing.
"Since the general has given the order, the Sky-Faring Commission will naturally cooperate fully. We entrust the investigation of the Stellaron Hunter to you all. Here is the access credential for all facilities in the Starskiff Sea."
Yukong gave the Sky-Faring Commission's credentials to the members of the Express crew.
"As for manpower... the various starports are currently undergoing maintenance and repairs, and we are short-staffed. I can only ask Tingyun to temporarily act as your guide and take care of your itinerary during this time."
"No problem!" Caelus agreed immediately.
Afterward, Yukong stood up and left, apparently to go give instructions to Tingyun.
Only the members of the Express crew remained in the reception area.
"Hehe, the funding for this Trailblaze journey is secured!" Caelus snapped his fingers.
"You two... are you serious?"
Under March 7th's somewhat peculiar gaze, Stelle looked away guiltily.
"Well, we're already on the Xianzhou, so there's no reason to refuse. Might as well get some benefits out of it... It's really just a side benefit!"
Sorry, Mother Kafka, you'll definitely be fine anyway. Just think of it as child support payments in a roundabout way!
After all, Mother Himeko gives her allowance money.
"Don't look at me like that."
Facing March 7th's scrutinizing gaze, Caelus puffed out his chest, completely justified, and patted it. "March, all of your personal expenses on this trip, I've got it covered!"
"Yay! You guys are the best!"
March 7th immediately jumped up happily and gave Caelus a big thumbs-up.
Suddenly remembering something, she glanced furtively at Bronya, only to find Bronya's expression was as normal as ever.
"..."
Welt was silent, incredibly silent throughout the whole ordeal.
This bizarre development was completely different from their interactions with any other faction!
He, the veteran Trailblazer, hadn't even had a chance to step in before Caelus and Stelle had reached a cooperation agreement with Jing Yuan in the strangest way. Could it be that he was really getting old?
Is this how young people trailblaze?
Glancing at Little March, Bronya, and Seele, Welt sighed helplessly. It had to be Caelus and Stelle who were the odd ones, right?
However, in terms of the result, it was quite good.
"Caelus, Stelle, what do you plan to do next?"
Welt looked at the two who were now discussing how to spend the money.
Even if he had been the one to negotiate with Jing Yuan, the outcome might not have been better than what Caelus and Stelle achieved. As long as they caught Kafka, the other party would let the Express participate in the Stellaron matter.
Since that was the case, he might as well see what Caelus intended to do.
"Is that even a question? We're gonna go have fun, of course! On the way here, I saw a lot of delicious food and snacks. Come on, I'll treat everyone to a big meal first!"
As extravagantly as someone who had just won the lottery, Caelus raised his arms and rallied the troops.
"Eat, eat, eat!" March 7th responded immediately.
"Let's go, let's go!" Stelle pushed Seele by the shoulders.
Caelus and Bronya walked side by side.
Welt: "..."
Just as he had decided to let Caelus take the lead on this matter, he was already beginning to doubt the correctness of his decision.
They didn't seem to care about catching Kafka at all.
However, in a flash, many details crossed Welt's mind.
Since the Luofu had already captured a member of the Stellaron Hunters, they could just use Blade as a clue to hunt down Kafka. Why would they need to involve them?
After thinking it over, the only possibility was that Blade had escaped the Xianzhou's control. In that case, to catch Kafka, they would need a special kind of bait.
Clearly, Caelus and Stelle were the best bait.
Was it because he had guessed Jing Yuan's intentions, coupled with his relationship with Kafka, that Caelus was so confident about going off to have fun?
"Uncle Yang, hurry up!"
March 7th's call came from ahead.
"Coming."
Welt caught up with the youngsters.
He was starting to understand what Dan Heng had said before: the process was abstract and incomprehensible, yet the result somehow managed to hit the bullseye by a strange twist of fate.
Was this great wisdom appearing as foolishness?
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