"That's right."
Ezekiel nodded slightly and put the phone away under the girl's reluctant gaze.
At this, the girl parted her vermilion lips, seeming to want to say something, but due to a maiden's reserve, she whimpered and sobbed for quite a while without managing to voice the words in her heart.
Seeing this, the young man named Ezekiel exchanged a glance with his companions, and then one of them spoke up.
"Huh? If I remember correctly, this set of armor should currently be under your control, right, Ezekiel?"
"Yes, that's correct. This set of armor is indeed under my control right now." Ezekiel replied calmly, though his gaze secretly observed the girl's expression all along.
"In that case, why don't you take this young lady to see the real heavy assault armor?"
Upon hearing this, a trace of excitement and longing immediately appeared on the quiet girl's face. Her gaze turned to Ezekiel full of anticipation, waiting somewhat nervously for his response.
"This..."
Ezekiel first furrowed his brows in difficulty, as if struggling with something, and did not answer for a long time.
"Rules are dead, people are alive. This young lady likes our company's creations so much—we should feel genuinely happy from the heart. Rules can be a bit flexible."
"This... Alright then, but just this once." After struggling for a while, Ezekiel gritted his teeth, as if making a very difficult decision.
"This... uh." The young man looked at the sweet-looking literary girl and was about to address her, only to awkwardly realize he didn't know her name.
"My name is Sparkle. Big Brother Ezekiel can just call me by my name."
Seeing Ezekiel hesitating to speak, the girl noticed his predicament and quickly spoke up to tell him her name.
"Sparkle, huh? What a nice name—truly fitting for the person."
"Then, Miss Sparkle, in my personal capacity, I sincerely invite you to come admire the majestic and domineering presence of the heavy assault armor. Would you be willing to go?"
"I am willing, but..." The girl hesitated and glanced at the wristwatch on her hand. The hands had now returned to the right half of the dial; it was already 2 a.m. system time.
"Wouldn't it be a bit too late now? How about tomorrow instead?"
Hearing Sparkle's words, the group of company 'executives' present naturally felt a thousand or ten thousand refusals in their hearts.
Right now, they were holding back a belly full of fire. The girl before them had thoroughly ignited their anger—they had no intention of letting her go.
Faced with Sparkle's refusal, one of the company executives, emboldened by the alcohol, could no longer hold back and was about to disregard appearances and stage a scene of forcibly abducting a maiden.
However, he had only taken one step forward before being blocked by Ezekiel.
"Don't worry, little Sister Sparkle."
With a faint smile, the young man immediately reassured her.
"Don't forget—we're executives of the Interastral Peace Corporation. After you've seen the heavy assault armor, I'll have someone escort you back."
"This..."
Though hesitation still lingered on Sparkle's face, there was no denying that she was genuinely tempted by Ezekiel's proposal.
Seeing this, Ezekiel pressed his advantage and spoke in a tone feigning regret.
"Little Sister Sparkle, you know, as company executives, we're usually very busy. If you miss this chance, then perhaps..."
At these words, the last trace of hesitation in Sparkle's heart vanished like smoke. The girl lightly pursed her vermilion lips and spoke in a somewhat inexperienced tone.
"Then... then I'll trouble Big Brother Ezekiel."
"No trouble at all."
Amid the crowd's escort, Sparkle followed Ezekiel and those Interastral Peace Corporation executives as they departed together. Passersby who saw this scene all clenched their teeth, their faces showing traces of indignation.
It wasn't just those executives—they too had long noticed this otherworldly beauty of a girl. Some had even approached her with the intention of striking up a conversation, only to be rejected one by one.
As for the reason? Naturally, it was 'Sorry, I already have an appointment.'
At first, when they saw those lavishly dressed outsiders going to chat her up, the men who had been secretly stealing glances at the girl felt their hearts sink.
Judging by those people's attire, they were probably from the Interastral Peace Corporation—and not ordinary low-level employees.
In that case, this young lady might be in some danger. After all, those 'big shots' loved nothing more than pure, inexperienced young girls like this. And what happened next only confirmed their suspicions.
They watched as the quiet girl, after just a moment's hesitation under the young company man's persuasion, agreed to leave with him—completely unaware that she had already fallen into a carefully laid trap.
Of course, where there are villains in the world, there are also kind-hearted people.
Hot-blooded young people naturally couldn't stand by and watch an innocent girl fall into a den of demons. For example, our Mr. Luka—the Mr. Luka known as 'Iron Arm Luka' in the Underworld boxing gym.
"Leave that girl alone, you bunch of foreign invaders!"
A voice full of righteous indignation suddenly came from behind the crowd. Immediately after, a strong gust of wind swept through, and a red-haired young man descended from the sky, blocking their path.
The red-haired young man wore a passionate tight-fitting fighting outfit, with a cape patterned with red flames draped over his shoulders.
On his right side, where an arm of flesh and blood should have been, there was instead a heavy steel gauntlet. With the young man's movements, the iron arm opened and closed, producing grating friction sounds that set one's teeth on edge.
"Who are you?"
This sudden scene made Ezekiel and the group of company executives frown. This hot-blooded kid who had popped out of nowhere not only wanted to ruin their plans but even called them invaders.
"Bodyguard!"
Ezekiel waved his hand in annoyance. He had just successfully coaxed her—this pure girl named Sparkle was already willing to go with them.
And yet, halfway through, a hot-blooded fool trying to play hero and save the beauty suddenly jumped out, wanting to ruin everything!
At Ezekiel's command, the security guards who had been temporarily dismissed to maintain vigilance in the surroundings quickly rushed over. They drew their police equipment from their waists and orderly advanced toward Luka.