It had to be said, signing the Core Contract really did make a difference.
Derek Su immediately felt as if every word that had been stuck to his tongue could finally come out. He told Imperial Scale the whole story, from Mr. Liang's identity and what had happened to him, to what Mr. Liang meant to him and Stella. By the time he finished, rescuing Crimson had suddenly become urgent, and Imperial Scale fully understood what had been weighing on his mind.
"Master, although you said this Mecha Girl is very likely Crimson, that is still only a possibility. No matter what, we need to confirm her identity first." Imperial Scale thought for a moment, then suggested, "Find a way to meet Blaze and feel her out. If she really is Crimson, then we can…"
"Buy her?" Derek Su finished her thought, then frowned. "I doubt they would sell Crimson. If she really is Crimson, then Ethan Yang's goal is obvious. He wants to torment her on purpose. No matter how much money we offer, he won't sell her, and he definitely won't sell her to me."
"No, you cannot buy her." Imperial Scale shook her head. "You cannot be connected to this matter."
"Why?" Derek Su froze.
"Because of Mr. Liang." Imperial Scale picked up her tea, took a sip, and said calmly, "Crimson must be rescued through someone else. You do not know whether Mr. Liang is still under Ethan Yang's influence right now. If you rescue Crimson and anger Ethan Yang, Ethan Yang may target Mr. Liang because of it. That is not something you want to see, is it?"
A chill ran down Derek Su's back, and cold sweat gathered on his forehead.
All he had been thinking about was rescuing Crimson, Mr. Liang's former first Mecha Girl.
He had not considered the harm this good deed might bring Mr. Liang.
Right now, Ethan Yang was definitely keeping a close eye on Mr. Liang.
According to Zane, Mr. Liang should currently be in a relatively safe place. He had merely lost his freedom. But that did not mean Ethan Yang had stopped targeting him. If Derek Su rescued Crimson, Ethan Yang would certainly fly into a rage. Cornered like a mad dog, there was no telling what he might do.
"You're right. I can't be the one to handle this."
Derek Su scratched his head.
Since Stella Club could not make a move, did he have any resources he could use?
When it came to resources, his biggest backer was definitely the sponsor.
But Ethan Yang's Crown Club also had a financial group behind it, and even the support of the Techmasters' Alliance. Ethan Yang was not stupid, either. A simple investigation would lead him straight to Longteng Group, and finding Longteng Group would basically mean finding Stella Club. In the end, Crimson's rescue would still be pinned on him.
"Ugh, this is giving me a headache."
Ethan Yang was not Chloe Qin.
He would not be that easy to deal with.
Tap, tap, tap.
Derek Su leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the armrest.
All kinds of plans surfaced in his mind, only to be rejected one after another.
Imperial Scale stayed quietly beside him, occasionally glancing at Derek Su's profile.
Then she quickly looked away and lowered her head.
Her long lashes fluttered, hiding whatever she was thinking.
Time passed, second by second.
Suddenly, there was movement at the club entrance.
Derek Su and Imperial Scale looked out through the shattered full height window and saw Tunbao and Stella returning.
The two of them, who should have been at odds with each other, were now walking hand in hand like the best friends in the world.
Both were carrying bulging shopping bags.
Derek Su narrowed his eyes.
Unless he was seeing things, Tunbao's bag was actually full of chili oil from various brands.
The flame red packaging and the ghost peppers on the labels were impossible to miss.
As for Stella, she seemed to be carrying plain nutrient solution?
Good grief. Were they seriously planning to make a custom spicy nutrient solution for Tunbao?
Since when had those two gotten so close?
While he was still wondering about it, Stella and Tunbao hummed a children's song as they passed the conference room door.
Stella glanced inside and saw Derek Su and Imperial Scale both looking at her. It felt like they were plotting something important.
Those strange looks were practically sending her an invitation signal.
And as the Pineapple Emperor, she naturally synced up at once and received the signal successfully.
"Baobao, go to the kitchen first and mix these nutrient solutions with the chili oil."
Stella handed the shopping bags to Tunbao.
"What about you?" Tunbao took the bags, looking confused.
"Me…" Stella leaned close to Tunbao's ear and whispered, "I'm going to do some ideological work on Imperial Scale, so Imperial Scale will sign the Core Contract with Master sooner."
Get the boss to sign the Core Contract?
Tunbao glanced at Imperial Scale's "aloof" expression in the conference room.
Tsk, tsk. That was going to be a long and difficult road.
She gave Stella a thumbs up, also lowering her voice as she winked. "Good luck!"
With that, she carried the two shopping bags toward the warehouse.
After successfully sending Tunbao away, Stella closed the conference room door, turned on the lights, and drew the curtains over the full height window.
She sat down beside Derek Su, tightened her soft little face into a serious expression, and slapped her small hand on the table.
Smack.
"Court is now in session!"
"Present your petitions, or court is dismissed!"
Derek Su & Imperial Scale: "…"
"Where did you learn that?" Derek Su pinched the bridge of his nose.
Stella pulled a book out of nowhere. Printed on the cover was the title: Tales of the Righteous Judge.
Derek Su's vision went dark, and he sighed.
Forget it. He would endure.
He still owed Stella, after all.
"Master, Rebel King, what are you two plotting?" Stella suddenly narrowed her eyes, leaned close to Imperial Scale, and sniffed with her delicate nose. Then her eyes lit up. "Oh ho! Rebel King, I didn't expect you to move so fast. You already signed a Core Contract with Master?"
She took Imperial Scale's hand on her own and said with an ambiguous smile, "Good, good. Rebel King, from now on, I shall grant you the title of Sweetie, the Busty Imperial Consort!"
"Please, no Busty Imperial Consort." Derek Su sighed. "Stella, you came at the perfect time. There's something we need to figure out together."
There was nothing strange about Stella being able to tell that Imperial Scale had signed a Core Contract.
They were both his Core Contract Mecha Girls, so they could sense it from each other. He had read about that in the Pilot's Handbook.
Seeing Derek Su so serious, Stella put away her playful mood and became serious as well. ... After hearing what had been troubling Derek Su, Stella fell silent too.
The atmosphere in the conference room grew a little heavy.
"If that really is Crimson, then she's suffered too much."
Stella propped her cheeks in both hands, her eyes filled with sadness that would not fade.
She saw Mr. Liang as family, so naturally, Mr. Liang's first Mecha Girl was like family to her as well.
How could her heart not ache when she saw family suffering?
Still, if Crimson really had not been sent to the Recycling Yard, then there was still a chance to rescue her.
Stella raised her head, her gaze turning incredibly firm.
"Master, Imperial Scale's concerns really do need to be taken seriously." She rubbed her chin and thought for a moment. "There are two things we need to do now. First, we need to investigate the situation at the Sharp Peak Black Market, especially Crimson's current condition. Second, after confirming Crimson's identity, we need to use outside forces to rescue her.
"For the first part, we can ask Mr. Xavier for help. He works in the black market himself, so he should know what's going on inside the Sharp Peak Black Market.
"As for the probing mission, I'm not suitable, Imperial Scale isn't suitable, and neither are you, Tunbao, Blazing Wind, or Absolute Shadow. But we can send Lingwind!"
"Why?" Derek Su had originally been thinking of sending Tunbao or Blazing Wind.
"Because outsiders don't pay much attention to Lingwind," Stella replied. "And Lingwind is a Mecha Girl we can trust. I play with Lingwind all the time, so I can vouch for her character. As for Tunbao and Blazing Wind, one has the wrong personality for it, and the other became famous at Maratela. She'd be recognized too easily."
Stella did not mention the other Mecha Girls.
Every one of them was well known, and the owner of that arena in the Sharp Peak Black Market was not stupid.
Derek Su thought it over.
It really did seem like Lingwind was the best fit.
Lingwind had an obedient, silly sort of personality and was very easy to coax.
All they needed to do was tell her what to do without revealing too much information, and she would definitely do everything she could to complete the mission.
"And as for the outside force we'll rely on…"
Stella paused, pointed upward, and flashed a bright grin.
"Sweetie, the rich lady, of course!"
...
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