Chapter 76: We Call This Efficiency
"The Preservation personally descended upon Belobog to illuminate our path," Bronya stated, her voice steady despite the rapid beating of her heart. "The Amber Lord decreed the construction of high walls, requiring us to first invest our geomarrow reserves entirely into that divine foundation."
Jade's signature, predatory smile faltered for a fraction of a second. Bronya's absolute defense left the IPC executive momentarily stymied. Even as a high-ranking Stoneheart, Jade lacked the authority to override a direct mandate from an Aeon. When the Amber Lord personally handed down a task, what mortal fool would dare snatch the resources required to fulfill it?
"I understand." Jade inclined her head gracefully, yielding the point without a trace of visible frustration. "Since it is the Amber Lord's explicit will, the Interastral Peace Corporation naturally will not force the matter. However..."
Her sharp, calculating gaze locked onto Bronya.
"The decree of Preservation focuses on the walls, yes. But surely that does not mean Belobog can never mine geomarrow for other industrial purposes?" Jade's tone was smooth, dripping with honeyed poison. "Once this divine task is complete, your world will still need to consider its long-term development. When that time comes, the IPC is always willing to provide... assistance."
"I will give the IPC's proposal the serious consideration it warrants when that time arrives," Bronya replied, her posture rigid, refusing to give an inch.
Jade smiled, a slow, elegant curving of her lips. "To prove our goodwill, the IPC is prepared to provide Belobog with a complete set of basic energy conversion technical data, along with supporting maintenance equipment. No additional resource extraction conditions attached. Consider this a small token of the IPC's sincerity as you rebuild your frozen home."
Bronya remained seated perfectly upright, her gray eyes not wavering in the slightest. 'Unconditional aid?'she thought, a cold knot tightening in her stomach.'There is no such thing with the IPC.'
"Belobog appreciates the IPC's sincerity, and we are willing to accept this technical data and equipment," Bronya answered carefully. "I will arrange for the Silvermane Guards' technical department to coordinate the logistics with your team. As for the matter of establishing a permanent IPC branch..."
"There is no rush to establish the branch." Jade gracefully rose to her feet, smoothly cutting off the Supreme Guardian. "The IPC delegation will remain stationed on our vessel in outer orbit for the time being. We await further news from you at any time. Once Belobog's walls are finished, we can sit down to discuss deeper cooperation."
Jade turned and glided toward the heavy oak doors of the office. The sharp click-clack of her high heels echoed against the polished floorboards, each step sounding like the ticking of a countdown clock.
Reaching the threshold, she paused, glancing back over her shoulder.
"Belobog is a city brimming with potential, Lady Supreme Guardian. But remember—the gaze of Preservation will not stay fixed in one place forever. Once your reconstruction is complete, this city must eventually face the violent storms of the galaxy alone. I look forward to the day we can sit down and negotiate a real deal."
The heavy doors clicked shut.
The moment the latch caught, Bronya slumped forward, letting out a long, shaky exhale. She pressed her fingertips against her throbbing temples.
'Mother...'she thought, staring blankly at the stacks of paperwork on her desk.'This pressure... it is no ordinary burden.'
Negotiating with an IPC Stoneheart felt like being trapped inside a whistling pressure cooker. One wrong word, and her entire world would be sold to the highest bidder.
A sharp knock broke the silence. Gepard strode into the office, his armor clanking softly. He delivered a crisp Silvermane salute, his expression as stoic as ever, before informing her that Rekka and the other Nameless had urgent matters to discuss.
Bronya sighed, straightening her posture and smoothing out her uniform. Though she had no idea why the chaotic trio had chosen this exact moment to visit, she could never turn them away. She gave Gepard the nod to let Rekka, March 7th, and Stelle inside.
The moment they crossed the threshold, Bronya bypassed the pleasantries, her eyes wide with a desperate, fragile hope.
"Is it true? What you told the guards... is there really a way to restore our planet's ecology in a short amount of time?"
"Yep." Rekka nodded, casually leaning against one of the ornate pillars in the office. "Usually, if we Nameless don't plan on permanently settling down, we try not to get too deeply involved in local political matters..."
Stelle stepped forward, hefting her baseball bat over her shoulder with a deadpan expression. "Rules are made to be broken."
March 7th pumped her fist in the air, her pink hair bouncing. "Right, right!"
"So," Rekka clapped his hands together, grinning like a fox who had just found the keys to the henhouse, "we plan to help you terraform the entire planet back into a habitable paradise!"
Bronya's breath hitched. Before the Eternal Freeze, the history books claimed Jarilo-VI possessed an enviably lush, vibrant environment. To see green grass again... to feel warm rain...
"Are you serious?" Bronya gripped the edge of her desk, her knuckles turning white. "You are not joking with me?"
"Do I look like the kind of person who would joke about something as serious as planetary salvation?" Rekka spread his hands, adopting an expression of deep, wounded innocence.
Bronya stared at his face for two solid seconds. She took in his chaotic aura, his mischievous grin, and the absolute lack of reverence in his posture. She nodded vigorously.
"Yes. You absolutely do."
"Exactly!" Rekka laughed, completely unfazed. He strolled over and casually patted the Supreme Guardian on the shoulder, ignoring Gepard's slight twitch of disapproval in the corner. "Just consider this a little meeting gift since we've become such good friends. However, I do have conditions."
Bronya immediately sobered up, her political instincts kicking back in. "Conditions... Very well. Let us hear them."
Rekka held up a single finger. "First, if any black-hearted capitalists, societal parasites, or corporate oppressors show up on your planet, you must hang them all from the streetlamps."
Bronya blinked. A deep, baffled silence filled the office.
"...Excuse me?"
"Listen closely," Rekka continued, his tone suddenly adopting the cadence of a passionate revolutionary. "Perhaps they will hold the economic lifeblood of this world in their greedy little hands, but this is an absolute, non-negotiable condition. You must take those fellows—the ones who, from head to toe, have every pore dripping with blood and filth—and string them all up as festive city decorations without leaving a single one alive. I think the people of the Underworld would highly agree, don't you? Oh, and just to clarify, if they are going to be decorations, the rope must be tied securely around their necks."
Bronya stared at him, utterly deadpan. "Isn't that just called a public execution by hanging?"
Rekka snapped his fingers. "Oh boy, look at you with the fancy vocabulary! Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Bronya rubbed her temples again, feeling a completely different kind of headache coming on. Yet, beneath the absurdity, she understood exactly who he was warning her about. Her mind flashed to Jade's departing figure.
"I understand what you mean," Bronya promised, her voice dropping an octave into absolute seriousness. "Rest assured, Belobog will never become a place controlled by parasites, predatory capitalists, or oppressors. I guarantee it in the name of the Supreme Guardian."
"Good. Your word is enough for me." Rekka nodded in satisfaction. "Now, as for how we specifically restore the ecology... I have a foolproof plan, but I might need your administrative cooperation."
"What plan?" Bronya asked, leaning forward, expecting a complex discussion on atmospheric scrubbers and geomarrow-powered heaters.
"We pack up the entire planet and take it away."
Bronya froze. The gears in her brain visibly ground to a halt.
"...What?"
"Wait a moment." She raised a hand, massaging her forehead. "Could you say that again?"
"We pack up the whole planet and take it away," Rekka repeated slowly, enunciating every syllable. His expression was so intensely serious that it completely bypassed joking and landed straight into terrifying sincerity. "To be precise, we will temporarily miniaturize Jarilo-VI—including the outer atmospheric layers and the aetherial crystal barrier—and place it into a safe, isolated dimensional space for rapid ecological restoration. Once the environment has mostly recovered, we just pop it right back into its original orbital slot."
Bronya opened her mouth. She closed it. She opened it again. For a long, agonizing moment, the Supreme Guardian of Belobog simply lacked the vocabulary to process the sheer scale of this madness.
March 7th leaned over the desk, whispering loudly behind her hand. "He told us about this idea earlier. I know it sounds completely outrageous, but he actually seems to have the technology to do it."
"I do indeed." Rekka casually reached into his pocket and pulled out a sleek, glowing silver cube. He tossed it lightly in the air and caught it. "This little beauty is a simplified version of a spatial compression device. It is capable of temporarily shrinking something the size of a major city. The full-scale version can compress an entire planet. If you are still worried about the safety protocols, we can try a test run and compress a small town first."
...
And just like that, the entire Underworld was brought up to the surface with terrifying ease.
For the citizens of Boulder Town and the surrounding settlements, the experience was jarringly brief. They basically just felt their vision go pitch-black for a fraction of a second. A moment later, blinding, glorious daylight flooded their streets. Entire city blocks had been instantly teleported and integrated into the surface snowfields. For the first time in over a century, the undergrounders stepped out of their homes to breathe crisp, freezing, long-awaited fresh air, rather than choking on the heavy, metallic tang of geomarrow dust.
Rekka brushed the imaginary dust off his hands. He called it efficiency.
"Now," Rekka turned back to the utterly paralyzed Supreme Guardian, pocketing the silver cube. "Do you agree to let me temporarily compress your planet?"
Bronya swallowed hard, staring out her window at the impossible sight of Underworld architecture resting peacefully beneath the Belobog sky.
"Personally... I have no objection," she murmured, her voice trembling with awe. "But I still need to discuss a planetary relocation with the ministers."
"Fine." Rekka nodded, his chaotic demeanor shifting into something sharper, more urgent. "But make it quick. Those IPC vultures are still watching from orbit. Once they realize what is happening and try to interfere, things won't be so easy to handle."
Bronya placed her hand over her heart, bowing her head in deep respect.
"I am deeply grateful."
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