"My words may have been somewhat offensive. Please don't take them to heart, Miss Yunli."
Having taken in the girl's entire reaction, Welt secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. From the way Miss Yunli had looked just now, it seemed she didn't have the kind of thoughts he had feared.
"Miss Yunli, the benefactor you are searching for is originally named 'Yun Fan.' He is one of the passengers on our Astral Express."
"Yun Fan?!"
Listening with faint anticipation as the two words "Yun Fan" came from Welt's mouth, a trace of astonishment appeared on Yunli's face.
Yun Fan? Why did this name sound so similar to Miss Qingque's husband? No, could it be… that Miss Qingque's husband really was the one she was looking for? But hadn't Grandpa just said in the Jade Abacus that Mr. Yun Fan was currently not on the Xianzhou Luofu? How could this be explained?
Sorting through the known information in her mind, countless thoughts swirled in Yunli's heart. After pondering for a brief moment, the girl's gaze turned toward her grandfather.
"Grandpa, didn't you just say that Mr. Yun Fan isn't on the Xianzhou Luofu right now? But now…"
"Ahem, actually, there's a little hidden detail to this matter. Little Yunli, please don't pay too much attention to it for now."
Seeing his granddaughter's somewhat sharp gaze directed at him, our General Huaiyan lightly coughed twice to ease the slightly awkward atmosphere.
"Mm, I understand."
Huaiyan's words made Yunli realize that the benefactor she was searching for was currently right here on the Luofu. In that case, there was a very high probability that he was indeed Miss Qingque's husband.
However… that guy was already married? A trace of disappointment rose in Yunli's heart, and she suddenly felt a sense of emptiness and tastelessness.
But soon, the girl rallied herself again, a vigorous fighting spirit faintly bursting forth in her eyes.
Since 'Fan' was together with Miss Qingque, did that mean he liked girls with petite figures like that? Then, did she herself have a chance?
Even though she had only met Qingque once and hadn't spent much time together, Yunli still had a rough estimate of Qingque's figure.
Qingque's build, at best, was on the same level as herself and Fu Xuan—something like the petite type. If there was anything about Qingque that could even slightly relate to an "onee-san" vibe, it was probably just her age.
'Fan… Yun Fan… I will definitely come find you.'
————————————
Jarilo-VI… Belobog Interstellar Port…
"Have you decided? My little Jelena, do you need me to go with you?"
In front of the dedicated port for the Interastral Peace Corporation, a red-and-black-colored spaceship was quietly docked at the pier.
From an overall perspective, the Interastral Peace Corporation's spaceships generally presented a rather square, streamlined posture with distinct edges and corners.
The hull of the ship was forged from high-density alloys, sufficient to support the vessel in performing faster-than-light flight, spatial jumps, and a series of operations that placed extremely high demands on the ship's structure.
"Don't worry, Sister Jade. I'm not a little kid anymore. This time, even if I can't obtain help from that Emanator of [Causality] on the Xianzhou Luofu, I won't make enemies for the Company."
Holding Jade's hand, Topaz gently shook it, just like a little girl acting spoiled toward her parent. And as the "Senior Manager of Debt Collection," as one of the "Ten Stonehearts," perhaps only at times like this would our Miss Topaz show such a childlike demeanor?
"Sigh, you know that's not what I'm talking about." Looking at the little girl she had personally promoted, our Miss Jade shook her head somewhat amusedly.
Topaz was clearly pretending to be oblivious despite understanding perfectly. But never mind—let the child go on her own. Without the tempering of flames, how could the sharpest blade be forged?
"Lady Topaz, Lady Jade, the departure time for the ship is approaching. What do you think…"
Just as Topaz and Jade were exchanging their final farewells, a somewhat short, middle-aged man approached the two very respectfully, head bowed low, cautiously inquiring.
This person was precisely the manager in charge of operating this spaceship. At this moment, facing these two P46-level big shots before him, he was utterly terrified, not even daring to breathe loudly.
To these two big shots, a little P26 employee like himself could be considered flattered just to be called an ant.
"Mm, I understand. You can go ahead first."
Topaz turned her head, giving the operations manager a slight nod before dismissing him.
"Yes, Lady Topaz."
Topaz's words were like a great amnesty to the little manager. After respectfully saluting the two, he slipped away like oil under his feet in the blink of an eye.
"Sister Jade, the ship is about to depart, so I'll be going now."
"Mm, safe travels."
Watching Topaz board the ship, Jade shook her head somewhat helplessly. Only then did she take out her phone from her pocket, open the Strategic Investment Department's dedicated line, compose a message, and send it to someone named "Kakavasha" in her contacts.
[Jade: Aventurine, how are things progressing on the Penacony side?]
The message was sent out quickly. At the same time, far away in the Asdana star system inside Penacony's Dreamscape Hotel, Aventurine heard his phone chime. The originally exhausted look on his face instantly vanished as he perked up.
As a senior executive of the Interastral Peace Corporation, Aventurine's phone had two ringtones. One was the regular call tone for interactions with friends.
The other was a special ringtone exclusive to the "Ten Stonehearts." When that ringtone sounded, it meant the person contacting him was also one of the Ten Stonehearts.
Quickly opening his phone and looking at the text on the screen, an excited expression couldn't help but appear on Aventurine's face.
Finally, finally! Someone had finally contacted him!
Regarding the Company's operation in Penacony this time, it had actually been jointly planned mainly by Jade, Topaz, and Aventurine—the three of them.
Three of the "Ten Stonehearts" had madly bet three "Cornerstones" in this upcoming gamble. Whether they succeeded or not would decide whether the three of them ended up with nothing or won it all.
[Kakavasha: Sister Jade, the situation is extremely unfavorable. The intelligence we investigated earlier was wrong.]
"Intelligence wrong?" Reading Aventurine's reply, Jade's brows furrowed slightly, a trace of dissatisfaction appearing in her beautiful phoenix eyes.
Intelligence being wrong was no good news. As the saying went, "Before the troops move, provisions go first." The same applied to strategy.
[Jade: Intelligence wrong? Explain in detail.]