Looking at Scott's flushed face, the same phrase popped into everyone's heads:
"He's red!"
Seeing Scott hopping mad and practically screeching himself hoarse, it wasn't hard to tell he was genuinely panicking. Nero's few words had clearly dealt far more damage than anyone expected.
The only question was which part had stabbed directly into his sore spot.
"Hnghghghgh! What kind of position I hold in the company is none of your business! Hmph! Just you wait and see! It doesn't matter if you don't apologize now. Sooner or later, there'll come a time when you beg for forgiveness!"
Scott shouted furiously, then stormed off without another glance back.
Well then, now everyone knew exactly which part had struck a nerve.
As Scott left, the gathered workers gradually dispersed as well, leaving only Nero's group behind.
"That felt amazing! I feel completely refreshed!" Sushang grinned as if a weight had been lifted from her entire body. "It's my first time seeing him run off in such a sorry state. Nero, you're incredible!"
Stelle crossed her arms and smiled too.
"Well, that's because it's us. Little Scott never stood a chance against us."
The little secretary looked from one to the other. She'd been there from the very beginning of the incident until now.
But Scott's mouth was simply too vicious. From start to finish, she hadn't managed to get a single word in.
Precisely because she personally knew how difficult Scott was to deal with, seeing him flee so miserably left her utterly stunned.
But beneath the surprise was lingering worry. Her gaze slowly shifted toward the worker lying unconscious on the ground.
She didn't know exactly what had happened to make him suddenly convulse and collapse, but one thing was certain: it had something to do with Scott.
And judging from his reaction and the unfinished words he'd blurted out earlier, there had definitely been dealings between the two of them.
The people of Aurum Alley already failing to stand united wasn't good news to begin with, though it was unavoidable. But now, there were already people stirring up trouble from within...
The situation filled the little secretary with anxiety.
At the same time, she found herself wishing Scott could get dragged away too.
Then suddenly, she froze.
No wonder Scott had left so quickly today.
It wasn't just because he lost his composure and got furious. Avoiding the Ten-Lords Commission had been one of his goals too.
The moment she realized this, the little secretary immediately told Nero about it.
Nero merely waved a hand and smiled.
"It's fine. The Ten-Lords Commission couldn't easily arrest him anyway. If he leaves, he leaves. The bet still hasn't been fulfilled yet. I've got people in the IPC, so I'm not worried about him running away."
Hearing that, the little secretary blinked where she stood.
The more she interacted with Nero up close, the more she felt he wasn't quite like she'd imagined.
Before meeting him in person, she'd pictured him as the playful but soft and adorable type.
But now that she actually knew him, she realized the rumors about him being cute and good-looking weren't exaggerated at all, but this personality of his definitely went far beyond "a little mischievous."
This was outright sharp-edged arrogance.
It was like all the recklessness and pride of youth had been written directly across his face. He was the complete opposite of little Yanqing.
Yanqing was already rare enough, serious, obedient, honest, and sensible to an absurd degree. Mature beyond his years.
And now, compared side by side with Nero, that earnest quality in Yanqing stood out even more distinctly.
In the little secretary's impression, Yanqing was the type who treated others with humility, while Nero... even though he didn't outwardly display too much in his words or actions, the attitude in his eyes and brows said everything.
Even at his age, children as overbearingly confident as him were extremely rare.
Afterward, the group waited a while longer until Hanya and Huohuo arrived to take people away. Then they made plans with Huohuo to have dinner together at Delicacies Pavilion that evening.
Once Huohuo and Hanya left with the prisoner, the little secretary thought for a moment and said, "I've already witnessed everyone's skill at arguing. Scott practically had no room to fight back.
"But arguing and formal debate are still a bit different. On the repayment deadline, there's definitely going to be another confrontation with that guy."
At this point, the little secretary smiled.
"And when that happens, we can't handle it the same way we did today. We still need to learn some relevant terminology and background knowledge."
"Let's head to the Artisan's Commission shop and see if the guild leader and Sister Lianyan have any ideas."
Everyone agreed.
When they arrived at the Chenji Shop, they found Lianyan there.
Lianyan didn't immediately bring up the guild leader's apparent malfunction from earlier. Instead, she stated directly that the little secretary had already contacted her about everything.
It seemed the guild leader's strange episodes still hadn't been fully resolved.
"How's the guild leader doing?" Sushang clearly couldn't follow all the subtle implications and simply asked out of concern.
Lianyan's expression stiffened.
"From current observations, the guild leader seems mostly fine now, but... considering he suddenly turned into that state the other day, I think we should still have Master Gongshu examine him again."
"Oh... then I hope the guild leader recovers soon," Sushang said sincerely.
Lianyan nodded.
After that, she stopped dwelling on the guild leader's matter and instead began explaining some simple negotiation techniques they'd summarized, such as "prepare your trump cards in advance."
Later, she handed them several documents, including recent information about the worker who'd been taken to the Ten-Lords Commission.
The man's name was Xiaofeng. He was the sender of the Golden Cloud Toad package, and there were also records of money transfers between him and Scott.
These were obviously uncovered by the Aurum Alley Merchant Guild. Of course, even if the guild hadn't investigated, the Ten-Lords Commission would have discovered everything soon enough and informed Nero's group anyway.
After collecting the materials, Nero contacted Tingyun, who was away on business in Belobog, hoping she could simulate negotiations as an opponent and train Stelle and Sushang.
As for himself, Nero felt he didn't need this kind of training.
At the end of the day, he didn't rely on things like that. Twisting logic and overwhelming others aggressively was his natural privilege.
Time passed quickly, and before long, the day of the debate arrived.
By now, under Stelle's efforts and the Aurum Alley Merchant Guild's operations, enough money had already been earned to repay the debt in full.
Before heading to the docks, everyone reviewed the materials in their hands one more time. The debt had been repaid, they possessed valid permits for lawful business operations, and they also had evidence that Xiaofeng had accepted bribes.
Afterward, the group headed to the docks together.
This debate was being overseen by the Sky-Faring Commission. Yukui had arrived early, and once Stelle, Nero, and the others entered their designated positions, she raised her voice and announced:
"On behalf of the Sky-Faring Commission, I will now mediate the rental dispute between the Interastral Peace Corporation and the Aurum Alley Merchant Guild."
Scott immediately cut in.
"What is there to mediate? I'll say it directly. The guild should've gotten the hell out of Aurum Alley long ago."
"Shut up, blondie. Who asked you to speak?" Nero snapped immediately.
Sushang also complained from the side, "Couldn't the IPC send someone normal for negotiations?"
"Hah? Speak louder, I can't hear you very well," Scott replied.
Sushang clenched her fists, drew in a deep breath, then bellowed at the top of her lungs until her voice nearly cracked:
"I SAID, DOES THE COMPANY NOT HAVE ANYONE ELSE LEFT?!"
"Whew... this little lady's voice is terrifying. My eardrums are about to rupture..." Scott immediately resumed his sarcastic sneering.
"Heh. Hopefully when you apologize to me in public later, you'll be just as loud."