Seeing the contents, Asa Katsuragi couldn’t help but flinch backward.
The room was filled with brilliant gold light, neatly stacked gold bars flickered dazzlingly, a sight of such wealth that Asa Katsuragi was almost blinded by the radiance, prompting her to rub her eyes involuntarily.
"It could almost be used to build a wall..." Asa Katsuragi said.
"300 large yellow croakers, equivalent to 60 million in funds, for your inspection, the offer won’t be lower than that of black market buyers," she said, "Please make a decision with your boss behind the scenes. Of course, if you wish to plunder these treasures, refuse to hand over the armor, or substitute inferior goods for the real thing, our family’s noble wouldn’t mind, and I would leave the gold and retreat swiftly. After all, such resources are but a drop in the ocean for our family’s noble. So, I trust you’ll make the wise choice."
"Gold is useful, and even more so as a store of value in the upcoming turbulent times, confirm the trade," Xu Yang communicated to Asa Katsuragi, "Take her to check the merchandise."
Upon receiving the order, Asa Katsuragi nodded at the girl.
Thinking of the previous message from Kanako, she felt a trace of bewilderment in her heart.
The innocent Kanako, when had she become so cunning? A matter that could clearly be confirmed with a simple phone call, yet she chose such a roundabout way, which was a style of action unfamiliar to Asa Katsuragi. She had left Xisheng to escape her fate, but after a huge joke, she found herself back on the predetermined track of her life, as if she had never left it.
"No objections," Asa Katsuragi closed the lid.
"Yes," the girl left the chest behind, following Asa Katsuragi to select the Personal Armor.
These high-tech white battle armors were a blend of modern design concepts and classical armor craftsmanship. Unlike Power Armor, which emphasized protection, Personal Armor appeared more agile while still covering the entire body, but without the bulky feel of Power Armor.
Developed around the concept of the "Future Warrior", the outer armor was fitted with several intelligent support modules to enhance the wearer’s overall qualities, while the lining matched the body shape perfectly. The helmet included a sophisticated neural connection system, and the intelligent armor would continue to learn the wearer’s personal combat style, growing in battle and becoming the wearer’s companion.
Therefore, members of the Pale Legion often stayed with their Personal Armor for life, dedicating themselves tirelessly to the affairs of the New Taixi State. Now, the 7 pieces of Personal Armor collected from the battlefield were all stacked in a box, showing varying degrees of battle damage. Since their original wearers had died in combat, they seemed lonely, as if the armors had their own consciousness.
"Truly excellent armor," the girl couldn’t help but admire, "absolutely priceless. However, it is those who defeated the Pale Legion who truly deserve our awe."
"That’s an overstatement," Asa Katsuragi gazed at the armors, wishing she could take them as her own if not for the critical biometric technology of the Lighthouse Core.
"Well then, the deal is done, I look forward to seeing you again," the girl picked out 3 chests.
"Pardon me, please take your time leaving," Asa Katsuragi bid farewell to the girl, who, despite carrying a heavy load, moved unhindered, as light as a swallow, clearly having undergone professional training.
Asa Katsuragi wandered in the courtyard for a moment, until Xu Yang appeared.
"Our distinguished guest comes from no ordinary background," Xu Yang said.
Asa Katsuragi shook her head, not daring to say more, for fear of revealing Kanako’s existence.
But inside, she was itching with anticipation for the moment Kanako would show up and meet Xu Yang. At that time, all would come to light, someone needed to wake Kanako up; she had been like someone possessed, the messages she sent Asa Katsuragi were stiff and serious, nothing like the person they once knew.
"That gold can cover a lot of financial gaps," Asa Katsuragi said.
"Liquidate half of it, and with the name of Nestor Corporation, we can to build some schools and hospitals," Xu Yang said, "Orphans and children must be properly settled. Idleness only leads to the next generation of ruffians or to starvation. Education can foster a positive cycle."
"I want to build a camp and a shooting range to train my people, as well as expand Suzuki Springs," Asa Katsuragi said, "And I need a sum of money as a pension for those who fell in the earlier battle. This noble person has indeed helped us a lot."
"I believe we will meet this noble person sooner or later," Xu Yang left.
Asa Katsuragi was reluctant to go public, but Xu Yang didn’t let it go. He secretly recorded the young girl’s facial features and then ran a facial recognition search.
Utilizing both the public internet and the deep anonymous web, he finally found the face at a prestigious private high school graduation ball in the Shangjing Suburbs. The corresponding name was "Yuan Jiaozhi," dating back to June of year 134, which was 10 years ago.
By searching the name Yuan Jiaozhi, Xu Yang located a graduation photo her roommate posted on social media. The roommate tagged Yuan Jiaozhi’s social media account in the comment section of the photo. Although her account was emptied, Xu Yang was able to restore the complaints and criticisms she left behind after digging further.
She railed against the injustices of fate, as after graduating from high school, she did not go on to receive elite education in university. In reality, due to her family’s investment failure and resulting bankruptcy, she could no longer afford higher education. Her school’s graduation archived showed that Yuan Jiaozhi ultimately chose to join the Ninja Village—hidden deep in the mountains of the Archipelago Continent, where the ninja training was extremely rigorous, but the income of a professional ninja was quite high.
The Ninja Village training lasted 6 years, and Xu Yang found the Ninja Village graduation list from year 140 on the deep anonymous web. Yuan Jiaozhi’s name was no longer there, but by combing through ninja resumes, it was found that only one ninja had received high school education, and her new assumed name was "Senzoune," with an A+ grade on the graduation assessment, marking her as a genius graduate.
The report on Senzoune’s employment indicated that she joined the security department of the Xisheng Investment Group headquarters. As one of the top graduates from Ninja Village with the best career prospects, she would return annually to lecture, sharing her experience of joining Xisheng with the reservist ninjas as a successful alumna.
The woman who was once a young lady was now serving another business elite, and Senzoune’s story was laid bare.
One must not perish due to a lack of intelligence, Xu Yang thought to himself. Therefore, the person Senzoune serves must be the children of Xisheng, possibly Kojima Kanako, perhaps even Kanako’s personal ninja.
...If it really is Kanako, Xu Yang would have to reassess her. Has Kanako become this cautious? Almost cunning, perhaps having swallowed too much of Xisheng’s poison.
The next time he saw her, he would have to correct her properly.
Xu Yang returned to the main office at Suzuki Springs to deal with affairs, which was a remarkably beautiful and tidy office. Surprisingly, Asa Katsuragi’s aesthetic sense far surpassed Suzuki Shinji’s, decorating the whole room with black, white, and blue tones, which was quite imposing and entirely different from the old-fashioned style of the past. One side of the office was a tatami and tea room, the center featured a smart screen desktop and a large suspended terminal monitor, and there was a comfortable leather chair that allowed him to comfortably complete a day’s work with a gentle recline.
appeared before Xu Yang, holding 102 in her arms.
"102 told me you were looking for us," 101 bowed to Xu Yang. When not in combat, they wore cheap casual wear: 101 in a printed short-sleeve shirt and denim skirt, 102 donned a black T-shirt and shorts.
"Please accept this." Xu Yang handed two anonymous cash cards to the sisters, "Thank you for your excellent contributions in all previous actions, especially 101, for helping Lila escape from a tight spot. I am deeply grateful for that."
"Eh!" 102’s eyes lit up at the sight of the number on the cash card, "Is this really 150,000 in funds?"
pursed her lips, blushing because of her thin skin. Xu Yang had awarded her a bonus of 700,000 to express gratitude for her consistently exceptional performance, solving all sorts of problems with her teleportation magic power with finesse in every operation.
Once used as a tool and a test subject at Black Fire Innovation, deprived even of the right to move freely, she now had everything she had ever dreamed of, causing 101’s heart to race.
Not good with words, 101 bowed deeply to Xu Yang.
"Thank you, sir," said 101, "I will continue to provide my service and spare no effort."
"Technically, this should have been given by Farosa," Xu Yang said, "but who knows how much would have been left for you after passing through her hands. I thought it over and decided it was best to give it to you personally. In the Witch Division, apart from Farosa, you are indeed the absolute core combat strength. In my eyes, your value far exceeds these two anonymous cash cards; you are treasures of the Nestor Corporation."
"Ah! Well said!" 102 was overjoyed, "Distributing money so readily? In the past, we would only have instant noodles after completing missions. Are we millionaires now?"
"This is a rare favor, and we will treasure it." 101 once again thanked Xu Yang. Although Farosa had treated them well, promoting their extraordinary powers, when it came down to material possessions in the mundane world, nothing could compare to the bonus Xu Yang had just given them. It was enough to fulfill many of her desires.
Those shining zeros trailing behind the numbers meant everything; 101 slipped the cash card into her pocket, knowing future rewards would only grow. Her feelings for Xu Yang began to shift, such was the power of funds.
"We ask for your permission to leave," 101 could hardly contain her urge to go on a shopping spree.
"Go ahead," Xu Yang bid them farewell; he had several other members to reward, especially Lila, who deserved a generous reward.