Dimensional Hotel-Chapter 613: "Deal

Old Qiao was somewhat agitated as he scratched his shoulder—a rather human motion, as though it was a habit left over from when he still possessed flesh and bone—and then his gaze fell back onto the golden-haired elf in front of him. Those optical sensors, deeply embedded within protective crystals, flickered with a dangerous light, a surge of anger and uncontrollable destructive impulse coursing through his logic chip.

This fleshy human, an antisocial rat, a runaway from the laboratory, even once riding upon his head—she always seemed to have such great fortune, returning here completely unharmed even after such a terrifying accident—the golden-haired elf's every move seemed like a silent mockery and provocation, and now the fearless calm in her eyes made it all the more unbearable.

"I thought after all these years you'd have learned the rules, or at least learned to respect your 'seniors'," Old Qiao said casually, apparently unconcerned about the weapons tightly gripped in the hands of the two guards at the scene, "You have nothing now—I know you're surely still hiding some 'little secrets' you'd rather not be seen, but in front of the Group Company, that's worth nothing. Compared to this, your failure has spread throughout the Group's intranet, the losses at Pioneer Laboratory and the increased costs due to trade line disruptions all fall on you."

He paused here, his expression seeming to calm slightly: "Need me to remind you? You're already labeled as a dead person on the Group's list, and a dead person's debts can originally be written off, but now it seems you clearly don't want to 'die'—you come asking me for help, you need to show the sincerity of someone asking for help."

"Exactly, talking business is business, emotions are expensive," Luo laughed, looking into Old Qiao's eyes, "Then name your price, what's this 'sincerity' you speak of?"

"Your experimental data from all these years, all of it," Old Qiao said, the cold steel giant no longer affording any courtesy, "Don't say you've lost your laboratory, I know your habits; you surely have backups on hand, and even if all backups are lost, your electronic brain at least has a final copy. Additionally, there's your trade keys toward the Great Triangle Nebula—that should have originally been mine."

Luo's expression turned somewhat cold: "…Old Qiao, isn't your appetite a bit too big?"

"I gave you the most important investment," Old Qiao raised a finger pointing to a mechanical limb moving beside Luo, "These living metals are debts you cannot shake off, their interest has grown for nearly two centuries, now it's permeated into every bit of your assets—it's time to repay, young girl."

"Then what do I get out of this deal?" Luo seemed unconcerned by the greed and rudeness in the other's words, asking calmly, "With blood being drained dry and losing everything—then I might as well stay in the Special Service Bureau's prison vault."

The air tinged with a rusty smell drifted through the room, this black witchcraft-infused 'incense' seemed to grow more intense than before, yet Old Qiao felt as though he was slowly getting used to this odd atmosphere, seriously scrutinizing the golden-haired elf before him anew, the depths of his logic chip's thoughts far calmer than he was outwardly showing.

The once timid and foolish young girl had long grown up, even though until the accident she was still the weakest and most marginalized among project managers of the same level, weaker as she might be, a Black Spot Warlord is still a warlord, surely she wouldn't have really come here without the ability to resist—the accident at Pioneer Laboratory might have caused severe damage, but no one dares to confirm exactly what she might be hiding beyond that space station.

On the other side of the no-man's land, the three fighters struck out in vain, yet at least they did not fire, and since it didn't result in torn faces, there's a necessity to preserve this last bit of politeness.

Luo had experienced the failure at the Black Stone Space Station, and now escaped unscathed from the Special Service Bureau's grounds, returning to the Dark Meteor Domain, proactively reaching out—what does she want?

"I can help you return to the Black Dot Group, help minimize the impact of that accident, at least preserving your manager status, no one will pursue the details of your disappearance in the Boundary Land, internal Group investigation will end at my level," he said slowly and deliberately, "I have a small laboratory in the KS-4 asteroid belt, equipped with logistic facilities, you can continue your research there."

He paused, pulling an awkward smile across his face: "Don't be polite, you can see this as me making a second investment in you."

"Well, it does sound pretty good," Luo tilted her head, easily detecting the traps and falsities in his words, yet raising no objections, as though she truly had no other choices left. After a brief thought, she let out a soft sigh, "It's better than the current situation."

"So?"

"Then I also need some time to think it over," Luo said, looking serious, "Every deal needs careful consideration."

"Of course, a wise choice," Old Qiao spread his hands, "I'll wait for your response anytime—but I hope this won't take too long, the Group Company will find out you've returned sooner or later, and the next point of contact might not be as easy to talk to as me."

Luo said nothing, then coughed lightly twice, her expression turning stern: "Since we're already talking this much, there's one more thing I need to ask you."

"What do you want to ask?"

"About the Venerate Saints Monastery," Luo looked seriously at the steel monstrosity before her, "I want to know, who among us is doing business with them."

"That bunch who claim to be 'Hermits'?" Old Qiao shook his head, slight mechanical friction noises came from inside, "They're somewhat smarter than the Angel Sect but only slightly. That group of mystics has their territory and rules, at most there's some connection with the Group Company's fringe trade lines, but not to the extent of being 'business partners'…why do you suddenly ask about this?"

Luo stared into Old Qiao's eyes, as if trying to discern tiny expressions on his iron shell, and then spoke solemnly, "That bunch of rodents stole my stuff—and I suspect someone within the Group Company was involved."

Old Qiao leaned forward slightly, "Related to your 'accident' this time?"

"I suspect so," Luo said gravely, "Although I have no evidence, they left traces of infiltration in my space station…"

She suddenly stopped halfway, staring at Old Qiao's face, jokingly saying, "Should I be suspicious of you too?"

"Do you think I need to risk being discovered by the corporate group to collude with a bunch of anti-intellectual zealots just to help them blow up a Pioneer Laboratory?" Old Qiao laughed hoarsely, the noise from his chest was a trademark sound, "Luo, I've got no grudge against you... Okay, you might have some opinions towards me unilaterally, but I'm not stupid enough to do such a thing."

Luo looked deeply at Old Qiao: "...Best be so."

She got up from the sofa and lazily yawned.

"I need to rest—the Black Wizard advised me to maintain good sleep, as it helps recover my sanity."

"...Is this also related to the aftermath of encountering the Dark Angel?"

"Yes, that thing is very unsettling and can cause severe sleep issues after contact."

"...Truly incredible," Old Qiao also stood up from the sofa, half-seriously responding, "I won't disturb your rest then—but don't forget my advice, and if there's a chance, I'm still very interested in your recent experiences regarding the Dark Angel and Boundary Land. You should have a lot to tell... this intelligence is very valuable."

He turned towards the door, but just as he was about to push it open and leave, he suddenly stopped, looking back at the incense device on the coffee table.

"Moreover, I don't like your incense—the smell reminds me of frail flesh."

The heavy footsteps accompanied by the slight sound of mechanical joints operation, that tall figure left the Reception Room.

Only after watching through the monitor that the silver-white luxury shuttle left the Tower platform did Luo finally breathe a sigh of relief.

She sat on the sofa, not in the lazy and comfortable posture as before, but like an extremely exhausted hollow shell, with elbows resting on her knees and hands supporting her chin.

"Damn... disgusting..."

She muttered softly.

The subtle sound of squirming broke the dead silence in the room, a part of the Reception Room began to come alive.

The hollow shell sensed the vitality, Luo instantly lifted her head, seeing a face slowly emerging on the coffee table before her.

"Who was that guy? He looked pretty pretentious." Yu Sheng was full of curiosity.

The face was quite large, not reaching the size of a wall, yet occupying the entire tabletop.

Luo took a sharp breath, feeling as if she was gripped by an absurd and bizarre mighty force, forcibly "pulled" out from the swamp of Happy Home, amidst the decayed scars piled on Gray Dwarf Star, within the cold gas clouds of Dark Meteor Domain, she seemed to breathe once more the fresh air of the valley.

The face on the coffee table was uncanny and eerie, even a bit comical in its horror.

"...Boss, you're gonna scare me to death!" Luo patted her chest but smiled.

"Your adaptability needs practice," Yu Sheng commented casually, "Mo Ran could accept emojis appearing in their mother planet's atmosphere by the afternoon."

"I don't compare myself to those 'cultivation' folks, their spiritual strength is off the charts, can even extract their own souls to fight, they are the freaks of this universe."

"If Yun Qingzi heard that, you'd get more than a few tickles," Yu Sheng said, "By the way, you haven't answered yet, what does that 'Old Qiao' do? Your competitor? A colleague in the company?"

Luo was silent for a few seconds.

"He was my first boss, my predecessor, my investor—my competitor," she said calmly, "He took my spine and then turned me into a part of this—within the Black Dot Group, this is called 'joining the company.'