Yasakani no Magatama?

This word flashed through Zhou Huai's mind.

He had almost forgotten about this Divine Artifact.

He had previously heard Nakamura Shinichiro mention that their Sakura Country had indeed found a Divine Artifact from the ruins.

He hadn't expected it to be hidden in the hands of the Omiya Family all along.

This explained why the Omiya Family had suddenly changed their attitude and opposed using the Pendulum of Life.

Presumably, they had personally experienced just how terrifying the backlash brought by the Divine Artifact was.

Controlling Caesar, Zhou Huai spoke in Natsume Masahiro's characteristic hoarse voice.

"Do you know what the effect of that Yasakani no Magatama is?"

White Butterfly under the black robes shook her head.

"Currently, there are no usage records regarding Yasakani no Magatama."

"Its specific effects are unknown to anyone."

"However, the Kujo Family hasn't dared to deal a fatal blow to the Omiya Family for so many years, presumably because they are also extremely wary of the power of that Divine Artifact."

Zhou Huai nodded.

The ability of every Divine Artifact could be called heaven-defying.

If used well, its value would definitely far exceed an SS-Rank Expert.

"Since they are wary of Yasakani no Magatama, why would they choose to make things difficult for the Omiya Family at this time?"

White Butterfly continued to reply:

"Because the temptation of the Pendulum of Life is simply too huge."

"The ambition of the Kujo Family has never diminished. Two-thirds of the underground forces in Sakura Country have long been firmly controlled by them."

"In their view, as long as they can resurrect the ancestors, they can annex the Omiya Family in one fell swoop and completely unify Sakura Country."

"This is an open conspiracy they are bound to win."

She paused, her tone becoming solemn.

"I believe it won't be long before the Kujo Family makes a big move."

"During this recent period, we'd better maintain observation and not act rashly."

"When the time is ripe, there might be an opportunity to fish in troubled waters."

White Butterfly raised her head, the shadow under the brim of her hat hiding her eyes, but unable to hide that calmness.

"Of course, if you have any plans, you can inform me in time. I will arrange manpower at the first instance to fully cooperate."

Zhou Huai understood.

"Understood, thank you."

He then asked: "If I have matters later, how should I contact you?"

White Butterfly raised her hand.

A pure white little butterfly suddenly flew out from her palm, beating its crystal-clear wings and lightly landing on the cuff of Caesar's sleeve.

A flash of light, and the butterfly disappeared, replaced by a lifelike White Butterfly mark.

"If you want to contact me, you can speak to the mark."

"After I receive it, I will come to find you."

Zhou Huai nodded calmly.

Looking at the exquisite mark on his sleeve, he sneered inwardly.

This thing was probably not as simple as just being used for communication.

Eavesdropping must be its main function.

This White Butterfly was obviously not very reassured about the business ability of her "external aid".

She was afraid that he would mess around and startle the snake.

However, Caesar was wearing the 【token of the faceless】.

It blocked all detection.

Such child's play eavesdropping methods were naturally a breeze.

Zhou Huai was not worried that the other party could pry into his secrets.

"My mission is to assist you, not to monitor you."

White Butterfly seemed to see through his doubts and added another sentence.

"But for the safety of all our compatriots, I must ensure that you do not act rashly."

"Farewell."

As her voice fell, her figure actually faded quietly like ink melting into the night.

Finally, it turned into several pure white butterflies, flapping their wings and flying into the endless darkness, disappearing from sight.

Zhou Huai looked at the spot where she disappeared, a playful smile suddenly curving the corners of his mouth.

He hadn't expected it.

That Madam Maeda at the Three Mouth Gang headquarters turned out to be the ace secret agent planted by Great Xia Nation in Sakura Country, White Butterfly.

This Madam Maeda acted truly cautiously.

Even when making contact with her "friendly army" like himself, she had never revealed a trace of her true appearance.

Little did she know, Caesar's Information Bug had long seen every move she made in the Three Mouth Gang crystal clear.

However, Zhou Huai didn't expose it.

Lest this ace secret agent suffer a social death on the spot.

The contact was complete.

Controlling Caesar, Zhou Huai returned to Natsume Masahiro's house.

The house was dead silent, with only faint breathing coming from the corner.

Natsume Rinku was still quietly lying on the cold floor, her eyes tightly closed, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, as if she was still in a coma.

Zhou Huai walked up to her, looking down at her from above.

He spoke calmly:

"How much longer do you, this little girl, plan to keep pretending to be unconscious?"

"Rest assured, I won't kill you for the time being."

Hearing this, the "unconscious" body on the ground trembled violently.

The little girl's eyes slowly opened a crack.

She cautiously observed the "older brother" in front of her, and only after confirming there was no murderous intent in the other's eyes did she completely open her eyes.

She slowly sat up.

There was no crying, nor any questioning.

Instead, in an extremely standard posture, she knelt in front of Caesar.

Her small body was curled up, revealing a pitiful posture.

"Thank you, Sir, for sparing my life."

Her voice was thin and weak, carrying a trace of just-right trembling, enough to arouse any man's desire for protection.

"Rest assured, Sir, I will not cause you any trouble."

"And I will keep all your secrets for you."

"As long as you are willing to let me go, I... I am willing to do anything."

Zhou Huai's gaze fell on her, as if examining a quirky collection.

He increasingly felt that the little girl in front of him was not right.

There seemed to be a mature mindset beyond her age on her body.

She knew how to endure, and even more how to use her own weakness to win sympathy.

This little girl was far more dangerous than she appeared.

Zhou Huai didn't say much, just nodded calmly.

Looking down at the little girl kneeling on the ground, no emotion could be heard in his voice.

"There are two choices placed before you now."

"First, leave this house and go wherever you want in the future. Fend for yourself outside."

"Of course, if you want to find someone to report me, it doesn't matter."

"Second, stay and continue to play the role of the younger sister."

"Obey my instructions."

He paused, his gaze falling on the little girl's pupils that were trembling slightly from fear.

"Which one do you choose?"

Hearing this, Natsume Rinku had almost no hesitation.

She knocked her forehead heavily against the cold, dirty floor, her posture humble to the extreme.

"Older brother, I am your younger sister."

"I am not going anywhere."

Zhou Huai grinned and smiled.

This little girl was truly getting more and more interesting.

The other party was very clear.

Once she left here, as such a powerless little girl wandering outside,

she would definitely not have a good ending.

He said no more, casually pointing at the mess inside the room.

"Clean up the room."

"If you're hungry, figure out a way to buy food yourself."

Hearing this, Natsume Rinku immediately stood up from the ground.

She neatly began to tidy up the sundries in the room, her movements so proficient that it made one's heart ache.

Zhou Huai ignored her anymore, finding a fairly clean corner by himself and sitting cross-legged.

His consciousness receded like a tide, returning to his main body.

...

Donghai City, Zhou Huai had already returned to the Evernight Guild base.

In the bedroom.

Zhou Huai slowly opened his eyes.

He picked up the phone and asked Uncle Fu to send some food up.

After finishing his meal, he quickly went to sleep to give himself sufficient sleep.

There were still many things to be busy with tomorrow, and he had to be in good spirits.

The night passed without incident.

When Zhou Huai transferred his consciousness back into Caesar's body, it was already dawn.

Subconsciously, he opened Caesar's attribute panel.

The next second, his pupils suddenly shrank.

【Name: Caesar】

【Profession: SSS-Level Insect Emperor】

【Level: LV19 (12% / 100%)】

Level 19!

Zhou Huai's heart stirred, and he immediately brought up the experience point records in the System backend.

Dense System prompts crazily flooded his eyes like a waterfall.

【Ding! Gained 52 experience points!】

【Ding! Gained 121 experience points!】

【Ding! Gained 88 experience points!】

...

Although the experience points gained each time weren't much, ranging from a few dozen points to a few hundred points.

But the advantage was that this frequency was simply too high!

Almost every few seconds, a new prompt would pop up.

Looking at the constantly scrolling experience bar, Zhou Huai's mouth curved upward involuntarily.

It seemed that those wild dogs of the Three Mouth Gang were not as stupid as imagined.

They didn't waste any more time searching everywhere for that illusory thief.

One by one, they had already started burying their heads in leveling up.

Zhou Huai understood in his heart.

Although Tokyo City had been completely blockaded, not allowing Classer to leave the city at will,

within the city, there were also quite a few leveling dungeons opened by officials or private individuals.

These dungeons were diverse in types and varied in difficulty, even richer than those fixed leveling spots outside the city.

The only drawback was that they were expensive.

Entering the dungeons required paying a hefty admission fee.

Moreover, all materials obtained in the dungeon would have ten percent forcibly deducted upon leaving as a venue maintenance fee.

This was also the main profit model of those dungeons in Tokyo City.

Those Classer who couldn't leave the city had no other choice besides going into the dungeons to level up.

Zhou Huai's purpose in sending Caesar to Sakura Country was, firstly, for the Pendulum of Life.

Secondly, it was to rapidly increase Caesar's Level.

Now, merely by parasitizing nearly a thousand "wild dogs" of the Three Mouth Gang, it allowed Caesar to rise from level eighteen to level nineteen overnight.

This speed could already be called terrifying.

But Zhou Huai was still not satisfied.

What he wanted was more.

He still needed to parasitize more people to work.