Finished speaking, Nakamura Shinichiro took a deep breath and pushed open the heavy wooden door of a conference room.

The light inside the room was dim, with only a solitary lamp suspended at the end of the long table, outlining a quietly sitting figure.

Nakamura Shinichiro's footsteps subconsciously lightened, and even his breathing became cautious.

He crossed the long conference table, came before that figure, lowered his head respectfully, and bowed ninety degrees.

"Greetings, Sovereign."

That figure slowly raised his head, and under the illumination of the light, revealed a face that was inhumanly handsome.

His platinum-long hair flowed like moonlight, and his skin presented a nearly transparent cold white. What was most harrowing, however, was that pair of compound eyes as transparent as amethyst, countless tiny facets refracting cold light, completely devoid of any human emotion.

It was precisely Zhou Huai's SSS-Rank Avatar, the Insect Emperor Caesar.

The very moment Nakamura Shinichiro entered the door, Zhou Huai had already transferred his consciousness over.

He manipulated Caesar, those inhuman compound eyes indifferently gazing at Nakamura Shinichiro, his voice carrying no discernible emotion, ethereal and cold.

"How are things going?"

Nakamura Shinichiro did not dare to raise his head, reporting even more respectfully, "Replying to the Sovereign, as per your instructions, the Classer from several surrounding cities have already been dispatched over, and currently, the repair work on Tokyo is being carried out with maximum efficiency."

"Mn." Caesar emitted an ambiguous nasal sound, which counted as approval.

Zhou Huai continued to issue new instructions through Caesar's mouth: "Send people to raid all the mansions of the Kujo Family, and scavenge all useful resources out for me, leaving not a single piece behind."

"Yes!" Nakamura Shinichiro agreed without hesitation; this kind of matter was already second nature to him.

"Also," Zhou Huai changed the subject, a hint of playfulness carrying in his voice, "Regarding the subsequent negotiation matters with the Great Xia Nation, I have already discussed it with Marshal Zhao of Great Xia."

Nakamura Shinichiro's heart tightened, and he perked up his ears.

"Dedicate seventy percent of the resources in the Sakura Country's national treasury in exchange for an opportunity of independent autonomy for the Sakura Country."

"As for Great Xia's side, apart from establishing a necessary regulatory department, they will not interfere in any internal affairs of the Sakura Country."

"By then, you will be responsible for representing the Sakura Country to conduct negotiations and go through the motions, understand?"

Seventy percent?!

Hearing this number, Nakamura Shinichiro's heart gave a violent twitch, only feeling a piercing ache in his flesh.

That was the wealth accumulated by the Sakura Country for hundreds of years! It was the lifeline of the entire country! Just hand it over like this?

A trace of struggle and unwillingness flashed across his face, but when he raised his head and met Caesar's pair of emotionless purple compound eyes, all emotions were instantly swallowed by boundless fear.

In front of this Sovereign, did he have the qualification to say a single word of "No"?

Let alone seventy percent, even if the other party wanted one hundred percent, he could only obey.

"Subordinate... subordinate understands!" Nakamura Shinichiro buried his head even lower.

"Very good." Zhou Huai seemed very satisfied with his reaction.

"If there is nothing else, you are dismissed."

"Yes!"

As if granted a general amnesty, Nakamura Shinichiro was just preparing to bow and accept the order to leave.

"Right," Zhou Huai's voice sounded once more, stopping him.

"From now on, Natsume Rinku will be the Goddess of the Divine Dynasty, and she will be my spokesperson in the Sakura Country. Cultivate her well; her words are equivalent to my words."

Nakamura Shinichiro's heart shook violently, and he immediately turned around, solemnly responding: "Yes! Subordinate obeys!"

Until Nakamura Shinichiro's footsteps completely disappeared at the end of the corridor, the conference room returned to dead silence.

Zhou Huai's consciousness still lingered inside Caesar's body. He slowly raised that right hand wearing a black carapace glove, and toward the empty conference room, gently waved.

Hum—!

A pitch-black spatial rift silently unfolded, and dense black light spots like a breached colony of ants poured out frantically from the rift.

Those were ferocious beetles the size of fingernails. They silently drilled into the crevices of the floors and walls, following the city's veins, rapidly spreading toward the locations where those Classer who had just been transferred over were situated.

The reason why Caesar appeared in the Sakura Country once again was also very simple.

First, to clean up the Sakura Country's mess.

After all, he had worked painstakingly hard, even sparing all his Avatars, just to behead the SSS-Rank Kujo Naruya. Having put in such a massive effort, he couldn't possibly not reap any benefits at all.

He said on his lips that it was letting the Sakura Country have an opportunity for independent autonomy, but in reality, from now on, this country would be firmly controlled in Zhou Huai's hands.

His purpose was to forge the entire Sakura Country into his Caesar Empire's first overseas colony, a massive base that continuously provided him with resources and troop sources!

As for the second purpose, it was to complete the System's final challenge task.

Successfully parasitize ten thousand Professional targets using the Alien Parasite.

Back then, in order to deal with the SS-Rank Expert of the Kujo Family, he had already quietly completed nearly half of the progress.

However, after experiencing that city-wide sacrificial ritual of Kujo Naruya, more than half of those parasitized Classer died, causing the task progress to regress significantly.

That was why Zhou Huai had to make Nakamura Shinichiro transfer more Classer from other cities in the Sakura Country to the Imperial Capital.

On one hand, it was to repair the city and appease the people's hearts; on the other hand, it was naturally to gather this final target quantity for him.

Fortunately, after these days of accumulation, the number of Parasites inside Caesar's 【Zerg Space】 was already alarmingly high.

For today's Caesar, completing this task was effortless.

Countless Parasites, through various covert channels, silently invaded the bodies of those unguarded Classer.

They dormant and took root within the hosts' bodies, yet they were not eager to burst out, merely quietly waiting for their Sovereign to issue the final command.

Time ticked away second by second.

Until the setting sun went down, and the golden afterglow sprinkled over this scarred city.

Inside Zhou Huai's mind, an eagerly awaited System prompt tone finally came ringing.

【Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the challenge task!】

【Task Requirement: Successfully parasitize ten thousand Professional targets using the Alien Parasite.】

【Task Progress: 10000 / 10000!】

Zhou Huai's lips hooked into a smile; it was finally completed.

Immediately following that, the most pleasant prompt tone arrived as scheduled—

【Task rewards have been distributed!】

【Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Professional Orb Extraction Opportunity X1!】