The Title Girl Goes on Strike for a Day and Watches the Author Write Instead

Inside the ruins, Bai Sheng held the Stellaron in his hand. Looking at the palm-sized purple-black sphere, he asked Silver Wolf, "Is this thing the Stellaron?"

Silver Wolf nodded. Stellarons took different forms depending on their Paths. Honestly, this was her first time seeing one connected to the Path of Propagation.

"And then? Do we take this thing and hand it over to Acheron?"

Bai Sheng asked as he used Pandora to place a layer of seals over the sphere.

Silver Wolf, meanwhile, was deep in thought, glancing around here and there. Seeing this, Bai Sheng asked in confusion, "What are you looking for, Silver Wolf?"

"I'm looking for a sword. Didn't Acheron say you'd find your first soul here?"

At that, Bai Sheng remembered as well. Right! Where was the Greatsword Acheron had mentioned? This wasn't an actual game world—loot wouldn't just drop after beating a boss.

Afterward, Bai Sheng and Silver Wolf began searching the entire ruin.

Ten minutes later...

"Anything there?"

"No."

"Next level!"

Twenty minutes later...

"What about here?"

"There's nothing but bug shells!"

"Move on!"

An hour later...

"Ahhhhh! Where the hell is it?"

Silver Wolf was at her breaking point. How could they not find a single sword?

Bai Sheng was already clinging to a pillar like a caterpillar. They couldn't find it. They absolutely couldn't find it!

"Could there be something wrong with Acheron's script?"

Bai Sheng questioned.

Silver Wolf shook her head.

"No. Acheron's scripts have never been wrong. Since it isn't here, we'll go out and ask Batu Sa later."

"Sigh, looks like that's our only option."

Bai Sheng spread his hands, hoisted Pandora over his shoulder, and headed toward the exit with Silver Wolf.

When they reached the entrance, the two saw that the once-yellow desert was splattered with vast swathes of green blood. Bai Sheng sniffed it. Yep, it belonged to those bugs.

It seemed someone had killed all the bugs at the entrance, preventing them from returning to support the Bug Queen.

"Looks like someone helped us out."

Bai Sheng said as he looked at the corpses strewn across the ground, all marked with what looked like burn scars.

Silver Wolf examined them closely before saying uncertainly, "Could Sam be here?"

No one besides Sam could pull off such large-scale fire-element attacks.

"Sam? What's she doing here?"

Bai Sheng asked.

"Don't tell me she came to help us?"

Silver Wolf looked into the distance and spotted a flaming fluorescent-green point of light. Then she said, "Stop guessing. She's here. Look."

The moment Silver Wolf finished speaking, the distant point of light had already arrived before them.

That's right, it was Sam!

"Yo, why'd you come down here too?"

Bai Sheng asked. Could it really be like Silver Wolf said—had she come to kill bugs?

"There are Insectoids of the Path of Propagation here. I came to uphold the honor of the Gram Iron Cavalry."

A male voice came from within. Then Sam ignited the flames on her chest and back armor, burning away all the bug blood on her body.

"Tch, you just wanted to kill bugs. Why are you acting like some middle schooler?"

Silver Wolf exposed her from the side. Sam glanced at her, lowered her faceplate, and raised a fist the size of a sandbag.

"Hey, hey, hey! It was just a joke! You can't take a joke!!!"

Watching Silver Wolf run off into the distance, Sam lowered her fist. Behind the faceplate, Firefly wore a victorious smile.

Turning his head to look at Bai Sheng again, he gave Bai Sheng such a fright that Bai Sheng hurriedly said:

"I didn't say anything! I still need to go find my sword, so I'll be leaving first!"

Watching the two "flee in panic," Firefly carefully pondered inside Sam. Was she really that scary? She had only raised her fist to scare Silver Wolf a little—why had Bai Sheng run off too? Maybe... she should paint the mech pink?

Sam was still deep in thought when it suddenly remembered something. It looked at the black-and-red greatsword it had casually picked up while killing bugs earlier and fell silent.

Could this be the sword Bai Sheng had been looking for?

When it looked up again, Bai Sheng was already nowhere to be seen.

Firefly sighed, deciding to give it to Bai Sheng after they returned to the ship.

Back at Batu Sa's tribe, Bai Sheng briefly explained what had happened in the ruins. Batu Sa was deeply grateful to Bai Sheng and the others, and readily handed the contract over to Bai Sheng. It was the labor contract Bai Sheng had mentioned before.

After all, Bai Sheng was quite humane. He had moved the signing date to when they returned to the tribe. Now that he had solved the insect infestation, those people would naturally be grateful to him and sign the contract without hesitation.

Bai Sheng had originally wanted the best of both worlds, but now all he had were workers—ah, no, laboring people. The greatsword that truly held the souls he wanted, however, was nowhere to be found.

So Bai Sheng simply asked Batu Sa directly:

"Batu Sa, do you have any weapons here that are easy to handle?"

Batu Sa asked doubtfully:

"Boss, what do you need a weapon for? Don't you have that black scythe?"

It had to be said that Batu Sa was an honest man. After signing the contract, he naturally started calling him Boss.

As for the contract, Bai Sheng was responsible for purchasing their goods, then reselling them to the Interastral Peace Corporation as a middleman.

Not making much money? Impossible. Don't forget, among the Stellaron Hunters, there was someone called White Ghost who loved doing the sort of thing where you cut in and snatch someone else's deal.

In any case, he would not lose out in the slightest. Not only would he avoid losses, but he could also sell off Tislayne's useless ore, providing Batu Sa's tribe with daily necessities while his own account continued to grow.

Both sides benefited, and both believed the deal was worthwhile. That was the true essence of trade!

Silver Wolf: Sure, sure. You didn't mention the exchange rate for ore or the prices of daily necessities at all, did you?

Back to the point, Bai Sheng continued:

"The scythe's a pain to carry. It's huge and heavy, and I've wanted to replace it for a long time. Do you have any good weapons here, Batu Sa? Preferably something like a greatsword. I used one before, so I'm familiar with it..."

As Bai Sheng spoke, Sister Pandora knew he was fishing for information, but she still felt inexplicably displeased. Whenever he needed her, he acted like an obedient lapdog, but when he did not, he just tossed her aside.

Pandora poked Bai Sheng in the lower back with her hilt, using it to express her little temper.

Seeing Batu Sa thinking, Bai Sheng hurriedly took several steps back and apologized to Pandora:

"Sister Pandora, isn't this all to find the souls you need? Don't be angry. You know what kind of person I am, don't you? You watched me grow up. Over these past twenty-odd years, how could I possibly dislike you? Don't be mad, sis!"

Though he called her sister, Bai Sheng's trust in her actually ran even deeper. They bickered constantly, but Pandora also knew that the kid did not truly dislike her.

The man and the sword both understood each other completely. Pandora had only been letting out a little frustration just now.

After all, women always had a few days like that every month...

Hey, hey! Title-chan, don't pinch my kidney!!!