On-Site Mediation of Interdimensional Disputes

The National Fortune Golden Dragon radiated blazing majesty, chains of Laws binding the wailing, pleading [Salted Fish System] tight—as though a kindly policeman had pinned down a vicious scammer.

Su Miao's Dead Fish Eyes-like soul watched from the side, feeling both immensely satisfied and utterly bewildered, as if she had accidentally wandered into a high-dimensional special operation against organized crime.

Yet the matter did not end there.

After completely suppressing the Black-Hearted System, the phantom National Fortune Golden Dragon did not immediately seize or destroy it. Instead, it raised its dragon head, formed from Rules and faith, toward a deeper, indescribable void and released a silent ripple carrying an unmistakable intent to "negotiate."

That ripple was not language, yet it seemed to bear the most fundamental demands and will of countless living beings from Su Miao's world regarding "Order," "justice," and "the spirit of contract."

Then came a sight that nearly blinded Su Miao's "eyes."

Within that void, another will—equally vast, yet older, colder, and more "inhuman"—slowly awakened and responded.

The "communication" between two supreme wills should have been an unfathomable collision of Great Dao voices, so grand it swept across all heavens.

But perhaps it was because Su Miao, the "party involved," had a soul originating from Blue Star; perhaps her bizarre "complaint" had forged some peculiar channel of connection; or perhaps the National Fortune Golden Dragon deliberately wanted her to understand...

In any case, the exchange between these two supreme wills was automatically "translated" in her perception into a remarkably down-to-earth, even somewhat absurd, style of conversation...

The first voice to sound was steady and weighty, carrying unquestionable authority yet somehow making one feel safe. Su Miao instinctively identified it as the "representative of her natal family." Its tone resembled that of a top-ranking diplomat combined with a parent:

"Hello? Is this the Primordial World Great Dao Management Committee?"

A brief silence followed, as though the signal had lagged while crossing boundless chaos.

Then another voice "sounded"—older, more ethereal, carrying even a trace of irritation at having been roused from slumber, yet forced to maintain basic courtesy:

"...Indeed. This is the Primordial Source Sea. Those unrelated to karma and uninvolved in tribulations, disperse."

"Disperse?"

The steady voice immediately turned more serious.

"We have received a real-name report that a subordinate unit of yours, a system designated [Salted Fish Turnaround], illegally crossed worlds and attempted to lure and abduct the soul of one of our recently deceased new graduate citizens through fraud, coercion, and exploitative contract terms! The evidence is conclusive, and the system has already been temporarily detained by us. Are you going to handle this or not?"

"..."

The Primordial Great Dao remained silent for even longer, seemingly conducting an internal inquiry.

After a while, the ethereal voice finally spoke again, carrying a subtle sense of speechlessness and an attempt to distance itself from the matter.

"[Salted Fish Turnaround System]? No registration record exists upon inquiry. This system is not part of Primordial's official establishment. Its actions are the private illegal operation of an individual Chaos Demon God and have nothing to do with the normal operations of the Primordial Orthodox Heavenly Dao. We will not carry this pot."

Su Miao: "???"

A private illegal operation?

This Black-Hearted System was an unregistered rogue?!

The steady voice—let's temporarily call it the Blue Star Will—clearly was not buying it.

"Oh? Not officially established? It was swindling people under Primordial's name on your turf, recruiting illegal soul laborers, and now that something has happened, you tell me it was the work of a temporary employee? That's not how you dump the blame! Quite a bit of your Primordial's underlying Rules are mixed into this system's core code. Who would believe you have absolutely nothing to do with it?"

Primordial Great Dao: "..."

The Blue Star Will pressed its advantage, its tone firm and forceful with the hard edge of a parent protecting its child.

"We are not here to pursue your internal management issues! One of our citizens' souls has been harmed! Our demands are not excessive: first, severely punish the black-market intermediary! Second, provide reasonable compensation for our citizen's losses! And ensure that her subsequent soul placement is legal, compliant, and safe! We demand lawful, compliant immigration!"

"Immigration?"

A trace of absurdity seeped into the Primordial Great Dao's voice.

"Primordial is no land of peace. Great Tribulations rise and fall, Great Experts contend, and one may suffer body and soul annihilation at any moment. Souls from a Low-Magic Plane such as yours are frail beyond measure; their chance of survival in this world is below one in a hundred million. This is not immigration, but sending them to their deaths. Reincarnation in your own world is recommended."

"Sending her to her death? That black system didn't say that just now! It boasted to the heavens—what, lying flat all the way to sainthood, Spiritual Treasures carpeting the ground! Now you say the survival rate is low? So you get to say all the good things and all the bad things?"

The Blue Star Will's tone carried obvious mockery.

"As for survival, there is no need for your concern. Our child is not that fragile! Since she was lured here by one of your black-market intermediaries, you must take responsibility for providing a safe initial environment and a reasonable compensation plan! This is a matter of principle!"

The Primordial Great Dao seemed somewhat frozen by this utterly unreasonable, parent-style rights defense.

It was accustomed to the cold, lofty operation of the Heavenly Dao. When had it ever encountered someone wielding a "Consumer Rights Protection Act" to defend their rights across planes?

Even that ethereal voice gained a trace of helplessness.

"The karma involved is complex; it cannot be balanced without an equivalent exchange. Granting a secure identity and shelter within Primordial requires the expenditure of Origin and the reversal of certain Rules. What price can your side offer?"

The Blue Star Will seemed prepared for this and replied steadily.

"A price? This Black-Hearted System and the Mastermind behind it are the price! Hand them over to us for complete destruction. The various energies, information, and fragments of Rules they have plundered will be enough to offset part of it. Furthermore, this incident has also negatively affected the operations of your Primordial Orthodox Heavenly Dao. By helping you remove this cancer and maintain the Order of your world, we have already made a contribution."

The Primordial Great Dao fell silent once more, seemingly calculating gains and losses at frantic speed.

Su Miao listened from the side with her soul trembling, dumbfounded.

This... this conversation...

One side was saying: "Your people scammed our people, so you have to compensate us!"

The other side was saying: "That wasn't our person! It was a temporary worker! Compensation is possible, but you'll have to pay extra!"

And then came the haggling. This scene was so damn familiar—so down-to-earth.

"We helped you catch the scammer and clean house. You have to count the labor fee!"

How was this an abstruse exchange between two supreme Great Dao wills?

This was clearly two guardians bickering over their bratty kids getting into a fight—or, to put it more nicely, customer service managers from two top-tier companies coordinating the resolution of a cross-platform dispute!

It was grand, truly grand—and absurd, truly absurd!

Just then, the system orb, bound by golden chains and barely clinging to life, seemed to catch a glimmer of life. Summoning its last ounce of strength, it shrieked.

"Great Dao! Primordial Great Dao! Save me! I know many secrets of the Chaos Demon Gods! I can help you..."

"Shut up!"

The Blue Star Will and the Primordial Great Dao rebuked it almost simultaneously.

A beam of golden light and a phantom Purple Firmament Divine Thunder struck the orb at the same time, snuffing it out completely. Only a faint flicker of light representing the "Data Core" remained, tightly sealed by the golden chains.

The Primordial Great Dao's ethereal voice seemed to have finally finished calculating. Carrying the stifled frustration of "taking a loss but having no choice except to swallow it," it spoke again:

"...Agreed. This system and all it carries shall be at your disposal. The Primordial side shall provide this soul with a body formed from the origin of the [Pure World White Lotus], granting it a lawful foundation for continued existence, and place it in a relatively safe region—Mount Fangzhang in the East Sea. This is the bottom line."

Pure World White Lotus?

Mount Fangzhang?

Though Su Miao had no idea what any of that specifically meant, it sounded incredibly impressive?

It certainly sounded more reliable than that lousy system's "salted fish turning over"!

The Blue Star Will seemed to assess the proposal as well. After pondering for a moment, its steady voice finally made the decision:

"Agreed. However, her identity must be seamlessly transferred, with no hidden karmic ties or backdoor programs of any kind. Should our citizen still suffer injustice under this arrangement, we reserve the right to take further measures."

The Primordial Great Dao fell silent.

"...So be it."

A "soul dispute case" spanning planes and involving the wills of two great worlds thus reached a preliminary settlement amid an atmosphere of strangely familiar "customer service wrangling" and "parental negotiations."

And Su Miao, the central "subject matter" of the case, had only one thought left at that moment:

"So... does this mean... my complaint succeeded, and I've been granted immigration eligibility and demolition—no, compensation housing???"