"First Ripple? Who's that? Never heard of her. What about her?" Sparkle frowned slightly and shook her head in confusion.
Chen Li nodded.
"Oh, then that explains it. Because... if you'd really happened to meet First Ripple just now, you probably wouldn't be able to laugh right now." Chen Li nodded in satisfaction, the smile on his face growing ever brighter.
"..." Seeing Chen Li's confident, blatantly malicious smile, Sparkle suddenly felt an extremely ominous premonition rise in her heart.
"Oh, it's like this. Earlier, I saw that you were about to set off to deal with the matter in the sky. To save time, I directly ordered First Ripple and the Herrscher of Corruption to head to Destiny Headquarters ahead of time and await orders. They were in a hurry, so they happened to miss Sparkle, who had just come through the door."
Great Herta set down her teacup and provided the explanation at just the right moment.
"I see." Chen Li nodded.
"What the hell are you two talking around? Who exactly is First Ripple?! What does this have to do with me? Don't think you can change the subject!" Sparkle looked at Chen Li and Great Herta in confusion, asking irritably.
"If I remember correctly, the Heroic Spirit you summoned seemed to be a brainless Iron Tomb, right?" Chen Li gave Sparkle a meaningful glance.
"Yeah. You have no idea—this is the first time I've gotten such an obedient Heroic Spirit. It's practically effortless!" At the mention of this, Sparkle immediately became smug and nodded with feeling.
"Oh, is that so? Then cherish it while you can. Cherish this hard-won bond properly." Chen Li said meaningfully.
"...What do you mean?" The smile gradually vanished from Sparkle's face as she looked warily at Chen Li.
Chen Li merely