Pledge of Allegiance

Fu Haoran had just breathed a sigh of relief, thinking this matter was settled, when Lucifer's icy voice slammed down:

"Those ants just now saw my true face and heard my full name. Keeping them around will only cause trouble."

"No! Absolutely not!" Fu Haoran quickly called out.

"They're my subordinates." Fu Haoran's words came out in a rush. "They're also witnesses to our reunion. Killing them would be bad luck."

Fu Haoran silently added to himself: Besides, if these people are really gone, my talent pool will be gutted by more than half. Who's going to do the dirty work for me after that?

To save his men and leave himself an escape route, Fu Haoran felt like he'd thrown all the integrity and dignity of half his life into that lie.

Lucifer looked at him for three seconds. Fu Haoran's back went cold.

"...Somewhat reasonable." She withdrew her gaze. "Death can be spared, but punishment cannot be escaped."

Fu Haoran let out a long breath in his heart.

This ancestor—she actually bought that?

"However, they used force against me just now. According to Dynasty law, that's a capital offense. Memory deletion is already mercy."

Fu Haoran's throat bobbed. He didn't reply.

Memory deletion is mercy?

Then what's not mercy?

Lucifer ignored his expression.

She looked down at her own form, and green light surged around her again.

Her height, over two and a half meters, slowly contracted.

One meter nine.

Stopped.

She lifted her eyes to Fu Haoran.

Fu Haoran took half a step back, still needing to look up slightly.

Still taller than him.

"My height is too conspicuous. I'll suppress it for now." Her tone was flat, as if stating a technical issue.

Fu Haoran nodded. Nodded very quickly.

Inside, he'd already cursed the system eight hundred times.

This thing can delete memories and control body shape?

The system sent me an ancestor!

[System Prompt: SSS-rank Emergency Mission "Conquer Ancient Overlord" Phase 1 Complete]

[Reward: Obtain one adjutant (Don't ask about loyalty; ask about survival rate. Don't count on her to work for you. It's recommended to write a will in advance, so you don't die too suddenly~)]

[Obtained Temporary Authority: Can request target to act once (Trigger condition: Host near death / Hive City in peril)]

[PS: Don't get too happy. She's keeping you because she "can't verify lies," not because she "likes you." After using this chance, if your favorability isn't enough... you know the drill.]

Fu Haoran's mouth twitched. He wished he could drag the system out and beat it to a pulp.

Strangely enough, Yuri and the others looked at the suddenly appearing Lucifer without the slightest sense of dissonance, as if she had always belonged there.

But Fu Haoran felt like he was walking on thin ice, on edge the whole time. Fortunately, most of the time, Lucifer was like a ghost, silently following behind him.

Yuri and the others simply assumed she was a helper Fu Haoran had brought back. No one asked further.

When they returned to the surface, Wade was already waiting at the entrance.

He saw Lucifer and froze for a moment.

"Governor, this is..."

Fu Haoran steeled himself: "A noble who defected to us."

Fu Haoran didn't care whether the excuse held water or not. Whether his men believed it or not didn't matter.

What if they didn't believe it?

Could they dare to question him?

But Wade didn't doubt it.

Mainly because Lucifer's aura was more noble than a noble's.

That bone-deep aloofness and pressure couldn't be faked.

Wade looked away and began reporting official business.

"Governor, this cleanup of the noble coalition's battlefield yielded a good haul."

"We recovered twelve Leman Russ main battle tanks, three of which are damaged and need major repairs."

"Also, eight Chimera troop transports, three hundred Bolt Guns, fifty crates of Bolt Shells, and twenty thousand barrels of Promethium."

He closed his data slate: "Total estimated value is about eighty-five thousand Throne Coins."

"Fuck!" Yuri lunged over instantly, eyes gleaming. "Eighty-five thousand Throne Coins? That's enough to buy a secondhand frigate with a dozen previous owners!"

"So war really pays that well?"

Fu Haoran breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Eighty-five thousand Throne Coins was enough to repair the factory and expand the guard force.

Even if dealing with Lucifer gave him a headache, this haul was worth it.

Fu Haoran looked at Wade. "Priority goes to fixing those three damaged Leman Russ tanks. Take half the remaining money and distribute it as bonuses to all the soldiers."

"The brothers worked hard this time."

Wade didn't say a word, but his hand paused.

That much money, just handed out like that?

Wade had never seen such a generous Governor.

He put away the data slate and continued his report. "There's one more thing."

"Victor of Silverthorn House left the coalition camp privately three hours ago, bringing only two trusted men. He's heading our way. Estimated arrival in about twenty minutes."

Fu Haoran raised an eyebrow. "Him? Makes sense. As the coalition's de facto commander, he lost the entire army. There's no way he can explain that back home. Dead either way, so he might as well defect to me."

"This is an opportunity."

Wade cautioned, "Governor, that old fox Victor has always been cunning. Could his pledge of allegiance be a trap? What if he's leading us into an Old Nobility ambush?"

"So what if it's a trap?" Fu Haoran arched a brow. "We need a blade to stab through the Old Nobility. He fits the bill. I'm willing to take the risk."

Twenty minutes later, Victor stood at the entrance of the command hall.

His collar was crooked, his cuffs speckled with mud—clearly he'd rushed the journey.

The noble medal on his chest hung askew, and there was still unwashed grime on his face.

But his chin was lifted, his gaze sweeping across the command post as if inspecting his own territory.

Victor struggled to maintain his aristocratic composure, but the panic and embarrassment in his eyes were impossible to hide.

Yet when his gaze landed on Lucifer, his body stiffened sharply. A flicker of fear crossed his eyes, and he instinctively looked away.

"Governor, on my own behalf, I've come to discuss cooperation." Victor spoke, his tone feigning steadiness, but his confidence was clearly lacking.

Fu Haoran didn't respond.

A defeated commander—what his fate would be was obvious enough to figure out with half a brain.

Victor waited five seconds. Seeing Fu Haoran silent, his face flushed slightly, and he pressed harder. "I came with sincerity!"

Just as Fu Haoran was racking his brain over how to break Victor of that aristocratic arrogance, Lucifer, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke. "A defeated man must have the awareness of a defeated man."

Victor's face stiffened. He was about to retort when Lucifer cut him off first.

"Aristocratic pride and arrogance are worthless in the face of absolute power."

"You came here today because you have nowhere left to go, not to offer charity."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Victor's disheveled state, her tone growing colder.

"You can't even protect yourself, yet you dare speak of noble pride? In my eyes, you're worse than those ants from earlier—at least they knew to fear power."

Victor's face instantly turned the color of pig liver. His lips twitched, but he couldn't squeeze out a single word.

He wanted to argue, but meeting Lucifer's dark green eyes, all his pride and composure shattered into dust.

Lucifer looked away, as if nothing had happened.

Fu Haoran watched, unable to suppress the grin tugging at his lips. He shot Lucifer a subtle look of approval.

This menace is dangerous, always deleting memories and putting on airs, but she's damn useful for shutting up these stuck-up nobles. Saves me the breath of grinding down Victor's bad habits.

"I do have leverage." Victor finally played his trump card.

"This is a map of the Old Nobility Alliance's secret supply depots—coordinates for five warehouses, hidden in abandoned mine shafts in the Lower Hive and disguised civilian storage. They're packed with Promethium, munitions, and Throne Coins they've been siphoning off over the years."

"And this is their escape route—a secret spaceport beneath the Hive City. You can cut off their retreat from there."

"And this." He paused. "A list of informants the Old Nobility has planted in the Underhive. Gangs, factories—they're everywhere."

Fu Haoran's eyes lit up. He reached out and took the data slate.

This pledge of allegiance is incredibly useful! It's practically tailor-made for me!

These noble parasites are no different from the oligarchs of the Soviet era. They control the Hive City's energy, food, and interstellar trade routes, squeeze the lower-class people, and embezzle the Hive's taxes.

Not only do they skip paying the Tithe, but they're secretly moving wealth! Hoarding military supplies, ready to bolt the moment things go south, without a care for the Hive's survival.

That old fox Victor has handed me a fine blade!

He looked at Victor.

"What do you want?"

Victor gritted his teeth. "I want to replace the main branch of Silverthorn House. From a collateral line, I become the true master."

Fu Haoran smiled.

"Deal."

He watched Victor's retreating back, his mind already calculating:

Five warehouses, one escape route, one list of informants—enough to strip the nobles clean down to their foundations.

[New quest triggered: Raid and Get Rich]

[Warning: The harder you raid, the fiercer the remaining nobles will fight back—and the richer the rewards]

Fu Haoran's smile froze.

"System, your quests are still this vicious... but I like it."