A few hours earlier-
"Are you sure you want me to swallow these two?"
Ann. Rattridge. Oaken looked at the [Ring of Protection] and [Ring of Blessing] in Qin Ran's hand, undisguised resistance on her delicate face.
"Unless you're willing to trust the Sacred Heritage Society!"
"Or become a fish on the chopping block again, left at someone else's mercy!"
Qin Ran picked up the two rings and placed them in Ann. Rattridge. Oaken's hand.
"I certainly don't want that!"
Ann. Rattridge. Oaken shook her head vigorously, opened her mouth, and swallowed the rings one after the other. Then she took a deep breath and said, "That was the strangest food I've ever eaten! Tell me, how should I do it without killing myself? And are you sure you can save me in time?"
"Don't forget, saving you means saving me!"
"I wouldn't gamble with my own life!"
"Just as the Sacred Heritage Society's people wouldn't keep waiting there once the situation became clear-their attitude was already perfectly obvious. They won't allow the Griffin Church to rise again, so killing me is inevitable. As it happens, they can still use me before I die. Why wouldn't they?"
"And they won't give up on the heart inside me, either!"
"So I'm confident in the plan!"
Qin Ran smiled as he spoke.
"I think you need more backup plans!"
With her life at stake, Ann. Rattridge. Oaken was extremely nervous.
"Yes."
"I'll try to account for everything, but what matters more is..."
"Adapting on the fly!"
"I knew that when I was seven, and I've been good at it ever since!"
Ann. Rattridge. Oaken waved a hand as she spoke.
Just as the woman had said, she was very good at adapting on the fly and did so with ease.
From the