At Dile's question, Julie smiled.
"Of course we wouldn't send our friends to their deaths. Please rest assured of that."
As she spoke, Julie took out something resembling a badge and handed it to Dile, explaining as she did so.
"This is our Anti-Meme Contamination Device. As long as you wear it properly, the Meme Bomb won't affect you."
Dile took the badge from Julie and examined it closely. It looked perfectly ordinary, no different from the metal badges sold for two bucks on the streets of Kashi Star.
Keeping his guard up, Dile also noticed something with a similar design against the pale skin of Julie's neck. Even so, he wasn't about to take her word for it.
Dile continued examining the badge as he spoke.
"General Julie, surely you don't expect a little thing like this to convince me to entrust my life and my teammates' lives to you?"
Julie showed no displeasure. Instead, she remained just as pleasant as before.
"Of course not. Before setting out, Mr. Dile, you informed the entire Star Hunters organization of your mission. If we really did use the hunters we hired as cannon fodder, I imagine we Balchik People would lose the trust of the entire organization."
Dile's expression froze for a moment. As expected of one of the great powers, they had investigated even that so thoroughly. But Julie was right. As things stood, the Balchik People really had no motive to alienate the hunters, and judging by his interactions with them and what he had learned during this time, they probably wouldn't do such a thing.
Of course, what truly made up Dile's mind was Julie's final remark.
"And of course, I'll be joining you on this operation."
And so Dile and the others boarded a Shatla Ship with