Although Ma Lou was so excited he could barely keep himself from jumping up and down.
He still displayed the consummate professionalism befitting the "Server-Wide Number One Sneak."
Rather than agreeing immediately, he put on a deeply hesitant, conflicted expression.
He lowered his head, nervously rubbing the ragged hem of his clothes between his hands. His eyes darted around as though he were wrestling with an agonizing decision.
A full ten-odd seconds passed.
Only then did Ma Lou nod firmly, as though he had finally made some momentous decision:
"All right! Lord Kairils!"
"For the townsfolk who died in Fog Town, and for the noble knights who covered our retreat!"
"I'll go with you!"
"Even if I have to walk through fire, I'll expose those Cultists' atrocities to the world!"
Seeing Ma Lou's righteous resolve, Kairils nodded calmly.
"Thank you for your courage."
"Don't worry. With me there, no one in Winterhold will be able to hurt you."
In a single second, Ma Lou's grief-stricken, indignant expression transformed into wild elation!
"Hahahaha! I'm rich! I'm really going to be rich this time!"
"No! As soon as I log off, I have to go buy a gaming pod!"
"Once I get to Winterhold, I'm fucking taking screenshots nonstop in 4K ultra HD!"
A clear path to monetizing this opportunity had already taken shape in Ma Lou's mind.
"That shameless bastard Jiahao made a fortune selling a few glamour shots of Kairils."
"Mine will be an exclusive [Winterhold Ultra-HD Top-Secret Image Pack]!"
"If I list it on the forums, won't those million-plus cloud gamers across the internet go crazy for it?"
"Jiahao? Hmph!"
"With my monopoly on exclusive images, your little mom-and-pop operation will be a joke!"
Just as Ma Lou was lost in dreams of getting rich overnight and trampling Jiahao