"Exactly! That damned simp Karl is filthy rich! The entire Styx Galaxy is his territory, and he's been secretly building up his fortune for tens of thousands of years. How could he not have anything stockpiled?"
She rubbed her hands excitedly and winked at Qin Feng.
"Wait a moment. Your queen is going to find someone to fund this."
With that, she opened a Dark Communication channel. Her fingers swiped rapidly through the air, finding a private channel she had saved for who knew how many years but rarely called, and pressed the connect button.
Almost instantly, a cool yet gentle voice came through from the other end.
"Liang Bing? How come you have time to think of me? Have you finally come around and decided to become a Phantom Body with me?"
"Karl, you bitch!"
Morgana immediately cursed into the channel. "I don't want to become some Phantom Body! Be a freak on your own. Don't drag your queen into it!"
The other end fell silent for two seconds.
Far away at Death Song Academy, Karl sat behind a desk piled high with books on energy theory, his gaze darkening slightly.
He closed the book in his hands and lightly brushed his fingertips over its cover. His voice held its unchanging calm and a barely perceptible hint of disappointment.
"Liang Bing, you really should become a Phantom Body too. That way, we'd have something in common again."
"Heh, did we ever have anything in common?"
"We did."
Karl's voice was soft. "Back at Super God Academy, we used to explore the subject of wisdom together. Those were my happiest days as a human..."
"All right, all right. Your queen didn't call to reminisce."
Morgana cut him off. "Karl, your queen has run into a tiny bit of trouble and needs your help."
"Trouble?"
A trace of puzzlement entered Karl's tone. "Aren't you on Blue Star converting your Demon Legion? There shouldn't be anyone on Blue Star who can match you right now, should there?"
To put Morgana at ease about going to Blue Star to draw Kaisa's attention, he had spent a vast quantity of precious resources upgrading her to a fourth-generation divine body.
Even with only the Little Clock's computational power supporting her, she should have been able to do as she pleased on Blue Star.
But judging by her tone now, things did not seem to be going smoothly.
If he had not been wary of Kaisa, he would have used the Great Clock to scan Blue Star in detail long ago.
But that woman's perception was too sharp. He dared not take the risk.
Even when Qin Feng, this new Galaxy Power, appeared, he had not immediately used the Great Clock to calculate his origins.
That alone showed just how cautious he was.
"Why do you have so much crap to say?"
Irritation flared in Morgana's voice again. "Your queen just wants a few resources. Are you giving them to me or not?"
"Resources?"
Karl frowned slightly. His voice remained calm, but now carried a note of difficulty. "Liang Bing, you know the Styx Galaxy lies on the edge of the Known Universe. The resources we can collect are limited. Upgrading you to a fourth-generation divine body last time already exhausted most of my stockpile."
"Who do you think you're fooling?"
Morgana sounded furious at having her intelligence insulted. "Is your queen that easy to fool? You have the Great Clock, Karl! Any resources you casually stash away in secret would be enough to upgrade several of me! Don't plead poverty to me! Otherwise, I'm going on strike right now. Find someone else to draw Kaisa's attention!"
The other end fell silent.
Morgana's move had clearly hit Karl where it hurt.
A moment later, Karl's voice sounded again, a little lower than before.
"Liang Bing, don't be like this. Didn't we agree? Only when Kaisa falls can our ideals truly be realized."
"Heh."
Morgana sneered. "Your queen is about to lose her life. Why would I care about that? To tell you the truth, Karl, I'm already exposed right under the angels' noses."
"For some reason, so many high-ranking angels have suddenly come to Blue Star. Even if I revive the Demon Legion, I'm afraid I won't gain any advantage. So I urgently need resources to strengthen my subordinates!"
The silence on the other end lasted even longer.
Karl sat behind his desk, gazing out the window at the dark starscape of the Styx Galaxy, and tapped his fingertips lightly against the desktop.
He had more or less pieced things together.
The appearance of a second Galaxy Power had sharply increased the Angel Civilization's interest in Blue Star. Morgana really had been unlucky to run straight into them.
To put Morgana at ease about continuing her role of drawing Kaisa's attention, he had to make a concession.
"All right, Liang Bing."
Karl's voice regained its calm gentleness. "I'll use the Great Clock to transport a batch of resources to you. Let's set the location at the outskirts of the Solar System. Remember to collect them."
"Why not send them straight here?"
Morgana sounded dissatisfied. "Making me run back and forth just increases the risk of your queen being exposed, doesn't it?"
"Liang Bing."
Karl's tone took on a note of patient explanation. "I'm already taking a great risk by transporting resources to you. If I send them directly to Blue Star, Divine Kaisa will definitely notice. The outskirts of the Solar System are as far as I can go."
Morgana smacked her lips and reluctantly accepted the plan.
"Fine, then. How are the repairs on my Demon One coming along?"
"They're nearly finished."
Karl paused. "If you need it, I can send it over with them."
At that, Morgana's eyes instantly lit up.
"Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up! Your queen will be waiting for your good news!"
With that, Morgana cut off the communication and turned to Qin Feng, that smug grin returning to her face.
"Well? Your queen gets things done fast, doesn't she?"
Qin Feng stood to the side with his hands in his pockets, having watched the entire performance of getting something for nothing.
"That's great. But let me remind you: before using the resources you get from Karl, you'd better check them for backdoors. His schemes run far deeper than you imagine."
Morgana's smile briefly froze before her nonchalant expression returned.
"Don't worry. Your queen has dealt with him for so many years. I know his twists and turns better than anyone. He's got the intent, but not the guts."
"Besides, he still needs your queen to get things done. He won't do anything like that to damage our mutual trust."
"As long as you know what you're doing. But speaking of which, I solved such a huge problem for you. Shouldn't you give me something in return?"
At that, Morgana waved her hand and said, "It's just eighty or a hundred bottles of Gene Serum, isn't it? Your queen is in a good mood today. Consider them your reward."
After fleecing Karl out of such a huge batch of resources, how could she not be in a good mood?
Still, with this batch of Gene Serum, he could advance to a third generation divine body too.
Qin Feng was also very satisfied with that.
Before you continue