Negotiation

Since her Guide Element had already been drawn, Luo Ruzhuo naturally wouldn't begrudge them a few minutes.

She watched as several sentinels, Lin Sheng among them, put on full protective gear and used the anesthesia controls in the purification room to pump gas containing a certain percentage of anesthetic into the cage.

After an invisible cloud of gas passed through, the dragon lying in the corner seemed to fall asleep and went completely still.

Then they took the vial of transparent Guide Element from the medical kit and divided it among several syringes.

Luo Ruzhuo glanced at them. The needles were ten times bigger than the one used to draw her Guide Element yesterday. Their tips gleamed coldly, and the barrels were exceptionally thick. They hadn't even stuck them in yet, but the sight made her arms ache in sympathy.

She had disliked injections since childhood and had always kept her distance from hospitals. Before the apocalypse, even when overtime left her feeling unwell, she would tough it out and take medicine herself, never setting foot in a hospital.

Luo Ruzhuo angled her eyes upward, looking anywhere but there.

But her spiritual power was like a second pair of eyes. Even though she deliberately tried to ignore it, she still caught every detail the moment a needle pierced the dragon's rough skin.

The dragon in the corner let out a shriek. Its enormous body struggled and flailed a couple of times, sending dust billowing around it.

The sentinels Lin Sheng had brought took it in stride. They were all accustomed to dealing with their captain after his aberration, and several figures clung to the enormous dragon's body like fleas.

The roller-coaster-like turbulence did nothing to slow the progress of the syringe plungers.

Only after the several syringes of transparent liquid had been injected into the dragon did they jump down and wipe the swirling dust from their faces. They rushed back to the purification room and locked the door connecting it to the cage securely behind them.

The whole process was seamless. Though rough, it was undeniably efficient.

Just as the group was preparing to leave, the dragon in the cage stopped rolling. It seemed to have inhaled some addictive substance. It raised its upper body, swaying as its enormous head moved in circles, its nose constantly sniffing at the trace of Guide Element lingering in the air.

It staggered up to the purification room's glass wall and pressed its enormous head against the only open window, squeezing its whole face out of shape.

The dragon in front of them made a muffled sound.

"Want... I want more."

Its voice was deep and not unpleasant to hear. But now it had a thick nasal quality, like the drunken mumblings of an adult.

Most importantly, it had spoken human words.

Lin Sheng and the sentinels all pricked up their ears and exclaimed in delighted surprise, "Captain! You can talk?"

But after saying that, the dragon seemed to be completely drunk. Its swaying head fell against the glass, and no matter who called out to it, it didn't move again.

If the instrument on Lin Sheng's light brain hadn't shown that Xianzhu was currently in good condition, with his aberration level having even plunged to 50%, Luo Ruzhuo would have thought her Guide Element had poisoned the dragon.

Seeing the number on his light brain, Lin Sheng was even more delighted. He bowed directly to Luo Ruzhuo, and the sentinels behind him followed instantly. All of them faced her with the backs of their heads in unison, their voices unable to hide their excitement.

"It's all thanks to your help! Your Guide Element is very effective for Captain Xianzhu. At this rate, I believe it won't be long before the captain returns to normal."

Luo Ruzhuo blinked.

"If possible, our Firmament Squad would like to buy all your Guide Element every month, at twice the market price... What do you think?" Lin Sheng first transferred a large sum of money to Luo Ruzhuo's light brain, then straightened up and said sincerely, "Whether you agree or not, this is an advance payment to show our sincerity. Once you've made up your mind, you can let me know."

To be honest, under normal circumstances Luo Ruzhuo wouldn't turn down a sudden chance to earn extra money, but she had some objections to parts of Lin Sheng's request.

"Sure," she said frankly. "But only for the duration of this commission."

Luo Ruzhuo had no intention of exchanging something produced by her body for money over the long term.

Her body was the most precious asset in the world.

Captain Xianzhu's purification was progressing steadily, and Luo Ruzhuo also received a pleasant surprise.

On a peaceful early morning on Planet b-475, the naked sea butterfly reached its complete form.

The entire process went smoothly. As usual, she used the energy in the Insect Jade to nurture her Mental Entity. The little orange-yellow ball of light in her Mental Domain absorbed the emerald-green specks of light, and its transparent wings gradually unfolded, their edges far more solid than before.

As energy continued to flow out, the Insect Jade Luo Ruzhuo had been wearing seemed to fade, changing from a rich emerald green to a pale green tinged with grayish white, until a ring around its edge turned entirely grayish white. The moment the energy reached the naked sea butterfly, it was completely absorbed, without a trace left over.

And it showed no sign of stopping.

Luo Ruzhuo hurriedly took out the Insect Jade she had swiped from the Feier Family's collection room. This one was slightly smaller, but the energy density at its center was about the same; it simply held considerably less.

The moment she took it in hand, the energy inside the Insect Jade was sucked into the naked sea butterfly's tiny speck of light like a whirlwind.

Luo Ruzhuo could feel her Mental Domain expanding, as though a tremendous force were steadily pushing it forward. Her spiritual power had become more solid than ever.

With a crack, it was as though she had broken through some invisible barrier.

The moment the naked sea butterfly truly appeared before her, Luo Ruzhuo's field of vision suddenly expanded several times over. The sounds reaching her ears were exceptionally clear, and her spiritual power surged out instantly, probing every tiny movement around her.

The enormous influx of information left Luo Ruzhuo somewhat unaccustomed.

It was as though she had suddenly switched on some kind of microscopic mode, and she couldn't yet use her upgraded spiritual power proficiently.

Is this a level-six spiritual ability?

She silently assessed it, feeling that her overall strength was now almost twice what it had been at level five.

No wonder countless people's abilities in her previous life had been stuck at level five or below, with only a handful of level-six ability users.

It was almost a qualitative difference.

Luo Ruzhuo felt refreshed. She reached out and brushed her fingertip against the naked sea butterfly as it fluttered up and down in the air, then stood and stretched, feeling as though she could take on five opponents at once.

The good mood that followed her breakthrough lasted until she went to work the next day.

When she returned to the purification room, the dragon before the glass seemed a little different this time.

Its appearance hadn't changed.

But the dragon before her seemed much more reserved. Luo Ruzhuo even saw it bend its body toward her.

Uh... did it just bow to me?

The dragon's head moved, its enormous eyes open.

Luo Ruzhuo finally realized what felt most out of place.

It wasn't cross-eyed anymore!

Now that the dragon was no longer cross-eyed, it finally had the majestic solemnity of the legendary creature.

It watched her with clear eyes and opened its mouth. The same deep male voice from yesterday said, "Hello, Guide Luo."

It really was different. It had even regained its senses.

Luo Ruzhuo acknowledged the greeting and asked, "Are you Captain Xianzhu?"

"Yes." The dragon was very polite. "Let me introduce myself again. I'm Xianzhu, captain of the Firmament Squad. You can just call me by name. I'm very grateful for your help to me and the Firmament Squad, Miss Luo. I don't have much time while I'm lucid at present, so I'll get straight to the point-"

"I'm a Dark Sentinel." He made no attempt to hide his thoughts and openly revealed what he was. "At present, no guide can enter my Mental Domain to purify it."

"To be honest, I was also very surprised that your Guide Element could have an effect on me... Perhaps heaven has shown me favor and left me a path to survival."

"For the rest of the purification process, you don't need to enter my Mental Domain to purify it as the contract requires." Xianzhu paused. "But so that I can recover as soon as possible, if it's possible-could you change the Guide Element extraction from once a month to once every half month? I guarantee on my honor as captain of the Firmament Squad that I will do everything in my power to protect your health during this process, Miss Luo."

Once every half month?

Luo Ruzhuo's expression revealed neither pleasure nor displeasure. "How will you guarantee that?"

Xianzhu said, "Aside from the usual supplements, whatever you want, Miss Luo, the Firmament Squad will do its utmost to provide."

Luo Ruzhuo thought for a moment. "Something on the level of Insect Jade?"

Xianzhu answered decisively. "Yes."

"All right, you're quite generous." Luo Ruzhuo smiled, though the smile didn't reach her eyes. "If you'd told me this a day earlier, I might have agreed... But unfortunately, I don't need Insect Jade anymore."