---o---
Fu Zhu calmly closed the minimap, reverting to his previous posture of not having noticed Dahlia.
Dahlia, however, walked over quite directly and took the empty seat opposite Fu Zhu with a composed air.
"You must be the Mr. Fu Zhu that Family Head Robin mentioned? A pleasure to meet you. I am from the Oak Family. My name is Dahlia, and I have been tasked by Family Head Robin to escort you."
Dahlia's attitude was very friendly. From the surface, at least, Fu Zhu couldn't see anything wrong, but that didn't mean there were no points of suspicion.
Fu Zhu lifted his coffee, took a sip, and asked casually, "You don't recognize me? I thought I was pretty famous in Penacony. That's a little hurtful."
He had, after all, pulled off a pretty big stunt in Penacony not long ago. The Family should have photos of him and the like. Furthermore, the End Poem had just occurred. It was impossible for Dahlia not to recognize him; she could only be pretending.
This made things very interesting.
Even though the loophole in her words was exposed, Dahlia's expression remained unchanged. She simply offered a smiling explanation.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, you jest. If I didn't recognize you, it would have been impossible for me to spot you in a crowd and walk over to speak with you."
"True enough."
Fu Zhu didn't dwell on the matter. He was here in Penacony to resolve the trouble caused by the End Poem. As for why Dahlia was masquerading as a member of The Family to approach him, he would just wait for her to make a move and respond in kind.
After finishing his coffee, Fu Zhu stood up and gestured to Dahlia.
"Let's go. Take me to see Robin."
Dahlia immediately rose to her feet and nodded respectfully at Fu Zhu, her demeanor perfectly professional and business-like.
"Of course, Mr. Fu Zhu. Please follow me."
Before long, Dahlia led Fu Zhu to a mansion. Before entering, Fu Zhu noticed several members of the Hound Family standing guard at the entrance. They greeted Dahlia with great enthusiasm, and she returned their greetings with a smile, looking very familiar with them.
Entering the mansion, Dahlia led Fu Zhu to an office door. She raised a hand and knocked lightly. Soon, Robin's voice came from inside.
"Come in."
Dahlia turned her head and nodded at Fu Zhu, then pushed the door open and walked in. After they were both inside, she closed the door behind them, but instead of leaving, she remained.
Fu Zhu glanced at her, then turned his gaze to Robin, who was sitting behind her desk handling affairs. When she looked up and saw Fu Zhu, a smile immediately blossomed on her face.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, thank you for coming all this way."
"Don't be so formal. It's a small matter," Fu Zhu replied, while discreetly glancing at Robin's identifier on the minimap.
[Robin - Oak Family Head]
There were no question marks. The Robin before him was indeed the real one.
This put Fu Zhu slightly at ease. Before coming in, he had been worried that Penacony had been caught up in another conspiracy. Now, it seemed the only problem was Dahlia.
"Robin, let's get down to business. What kind of trouble did the End Poem stir up in Penacony?"
Robin nodded and gestured for Fu Zhu to take a seat on the sofa. She then instructed Dahlia to prepare tea for them while she retrieved a folder from her desk drawer and walked over to sit on the sofa opposite him.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, please take a look at these photos."
Robin took several photos from the folder and laid them on the coffee table. Fu Zhu leaned over for a look. The photos showed several insects that had appeared in various districts of the twelve moments in the Dreamscape. Their bodies were unlike those of ordinary bugs; they were almost identical to the True Stingbugs from the Swarm Disaster ages ago. The only difference was that each of them had an Eye of Ender on its forehead.
This came as a bit of a surprise to Fu Zhu. He hadn't expected the influence of the End Poem to be this significant.
His gaze lifted from the photos as he looked at Robin opposite him and asked, "Is the situation very serious?"
Just then, Dahlia returned with two cups of black tea. She bent down to place the cups in front of each of them and took the opportunity to answer Fu Zhu's question. "Mr. Fu Zhu, in recent days, the number of these mutated True Stingbugs has nearly doubled every day. At this rate, the entirety of Penacony will be devoured within a week."
"I see."
Fu Zhu nodded. The situation was indeed more severe than he had imagined.
Robin looked at Fu Zhu with some concern and asked, "Mr. Fu Zhu, do you have any ideas?"
"Ideas?" Fu Zhu spread his hands. "Absolutely none!"
He had never even seen a True Stingbug before, let alone one that seemed to have been mutated by a mod. The only thing he knew was that the thing on its head was an Eye of Ender.
It would be great if he could just pop it off; he could even save some Blaze Powder.
Of course, that was useless here.
Fu Zhu's response was well within her expectations.
After all, very few people in The Family had researched or even come into contact with True Stingbugs, let alone Fu Zhu.
Just as Robin was fretting over where to even begin, she noticed Fu Zhu suddenly take out his phone and start taking pictures of the photos on the table.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, what are you doing?"
"Professional matters should naturally be left to the professionals to solve."
Fu Zhu promptly sent the photos to Ruan Mei. In the field of biology, Ruan Mei was undoubtedly the ultimate authority. Even if she hadn't encountered an Ender Dragon, she had certainly encountered True Stingbugs. Perhaps she could see a problem.
[Fu Zhu: Ruan Mei, could you do me a favor? Take a look at these True Stingbugs. They have an Eye of Ender on their foreheads. According to The Family, they seemed to have mutated because of the End Poem.]
[Ruan Mei: Mmm, but I'll need some time. I'll head to Penacony shortly.]
[Fu Zhu: Thanks, I owe you one.]
[Ruan Mei: You're welcome.]
After sending all the photos to Ruan Mei, Fu Zhu put his phone away and shifted his gaze back to Robin.
"The mutation of these True Stingbugs is concerning, but Robin, you seem to have skipped over explaining the most crucial question. Why are there True Stingbugs in Penacony?"
It was impossible for Penacony to have spawned a creature that shouldn't exist just because of the End Poem. The only possibility was that these True Stingbugs already existed before the End Poem!
Robin's expression immediately froze. She stammered, unsure of what to say.
Fu Zhu narrowed his eyes and stared at her.
"Is it inconvenient to answer?"