---o---
Robin shook her head.
"This isn't exactly inconvenient to speak of. Mr. Fu Zhu, do you still remember a Mr. Gopher Wood?"
Fu Zhu frowned. After a moment of thought, he shook his head and asked, "Who?"
Seeing his response, Robin couldn't help but be taken aback for a moment. "The former head of the Oak Family, Gopher Wood."
With that clarification, an image finally surfaced in Fu Zhu's mind.
Wasn't that the minor BOSS he had dealt with in Penacony a while back?
"Why bring him up all of a sudden?"
Robin suddenly stood up, walked back to her desk, and retrieved another file from a drawer, placing it in front of Fu Zhu.
Fu Zhu opened it and saw it was an investigation report. As he read, Robin sat opposite him and began to explain.
"Back then, Mr. Gopher Wood used certain methods to cultivate the larval form of the True Stingbugs in the deep recesses of the Dreamscape. His plan was to recreate the Swarm Disaster in the Dreamscape to stir up fear among the people, hoping to make them yearn for order. Then, he and his brother… Sunday, could use that to re-establish [Order]. However, their plan was ultimately stopped by you, Mr. Fu Zhu."
After hearing this, Fu Zhu put down the investigation report, unable to hold back a soft gasp.
He had originally thought Gopher Wood was a bit crazy, but he never imagined he was this crazy. To achieve his goal, he was willing to recreate the Swarm Disaster. If that disaster had spun out of control, not only Penacony but other star systems would have suffered.
"Alright, now that we've cleared that up, I'll go take a look at Gopher Wood's 'breeding ground' first."
Fu Zhu stood up, and Robin across from him quickly rose as well, raising a hand to stop him as he was about to leave.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, to make things more convenient for you, please allow Lady Dahlia to accompany you."
Dahlia walked over, her hands clasped before her, and gave Fu Zhu a respectful bow.
Fu Zhu glanced at her and nodded in acceptance.
"Fine, let's go."
Dahlia smiled and made a gesture of invitation. "Mr. Fu Zhu, please follow me."
"Mhm, you lead the way."
"Yes."
As Robin watched Dahlia lead Fu Zhu out of the office, she was about to return to her work when her phone suddenly vibrated. She opened it to see a message from Fu Zhu.
She looked up with some confusion at the closed office door, then lowered her head to open the message.
[Fu Zhu: This Dahlia, do you really know her?]
Why would Mr. Fu Zhu ask that?
Robin couldn't help but frown. She calmed herself and carefully dredged up her memories of Dahlia, but after a long while, she couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
[Robin: I do. But Mr. Fu Zhu, why do you ask?]
[Fu Zhu: This Dahlia is a problem. I don't know if the Dahlia you knew before was replaced, or if this person herself has always been a problem. You should investigate her.]
[Robin: Understood.]
Robin put her phone away and sat back down at her desk, pinching her chin as she once again meticulously recalled everything about Dahlia.
Since Fu Zhu said it, he must have some evidence to be so certain that Dahlia was a problem. So, which of the two possibilities that Mr. Fu Zhu presented was it?
---o---
Meanwhile, after leading Fu Zhu out of the office, Dahlia didn't head straight out of the mansion. Instead, she took several turns, arriving at a deserted corner.
Dahlia stopped in the corner and turned to face Fu Zhu. Fu Zhu, however, scanned their surroundings. Seeing nothing special, he turned his gaze back to her.
"What are you bringing me here for?"
Dahlia smiled. With a light raise of her left hand, a swirling portal suddenly materialized.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, this matter concerns The Family's assets, so it's not convenient to investigate out in the open. To avoid any unnecessary trouble, it's best we head to the place where Mr. Gopher Wood previously cultivated the swarm from here."
Fu Zhu said nothing, merely staring at her.
A look of incomprehension appeared on Dahlia's face as she asked, "Mr. Fu Zhu, is there something wrong?"
Fu Zhu shook his head, his gaze shifting away from her. He was the first to step into the swirling portal, and Dahlia followed close behind with a faint smile.
His vision blurred for a moment. When it cleared, Fu Zhu found himself in a region steeped in deep purple. There were quite a few buildings here, but they were all in ruins. Growing amidst the ruins were strange trees and plants, which seemed to be living things, trembling ceaselessly with every breath.
"This is the place where Mr. Gopher Wood previously cultivated the True Stingbugs. It seems they've all mutated due to the influence of the End Poem."
Dahlia emerged from behind Fu Zhu and stood beside him, her gaze also falling upon the bizarre trees in the area.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the nearby grass. Several True Stingbugs shot out, their target set squarely on the two of them.
However, before they could even get close, Fu Zhu casually drew a diamond sword and cut them down. Their bodies dissipated, leaving only a few Eyes of Ender on the ground.
Fu Zhu walked over and picked up the Eyes of Ender, examining them in his hand. According to the JEI item management mod, their name was still Eye of Ender, with nothing special about it.
Still, the fact that these True Stingbugs dropped Eyes of Ender was strange in itself.
Could it be that they were evolving in the direction of End creatures?
Fu Zhu casually pocketed the Eyes of Ender, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings before finally settling on a direction.
"Let's go, we'll check somewhere else."
Just as he was about to move, Dahlia reached out and stopped him.
"Mr. Fu Zhu, please wait a moment."
Fu Zhu turned back to her, puzzled. Dahlia explained, "The Memoria here is exceptionally rich, and its composition seems to have changed because of these True Stingbugs. Please allow me to apply some protective measures for you first, to prevent any accidents. How about it?"
Fu Zhu looked at her, raised an eyebrow, and then smiled and nodded.
"How thoughtful of you. I'll have to trouble you, then."
Dahlia smiled and shook her head.
"It's nothing. I'll begin now. Please relax your mind."
As she spoke, Dahlia raised her right hand. A deep blue flame emerged from her palm, then floated towards Fu Zhu and merged into his body.
[Incineration Flame III: 99:99]
Seeing the sudden appearance of this special buff, Fu Zhu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
She couldn't hold back this quickly? This so-called Incineration Flame didn't look like a technique a member of The Family should possess. Instead, it was more like the methods of a faction of Memokeepers he had learned about from the Synthezine, known as the Cremators.
"Tell me, Dahlia, are you interested in leaving The Family to become a Cremator?"