When Sunday performed the Harmony's consecration, in Aventurine's vision, colored ripples drifted across his field of vision for a moment before he could even see the illusory figure of Xipe the Harmony forming behind Sunday.
Fortunately, he had prepared in advance by borrowing the Cornerstones of Jade and Topaz and playing a word game earlier. He had already guessed that Sunday's goal was nothing more than to strip away as many of the Cornerstones of the Ten Stonehearts as possible to weaken them.
It should be noted that without the Cornerstones, the combat power of the Ten Stonehearts would be cut in half, which in turn would make them pose no threat to The Family.
He believed Sunday's questions would most likely be: 'Is there a Cornerstone in the box? Whose Cornerstone is it? Is the Aventurine Stone inside?'
Next, Sunday would confiscate all the Cornerstones before allowing him to leave and move freely in Penacony.
For Aventurine, that kind of procedure was so predictable that he could have figured it out without thinking. A so-called true gambler like him did not rely only on luck, but also on skill and calculation, after all.
"Then, Mr. Aventurine, the first question."
Sunday spoke calmly, while Aventurine pretended to look confused and helpless, though inwardly, he was completely confident.
'C'mon, let's play your little cat-and-mouse game…'
Amid the domain of Harmony, Aventurine could neither refuse to answer questions nor lie—and that was precisely why he had prepared three Cornerstones, even shattering his own Cornerstone and using a word game to muddy the waters.
"Mr. Aventurine, are you an avgin from Sigonia?"
"Yes..." Aventurine answered reflexively, then paused and looked at Sunday with a strange expression. "Wait, what's the point of asking that?"
"Do you love your family more than yourself?"
Sunday continued asking, ignoring Aventurine's question.
"Yes..."
"All avgins died in a massacre, correct?"
At this question, Aventurine fell silent for a moment before answering with a frown.
"...No."
"Are you the only survivor of your clan?"
Hearing yet another question unrelated to their current situation, Aventurine's expression turned extremely ugly, as if he had been stabbed straight through the heart.
"Maybe... Aren't you supposed to be asking about my Cornerstone? Why do you keep digging into my wounds?"
It was no secret that the avgins from Sigonia had been wiped out by the IPC, and Aventurine was the only survivor of that incident, so when Sunday asked about avgins over and over again, it was no different from singing 'My Papa and Mama are the best in the world' right in front of orphans.
As a result, Aventurine's face turned livid with anger, his molars clenched tight.
"Well, there's no need to ask about your Cornerstone."
Sunday spoke calmly, still wearing a gentle smile.
"Before you came, the Dreammaster said you would definitely shatter the Aventurine Stone and try to fool us with word games, after all."
"And the Dreammaster also said there was no need to stop you. You can carry any Cornerstone around in Penacony freely. You will eventually realize that everything you do is futile."
"Lastly, all the earlier questions were asked at the Dreammaster's instruction."
Back when Aventurine had just arrived in Penacony, Sunday had already informed Lucian of his arrival, and at that very moment, everything had been arranged by Lucian, swiftly and efficiently.
As soon as Sunday's words landed, Aventurine froze.
What did 'definitely shatter the Aventurine Stone' mean?
What did 'no need to stop you. You can carry any Cornerstone around in Penacony freely' mean?
What did 'the earlier questions were asked at the Dreammaster's instruction' mean?
'So... I planned all this for nothing?'
Aventurine thought with a helpless expression, the corner of his lips twitching as he realized that he had already been dancing in someone's palm from the very beginning.
'You already knew my plan? Yet you still didn't stop me?'
'Then why the fuck didn't you say so earlier?!'
'Not gonna lie, that Dreammaster is seriously twisted. Gopher Wood is his name, right? Fine, fine...'
Aventurine was furious—so furious that he started swearing in his mind, his fists clenching tightly.
At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to punch Sunday in the face.
And that Dreammaster, Gopher Wood, who was controlling everything behind the scenes, deserved a punch as well.
"Mr. Aventurine, look at you. You're getting anxious."
Sunday remarked with a smile that was clearly sarcastic, filled with mockery.
"Fine. You win."
Aventurine frowned and cast Sunday an irritated gaze.
How could he not be anxious?
It should be known that his Cornerstone, the Aventurine Stone, was no different from his lifeline.
To seize shares of Penacony, he had personally smashed the Aventurine Stone to pieces, which was basically telling Diamond 'fuck you' to his face. If he managed to take Penacony, then that sacrifice would be fine—profit came first, merit could make up for fault, and there would still be gains.
But now, things were clearly heading in an unpredictable direction.
Clearly, The Family was not afraid of his investigation at all—and their confidence meant they were fully prepared.
Given that, it would not be easy to find any leverage.
If he failed, he would truly lose everything.
"Since that's the case, Mr. Aventurine, you may keep the Topaz Stone, the Jade Stone, and your SHATTERED Aventurine Stone, and move freely within Penacony."
Sunday pushed the box back toward Aventurine and even named the three Cornerstones one by one correctly, deliberately stressing the word 'SHATTERED' with a fake smile that was practically dripping with irony.
Noticing this, Aventurine understood perfectly that he had been completely under their control and mercy from the very beginning—every plan he had made was already within The Family's grasp.
"Don't get smug—the game isn't over yet."
Leaving these words behind, Aventurine departed with the three Cornerstones.
*BANG!*
As Aventurine left the council chamber, he didn't forget to slam the door shut heavily, a gesture that clearly indicated his fury.
"Hmph. In front of Father, all of you are nothing but clowns."
Sunday curled his lips slightly as he mocked the Ten Stonehearts.
Fortunately, he had acknowledged his father early, or else he would have ended up just like Aventurine, being played around by Lucian like a fool.
===
Outside Dawnlight Pavilion, Aventurine held the fragments of his shattered Aventurine Stone, feeling both bitter and helpless.
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have smashed it..." Aventurine muttered with a frown. "Owing favors to Topaz and Jade, only for it to turn out to be useless... Damn it..."
Thankfully, just as Sunday had said, The Family really did just let him walk in and do whatever he wanted in Penacony.
"Whatever... Since things have come to this, I'll find a way to reach the Dreamflux Reef mentioned in the intel... the real Penacony..."
Aventurine put away the Cornerstones, forced himself to calm down, and tried to encourage himself.
As long as he found the Dreamflux Reef, he would have leverage against this fake dream world, and when the time came, he would definitely make The Family regret letting him in. He would definitely make that Dreammaster understand how deadly it was to gamble with him—Aventurine.
As Aventurine walked along the street, lost in thought, a car suddenly stopped beside him.
"Hey, young man, where are you headed? Need a ride? Anywhere you want, I can take you."
Recently, with parts of the Dreamscape under reconstruction and some traffic restricted, people had started working as taxi drivers, driving passengers around for good money.
"No, thank you," Aventurine rejected calmly, shaking his head. "You can't find the place I'm going to anyway."
No joke.
A secret place like Dreamflux Reef was known by very few people in Penacony. If the IPC had not had so many deeply embedded spies in Penacony, they would never have obtained this intel at all.
"Heh, I can't find the place, you say? Y'know, there's nowhere in Penacony I can't reach. Suit yourself."
Leaving these words behind, the driver drove forward a bit and continued soliciting another passenger.
Driver: "Miss, need a ride?"
Girl: "I wanna go to Dreamflux Reef. You going there?"
Driver: "Get in! We'll be there in no time!"
"..."
Aventurine, standing about ten meters away, froze upon hearing their conversation.
'Wait, that secret place is accessible?'
'You could just take a taxi there?'
'What the hell was going on in Penacony?'
'Why had our spies sent no new intel about this?'
Aventurine thought in bewilderment, then became convinced that it was, apparently, time to clean house among those spies.
Such a huge change, yet not a single update—those spies were utterly useless.
Thanks to them, he now suddenly felt like a clueless country bumpkin.
"Hey! Driver! Driver! Wait for me! I need a ride to Dreamflux Reef, too!"
Aventurine took off running, unwilling to miss this opportunity.
===
Inside Dewlight Pavilion, Sunday was drinking red wine elegantly, reveling in his success in humiliating Aventurine, when Lucian suddenly appeared before him.
As soon as Sunday saw Lucian, his hand trembled, and the wine glass in his hand almost spilled.
"F-Father..." Sunday quickly set down his wine glass, poured a glass of wine for Lucian, and respectfully offered it to him. "Aventurine just left. Every step he took was exactly as you predicted. He was furious."
"Mm. Just ignore him," Lucian replied nonchalantly, then calmly sipped the wine. "Next time you see him, tell him that the ruler of Penacony is called 'Lucian.' He'll know what to do."
He simply wanted to tease Aventurine a bit.
Knowing that Aventurine had come to Penacony to seize shares, he clearly deserved a bit of mockery and a few lessons.
"Understood, Father..." Sunday nodded, then asked respectfully, "Did you come to see me for something important?"
Lucian went straight to the point.
"Very important. It concerns Penacony's future. I've thought it through, and only you can handle this..."
Hearing this, Sunday's expression immediately turned serious.
If even his omnipotent and omniscient father treated it with such gravity, it had to be significant.
"Sunny, change your look first: middle-parted hair and suspenders."
===
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