Babel, Internal Conference Room.
Theresia sat at the head of the table. To her left was Kal'tsit, and to her right sat a Sarkaz maiden—the head of Babel's Engineering Department, Closure.
Further down, several of Babel's elite operators sat upright and attentive.
There was Ace, burly and composed; Scout, who always wore a lazy smile; and a young boy with a melancholic air about his brows—a youth of the Banshee race.
The boy's name was Aifanier, the son of the Banshee Lord, Lamalien.
At the very end of the conference table sat one more person.
Her name was Raidian, a logistics staff member who had recently joined Babel through Kal'tsit's recommendation.
She had beautiful short gray-silver hair and always wore a gentle smile on her face, looking like a harmless girl-next-door.
"I have summoned everyone here today for a new and important agenda," Theresia said, her voice clear as she looked around the room.
"As you must already know, Lord Lacey has returned and established the Kazdel Civil Livelihood Construction Department."
"Currently, Babel is fully supporting Lord Lacey's infrastructure plan." Theresia turned her gaze to Closure.
"Closure, I know your Engineering Department has been conducting maintenance and upgrades on the internal energy systems recently, but I hope you can spare some manpower and resources to assist the Civil Livelihood Construction Department."
"They need more professional engineering and technical support, especially regarding energy utilization and materials science."
"No problem, Your Highness!" Closure readily made an 'OK' hand gesture.
"I heard a while ago that some fierce character was coming back to handle infrastructure. I was wondering who it was."
"So it turns out to be the legendary 'Lacey the Undying'! Just leave it to me!"
Sitting beside her, Raidian's fingers, which were holding a water cup, paused imperceptibly upon hearing the name "Lacey."
She raised her head, a look of contemplation flashing in her eyes.
That name... she seemed to have heard it somewhere before.
"Miss Raidian, you just arrived, so you might not be clear," Scout, sitting next to her, noticed her expression. He leaned back lazily in his chair and explained with a smile.
"Lord Lacey is a living legend among us Sarkaz, one of the Seven Heroes."
"Back when the coalition forces were at our doorstep, it was he and the other six lords who forcibly beat the enemy back."
"In the eyes of us common Sarkaz, he is a figure like a deity, just like Her Highness."
"Correct." Ace, who was usually serious, nodded, his tone filled with admiration.
"When I first became a mercenary, the stories I heard most often were about Lord Lacey."
"It is said that he alone could shatter an entire heavy infantry phalanx. He simply isn't human."
The two of them chimed in one after another, their words full of worship.
"I... I met Uncle Lacey when I was little," Aifanier, who had been silent, suddenly whispered.
As soon as he spoke, everyone's eyes focused on him.
"My mother and Uncle Lacey are very good friends." The boy's cheeks flushed slightly.
"He even taught me how to play the bone flute."
"He said that the songs of the Banshees shouldn't only be played for death, but can also celebrate new life."
These words made the image of Lacey even more three-dimensional to everyone present.
He was not only a God of War but also a gentle elder.
Raidian listened quietly, the sense of familiarity in her heart growing stronger.
"Raidian?" Theresia noticed her distraction.
"Ah, apologies, Your Highness." Raidian snapped back to reality and apologized with a smile.
"I was just... somewhat curious about this Lord Lacey."
"He is a man capable of creating miracles," Theresia gave an extremely high evaluation.
The meeting continued, and Theresia began to assign specific tasks.
Babel's elites would be responsible for maintaining security at the construction site, preventing blind mercenaries or spies from causing trouble.
Kal'tsit's Medical Department would coordinate medical resources to ensure the health of the workers.
Raidian, as the person in charge of communications and intelligence processing, was tasked with establishing an efficient information transmission network to ensure smooth communication of orders between the Construction Department, Babel, and the Military Commission.
She recorded every instruction seriously, but in her mind, the figure of that man became increasingly clear.
After the meeting adjourned, Raidian remained in the conference room alone.
She walked to the map on the wall, her gaze falling within the borders of Yan, upon that mobile city-state named "Lungmen."
Lord Lacey was currently on his way there.
She gently placed her fingertips on the map.
Perhaps her coming to Kazdel and joining Babel was not merely to escape the past.
Perhaps this was the guidance of fate, allowing her to once again contribute her strength to that man who wanted to give the people a better life.
...
The land-vehicle drove crookedly into the checkpoint outside Lungmen City.
Several officers of the Lungmen Guard Department, dressed in blue uniforms, immediately stepped forward and made a gesture to stop the vehicle.
Their expressions were serious and their eyes sharp. The moment they saw the two people in the car, specifically their iconic Sarkaz horns, they immediately reached for the batons at their waists.
An officer who appeared to be a squad leader walked up and tapped the driver's window with his baton.
"Get out of the car. Submit for inspection," he said in a cold, hard voice.
Lacey turned off the engine and calmly pushed the door open to exit.
Ascalon followed him down. She said nothing, merely standing silently half a step behind Lacey.
This distance was enough for her to react the instant any accident occurred.
Her hand was already quietly resting on the grip of her weapon.
"Identification," the squad leader extended his hand.
"We are merchants from Kazdel," Lacey replied while observing his surroundings.
He noticed that not only the few men in front of him but also the officers on the distant sentry posts had locked their gazes onto them.
Recently, Ursus had been frequently active on the Lungmen border, so this level of alertness was normal.
But that hostility directed specifically at Sarkaz was an unspoken rule on the continent of Terra.
"Kazdel?" Hearing this name, the wariness in the squad leader's eyes intensified.
"Open the trunk. All cargo must be unboxed for inspection."
"We are not carrying cargo," Lacey said.
"Then we will conduct a body search on you."
The squad leader did not back down, his gaze sweeping over Ascalon. "Especially her. She must remove her hood and cooperate with our full search."
The scent of gunpowder instantly thickened.
Ascalon's knuckles tightened on her weapon, and a chilling killing intent began to uncontrollably dissipate outward.
She could tolerate these people's rudeness toward herself, but she would absolutely not tolerate their disrespect toward Lacey.
With just a look from Lacey, she was confident she could incapacitate every officer here within three seconds.
"Sir, we are just passing through."
Lacey's tone remained peaceful. He took a step forward, perfectly positioning himself between Ascalon and the squad leader, invisibly cutting off the maiden's almost boiling murderous intent.
"That kind of talk," the squad leader scoffed coldly. "In Lungmen, there is no such thing as 'passing through'."
The long baton in his hand raised slightly.
"Either cooperate with the inspection or turn back the way you came."
"If you attempt to resist, we will treat it as a terrorist attack and kill you on the spot."
The surrounding officers tightened their grip on their weapons, faintly forming an encirclement.
Nearby, people came and went. Many traveling merchants noticed the conflict here and steered clear, casting curious or gloating looks from afar.
Ascalon's breathing became imperceptible; she had already entered a pre-combat state.
Just then, Lacey sighed, seeming somewhat helpless.
He did not argue further. Instead, he reached into his breast pocket, fumbled for a moment, and then took out a folded document, handing it over.
"I think this should save us some unnecessary trouble."
The squad leader took the document suspiciously.
It was a letter on high-quality stationery with gold stamping, heavy in the hand.
He frowned and unfolded it. When he saw the crest at the top of the letterhead, as well as the handwritten signature of Adams Swire and the family seal at the bottom, the cold, hard expression on his face instantly solidified.
"The Swire... family?" he inadvertently read aloud.
This was not just a letter of introduction, but a "No-Search Pass" personally issued by the head of the Swire family.
In Lungmen, this meant the holder was equivalent to a distinguished guest of the Swire family, possessing extremely high priority for passage.
No department had the right to inspect or question them without a warrant.
Items like this—the entirety of Lungmen wouldn't issue three to five of them in a year.
Cold sweat seeped out on the squad leader's forehead.
He looked up, re-evaluating this seemingly unremarkable Sarkaz man before him.
How could a Sarkaz from Kazdel possess the highest level pass of the Swire family?
This was even more absurd than the Emperor of Ursus coming to Lungmen for morning tea.
"S-Sir... this..." His hand holding the document was trembling slightly.
"Do you need to verify it with your superiors?" Lacey asked.
"Yes! No, please wait a moment! I will report it immediately!" The squad leader was almost incoherent. He hurriedly turned around and reported nervously into his communicator.
The surrounding officers looked at each other in dismay. Although they didn't know what had happened, seeing the captain's reaction, they knew they had kicked an iron plate.
They unconsciously lowered their batons, and the originally tight encirclement loosened.
Less than a minute later, a reply came through the communicator.
After listening, the squad leader snapped to attention, turned around, and gave Lacey a standard salute.
"A thousand apologies, sir! I failed to recognize your status and wasted your time!" His attitude underwent a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.
"Your identity has been confirmed. Please allow me to extend my sincerest apologies to you!"
"Enter! Please enter! Hurry, please come in!"
He personally stepped forward to clear the path for Lacey, signaling the sentry post to release the barrier immediately.
Those officers who had looked wary before now lowered their heads, not daring to look at Lacey or Ascalon again.
Lacey nodded and said nothing more, leading Ascalon back to the vehicle.
The engine restarted, and the modified land-vehicle slowly drove into Lungmen under the awestruck gazes of the officers.
Only when the shadow of the vehicle disappeared from view did the squad leader let out a long breath, feeling his back completely soaked.
"Boss, what was that guy's background?" an officer leaned over and asked in a low voice.
"Don't ask what shouldn't be asked." The squad leader glared at him.
"In short, he's a big shot we can't afford to offend."
Inside the car, the atmosphere remained quiet.
The land-vehicle traveled on the wide, flat city roads; compared to the bumps outside the city, it was like gliding on clouds.
Ascalon watched all of this.
The noise of Kazdel was the shouting of markets and the quarreling of mercenaries.
The noise here, however, belonged to another kind.
"How do you have that?" She finally spoke, breaking the silence.
"That?" Lacey smiled. "You mean the proof from the Swire family?"
Ascalon nodded.
"About a few years ago, I came to Lungmen once."
Lacey's gaze looked out the window, as if recalling something.
"I happened to save a little girl who had been kidnapped."
"To express their gratitude, her family gave me a promise, saying that whenever I returned to Lungmen, I could make a request of them that wasn't excessive."
He paused, then added, "That family was the Swire family."
"This is also the reason I chose Lungmen, rather than Columbia or Victoria."
"One favor can be exchanged for the technology and supplies we need?" Ascalon was somewhat perplexed.
In her view, favors were the most unreliable things.
"Favors themselves aren't worth money, but when that favor is bundled with interests, it becomes a stepping stone." Lacey turned the steering wheel, turning onto a main road leading to the city center.
"Kazdel needs trade, needs technology, and needs a window to display itself to Terra."
"And Lungmen is the best choice."
"The first person I'm going to see is the grandfather of that little girl I saved back then—the current head of the Swire family, Adams Swire," Lacey said with a smile.
"Let's go. Time to meet our first potential investor."
________________________________________
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