Luofu Seat of Divine Foresight, General's Office—
"Give me an explanation for the points issue quickly, otherwise don't blame me for turning hostile and making a scene, not recognizing you as the Master Diviner General!"
Fuli leaned heavily on the table, his body tilting forward significantly, glaring angrily at the pink-haired shorty behind the desk.
"We haven't seen each other for a few days; why has your temperament become so impetuous?"
Hearing this, Fu Xuan, who was sipping tea leisurely, put down her porcelain cup and turned around unhurriedly. She pushed another cup filled with rich, fragrant tea in front of the boy: "Here, drink a cup of tea to moisten your throat first."
"It's not your problem, so naturally you're not anxious!"
Fuli, unable to quell his anger, didn't care if there were "computer parts" (aphrodisiacs) in it, picked it up, tilted his neck, and gulped it down. Glug glug glug.
"Pwah! Pwah! Pwah! How much sugar did you add?"
"Naturally, the more the better."
The girl General smiled, her delicate fingertips lightly tapping the cup wall.
"Tsk."
The Human Immortal Dao circulated once in his body, thoroughly digesting the sweet and sticky substance he had just ingested.
Slamming the empty teacup back onto the table, Fuli harrumphed: "Anyway, hurry up and normalize it for me. Isn't this obviously driving people away? Is this your attitude towards guests who traveled thousands of miles to attend the festival?"
The key problem went far beyond this. This Wardance involved teammates.
The upper limit for each team was four people, and the specific grouping was matched by the Matrix of Prescience itself. Currently, it was unknown who he would be fighting alongside.
But the team points were shared!
If Fuli's teammates found out that he was born with a debt of 80,000 points, wouldn't they point at his nose and curse him for dragging them down?
"It is human nature for the strong to start with a deficit in points; it is not targeted solely at you." Fu Xuan remained calm: "As the Galaxy Ranger representative said, if the list is dominated by those few Critical-rank powerhouses from beginning to end, wouldn't this competition be extremely boring?"
While chatting and laughing, the beautiful legs wrapped in exquisite seven-star white silk stockings crossed under the desk, swaying elegantly and alluringly.
"Moreover, an ordinary A-rank starts with only negative two thousand points. Even a Critical-rank powerhouse only starts with negative eight thousand." She teased: "You can make it up by completing a few more tasks. Why are you so anxious?"
As for driving away guests?
Monthly salary of 2,000 yuan, I am the boss's father.
Monthly salary of 100,000 yuan, the company is my home.
All dissatisfaction could be made up for with sufficiently generous returns.
The prize pool for this Starward Wardance was jointly funded by all participating parties. Its richness had reached an outrageous level where even the formaldehyde in the office smelled like money.
The pay was in place; you won't do it?
There are plenty of people who will!
Fuli shouted: "But you can't give me a negative 80,000 points!"
This was no longer a question of participating or not; this was a question of encountering unfair treatment!
If he didn't vent this anger, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night!
"Heh..."
Fu Xuan took a sip of Star Universe Boba Tea, a faint smile playing on her lips: "A mere 80,000 points. With your ability, catching up should be a piece of ca—"
Her voice stopped abruptly.
"Pfft! Wait! 80,000?!!"
Warm, white, turbid liquid—referring to milk tea here—sprayed out of the General's cherry-like small mouth without warning.
Fortunately, Fuli reacted quickly, his figure swaying, avoiding this sudden wet body play by a hair's breadth.
Fu Xuan couldn't care less about this at the moment. Her fingertip drew a stream of light in the air, calling up the overall points list of this Wardance.
Her jade finger slid down the light screen quickly. Finally, her gaze was fixed dead on the bottom of the list, on the Hyperion King who had a cliff-like gap with everyone else.
"This isn't right? Is there another bug?"
Rarely, those eyes that were always brimming with confidence revealed confusion.
As mentioned before about the negative score standard, logically speaking, Fuli, a Critical-rank, should have an initial negative score of 8,000.
That was why Fu Xuan didn't care about the boy's arrival at all, assuming he was careless and hadn't read the relevant announcement details carefully.
—But why is there an extra zero out of thin air behind this?!!
"Wait a moment."
Fu Xuan's expression turned solemn, and she immediately contacted the subordinate responsible for this matter via internal communication.
A moment later, under Fuli's hopeful gaze, she frowned: "The feedback from there says the system display is correct. Your initial score is indeed this."
"I don't care!"
Upon hearing this, the person involved simply slumped directly into the soft sofa used for receiving guests next to him.
He argued strongly: "Anyway, you must give me a reasonable explanation today, otherwise I will sleep on the floor here and won't leave!"
There's such a good thing?
Cough, cough!
"Perhaps there is a problem with the intimacy determination with the high-level officials of the Taixu Front."
Fu Xuan pondered, but immediately felt this explanation couldn't hold water.
To be honest, even a second-generation official like Yunli, Huaiyan's granddaughter who dealt with various high-level officials all year round, only had an initial status of negative ten thousand points or so.
Where did his 80,000 come from...
No! That's not right!
A flash of inspiration struck Fu Xuan's mind, and she suddenly realized a key point:
The points determination of this Wardance was completely left to the Chaos System of the Matrix of Prescience for calculation.
That thing probably calculated not only past relationships but very likely also included the possibility of potential future developments into consideration.
Taking Yunli as an example again, a relationship like grandfather and granddaughter was only worth 10,000 points in the Matrix of Prescience's judgment.
More intimate than such a relationship... that naturally could only be with the General...
"Mom!"
The soft and tender call seemed to ring in Fu Xuan's ears again.
She rubbed her temples, trying her best to ignore the phantom of her precious daughter hugging her thigh and calling her mom in her mind.
"It is probably because of the Marshal."
The General, not wanting to expose this point, chose to lie, throwing out a reason that seemed half-true and half-false to her.
"Cousin?"
Involving the second white moonlight, Fuli was indeed led astray.
"Look, your relationship with the Celestial is so close, and she is the supreme Marshal of our Taixu Front." Fu Xuan guided patiently: "The Matrix of Prescience has vast supernatural powers. Perhaps it is based on this that it judged your intimacy with our highest level to be more than a hundred times that of ordinary people, thus giving such an astonishing rating."
"Exactly!" She nodded solemnly: "This precisely shows that the relationship between you two siblings is extraordinary, and your friendship is deep!"
Indeed. Dr. MEI nodded in agreement: I am also looking forward to what kind of talented offspring the Host and Hua can produce in the future.
A natural Fusion Soldier?
Or, simply give birth to a Herrscher of Sentience directly?
Eh? Why must it be the Herrscher of Sentience?
"Is that so..."
Fuli habitually ignored the unscrupulous beauty's dirty talk, his bad mood improving visibly.
The relationship of cuddling with Cousin Hua actually got official certification from the Matrix of Prescience?
Hehe, happy~
"It's also possible that it's because our relationship will be particularly good in the future."
Accompanied by a slightly playful and pleasant female voice, a refreshing breeze swept through the room without warning.
In the next moment, the figure of the Heaven-Smiting General appeared ghost-like in the office.
"Yo!"
She winked her left eye at the boy, her long and narrow eyeshadow bringing astonishing charm.
Then she sat on the guest sofa on her own, crossed her fair and athletic long legs, her toes swinging comfortably in mid-air.
Almost forgot about this person!
Fu Xuan's gaze fell on the uninvited colleague, muttering to herself.
In all fairness, Feixiao and she had a pretty good personal relationship.
As a senior, the former also gave much support and care to this rising star.
If it were a timeline where Fuli didn't exist, their friendship would probably last a lifetime.
Now...
The struggle for the heir has always been like this?
Meanwhile, seeing the appearance of this heavy-drinking General, Fuli immediately recalled the sturdy scene of her rectifying military discipline and inviting him to battle on the deck that day.
But these were small matters.
"Even if I have a good relationship with my cousin, it doesn't mean I will ask her to help me cheat."
Fuli picked up the topic again, continuing to fight for his rights, but his attitude obviously softened a lot: "Hurry up, change it back to -8,000 points for me! Otherwise, I really quit and won't play anymore!"
He changed the subject, adding a hint of threat: "General, you should think clearly. Although I don't know which bastard is fueling the flames behind the scenes, recently the headlines of major media are all dominated by me. The popularity is super high and continues to this day!"
"Achoo!"
In the distant Schicksal encampment, a certain Savior of Light who wished to remain anonymous sneezed.
"If I quit, it will definitely be sensational big news, and a huge loss for Luofu's celebration this time!"
Fuli imitated the Far East tone, revealing a smile he thought was very evil to the girl: "General of Luofu, you also don't want to see the currently popular character angrily withdraw from this Wardance, right?"
"Sigh... how should I put it?"
Fu Xuan sighed, a trace of helplessness flashing in her eyes: "I specially set the rule that the closer the intimacy with the high-level officials of the Taixu Front, the lower the initial score. My intention was actually to euphemistically dissuade people like you from participating in this Wardance at will."
"Why?"
The boy became alert, putting away his playful expression.
"Because it's too dangerous!" Feixiao laughed and took over the conversation, but there was not much warmth in her laughter: "This time it's not an interactive game that ends with just sparring in the arena. Even if you are seriously injured in the mission, there won't be a professional medical team on standby 24 hours a day offstage."
"General Feixiao is right." Fu Xuan nodded, looking solemn: "The essence of this Wardance is to destroy those secret partisans and peripheral organizations that provide various support and transport huge funds for the World Serpent. It is a real local war with real swords and guns."
Even if the tasks were calculated and released by their Matrix of Prescience, for the executing contestants, every sortie was accompanied by real danger to life.
"Generous rewards are not so easy to get. There is no free lunch in the world."
Feixiao leaned back on the sofa, her expression becoming somewhat distant: "Those are things that have to be exchanged from the enemy's hands by risking one's life."
Scenes of battlefields experienced in the past flashed through her mind. She paused and continued to explain:
"However, based on the principles of the competition, General Fu cannot directly issue a public announcement telling all friendly forces of the Taixu Front that this mission is extremely dangerous, and those without skills shouldn't come to throw away their lives!"
"So you came up with such a crooked idea? Using negative points to euphemistically dissuade, so that relevant people in Shenzhou won't come to wade in this muddy water?" Fuli suddenly realized, then looked at Fu Xuan in surprise: "You can even play like this? Worthy of being a General."
This mind is like a honeycomb briquette, having many holes and being black.
"Therefore, the points absolutely cannot be adjusted." The girl General responded solemnly: "Once this precedent is set for you, others will definitely think it's just a system bug, and then swarm in to find officials at all levels to request points adjustment."
Consequences?
Safe and sound?
Real intentions exposed?
More people unaware of the truth getting involved?
All were possible, but it would be troublesome nonetheless.
Therefore, sacrificing Fuli as a typical example and using his ultra-high negative score to shut everyone's mouth became the most necessary choice at the moment.
"However, as compensation for being unable to adjust the points, I can give you some extra compensation within the scope of my authority."
Fu Xuan's tone softened.
She looked directly at Fuli and asked softly: "Speak, what do you want?"
Feixiao aside couldn't help but raise her sword eyebrows upon hearing this.
According to her understanding of her colleague, this one's character had always been strong and extremely assertive.
In similar situations in the past, she would usually only give a few pre-planned options for the other party to choose from.
But like now, handing over the initiative to the other party...
Thinking of Fuli's ridiculously weird initial negative score, and the bruise left on her wrist due to the clash with Origin Strike: Star Shatter during her spar with Fu Xuan two days ago...
Her agile fox ears turned, and Feixiao suddenly spoke: "How about this, set his reward to three times the original amount?"
"Besides, given that this festival is held in Luofu, and Luofu accounts for the majority of the reward share provided by the Taixu Front, taking out three times the reward at once will presumably make Luofu's finance worse."
She said seemingly kindly: "Why don't I use my accumulated salary to pay for this extra expenditure? Anyway, I don't have much expense other than regular weapon maintenance and daily meals. Just take it as an apology to you two for my drunken gaffe on the Moonseizer last time."
Sister is rich, sister will keep him!
"There is no need for General Feixiao to worry about this."
Fu Xuan immediately smelled a dangerous scent, and the corner of her mouth raised a very appropriate but hidden sharp official smile: "Danger is often accompanied by opportunity. Since the scale of this celebration is unprecedented, I am naturally confident that I can obtain returns and benefits far exceeding the investment from it."
Want to steal him? No way! He is the one I want!
The smile on Feixiao's face remained unchanged, but her eyes became more distant: "But those benefits and returns ultimately belong to Luofu as a whole, not to you personally, General Fu Xuan, right?"
Can public money be the same as paying out of your own pocket? Competing with me on sincerity?
Fu Xuan's smile became more brilliant, not giving an inch: "The Matrix of Prescience also belongs to Luofu's public property. The mistakes it caused should naturally be borne by Luofu as a whole."
I know what I'm doing, no need for General Feixiao to worry!
—Wait! While you two are arguing, have you asked for my opinion?
Fuli wanted to speak up to refute, but his crisis sense stopped the owner's suicidal behavior very well.
Moreover, three times the reward was a sure profit. In the end, it was only 80,000 points. As long as his teammates didn't drag him down, the boy was confident that he could quickly catch up and surpass.
After all—
"Two Generals, I want to report." He raised his hand obediently: "Ms. Cleo, the founder and director of World Serpent Pharmaceuticals, famous in the medical field, is actually a cadre of the World Serpent, engaging in Honkai Beast genetic modification and Stigmata activation research for a long time, codenamed Jackal."
Ha!
Didn't expect that!
Bro is a legendary Regressor!
Anyway, Fuli had found Jackal, that bastard, displeasing for a long time. Or rather, no normal person would like that psychopath. It was a good opportunity to pit her hard.
What? Raven, who is also a cadre?
She holds the Seven Thunders of Retribution after all. Fuli is also coveting that Key of Judgment. It's better to leave her for his own Mei to handle.
Meanwhile, Hyperion Reinforcement Workshop.
"Hit! Hit! Hit!"
A hot and sexy beauty was nervously clenching her fists, staring dead at the equipment reinforcement furnace in front of her, chanting words in her mouth.
"Yay!"
Accompanied by a dazzling light of success, Ciora jumped up excitedly.
She took out the peerless weapon with reinforcement level as high as +15 from the furnace preciously and stroked it fondly, revealing an innocent smile on her face.
Great!
As long as I find a sucker to sell this baby to, I'll be one step closer to the goal of buying that dream villa island!
"Congratulations, this distinguished guest."
A cold and pleasant female voice, yet with a trace of appropriately professional enthusiasm, sounded from her side.
Miss Ciora looked towards the voice. A tall, purple-haired beautiful girl with outstanding temperament was walking towards her.
The newcomer was dressed in a well-tailored uniform, setting off her skin as white as snow and her appearance as exquisitely beautiful.
It was none other than the Chief Scientist of Massive Electric, Raiden Mei.
The girl stopped in front of Raven. Her deep purple eyes first swept over the weapon with amazing energy fluctuations in the other's hand, then her gaze fell back on Raven's face, slightly flushed with excitement.
"Truly amazing luck and strength."
Mei lamented with a hint of praise, her voice soothing and magnetic: "You are the first guest in history to successfully reinforce a B-rank weapon to level fifteen. This is undoubtedly a feat worth celebrating."
She turned slightly sideways, elegantly making a gesture of invitation, pointing to a seemingly ordinary door deep in the workshop.
"According to Hyperion's convention, distinguished guests who achieve such accomplishments will be eligible to go to our inner courtyard."
"There is a prize prepared there matching your outstanding achievement. I believe it won't disappoint you."
"Please, follow me..."