When Jingliu singled them out, the color drained from Masha's face in an instant.
She truly hadn't expected that what this Sword Master wanted… would be the two newcomers who'd arrived just yesterday.
"L-Lady Jingliu!" Masha hurried forward a step. "This… this isn't appropriate!"
"Liu Ying might have some talent, but she's still a rookie. She has almost zero real combat experience."
"And her brother Wei Qing—he's a desk worker. He's never been in a fight. Sending them to Everwinter Hill… th-that's no different from sending them to die!"
Masha wasn't putting on a show. She was genuinely panicking.
Forget the fact that she'd brought the siblings here—if something happened, she'd be the one held responsible. And on a basic human level, she couldn't just watch two young people walk into a mission with a survival rate in the single digits.
Hans, the branch supervisor, frowned as well. He hadn't expected Jingliu to reach into the company's side and simply take people like this—wasn't that blatantly disregarding the IPC?
He spoke in a low, firm voice.
"Lady Jingliu, Masha is correct. Wei Qing and Liu Ying are not combat personnel. Their assignment is environmental assessment. They are not qualified for an operation of this danger level. The company cannot approve their participation."
Jingliu's gaze remained stubbornly fixed on Wei Qing and Liu Ying, as if every objection around her was just background noise.
"Didn't you just say it yourselves?" she replied coldly. "This Miss Liu Ying is a Pathstrider of the Hunt, and she came seeking my guidance."
"Guidance is not something delivered with empty words. Combat is the best teacher."
"The Path of the Hunt is pursuit and execution. Flowers grown in a greenhouse will never understand its meaning. If she lacks the courage to face danger, what right does she have to claim she walks that Path?"
It was so high-minded that Masha and Hans were left momentarily speechless.
After all, it was Masha who'd said Liu Ying was a Hunt Pathstrider in the first place—now it had become Jingliu's justification for requisitioning manpower.
"And you needn't worry about their safety," Jingliu added. "With me present, I can keep the two of them alive."
Liu Ying's cheeks puffed slightly with anger, but she couldn't argue back. She wasn't afraid of danger—she just hated the idea of operating alongside this woman who might've "hurt" her senior.
She looked to Wei Qing again, eyes full of pleading: Refuse her. Refuse her right now.
But Wei Qing's response once again exceeded her expectations.
"To be noticed by Lady Jingliu is an honor for my sister and me," he said, voice calm and respectful. "If we can contribute—even slightly—to eliminating the Stellaron and protecting Jarilo, we won't shrink from duty."
"B-Bro?!" Liu Ying blurted, stunned.
Masha nearly exploded. "Wei Qing! Do you even know what kind of place that is?! This isn't a picnic!"
Even Hans's expression darkened. "Wei Qing, employee movement requires approval. This is not a decision you get to make unilaterally!"
Wei Qing turned to Hans, still polite—yet his words carried a subtle pressure.
"Supervisor, Lady Jingliu is right. We may be desk staff, but we also want to do something for this land. And with someone as strong as Lady Jingliu leading, safety should be assured."
On the surface he was agreeing with Jingliu—yet he neatly shoved the burden back onto Hans. If Hans insisted on opposing it, wouldn't that make the company look like it was retreating and abandoning Jarilo's security?
Hans choked on the implication, his face shifting.
At the side, Guardian Alisa watched with her heart in knots. She desperately wanted the Stellaron resolved, but she understood the danger better than anyone.
Letting two outsiders—two obvious noncombatants—into such a mission was indefensible by any standard.
"Lady Jingliu," Alisa finally said, voice earnest, "I admire your resolve, but I can't rest easy letting these two—perhaps I should personally select a team of our most elite builders—"
"No need." Jingliu cut her off, still staring at Wei Qing and Liu Ying. "I only want them."
Her stubbornness was bordering on tyranny, and the pressure in the room turned suffocating.
In the end, the cultured Xianzhou representative sighed and stepped in to smooth things over.
"If Lady Jingliu insists… Supervisor Hans, Guardian Alisa, perhaps this is also an opportunity."
"With Lady Jingliu personally guarding them, the risk should be controllable. And if these two young friends gain experience from this mission, it may not be a bad thing for the company or for Belobog's future."
He offered both sides a staircase down.
Hans fell silent for a moment, then finally nodded stiffly. "...Very well. The company will not oppose it in principle. But their safety must be guaranteed."
It was addressed to Jingliu, more of a formal disclaimer than anything else.
Alisa, seeing the matter settled, nodded heavily. "I'll have the Iron Guard prepare the latest equipment and maps, and establish an outer rendezvous point."
"No large troop formations," Jingliu said flatly. "You'll only increase casualties. Equipment and maps will suffice."
She left no room for further debate, turned, and strode out.
"Tomorrow morning. At the city gate."
Her ice-cold words lingered behind as she disappeared down the corridor.
The meeting ended in an eerie, oppressive mood.
Masha looked like she was about to cry as she grabbed Wei Qing and Liu Ying. "Why did you agree?! That's a Stellaron! Even the company won't touch it!"
Liu Ying didn't speak. Not because she wasn't confused—she was—but because she suddenly remembered something important.
They were Stellaron Hunters.
Their job here was to find a Stellaron.
She'd been so deep in the act—and so angry at that "bad woman"—that she'd almost forgotten their identity.
"Masha, don't worry," Wei Qing said with a smile, as if this were just company-mandated outdoor training. "We'll be careful. And isn't this exactly what we came for—special project experience?"
He paused, then asked casually, "By the way, if Lady Jingliu can't resolve the Stellaron and instead brings it back… what do you all plan to do?"
Masha, still drowning in guilt and fear, froze and answered instinctively.
"B-Bring it back? Wei Qing, don't even think that! A Stellaron is insanely dangerous—if even Lady Jingliu can't deal with it, you mustn't touch it at all!"
She lowered her voice urgently. "There's no universally reliable method to handle a Stellaron anywhere in the galaxy. Not even the company."
"It's not like branches haven't tried to research them privately before, but…" Terror flickered across her face. "It always ended in catastrophe. Whole branches got wiped out by energy eruptions from the inside."
"Headquarters issued a hard order: no one is allowed to privately handle or retain a Stellaron. Violators…" She swallowed. "The consequences are extremely severe."
Hans had approached at some point, adjusting his glasses.
"Wei Qing, Masha is correct."
"A Stellaron is not loot. It is a highest-level contamination source and energy body. Your mission is only to assist Lady Jingliu and provide support if necessary. Do not—do not—attempt to touch a Stellaron."
"And do not bring it back to the company."
He emphasized the word do not twice, his gaze sharp and warning as it cut across Wei Qing and Liu Ying.
Hans had to ensure these two "newbies" understood the stakes—so they didn't do something stupid and drag the whole branch down with them.
"Haha. Of course, Supervisor," Wei Qing said, looking properly chastened, nodding quickly. "Thank you and Masha for the warning. We'll follow regulations strictly and won't act recklessly."
But Liu Ying secretly clicked her tongue.
The Stellaron was their target. There was no way they'd hand it to the company.
And the company's attitude was irritating—less responsible than the Xianzhou people, honestly.
Hans seemed satisfied with Wei Qing's demeanor. He gave a short grunt, told Masha a few things about mission reporting and equipment requisition, then left.
Masha watched him go before turning back to the pair, worry written all over her face.
"You heard him, right? Don't try to be heroes. Listen to Lady Jingliu's arrangements. Keeping yourselves alive is the most important thing."
"I…I'll go prepare some things you might need."
She hurried off, her back tense with anxiety.
As the crowd dispersed, only Wei Qing and Liu Ying remained in the now-emptier corner of the hall.
Liu Ying leaned close and whispered, "Senior! Why did we agree to that bad woman? She's obviously doing this on purpose!"
In her view, Jingliu's behavior was targeted—hostile for no reason.
Yes, they were Stellaron Hunters. Yes, the Stellaron was their objective. But they could've avoided Jingliu entirely, moved in the shadows—why walk straight into her palm and let her direct them?
"And she's being this blatant—she must've noticed something, right?!"
"It shouldn't be that," Wei Qing replied.
Jingliu's reaction was bizarre, but Wei Qing was completely certain: she had not found any concrete flaw in his disguise.
He paused, then shrugged slightly.
"Mm… she probably heard my name and got triggered."
That was his conclusion.
Part of it really was that he couldn't be bothered to change what people called him—but he genuinely hadn't expected Jingliu to react this hard just because she heard "Wei Qing," like anyone in the universe with that name had to be guilty.
Unbelievable.
A dignified Luofu Sword Champion throwing her weight around—what did my name ever do to you?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
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TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter116)
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I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
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Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 80
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 74
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 48
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 50
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 47
Uma Musume: From Beginner 42
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