The meeting place chosen by Brolon Albert was a prince’s mansion in Dubai.

“Why couldn’t he come to Siberia?”

Sigurd asked with his dead fish eyes, not very keen on going so far, especially to a desert area.

He decisively continued:

“Tell him the meeting place is going to be in Shenzhou, Huangshan, in three days, now, are you coming or not?”

“Well… you know, Brolon is quite afraid of death, going to Huangshan might be… cough!”

Under Sigurd’s dead fish stare, Cocolia’s voice grew quieter, eventually ending in a dry cough, and she replied:

“Alright, Shenzhou works too. Schicskal influence on that area is relatively limited. Plus, the scenery is good, no worse than Dubai. I’ll go reply to him.”

As Cocolia approached the door, Sigurd suddenly spoke in a soft tone:

“I want eighty percent of the money received from Brolon.”

“Why? That’s money I earned myself!”

As if her fox tail had been stepped on, Cocolia’s expression changed, displaying an uncompromising attitude.

“For this matter, you still need my cooperation. Besides, I’ve been covering the meals at the orphanage for the past few months.”

“You… eighty percent is too much! At most, I’ll give you four… sixty… seventy percent! Seventy percent, consider it payment for meals, it can’t go any higher!”

In Sigurd’s unchanging dead fish eyes, Cocolia’s initial asking price kept lowering and lowering until it settled slightly higher than Sigurd’s initial offer at seventy percent.

Sigurd nodded.

With a grinding of teeth, Cocolia angrily slammed the door and stormed out.

“Dammit!”

From outside the door, her sharp roar could be heard, along with the sound of stomping in frustration.

Inside the room, Sigurd’s lips curled upwards.

It wasn’t that he cared about the small amount of money, but who wouldn’t want to get a freebie?

Moreover, this was one of the details in establishing his dominance; it wasn’t just about perverse enjoyment!

…

“Bronya, let them know to pack their bags. We’re going on a trip, departing at noon.”

“Sure, where are we going?”

“Shenzhou, Huangshan.”

“Oh…”

Bronya paused her work on tuning the drone.

It was a device shaped like rabbit ears for signal amplification, nearly half her height, equipped with various light and heavy weapons, as well as laser weaponry.

Then, she raised her head slowly.

“A trip? To Huangshan?”

Both were extremely unfamiliar terms, making Bronya wonder if she had misheard something.

“You guys go on a trip, I’ll handle official matters.”

Sigurd added.

Going to handle business while incidentally traveling, that made more sense.

Funded vacation, Bronya had heard of that in the military before, although this would be her first real experience.

“Understood, Bronya will plan accordingly.”

“By the way, is Kiana still not up?”

“She said she doesn’t need to train today, she wants to sleep in. Before going to bed, she told us not to wake her.”

Sigurd nodded, glanced at the sunlight outside the window – perfect timing.

“Icarus, execute program A-04.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

Ten seconds later, a loud crash sounded from the bedroom.

A certain white-haired girl was lying on the corridor floor with her backside raised, holding onto her blanket, drooling at the corner of her mouth, looking bewildered.

“Clean up properly, we’re going out at noon. Breakfast is in the kitchen, help yourself.”

Without looking at her, Sigurd walked past, leaving these words behind before disappearing around the corner of the corridor.

…

A military base in Siberia, a luxury aircraft, chartered.

“We’re taking off! Woohoo!”

Kiana stood at the front of the plane, raising her hands in celebration.

Beside her, Rozaliya mirrored her stance, identical movements, and the same excited voice, repeating:

“We’re taking off!”

“Rozaliya, have you ever been on a plane?”

“Never!”

“Hmph! I have, though it was a flying contraption made by Sigurd. It’s not exactly the same as an airplane.”

“Oh~ big sister Kiana is amazing!”

“Of course!”

One admired, the other boasted, and they continued their childish play as if no one else was around.

The remaining few children, the calmest were Seele and Bronya.

The former was a naturally calm individual, and the latter had seen enough military aircraft to not be impressed at all.

Liliya and Sin Mal were also quite excited and eager, but they followed behind Sigurd and Cocolia with restraint, not running around like the two lively ones.

“Hello, Captains. I am Captain Bronk, and our Snow Fox Squad will be responsible for your safety throughout this journey. It’s an honor to serve you!”

A tall and sturdy officer approached Sigurd and Cocolia, standing upright and saluting.

Sigurd glanced at him and nodded.

“Thank you for your hard work, keep it up.”

Cocolia, on the other hand, circled around him, then tapped his chest muscles with her knuckles. As Bronk’s muscles tightened, she grinned and said:

“We’ll leave it to you. I’ve heard that your Snow Fox Squad is one of the top elite teams within Anti-Entropy. Don’t disappoint me.”

“Yes!”

Then, two drones lifted Kiana and Rozaliya by their sides, taking them to the boarding gate, and the journey began.

…

Huangshan, a unique and breathtaking landscape among China’s famous mountains and rivers.

Clear skies revealed jagged peaks and steep cliffs, while cloudy moments shrouded the scenery in mist, giving it an ethereal appearance.

It’s famously said, “After seeing the Five Sacred Mountains, don’t bother looking at other mountains; after seeing Huangshan, don’t bother looking at the Five Sacred Mountains.”

The group of people bounced and hopped their way up the mountain.

It was mainly Kiana and Rozaliya who were the most exuberant, and they each pulled Liliya and Seele along.

Bronya had to follow to look after Seele, and then Sin Mal in turn followed along.

Finally, only Sigurd and Cocolia were left, walking calmly at the rear.

The Snow Fox Squad surrounded them – some in black sunglasses, clearly visible and maintaining the scene, while others stealthily moved through the forest, ready to provide firepower support at any moment.

Cocolia approved of their professionalism and coordination.

“Not bad. High average level of professionalism, good formation and coordination. Worth praising,” Cocolia remarked, though she didn’t really entrust the safety of the group solely to the Snow Fox Squad.

The real guardians of their safety were, first, the concealed Titan Unit stationed in the mountains, second, Sigurd’s various unknown methods, and third… despite the team being mostly women and children, a large portion of them possessed exceptional skills.

Common dangers weren’t a significant concern.

The role of the Snow Fox Squad was to maintain the facade and provide some convenience when needed.

As for Sigurd, he supported himself against the railing, climbing the mountain while observing this somewhat familiar yet profoundly unfamiliar scenery, as if reminiscing.

This Huangshan seemed more fantastical and beautiful than the one he had visited before.

Many of the travelers on the mountain path had black hair and dark eyes, yet there were also splashes of color, making Sigurd’s group, aside from the age and appearance factors, not particularly unusual in terms of hair color.

“What are you thinking about?”

Seeing Sigurd lost in thought, Cocolia asked.

Sigurd brushed away his faint melancholy and said calmly:

“Just thinking, Brolon Albert agreed to such demands. It seems the matters to discuss are not so simple.”

“Isn’t that alright? Both you and I are executors. Our influence is not to be underestimated, so concessions from Brolon are normal. Besides, whoever comes later should only be a stand-in for delivering a message; the location of the discussion doesn’t matter to him.”

“Yeah, it really doesn’t matter, not to me either. Has the liaison for the Shenzhou region been contacted?”

“She’ll arrive later tonight.”

“Alright. Enjoy the trip, you probably haven’t seen this kind of scenery much, right?”

Sigurd’s advice earned him an eye roll from Cocolia.

“I’d be interested if these mountains were made of gold and silver. The way it is now, not really.”

“…You really lack style.”

“Why do I need style? It’s not like I can create a few more Titans or make more money by standing still.”

“…”

Her reasoning was sound, but it didn’t prevent Sigurd from losing interest in the conversation.

Cocolia also didn’t bother pursuing an uninteresting topic and continued climbing the mountain in silence, contemplating whether this trip could still yield some benefits.

…

That night, atop Huangshan, within a lodge that seemed operational but was actually a branch of Anti-Entropy, Sigurd met with the representative of the Shenzhou division of Anti-Entropy.

“Commander Sigurd, Commander Cocolia, I am Sun Tan, honored to meet both of you.”

In Sigurd’s room, he was flipping through a thick dictionary.

Upon hearing the introduction, he looked up.

The newcomer was an elegant woman dressed in a white shirt and a long gray coat.

Her appearance was striking, with starry eyes.

However, she spoke in Russian, quite proficiently, indicating that she had been mastering the language for some years.

“Sun Tan, are you interested in joining the Starfire faction?”

Sigurd asked this question.

Both Sun Tan and Cocolia were taken aback by the content of the question, but also because Sigurd was speaking in Chinese.

Not the clumsy foreigner’s Chinese, but a fluent and natural expression that made it sound like his native language.

Sun Tan quickly recovered and replied in Chinese as well:

“If you see fit to have me, Sun Tan is honored and humbled by your consideration. However, the Anti-Entropy branch in the Shenzhou region has always been focused on cultivating and developing within this land. We have no intention of getting involved with any factions. I hope you understand, Commander.”

“That’s fine, it was just a casual question. You’re doing well as you are.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Sigurd didn’t want to beat around the bush any longer and spoke directly:

“I’ve heard that the Shenzhou tradition has a unique focus on controlling the power of the Collapse. I’m very interested in this and would like to ask for some guidance. Let’s discuss the terms.”

“This… martial arts have always been closely guarded secrets of ancient families and sects. I’m afraid I cannot help you with that, Commander.”

“It’s not a problem in that direction…”

As Sun Tan was trying to decline, Sigurd directly increased the offer:

“A hundred of the latest Titan units.”

“It’s not a matter of that…”

As Sun Tan was declining, Sigurd made a direct counteroffer:

“Five hundred units, plus funding for three years of your operations. It’s all for researching methods to counter the Collapse; we won’t misuse your techniques. I am very sincere. If you can’t, I can try trading with those sects and similar organizations. It might take more time, but I’m willing.”

“Well… let me make a phone call.”

“Feel free.”

Sun Tan walked to the window, muttered something into the phone for a while, and returned with a sunny smile:

“Commander, our Sun family happens to have access to some secret techniques that might be of assistance to you.”

“They should be techniques, not fragmented martial moves. Otherwise, I might as well learn military combat techniques from the army.”

“…I understand.”