Quadruple split.

Chapter 2666 Interlude: Policy
Game time AM07:49
Anka Market, Burning Bear Alley, Destruction King Mercenary Group Base
"so……"

Wang Badan lay in the best-lit spot in the middle of the courtyard, basking in the morning sun. He squinted his already small eyes and said in a deep voice to the young man and woman standing in front of him, "Are you sure that damn...feather egg or something else isn't your illegitimate child?"

Mo Tan shook his head with an unfriendly expression, a flash of electricity crossing his forehead, and said in a dry voice, "I've said it many times, this little guy was teleported back with us from that [Ascension Fortress]. Can't you understand human language?"

"Om-!"

At the same time, the badminton shuttlecock that had been pressed against Mo Tan's shoulder suddenly shot up in front of Wang Badan, made a series of buzzing sounds, and then quickly retreated back behind Mo Tan.

"Sister!!"

Wang Badan turned to Ji Xiaoge with resentment in his eyes, and said with tears in his eyes, "It was mean to me!"

"Little...Little Feather! You're not allowed to bully Little Turtle!"

Ji Xiaoge immediately turned to the badminton shuttlecock behind Mo Tan's shoulder. Although she was a little hesitant, she still mustered her courage and said in as firm a voice as possible, "He is the older brother!"

"Buzz! Buzz!"

The shuttlecock, which Ji Xiaoge called 'Little Feather,' was teleported back to Anka Market from the Ascension Fortress with the two of them for some unknown reason. It shook itself disdainfully, circled around Mo Tan's head once, and then stopped on his shoulder. Under Ji Xiaoge's angry gaze, it actually floated up slightly and rubbed against the handsome half-dragon's cheek.

"Hey!"

The winged girl was furious and angrily reached out to grab the shuttlecock: "That's mine, little feather, you're not allowed to touch it!"

"Om-!"

However, being a winged creature, small and agile in size, and far faster than Ji Xiaoge's shuttlecock, there was no way it could be caught by the latter. It simply swayed lightly in mid-air, avoiding the girl's slender white fingers, and darted to Mo Tan's other shoulder, continuing to float up and rub against her face.

"Ahhhh!"

The girl, her face flushed with anger, glared at Mo Tan, who looked innocent and was indeed innocent, and snapped, "Aren't you going to do anything about it?!"

"Okay, okay, stop making trouble."

So, Mo Tan raised his hand and poked the greasy badminton shuttlecock on his shoulder, then casually drew the long sword from his waist, transformed it into the [Akatsuki Shura Halberd], and steadily aimed it at Wang Badan: "You too, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll rip your shell off."

Upon hearing this, Wang Badan immediately lost his temper and shouted, "Brother, are you even human?! Why is it that when that brat causes trouble you just say 'okay, okay, stop it,' but when I ask him a couple of questions I get my skin ripped off?!"

Mo Tan stared at Wang Ba Dan expressionlessly, his Shura Halberd as steady as a mountain: "You've already rambled on about this a hundred times. Who asks a question so casually as you do?"

"But it really works!"

Wang Badan glared at Mo Tan defiantly and said seriously, "Think about it, you and my older sister disappeared for so long without any reason, and then when you came back, you suddenly brought back a flying egg. You are a half-dragon, and dragons lay eggs, so you must have half of the genes of an oviparous species in your body. My older sister is a winged half-beast, and normal birds lay eggs, so she also has half of the genes of an oviparous species in her body. Half plus half, isn't that a complete egg? What's more, that thing also has wings!"

Mo Tan: "...Do you even think what you're saying makes sense? If that's the case, then your dad is a dragon, your mom is an oviparous magical beast, so shouldn't you be a double-yolk egg?"

"What do you think!"

Wang Badan immediately raised his head high and said arrogantly, "Otherwise, how could I be so outstanding?"

"Listen up, you tyrant."

Mo Tan gritted his teeth and glared at the turtle in front of him, saying in a deep voice, "You and I have a blood pact, and I also have the talent of [Knight's Spirit - Honesty], so from the beginning you knew very well that Little Feather had nothing to do with me and your older sister. In other words, you are just making trouble for the sake of making trouble! So I'm warning you for the last time, if you talk nonsense again, I will definitely tear off your shell, and I mean it!"

Wang Badan, who had almost shrunk back into his shell because Mo Tan called him by his full name, shuddered, muttered a few curses, and then fell silent.

"And you too..."

Mo Tan turned listlessly to the badminton shuttlecock resting on her left shoulder and said helplessly, "It's good to have energy, and it's okay to be lively, but can you please stop deliberately provoking them? Don't think I can't see through you, you're doing it on purpose."

The shuttlecock wrapped itself up with its delicate and beautiful feathers, whether it realized its mistake or simply didn't want to pay attention to Mo Tan, it was hard to tell.

"Ugh--"

Mo Tan, who had been sighing for almost half his life these past two days, sighed again, rubbed his temples in pain, and began to miss the problems that could be solved simply by taking action.

The cause and effect of the matter is quite simple. To put it simply, after Mo Tan and Ji Xiaoge were teleported back to Anka Market, they discovered that the badminton shuttlecock from the [Ascension Fortress] had also followed them. Then, Wang Badan inexplicably started acting up, and the badminton shuttlecock's excessive clinginess to Mo Tan caused a certain winged beauty to become jealous, ultimately leading to this chaotic and helpless situation.

As for the Paw Patrol, Ya Ya and Gu Xiaole mostly come over to cause trouble, and occasionally they are not present due to food or the distraction of the Samurai Spirits.

As for the Destroyer Mercenary Group, Bill and his team have been busy working with someone from Anka Market to "clean up the mess," such as erasing all information about the Unicorn Mercenary Group. They've been working hard most of the time.

That's right, it's work. Although the members of the Destroyer Mercenary Group who remained in Anka Market were mostly young people and their strength was far inferior to the elites who were taken away by Vice-Captain Rimrain, they received a job that was extremely lucrative and not difficult at all. That was to clean up the mess for the Anka Market Supervision Bureau and carry out a high-intensity cleanup of the Playground, the Excavation Site, and even some of the Woodlice's businesses in Anka Market.

It sounds quite fashionable, but in Bill's words after his first day of work, it can basically be categorized as 'manual labor,' while the real complex problems that needed to be dealt with were mostly handled by the regulatory authorities.

Of course, the work is simple, but the pay is quite substantial. However, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the underlying logic of this job is actually a form of 'compensation' and 'hush money' given by the regulatory agency to the Destruction King Mercenary Group!
As for what was patched up and what was sealed off, and who else besides the regulatory bureau was actually spending money to avoid trouble, these are unspoken secrets that everyone knows but will not be brought to the forefront.

As very pragmatic 'mercenaries,' Bill and his group, though young, didn't see anything wrong with this kind of thing. In fact, in their circle, it was common for people to fight to the death during missions because of conflicting positions, and then meet up again after the mission to go to a tavern for a couple of drinks. So, as long as it wasn't something too malicious, everyone was pretty open-minded about it.

Therefore, with the only one who harbored ill will towards the Destroyer King, the [Watow Bug], already killed and his forces collapsing, even though they suspected that the so-called compensation and hush money were mostly related to the [Viper Merchant Guild], Bilger and his group accepted the mission without hesitation, becoming cleaners without any reservations. However, they also stated that if the [Woof Woof Adventurer Team], the great benefactor of the [Destroyer King Mercenary Group], asked for their help, they would be willing to continue fighting the remnants of the [Viper] in Anka to the bitter end.

As expected, neither Mo Tan nor Ji Xiaoge thought there was anything wrong with Bill's decision. As for Ya Ya and Gu Xiaole, they were even eager to help.

In short, the Paw Patrol had a few rare days of leisure. Although one of the characters with multiple roles wasn't particularly relaxed, it was still quite precious. Under these circumstances, the trouble caused by Wang Badan and badminton naturally made Mo Tan even more worried. In addition, Ji Xiaoge, who was often jealous of badminton, made every day incredibly lively.

"Damn it, Little Feather was clearly closer to me at first, how come she's become so attached to you so soon!"

Ji Xiaoge pouted angrily and muttered, "It's fine if you want to stick to me, but you always mess things up when I want to be affectionate. How awful, you're so mean!"

Mo Tan could only try to persuade Xiao Yumo to spend a little while with her sweetheart (Ji Xiaoge was occasionally jealous of badminton, and occasionally jealous of Mo Tan), while changing the subject: "Speaking of which, are you sure you want to go back to Tianzhu Mountain to complete that keystone?"

"I am sure."

With only one step left to complete the task, Ji Xiaoge nodded vigorously and said seriously, "Although theoretically I can handle that thing now, because an accident has already happened before, I still want to add another layer of insurance. If something really happens in Tianzhu Mountain, I believe my mentor will help solve it."

Mo Tan nodded and said quite frankly, "Master Lu's words are indeed true; no matter what, you will not encounter any accidents."

"And I also want to see Jadka."

Ji Xiaoge pursed her lips and said softly, "He was so badly injured back then. Even though Tianzhu Mountain is very powerful and could even stabilize Ya Ya's previous condition, I was always worried about what kind of aftereffects there might be. In addition, Lu Jiang and Cordova were very secretive when they talked to us about Lao Jia. I... I felt that it would be more reassuring to see him in person."

Mo Tan, who was also worried about Jadka, nodded slightly and said decisively, "I think so too. Don't worry, whether you're going back to complete the mission or to check on Jadka, I will support you unconditionally."

"Hehe, I already know that without you saying anything~"

Ji Xiaoge smiled sweetly, then her gaze sharpened slightly, and she said softly, "Besides, we're only going back temporarily this time. After confirming that Lao Jia is alright and completing my mission, we'll still need to return to Anka before deciding on our next course of action."

Upon hearing this, Mo Tan's expression turned serious, and he said softly, "That's right, we still have things to do."

At the same time, Wang Badan and Yu Qiu, who had been restless, also calmed down. One lay quietly on the ground, and the other snuggled comfortably in Ji Xiaoge's arms.

Clearly, this is a rather serious topic, not really suitable for jokes—the next course of action for the [Woof Woof Adventurer Squad].

The reason for the somewhat serious tone is that they have finally stopped adventuring around as casually as they used to, and have found a very clear, but rather outlandish, goal.

Destroy the Viper Merchant Guild!
This positive energy public welfare cause, which sounds like a joke to any serious person and has been impossible for countless people over thousands of years to accomplish, has actually been taken as the ultimate goal by the [Woof Woof Adventurers Squad], a group that is not weak but is definitely not that strong either, to the point that it is somewhat laughable.

but--

At least within the [Woof Woof Adventurer Squad], everyone takes this goal quite seriously. Although Jadka is not yet aware of it (not really), Mo Tan knows very well that the old man will not raise any objections after learning the whole story.

Whether it's that hell on earth called "The Playground," or the blank, empty, and confused eyes of those cannibals who were merely numbered and used as expendable resources, every time we recall them, we feel a deep-seated resentment.

Therefore, after a brief discussion, led by Mo Tan, everyone unanimously decided to adopt Ji Xiaoge's proposal and target the terrifying behemoth, the Viper Merchant Guild, vowing to completely destroy it.

This plan will be implemented after Mo Tan and the others return to Anka Market from Tianzhu Mountain and are officially ready to continue their journey. With their own channels and connections, as well as the various materials they found at the [Excavation Site], Mo Tan and the others have reason to believe that a corner of the mysterious veil of the [Moth Lady] has been lifted.

"All beginnings are hard."

As Mo Tan stroked the hilt of the [Dawn - Ruthless Sword], he said softly, "Now that we have completed the beginning by eliminating Anka's [Tide Insects], we will definitely gain something in the next operation... no, we will achieve something."

"Anyway, let's go back up the mountain to see Lao Jia and take care of my task while we're at it."

Ji Xiaoge took a deep breath and said seriously, "No matter what, I have to become stronger. Even if I can't make those wicked bastards afraid of me, I have to at least be strong enough not to hold everyone back!"

"But you're already very good."

"So, would you be happy if I took off my goggles whenever I wanted?"

"unwilling."

"Hehe, I'm not happy about it either, so I'm still not good enough~"

"But I don't mind if you let the enemy know what it means when necessary that 'food is iron, food is steel'."

"Have you been getting more and more talkative lately?!"

"Yes."

"why!"

"Because you always overthink things that make you unhappy, but I prefer you when you're happy."

"Well!!!"

Chapter 2657: The End