The villain's way to tame the protagonist

But there are no ifs in this world. The fact is that Shitana Lancemalos, whom the young Hydra cared so much about, loved so much, and cherished so much, used her own strength and talent to formally announce her existence to the empire and the world.

Everything, whether it was the Shenghui Family, the fifth-order transcendents, or the Ether Academy... they were all just footnotes to her fame.

And in this footnote, Ming Fuluo and her "achievements" seem somewhat insignificant.

Of course, this is just the topic of discussion. From the perspective of practical ideas, there has been an endless stream of "big shots" coming into contact with the Tower of Babel in recent days.

Data system... the more far-sighted one is, the more knowledge one has accumulated, and the more one is willing to think deeply about it, the more terrifying it is, and the more potential it has. No big shot would choose to stop, and the Tower of Babel has once again come to the forefront because of this thing.

"Your Excellency the Grand Duke." Ming Furo bowed slightly to Grand Duke Mosu.

"Oh, Miss Zeger, please sit down."

The Grand Duke Mosu, who came to discuss matters, acted like a master: "Hendrick told me that he couldn't make a decision about the data system. I think... you should be able to do it."

Ming Fuluo, who was sitting on the chair next to her, was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Hendrick:

"Hendrick." Her face was expressionless, but her tone was serious. "Can you please step out for a moment?"

Hendrick was stunned for a moment, then nodded gently: "It's okay, you can have a good chat with His Excellency the Grand Duke, Ming Fuluo."

The leader of the Tower of Babel left his office, and Grand Duke Mosu, who came to discuss matters, raised his eyebrows with interest: "Why, do you still want to talk to me about some private transactions?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Ming Fuluo lowered her eyes slightly: "Before that, can you tell me the conditions you can offer?"

“I like straightforward people.”

Grand Duke Mosu nodded with great satisfaction. He snapped his fingers lightly, and a head fell to the ground out of thin air.

"Bina Karenst, a fifth-rank retainer of the Shenghui family."

The Grand Duke standing at the top of the empire held his chin with one hand: "You may not know that the crazy boy from the Shenghui family only hired a fifth-level from the Zero Point Explorer to cause trouble for you. The three fifth-level retainers of the Shenghui family are currently scattered everywhere and are well hidden."

"..." Ming Fuluo looked at the head on the ground and replied after a moment of silence, "Your Excellency the Grand Duke means that they will come to kill me."

"No one knows what orders Conrad gave them, but since that crazy boy failed... it's normal for them to take revenge on you and Babel."

Grand Duke Mosu raised his chin slightly: "So, it's not just you who will be unlucky. Your Tower of Babel is not the Ether Courtyard. If they go crazy and rush here to massacre indiscriminately..."

At this point, he curled his lips and said, "You may think that I am sensationalizing, but if this incident really happens, how much loss and casualties will be caused? Think about it yourself."

"I have already helped you solve the problem of one of the three people. It is a gift for meeting you and a token of my sincerity."

His tone was very relaxed: "Agree to the deal with me, and I will help you solve the other two. This is one of the conditions."

"…Then what about the second one?"

“The second is, of course, the most basic resources.”

Grand Duke Mosu waved his hand and said, "If you need anything, you can contact me. Whether it's basic resources that are in high demand or precious resources that are hard to find, you can name your price within half a year. I won't set an upper limit."

This overly generous attitude made it seem that Grand Duke Mosu did not come just for the data system.

As expected, he added, "Of course, you have Anser's support, so you don't have to worry about this. For specific circumstances, you can let my people contact Anser's people to check and fill in the gaps."

Seeing that Ming Fuluo was still silent, Grand Duke Mosu frowned slightly, but did not show any impatience, and continued to add:

"Third, regarding the issue of the Tower of Babel within the Ether Institute, I will work with the other two factions to help you resolve it. Of course, this will take some time."

Hearing this, Ming Fuluo spoke up, "Your Excellency the Grand Duke has offered such a price. What you want is not just the template and usage of the data system, right?"

"Of course, I want...all of them."

There was a hint of greed in Grand Duke Mosu's eyes: "From the most basic, the most fundamental idea to the entire process of turning it into reality, what I want... is this thing."

"I know you must be hiding something. Its potential is not as narrow as you showed in the lecture. This is a very new path. I want to explore its roots-"

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency." Ming Fuluo said calmly, "I will not agree to this."

"..."

Grand Duke Mosu narrowed his eyes slightly. As a fifth-level transcendent and the Grand Duke of the Empire, he certainly couldn't lose his temper with a little girl, but just the slightest emotion he revealed was not something that ordinary people could bear.

Ming Fuluo's expression did not change at all, she remained unwaveringly indifferent.

"...Oh, you are quite courageous."

Duke Mosu laughed, but didn't say anything like "Are you sure?" Instead, he simply lowered his requirements: "Then, I'll take a step back and build me a data system that tends to integrate magic. It only needs a foundation. I'll try its plasticity."

"can."

Ming Fuluo stared into Grand Duke Mosu's eyes and said, "You can reduce the proportion of other transactions. At the same time... I also want to propose the private transaction you mentioned just now."

"My grandfather, Erlien Zeger, what do you know about his death?"

The woman's words made Duke Mosu stunned for a moment. After two or three seconds, he finally reacted and then couldn't help laughing:

"Zerg, Mingfuluo Zeg, you are really courageous. Asking this question to your former enemy is not a good choice."

Back then, the Ether Institute and Erion were at loggerheads with each other. It was indeed a bit too bold of Ming Fuluo to raise this question to Grand Duke Mosu.

"If the interior of the Ether Court was an iron wall, the current situation would not have occurred."

Amid the laughter of Grand Duke Mosu, Ming Fuluo remained calm and said, "As the first one to contact us, the possibility that you are related to Grandpa's death is naturally the smallest."

The big shots care about interests, but those who care enough to ignore likes and dislikes and face are ultimately a minority among the minority.

Especially for a great noble like Grand Duke Mosu, it is almost impossible for him to go looking for his former "mortal enemy" in order to fight for the Holy Light inheritance.

In other words, among the numerous factions in the Aether Academy, Grand Duke Mosu's attitude towards Erion was not neutral, but at least not that bad.

"Yeah... that's right."

The man crossed his legs and became leisurely. "I didn't expect this was your request... Hehe, this doesn't need to be included in the deal, because if you want to investigate further, it will definitely disgust my old friends, which is also a good thing for me."

"...You mean." Ming Fuluo's eyes became sharper, "Grandpa's death is indeed related to certain people in the Ether Institute, right?"

"No, quite the opposite."

Grand Duke Mosu shook his head and said, "As far as I know, no one in the Supreme Nine has shown obvious murderous intentions towards Erion. You can understand that... at least no one wants to kill him directly - because that is too difficult and the cost is too high."

"but--"

"But he still died, quietly. Haha... I thought it was fake news at the time." The middle-aged man sighed and said, "Who could have thought that this would happen?"

Ming Fuluo was silent, with an icy expression on her cold and petite face, refusing anyone to pry into her thoughts.

“But you still said that if I continue to investigate, it will affect the Ether Institute.”

After a long time, Ming Fuluo said this.

"That's because, of course, they are the most likely to do such a thing."

Grand Duke Mosu nodded his head. "The Alchemy Association is made up of craftsmen who pursue skills, the Zero Point Explorers accommodate lawless lunatics, and only the Ether Academy... gathers a large number of scholars."

"Scholars mean richer knowledge, broader horizons, and more...sensitive thoughts."

"Although Erion was the enemy of the whole world at that time, isn't it obvious who was more hostile?"

Duke Mosu said this, and at the same time stood up, and took a last look at Ming Fuluo:

"However, I must remind you, Ming Fuluo... don't even think about replicating Erion's creation."

His eyes became somewhat dangerous:

"Because our Anser, the future Lord Hydra, seems to have some similarities with Erion in this regard."

"The reason why Erlien was able to study for such a long time and keep some people neutral despite proposing such an arrogant idea is because everyone knows that he can't do it, but you—"

The Grand Duke, who enjoyed extraordinary authority and noble status, narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "You might be able to influence Anser, and Anser... might really be able to make that kind of thing."

"By that time, haha... I can be sure that your ending will not be any better than Erion's."

"Take care of yourself, young man. What you have now and what you will have in the future are not easy to come by."

After saying this, his figure shattered into pieces like a phantom until it disappeared.

Ming Fuluo was the only one left in the office.

She took off her glasses, but her hands unconsciously exerted more force. The surging emotions in her heart were not suppressed by her reason, and when reflected in her behavior, they became more and more obvious.

Was he disappointed because he didn't get any valuable intelligence, or was he angry because of the warning given by Grand Duke Mosu before he left? Was he angry at him and the beings he represented...who were so arrogant, vicious, and cruel in trying to keep the world stagnant and solidified?

All of these, but not limited to them.

Grand Duke Mosu said that the young Hydra had some similarities with her grandfather.

After that day, Ming Fuluo chose to avoid anything related to Ansher as much as possible... She thought she was not escaping, but needed to calm down.

Think calmly about everything about yourself and Anser.

But the more she thought about it, the more she would suddenly have a thought in her mind when she was doing things, thinking, researching, and studying every day -

I... lost Anser.

After that day, when the big show ended, Anther carried Xitana on his back, ignoring her lying in the ruins, and left. This thought... no matter how Ming Furo tried to forget it, it would appear in Ming Furo's mind without warning, regardless of location, time, or situation.

It was like a thorn...wrapped around Mingfuluo's heart.

And the unintentional words of Grand Duke Mosu made the thorns tighter, hurting Ming Furo's heart all the time.

Anser and Grandpa are in sync... No, not only that, Anser and I resonate with each other, the only resonance we have.

But I... I lost him. No, he was the one who betrayed me first. He was the one who -

Whenever Ming Furo tried to find excuses for herself in this way, Marina's words pierced through her barriers like a sharp sword.

[Mr. Anser, was forced to give up something]

Then, the meaning of that test, and Anser's decision not to go with him no matter how close they were, caused a chain of deep pain that easily shattered the defense that was pierced by the sword.

She just... just couldn't verify what Marina said. Her broken and missing memories made Ming Furo unable to be sure what happened that day.

That test made Ming Furo realize that Anser was no longer the Anser who had walked with her before, and they had to distinguish between the primary and the secondary, and between respect and inferiority.

Then she suddenly realized that even though she had thought of choosing to surrender temporarily, her actions... were they really surrendering to Anser? Aren't those attitudes, those behaviors, those psychological reactions, still subconsciously following the way she got along with Anser three years ago?

She was actually still immersed in... the time three years ago, before her dream was shattered.

And Ansher ruthlessly destroyed her dream.

Yes, after such an indulgent, ambiguous and entangled night, telling her such a reality gave Ming Furo the biggest disappointment, tearing away everything deep in her heart.

But no matter what...she couldn't feel any resentment towards Anser.

What’s particularly ridiculous is that all of this is just…

Just, by the way.

Ming Fuluo didn't know how she left Hendrick's office and how she returned to her alchemy workshop.

She only knew that she shouldn't think about these things, she should focus on finding clues to her grandfather's death, or at least think of a new plan. How could she put so many thoughts on one person? Why couldn't she just put these things behind her?

Why? Ming Fuluo knew it very well.

Because the most important things in her life are the Tower of Babel, the ideals she pursues, and...

And the only companion, the only person who can resonate with me.

Ming Furo closed the door of the alchemy workshop and sat down on the ground leaning against the door with a tired look on her face.

"What on earth am I thinking about..."

She covered her face and murmured to herself: "Enough, the truth... Yes, wait until the memory is restored, then think about these things, now is not the time, no-"

"What's not the right time?"

"..."

The petite woman, who was sitting on the ground with her legs bent, froze instantly.

She almost subconsciously wanted to escape, wanted to run away, but her head looked up uncontrollably.

Look at the only thing you have lost.

Chapter 8: Unfulfilled Promise (K)

A deafening roar echoed in the alchemy workshop.

Tilting his head to look at Ming Fuluo in the thick fog, Anser couldn't help but laugh and said, "This is the thirteenth failure. I told you, you are too hasty, Luo."