Appealing for mercy, begging for forgiveness, speaking kindly, probing, caring, provoking...
Bai Cha's phone was a veritable palette, displaying all sorts of messages, which made Freya hum softly.
"Back then, Tea Tea was also so dedicated," Freya casually took Bai Cha's left hand and played with it on her lap. "Every time I advised you, you never listened. It really hurt me."
"Back then, they promised to unconditionally support Shadow. And they did," Bai Cha turned to look out the window and took a deep breath. "At that time, whether I was suppressing the arrogance of the Light Faction or carrying out my missions, they supported me with all their might."
It was just that at some point, Shadow remained Shadow, but they began to have their own agendas.
In fact, Bai Cha understood that many in the Shadow faction avoided the complexity of scheming. She also didn't want to engage in such non-combat struggles.
Friends could become enemies, and trusted individuals required careful consideration of their intentions. It was truly exhausting.
"Tea Tea, where is the crystal flower I gave you?" Freya, with her eyes shimmering, looked at Bai Cha with a smile.
"?"
Bai Cha curiously pulled out the necklace hidden inside her clothes. On it, a blood-red crystal lay quietly on an exquisite pink crystal flower, with no sense of incongruity.
"Wow~ Tea Tea likes my gift so much! You're wearing it as a necklace." Freya's joy was evident upon seeing it.
She had thought Bai Cha would only keep the crystal flower in her storage bracelet, or perhaps in a delicate little box at most if she cherished it very much. She never expected her to wear it around her neck.
"No wonder I noticed Tea Tea recently developed a habit of touching her collarbone. It's to feel my gift, isn't it?" Freya lightly kissed Bai Cha's cheek, her eyes brimming with undisguised delight. "So Tea Tea feels me every day, through her clothes."
The pink crystal bauhinia symbolized the love god's divinity, representing passionate and fervent love, as well as unwavering affection. Simultaneously, it represented familial love that would never part.
Although Bai Cha had never admitted it, Freya considered it her love token for Bai Cha.
Divinity and gods were inseparable. Therefore, Bai Cha liking this flower meant she liked her, right?
Freya was direct and passionate, while Bai Cha leaned more towards indifference and reserve. Being spoken to so directly by Freya left her momentarily speechless, and she turned her face away with a slight headache.
Perhaps next time, she should teach this little girl about subtlety.
"Freya, can't you learn subtlety from people in country Z?" Bai Cha had nothing to say about such absolute frankness. "You're too direct."
"How so? I still feel I haven't expressed even a fraction of my love for Tea Tea. I'm constantly distressed by my lack of vocabulary." Freya playfully stuck out her tongue, her soft, rosy tongue like a feather that tickled the heart. "So, Tea Tea, you super, super like me, right?"
Bai Cha: "..."
Helpless against Freya's teasing, Bai Cha leaned back against the chair and sighed heavily, rubbing her face.
"Alright, what do you want?" Bai Cha's voice, filled with a hint of self-abandonment, came softly from between her fingers, carrying a discernible trace of resentment that greatly pleased Freya.
Seeing Bai Cha's shy avoidance, Freya found her incredibly cute. She stopped teasing Bai Cha and leaned in. First, she infused some energy into the black world crystal core Bai Cha had given her to activate it, then she lightly attached it to her crystal flower.
As Freya activated the black crystal core, the walnut-sized blackness flickered as if resisting, but it was quickly carved by Freya into pink stamen. It then merged seamlessly with the pink bauhinia.
Bai Cha asked strangely, "This is the gift I gave you. Are you going to keep it with me?"
"Aren't we going to create an idyll? This way, when we're tired, we can go in and play. Isn't it exciting?" Freya focused on merging the stamen and the flower, giving it her full attention. "With this integrated with my divinity, this world won't wither and will have an endless supply of power."
"But won't your power weaken?" Bai Cha hesitated.
This world required power to function. Although this world was already very complete due to the sacrifices of Leviathan and Mammon, and did not require much energy as long as the world itself was not large, it was a continuous process. It was as if Freya's divinity was continuously providing energy to this world.
Simply put, as long as this world and Freya's divinity remained fused, Freya would never return to her peak, as she would be constantly depleting.
"It's fine~ It's just a little bit of power. Besides, Tea Tea will help me in the World Competition." Freya nuzzled Bai Cha's hand and smiled sweetly. "Even if I slack off, Tea Tea will find a way to help me secure a ranking, won't you?"
Bai Cha: "..."
To ask the captain of country Z to secure a ranking for a member of the balance beam with whom relations were strained. Freya really could think of anything.
Bai Cha was torn between laughter and tears. She could see that Freya had made up her mind and could only shake her head helplessly.
The journey was finally without any incidents. Upon arriving at the airport and disembarking, they were greeted by specialized aerial taxis. The flying motorcycles could accommodate up to three people, were fast and easy to control, and even their protective layers were soft. There hadn't been a single traffic accident in nearly a hundred years, making them very popular.
As soon as she got off the plane, Bai Cha was engulfed in a hug. Bai Cha looked in surprise at Athena, who had lunged into her arms, her shoulders trembling.
In her memory, Athena was a gentle and strong woman. This was an airport, a semi-public place, and Bai Cha hadn't expected Athena to be so emotional.
"Didn't I say in the group chat that I was fine?" Bai Cha gently stroked Athena's back, helping her calm down. "I said I would come back alive. However... I'm sorry, the rescue team from country Z might need to be reorganized."
After all... one person was missing.
"I know, we always believed in you." Athena, choked with sobs, buried her head in Bai Cha's neck. When she looked up, her red, bloodshot eyes made Bai Cha pause again. Then, Bai Cha heard Athena's voice, filled with despair and heartbreak: "Apollo is dead."
What?
Bai Cha's spirits lifted, and even the members of Shadow who had followed Bai Cha exchanged glances.
Bai Cha remembered Apollo. His original name was Peter Bruce. He was a shy and proud young man with a baby face despite being in his late twenties. He was prone to boasting online but was quite reserved in reality, blushing easily. He was very proud of his areas of expertise, but without great ambition.
That time at sea, Apollo had followed Athena quietly, not saying much. But during the previous World Competition, Bai Cha had suffered a significant setback.
Apollo was of the divine attribute with extremely high burst power, living up to his name as the sun. His scorching light and heat were effective against both darkness and blood-fiend power. He had ranked ninth in the previous World Competition.
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault." Beside them, someone wiped his nose. His skin had a comfortable coffee color. It was Oudmubl, who now bowed apologetically with red eyes.
"I didn't expect someone to attack me so suddenly. Athena was with Apollo, discussing matters with me and got held up. I rushed back when I realized the urgency, and they shifted their target to me." Oudmubl's eyes were also red. "It was Apollo who sacrificed himself to save me. I'm truly sorry."
"No, you don't need to feel guilty. Oudmubl, Peter was right. The leader cannot die. You are very important," Athena comforted Oudmubl instead.
"As a leader, I couldn't even protect my junior," Oudmubl clutched his face in pain. "Why is this happening? Are we not strong enough or too immature? But everything is becoming increasingly irreversible."
Silence fell upon everyone, and Bai Cha was also silent.
Not strong enough?
They were very strong. If they truly united, they could move mountains.
Immature?
They were even seasoned veterans. They could break through traps meticulously set by an entire group trying to scheme against them.
But they had restraints and concerns. They were stretched thin and exhausted. What more did this world want from them?
"Let's each have a meeting and send the results to the group chat." Bai Cha pressed her temples, sighing inwardly.
Actually, Bai Cha could already predict the outcome without a meeting.
She understood her subordinates too well. Just as Athena and the others were constrained by similar reasons, after a few hours, Bai Cha sat at the head of the conference table. Perhaps due to the immense pressure, her stomach occasionally cramped these days, and Lucifer had started preparing lighter meals for her.
In the conference room, almost everyone was gathered. Xiang Nan and his team, who were in country Z, had video projections on. Everyone from Shadow participating in the World Competition was in the conference room.
It was chaotic, which made Bai Cha irritable.
"Hey, hey, it's not time to turn on each other yet. If we turn on each other now, and without national support, how will we contend when the Dragon Mother galaxy arrives?" Some conservatives expressed their dissatisfaction with the resistance Bai Cha had proposed.
"Yes, fighting alone doesn't seem like a good idea," someone chimed in.
As soon as these words were spoken, someone immediately retorted.
"We haven't turned on them, so why would they turn on us? Have they had too good a life? They want to eliminate us, wake up!" Wolf Fang slammed down a porcelain cup on the video call, shattering it.
Xiang Nan raised his eyes and said faintly, "Do you truly believe my fate won't be yours?"
The argument escalated until Bai Cha slammed her cup down.
Everyone fell silent, looking at Bai Cha, who had remained silent the entire time. No one dared to speak.
"Meeting adjourned."
Bai Cha's tone was calm, but everyone could hear the suppressed anger within it. They exchanged glances, while Xiang Nan and Wolf Fang immediately, with a "snap," ended their video calls without delay.
"What are you staring at? Meeting adjourned!" Bai Cha's voice rose by two octaves. Anyone could tell Bai Cha was truly angry this time. Instantly, everyone held their breath and quietly exited the conference room.
Lucifer still followed behind Bai Cha obediently. Seeing Bai Cha walk onto the open-air balcony with a dark expression, he closed the balcony door with a "bang," leaving Freya and Lucifer inside the room.
"I'll go prepare some tea and snacks for the master. Miss Freya, please make yourself comfortable," Lucifer said. Lucifer's mood was also not great, but he still maintained a gentle smile and treated everyone around Bai Cha with utmost politeness.
"Sure, black tea with red velvet would be very welcome by Tea Tea." Freya readily agreed and then sighed softly. "Lucifer, you must take good care of her."
Lucifer was taken aback, not understanding why Freya would suddenly say something like that. However, he still agreed obediently.
"Of course. Taking care of my master is my due responsibility and obligation," Lucifer said gently.
"Even if it means going against the subordinates and country that Bai Cha cares about?" Freya asked.
Freya's sudden shift in topic left Lucifer somewhat perplexed. However, given Freya's close relationship with Bai Cha, Lucifer naturally extended his trust to her and spoke truthfully.
"I dared to defy my creator for myself and my subordinates back then, and now, her importance surpasses my own."