"So, what's the plan?" Jinx leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"Keep up the act," Sunny said, his voice calm and steady. "Let them trust you. That will be their downfall."
"But they haven't even—"
RING!
Jinx's words were cut short by the sound of her phone ringing. She pulled it out, staring at the unknown number on the screen.
"Smart. You didn't give them the contact to your cosmic brain," Sunny said with a nod of approval.
"Of course I'm not stupid," Jinx replied, waving the phone in front of his face. "They would have figured it out if I had. This thing can't be tracked."
"Okay, then why don't you answer the call?" Sunny suggested.
Jinx nodded, putting the call on speaker and placing the phone on the table between them. A heavy silence filled the air for a full ten seconds before Jolie's voice finally came through.
"Are you there?"
"I'm here," Jinx said, a smirk on her face. "I guess you've made your decision."
"I've thought about your offer," Jolie said.
"We don't have the materials you need for poisoning the God Wolf. We simply don't have that amount."
Jinx shot Sunny a quick look, then said, "I don't make deals without benefits."
"I know," Jolie replied. "That's why we'll take the other option. You just need to infiltrate the Beastify Nation and get us more information."
"Okay, I can do that," Jinx said. "But as I said, I don't do deals without benefits."
"What?" Jolie's voice was sharp. "We've already accepted your deal and will pay."
"I know that," Jinx pointed out. "But you haven't paid for the information I gave you last night."
There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then Jolie's voice, a little strained, came back. "Okay. What do you want?"
Jinx thought for a moment before asking, "This weapon that can destroy a planet... is it in your nation?"
"Yes," Jolie answered. "It is secure and guarded in our nation."
"How many nations have such weapons?" Jinx asked, her eyes fixed on the phone.
"At the moment, only the top five nations have it," Jolie answered.
"Good," Jinx said. "I need one thing from you." She put the call on hold and looked up at Sunny. "Do you need anything in particular?"
Sunny thought for a moment, then shook his head. "They don't have anything I want."
"Really? Nothing at all?" Jinx asked, her voice laced with disbelief.
"Yes," he replied.
Jinx rolled her eyes, then un-held the call. "I will be infiltrating the Beastify Nation, but I can't go alone," she said.
"I need to get closer to the king, which means I need to stay in the castle."
"What do you have in mind?" Jolie asked, her voice cautious.
"Give me a fully armed warship," Jinx said. "Filled with ammunition, food, and minerals."
Sunny's eyes widened in disbelief. 'Why so many resources?' he wondered.
"Why... why do you need so many things?" Jolie asked, her tone darkening.
"How can I get into the castle without doing something good?" Jinx explained patiently.
"If I crash the warship some miles from the Beastify Kingdom, they will rush over to check the explosion. I will be a wealthy merchant who got attacked by bandits, and my security ship crashed into the planet. Out of thanks, I'll give them the resources you provided and tell the God Wolf I can help provide more if he keeps me safe. And the safest place for a wealthy merchant like me is in the castle."
Both Sunny and Jolie were flabbergasted. 'What has she done in the past?' Sunny thought, a shiver running down his spine.
'This girl could lie with such a straight face that it even scares me.'
"So what do you say?" Jinx continued, her voice completely confident. "I'm not asking for anything in exchange for the information I provided last night. Instead, I'm helping you by telling you what you need to do."
Jolie was silent for a few moments, then her voice came back, a note of defeat in it. "Okay. Where should we deliver the warship?"
"We'll meet on Planet Zax," Jinx said. "You can send someone if you can't make it."
"Okay," Jolie agreed. "When?"
"Tomorrow, 8 P.M.," Jinx said.
"Okay. I'll send Jade," Jolie replied. Jinx ended the call and looked up at Sunny.
"How did I do, God Wolf?" she asked with a smirk, awaiting his praise.
"Impressive," Sunny said, standing up.
"I am impressed."
He walked toward the door. "Come on, the last item will be called out soon. Let's see it before we go back home."
Jinx nodded, stood up, and followed him out.
______
[Matilda's Mansion]
Matilda sat on the couch, her legs crossed, staring at the kneeling Joyce and the five guards behind her.
"Tell me," she said, her voice dangerously low.
"How did someone knock you out, enter the mansion, do whatever they liked, and leave without a scratch?"
Joyce, drenched in sweat, stammered out her reply. "Empress! The last thing I remember is throwing out the trash last night, then I met an elf guard... Suddenly, I was... I... I can't remember! Please, Empress!" she pleaded, her voice trembling.
"I vowed to serve you! I will never break my vow!"
Matilda frowned, her gaze fixed on the young elf. She then looked up at female guard who stepped forward with a laptop. The lady placed it on the table, switched it on, and showed a feed from the CCTV camera.
Matilda watched as Joyce left the mansion with a trash bag and walked toward the back. She raised an eyebrow.
"Why are there no cameras or lights at the back?"
"We checked after seeing her," the lady replied. "And we discovered both the lights and the camera had been destroyed."
Matilda nodded, returning her attention to the feed. She watched as Joyce walked back to the mansion, and past the two guards outside.
She raised her head to look at the guards, then back at the laptop.
"Joyce... get me a glass of water,"
She heard her own voice say on the video. Matilda exhaled slowly.
"This person doesn't want me dead. He or she came here for a different reason."
Her eyes widened in shock. 'Wait a moment... Did this person overhear everything yesterday?!' she thought, her eyes fixed on the laptop as the screen suddenly went blank.
"She... she destroyed the kitchen's camera?" Matilda was stunned, her gaze rising to the guard who had brought the laptop.