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Penacony Dreamscape, Dewlight Pavilion.
This had once been Sunday's office for receiving important guests and handling critical matters.
But after the Order Crisis, although Sunday's sentence was forgiven by the citizens, he ultimately did not regain the leadership of Penacony.
Escaping unscathed was already fortunate, and the failed Sunday was regarded as a traitor by the other Harmony families.
Thus, Dewlight Pavilion welcomed its new mistress, Robin, as the new leader of Penacony.
"Please wait a moment, the important matters of Lord Mercer have just been completed. He will be here shortly."
Robin poured tea for the two guests, her face bearing the approachable, standard smile.
"Mm, we understand. Thank you for informing us, Miss Robin." The boldly dressed, mature woman smiled faintly, exuding an elegant, composed aura. "We had long intended to pay our respects to Mr. Mercer, but certain circumstances kept us hesitant until now."
"It is only as the final moment approaches that we are compelled to meet the one who can stir an interstellar storm."
Off-white and deep-blue fabrics intersected across her torso. The deep V-neck revealed a generous expanse of pale skin, with a subtle, elegant cleavage.
Her skirt barely covered her upper thighs, and her long legs overlapped gracefully, pure and slender.
Her facial features were delicate without being gaudy; her aura was gentle yet profound.
This distinctive presence made her fashionable yet restrained, revealing the calm confidence of a high-ranking beauty.
"If even the Ten Stonehearts hesitate, it must be a serious matter."
Facing Jade's subtle show of weakness, Robin only smiled and said, "But Lord Mercer is always courteous. I'm sure your discussion will be pleasant."
She, of course, knew why the renowned Jade hesitated.
With two-tenths of the Emanator's power falling into another house, any faction would be anxious.
Especially when the IPC had multiple Emanators—the huge loss for the Strategic Investment Department would put enormous pressure on them internally.
The Market Expansion Department and other divisions might try to capitalize, wanting a larger share of the gains.
But this was of no concern to her; she was even slightly pleased.
If the IPC hadn't schemed against Penacony, how could three cornerstones have ended up in the family's territory right before the Harmony Gala?
Without Sol backing her, perfectly resolving this matter, who knew how much blood and flesh the IPC would have torn from Penacony? She and her brother wouldn't be safe and happy as they were now.
Letting Aventurine leave with the broken Aventurine Stone was already a negotiation signal from Sol; the remaining two cornerstones wouldn't be retrieved without a price.
"Miss Robin, your handling is impeccable."
Jade praised her verbally but felt a headache inside.
Not a single hint could be detected; this star-famous singer was just as difficult to deal with as Sunday had been.
"Hehe."
Robin merely smiled, then attended to some minor diplomatic affairs.
"This really is troublesome~"
Topaz barely exhaled a sigh, stroking the small pet in her arms.
The golden-backed dimensional warp trotter seemed to sense its owner's distress, nudging its ample chest and emitting cute sounds to comfort her.
The silver-haired girl with red streaks straightened slightly, but her previously vibrant, healthy body no longer radiated the same vitality.
She had recently been negligent, miscalculating Jarilo-VI's debt settlement and causing the IPC enormous losses, resulting in a downgrade from P45 to P44.
Now, after accepting Aventurine's invitation and staking cornerstones on a high-stakes gamble, failure had been absolute.
Not only did the plan fail, but the debts of Topaz and Jade fell into another Emanator's hands, and Aventurine's own foundation stone was shattered.
The IPC suffered enormous losses, gaining nothing.
Moreover, due to Sol's presence, all previous and future layouts in Penacony would have to be reshuffled. Aventurine's intelligence became worthless paper.
She shouldn't have listened to Aventurine's nonsense—cornerstones were safest in her own hands.
Speaking of Aventurine, he seemed to have suffered the most. Causing such a failure and angering an Emanator who had defeated another Emanator—without a reversal, even his assets would be sold off at a good price.
The IPC was never charitable.
So how could the cornerstones now in that Emanator's hands be recovered?
She searched her entire body and could find nothing of equal value to exchange.
The only possible link was the Astral Express, through Jarilo-VI—a casual connection, was barely helpful.
Worse, according to Stelle, Sol Mercer had joined forces with the Genius Herta!
She didn't understand why two previously aloof geniuses would suddenly unite.
But without a doubt, Sol's faction had gained even more power, now even connecting to Herta's network. This faction's strength could already rival the IPC.
How could they recover the cornerstones now?
"Don't worry, Topaz."
Jade gently patted Topaz's hand, smiling calmly. "There will always be a way. The fact that Mr. Mercer is willing to meet us means he needs something from us."
"Or, he might want to use those two pieces as bargaining chips in a trade with the IPC."
If Sol refused to meet them, that would be troublesome.
That would either mean his demands were far greater than expected, requiring someone like Diamond himself, a Preservation Emanator, to negotiate; or it meant he simply had no desire, intending only to frustrate the IPC.
Fortunately, it wasn't either. Sol agreed to meet them, giving them a chance to pay the price to redeem the cornerstones.
The price—whatever they had to pay; they would grit their teeth and accept.
From prior intelligence, he was very willing to interact with special beauties.
And as a representative of Hope, he was also relatively kind.
Communication shouldn't be too difficult.
"Mm."
Topaz nodded lightly, her gaze firm.
She was the head of the Special Debt Collection Unit, most skilled at handling debt disputes.
Now, Sol was the creditor, and they just needed to pay the price to redeem the stones.
This was within her jurisdiction and not particularly difficult to handle.
As they were preparing mentally, a figure suddenly appeared in the room.
Topaz and Jade's eyes sharpened, fixing on the suddenly materialized youth. His silent appearance indicated mastery of high-level memory material technology.
Appearing here at this exact moment could only mean one person, and his appearance matched perfectly.
Young and handsome as in the photo, radiating vibrant life, seemingly unbothered by any difficulty.
An unforgettable presence, reminiscent of the aloof and noble genius Herta!
Could it be that their shared character was precisely why these two geniuses were collaborating so deeply and quickly?
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