"Alright, stop bullying Eriri. She's still a child you've raised for years."
In the end, Luo Shu intervened to stop Enigma's antics.
If Enigma kept this up, he worried Eriri might break.
Not that he minded Eriri breaking, but if something happened to the Nature Spirit Blood he needed, that would be problematic.
Of course, that was all in jest.
The real reason was that Luo Shu had something to discuss with Enigma beforehand.
"Here, Enigma, this is for you."
With that, Luo Shu retrieved a pre-prepared black card from his spatial ring and flicked it toward her.
With a snap, Enigma pinched the playing card between two fingers, flipped it around, and brought it before her eyes. Glancing at the half-shadowed, half-illuminated full moon depicted on the card, she looked at Luo Shu with slight surprise:
"This is..."
"The Moon. It'll be your codename from now on."
"By the way, Sharon is Venus."
"And future members will all have codenames based on celestial bodies."
Luo Shu explained as he put down his chopsticks. He pulled a tissue from the box on the table, wiped his mouth, and continued:
"The Divine Kingdom—or rather, within the Hidden Management Zone—there's a dedicated space for members with stellar codenames to hold meetings."
"You can enter there with your consciousness now. In the future, you can also use a Communication Pass to bring others' consciousness inside."
"Later, I'll grant you permission to create Communication Passes, allowing you to use that space to pull in the consciousness of potential recruits. I'll mark those who enter to ensure their trustworthiness."
"Additionally, I'll make some items from the points shop available there."
"Oh? This approach... are you cultivating a secret organisation hidden under Familia control?"
Enigma began to grasp Luo Shu's intentions.
Was he assigning her a territory to develop her own network?
And these codenames were essentially aliases—identities they could present when doing the dirty work?
Because the Union's conflicts had affected them, had their god finally decided to stir up some waves on the mystical side and give those elites something to worry about?
Heh.
Director Luo Shu of the Hidden Management Department had to maintain his position and couldn't act against those bureaucrats. But Luo Shu, leader of a certain mystic-side organisation, wouldn't mind having his celestial underlings carry out some assassinations.
Thinking this, Enigma smiled and asked:
"What should our public name be?"
Luo Shu glanced at her and smiled:
"Let's call it the Astronomy Club."
"And what about Truth Astronomy?" Enigma probed.
Luo Shu chuckled, clearly aware she'd guessed his meaning:
"Of course, we're brothers from different mothers!"
So it was only natural for Truth Astronomy to take the blame for the Astronomy Club's misdeeds, right?
"In that case, I have a suggestion."
Enigma smiled mischievously, looking every bit the classic villainess:
"Why don't we have the Astronomy Club claim responsibility for the recent Akihabara incident?"
Hearing this, even Eriri was startled—let alone Luo Shu.
Creating an organisation was one thing, but creating one and immediately claiming responsibility for a recent terror incident? That was bold.
Seeing their stunned expressions, Enigma laughed:
"My proposal is quite interesting, isn't it?"
"It is indeed rather interesting..."
Luo Shu snapped out of his brief shock and began weighing the pros and cons:
"You plan to use the Akihabara incident to establish the Astronomy Club's reputation?"
Enigma maintained her wicked smile, the picture of a perfect femme fatale:
"Reputation helps with recruitment. And those drawn by infamy... well, they hardly need gentle treatment, do they?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu also smiled.
Someone who intended to join an organisation simply because it claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack was certainly no good person, so sacrificing them naturally required no hesitation.
That much was true.
"I think we can take it further. You could report the same matter to the Hell Sect as well."
"Of course, if you think it feasible, you could also inform the Hell Sect about your joining the Astronomy Club."
"After all, that would align with your reputation as a middleman, wouldn't it?"
Hearing Luo Shu take this reasoning further by suggesting they educate the Hell Sect about the Astronomy Club's existence, Enigma's expression turned subtle:
"That does explain why I'm still alive despite Jealousy's death. However, this would require the Hell Sect to revise their assessment of the Astronomy Club."
The implied meaning was the question of how much of the Astronomy Club's strength Luo Shu intended to reveal.
Considering this, Luo Shu pondered briefly before forming an opinion:
"For now, just suggest to the Hell Sect that the Astronomy Club possesses one Top Tier Class holder."
Luo Shu avoided mentioning Demigods because the number of existing Demigods in the world was limited.
For organisations like the Hell Sect, composed of supernatural individuals, even without precise intelligence, they maintained rough estimates.
Currently, any moderately high-level organisation has likely received intelligence about the SDS concealing Demigods.
If that Viscount within the Hell Sect was willing to share information, they'd naturally learn that the SDS had deployed three Demigods to successfully repel him this time.
Thus, explicitly revealing a Demigod within the Astronomy Club might lead the Hell Sect to easily deduce it was the SDS's front - something Luo Shu didn't mind exposing, but preferred keeping concealed initially.
After all, most windfall profits in this world stemmed from information asymmetry. Keeping the Astronomy Club's identity as the Hidden Management Department's front might present profitable opportunities.
After careful consideration, Luo Shu settled on presenting a Top Tier Class holder as their visible deterrent.
Firstly, such individuals could perfectly conceal themselves among Hero Ranks. Secondly, Top Tier Class holders could essentially be treated as Demigod-level combatants when facing non-Demigod opponents.
Additionally, the near-certainty of Top Tier Class holders ascending to Demigod status would compel the Hell Sect to regard them as quasi-Demigods anyway.
"A single Top Tier Class?" Enigma narrowed her eyes before smiling. "That's actually more convenient. We can have that impure nun make a guest appearance."
As fellow Astronomy Club members operating under aliases, Enigma felt little resistance interacting with Sharon. Their similar covert roles played a part, as did the nun's agreeable personality.
"Though this means I should return to the Hell Sect sooner rather than later."
True to form, having secured alternative employment, she'd naturally demand better terms from her current employer - much like leveraging a job offer for a raise, which Enigma particularly enjoyed.
"Be careful." Luo Shu cautioned before pausing. "Return as soon as possible."
"The department recently acquired a Sage, a Top Tier Class embodying the Wisdom Concept. Though potentially troublesome, combining her abilities with the Divine Pantheon Reconstruction System might allow crafting a suitable Class for you."
"A carrot after the stick?" Enigma laughed delightedly.
Rising, she approached Luo Shu, leaning down to brush his cheek before remarking:
"This particular carrot does appeal to me."
With that, Enigma straightened and waved dismissively.
"Then, let's bid farewell like this~"
"See you later, my god, and my not-so-cute idiot daughter."
Hearing this, Eriri, who was eating supper, couldn't help retorting:
"You should just scram sooner."
She was quietly eating her meal, yet still got insulted—what kind of grudge was this?!
Watching their interaction, Luo Shu smiled helplessly, then sighed. He glanced at the food on the table and muttered:
"Managed to set up a scapegoat organisation."
"Guess I'll have to monitor reactions across all channels tomorrow."