Crisis averted.
The transport vehicle was destroyed, but it didn't matter. There was an aircraft in the sky. Although it was small, it was more than enough to carry a few people back to Lungmen.
"What exactly was that monster, Bailey?"
Sora asked, holding Lucas. In the distance, the crater from Lucas's and the Seaborn's battle was striking, especially where Lucas had pinned the Seaborn and slammed his fists into its head, punching a large depression into the ground. It showed just how powerful those punches were.
"A special kind of marine creature."
Lucas narrowed his eyes. It seemed the situation on Terra was truly not looking good. Since one such Seaborn had come ashore, there would be a second, a third, and even hundreds or thousands. Honestly, let's not even talk about thousands; just a few hundred of these Seaborn coming ashore together would be terrifying.
"It's really not good for these things to come ashore..."
Sora looked down at Lucas, her eyes flickering with a hint of surprise and uncertainty. Just now, that tone of voice... it was a bit familiar...
"Hm? What's wrong?"
Seeing Sora staring at him blankly, Lucas looked up at her, confused. Sora quickly waved her hands and said,
"N-nothing. I was just thinking about something, Bailey..."
"Oh~"
Texas walked over and said politely and friendly, "We really have to thank you this time, Mr. Bailey. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid we would have met our end. That monster didn't seem to be something we could fight."
"It's fine. No need for thanks."
Lucas guessed that Sora and Texas might already be suspicious of his identity. They might not suspect he was Lucas, but they definitely suspected he had some connection to Jessica. After all, he had revealed so much, even [Starlight] in the sky. If he still claimed to be just a teddy bear who had just woken up, it would be too much of a stretch.
But since Sora and Texas chose not to expose him, Lucas wouldn't bring it up either. This avoided a lot of awkwardness.
After all...
At least half of the topics the four girls had discussed in the transport vehicle were about him. Lucas found the thought of that awkward situation highly amusing.
"What about your mission, Miss Texas?"
Lucas asked.
Croissant now said nervously, "Tex! Let's not refund the money, okay? Or if we do, can we just refund half? This mission was too dangerous! If Bailey hadn't been here, my head would probably be separated from my neck by now. That client never mentioned this monster could break out of an alloy box! And this mission failure wasn't our fault. We were transporting it normally. Their box wasn't secure, that's why the monster escaped. So, the client should be fully responsible this time. This money should be our compensation for emotional distress."
Croissant had a point.
Normally, mercenaries get 60% of the payment upfront. If the mercenary actively quits, they only need to return that 60%, and the company pays an extra 20% as a delay penalty. But aside from mercenaries intentionally quitting, if a mission fails because it's too dangerous or because of the client's fault, the commission is usually not refunded. This was a long-standing, unwritten rule.
"True."
Texas also nodded. Honestly, for such a dangerous mission, even Texas didn't want to refund the commission.
"Let's give ninety percent of the commission to Mr. Bailey. After all, if it weren't for Mr. Bailey, we would have likely died here."
Sora was the first to nod. "I have no objection."
Exusiai didn't mind either. She wasn't too concerned with money; as long as she had enough, she was fine. Only Croissant had a pained look on her face, a bit reluctant, but there was nothing she could do. It was true that Lucas's help was why they all survived, and the four of them hadn't lifted a finger in the final battle.
"Um... do you think I need money?"
Lucas spread his paws speechlessly, looking just like a little bear shrugging emoji. It was quite cute.
"Why does a little bear like me need money? I can't eat, I don't need clothes. You four can split it."
Lucas didn't care.
He really wasn't that interested in money. He didn't have money, but he didn't lack it either. In Lucas's view, money was the easiest, most boring thing in the world to get.
"But... Bailey, isn't that a bit wrong?"
Sora said.
"After all, you did all the work, Bailey."
"How about this: I don't need the money either, so just consider it as me depositing it with you all. If I want to buy something in the future, I'll just ask Sora to help me buy it."
Lucas found an easy out.
The other girls happily accepted. However, the three of them didn't split it; they still gave all the commission to Sora. After all, Lucas was with Sora, so it was best for Sora to keep it.
Since the mission was over.
Lucas had [Starlight] descend from the sky and carry the four of them back to Lungmen.
Actually, Lucas letting [Starlight] land was a test to see if they recognized him. If they said nothing, it meant they probably had. After all, how could they not ask questions about a little bear having this aircraft? Just like Exusiai, who hadn't stopped chattering since boarding the aircraft, hugging the sniper rifle like it was her boyfriend, unwilling to let go. Of course, Sora and Texas didn't ask anything. This basically confirmed that the two of them might have already guessed something.
After the aircraft had gradually flown away.
On the wilderness, a land-runner was chugging along at a steady pace.
Suddenly!
The person in the land-runner seemed to discover something. They excitedly drove over and stopped next to a large crater that had inexplicably appeared in the wilderness. The car door opened, and a fully-equipped Magallan got out of the car.
"Wow!! What a huge crater!!"
Magallan quickly went down and carefully measured it with a special device. This device had been modified by Lucas. Besides identifying Originium energy, it also had a new function to detect divine power. When the device touched the ground, it emitted a shrill *didi-didi* sound. Magallan was overjoyed, knowing what this sound meant.
"I found a god again!! And it was a god in battle."
However, Magallan looked at the readings again.
The divine power reading on it wasn't high. This god probably wasn't very strong.
Still, Magallan was excited. She took out her camera and took pictures, *kachakacha*. She thought to herself, *I've met another god! My luck these years has been explosive. I always run into gods that normal explorers might never see in their lifetime! This is great~*
And a few days after the Penguin Logistics crew left on the aircraft.
In a small mobile city in Iberia, a withered old woman walked out. Her eyes seemed to be able to penetrate the vast distance and see all the way to Siracusa. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly. If nothing went wrong, the box should have been delivered to Siracusa by now. All of Siracusa will become a living hell today. She had worked so hard for so many years to successfully evolve a Seaborn into such a powerful existence.
And Siracusa!
Will be the first country to fall after the Seaborn come ashore.
The old woman smiled. She could already hear the wails of the people in Siracusa. A small-time Mafia dares to cooperate with the great Church of the Deep? What a joke. Just become new nutrients for the Seaborn!
If those girls transporting the goods were lucky, they might be able to escape. However, the Seaborn hold grudges. After so many days, their scent would have long since been locked onto by the Seaborn. Even if they immediately returned to Lungmen, they couldn't escape the fate of being hunted by the Seaborn.
Unless... they managed to kill that Seaborn.
But!
How could they possibly kill it!
That Seaborn was an incredibly powerful existence. It was impossible for mere mortals.
Meanwhile, in Siracusa.
The [Famiglia Venezia] Mafia was in dire straits. Vulpisfoglia had returned to kill them. They never expected that Vulpisfoglia, who had been quiet for so long, had actually joined Sicily. Under Sicily's attack, Famiglia Venezia was crumbling. Their only hope was to wait for that organization to deliver a secret weapon. As long as they had that secret weapon!! Famiglia Venezia would rise to become the glorious hegemon of all Siracusa. Even Sicily wouldn't be able to stop them.
However, all their transport routes had long since been blocked by Sicily. No outside supplies could get in. So, they had no choice but to entrust the job to the highly reliable Penguin Logistics. And given Penguin Logistics' legendary professionalism, they wouldn't be afraid of these blockades.
Strange..
Theoretically, it's been seven days. Shouldn't this cargo have arrived long ago? Why is there still no sign of it?
Famiglia Venezia, the client in Siracusa, was currently waiting for the box to arrive, preparing to use this secret weapon to rule Siracusa. Meanwhile, the Church of the Deep people in Iberia were trying to use this method to destroy Siracusa.
In reality.
Neither side knew.
The cargo was long gone.
After returning to Lungmen, they didn't go back to the company right away. They waited a few days before returning to report to the Boss. However, the report omitted the part about Lucas. They changed the part about Lucas killing the enemy to the four of them successfully escaping. As for the monster, its whereabouts were unknown. The Emperor didn't ask any further, just nodded.
Because they returned much earlier than expected.
Sora's vacation was for one month.
So she still had more than half a month left to rest. And the original suggestion—if there was time, to go to Columbia to visit Jessica—was never brought up again after they returned to Lungmen.
And Sora had also clearly changed.
In the first few days after Lucas arrived, Sora would hug Lucas to sleep, truly treating him as a sentient doll. But since returning from the mission, she hadn't. She even deliberately moved Lucas a short distance away when sleeping at night, and even prepared a separate pillow and a small cup for Lucas. It was unclear if it was out of shyness or something else, though Lucas guessed it was most likely shyness.
Sora had basically guessed something.
She even... occasionally didn't dare to meet Lucas's eyes.
But since Sora didn't bring it up, Lucas didn't want to say anything either, continuing to play his role as a teddy bear.
Meanwhile.
Soon after returning to Lungmen, Lucas's consciousness descended in Columbia, telling everyone what he had seen and heard.
The most serious, of course, were Laurentina and Skadi.
Others might not know much about the Seaborn, but Skadi and Laurentina knew them all too well. This was no small matter. If the Seaborn came ashore, the land would truly suffer a devastating blow. The land is not Aegir.
Aegir's total landmass is larger than Ursus, Victoria, and Columbia combined. Added to that, their technological level is far beyond the land's. So, it's conservatively estimated that all the land nations combined might not even be able to defeat Aegir.
But even a power like Aegir suffered terribly against the Seaborn.
Let alone the land.
If the land nations united, they might stand a chance of resisting the Seaborn in the future. But given the current state of the land, where everyone has their own agenda, it's probably very dangerous.
So, Lucas immediately wrote a letter for Nian to take to Yan on [Stardust] and give to the Grand Tutor. After all, among the chaotic nations, Yan was relatively reliable. As for Columbia, due to its political system, the country was basically controlled by the bosses of the major super-corporations and the politicians in Parliament. So looking for Jessica's father was the right move.
When Jessica learned that Lucas wanted to talk to her father, she was also a bit surprised, but she immediately contacted her father. Lucas initially thought that as a CEO, Jessica's father would be very busy and probably wouldn't have time. However, after receiving his daughter's call, he immediately postponed an important meeting that afternoon and personally came to Jessica's villa to meet with Lucas. This showed how much Jessica's father valued Lucas.
At first, Lucas thought Jessica's father wouldn't know about the Seaborn, since Columbia was in the north, far from the southern sea.
However, as Lucas tried to explain, Jessica's father nodded and said he knew of the Seaborn's existence.
Since he knew, it was much easier for Lucas to explain.
He roughly described the Seaborn's power and pointed out the current situation.
After getting a general idea.
Jessica's father fell into a long silence.
He didn't think Lucas was lying. Since Lucas had actively sought him out, it must be the truth. It's just... this news was too shocking, leaving even Jessica's father unsure how to respond. He had known about the Seaborn before, but only as a special type of creature. He hadn't thought they were much of a threat. He never expected the threat to be so enormous.
Jessica's father felt he needed to go back and think things through carefully.