Chapter 18

Chapter 18: How Could Anyone Not Have a Trump Card?

【Bright Future Chat Group】

Wangshu: "That's roughly how things went."

Asta: "Whatever you do! Whatever you do! Do NOT suggest killing Hoolay. That would be idiotic!"

Jingliu: "..."

Asta: "Just to clarify — that was Ms. Herta speaking."

Jingliu: "Why would I make such a stupid suggestion?"

A Propagation Emanator who couldn't even kill an Abundance Emanator like Hoolay — wouldn't that be a dead giveaway to the Alluring Swarm Lord that something was off about Wangshu?

Besides — was Hoolay really that hard to deal with?

Maybe once upon a time. But who was she now? Propagation Jingliu!

Without exaggeration — if everything went according to plan, even just borrowing her power, Wangshu could solo Hoolay.

Wangshu: "Wait, wait — why are you all considering the trade now? Has it occurred to anyone that I actually can't lay eggs? This deal was impossible from the very start."

Asta: "..."

Jingliu: "..."

Asta: "Ms. Hert— okay fine, this one's from me."

Asta: "Little Wangshu, go play somewhere else. The adults are talking."

Who wanted to actually honor the deal?

Trade with a Swarm Lord? Help a Swarm Lord perfect herself? Did they hear themselves?

This was a Propagation Swarm Lord — an entity that had been on the entire universe's kill-on-sight list ever since the great cosmic locust plague. The play was to squeeze what they could out of her, then figure out how to contact the relevant authorities and have her eliminated.

Helping the enemy perfect herself, only to trigger another cosmic locust plague? Hard pass. The first plague had already spawned a malicious god like Nanook. The universe couldn't survive that kind of ordeal again.

Wangshu came back to the present. Huoshi showed no urgency. Hands clasped behind her back, she stood gracefully, as if simply admiring the streetscape.

"How did the discussion go?"

"Aren't you surprised I need time to think it over?"

After all, if he were the real Swarm Sovereign, he should have agreed to this kind of deal immediately.

Huoshi shook her head gently, adjusting her position so her hair caught the warm glow of the setting sun: "I told you — you aren't the Swarm Sovereign. The Sovereign is dead. And even if They came back, I imagine Their demand would be for you to devour me and complete yourself."

Her tone was as calm as if she were reciting a law of nature: "Everything the swarm does is for continuation. If the Swarm Sovereign truly had remnants that survived, every Swarm Lord would offer everything without hesitation..."

She paused, toes tapping lightly on the ground, then inexplicably repeated: "Without hesitation."

"From the moment of our birth, that's how it's always been. Everyone understands. But the Sovereign is dead, and you — who can fuse with the Sovereign's remnants — are clearly no weakling."

Huoshi spoke frankly, hiding nothing: "So I'm perfectly justified in making a trade to avoid risk. Why gamble when I don't have to?"

Other Swarm Lords might have rolled the dice — bet that Wangshu was unstable, that he'd just fused, that there was an opening to exploit.

But she was the Alluring Swarm Lord. The one who'd shed her fangs and armor to survive, who'd spent millennia learning human emotions, who'd genuinely evolved a survival wisdom that transcended mere species perpetuation.

"Let's continue this tomorrow when I buy shouzhuabing..."

Wangshu roughly understood the situation now. One hand rubbed his forehead while the other still clutched the moonlit card — its presence gave him at least some sense of security.

"Okay."

Huoshi pressed her palms together in front of her chest in a slightly cute human gesture, her face full of genuine anticipation: "I'll be looking forward to tomorrow's food~"

She didn't linger. Having said her piece, she turned decisively, leaving Wangshu with a slender silhouette that gradually dissolved into the evening crowd.

In truth, she wanted to gamble too. The Propagation aura on Wangshu fluctuated — sometimes rich, sometimes faint.

But... there was no need. After all, everyone was just trying to survive. Wangshu had even taken up street-stall work.

She licked her fingertip: "How could anyone not have a trump card?"

Just like herself — a being who wanted to live. A being who, in order to survive, had willingly shed her fangs and armor during the ancient catastrophe, exposing her most vulnerable side.

Someone like Wangshu — who clearly had the power to fuse with Propagation remnants, even if something had gone slightly wrong — had still chosen to blend into the Xianzhou by running a street stall just to stay alive. If truly pushed to the brink of life and death, no one could predict what kind of power he might unleash.

Huoshi's steps grew lighter. Yes — they were the same. Absolutely no reason to take unnecessary risks.

She believed that once Wangshu finished studying the Alluring lineage, he would willingly agree to the trade.

Wangshu gazed at the distant silhouette against the evening sun, feeling a tinge of admiration. True to the Alluring Swarm Lord's name — genuinely endearing. Then... he opened the group chat.

【Bright Future Chat Group】

Wangshu: "So, next question — how do I contact the IPC and the Xianzhou's upper echelons? I've temporarily placated her."

Jingliu: "No rush. Milk her for some goods first. Consider it an advance payment for your heroic service to the people."

Asta: "Agreed. A contribution this significant can't just be converted into some cold, impersonal bill of exchange by the IPC."

Wangshu: "I'm suddenly realizing you're all pretty ruthless."

Asta: "...?"

Jingliu: "Little boy, has your brain broken? Also — I've been meaning to ask — which backwater star system did you come from before transmigrating? Why would you feel sorry for an insect?"

The greatest damage wrought by the cosmic locust plague was... the irreversible destruction of planets. Even the Destruction Aeon Nanook's homeworld, the Jewel of Adrifen, had been in the path of the plague's march and was reduced to utter desolation.

The devastation caused by the Propagation swarm, beyond a certain threshold, pushed planets into an incurable state of decay. This was well-documented — fundamental damage to planets and to the very essence of life.

The plague's toll was incalculable. Countless planets that had survived were, in the universe's best interest... mercifully destroyed.

Jingliu: "Even the most harmless Pacifist Swarm Lord, who chose to become a producer via an extremely radical survival method, has always been under IPC surveillance..."

Asta: "Actually, the IPC lost track of the Pacifist Swarm Lord in that sector several centuries ago."

Asta: "But don't worry — in Star Calendar Year 6299, everything's still normal."

Wangshu: "Alright, I understand. So, hypothetically, if I'm going to squeeze some advance payment out of her, what should I ask for? Any of you have a wish list?"

Jingliu: "That's up to you. It's your achievement, after all."

Asta: "Let's take our time discussing it. Ms. Herta says she has plenty of valuable items on hand that could be swapped into this deal."

A Swarm Lord's possessions were far more interesting to Herta than her own inventory.

Jingliu: "Do you have anything to do right now?"

Wangshu: "In about half an hour, I need to go pick up little Jingliu from school."

Jingliu: "..."

The group fell silent for a while. The task was just so... mundane.

Jingliu: "Go pick up the student first."