“We’ll have to continue our conversation later, maid miss.”
Sereya turned and prepared to leave.
Her steps were quick, golden hair swaying on her shoulders as the wings on her back spread slightly, as if she was about to take off.
Ella, in a panic, quickly grabbed her arm.
“Hm?”
Sereya turned back.
Her golden pupils reflected Ella’s slightly flushed face from nervousness.
Her eyebrows rose, clearly not understanding why this silver-haired maid had suddenly become so anxious.
“Please let me go with you!”
Ella’s voice squeezed out of her throat.
Her fingers gripped Sereya’s arm so tightly that her nails dug into the fabric of the white long dress.
“Oh? You want to watch?”
“Uh… yes!”
Ella’s brain spun rapidly.
She let go of Sereya’s arm and crossed her hands in front of her, putting on the pitiful posture of a victim.
“I lost my ship and ended up on the streets because of these bugs! I want to see them get punished!”
“Punished?”
“There’s no such thing as punishment. These little bugs that snuck into the Transfer Station will be executed on the spot.”
What?! Executed directly?!
Ella’s heart gave a violent thump.
No! Shouldn’t they at least interrogate them first?!
“These guys from the Insect Nest won’t betray the swarm. No matter how much you ask, you won’t get anything out of them.”
Sereya’s tone was calm. It seemed this wasn’t her first time dealing with the swarm.
“We’ve already tried. So in the end, the only option is to execute them on the spot.”
“Execute them on the spot?!”
“What’s wrong?”
Sereya’s golden pupils narrowed slightly.
“Didn’t you say you became homeless because of them? Why do you look a little worried?”
Aaah! She almost slipped up!
Ella’s right hand pressed against her chest, fingers spread, palm flat against the white shirt fabric.
She could feel her heartbeat pounding against her palm, fast enough to jump out of her ribcage.
Calm down. Control your expression.
You absolutely cannot let her see that you’re the Insect Mother.
“I just… I’m just a little scared to watch.”
Her voice lowered, carrying a deliberate, soft cowardice.
As expected, only men understand men. I’m really good at acting.
Girls just need to be cute! Just don’t be like that bastard Dieyi who steps on people the moment they meet!
“Executions and stuff… should be really bloody, right…”
“You’re scared, yet you still want to go watch?”
“That’s right!”
Ella’s chin lifted up, silver hair strands swinging behind her shoulders.
“I have to watch these people who hurt me get executed!”
“Heh. Fine then. Come with me.”
She turned around.
Her white skirt hem swept across the floor as she walked toward the shop entrance.
Ella followed behind her.
Her small leather shoes made crisp sounds against the floor.
She lowered her head and glanced at the maid outfit she was wearing — the white apron, black skirt, white-stocking-covered calves.
It’s over. She was still wearing this outfit. Now everyone would definitely mistake her for Sereya’s personal maid.
Parked outside the shop was a vehicle with a rather unique appearance, as if all unnecessary decorations had been removed, leaving only the practical parts.
The paint on the car body had several scratches. The tires were covered in dried mud.
There was a ring of white salt stains from seawater corrosion around the exhaust pipe.
Sereya folded her wings and bent down to get into the back seat.
Her movements were smooth — the skirt hem didn’t get caught in the door, and her wings didn’t hit the roof.
After sitting down, she patted the empty seat beside her. Her golden pupils looked toward Ella.
“If you want to go, get in. I don’t mind giving you a ride.”
“Alright.”
Ella got into the car and sat next to Sereya, but deliberately left some distance between them.
She leaned toward the car door side, her shoulder almost touching the window glass, leaving enough space for another person to sit between her and Sereya.
She had already labeled Sereya as that kind of scheming bad woman.
An angel’s appearance but a devil’s heart. Truly not to be underestimated.
The journey wasn’t far.
The Transfer Station was, after all, only the size of a small city.
The car turned a few corners, passed through several streets, and arrived.
Sereya got out of the car first. Ella followed behind her, still maintaining distance.
Then she heard voices.
“Miss Sereya! Please don’t let these guys off!”
“These harmful bugs! Not a single one of them is innocent!”
Ella raised her head.
The square was much larger than she had imagined. The stone-paved ground stretched outward in all directions.
Several black lampposts stood at the edges, their glass covers reflecting glaring white light under the sun.
In the center of the square was a raised platform. Below it, a large crowd had gathered.
The noise from the crowd was like a pot of boiling porridge.
Ella poked her head out from behind the wall on the side of the platform.
Silver hair strands fell beside her face as her crimson pupils peeked out from the shadows, looking toward the center of the square.
Then a question mark appeared above her head.
Those weren’t Dieyi and the others at all. All three were men wearing tattered clothes that looked like they had been dug out of a garbage heap.
They had crooked antennae stuck on their heads and paper wings glued to their backs.
It was crude to an absurd degree, cheap to the point of being laughable — like props that elementary school kids had made with cardboard and glue for a school performance.
These were clearly just three people who had stuck on some antennae and called it a day. And they actually believed this?
Wait. Wait. Wait.
Why had three people like this suddenly appeared? There was something fishy. Definitely fishy.
They couldn’t have disguised themselves like this on their own. It made no sense for them. It would only bring them death.
All the residents of this Transfer Station could have been harmed by the swarm before.
Disguising themselves like this here wouldn’t bring any benefits. It would only make the angry crowd tear them apart.
So they were forced?
Who did this?
“Miss Sereya!”
The one on the left among the three suddenly spoke.
His voice was loud, as if he wanted everyone to hear.
“Our leader doesn’t want to cooperate with you! Please release it!”
Ella’s bladder almost gave out.
What did he mean?! How was that possible?! How could they know she was here?!
Sure enough, the next moment, the surrounding crowd stirred because of those words.
“Miss Sereya is secretly keeping the swarm’s leader? That can’t be real!”
“Impossible! The swarm are just machines that follow orders. They don’t lie! This must be true!”
“How could that be? The upper levels of the Transfer Station would secretly keep the Insect Mother?”
Who the hell told you that?! This guy is spreading rumors!
Wait a second.
A chill crawled up from the back of her neck, running down her spine all the way to her tailbone.
The man who had just said it must be true was moving very exaggeratedly.
His arms were waving dramatically in the air.
This was a carefully staged performance. He had a purpose.
Why was he trying to smear the swarm even more?
The swarm was already hated enough. Smearing them further wouldn’t achieve anything.
But aside from this man, one of the three cheap cosplay guys who had just been captured had deliberately mentioned Sereya, trying to drag her into this on purpose.
What was going on?
Was this a power struggle between the upper-class nobles of the Transfer Station? Someone wanted to drag Sereya down?
Wow. She could actually analyze this so calmly. Tch, what a false alarm.
She had thought Dieyi and the others had really been caught.
They were probably somewhere watching this show right now.
“Silence!”
A voice exploded from within the crowd.
Ella looked in the direction of the voice.
The person who spoke stood out very conspicuously in the crowd.
He was wearing an obviously expensive deep-blue suit.
The fabric had a satin-like sheen under the sunlight, with gold thread decorations along the edges.
A brooch made of some unknown material was pinned at his collar, flashing brightly in the sun.
He was half a head taller than the people around him.
Standing in the middle of the crowd, he looked like a flagpole nailed into the ground.
What surprised Ella the most was the fin-like organ behind his ear — translucent, thin as a cicada’s wing, glowing faintly blue at the edges and trembling slightly in the air.
A merman?
Ella remembered. That seemed to be a class that came with gills and could control water to a certain extent.
Literally the perfect class for living on the Abyssal Sea.
The man walked out from the crowd. His leather shoes made crisp, rhythmic sounds against the stone ground.
“I didn’t expect this.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but every word reached the ears of everyone in the square clearly.
“The upper levels of Transfer Station No. 29 have already fallen to such a degree.”
He walked up onto the platform and stood beside the three kneeling men with antennae stuck on their heads.
His deep-blue suit swayed in the sunlight.
He turned around to face the crowd in the square. The golden fins behind his ears spread slightly.
“You actually dare to have private contact with the swarm?”
“The alliance’s regulations have already clearly stated that all contact with the swarm must be cut off. If encountered, they are to be killed on sight.”
“And you, Miss Sereya — you, who represent all of Transfer Station No. 29 — are you trying to defy the alliance’s rules?”
The square fell silent.
Absolute silence. Even the sound of the wind seemed to stop at that moment.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward Sereya.
Ella poked half her body out from behind the wall, looking at the golden-haired angel on the high platform.
Sereya stood there, her white long dress trailing on the ground, golden hair hanging over her shoulders.
The wings on her back spread slightly for an instant before folding back again.
Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.
Wow. Even this woman has days like this.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.