“Huu, I can finally sleep…”
A layer of grayish light was beginning to spread across the horizon.
Ella dragged her body, which felt like it was about to fall apart, and finally returned to Sereya’s residence.
An entire night of chaos had nearly drained all her strength.
Fighting the beastmen, catching the big fish, setting up the warehouse, raising the Strider, and then forcibly enduring the excruciating pain of the Neural Connection Insect fusing into her body.
Right now, all she wanted was to sleep.
She did not even bother with any unnecessary movements.
She collapsed headfirst onto the bed, wanting nothing more than to throw the hellish pain from earlier and the tension of the past few days completely out of her mind.
But this peace did not last even a single second.
“Get up. I changed my mind. You’re coming with me.”
A cold voice rang out without warning at the doorway.
Ella groggily opened her eyes.
Her entire body instantly stiffened.
Sereya was standing at her bedroom door.
She had already changed into a crisp, neat formal suit.
Her long hair was meticulously groomed.
Clearly, she had been awake for a while and was preparing to go out.
She slightly raised her hand and extended a fingertip toward Ella.
Her tone brooked no argument as she signaled for Ella to follow immediately.
“Huh?”
Ella’s mouth fell wide open.
The drowsiness was instantly chased away by more than half.
Her mind went blank.
Are you kidding me?!
The next second, before she could voice any protest, Sereya grabbed her without another word and half-dragged, half-pulled her out of the room.
They headed straight toward the vehicle waiting outside the residence.
Drowsiness still clung heavily to her.
Her entire body felt soft and weak.
She did not even have the strength to resist.
She could only be dragged along like a soulless doll.
Just like that, Ella—who had been so sleepy she was about to pass out on the spot—was forcibly pulled into the car by Sereya and taken together toward the meeting location.
The carriage was extremely quiet.
Ella’s head kept nodding forward, almost hitting the window.
Her eyes were filled with unconcealable exhaustion.
Sereya turned her head and glanced at her.
Her tone carried a trace of doubt.
“What’s wrong with you? Did you not sleep well last night?”
Ella forced herself to perk up and casually made up an excuse.
“Uh… The new bed is too soft. I’m a little unaccustomed to it. I used to sleep on cardboard.”
Those words were not entirely a lie.
Back when she had still been male and the swarm had just begun, there had been no bed to sleep on.
She had often slept on rocks.
“All right. It doesn’t matter. The meeting won’t last long. You can come back and catch up on sleep afterward.” Sereya replied indifferently.
“Mm…”
Ella responded weakly.
Inside, she was wailing in despair.
I really want to sleep, wuwuwu!
The moment she thought about how Dieyi and the others might be lying comfortably in that rented house right now, sleeping soundly and carefree, while she—the boss—had been forced to wake up early and run around, accompanying a perverted angel to attend a meeting, a wave of grievance and stifled anger instantly surged in her chest.
Eeeee! Feel it! My rage!
She roared furiously in her heart, yet could only sit obediently in the car.
She did not even dare to complain out loud.
A few minutes later, the vehicle came to a steady stop.
Ella followed Sereya out of the car.
What entered her view was a tall, imposing building standing in the central area of the Transfer Station.
It looked grand and majestic.
What she had never expected, however, was that Sereya would actually bring her along and walk straight into the meeting venue with her.
Ella was instantly dumbfounded.
What does this mean? I can listen in too? Is this really something I’m allowed to hear?
She was just a maid, yet she actually had the qualifications to enter such a high-level meeting?
After a brief moment of shock, she immediately realized—this was an excellent opportunity to gather intelligence.
It would be a waste not to listen.
She also happened to want to personally see what kind of punishment this alliance official would give Sereya, who had been publicly accused on the square of secretly hiding insects.
Yes, yes, yes. Punish her severely. Best to punish this perverted angel hard.
She thought gleefully in her heart as she followed Sereya into the meeting room.
But the moment she stepped through the door, Ella froze again.
Inside the spacious meeting room stood quite a few maids wearing the exact same maid uniform as her.
There were also male servants.
They all stood with hands lowered behind their respective masters, proper and silent.
All right. Now I understand.
It turned out she was not some specially treated participant at all.
She had simply been dragged out by Sereya to fill the numbers and act as a decorative prop.
Ella’s mouth twitched.
She could only accept her fate, put away her thoughts, and imitate the others.
She quietly stood behind Sereya, posture perfectly straight, trying her best to look inconspicuous.
The meeting soon began.
The first to speak was a fat man with a massive belly and a body full of flab.
One look and it was obvious he was a powerful noble within the Transfer Station.
He bowed toward the person in the main seat with a face full of flattery.
“Alliance official, I have already called over all the big shots on Transfer Station No. 29 for you.”
“Mm. Well done. When the time comes, I will reserve a position for you within the alliance.” A flat voice came from the main seat.
“Ehehehe! Thank you, official! Thank you, official!” The fat man immediately became overjoyed.
He nodded and bowed repeatedly, smiling so hard his eyes curved into slits.
Ella followed the voice and looked toward the so-called alliance official.
Her pupils shrank slightly.
The man had obvious fish fins behind his ears.
His class was mermaid.
That face—she remembered it.
It was the alliance official who had publicly accused Sereya of secretly hiding insects on the square a few days ago.
Why is it him?
Before Ella could think further, the mermaid official spoke again.
“You all did well. Once the main force arrives, we can directly seize all the resources on Transfer Station No. 29 under the name of secretly hiding a swarm, or even more seriously, under the name of being invaded by the swarm. When that time comes, the greatest credit will be ours. No one will know that there was actually no swarm at all.”
Boom——
Ella’s mind instantly exploded.
Her entire body went rigid.
What?! He… He’s saying…
She suddenly clenched the hands hidden behind her back.
Her heart began pounding wildly.
I understand. I think I understand now…
This person did not represent the will of the alliance at all.
He was simply abusing the authority in his hands to seek personal gain for himself.
The so-called charges of “colluding with the swarm” and “being invaded by the swarm” were his own fabrication.
And all the nobles present—including Sereya, who had been publicly reported earlier—were actually participating in this scheme?
Once the alliance’s main force was lured here, Transfer Station No. 29 would be treated as a swarm base and directly purged.
At that time, all the resources, wealth, and territory would rightfully fall into the pockets of this group of people.
Ella subconsciously looked toward Sereya beside her.
Her gaze was somewhat complicated.
She had originally thought this woman was simply a perverted tormentor with a bad personality and unpredictable moods.
But now it seemed she was far more terrifying than she had imagined.
No. This is correct.
Just as she had expected, Sereya was indeed a thorough scumbag.
Moreover, she was an insidious, cunning scumbag who would resort to any means for profit.
But right now, none of that mattered.
She had no extra energy to judge Sereya’s character.
The most critical thing at this moment was that she needed time.
She needed definite information.
When exactly would the alliance’s main force arrive at Transfer Station No. 29?
The atmosphere of conspiracy in the meeting room grew thicker and thicker.
“Everyone, start packing your things. Tomorrow we will soar to success!” The mermaid official spoke with great ambition.
“Hahahaha! Cheers to the official!”
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
The group of nobles echoed one after another.
They raised their cups in celebration.
Their laughter was filled with greed and smugness, as if they could already see endless wealth and power within easy reach.
Amid the noisy sounds of celebration, only Sereya’s voice remained calm and undisturbed.
She did not become agitated like the others.
Even now, this woman still maintained her elegant and composed appearance, as if all the dirty dealings before her had nothing to do with her.
Ella did not look at those ugly faces anymore.
Instead, she quietly turned her gaze toward the window.
From this tall building located at the highest point of the Transfer Station, she could clearly see the military warships docked at the distant port, as well as the warehouse area she had visited last night.