Please add this book to your library!
Celia's Section
Callan Wolfe had only brought three mid-tier Enforcers on this mission, and the frenzied spirit beast had destroyed nearly half the Spirit Core and all the Lingxiao Blooms before its death.
But Celia White wasn't disappointed. Quite the opposite—this time around, Callan didn't just survive unscathed; he came out stronger than ever. Meanwhile, Soren was running all over the Federation grinding merit points for him. That thought sent a thrill through her chest—the razor's edge between a strategist's calm and a predator's hunger.
Soren Wolfe was sharp, powerful, absurdly handsome. Even as a woman, she admired him. But admiration didn't mean loyalty. And certainly not mercy.
Men were nice. Resources were better.
Celia's eyes sharpened with sudden clarity. Her lips curled into the flawless smile every daughter of the White family had mastered through hundreds of hours of practice in front of mirrors—the kind of smile that made men fall willingly at her feet.
She tapped her fingers on the holo-screen. Callan's itinerary spread out like a game board. The next gift she had prepared for him would arrive in one month—on the snowfields of the Northern Wastes. That was where, in the last life, Damian Drake had stumbled upon the Frostheart Core.
That core would stabilize and elevate Callan's cultivation, and the Lingxiao Bloom and Primal Crystal it came with? Just what she needed to break into mid-tier.
"This time…" Celia stared out the window at the wilting rose bush, eyes flashing with frost. Her reflection in the glass fractured as rose thorns scraped the pane—a fleeting omen.
"…Soren, be a good stepping stone for Callan."
Because she would be the next matriarch of both the Wolfe and White families.
Soren's Section
The stepping stone in question—Soren Wolfe—had just delivered another batch of accomplishments. Callan's ranking on the Enforcer Merit List had jumped from 109th to 28th place.
That even beat Lucian Drake, the Drake family's newly crowned prodigy, by one slot.
"Do-Re-Mi." The three-tone message alert repeated endlessly, chiming from his phone every few seconds for half an hour.
Even someone without OCD would lose it.
Soren, now done with his assignment in Emberfield, finally checked his phone. As expected, a string of purchase notifications from Avery Blake filled the screen.
Fifty cents for a mini snack pack? $1.50 for a single cigarette? What the hell?
He skipped past the spam of micro-transactions until one message caught his eye.
"Callan located the Abyssal Spirit Core in Blackridge County. His cultivation has now reached Peak Mid-Tier. Of the three mid-tier Espers who went with him, two died and one was critically injured."
"Brooks and Haven." Soren chuckled darkly—the sound of a safety switch flipping off. "Rest in pieces."
He deleted the message without blinking. He grabbed his coat. The mirrored glass of the PSB building reflected the dangerous curve of his lips.
Time to pick up his reckless, money-burning rookie.
Avery's Section
Avery Blake stood on the curb, her shoulder-length hair tied high, giving her an energetic look.
She'd changed into a light gray fitted hoodie and dark cargo pants, slinging a large black backpack over one shoulder. A cigarette dangled unlit from her lips as she scrolled on her phone.
A car honked. She glanced up, saw Soren behind the wheel, and grinned, cigarette still in her teeth.
Without hesitation, she slid into the passenger seat, pulled the door shut, and gave the unlit cigarette a jaunty twirl between her fingers.
"Boss, you drive? I thought you'd just teleport us back in a flash!"
She curiously poked around the car interior—her phone hovered over the dashboard logo—a CEO's instinct meeting a hacker's curiosity. Everything looked just like the cars in her old world.
"Back to Capital City," Soren said curtly.
The console lit up, and a 3D map appeared. The wheel turned with eerie precision—no human hesitation, just the cold calculus of military-grade AI.
Self-driving tech in her old world had just started taking off. She'd never used it before she died.
Solar-hydrogen hybrid. Falcon Drive Series. Latest model. MSRP: 3 million.
"Damn, boss! This car is fancy."
Soren leaned back, his thumb brushing the steering wheel's stitching—once, twice—a sniper counting breath between shots as he watched her poke every button.
"You spent a lot today."
Avery turned, eyes gleaming.
"Well, thanks to the boss's generosity, I finally had enough cash to try all the stuff I couldn't before."
"Even a single cigarette?"
Long hours, stress, insane workloads—smoking had kept her sane in her past life.
Seeing her old friend again in this new world? Couldn't resist.
"Just curious." She sniffed the cigarette like a war veteran checking ammunition—until she sneezed. Well, turns out this body wasn't used to it.
"What's next on your agenda?"
The car hit the highway. Open plains stretched out on either side.
"Simple. Master my powers. Complete every mission you assign."
She flashed a cheeky grin. CEO survival rule #1: Talk smooth or die trying.
"Boss, any good training centers you recommend for Esper abilities?"
"I'll give you a contact. Let her arrange everything."
Avery glanced at him, lazily lounging in the driver's seat, that ever-present smirk still in place.
Typical second-born from a noble house—always charming, always fake. He'd been trained to smile his way through everything.
Unlike her—barely scraping by, needing to smile and act cute to survive.
"Boss, I'll also need an intel source. Got any channels I can borrow?"
She twirled the cigarette.
"Ask the same contact. And ditch the smoke."
Soren smirked internally. That move was way too smooth—no way she'd never smoked before. Liar.
"Got it, boss." She chucked the cigarette into the car bin.
"I'll save her number now?"
"Nyra Night. 28." He rattled off the digits.
Memorized? Must be a very close contact.
Avery logged it instantly.
[CONTACT ACQUIRED]
Nyra Night | 28 | Establishment: Twilight Lounge
Status: Unaffiliated | Threat Level: Mid-Tier Psionic
Affiliation: Wings of Liberty (Probable)
[End Transmission]
"System LUSTRA, you're magic," she whispered with a satisfied grin.
"Boss, once we get to Capital City, I'll go straight to meet her!"
[MISSION UPDATED: Meet Nyra Night. Side Quest: Don't get killed.]
Avery smirked. "Copy that, LUSTRA. Let's hustle."