"I'm willing to pay any price! Miyaas's lair, the relics he left behind on Blue Star, his weaknesses, The White Family's loyalty, and 20% of the annual gold income... Wait, maybe 20% is too much… no! Please don't shoot, I'm your loyal servant! If it's 20%, then it's 20%! Just let The White Family follow you!" Jameson pleaded earnestly, his sincerity palpable.
"Don't let hatred blind you to the benefits in front of you. Controlling us, making us submit to you, isn't that also a form of revenge? Doesn't it sound delightful, young one?" He lowered his tone with every word, retreating more and more, leaving Rita room to maneuver.
Just like before, when he made her promise not to take action against The White Family, Rita could easily set up a scenario where The White Family attacks her first, and she could retaliate without breaking her oath. Now, if she accepted his offer, she could manipulate The White Family to provoke enemies they couldn't handle, using them to achieve her own goals—perhaps even wiping them out with little effort.
These kinds of strategies weren't lost on Jameson, the sly old fox.
Rita didn't immediately accept his proposal. Instead, she took out a memory stone, using one hand to cover Jameson's head and mouth, and with the other, she crushed the memory stone. She wiped clean all memories related to the "Thief God" concept from his mind. From this moment on, Jameson would forget everything about Rita and Miyaas's Divine Gift. That part of his memory was now a blank, and even any fragments that could help him deduce it would vanish. All those memories had been transferred to the memory stone.
Rita held the glowing purple memory stone in her hand, then released a surge of electricity, shattering it into dust. She collected the remnants—some would be scattered into the sea to feed the fish, some thrown into a food box to disappear on its own, and the last part kept for later use, when she'd make a Fox Shadow potion that required it.
"You're so sure that I'm the one who can bring The White Family the second outcome?"
"Yes, that person has come twice. The first time, they awakened me and we made a deal. The second time, they brought a Flood Dragon."
Rita sealed Jameson back into the food box, needing some time to think.
To achieve great things, one must be heartless. It's not just love or affection that defines true emotions—hatred and resentment are emotions too. She understood all this, but she had to weigh whether the benefits outweighed the need for such ruthlessness.
She was starting to piece together the concept of the Starfire, and the more clues she gathered, the clearer her suspicions grew. The Dominoes might be something capable of elevating an entire race's level of life. If she continued down her current path, her role in Blue Star would become self-evident.
The White Family's involvement, she realized, was just about getting ahead of the game. But there was too much left unanswered in Jameson's version of the future—what if she was just a stepping stone for them on the way to greatness?
She wasn't sure about her own future either.
In this deal, she didn't have much to lose. She had already taken half of her revenge on Sanchez; the only thing left was to let go of the other half of her hatred. But the rewards Jameson offered—Miyaa's lair, the relics he left on Blue Star, his weaknesses, and 20% of The White Family's gold income—were tempting.
The benefits outweighed the risks, yet Rita couldn't shake the nagging feeling that this might be another trap.
Besides, the Black Flood Dragon...
If The White Family had been in contact with Rick, it meant that after Jameson's awakening, they had been given guidance and warnings. But why had Rick continued to cooperate with Black Jade all this time?
Moreover, she had never heard of Jameson or the Sea Demon King, Miyaas, before. Had Rick killed him? Or had Black Jade devoured them both, along with the Dragon Scales?
And... had Rick ever seen his own life's record?
Rita lay back on Nivalis's back, gazing at the sky above Lania Kaia, lost in thought.
The most pressing issue now was how to deal with Miyaas's corpse.
She could use Walk Through Time and Space to send it back into the past and bury it in some remote place, where it would be lost to time in 48 hours. Alternatively, she could lock it in the food box Eleanor had given her for 72 hours, after which it would vanish along with the box.
But Miyaas had resurrection abilities too. Rita couldn't risk that he wasn't truly dead, especially since she had no way of confirming his condition.
The truth was, she couldn't fool herself. Her greed had never disappeared.
In a crisis, she could suppress her greed and avoid traps—this was a habit of hers. She liked to gather all the things she could as quickly as possible. But now that the giant whale was quietly resting in the food box... her mind started to stir once again.
Just one more upgrade to the Divine Gift, maybe?
She knew she was falling back into her old habits.
The fact that Miyaas had teamed up with Jameson long before his arrival on Blue Star only proved how precious his Thief God talent was. How could she let go of such a valuable prize?
Rita eventually placed Miyaas's food box into her game backpack and decided she would get a new box from her grandmother in a couple of days. Until she found a completely safe method, she would just continue "raising" these two old monsters like pets.
Another thirty hours passed before they finally returned to Dragon Island.
Snow Pile felt as if he had just taken a short nap when Holy Cup and North Year called him, saying that Nivalis and Rita had returned with the Dragon Ancestor's reversed scales.
Picking up trash so quickly?
But soon, a crescent-shaped white dragon scale was placed before him.
Nivalis struggled to carry it with her little hands, sighing, "Over a hundred years, and this is all there is... Elder, you've truly decayed, Dragon Island is decaying!"
Rita took a step back. If she were to hit a child, then she'd better be out of the way as a guest...
In the end, Holy Cup intervened, using her tail to swat Nivalis, "Continue, speak."
Nivalis obediently raised both her claws and muttered, "Mother, I mean... heh, I'm just eager to improve. Is there anything Blu Blu can do to help?"
Holy Cup and Snow Pile exchanged glances. As for whether they were touched, Rita didn't dare to move.
She almost wanted to shout that this child wasn't even her responsibility! They had only met recently!
Sure enough, Holy Cup and North Year's gazes turned toward her.
Nivalis, following the direction of their eyes, turned and stared at Rita. After a few seconds of silence, her conscience won out over her fear. She took a step forward, standing in front of Rita: "If you must hit someone, hit me. It's all my fault. She's fine. It's me who's not good enough."
You little brat, you're doing this on purpose!
What am I, some easy scapegoat?