Chapter 496: line with translation of chapter title

"You… you remember me?" Zhenni Fu's voice trembled, her cheeks flushed red from the idol's attention.

"Of course I remember! Come, let's take a photo together." Zuguoren naturally put his arm around the girl's shoulder, flashing his dazzling white teeth at the phone she held up, "Remember to post it on Ins, I'll give you a like."

Starlight stood by the marble pillar not far away, her brows involuntarily furrowing. This was already the fifth similar scene she had seen this morning…… Zuguoren usually treated ordinary staff as if they were invisible, but today he was enthusiastic as if he'd become a different person.

"Could he have taken the wrong medicine today?" Starlight muttered to herself, nervously walking into the elevator with Zuguoren.

After the elevator doors closed, Zuguoren turned to her, his smile undiminished: "Good morning, Starlight, you look absolutely stunning today, that necklace really suits you."

Starlight suppressed her discomfort, forcing a smile: "Thank you, Zuguoren… you're in a good mood today?"

"Oh, of course!" Zuguoren exaggeratedly spread his arms, "I've never felt this relaxed before, especially when people finally start to understand you."

With a "ding," the elevator reached the 57th floor, Zuguoren walked out humming a little tune, even nodding at the janitor at the end of the hallway.

"……This is too weird."

Starlight muttered to herself and headed straight for Aishili's office.

Aishili was still busy today; hearing the sound of heels, she didn't look up: "If it's about the new sponsor, I've already emailed you."

"It's not about the sponsor." Starlight walked to Aishili's desk, "What's up with Zuguoren today? Don't you think he's a bit……" Starlight repeatedly weighed adjectives in her mind, "……in unusually good shape?"

Aishili's fingers paused on the keyboard, a hint of a smug smile curling her lips: "Oh, that. His latest poll results are out—his support rating jumped 30 percentage points overnight."

"Thirty percentage points?!" Starlight's eyes widened in disbelief, "Impossible! Last month people were still protesting outside Watt Building over his accidental injuries during routine heroics."

"Public opinion flows like water, dear." Aishili shrugged lightly, "I also found it hard to believe at first, as if some deity were secretly pulling strings—it shot up overnight, incredibly miraculous, right? But that's the fact; we've also investigated, and there's no data error or bug in the backend. Right now he's America's most popular hero, bar none, and his support is nearly double that of the second‑place contender."

"This…"

Starlight froze for a moment, not knowing what to say; a strange feeling welled up inside her. Something's off, very off…… Zuguoren's support rating isn't unheard of to rise, but this sudden overnight surge…… She felt like she was dreaming, yet when she pinched her own cheek the pain was all too real.

Could it be that the one who took the wrong medicine isn't Zuguoren, but this generation of netizens?

No way…

——

""March 7th belatedly exclaimed in surprise: "Ah, he also used that… tuning on us! Doesn't that mean we almost got imprisoned as well……""

""Jizi nodded: "Now I can be certain he truly wants a fair duel with us. Otherwise he could have easily disposed of us then… without breaking a sweat.""

""Speaking of the head of the Oak family… where is he now?" Danhen asked."

""It's complicated, but to put it simply, he is now the former head of the Oak family." Jingyuan paused, "The company has identified him as the main person responsible for the family's Pinokangni branch, demanding he represent the family in taking responsibility for the unrest on the grounds of threatening galactic peace, and has referred the case to Beirpoint for judgment……"

""But the family immediately labeled everyone including him in the 【Order】 remnants as enemies, insisting this disturbance was an internal rebellion. Consequently, the company has no justification, emotionally or rationally, to intervene in family affairs."

""March 7th looked worried: "What… will happen to Miss Zhigengniao? She and Xingqiri are inevitably involved in this Harmony Festival, right? Or are they siblings……"

""Jingyuan let out a deep sigh: "All I can say is, this girl has suffered an utterly undeserved disaster. In the mediation process, my alliance will do its utmost to persuade the family to handle this matter prudently."

""Now is the time for Jingyuan and the company's officials to negotiate; Jingyuan hopes everyone will come to observe."

""The train crew certainly won't shirk responsibility—except for Danhen, who needs to go to the train to report safety to Pam, everyone else has arrived at the company's negotiation site."

""From afar, everyone saw Miss Topa, Mr. Shajin, and…… Professor Laatio."

""After the two sides exchanged brief pleasantries, Topa spoke on behalf of the company to state its position: "Everyone, in short, this is good news—after deliberation and vote by the Strategic Investment Department's 【Major Affairs Group】, the following resolution was passed with the overwhelming consent of its members:""

""Based on long‑term consideration of the Interstellar Peace Company, and with headquarters' authorization, the Strategic Investment Department will permanently relinquish the company's claim to sovereignty over Pinokangni and will unconditionally support the family's reconstruction work on Pinokangni.""

——

The Kobayashi family's dragon maid.

"???"

Kobayashi looked utterly baffled.

What's going on? How did the company suddenly become so kind-hearted?

No way? Aren't the company's top brass a bunch of evil capitalists? It's as if they all collectively turned into a different person.

Besides this matter, what also confused Kobayashi was that her company's leaders had just announced in the company group, due to a temporary business adjustment, all employees would receive a month of paid leave; she was thinking about how she and Thor could enjoy this hard‑earned vacation when she happened to see this scene in the sky.

……Very suspicious.

Could the leaders' kindness even be contagious? Spread from the firmament to the outside world, reaching Sakura Country?

"Kobayashi, what's wrong with you?" Thor waved his hand in front of her, "Just now I saw you spacing out—did something come to mind?"

"Ah… not really, I'm just a little curious about the Interstellar Peace Company's decisions in the sky; it feels like the company's leaders have all changed." Kobayashi murmured softly.

"Hmm… maybe the leaders are actually a bunch of kind-hearted humans, who knows?"

"Thor, only you dragons could say something like that." Kobayashi pursed her lips, "……Anyway, I don't believe conscience would grow on company leaders."

——

""This……" Jizi was also stunned for a moment."

""Jingyuan smiled meaningfully: "Heh, interesting."

""Then Shajin didn't just take a blow for nothing?"

""Shajin gave a faint smile: "Haha, if… if this could bring peace to the whole universe, then it would be worth it.""