Chapter 1523: NO．138：She Said It Doesn't Matter

NO. 138: She said it doesn't matter.

At the same time, Linton's office.

A rare holiday, someone busy outside, someone with pink hair simply playing games at home, and the wolf girl even went to read with the small team—working under the guise of holiday overtime, written as paid remote travel.

Meanwhile, the newborn orca lay sideways on the sofa, hugging a chibi devil plushie, rubbing it back and forth in silence—this was her usual demeanor when Ormer wasn't around.

At first, she would still go back to Rhodes Island for a while, chatting and playing with friends like the ghost shark, or remotely checking on Hai Si's survival status, but later, she spent more and more time idling in the office.

Either wait for Ormer to return and then hug him, or be approached by Xi, Qiena, Ling, or others who come to check on her, directly calling, pulling, or carrying her away, or just keep sitting, lying, or standing there—becoming more and more like a lobby decoration.

When she doesn't speak, the others in the office have grown accustomed to ignoring her presence while interacting, and even visiting clients would sigh, remarking how lovely the office's simulation robot looks, and ask if she'd be willing to share her appearance encoding.

Of course, at the moment, there are no visitors—only the office, setting aside technical assistants: Xin Tiao Xi and Ai Li Suzi, plus the only two female members of the action team.

"Badger, isn't it almost ten minutes?"

The emerald-green giant snake tail swayed gently, making space so the owner could sit on the sofa that had not been designed with any allowance for external appendages like tails.

For a moment, the indentation on the sofa's surface caused Ishamara, lying behind, to slightly lift her head to look at the feathered serpent sitting beside her feet.

A kind of weight-based stalemate made her gaze mostly fall on the other's heavy-looking coat and external skeleton, while the other, noticing the brief eye contact, didn't think much of it.

As for the woman sitting opposite, with a similarly full figure but unable to make the sofa show the same visual effect as the other side due to her brown short hair, she glanced over.

"Right, Hai Ya sister, there are still three seconds until ten minutes—Is the director's emblem still dark?"

"You actually listen to him like that? Calling him 'director' during work? Just call his name."

"It's Hai Ya sister—you're too eager to oppose him… Ormer has a high tolerance for you……"

Saying this, she still unconsciously glanced at Ishamara, lounging on the opposite sofa playing on her phone—even though Ishamara looked calm and breezy, her face and eyes still reflected the glow of a phone screen turned up too bright, and she still felt a bit sluggish.

How should I describe this subtlety?

Talking about the other's girlfriend in front of her, though it should be nothing and there's nothing forbidden to hear, yet some thoughts in her heart felt awkward, so the conversation fizzled out—Hai Ya lightly asked: "Aren't you different from them?"

This composure and boldness, that initiative and passion—these were things she had long admired, thinking that by age, she should be the older one, but actual experience gap clearly reversed.

Badger couldn't understand why, when she called her sister, Hai Ya sister was so happy—clearly, Badger was the one benefiting more—but no matter what, she had indeed learned many things beyond food exploration from her.

She often felt, when with her, a sensation similar to being with Ormer—she seemed to know everything, and the longer they interacted, the more she understood that effortless, all-knowing, composed excellence……

—except when it came to their relationship.

"I'm not sure… I've never known what he thinks," Badger said, then unconsciously glanced at Ishamara, "The operation three days ago was also… why he's clearly busy but unwilling to give us any chance to shine?"

"I also know I lack experience and might make mistakes, but Hai Ya sister wouldn't, right?"

"You know this too, don't you? It's precisely because of this that he doesn't give me opportunities—afraid I'll push his owed compensation share higher."

"This director of ours has already owed me two dates, and the longer he drags it, the higher the price of the date becomes."

「……」

"Badger, you don't want to be like me, do you? I see you should try making such a demand—anyway, with your expenses, your salary and bonus are more than enough, and your situation might even qualify for a subsidy from the Two-World Safety Bureau's travelers."

Some things, some paths, are meant to be walked alone—others just get in the way.

But if someone like Badger looks decisive but actually follows behind, learning cautiously, Hai Ya welcomes it—especially when the other, due to low self-esteem, lowers their posture and becomes especially obedient.

Like a child.

If there had been no crossing over, if she had never met Ormer Linton, Hai Ya would, at this age, have been nearing her end, supposed to find a male to leave offspring, to pass on the feathered serpent's cruel ritual and pursuit.

Now, her clan's wish fulfilled, her lifespan extended through local medical improvements, she naturally no longer feels that urgency—only the dissonance from achieving her ultimate goal too quickly and too smoothly remains, still capable of making her have unstable dreams.

In the dazed moment upon waking, she wonders where she is, what time it is, recalls what her original self was like, and wonders if she should be the one, in worsening physical condition, dragging along a near-idiotic infant who won't regain consciousness until around ten years old.

Or perhaps there was never a child……

That cruel surgery doesn't guarantee success—infants with poor constitution or bad luck often die on the spot, which is common in the clan.

But no matter what, now that she's fulfilled her wish, she no longer insists on that cruel tradition—if she ever has a child, she'll simply pass on the card; whether the child needs it or not…… that depends on the education outcome at the time.

And just as Badger felt, Hai Ya's decades-long adherence to the Feathered Serpent's Way—her spirit of excellence in all things—has indeed made her knowledgeable and capable…… but her tendency toward scheming means her only blank spot is in early education.

Yet she doesn't worry, because she's currently practicing—on this girl who claims to be over five thousand years old, yet in many ways is as pure and timid as a child.

She is indeed teaching sincerely, gently guiding, patient and tender—though this is also a long process, not worth rushing.

What should be urgent now is the message from the Rainbow Snake Lord, sent nine minutes ago—like a compensatory check-in from a few days prior—only telling her and the other to pay attention to the office system's built-in member status display.

If it stays gray for ten minutes, try to initiate contact; if unreachable, contact Ling, and come directly to the Granjaniell Theater.

"It's this time again—another small task of contacting a few people—you really pay attention to micro-control, Badger—what are you doing? Do you have Ling Miss's contact?"

"Uh… Or… Director gave me a number before—Hai Ya sister, didn't you get it?"

"Huh? No—was that Ling's number? Starts with 241?"

Although Hai Ya and most girls around Ormer have chatted a few times, Ling happens to be her blind spot.

In her impression, the other always coincidentally misses her—when they speak, it's usually just a few words before something else comes up—this kind of seemingly harmless coincidental distance makes her feel especially difficult to handle, with no hope of quickly building affection.

So naturally, she has no contact number for her.

But even so……

"241 should be a relatively recent number prefix—did Ling get a new phone number?"

"I don't know—I'll try calling first."

Badger spoke while dialing, lifted the phone, and listened for a few seconds.

"Ah, it connected."

"Is that Ling?" Hai Ya asked, perhaps she should note this number.

"No, it's someone with a very buzzing voice……" Badger listened two more seconds, moved the phone slightly to look at her, "He said he's the Beast King, busy for now, we'll talk later—now… now he's already hung up."

「？」

「？」

The two question marks stared at each other, until the corner's teleportation array suddenly activated and lit up, accompanied by the office system's alert sound echoing in every room, making the two, along with the half-reclined Ishamara who had listened the whole time, slightly lift their upper bodies with astonishing core strength, half-heads protruding, joining the two to watch the spring-limited edition, great coat-wearing guard Shuhai Ya suddenly dash out from the center.

"Is Ormer here!" she exclaimed, stepping forward a few steps after appearing, righteous and bold, as if she were the owner of this place—"Only you… three?"

"If you're looking for him, you can do it on the way, though you should be able to share what happened, right?"

Upon hearing that, she was straightforward: "Threatening emails to his account inbox have surged, mostly from cultists—do you have any leads?"

"Cultists?"

The badger looked puzzled, while Hollehaia merely narrowed her eyes.

"How do you know the status of his account inbox?"

"That's not important—do you want to go find Aomo?"

Shihuaiya gestured imperiously and slapped the table.

"Hurry, it's an emergency of ten thousand fires!"