Azalea browsed through the news on her personal computer. As someone who was only aiming for immortality and not whatever vague concept of something even greater that Grandpa Vremya had explained, she had a lot of free time. There were enough spirit stones to support her growth, and with her natural talent, breaking through to the soul-seed stage was just a simple matter of cultivating for enough time. The apartment room had been modified by Grandpa Vremya. There was a formation that harnessed spiritual energy from spirit stones and prevented it from leaving the room, making it an ideal place for cultivation. The only downside was the formation had to be restocked every day. With this ideal training ground that was able to use spirit stones to their full potential, she could split her attention. Half of it focused on cultivation while the other half did its best to not be useless, hence her reading the news.

“Financial magnate Karl Laslow, CEO of the robotics company Mountainback, has been brutally murdered by soul-seed cultivator Rachel of the Moon Lotus Sect from the newly discovered Moon Lotus World.” Azalea raised an eyebrow at the headline she had just read. Wasn’t this person the one who had audaciously wanted to purchase the Moon Lotus Sect? It seemed like Rachel had heard about it, probably from Michelle. Azalea clicked on the headline, and an article appeared. “Oh. Alongside the body of the CEO, the head of the Food, Drug, and Elixir Administration was found decapitated as well.” Azalea nodded in approval. “Ancestor Rachel works quite fast.” She couldn’t help but send a glance at Grandpa Vremya, who was still engrossed in his stupid game.

“Sounds troublesome,” Grandpa Vremya said, not taking his eyes off his screen. His concentration had been split seven ways: five parts towards the game, one part towards absorbing spiritual energy, and the last part towards paying attention to Azalea. Of course, the proportions weren’t equal, which was why Azalea had only received a two-word response.

Azalea shook her head. “I’ll send a message to Miss Emily to let her know the problem’s been resolved,” she said. “I wonder what sort of consequences these actions will bring. The comments on the article are pretty negative, and people are saying they aren’t going to visit such a lawless place. Miss Emily’s plan of selling our culture might have to be modified.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Grandpa Vremya said. “That plan was just a temporary measure. The real moneymaker is the deal we made with the army.”

“Will the army continue trading with us?” Azalea asked. “What if they change their minds because of what Ancestor Rachel did?”

“The federation would be very foolish if they punished a whole world because of the actions of a single person,” Grandpa Vremya said. “I don’t think anything will happen to us.”

At that moment, the power within the room flickered. Then, it completely shut off. Grandpa Vremya’s screen went black, and his eyes widened. He was in the middle of his game! Why did the power shut off!? Spiritual energy filled the room as Grandpa Vremya climbed to his feet. The power might’ve shut off, but that didn’t mean his bracelet was out of power. He pressed a few buttons, and soon, a ringing sound came out of it.

After a few rings, someone answered. “Hello. Welcome to Bread SP. If you’re calling today because of a problem with your service, please press one. If you’re—”

Grandpa Vremya pressed one.

“If your service is down, please press one. If—”

Grandpa Vremya pressed one again.

“Thank you for calling! Please hold until one of our representatives can speak with you. Currently, you are number four thousand three hundred twenty-nine in queue.”

Uplifting music came out of the bracelet, and Grandpa Vremya’s eye twitched. He glared at Azalea. “Give me the location of our internet service provider.”

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“Uh….” Azalea scratched her head. “The power was completely cut off. It’s not just the internet.”

Grandpa Vremya exhaled. In his momentary fit of insanity, he had forgotten such a crucial detail. He hung up the phone call and nodded. “Regardless, the internet speed is a bit slow. A ping of seven is simply unacceptable, but I’ll leave that for a later day. What apartment number does our landlord live in?”

“He owns the building, but he doesn’t live in it,” Azalea said. “We can just give him a call.” Her brow furrowed, and she turned her head towards the door. Grandpa Vremya’s brow furrowed as well, and he waved his hand. A dozen battlesuits, each one pulsating with titan blood, appeared in a formation in front of him. The door burst open, and three men dressed in black armor burst into the room. They were promptly brought to the ground by a single battlesuit golem. The remaining golems surged out of the room, and screams filled the apartment.

“Assassins?” Azalea asked. She clicked her tongue. “This place claims to be civilized, but it’s the same everywhere you go, isn’t it?” As expected, the Mountainback company was retaliating because Rachel had killed their leader. Perhaps the Food, Drug, and Elixir Association were also a part of this attack.

It didn’t take long for the battlesuit golems to defeat the enemies. They gathered their collapsed bodies into the apartment and closed the door. Grandpa Vremya crossed his arms and stared at his defeated foes. “Who sent you?”

“We’re the police!” one of the armored men shouted. “We’re here to arrest you all!”

“Arrest us?” Azalea asked. “For what? We haven’t done anything wrong?”

“You sent combat robots out to attack us, and you claim you haven’t done anything wrong!?” the officer asked. “We’re arresting you for resisting arrest!”

Grandpa Vremya took a step forward, his feet getting dangerously close to the man’s head. “Were you the ones who cut off our power?”

“W-we’re the police,” the man said. “We suspect you’re harboring a dangerous criminal!” He glanced around at his companions. When had any members of his squad ever been in a position like this? For heaven’s sake, he was a soul-seed cultivator! His companions might not have been soul-seed cultivators, but they were at the peak of nascent soul! This was the strongest group of law enforcement officers on the capital planet of Bread. What the hell were these battlesuits, and how could they defeat their group so easily!?

“And you expected to subdue the dangerous criminal with a force this weak?” Azalea asked, raising an eyebrow. The squad leader was crushed underneath a battlesuit golem. He had to focus all his spiritual energy on defending; otherwise, he would suffer internal injuries. He couldn’t spare any strength to pressure the two nascent-soul cultivators above him.

The squad leader was at a loss for words. What was he supposed to do here? The task was simple: apprehend the criminal who murdered the Mountainback CEO.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Grandpa Vremya said. “Were you the ones who cut off our power?” With a wave of his hand, another golem appeared. It also got on top of the squad leader, forcing him to overdraft his energy to protect himself.

“Y-yes,” the squad leader said. “It was to disable any traps you might’ve installed.”

Grandpa Vremya exhaled. “I was in the middle of a very important match,” he said. “Because of you, I’m going to suffer my first loss. Although it’s due to unpreventable circumstances and my domineering will won’t be affected, I’m still very, very displeased.” He stroked his beard. “Actually, the situation might not be unsalvageable just yet. Turn the power back on.”

The squad leader glanced behind himself. A man cleared his throat. His voice was strained due to his injuries. “We cut the cable. It’ll take a professional to repair it.”

Grandpa Vremya exhaled and took a seat on his chair. He folded his hands across his lap and swirled his chair around to stare out the window.

“W-what are you going to do with us?” the squad leader asked.

“Me?” Grandpa Vremya shook his head. “I’m not going to do anything to you.”

The squad leader grunted. Even though Grandpa Vremya had said he wasn’t going to do anything, it was still uncomfortable being pressured by two battlesuits. “Does that mean you’re letting us go?”

“Yes,” Grandpa Vremya said and waved his hand. The golems disappeared. “I’m letting you go, but I don’t know if she will.”

The squad leader glanced at Azalea as he climbed to his feet. A nascent-soul cultivator was going to stop him?

Seeing his body language, Azalea shook her head. “Not me,” she said. She pointed at the doorway. At some point, a certain someone had returned home. “Her.”

“It’s quite troublesome how the intergalactic society is so large,” Rachel said as she walked into the room, pulling out her sword. “The roots I have to exterminate to get rid of a problem are so long.”