The gentle, sickly beauty is a cold and aloof general.

"Don't rush me, I have plenty of reasons to convince you."

Jun Ming stretched out his hand to Eric and snapped his fingers amidst the puzzled looks of Eric and Sai Xuya.

The moment the snap of his fingers rang out, Eric's eyes immediately became vacant and unfocused, and the entire insect froze in place.

Sai Xuya noticed Eric's abnormality immediately, forced herself to calm down, and reached out to shake Eric.

"Eric, Eric?"

"What's wrong with you?"

Eric, who had already entered a hypnotic state, showed no change in expression. He did not react to Cyrus's touch or questions, and did not even move.

"It would be best if our leader didn't waste his energy."

Jun Ming spoke to Sai Xuya in a calm and unhurried manner.

"The current Eric will only obey my orders."

Jun Ming laughed freely, his confident demeanor igniting a sense of panic deep within Sai Xuya.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Sai Xuya stretched out one arm, blocking Eric's path, adopting a defensive stance, and stared warily at Jun Ming.

Sai Xuya's reaction was within Jun Ming's expectations. To make his words more convincing, he said to Eric:

Tell me your name.

Eric, as if a machine had heard its master's command, slowly raised his head, his gaze still unfocused, but rather vaguely looking in Jun Ming's direction.

My name is... Eric.

Eric's unusual behavior sent chills down Sai Xuya's spine and made the hairs on her body stand on end.

"What exactly did you do to him?!"

Sai Xuya finally accepted the fact that Eric had lost his mind.

"I will treat their mental breakdowns, and you will not harm Atal."

"This is a deal between us."

"Besides that, I also need to leave myself some means of survival, right?"

"Since I can enter their mental sea when they lose their minds, I can naturally do other things in their consciousness as well."

"Let me think... how many female insects have I saved these past few days? Does the leader remember?"

"I roughly remember... there should be over a hundred."

Jun Ming raised an eyebrow, subtly threatening Sai Xuya.

The hidden meaning in Jun Ming's words made Sai Xuya's face turn pale.

"Are you threatening me with them?"

Jun Ming shook his head.

"What are you saying, Chief?"

"This is a perfectly reasonable deal."

"Trade your freedom for theirs."

"Isn't that fair?"

Sai Xuya gritted her teeth, her brain working at high speed.

Unfortunately, he was unaware of Jun Ming's methods of controlling his compatriots and was powerless to stop it. Even Eric, who was by his side, only needed to snap his fingers to become what he is now.

The only way to save them is to agree to Jun Ming's conditions.

I promise you.

After careful consideration, Sai Xuya couldn't come up with a way to break the deadlock. Resigned, she sighed and prepared to agree to Jun Ming's deal.

Upon hearing that Sai Xuya had agreed to Jun Ming's conditions, Eric struggled for a moment, his eyes darting around, and he almost woke up from the hypnotic state.

Junming keenly sensed Eric's change and immediately invaded Eric's brain again, deepening the hypnosis.

Eric then calmed down.

[After a snap of your fingers, you will emerge from the hypnotic state, but you will remember everything that just happened.]

Jun Ming gave Eric a command in his mind: She Cai withdrew.

"It would be best if the leader could understand this at a basic level."

"After all, a gentleman uses words, not fists. I don't want to turn to arms with you, Chief; wouldn't that ruin the harmony?"

After Jun Ming snapped his fingers again, Eric broke free from the hypnotic state.

But Eric remembered everything that had just happened inside the house.

Even at the very moment the fingers snapped, all he could see and hear was Jun Ming.

It's like drowning in the sea, reaching out to grab something, but there's nothing around except the seawater enveloping him.

And so it continued to sink.

"Sai Xuya, you can't agree to him so easily."

Realizing what Saixuya had just agreed to Junming, Eric, disregarding the presence of Junming and Atal, immediately intervened to stop them.

"You went through so much trouble to escape from the king, are you going back to walk right into his trap?"

Do you think the king will easily let you off the hook for once mocking him?

Eric was somewhat angry that Jun Ming had so easily agreed to Jun Ming's conditions.

But more than anything, there was a feeling of powerlessness.

That feeling of not being able to control himself was truly unpleasant.

"Then I can't just leave you all to fend for yourselves."

Sai Xuya's brief statement revealed his attitude toward the matter.

Seeing that the deal seemed to have reached a stalemate, Jun Ming spoke up at the right time.

"Gentlemen, I haven't finished speaking yet."

Eric stared warily at Jun Ming.

"Lord Junming, using me to threaten Saixu Yalin in order to achieve your goals seems out of character for you."

"Such despicable methods, how could you possibly do such a thing?"

Hearing Eric's somewhat angry sarcasm, Jun Ming didn't react much, but Atal couldn't stand it anymore.

"Mr. Eric, please show some respect for my lord's words."

"If we're talking about despicable acts, your rebel army turned the female soldiers around me against their will, and even threatened me with the safety of the First Legion's garrison base in order to kidnap my male lord."

"Wouldn't their despicable methods be even worse?"

Atal, for the first time without any hesitation, expressed his dissatisfaction with the three "traitors" to Cyrus and Eric.

The rebels' actions were indeed dishonorable. Atal's words left Eric speechless.

"Eric, stop talking."

Saixuya stopped Eric from continuing his argument with Atal, and turned to Junming to ask:

"Lord Junming, is there anything else you would like to say?"

Jun Ming crossed his legs.

"His Majesty's order: 'Capture Saixuya Lin alive.'"

"But our only responsibility is to bring the 'living Cyrus Yarin' back to the main planet."

"As for what happens to the leader after returning to the main star, that's beyond the scope of our First Legion."

"Once we reach the main planet and disembark from the starship, the 'living Cyshuyal' will be taken away by the insects under His Majesty the King's command."

"Some things, if you can do them once, you can do them a second time."

"What do you think, Chief?"