Transform into a human

"Happiness" came too suddenly, and Yue Lai was completely unprepared. Of course, he could tell the other party that Xia Du and Yue Hao were in the police headquarters and the capital planet, respectively, but what would be the point?

With his intelligence, how could he not guess that it was Mo and Winona who were behind this!

He felt unsteady on his feet and quickly grabbed the corpse hanging in the bakery next door for support, saying bitterly:

"What a tragedy... What did they do?"

"During your absence from Windmill City, Hoffen planned to breed, so the committee brought in a bone dragon and asked a holy apothecary to concoct an aphrodisiac."

"Before the Bone Dragon arrived, the employees you vouched for fed the potion to Hoffen, and as for the result... you saw it for yourself."

Yue Lai almost stopped breathing. No wonder Tristan didn't come to see him in person!

His gaze shifted to the ravaged neighborhood, as if he could see an exorbitant bill looming over the firm.

Hayes' assistant had been building up the conversation for a long time, and seeing that his boss's friend was mentally prepared, he finally spoke:

"Based on your past reputation, the committee has decided not to take coercive measures against your employees for the time being, but they are not allowed to leave Windmill City without permission."

"The specific losses are being tallied, but a conservative estimate is no less than 10 billion New Federal Dollars. After all, as you know, Windmill City has many extraordinary assets, and the residents tend to exaggerate the losses they suffer."

"How much...how much?" Yue Lai's voice trembled.

"At least 10 billion."

"The committee has decided to pay the residents the money first, which means your claim is in the hands of the committee."

Yue Lai was completely heartbroken.

If it were tens of millions or even hundreds of millions, he could endure hardship himself, and at worst, he could take on more high-risk jobs. With his long lifespan, he could eventually pay it off.

But billions... he no longer wanted to struggle. Even if he completed this astronomical commission, five million thrown into this hole wouldn't make a ripple.

"Mr. Yue, are you alright?"

"Heh, heh heh..."

……

While Yue Lai's mind was being tormented, the culprit who caused all of this went into hiding.

In a dark alley, Winona said speechlessly, "Why are we hiding here?"

Mo frantically tugged at her hair, saying indignantly, "What do you think! After causing such a huge disaster, are we supposed to hide instead of turning ourselves in?!"

"Hmm, turning myself in...it doesn't seem like such a bad idea after all..."

As for Cavendish, he had completely lost the ability to think. What was worse than burning down the entire company on his first day was that he burned down the whole city where the company was located...

Winona said nonchalantly, "It's no big deal. Why are you making such a fuss? That dragon only caused a little trouble at the tree roots, and it was quickly brought under control."

"So what?"

The battle songstress patted her friend on the shoulder: "Don't worry, even without relying on my family, I've saved up a lot of money. Even a few hundred million wouldn't be a problem."

She's not someone who lacks responsibility!

Winona certainly has the confidence to say that. As the most popular singer in the Federation right now, she also has her own little treasury!

The elf lady said quietly, "You might be mistaken about something. This is Windmill City, where the concentration of extraordinary individuals is even higher than on the capital planet. Do you think their assets are the same as those in ordinary cities?"

The songstress froze instantly, her neck turning towards the root area as if it had rusted. The exotic flowers and herbs cultivated by the extraordinary people, various special spaceships, houses with magical effects, and even some low-level relics were all burned to ashes by Hoffen's pale dragon flame.

As a member of the Loan family, she was certainly aware of the value of these assets.

She asked earnestly, "Are there any other ways to escape?"

Mo's mouth dropped open. How could her new best friend say such cold words? Even she, a wind-up sprite without body temperature, couldn't say such a thing!

No, she's not my best friend at all. Why did I ever have the illusion that "Miss Luo An" was a good person?

The clockwork sprite grabbed Winona by the collar, shaking her violently and shouting in anguish, trying to awaken her conscience.

"Leaving aside whether the other shop owners entering and leaving the anchorage will let us go, what will happen to Yue Lai if we run away!"

Cavendish finally regained some of his senses: "I...we can't abandon the shopkeeper!"

"At least you two have some conscience." A helpless voice came from the alley entrance, and this time the three of them froze at the same time.

Winona shrank back, and Yue Lai's filter for this big star was completely shattered.

However, Yue Lai was no longer as despondent as before. After all, he was a conman and had some talent for acting.

My performance just now was for the autonomous committee's benefit.

Upon seeing Yue Lai appear, the Clockwork Elf almost burst into tears:

"Yue... Yue Lai, I'm sorry..."

"Wow--"

Yue Lai was both amused and exasperated, and said with heartache, "Don't cry, don't cry, what are you crying about? The committee will pay back the money we owe those monsters and demons."

"what?"

Winona was stunned. Was the relationship between Yue Lai and the Autonomous Committee really that close?

Yue Lai looked at Winona, whose gaze was slightly evasive, and said with a half-smile:

"I just got back from the police station, and those guys are already watching me. It's true what they say, self-interest can be a powerful motivator."

As for what the benefit is... it's his technology to transform evil relics into divine relics, of course!

"The mayor's financial pressure on me was also a kind of well-intentioned reminder. Although the committee couldn't do anything to me directly, it would always try to find ways to get me to cooperate."

Mo wasn't stupid; she sensed something was amiss: "You...you mean our behavior was intentionally guided?"

"It's hard to say, it could be a coincidence, but the committee won't miss this opportunity."

"If I'm not mistaken, a specialist will soon come to our door to discuss cooperation based on these billions of dollars in debt."

Yue Lai didn't hide his words from Winona; the actions of competitors always need to be known to the North Wind Group.

He understood the autonomous committee's scheme the moment he saw Tristan's assistant.

Given his relationship with the other party, Tristan would never refuse to see him for some ridiculous reason like "it's too embarrassing to talk about." The drunkard would just grab him by the collar and yell at him, then look at Mo, Yuehao, and Xiadu with kind eyes and say something like, "It's alright, it's all Yuelai's fault."

The assistant seemed more like someone who was there to tip him off.

"Did Xiaoru make a move just now?"

"Mmm," Mo nodded like a chick pecking at rice, "Xiao Ru's cane can turn into a bone dragon, otherwise it would be terrible, either Windmill City would be destroyed, or everyone would get hurt."

Yue Lai nodded slightly. The "Xiao Ru" he and Mo mentioned was none other than Ye Ru, one of the Seven Kings of Pirates, also known as King Kui. In the eyes of the big shots, Mo's identity was exposed shortly after the incident, especially for Ye Ru, who was familiar with everyone in the agency.

So her intervention served two purposes: first, to save Yue Lai some money; and second, and most importantly, to demonstrate to the autonomous committee. It was precisely because of these old friends that the committee had no choice but to "negotiate" with Yue Lai instead of forcibly taking his money.

He looked at Winona again: "Has the news gotten out?"

The battle songstress curled her lip:

"It's out."