Mia threw herself into Ryder’s arms, still shaken. Ashley quickly brought over a coat and wrapped it around her. Ryder’s heart ached. He gently patted Mia’s back and spoke in a low, soothing voice. “It’s okay. It’s over now. I’m here, Mia. Don’t be scared.” Hearing Ryder comfort her the same way he had when she was little, Mia broke down and cried even harder. During the days she’d been locked up, the person she missed most was Ryder. He was always busy, but he never stopped caring about her. And he was her only family left in the world. President Holland had a little bit of sense. He’d locked them in a room with the doors and windows sealed, but he hadn’t hurt them. They were Lioran citizens. If he had laid a hand on them, and the Lovaris family escalated it, he wouldn’t have been able to deal with the fallout. What no one expected—was that there was no need to escalate anything. Because Arthur himself was someone they couldn’t afford to provoke. Mia and Sage had tried to escape countless times in the days they were detained, but they were caught every time. Their clothes were filthy, their faces pale, deep shadows under their eyes. Arthur looked at them, and his anger rose. He turned to the emperor. “Your Majesty. You’d better give me an explanation.” Mia and Sage were already on Arthur’s side, but Wind and the others still hadn’t lowered their guns. Those black muzzles stayed fixed on the emperor, whose legs were close to giving out. He glanced at Arthur, then at President Holland. The emperor shut his eyes and, for the ten-thousandth time, wished he could tear President Holland to pieces. His voice was low. “This incident… Tamaria was at fault.” “I failed to discipline my officials. I apologize for troubling Mr. Arthur to come all this way. Tamaria is willing to pay 200 billion bucks to cover Heaven’s Cult’s costs.” He paused. “I wonder if Mr. Arthur finds this acceptable?” Hiss— The crowd collectively sucked in a breath. Two hundred billion. That wasn’t a small number. Arthur had brought a huge fleet, sure, but the actual cost of this operation didn’t come close to that. This was a real payout. Just when everyone thought Arthur would agree, he spoke flatly— “Five hundred billion.” The entire place went silent. Everyone stared at Arthur in shock. Two hundred billion was already massive, and he went straight to five?! Five hundred billion. Even the emperor was stunned. He’d expected a counteroffer—but this? Arthur looked at him and asked, “What? Don’t want to pay?” The emperor froze. It was just a simple question, but the threat in his voice couldn’t have been clearer. He didn’t dare hesitate. He bowed deeply. “Thank you to Heaven’s Cult for your mercy.”His molars nearly cracked from clenching his jaw. Five hundred billion. Arthur really dared to ask for that much. Arthur nodded, satisfied. He raised his voice. “Turn around. We’re heading back.” “Yes, sir!!!” The response echoed across the ship, thunderous and excited. It wasn’t hard to hear how pumped they were. One trip. Five hundred billion. Totally worth it. Seeing Tamaria forced to swallow it all—they couldn’t be happier. Of all the people to mess with, they chose Heaven’s Cult? And not just that—they went after Heaven’s Cult’s boss. That was asking for death. Hearing Arthur give the order, the emperor’s side finally let out a long breath. They suddenly remembered a saying from Lioran— It's impossible to make a squatter leave. Arthur’s group turned and left in full force. He didn’t worry about whether they’d pay. If they dared not to, the next time wouldn’t end with a few hundred billion. The emperor knew that perfectly well. He wouldn’t dare mess with Heaven’s Cult again. No matter how painful it was, no matter how bitter he felt— He gave the order to the finance department: pay. Every cent. As for President Holland—Arthur didn’t even bother with him. The emperor had just lost a fortune and been scared half to death. There was no way he’d let President Holland off easy.