Chapter 1 The Academy

Hengde Magic Academy is the private academy of the Collins family. Although it's a private academy, its teaching staff has always been top-notch, simply because of money.

As one of the few prominent families in the Council, the academy head also wields significant power and has extensive connections.

In the academy's office, two old men were conversing.

"Old friend, the situation has reached a critical point. Look at this."

Speaking, he took out a scroll from his bosom and continued, "We have been forced to accept the demands of those monsters, but there's still something different. Their leader has only appeared once, but according to the data we've obtained, their leader is also a human? Or perhaps a demon transformed into a human."

The old man took the record that was handed over and examined it carefully, his brow growing heavier.

It wasn't because of the problem the Council was currently facing, but because the portrait… how did it feel so familiar? As if he had seen it somewhere?

"Why do I feel like this person looks familiar?"

"Hmm? You've seen this girl? Perhaps in some document? Is there some secret unknown to the world?" The councilman was taken aback, somewhat confused.

Indeed, what was displayed on the table was Lin Mo's image. Although it was just an image of a clone, it still retained some of the original's charm, appearing so sacred.

It was precisely extracted from the memory of that reserve corps soldier.

The old man stroked his chin, his brow furrowed, so close, yet he couldn't quite recall.

"Yes, I've really seen her, but I just can't remember where…"

The old man's expression suddenly stiffened, and he abruptly stood up, even knocking over his chair with the force of his movement. "I remember now! My granddaughter brought back a woman from out of town today! White hair, very petite."

"…" The councilman's face stiffened, and he didn't dare to speak.

"You're not joking, are you? How is this possible? She… but, this…"

The old man didn't know what to say at this moment, his face extremely unsightly, but there was still a glimmer of hope in his heart. After all, this matter was too bizarre!

Clearing his throat, the old man immediately summoned his personal guard, ordering him to investigate Huo Kalin and see if that girl was indeed who they suspected.

The sudden appearance of a shadow in the quiet office startled the councilman. He hadn't even noticed it, which meant that the person's strength likely surpassed his own!

The councilman remained in a daze, staring at the spot where the shadow had disappeared.

At this moment, the old headmaster, pacing back and forth, interrupted, "No, if it really is her, what should we do!"

"…Indeed, this matter can't be left as it is. We don't have any extra time, so we can only pretend we don't know anything…"

He gave an awkward laugh, unsure of what to say. After all, this old man was a devoted grandson-doting elder, and Huo Kalin was truly spoiled rotten.

"…Pretend we don't know anything? And let her feel kindness here? Avoid being hostile towards us?"

The headmaster's questioning voice was somewhat hoarse, as he forcefully suppressed the anger in his heart.

"…We have no other choice."

When one is under the eaves, one must bow one's head.

Without the threat of military force, they could only accept it.

"How about this, I'll report this matter to the council right now. It's too early to say how this will be handled, but one thing you must do is ensure that this girl doesn't feel threatened or discontent! Even admitting fault is fine. We can't afford to gamble right now."

"…I understand, but is she really that strong?"

"I'm not joking with you. Our 20,000-strong support army was completely wiped out in just ten minutes… Though I hate to admit it, we really can't beat them."

"Alright, I'll pay attention. I'll send you the results of my investigation."

"I understand. I'll also find professional members in the council to confirm the girl's identity."

"Okay."

Just then, the old man's expression suddenly changed. The pipe in his hand slipped, and it met its end in a close encounter with the ground.

"What's wrong?"

"He's dead, the subordinate I sent… But how could it be so fast!"

The councilman's face also darkened immediately. This confirmed the other party's identity.

But, to die so easily? Without even bringing back any news? Was this reasonable?

"Alright, time is of the essence! You go back now, I'll go take a look myself! If necessary, I'll bring little Huo Kalin back too!"

"Okay, be careful. I'll go back to the council and call for some support."

…

At this moment, the Empress had no idea that her appearance had frightened these high-ranking officials. But even if Lin Mo knew, she wouldn't think much of it. After all, the point of infiltration was success if no one saw her.

Therefore, completely eliminating witnesses was also a good option.

To avoid having maids present, which might make Lin Mo shy, and because of the sacrilegious things she was about to do, Huo Kalin issued a strict order: no matter the situation or the sounds, unless she called for them, they were not allowed to enter without permission.

Huo Kalin took the last plate from the maid's hands, gently opened it, and a fragrant aroma wafted out.

However, it was somewhat different from what Huo Kalin had imagined. Lin Mo didn't seem as happy as before, but instead seemed to be in a daze?

"Lin Mo, what's wrong? Don't you like this?"

Huo Kalin was puzzled, not knowing why Lin Mo had suddenly frozen. She seemed quite happy just now, so why the sudden pause?

"It's nothing, just thinking about some other things."

On the surface, she appeared calm, but in reality…

"Kaka, is that guy dead?"

Just now, when that sneaky figure approached, he had already been discovered by the Eyeling Zergling. After all, the Zergling's main skill was anti-stealth.

It was a competition between stealth and anti-stealth, but clearly, the other side had already kicked the bucket in the first round.

After being discovered, Kaka almost immediately locked onto the coordinates and directly crushed the opponent's head with telekinesis. The other party didn't even know what had happened.

Anyone who was sneaking around and dressed in black robes was obviously a threat to the Empress!

If not for fear of disturbing the Empress's mood, Kaka would have already mobilized the Hydralisk Zerglings outside to start indiscriminate bombardment.

"Empress, that guy is dead. His head was blown off by Kaka, it's a bit fragmented. Kaka is analyzing his memories now."

"Okay, by the way, is this all edible? Are there any seasonings?"

Lin Mo still had some genuine fear towards these things. There was no way around it, once some things happened, the PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) couldn't be eliminated so quickly.

"It's okay, Empress, Kaka has taken good care of it. No impurities can get close to the Empress. These are all safe now, Kaka didn't find any strange substances."

Only then did Lin Mo nod and start to gently poke at the food that could be described as strange…

Indeed, strictly speaking, this was the front line, so only things related to war needed to appear here. Everything else was unnecessary, just enough to sustain basic life.

Seeing Lin Mo pick up the chopsticks, Huo Kalin finally relaxed slightly.

She had put a lot of effort into this. If she didn't get Lin Mo's approval, wouldn't that be the end of her? Most importantly, how would her plan be implemented?

At the thought of her plan, Huo Kalin couldn't help but want to lower her head, not daring to look at Lin Mo's cute little face. Sinful!

It was like a believer wanting to guide their god, such a sin! This was blasphemy!

But what was this faint, unprecedented feeling of excitement?

Reason was desperately trying to brake, but her body seemed to have bypassed her brain and already prepared the whole plan and related equipment.

Taking a deep breath, she clenched her fists firmly.

"By the way, try this. I heard it's a good thing brought back from the home planet! I spent a lot of effort to get it!"

Huo Kalin was confident, smiling contentedly as she took out a gorgeous golden gift box. It seemed to be a royal item, extremely luxurious.

She had managed to get it from her grandfather. There were only a few bottles in total. If her family didn't have enough money, how would she be able to drink such fine wine?

Each activation of the teleportation array connected to the home planet required a large amount of energy. Under normal circumstances, only information scrolls and the like were transmitted. Large-scale personnel transfers required the accumulation of magic essence for hundreds of years.

It was roughly the same structure as a capacitor, storing energy and then releasing it in an instant.

For some reason, Lin Mo felt that the pattern seemed familiar… like the pattern on that dagger… it was just like this.

"This… this is…?" Lin Mo didn't even realize that her mouth had already started to murmur.

"Hehe! It's something made from something called Fire Forest Fruit obtained from a great empire on the home planet."

Huo Kalin kept talking, completely unaware that Lin Mo's expression had started to become strange. Fire Forest Fruit…? Wasn't that the thing that drugged her?

This! Was poisonous!

Looking at Lin Mo's shocked expression, Huo Kalin immediately felt that it was worth it! Her purpose in life seemed to have been achieved! Being able to see this expression meant that she hadn't lived in vain!

No! There was more to come!

As the gift box was opened, Lin Mo couldn't help but cover her eyes with her small hands.

Sure enough, the familiar shape, the familiar smell, it was indeed that thing!

"Empress! This is not right! There is something wrong!"

"…"

"I know, Kaka."

Sure enough, upon closer inspection, Huo Kalin's eyes did indeed carry a hint of fanaticism, the look of a fanatical believer blaspheming against her faith.

It seemed that the time was right.

"Lin Mo, try it, see if it tastes good. Our family doesn't have much of this."

As she spoke, she poured Lin Mo a full glass!

Fawningly pushing it in front of Lin Mo, as if seeing that Lin Mo was somewhat unwilling, Huo Kalin even stood up, diligently acting like a maid, lightly holding it to her lips from Lin Mo's side.

Her eyes filled with smiles, she looked extremely enthusiastic, even narrowing her eyes into slits, appearing like close sisters.

"…"

"There seems to be something not so good in this…" Seeing Huo Kalin's appearance, Lin Mo didn't plan to pretend anymore, deciding to reveal her hand directly.

Seeing this familiar scene, Lin Mo no longer had any intention of playing around, that was a stain on her life! A disaster!

Her small face immediately hardened, and black tentacles quietly surrounded Huo Kalin along the hem of her skirt.

Once Huo Kalin denied it, Lin Mo would immediately attack. If she admitted it, it wasn't impossible to control her and keep her as a maid.

Huo Kalin hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation at this moment, completely immersed in her own world.

Looking at the drool at the corner of her mouth, it seemed like she was daydreaming.

"Lin Mo, let elder sister kiss you, a kiss and you won't be hot anymore… Ah! No, don't you like it?"

Seeming to have not received Lin Mo's response for too long, Huo Kalin gradually came back to her senses, the first sentence causing large '╬' marks to appear on the Empress's forehead.

Not understanding the situation, Huo Kalin even brought the cup closer to Lin Mo's lips, but was stopped by Kaka.

"Huh, Lin Mo, what's wrong? Do you really dislike this? Or…"

"Hehe, it seems like you didn't hear a single word I said, elder sister?" Gently pushing away the cup from her lips, Lin Mo slowly made eye contact with Huo Kalin, smiling.

Her deathly still blood-red eyes were like a heavy hammer, slamming heavily into Huo Kalin's heart, also dragging her out of her world of fantasy.

"You… Ugh!!!"

Before she could finish her sentence, Lin Mo directly flipped the table. No more playing, the Empress was angry.

Huo Kalin didn't even react, seeming unable to comprehend this sudden change in the situation. How could she have been so friendly and amiable like sisters just now, and then suddenly…

Suddenly…

What the heck were these black tentacles! She couldn't break free at all! And when did they appear! Were the guards all useless eaters!

"Ugh! (Love)!"

Almost as soon as she opened her mouth to speak, a binding force violently broke through the defenses of her pearly whites, easily filling the entire space.

Like candlelight illuminating an empty room.

A cold, unknown liquid was constantly and slowly flowing in, sweet and with some granules, along with the tight confinement around, and Lin Mo's smiling yet not smiling admiring expression.

For some reason, a thought actually appeared in Huo Kalin's heart at this moment…

It seemed… not bad…

Too scary! Too scary!

Huo Kalin wanted to close her mouth, but she couldn't do it at all. What could she do? She was also very desperate, she was too familiar with the stuff that had entered her mouth.

Wasn't this the little gift she had prepared for Lin Mo!

As the saying goes, harming others ultimately harms oneself.