Baron and Roxi were still chatting away about what had happened on Earth after Baron passed for quite a while before they were interrupted by Zi Ji Ge. What started out as a tiny sniffle quickly got louder and louder until it was audible to Baron and Roxi just a few rooms down. The two of them quickly went to go check it out and entered into the room where Zi Ji Ge was with a few tears rolling down her eyes.

(RB) “Have you figured it out? Is that the reason that you are crying?” Roxi asked after taking a glance at Baron.

(ZJG) “Yes, I have finally figured out what the runes say. It may only be a page or two of text, but it details how my brother had planned out all of this from the start.” Zi Ji Ge said while taking a little time to calm down.

(BM) “If you don’t want to share with us that is absolutely fine. We won’t push you to.” Baron told her.

(RB) “Do you need a bit more time for yourself?”

(ZJG) “Yes...please.”

Baron and Roxi looked at each other and exited the room quietly. Both of them headed back to the room that they were previously in and resumed talking.

(BM) “I’m worried about her. Even if she was a bit rude to me, in the beginning, she is still a person that needs to keep a certain level of mental well being.”

(RB) “I’m sure she will come around eventually. Just give her a bit of time. If you want I’ll try to talk to her again later.”

(BM) “Let’s get back on topic for now. How is the tutoring that matron Fu Hao has been giving you the past few years?”

(RB) “Well, after our initial discussions, she started to teach me some interesting stuff. However, it turned out that most of what she could teach me was basic weapon modifications that I had already known about. I took charge from that point on and began telling her of all I knew of my experiences on Earth.”

(BM) “So in a way you became her tutor instead of the other way around?”

(RB) “Yes, it’s really funny actually. By their standards, I am already one step above senior R&D specialist, the first one in the history of the Chinese community. Well, for modern weapons, not ancient ones. The majority of researchers nowadays are focusing on guns and those types of weapons now as opposed to basic and frankly primitive weapons such as the basic cannons and explosives.”

(BM) “So what does this mean for you? Surely it is better to leave matron Fu Hao now that there is nothing left for you to learn from her.”

(RB) “Not quite. You see, there are just a lot of obstacles to becoming a renowned R&D specialist. The greatest of which is that it is super expensive. Even with that one million coins that you received from Li Xin will not amount to much in the long run. Matron Fu Hao has those resources plus the necessary institutions which would run us through the red zone a million times over.”

(BM) “Ah, so that means that you will be benefiting quite a lot from being by the matron’s side then. Not to mention all of the connections that you will be able to get in touch with while being around someone as influential as her.”

(RB) “You don’t even know the half of it. Some materials are so rare that we have to import them from the other communities. The life of an R&D specialist is not easy.”

The two of them continued this conversation with each other for the next few days. However, by the time that Roxi had to leave for matron Fu Hao’s place again, Zi Ji Ge had not gotten out of her slump so she decided to talk her into a better mood. Just between the two of them.

(RB) “Zi Ji Ge. I know that your life is turned upside down right now, but you have to understand that life goes on, even if you can’t accept reality.”

(ZJG) “I know… It’s just that I never imagined it going like this.”

(RB) “Tell me, what did your brother leave for you?”

(ZJG) “I don’t know if I should say it…”

(RB) “Let me tell you about a similar experience I had, and if you still aren’t comfortable with revealing what your brother left you then just forget about it.”

(ZJG) “OK.”

(RB) “Believe it or not, Baron was once a huge part of my life. This was back on Earth. Anyway, when he passed away right in front of me, my mind went blank and the next thing I knew, I was recovering in the medical tent that had been set up in the crossfire. It took me a long time to get over his death especially considering how important he was to me at the time.”

(ZJG) “Were you two lovers?”

(RB) “Yea, that is one way to put it. Moving on, with his passing I really did not have anyone by my side. So, I wandered around for the next few years not really knowing what to do with my life. My family contacted me many times to return to them but I had no intentions to, especially after what Baron had said to me before he died. Eventually, I got over it, but what could I have done during the time that I was grieving? What would I have been able to accomplish with all of that wasted time? No matter how sad or dejected I felt, Baron would not be coming back.”

(ZJG) “You two aren’t lovers anymore? Granted it is quite rare here since everyone is so war-crazed, but still, I love a good romance story.”

(RB) “Sorry to disappoint, but both of us have an agreement to remain allies nothing more, nothing less.”

(ZJG) “Oh.”

(RB) “Ready to share?”

(ZJG) “Yeah, I suppose. Basically, he said that this action of his was to pay off some debts to the Vesper faction that he had accrued a long time ago. This was the price that he had to pay to allow us to go around uninterrupted by them for so long.”

(RB) “Those bastards. How utterly revolting.”