Is It Worth It? The Rufu Group didn't pay much mind to the annual audit. It was a routine procedure, and the auditors usually came from firms owned by their major shareholders anyway.
However, the person sent this year was striking—a woman with fiery red hair, emerald-green eyes that sparkled like gems, and a tall, commanding presence that was impossible to ignore. She was a Guide, and she had brought a team with her.
When the staff moved files into her private office, they couldn't help but steal glances at her. The mental energy radiating from the Guide—Sang Ye—felt incredibly comfortable.
As the office door closed, Sang Ye’s gentle smile faded, replaced by a massive headache as she stared at the mountain of documents. These were the raw files, but she already had an electronic version. She forwarded them to Melusine.
Melusine scanned them rapidly. The electronic files were identical to the group’s official tax records—meticulously prepared ledgers where every credit was accounted for. There were no obvious errors.
However, Melusine saw nothing at the end of the financial flows. To her "vision," the path was shrouded in darkness. In her experience, if you can’t see the destination, it means the origin—the raw materials at the source—is a lie. Melusine (via terminal): "I’ve back-checked records from decades ago. Same thing. The ledgers are perfect but fake." Sang Ye: "What about even earlier?" Melusine: "Anything over a hundred years old is sealed in Eve’s main server. Unless it’s a high-level criminal or treason case, economic files aren't unsealed. As long as the society is run by humans, resources are saved by not chasing ancient history." Melusine: "What now? I’m almost at the Muli Main Government building." Sang Ye: "If the source is the problem, I’m going to the source. I need to get into their production workshops. Can you find me some 'flaws' in these files so I have an excuse?" Melusine sent several screenshots of file headers. "Look for these. Starting from this node, workshop productivity dropped and profits fell, yet energy consumption spiked and continued to rise annually. The official explanation was the rising cost of mineral transport, so they switched energy sources. But the new source performs poorly, hurting profits. Since their old supplier stopped collaborating, they opened more factories to compensate. Tell them you need to inspect the 'new energy' samples and production quantity. It's a valid auditing request." …
On the other side, Melusine sat in her hovercar as it glided toward the Muli Government center. Her bodyguard, Madame Qina, patted her head. Melusine’s doll-like face was a sharp contrast to her reputation.
At the government entrance, Jima stood ready to receive them. No one knew why the Capital was suddenly so interested in Muli’s taxes, but the arrival of the Caylen heir was a major event. Jima, who had been stiff and cold, showed a flicker of emotion upon seeing Melusine. She remembered the Duchess—the woman who had once collapsed a neighboring planet's economy so thoroughly that Muli had to provide trade relief for twenty years.
"How is Madame Eugenia?" Melusine asked casually as they walked. "She’s missed many debriefing meetings."
"Madame Eugenia’s mental state is fragile," Jima replied impassively. "Even a small disturbance can trigger her nerves. If the opportunity arises, I will invite you to see her."
They reached a set of grand doors. "This is your office," Jima said. As she turned to leave, Melusine called out, "Miss Jima, where do you suggest I start my audit?"
Jima paused, looking at the other officials down the hall. After a moment, she said, "I suggest you look at livelihood and social welfare. Muli provides little tax to the Empire; most of it is spent locally on infrastructure—like medical insurance and mental health subsidies." Jima emphasized the last words and gave Melusine a deep, significant look.
Once the door closed, Melusine opened the medical records. The ledgers showed a blob of black fog. In the medical system, every name is traceable.
Melusine noticed something bizarre: Jima, who appeared healthy and had an A-rank stable mental test, had spent significantly more on mental grooming and mental agents than the bedridden Eugenia. Furthermore, there was a sudden spike in Sentinels suffering from the same symptoms categorized under the broad label of "Mental Riot."
Under the details of these diagnoses, two words appeared with chilling frequency: "Nightmares" and "Murmurs."
…
Meanwhile, Sang Ye reached the production workshop—a newly opened nutrient solution plant. Everything looked normal until she overheard the workers whispering:
"The army is eating real meat now... why are we still on nutrient solutions?"
"Yeah, the canteen should buy some of that food. Nutrient solutions can't compare."
"My sister says since the army started eating real meals, their nightmare symptoms have decreased a lot..."
Sang Ye followed a staff member to the finished goods warehouse. She sensed no abnormalities in the standard solutions, but she took a few bottles as samples. Then, they headed to the basement.
In the elevator, they passed another car going up. The people inside wore hazmat suits and gas masks.
"Are those production staff too?" Sang Ye asked.
"Yes. They handle the Special Supply nutrient solutions for certain military units," the staff member replied. "They have a higher concentration of mental energy. They aren't for export, only for internal circulation on Muli, so we don't separate them in the general ledgers."
Sang Ye asked for a sample of the Special Supply, and surprisingly, the staff member agreed.
…
That evening, Melusine and Qina arrived at Sang Ye’s hotel room. Lin Changli was currently hiding out on the neighboring Ice Planet, so the three women sat around a small tallow hot pot Sang Ye had set up on the hotel table.
"I found something interesting," Melusine said, taking a bite of tender beef. "I had Eve re-categorize the medical records. The Sentinels suffering most from 'nightmares' and requiring constant treatment belong to a specific unit: The Z1 Army."
"Z1?" Sang Ye paused, a piece of tofu halfway to her mouth.
"Z1 is the unit that guards Eve’s local sub-server room," Melusine whispered.
The realization hit Sang Ye: the criminal neck rings were controlled by Eve. If the sub-server room was compromised, the rings—including the one Lin Changli used to wear and those of the Muli exiles—would be deactivated.
"Other affected Sentinels are in the Z7 and Z12 units," Melusine continued. "Z7 manages the transport and combat fleet. Z12 is the primary offensive force. Song Yu is taking control of the key pillars of the planet."
Sang Ye looked at the bottle of Special Supply nutrient solution on the table. Without warning, she grabbed it, popped the cap, and drank the whole thing in one go.
"Sang Ye!" Melusine gasped.
"Let me see what kind of magic this is," Sang Ye said, wiping her mouth. She gave Melusine a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'm a Guide. His mental control won't work on me the same way."
Melusine looked stunned. "Is it... is it really worth it? Risking yourself like this?"
Sang Ye thought of Lin Changli. She thought of how he had moved out of his own room for her, how he had rescued her in the snow, how he diligently prepared ingredients by her side, and how he had sold her an entire planet for 914 credits.
Sang Ye smiled. "It's worth it."
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