Chapter 5

She had been right.

Since the other party wanted to unbind, Lara did not want to make things difficult for them.

There were plenty of men around here anyway.

Losing one meant nothing to her.

Still, with the benefit delivered straight to her door, Lara was not about to let it slip away.

“Since you said I can set the terms, then I will.”

John nodded. “Go ahead. As long as it is not excessive and within our lord’s means, we’ll fulfill it.”

Lara had no idea how rich her match was.

But if he had an assistant, he probably was not short on money.

She thought for a moment, then hesitated. She said, “Then, give me eight fifth-ranked beast cores and 1 million star credits?”

A single fifth-ranked beast core sold for 500 thousand on the market.

Eight cores plus 1 million star credits would mean 5 million star credits in total.

Lara had spent five years in the interstellar empire and only managed to save a little over 3 million star credits.

She was definitely asking for a lot.

She was not sure if they would agree. If they refused, she could lower it a bit.

Lara’s heart pounded, but she did not dare expose herself. She forced herself to look calm as she stared at John.

John’s brows knit tightly together, and his gaze sharpened.

Lara’s heart skipped a beat. Had she asked for too much?

“If it’s—”

She was about to say that if it was too much, she could lower the price.

But before she could finish, John said, “We can offer you 50 fifth-ranked beast cores and 5 million star credits.”

Lara was speechless.

Had she heard that right?

Were they raising the price themselves?

John quickly took out 50 beast cores from his dimensional ring, then swiftly added Lara’s photon computer account to his and transferred 5 million star credits to her.

“You have the items now. Can you apply to unbind right away?” John hurriedly asked as soon as the transfer went through.

He was afraid she might change her mind.

He had expected her to ask for an outrageous amount. He had definitely not expected her to ask for so little.

Eight fifth-ranked beast cores and 1 million star credits!

What a joke!

If word got out, it would be humiliating for his lord to offer so little.

He was worried she might regret asking for so little in the future.

So, he had raised it to 50 beast cores and 5 million star credits.

“S-Sure. I can apply right away.”

Lara was terrified that John and his employer, Luke, would regret it later and demand the beast cores and money back. She immediately opened her photon computer.

Then, she quickly went into the Beast God System and applied to unbind from Luke.

She even deleted Luke from her contacts.

She was very quick about it. Even one second delay would be disrespectful to the beast cores and star credits she had received.

When she was done, Lara smiled at John. “There! I have already applied to unbind from your lord.

“And I deleted him from my contacts as well. But you should know that it takes three months for it to get approved.

“So, please tell your lord that he might have to wait just a little longer.”

She had no idea whether Beast God had some sort of matching KPI to meet, but even unbinding required three months before it could be approved.

During that period, if someone changed their mind, they could withdraw the unbinding request.

For Lara, withdrawing was not an option.

Lara was so decisive that John felt relieved. Even the polite smile on his face turned noticeably more sincere.

“Thank you, Lara. I will not disturb you further. Please rest.”

With the matter settled, John hurried off.

He needed to help the his boss find the female he had taken a fancy to. He could not waste too much time here.

After John left the villa, Lara felt so happy she nearly jumped.

She had hit the jackpot!

Overnight, she had gotten rich. She had instantly earned a whopping 30 million star credits!

She was wealthy!

If she could get a few more matches like that, would it not be possible for her to become insanely wealthy and live the rest of her life in peace?

Lara clasped her hands together and prayed to Beast God with utmost sincerity.

“Great Beast God, merciful Beast God, please bless me with a few more generous matches like this!”

She was so excited by the 50 fifth-ranked beast cores she had just received that she could not sleep at all.

She turned and headed straight to the training room.

With beast cores in hand, she could stabilize her esper abilities immediately.

This was simply perfect!

At the hospital, Luke listened to John’s report and nodded in satisfaction.

“At least Lara knows what’s good for her. Since she has already applied to unbind, we don’t need to worry about her anymore.

“Hurry and help me find the female who saved me.”

John said respectfully, “Rest assured, my lord. The hospital’s surveillance system is almost restored. Once we see the face of the female who brought you to the hospital in the footage, it’ll be easy to obtain a photo and track her down.”

Two days later, Lara walked out of the training room in high spirits.

The beast cores John had given her were all premium quality.

She had only used one, and her esper ability had fully stabilized. There were even signs of growth.

If she used up all fifty and if she managed to get another dozen or so, she would be able to reach the fifth rank!

She went to take a shower.

After breakfast, she planned to head to Moonfall Forest.

She was out of fruit, and her vegetables were running low, too. She needed to gather some more.

She could also look for a few fourth-ranked or fifth-ranked mutated beasts to test her skills.

Relying solely on beast cores to rank up would not do. She had to fight too. Only then could she become stronger.

After showering, she stepped out of the bathroom.

Just as Lara was about to head into the kitchen, the doorbell rang again.

The smart housekeeper immediately projected the security feed.

The moment the projection appeared, Lara’s gaze met a pair of languid eyes, and her heart jolted.

What kind of eyes were they?

They looked lazy, mysterious, and powerful. Those eyes belonged to someone who looked down on the world. Just one glance made people want to drop to their knees at his feet and worship him.

The man was tall and lean, easily around six-foot-three. Even through the security feed, the presence of someone with such power felt terrifying.

That face was backlit, as if the Beast God had carved it personally. It was cold and flawless. After a single glance, it was impossible to look away.

Outside the door, Drake’s lazy gaze swept over the green villa gate in front of him.

The Dragon Palace Grand Elder behind him stepped forward and pressed the doorbell.

His lord had not wanted him to come, but he did not feel at ease.

Ding-dong!

Standing outside the gate, the Dragon Palace Grand Elder said politely, “Honored Lara, your match, the lord Drake Abyss, has arrived to meet you.”

It seemed this man was another of her matches.

He was the oldest, Drake Abyss.

Lara quickly opened the gate through the control panel.

“Please, come in!”

Watching Drake enter with two subordinates, Lara’s nerves tensed. His presence was too intimidating.

His authority was overwhelming.

It was downright terrifying.

If someone like that became her partner, she would probably be too scared to even speak to him, much less do anything else.

Maybe she should tell him she would voluntarily unbind.

She really could not handle a man like this.

Drake entered the living room, but he did not speak at all. His dark eyes swept over Lara with faint disdain, and he casually sat down on the sofa.

He thought she was too weak.

A female like this would only drag him down on his path to unify the interstellar empire.

The sofa, barely six and a half feet long, looked cramped the moment he sat down.

Lara could not read his intentions, so she did not speak.

The Dragon Palace Grand Elder stood by Drake and gave Lara a quick once-over. He then smiled warmly. His face was full of kindly wrinkles.

“Lara, don’t be nervous. My lord’s here today to discuss something with you.”

She wondered what he wanted to discuss.

The blond assistant, John, had said the exact same thing last night.

Lara could guess roughly. She looked at the smiling Grand Elder and asked, “You are here to unbind, too?”

The Dragon Palace Grand Elder was a little surprised. Someone else had beaten them to it. One match had already been unbound ahead of time.

Looking at Lara, he smiled even more kindly. “That’s correct. My lord is not very fond of females, so he wishes to unbind.”

He put it in that way to tell her that it was not her fault at all.

After all, when a male requested unbinding, it was considered humiliating for a female.

Other females would mock her for it if they knew.

“No problem. I can apply right away.”

Lara agreed without hesitation.

“A forced match never ends well. We all should have the freedom to choose. If you don’t want this, then unbinding is only right.”

This male felt too dangerous.

Even though interstellar regulations stated that males could not harm females, and matches especially could not harm their matriarch, she could not trust him.

Rules were just rules. Meanwhile, people could be impulsive.

It was not like there had never been cases of matches scheming to kill the females they were bound to.

Lara understood her situation and her abilities very clearly. She was absolutely no match for this man. If he wanted her dead, it would probably be easier for him than crushing an ant.

Hearing Lara’s reply, Drake’s languid gaze fell on her.

He had not expected this delicate little female to be so sensible.