The light of the Teleportation Array faded.

In the center of the castle hall, a Red Dragon only half a man’s height appeared.

Although it was completely different from the enemy he’d expected, the gunslinger didn’t let his guard down for a second.

Appearances could be deceiving. Contradicting its Sub-Dragon or Juvenile Dragon-like form was an oppressive pressure so intense it was almost tangible.

The two Bone Demons beside him were already paralyzed with terror.

Their Perception was too low; they couldn’t withstand the horrifying aura at all.

Even the gunslinger himself felt his heart rate skyrocket and his breath quicken, and he began to tremble uncontrollably.

’So that Red Dragon is at least an adult, and quite possibly older.’

’I can’t beat it.’

The gunslinger made a swift judgment.

But ever since he underwent modification, had the brand seared onto his chest, and became a Death Warrior, there was no room for mission failure.

Success or death. Or success *and* death. There were no other options.

’If I die on a successful mission, at least my family will receive compensation.’

Assassinating Figxin before this bizarre Dragon killed him was the only viable option.

With his objective clear, he immediately formed a plan.

The modifications to his entire body would allow him to control his limbs and complete his actions for a short time after being decapitated.

’So all I have to do is make this Dragon think it’s already killed me, then fire one last shot.’

’I’ll only get one shot.’

Without hesitation, the gunslinger fired a shot at Zog, then quickly swiveled the gun to aim at Figxin.

Just as he expected, the bullet aimed at the Red Dragon only scraped some sparks off its Dragon Scales.

He couldn’t get a second shot off. The Dragon appeared before him as if it had teleported, severing his gun and his head.

The neck that Figxin had been unable to sever with all her might didn’t even slightly impede the swinging Dragon Claw.

The gunslinger stared in Figxin’s direction, controlling his still-intact hand to draw his backup pistol and fire a single bullet.

But Zog suddenly blocked the bullet’s path.

He simply reached out a claw and pinched the warhead.

Several gazes of disbelief fell upon him. ’So cool. Is this what it feels like to be the Fire Cloud Evil God?’

The gunslinger’s head hit the ground hard.

It was all over.

Zog yawned. ’The difficulty was a bit low. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come myself. My strongest Zor could have handled this.’

’Still, it wasn’t a total waste. For instance, I got to do a site survey to see where to build a factory.’

’I can design a tourism promotion plan and try to squeeze some money out of this Princess. The lessons in the achievement system weren’t free; it’s time to collect some tuition.’

’And I have to get her to reimburse me for the Magic Energy Stones used to open the Teleportation Array.’

To make the price he was about to pull out of thin air sound more believable, Zog ceremoniously took out a pen and paper.

"Alright, you on the floor, let’s tally up the bill for this rescue."

’There’s no such thing as a free rescue from a Red Dragon. Even an ambulance from the land of the bald eagle costs a few thousand bucks for a single trip.’ 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Pfft—"

Figxin couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

Zog was dumbfounded. ’Has this girl gone mad? Who laughs when they hear a bill is being drawn up?’

’Is it because she can get someone else to reimburse her?’

Figxin didn’t really want to laugh.

But she recognized Zog. The moment she saw him, the image of him standing on a desk in flashy red Mechanical Armor, shouting "Demon-Sealing Slash," was impossible to shake.

It was even harder to keep a straight face now that she had seen the *Mechanical Warrior* comics in the Northern Domain and knew what Zog had been wearing back then.

Perhaps it was because she had just survived a near-death experience. After she finished laughing, a wave of intense exhaustion washed over her. Figxin could no longer hold on and fell into a deep sleep.

She had a strange dream.

In her dream, the Northern Domain was no longer the famously barren land, but had instead become a region renowned for its peace, stability, and prosperity.

As the key figure behind the Northern Domain’s earth-shaking transformation...

...she, Queen Figxin, was invited to give a speech at the most important festival of the year.

As she walked onto the stage, tens of thousands of people cheered her name.

This time, there was no sudden bullet to throw the joyous celebration into chaos.

She walked up to the amplification device, cleared her throat, and spoke with a voice that was both majestic and affable.

"Flame Dragon Armor, combine!"

"I don’t want to combine!" Figxin suddenly shot up in bed, wide awake.

’That was terrifying. If I really shouted that at a major celebration, I’d rather have been shot dead.’

"You’re awake. Are you feeling alright?" Gelda was right beside her, watching over her.

"I feel... fine. I’m fine."

"What kind of nightmare did you have? I heard you shouting something about armor combining."

"There was no armor! And no combining!" The two words were now a trigger for Figxin.

"If you feel up to it, Zog said to go find him whenever you’re ready. He has important matters to discuss."

"Alright, I’ll go see him in a moment."

After sobering up a bit, Figxin went to the reception room.

Inside were two large blackboards. One detailed a plan for the Northern Domain to pay off its debt in installments.

The other detailed a joint development plan for tourism and culture in the Northern Domain.

Zog was already waiting for her.

Figxin didn’t even have a chance to look at the tourism plan; her attention was completely captured by the chilling number written after "debt."

’One, two, three... six digits. A full six-digit number, and the unit is Gold Coins! When did I ever owe the Zog Group this much money?’

"Excuse me, are you sure about this number?"

"It’s entirely reasonable and well-documented," Zog replied firmly. "First, the Magic Energy Stones we consumed for the Teleportation Array, calculated at market price, cost at least twenty thousand Gold Coins per use."

"Second, according to our veteran Zor Killers, the starting price to kill even the lowest-tier Senior Professional is ten thousand. We took out three of them on this trip. We’re counting the Bone Demons as people."

"But that still doesn’t add up to six digits," Figxin said. Her mental arithmetic was quite proficient.

"The most crucial part. For your personal safety, we will be dispatching Doudou’s... clone... to ensure your security. The contract has already been signed. It’s for one year, and that salary alone is a six-digit number in Gold Coins."

Of course, that was the external price. Internally, Doudou’s clone was free, and the original’s monthly salary was a single fan-made comic.

"Huh? When was this signed?" Figxin was completely in the dark.

"You signed it when you earned the Platinum Trophy."

"Huh?" Figxin had no memory of this at all. ’Did I get choked so hard I got amnesia?’

"See the Achievement System User Agreement, page 146, line 22. ’Completion of all achievements is deemed as signing this contract.’ Trust a Dragon’s memory. We guarantee that while Doudou’s clone can’t fight, it can definitely get you away to safety."

"Then what about this part of the debt?"

"Don’t worry. We have also prepared an acceptable repayment plan for you."

Zog unrolled a map of the outskirts of Winter City.

"The land rights to these several locations can be used to offset 60% of the debt."

These were the planned factory locations.

Figxin had no objections. ’What a considerate Dragon. He could have just robbed me blind, but he went to all this trouble to make up a reason.’

"As for the remaining 40%, it will come from the ’earn first, repay later’ cultural tourism development plan tailor-made for the Northern Domain."

Zog pointed to a promotional image on the other blackboard. It depicted a city built entirely of ice and snow, looking both amazing and dreamlike.

"And for the promotional Shadow of Evil that goes with this ice and snow theme park, we’ll need Lady Gerda’s participation."

"Me?" Suddenly being mentioned, Gelda blinked in confusion.