Well said

Donggua looked displeased, her eyes fixed on Cui Hao, who lounged lazily as if this place were his own home.

The situation was no longer the same as before. She was no longer the helpless Donggua who could only order around a severely injured Cui Hao. Though her wounds hadn’t fully healed, she no longer feared Lin Luoyu.

Moreover, even if they were to turn against each other now, the sheer number of subordinates under her command could overwhelm the two of them.

Still, Donggua suppressed the dissatisfaction brewing in her heart. After all, compared to those previous subordinates who couldn’t even understand basic commands—picking up watermelons when told to gather sesame, or heading to eat when ordered to use the restroom—Cui Hao was the first to let her experience the joy of being a hands-off leader.

No need to micromanage, no need to intervene. She only needed to sit back and listen to the constant stream of good news, watching as her people and wealth grew.

No matter how irritating Cui Hao might be, the benefits he brought were enough to smooth over any grievances.

Besides, for her, this was the most critical moment.

Thanks to Cui Hao’s relentless efforts, they had finally regained some reputation, prompting their superiors to re-establish one-sided contact with Donggua.

The message that came held no words of concern, no offers of support—only another assigned task.

But at the very least, it meant their superiors still saw value in her. She hadn’t yet reached the point of being discarded.

Donggua asked calmly, "How is the task I assigned you last time coming along?"

Cui Hao spread his hands, his expression relaxed, and answered bluntly, "I took a few days off. Didn’t do a thing."

"Didn’t do a thing?" Donggua frowned, her tone laced with displeasure. "Then why did you come back? Since when do you dare to ignore my orders?"

Cui Hao ignored her question and instead countered, "What’s my cultivation level?"

Donggua scoffed. "A measly Foundation Establishment."

"You know that, huh!" Cui Hao slammed the table, his voice rising with indignation. "That was a Nascent Soul-level Blood Qi demonic cultivator who sliced a whole watermelon in half and nearly turned you, Donggua, into shredded cucumber! If I, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, went over there, one glare from him would be enough to finish me off!"

"You just open your mouth and order me to handle it—how am I supposed to? I’m just good at getting things done, not some invincible Tribulation Transcension expert!"

"And why even provoke him in the first place? Our experiments are progressing fine. If you want revenge, don’t send me to my death for it."

Donggua fell silent, the lingering Blood Qi in her body surging painfully.

Truthfully, she hadn’t been entirely honest with Cui Hao… The real expert was a Blood Qi demonic cultivator at the Soul Formation stage.

But this was a mission assigned by their superiors. It wasn’t something they could simply ignore just because it was difficult.

Seeing Cui Hao’s expression, as if he were ready to quit at any moment, Donggua forced herself to soften her tone.

"This isn’t about petty revenge. It’s a crucial step in our plans."

Cui Hao raised an eyebrow, his face saying, Go ahead, say whatever. I’ll believe whatever I want.

Donggua sighed. "I’ll participate in this operation too."

Cui Hao finally responded, "And what good will that do? Make up for last time when you weren’t shredded into strips?"

"Cui Hao!" Donggua shot to her feet, her voice sharp. "Have I been too lenient with you lately?"

"You’re the one being stupid. I’ve accomplished so much for you—proving I’m no fool. But you? You’re proving the opposite." Cui Hao stood as well, meeting her gaze without backing down.

"Ever since you had me pass along that message, it’s like your brain’s shriveled up. You keep doing things completely unrelated to our goals."

"That means someone above you is pulling the strings. Fine, doing irrelevant tasks is one thing. But now that your superiors are barking orders, you just turn around and bark at me? Open your mouth and send me to die?"

Donggua’s breath hitched slightly. Her expression remained calm, but inwardly, she was weighing whether Cui Hao was still worth keeping.

The smarter someone was, the harder they were to control.

Donggua asked coolly, "Then what do you propose?"

"If we keep working like this, I wouldn’t last even with ten lives. Right now, I’m teaching you how to handle things." Cui Hao’s gaze shifted to the door, and he raised his voice. "Xigua! You two are in this together—tell me if I’m wrong!"

A moment later, Xigua leaned silently against the doorframe, his expression complicated as he looked at Cui Hao. His demeanor was even more lifeless than before, as if resigned to an inevitable fate.

Cui Hao rapped the table sharply.

"When you run into something you can’t handle, don’t just charge in blindly—especially when you’ve got superiors above you. They don’t care about your life because it’s not theirs on the line. But do you not care about your own life either?"

Donggua felt a pang at his words, but she could only reply flatly,

"What can you do if they don’t care?"

"Make them care." Cui Hao’s tone turned grave. "All they do is give orders without lifting a finger. Even if you end up shredded, they won’t feel like they’ve lost anything—because you were always expendable. Or maybe you’ve already been discarded, and they’re just squeezing the last bit of use out of you."

Donggua caught his meaning. "What’s your idea?"

"Make them pay an extra price." Cui Hao tapped the table lightly. "Not for their own sake, but for ours. The more costly our sacrifices, the less willing they’ll be to abandon us."

Donggua didn’t even lift her eyes, as if she’d heard something laughable.

"Pay a price for us?"

Cui Hao shot her a disdainful look.

"Learn to shift your thinking. Making them pay for the tasks we carry out is paying for us."

Donggua scoffed and opened her mouth to retort, but Cui Hao cut her off.

"I know what you’re going to ask—how do we make them pay?" He shook his head, looking at her with exasperation.

"By selling them a dream. If the benefits are big enough—so big they can’t bear to lose or fail—they’ll be willing to invest."

"And if there aren’t benefits that big? Lie. Make them believe there are."

"As for the final outcome, as long as the higher-ups see some profit, they won’t dig too deep. But once we have enough power, we can avoid unnecessary losses. It’s a positive cycle."

Cui Hao paused, then turned to Xigua.

"Xigua, you’re smarter than Donggua. You tell her."

Xigua stepped into the room. Cui Hao’s competence was undeniable, and this speech perfectly showcased his approach—bold, and keenly manipulative of human nature.

If you ignored the individuals and looked only at the bigger picture, Cui Hao’s plan was nothing special.

But for those risking their lives, it was undeniably the most tempting strategy.

At the very least, Xigua found it compelling.

But…

Wasn’t this just a divide-and-conquer tactic?

Except these were things that should’ve been discussed privately with Donggua—not laid out bluntly by Cui Hao, whom Xigua had always found suspicious.

As Xigua pondered how to phrase things diplomatically and send Cui Hao away first…

Donggua suddenly looked enlightened and said,

“No need for Xigua to say more, Cui Hao. Though your cultivation is weak, you truly have a knack for getting things done. Rest assured, once the task is accomplished, I’ll make sure your merits and rewards are delivered in full.”

Hearing this, Xigua couldn’t help but let his expression slump again.