Finally letting out a sigh of relief, Ziye felt a chill down her spine. Her clothes were damp from the sweat, clinging uncomfortably to her skin. She stood up, intending to take a shower, when Blackbeard’s Comms pinged. He sounded ecstatic: "Xiao Chou, it's selling like crazy, selling like crazy! Everything sold out, 90% already paid! I didn't expect them to be so enthusiastic..."

Blackbeard rambled on for a while, but it all boiled down to one sentence: Mengya Group was finally back at full strength.

Ziye smiled. "You handle the rest."

After this ordeal, Ziye deeply felt that panic-selling was not a sustainable path. If things continued like this, perhaps Mengya Group would become an industry legend in the short term. But she had a nagging feeling this couldn't last. Some people would never manage to snatch what they wanted. And some people would never stoop to snatching things.

Mengya Group dealt in high-end brands; their robots were expensive. If consumers couldn't secure one after one or two attempts, they would lose patience. Viewed from another angle, Mengya Group was being watched by too many factions. Even their open sales faced hacker attacks. Did they need to hire hacker escorts for every future sale? If her guess was right, someone would soon leak news about Mengya Group robots malfunctioning or causing injury, using it to tarnish Mengya Group's reputation...

Ziye temporarily abandoned the idea of showering. She compiled her thoughts, listed them out, and included them in Mengya Group’s open sales report, sending the written document to Blackbeard. That was as far as she would go for now.

After washing up, she went to the laboratory to find Dead Freak to discuss major life decisions.

The Wolf’s Den had completely relocated to the Shuiyun Galaxy. That area was vast, encompassing the broad hinterlands of the Angel Domain, offering sufficient space for growth, and it was far from trouble—a necessity for a military legion still in its cradle.

However, Mengya Group needed the market. To obtain the latest market intelligence and seize market share, Mengya Group had to remain in Kelai. This recent incident inevitably pushed the two entities toward separation. Previously, their personnel and administrative matters were a tangled mess; now, everything needed to be straightened out, defining responsibilities and positions before the Wolf’s Den officially launched.

But Ziye was utterly lost about which side to commit to. "Dead Freak, what would you choose?"

Ziye stood by the door, her expression deeply conflicted.

Dead Freak turned around, holding a pipette, and smiled. "No matter what you choose, life won't change. What are you worried about?" For him, life consisted of growing roses, dissecting organisms, cultivating mutated creatures, and making clones on the side. Whether at Mengya or the Wolf’s Den, nothing would change.

Ziye pouted. "Fine, pretend I never asked."

Dead Freak shook his head. "I suspect they'll assign me to Mengya. Not just anyone can handle skin implantation work. Of course, you are the designer. Unless you have an undeniable reason to be at the Wolf’s Den."

Ziye considered it. That made sense. Mengya Group provided the economic backing and strategic weaponry for the Wolf’s Den. Currently, the robot development was proficient; they could produce intelligent robots even without her. In the future, she could shift focus to mechs and starships to upgrade the Wolf’s Den's equipment. Even if she were at the Wolf’s Den, she would still be researching strategic weapons—it was essentially the same thing.

Once she sorted it out, Ziye beamed. "As expected, the older the ginger, the spicier it is. I'll cook you a Rose Meal tonight to show my thanks. How about it?"

Dead Freak immediately stopped her. "No, don't waste my roses. Thank you, thank you."

Ziye glared at him in mock offense. "You pest!"

On the morning of the first internal general meeting, Red Hair had acquired a cruiser capable of carrying one thousand passengers. She picked up everyone stationed in the Shuiyun Galaxy, then followed the route to collect one more person, finally picking up Ziye and Dead Freak in the Oguang Galaxy. They had the ship cleaned in Kelai's chaotic space station before setting course for the deserted void of space.

Empty space was always the safest place.

Ziye looked at the familiar faces filling the ship and felt a rush of emotions. This was the largest gathering they had ever assembled. Excluding An Junlie, an outsider, everyone else was present, including those recently recruited in space. Hundreds of people filled the space, wearing an assortment of clothes: farmer's attire, merchant suits, salesperson uniforms, and Red Hair's classic Domina Queen gear.

What delighted Ziye was that Old Dog, who had been in hiding for a while, also showed up, peddling his dried Jihu meat as usual. She felt as if she were back on the night they shot down the Federation’s Dada and everyone was lounging on the Silver Talisman Prairie, chatting. The faces were familiar, but her heart felt considerably more weathered.

Xiao Xiao spotted Ziye and rushed over, weeping hysterically. "Kid, I swear I'm never going back to the Central Command! That place is terrifying! Can't you send someone else?"

Ziye was stunned. "What happened? Did Stace bully you?" She looked left and right, noticing that Xiao Xiao seemed darker-skinned, and his wailing was even more dramatic than before.

Xiao Xiao deflated. "Didn't you notice my posture is much straighter?"

Ziye looked closely. It was true; he finally looked a bit more like a man. She patted his shoulder. "That’s a good thing, brother. Keep practicing."

Xiao Xiao almost cried from frustration. "Kid, stop messing with me! The Central Command is a pervert's lair. Even the robots have to stand at attention. We're just seconded staff, and we still have to do ten kilometers of forced march daily—it’s agonizingly painful."

Ziye smiled slyly. "That’s wonderful! Learn a lot, and when you return, you can be the head trainer at the Wolf’s Den. Anyone who slacks off, you hit them."

"Aaaaaah!" Xiao Xiao ran off in tears. "I don't think I can ever love again!!"

The people in the cruiser's main hall burst into laughter. Seeing how pitiful Xiao Xiao looked, Ziye considered pinging Comms to ask Stace about it, but then remembered the meeting was about to start. If she made a call now and the meeting location leaked, it would be more trouble than it was worth, so she dropped the idea.

Red Hair chaired the meeting. Being a pragmatic person, after Ziye, A'Can, and the technical team finished inspecting the cruiser and disabling all signals, Red Hair told everyone to sit down and got straight to the point. "We have gathered here to separate Mengya and the Wolf’s Den. Everyone, take the Silver Comms in your hand: press 1 if you want to develop with the Wolf’s Den, and press 0 if you want to stay with Mengya Group."

Someone shouted, "Can't we just stay together? We were fine as one!"

Red Hair calmly replied, "The time has come when separation is necessary. In a few days, the Wolf’s Den will be officially established, and every department and position must have responsible personnel. Mengya will henceforth only be a group under the Wolf’s Den, alongside the Mining Group and the Rose Garden, serving as one of the Wolf's Den's pillar industries."

At her words, the noisy discussion immediately quieted down. On the huge virtual screen behind Red Hair, left for 0 and right for 1, lists of names began to appear sequentially. Most—no, the vast majority—chose the Wolf’s Den.

Ziye sighed silently and pressed 0. Before, Mengya Group and the Wolf’s Den stood as equals, and people could earn more money at Mengya. Now that Mengya was becoming a part of the Wolf’s Den and held a lesser status, many decided to switch allegiance.

Red Hair glanced at the distribution and added, "There will be one chance to change your mind."

The numbers on both sides remained static for a moment, then five or six people switched their choice to Mengya Group.

Red Hair said, "Mengya Group has fewer personnel, so let’s confirm the positions and candidates for Mengya first, is that acceptable?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Seeing the sea of nodding heads, Red Hair smiled slightly, shifting sideways to look at the newly displayed organizational chart on the screen. "Mengya Group will primarily consist of eight major departments: Market, Planning, Design, Finance, HR, etc., plus two Executive Officers. Those capable and willing should step forward. If there are no suitable candidates, we will resort to interstellar recruitment."

Not many people vied for the Executive Officer positions; everyone knew that Blackbeard was the only choice. The Deputy Executive Officer position saw fiercer competition, but there was no one present who seemed capable enough to handle it. Big Head hesitated, wanting to compete, but Red Hair interjected, "Personally, I feel you are better suited for organizational structure roles." Big Head realized this was true, withdrew from the competition, leaving the position open for high-salary market hiring.

For the eight major departments, except for the Chief Design Director position, the rest generally had four or five people competing. Red Hair showed no favoritism, displaying the ability assessments of the competitors and letting everyone vote. The directors for several departments were quickly confirmed, everyone except the Chief Design Director.

Ziye was the only candidate for Chief Design Director; she didn't even need to compete and was immediately appointed.

Red Hair raised an eyebrow. "Xiao Chou, are you sure you want to stay with Mengya Group?"

As soon as she said this, everyone laughed. "Red Hair, are you abusing your power for personal gain!"

Red Hair turned to Ziye. "Xiao Chou, ignore them. I actually wanted you to serve as the Strategic Weaponry Director at the Wolf’s Den. Are you certain you want to remain in Mengya?"

Strategic Weaponry Director!

Everyone made a startled expression, though no one voiced an objection—because Ziye was the only person present capable of independently fabricating a mech. Strategic weaponry was an extremely critical department. Even hiring externally, it would be hard to find someone highly skilled, satisfactory, and willing to serve the Wolf’s Den. Even in terms of training, Ziye was the most suitable candidate.

Ziye paused for a moment. "I don't yet possess the necessary high-level capability to control strategic weaponry. Perhaps if I train in Mengya Group for a few more years, I will mature in that area."

Red Hair pondered. "Fine, you can keep your name provisionally listed for now, and you will also oversee any external hires in that area later." She turned to the assembly. "Any objections?"

Everyone shook their heads. Red Hair nodded in satisfaction and asked Ziye, "Do you have any objections?"

Ziye was speechless. Could she possibly object?

Red Hair laughed. "Then it is happily decided."

After confirming the candidates for the first-tier departments, they moved on to the second-tier department heads. Some individuals neither liked management positions nor desired administrative responsibility—Dead Freak, for instance, went into the Design Department to continue doing what he always did.

Xiao Xiao failed to win a bid and promptly transferred to the Mining Group managed by Iron Hand. He said to Ziye, "The Design Department is full of old guard now. It’ll be hard for you to manage them later."

Ziye countered, "Do you think they need managing?"