Yulia returned home and immediately contacted Steven.
Steven then reached out to Emilie, who then arranged a meeting between Yulia and Aria.
The process was a bit cumbersome, but for Aria, it was necessary.
Once they arrived at a new location, Aria, as usual, first treated Yulia to some hospitality.
And, of course, took the opportunity to absorb some cuteness energy.
Watching the little one eat was genuinely therapeutic—half her accumulated stress melted away instantly.
Yulia had also prepared a surprise.
She pulled out a basket of french fries!
Homemade, handmade with no additives.
Faced with this strange, not-particularly-appetizing-looking food, Aria was initially reluctant.
But upon hearing that her little sister had made them herself, she immediately snatched them up.
Even if it’s poison, I’m eating it!
But as soon as the fries entered her mouth—
Crunch, crunch…
Huh? They were… unexpectedly good?
She grabbed another.
And another.
“Emilie, try one too!”
Emilie took a bite and immediately gave a thumbs-up.
Absolute perfection!
Soon, the two of them polished off the fries, left wanting more.
“Xiaoya1, how did you learn to make such amazing food?”
“Oh, I learned it from one of the Outsiders.”
Well, technically, I learned it from Xiaoyue. That counts, right?
It was something the two of them had experimented with back home.
“Ah, the Outsiders… They really are fascinating, with their completely different customs and magic systems.”
“Mhm!” Yulia nodded vigorously. “I play with them all the time!”
“So you know a lot about them, then?”
“Of course! I’m an expert!”
Then, Yulia began explaining some things about the Outsiders to Aria.
She didn’t go too deep—just a light overview.
But even that was enough to astonish Aria.
“In principle, everyone is equal? That’s unbelievable. No wonder their organizations seem so loose.”
“A special communication method, even more convenient than our communication crystals?”
“And they’re rich? How rich?!”
Aria had never held any particular prejudice against the Outsiders—at most, she’d been instinctively wary.
But after hearing Yulia’s descriptions, she was even more intrigued.
“Speaking of which, Sis Aria, I found out that a lot of Outsiders want early access to the Tower of Heroic Trials. That’s super easy for Sister Aria.”
“So I did some digging, and in the end, I told them they could buy a slot for 100,000 gold.”
Aria’s pupils shrank.
“How much?”
“100,000 gold.”
She had just heard they were rich, but she hadn’t grasped how rich. Now she understood.
100,000 gold for a single entry?! Do they just print money?!
They could enter for free once they reached Silver rank—yet they were willing to pay 100,000 gold just to go in early?!
Even for royalty, that wasn’t a sum to be thrown around casually.
“They’re really willing to pay that much?”
“Yep, absolutely. And there should be quite a few of them.”
Aria was officially humbled.
I admit it. I, an imperial princess, have been outclassed in wealth.
“In that case, let’s have Emilie assist you with this. As for the gold… 70-30 split.”
“Okay, okay! 30% is great!”
Yulia happily bounced on her toes. More free money!
“Mhm, as long as you don’t think my 30% is too much.”
Aria was also delighted. She had just stumbled into a massive windfall. This money could be put to good use—she did have some expenses coming up.
But then—
““Huh?””
Yulia and Aria locked eyes.
“Sister, 30% is plenty for me. I just had to say a few words.”
“Little sister, I didn’t even have to speak. How could I take more?”
The two of them spent a good while arguing over who should take the larger share.
In the end, they settled on a 50-50 split.
As for Emilie?
She was on Aria’s side.
…But she could also be on Yulia’s side.
After wrapping up her stream the next day, Yulia returned to the same restaurant as before.
Sleepless and his team were already waiting, having timed their arrival to match the end of her broadcast. They had even ordered food in advance, ready to receive her.
Once Yulia had eaten her fill, they went down to business.
But before Sleepless could speak, one of his companions suddenly slapped his forehead.
“Crap! Did we forget to get proof?!”
Yulia: “…”
Sleepless: “…”
The third companion: “…”
Idiot.
But Yulia recovered quickly, tilting her head innocently.
“Big brother, what did you just say?”
“Ah, sorry, little sis, I was just—mmph!”
Sleepless grabbed a napkin and shoved it into his mouth.
“He just ate something and wanted to wipe his mouth. Don’t mind him.”
“Oh. Hold on, I’ll get something.”
Yulia pretended nothing had happened and pulled a skill book from her basket.
“Take a look at this.”
Sleepless accepted it.
On the cover were two bold words: Art Star
“…”
Did she grab the wrong thing? This looks more like a fashion magazine than a skill book.
But when he focused, an item description appeared.
[Item Name: Art Star (Skill Book)
Rarity: Golden Legendary
Description: The final pursuit of art by a certain master, embodying his life’s work in one last bloom.
Details: Consumes all Mana to deal 1100 × User’s Level as true damage in a star-shaped area2.
This skill cannot be interrupted.
Cooldown Time: 72 hours.]
Holy—!
This is exactly what we need!
The multiplier was even higher than Nuclear Slash! This skill could outclass it!
As for the cooldown, it wasn’t like they needed to use it often—when the time came, it’d be ready.
The only unclear part was the range—the description was a bit vague.
Should we test it?
No, no, absolutely not!
Thanks to the lesson from Nuclear Slash, Sleepless immediately grasped the implications hidden in the description.
Still, since they had explored so much of the map, they could find a remote, uninhabited area, strip off all their gear, and test it after leveling up.
“Perfect. This skill is exactly what we needed. Thank you so much for your support, little sister. If you ever run into trouble caused by Outsiders, come find us—we’ll handle it!”
From now on, this ‘Nuke Girl’ was under their protection!
Anyone who messed with her was messing with Eastern Dragon!
And if that wasn’t enough—if things got really serious—as long as the perpetrator left even the tiniest digital footprint, they would take it IRL.
But they were overthinking it.
Yulia already had Sis System watching her back.