That night, Sifuer hosted a banquet to welcome Gu Shenghui and others, but not all the members from the Investigation Office attended. Only Gu Shenghui and Pei Yan were present.

Compared to Pei Yan's previous hardline stance, Gu Shenghui, the old fox, behaved much more smoothly. Not only did he have a pleasant conversation with Sifuer, but he quickly became as close as brothers with Bailang, making Pei Yan feel that Bailang's gaze toward him changed from that of an equal to an elder admiring an excellent junior.

This time, Pei Yan found himself with not much to do. Besides continuously introducing incoming guests to Gu Shenghui, he stood silently behind him like an obedient disciple. One must admit that the ginger gets spicier as it ages; by the end of the banquet, it seemed that Gu Shenghui said everything yet revealed no useful information to the other party, while extracting quite a lot of information from Sifuer that Pei Yan was previously unaware of.

"Gu Chu, how did your teeth become so white?" Back at the new mansion Sifuer found for their group, Pei Yan turned around, taking off his coat while asking Gu Shenghui about his teeth that were white like jade.

"Though you may not think much of it, the nickname 'Black Teeth' is quite known in different planes, and this mark is too conspicuous to not be hidden. How did your talk go?" Elder Lin waiting by the door interjected, explaining as he looked at the two returning from the banquet.

Gu Shenghui waved his hand, indicating they'd talk inside, and it wasn't until the three entered the hall that they noticed it was filled to capacity with people waiting for news of their return.

"How did it go?" Gu Shenghui pulled out a chair, sat at the head of the table, and spread his hands, smiling as he asked his standing or seated subordinates.

"Not bad!" Wang Wenze handed a freshly peeled orange to Liang Qian beside him, then peeled another one and continued, "It seems Pei—tsk! Shitang is doing quite well here. Just as we settled down, someone came knocking, leading a group asking if we needed servants. Wow! We never had such treatment before."

Gu Shenghui nodded, looking at Pei Yan with unreserved praise, "You've done really well. The situation here and the Demon Race's attitude towards us today is due to your own capability winning it for the Investigation Office. When we return, the Office will report a major merit in your name."

Pei Yan casually snatched the second peeled orange from Wang Wenze's hand, ignoring his glaring white eyes as he popped an orange piece into his mouth with a teasing remark, "Then will I get a raise when we go back?"

"Yes!"

What was intended as a casual joke turned into a surprise when Elder Lin, standing nearby, agreed outright, and even pulled a cloth bag out of his pocket, tossing it to Pei Yan, saying, "This is a gift Old Li prepared for you after your next advancement, and the raise is just a fraction compared to this!"

"So many!" Pei Yan opened the cloth bag and was shocked to see twenty neatly arranged rings inside, "Is this all for me? How much do these contain?"

"After absorbing the contents, you'll have to return the rings!" Gu Shenghui pulled out a piece of betel nut, chewing as he continued, "You'll see for yourself when the time comes. Everything inside could fill up half a playground."

Hearing this, Pei Yan tightly grasped the bag, excitement brewing in his heart as he suppressed the urge to immediately check the contents, tucking it safely into his pocket.

"Old Gu, cut the chit-chat and get on with it. How did the negotiation go?" Xie Chujun, sitting nearby, raised his wine glass, took a sip, and smacked his lips, prompting for more details. Like Pei Yan, he quickly developed a taste for this slightly blood-scented exotic wine after arriving in this world, and had already consumed more than half of a bottle of Sifuer's prized collection gifted to Pei Yan, still craving for more.

"Shitang has opened a favorable situation for us, but this window remains narrow, open only to the Kataraga Autonomous Territory side." Following the rule that Pei Yan is addressed as Shitang here, Gu Shenghui tapped the table, looked around, and said in a low voice, "Now we need to broaden this window, not only helping the Hell Plane hold off the Disaster Legion's attack, buying time for the other three planes to clear the dark forces, boosting the morale of the Demon's defense faction to persist, but also showcasing our strength in the upcoming actions, intimidating those with ulterior motives in the Demon center, making them think twice before meddling in the real world."

"So our enemy is that so-called Disaster Legion?" Jiang Fangzhou fiddled with the toy soldiers on the table, chewing gum, and glanced at Gu Shenghui, shrugging.

"They're not alone!" Pei Yan, removing his hat and running a hand through his hair, threw the hat onto the table and interjected, "I estimate before we face the Disaster Legion, we'll have to help Sifuer suppress a few other shelter controllers. During my time here, I've seen that these alternate-plane guys have no regard for us! They think we're easy targets. No matter how Sifuer explains and maneuvers, these old die-hards won't give up trying to control us as puppets until they see blood."

"I heard you wiped out many in the Demon Race?" Sitting beside Ye Ruozai with his legs crossed, Zheng Jia Ru responded with a mischievous grin.

"Not many, just three or four hundred," Pei Yan replied without a trace of guilt.

"Whew!" Zheng Jia Ru whistled, sat back, crossed his legs again, and continued, "So how many of the Demon Race do we need to eliminate to make these untrustworthy people behave? I don't mind dealing with these otherworldly freaks that don't regard us as humans. But aren't we supposed to focus on cooperation? If they all oppose us, we can't just wipe them all out, right? Is there any guideline? Otherwise, it could get messy."

"Not all will oppose," Gu Shenghui said, spitting the betel nut residue onto a napkin and casually tossing it into a trash can, "Sifuer does have some influence. She will secretly contact the shelter controllers who are on good terms with her, and they will stand in support at the venue, taking up positions to neutralize opposing voices. But to get these people to speak up...."

At this point, Gu Shenghui deliberately paused and glanced over everyone present, finally prompting Wang Wenze, who just started eating the orange he peeled, to mumble, "Got it, we need to intimidate those troublemakers into submission! So, it's simple then, whoever doesn't comply, we'll just beat them down!"

Jiang Feiyang pouted, pushing the toy soldiers on the table, complaining, "Damn, this solo combat stuff never falls to me! I was hoping to make a grand showing here!"

"You'll have your moment to shine. When we launch the offensive against the Disaster Legion, you'll be a main force!" Pei Yan said, standing up and grabbing a soldier figurine dressed in military uniform and posed in a shooting stance from in front of Gu Shenghui with interest.