Chapter 329 - 329: I'll Never Forgive Myself

"Hmph, I thought you'd deny it. Good. That saves me a lot of trouble."

Hobson let out a cold snort, somewhat surprised by her response, but Evelyn continued before he could say anything.

"But I am not your enemy. Fugue simply hired the organization I work for. My relationship with them never involved any 'loyalty.'"

Her voice remained calm, though there was a faint hint of helplessness beneath it.

"Listen, I'm not the only spy Fugue has planted within Odeum."

"Wh-What?"

Hobson's eyes widened in surprise.

"You must know that the grudge between these two conglomerates runs deep. Do you really think Fugue would gamble everything against Odeum on me alone? I only learned about their plan moments ago, and this is nowhere near the full extent of their strategy. What we should be doing now is g—"

Before Evelyn could finish, Hobson abruptly cut her off.

"'We'? I'm not interested in figuring out whether you've actually switched sides or if you're just pretending. As for your intel, how can anyone know whether it's genuine or just another trap?"

"But Miss Yao's safety..."

At that moment, Evelyn was far more concerned about Astra's safety than her own.

"That's none of your concern. Odeum will protect its own assets. We don't need outsiders getting involved. As for the 'intel' you mentioned, I'll look into it. In any case, thank you for your service over the past two years."

As he spoke, Hobson adjusted his glasses, offered a few polite words as a mere formality, then waved to the men behind him without hesitation.

"Now!"

"Tch! Unless it's an order from Miss Yao herself, I'm afraid I can't comply!"

Evelyn tried to persuade them to conserve their strength for the enemies that were about to arrive, but they refused to listen, leaving her no choice but to fight back.

However, before either side could make a move, a group of people dressed in black suddenly rushed out from around the corner, forming a stark contrast to the red-clad thugs on Odeum's side.

"It's the Fugue bastards! Listen up! Evelyn and Fugue are in cahoots! Take them all down!"

Hobson reacted immediately, even striking a dramatic pose as he barked the order.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the stage lights slowly illuminated the theater. Seated atop a flower basket, Astra gently descended to the center of the stage.

The floating lanterns surrounding her framed the hem of her black-and-white gown, making her resemble a two-toned flower—elegant and breathtaking.

"Good evening, New Eridu!"

The moment she appeared, thunderous cheers erupted from the audience surrounding the stage, and Astra greeted them with a gentle smile.

"Are you ready? Then allow me to share the wonders of magic with you all!"

Soft music began to fill the theater, but Belle, seated inside the VIP room, had no interest in enjoying the performance. Instead, she kept glancing anxiously toward the door.

"My brother is so slow! The performance has already started. What is he doing?"

<<>>

Evelyn kicked an Odeum henchman aside and suddenly heard Astra's singing.

At that moment, she realized the performance had already begun.

"Damn, traitors really are unreliable! Go figure!"

"Traitor! Don't even think about running away!"

"Take down all the Odeum guys and that traitor!"

"Take down that traitor and all the Fugue guys!"

The two sides immediately descended into a chaotic melee, with Evelyn caught in the middle and bearing the greatest pressure.

She knew uncovering the truth behind everything was far more important than staying to fight.

Taking advantage of the chaos, she looked for an opportunity to slip away.

"How's the situation on the stage...? Huh?! They've even planted people in the audience?!"

Evelyn glanced at the projection screen beside her, her delicate brows knitting together as her expression grew increasingly grim.

Seeing her reaction, one of the thugs couldn't help but sneer.

"Hmph, you think that's all? We're just the advance team! As long as we keep Odeum busy, our people can give them a 'real' show!"

"I need to contact Miss Yao immediately. The stage is in danger!"

Anxiety welled up inside Evelyn, but no matter how many times she tried, there was no response. The communications had already been cut off.

"You traitor to the organization! You're ready to die, aren't you?!"

Just then, another group of mercenaries armed with sophisticated weapons poured into the battlefield. Evelyn recognized them immediately.

"The organization's people... they're becoming more and more troublesome. It's all my fault. If I had told Miss Yao my true identity sooner, things might not have spiraled this far out of control..."

"It's not too late to tell her now."

The voice had barely spoken when several enemies surrounding her suddenly collapsed to the ground.

The others instinctively tried to retaliate, but before they could even launch an attack, they too were struck down one after another.

"What?"

"Miss Evelyn, thank you for your hard work."

Wise looked at Evelyn's stunned expression. She clearly hadn't expected him to possess such overwhelming strength.

However, Evelyn recovered almost instantly. The moment she realized reinforcements had arrived, she spoke urgently.

"Wise! Miss Yao is in danger! I need your help! There's no time to explain. Please come with me. We have to storm the control room!"

"I understand. We can talk on the way."

The two moved without delay.

As they hurried through the corridors, Wise contacted Belle while Evelyn explained the long-standing grudge between Odeum and Fugue.

She confessed how she had infiltrated Astra's inner circle as a Fugue spy.

Even while carrying out Fugue's plans, she had done everything she could to avoid arousing Odeum's suspicion, painstakingly searching for another informant so she wouldn't remain the only one feeding information to Fugue.

"I betrayed Miss Yao. From the very first second I met her, I betrayed her. I failed to act when I should have, and that slowly led me to this situation. If anything happens to Astra because of this... I'll never forgive myself."

Evelyn's voice was heavy with guilt, laced with unmistakable self-reproach.

"Only Astra can decide whether to forgive you. At least there's still a chance to make things right, isn't there?"

Wise didn't offer hollow assurances like, "Astra will definitely forgive you." What Evelyn needed most at that moment wasn't empty comfort, but the resolve to keep moving forward.

"..."

"I'll bring you to her. Once we secure the control room, the Fugue organization's entire operation will be exposed."

[Ding! Target Evelyn: has increased her favorability toward the host by 20. Her current favorability is now 80. Additionally, 1000 Emotional Value has been obtained.]

[Current Emotional Value: 41300]

Wise's words had the desired effect. Evelyn quickly regained her composure and began analyzing the situation once more.

"Not just that. While Astra powers Starloop's Harmonic Core from the stage, the control room manages everything else: navigation, balance, and stability. If the control room is compromised, it'll be like a spaceship losing its bridge. The consequences would be disastrous."

The two soon met up with Belle and Eous, who had arrived from the opposite side. Together, they rushed toward the control room, where the manager was already lying unconscious on the floor.

Evelyn immediately knelt to check on him. Fortunately, he had only lost consciousness.

However, Wise's attention was drawn to a nearby red electronic display.

A countdown was rapidly ticking away.

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