The orc who snatched the soft hide was Blacktooth, one of A Lie's most loyal followers. He repeatedly kneaded the supple yet resilient skin, his initial astonishment swiftly replaced by greed and calculation. The look he shot Gu Liang was like that of a man eyeing a goose that lays golden eggs.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7FmtsJkvY
"Speak! How did you get it?" Blacktooth stepped closer, his tone fierce, trying to intimidate Gu Liang.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07T83BB9sn
Fangclaw instinctively stepped in front of Gu Liang, stammering an explanation: "It... it was us... we just... messed around with it..."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjEz35CN2h
"Get out of the way!" Another beastman shoved Fangclaw aside roughly, his gaze fixed intently on Gu Liang. "This hide is softer than what the old priest smoked! This wasn't done by accident! Quick, tell us—what method did you use?"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vmzKOsW2Z
Gu Liang's heart pounded wildly as his mind raced. Admit it? The method would surely be taken away, and he might lose his only bargaining chip—or face harsher punishment for "hoarding secrets." Deny it? They clearly wouldn't believe him, and Lao Zha might get dragged into this too.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvAdqQl1YE
Gritting his teeth, he chose silence. Head bowed, body trembling slightly, he played the part of a fearful, cowering slave. But only he knew that beneath that tremor, alongside the fear, lay a suppressed anger—anger at his own inability to protect his achievement.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡArlUWV6AFL
"Not talking, huh?" Blacktooth sneered, waving the soft leather in his hand. "Looks like we'll need Lord A Lie to question you!" He signaled to his men. "Take them both away!"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrliMa3jOeM
Just as the two orcs moved to bind them, a cold voice cut through the air: "What's going on here?"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJyOO9iTf7
Emma materialized beside the earthen hut, seemingly fresh from her patrol route. Beads of sweat glistened on her forehead as her sharp gaze swept the scene—her men poised for action, the panicked beastmen, the fearful silence of Gu Liang, and the conspicuous leather strap in Blacktooth's hand.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdiRVMkN0n7
[System Alert: Target Gu Liang faces technological achievement theft crisis. Sense of security and trust damaged. Fear value rising. Positive dependency value fluctuating...]99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSHGWsmW5C
Black Tooth's demeanor softened slightly at Emma's arrival, though he still held the leather aloft as he spoke first. "Emma, you're just in time! We caught this slave and the fanged beast sneaking around here, making this thing!" He thrust the leather forward. "Look at this skin—it's unnaturally soft! They must've used some method we don't know about!"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRgIyXvhVU
Emma took the soft hide, carefully feeling it and giving it a squeeze. Her expression remained unreadable, but inside, she was shaken. It worked? And better than expected. Her gaze darted quickly to Gu Liang, catching his pale face and clenched fists.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡji5HFejLST
"It is indeed soft," Emma said flatly, tossing the leather back to Blacktooth. "So?"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEp4z9wnYD6
Blacktooth froze. "So? So he must be hiding his craft! If this skill were offered to the tribe..."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPPXo2Izl7c
"Offer it to the tribe?" Emma cut him off, her voice suddenly turning cold, laced with undisguised scorn. "So everyone can know that the secret behind the soft leather armor worn by our proud Leopard Clan warriors comes from a stuttering slave brought by a fugitive from the royal city?"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvKpsUxLQJ
She stepped closer, her gaze piercing Blacktooth like ice shards. "Or perhaps you want the Wolf Clan across the river—those who pride themselves on their tanning craft—to learn that what their ancestors spent generations perfecting, our Leopard Clan could stumble upon by chance through some slave of dubious origin?Do you want every tribe to believe our Leopard warriors can't even assemble proper leather armor without resorting to such 'unorthodox methods'?"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXFEshZmtzy
Blacktooth froze under the barrage of accusations, his face turning pale and ashen. Emma's words were like a poisoned dagger, striking precisely at the tribe's most sensitive nerve—its honor, and A Lie's fragile, unconfirmed status. Linking Gu Liang's "craft" to these two things was tantamount to turning it into political poison.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOEJutEjh9
"I... I didn't mean it like that..." Cold sweat beaded on Blacktooth's forehead.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAqDLnuJIk
"Then what did you mean?" Emma pressed, her tone relentless. "Father is preoccupied with securing the border and upholding the tribe's prestige.Now you want to take this hide and tell him our tribe's 'new hope' is merely a slave's fortuitous find? Are you trying to bring honor to Lord A-Lie, or remind everyone that what he and his men possess is nothing more than... things that need such unsavory means to appear exceptional?"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXm0Q96K7u4
The last words came softly, slowly, yet carried the weight of a thousand pounds.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhqHJ7n0B6
Blacktooth and his companions were utterly flustered. They were loyal to A Lie and understood the delicate nature of their master's position. Anything that might damage A Lie's prestige or cause Chief Mozo to harbor greater apprehension toward A Lie's influence was an absolute taboo.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzs8eSGVm5N
"This... this hide..." Blacktooth stammered, staring at the hot potato in his hands.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBFwWywb4iA
"Just a piece of hide that softened by sheer luck," Emma's tone returned to its usual calm, tinged with a hint of weariness. "Maybe it was coincidence, maybe some underhanded trick too unsavory to mention or pass down. It's fine as an amusing anecdote, but to claim it as the tribe's skill? That's just inviting ridicule."
She shifted her tone abruptly, her gaze sharp as a blade. "But what about you lot? Abandoning your posts during patrol just to fight over a 'lucky' pelt? If a wolf scout slips in now, who'll take the blame—you, or your master A Lie behind you?"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDF2JkARGN
Neglecting patrol duties was a grave offense, and if it implicated A Lie... Blacktooth and the other immediately broke out in a cold sweat.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvczmI4eZoD
"Get back to where you belong," Emma commanded, her voice brooking no argument. "Everything you've seen or heard here today—if I hear a single word of it from anyone else..." She didn't finish, but the icy glint in her light brown eyes left Blacktooth and the other man in no doubt about the consequences of defiance.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7lhcsClEFy
The pair felt as if they'd been granted a pardon. They dared not glance at the soft leather again, flinging it to the ground as though discarding a burning ember. They hastily bowed to Emma and practically fled the scene.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSyFeQyOzr
The crisis seemed averted.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCA1hy7jVI
Fanglet let out a long, drawn-out sigh of relief. His legs buckled, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. His eyes, fixed on Emma, brimmed with gratitude for having survived the ordeal. "Thank you... Thank you, Emma!"99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYuy1FVuQU
Emma, however, did not look at him. Her gaze fell upon Gu Liang, who had remained silent and bowed his head, as still as a stone statue.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCVPQ7ze0T
She walked over, bent down, and picked up the discarded soft leather. Her fingertips brushed away the dust clinging to it before she held it out to Gu Liang.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaoumhY6asj
Gu Liang did not take it. He slowly raised his head to look at Emma. Those eyes, once filled with fear and occasionally a flicker of dependence, now seemed washed by icy spring water, holding only clear scrutiny and bottomless confusion.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvoT7rwBw2
She had "saved" him again. But this time, her approach was entirely different. Instead of acknowledging his success, she had personally dismissed his achievement as mere "luck" and "unorthodox methods."She had driven Blacktooth away, yet justified it by preserving the tribe's fragile "dignity" and A Lie's questionable "face." She had saved his life, yet in front of him, she had crushed the faint glimmer he had earned with blood, sweat, and intellect, grinding it into the mud of reality.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeXACgL10Z4
What exactly was she trying to achieve?99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1bMngaPxt
Emma met Gu Liang's scrutinizing gaze, understanding fully. Simple "passing by" and "goodwill" could no longer explain any of this. This fragile yet tenacious little beast had finally begun using its sharp fangs of suspicion to probe every "kind gesture" around it.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuInTjxtEBb
[Target Individual Gu Liang exhibits profound confusion and scrutiny toward Host's actions. Dependency emotions now mixed with suspicion; positive dependency value temporarily frozen. Host must provide information feeding to maintain trust bond.]99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZw119tOWbn
Emma fell silent for a moment before forcefully pressing the soft, seemingly worthless pelt into Gu Liang's icy hands. Then, leaning close, she whispered in a cold, clear voice audible only to them:99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3v4FeoQft
"It's a valuable thing. Keep it hidden. Don't let anyone see it casually, and certainly don't let anyone take it for free. Unless... you can trade it for something that will secure your footing."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZdyGJfTY0
Without waiting for Gu Liang's frozen expression to shift, she turned to the still-dazed Lao Zhao and ordered coldly, "Keep your mouth shut. Today, you saw nothing. You heard nothing."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqc4O1XQDhq
She strode away, her back straight and sharp, as if she had just resolved a trivial patrol dispute.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE0QxLkaHZ6
Gu Liang remained frozen in place, his hand clenched tightly around the leather. Its soft texture lingered, but Emma's words pierced him like ice shards, shattering all his vague suspicions.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVGtSAzneoQ
"The thing that keeps you grounded..."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4GcKxsuBls
He suddenly understood.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DLfY9MbBS
Emma's "help" had never been pure protection or kindness. She was guiding him—or rather, forcing him—to think in the brutal logic of this world: value could only become capital for survival through exchange and struggle. Mercy and random luck meant nothing.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYlsleNmTbA
What she valued in him might be the "benefits" he could bring, or perhaps something else entirely. But regardless, in her eyes, he was likely first and foremost an "asset" to be assessed for worth and taught to self-evaluate.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwlRHNQRcN
A wave of emotion surged within him—a mixture of coldness, understanding, and a hint of humiliation. The seed of suspicion had finally taken root, burying itself deep in the frozen soil of reality. That faint dependence on Emma hadn't vanished, but it was now shrouded in a heavy shadow called "calculation" and "strategy."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9wmpxEvjX
Gazing at the direction Emma had vanished, he recognized for the first time with such stark, icy clarity: in this world, "staying alive" itself was a brutal transaction demanding payment in everything one possessed.
Emma had taught him his first lesson in the most brutal way: Here, everything had a price. Your knowledge, your skills, your body—even your fears and obedience—were all commodities to be placed on the table. The only difference lay in whether you set the price yourself, or let others set it for you.
"The thing that keeps you grounded..."99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6d5K09LgB
He clenched the soft leather in his hand.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLfxYaZpRY
He refused to remain forever the "merchandise" arbitrarily appraised and forcibly purchased.99Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFm07Qsa4IS
He would learn to walk to the table himself. Even if his chips were meager, he would place them there with his own hands to exchange for what he needed.
and then Add to home screen.