Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 198 - 118: Learn to Say "No"!

Chapter 198: Chapter 118: Learn to Say "No"!

The baptism did not lie; Duan Mingyuan accompanied her to the office of the inspector and obtained the recommendation letter for the Sixteen Star Summit before lunch.

Looking at the once again silent Baptism, Duan Mingyuan always felt somewhat apologetic.

"What will happen if you don’t complete the tasks assigned to you by the Archbishop?"

"There are no consequences."

The eyeball robot said.

Baptism had never held much hope for this, and she had followed Duan Mingyuan simply to earnestly carry out the Archbishop’s orders.

Even if she cursed the liaison officer a hundred times in her heart, Baptism would still meticulously complete her duties. And her current job was to persuade Duan Mingyuan to take up the post in the Holy City with all her might.

As a dignified inspector, the master of this flagship, she had been following Duan Mingyuan around like a shadow. Even after being clearly rejected, she continued to extend invitations undeterred, a testament to her perseverance amidst humiliation.

She continued to fulfill her responsibilities as always. Whether she could persuade Duan Mingyuan was beyond her control.

Life is full of disappointments, a fact even the Ashen Consortium should come to accept, she thought.

However, on a personal note, Baptism wished that the ghosts and goblins on the ship would be properly disciplined by the rebellious Blue Star People rather than persuading Duan Mingyuan to work in the Holy City.

The headquarters was bullying her for being easy to talk to, shoving all the unwanted eccentrics onto her flagship.

Especially the executive chef of the restaurant, who had carved out a path for the ascetics and insisted on dragging everyone into his culinary austerity. Ever since this ascetic weirdo came on board her ship, she had not had a single meal in peace, her inbox filled with complaints every day. Baptism herself was also miserable.

However, for her to stand up and dismiss the executive chef with a loftier-than-thou attitude was too difficult.

If she could have done so, those people would never have boarded in the first place.

Then there was Hei Misa.

Spreading discriminatory remarks about bloodlines all day long, inciting hatred everywhere. She, being directly superior to them, was also criticized along with them, accused of harboring Hei Misa and having the same discriminatory tastes.

"So, it means there’s no problem if I leave now?"

Duan Mingyuan asked tentatively.

As expected, Baptism nodded again. This time, she sat back in her swivel chair, apparently not intending to follow him out anymore.

Duan Mingyuan walked to the door, but under the reproach of his conscience, he ultimately could not leave through it.

He turned around, came back, pulled up a chair, and sat down in front of Baptism.

He simply couldn’t bear to watch any longer.

It looked like he was never going to be someone like Das-Vida.

Although Baptism was a high-ranking inspector of the Ashen Consortium, holding a status equivalent to Fu Ling, with even greater authority, she always appeared easy to bully, never knowing how to say no to others. She even agreed to every request from him, a stranger, and her teenaged appearance reminded Duan Mingyuan of the quiet girls in class who silently endured bullying from cliques.

"Is it that you can’t say no to others?"

Duan Mingyuan asked seriously.

"I can."

The eyeball robot answered on behalf of Baptism, "But I need a keyboard."

"Why do you need a keyboard?"

"Because I can’t say it to their face."

Indeed, since Duan Mingyuan and his party came aboard, she had spoken more through the eyeball robot in a few days than she had in the past month.

Others had pointed out this issue before, which is why she learned how to lash out with a keyboard. In the virtual world, separated by a screen, unable to see the other person’s face, the psychological burden is much lighter.

And even if she does genuinely anger someone, she can always claim a cat jumped on the keyboard.

It was all the cat’s doing while she wasn’t paying attention.

After all, why should one hold a grudge against a mere cat?

Every time before hitting the keyboard, Baptism had her exit plan ready.

"Why can’t you say it?"

"No reason."

When the eyeball robot spoke, Fu Ling averted her gaze from Duan Mingyuan, looking down at her knees instead.

"This is a lie."

Duan Mingyuan rarely pressed for answers as he was doing now, but in this instance, he had no choice but to take on the annoying role of digging deeper, even if it might touch upon memories that Fu Ling was unwilling to confront. "Avoidance is futile, it will only embolden those people."

Seeing that Fu Ling remained silent with her head lowered, Duan Mingyuan took a deep breath and decided to demonstrate the disadvantage of enduring and yielding.

For instance, this is our first meeting, we both know little about each other, and our purpose for this trip is to have you draft a recommendation letter for us.

Fu Ling looked at him, as if her eyes were saying that she had already written the recommendation letter.

"Correct."

Duan Mingyuan took out the recommendation letter and placed it on the table, saying, "But you’ve made all this too easy, do you know the consequences this will bring?"

Fu Ling shook her head, her eyes filled with confusion.

"This will make me see you as a weak person and, as a result, my demands will change. I will start by eliminating your confidants, hollow out your power, and gradually take away the flagship that rightfully belongs to you. In the end, I will have you, the captain, driven off your flagship."

Duan Mingyuan’s expression darkened as he struggled to put himself in the shoes of Das-Vida.

Fu Ling met good people, but in the vast universe, there are endless possibilities; what if next time she encounters someone like Das-Vida?

Considering Fu Ling’s inability to refuse, the church’s headquarters would surely dump the troublesome mess on her to deal with.

It was no different from the workplace.

Being a scapegoat wouldn’t make you likable, they would only keep dumping their problems on you and look down on you behind your back.

Hearing this, Fu Ling immediately tensed up and her gaze turned vigilant, as if she was preparing for battle.

"Now, tell me why you can’t refuse others to their face?"

"Because I don’t like hurting others."

The voice of the eyeball robot fluctuated, as synthetic tones were interspersed with an electric static.

"Why don’t you like to hurt others?"

Duan Mingyuan didn’t give Fu Ling time to think and pressed on.

"Mute, unlovable, if you anger others again, nobody will want you."

The electric static grew louder, causing the voice of the eyeball robot to sound uncertain.

But after she uttered these words, Fu Ling relaxed completely.

"Many people have gathered on your ship, more than even in the Royal City of Blue Star. They all rely on you, do you want to protect them?"

Fu Ling nodded, her hands under the table clenched into fists.

"Then the first thing you need to learn is to refuse, to learn to say ’no’!"

Without the ability to refuse, Fu Ling and everyone on this ship would inevitably fall into danger one day.

The two faced each other in silence.

After what seemed like an eternity, Fu Ling finally mustered the courage, faced Duan Mingyuan, and said a firm "no" through the control of the eyeball robot.

It was the first time in her life that she declined someone so unequivocally to their face.

She refused to take Duan Mingyuan’s advice.

That "no" resonated throughout the room, echoing for a long time.

Duan Mingyuan was plunged into darkness.

He felt like a cerebral thrombosis was about to happen.