She is a natural disaster.

Chapter 63 Mike's Sense of Crisis

"A soldier who doesn't want to be a general is not a good soldier."

On the return journey in the carriage, Anastasia gave Leon Lopez high praise.

"Those who aspire to success may not succeed, but those who hesitate will definitely fail. Lopez is someone who aspires to success."

"You seem to value Leon Lopez a lot. Do you think his power grab has a chance of succeeding?" Mike said.

"Quite the opposite," Anastasia said. "Lopez will not only have to face his brothers, but also the pressure from other powerful figures."

Those who aspire to challenge the rules and order must inevitably endure their suppression.

If Leon Lopez wants to be the first to try something new, he needs to be prepared to face the crab claws.

"But you seemed to be having a good chat with Gibson, so I thought you two had already finalized a cooperation agreement," Mike said.

"Mr. Gibson always treated me with deference and always spoke with a smile. I couldn't very well slap him, that would be too rude."

Anastasia glanced at Mike and thought he was acting strangely tonight. Was he provoked by Leon Lopez?

Compared to Leon Lopez, who has been through many years of hard work, the newcomer Mike Montagu is so green he looks like he could be squeezed for water.

"You don't actually think I'd abandon you to work with Lopez, do you?" Anastasia asked. "Do I look that irresponsible? I'm not that kind of person."

Mike remained silent, feeling that he had been subtly insulted.

"You're guilty, Mike. Your eyes are darting around," Anastasia said.

Mike was indeed a little guilty, because he did have such concerns, but his eyes did not dart away.

However, after Anastasia's trickery, the guilty Mike began to subconsciously avoid Anastasia's gaze, looking even more guilty.

According to Mike Montagu, while Leon Lopez's sob stories are somewhat annoying, he is an excellent partner.

Leon Lopez is constantly driven by a sense of crisis; he has a strong drive for advancement, which is exactly what Mike lacks. Mike's smooth-sailing life has made him lack the drive to make progress.

"My dearest Mike, how could I bear to abandon you!"

Anastasia clicked her tongue and continued, "As your stepmother, whom you will never marry, I will never abandon you."

As she spoke, Anastasia reached out and patted Mike's head, just like an adult comforting a child.

Mike wanted to dodge, but he couldn't. All he could do was glare fiercely at Anastasia to express his protest and dissatisfaction.

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have said those awful things back then!

At this moment, Mike really wanted to take back all the nonsense he had said on the day he first met Anastasia.

However, on the other hand, Mike has achieved something that is difficult for others to reach, by daring to blow his beard and glare at a Calamity-level Transcendent.

"Cooperation often requires four prerequisites," Anastasia said, holding up four fingers. "A common goal, mutual trust, a reasonable division of labor, and shared responsibility."

She would lower a finger for each prerequisite she stated for cooperation.

"Mike, do you think Lopez and I meet these four prerequisites?" Anastasia asked.

Mike thought for a moment and said, "No. Lopez wants to conquer this city. What you want, I don't know. Mutual trust is also out of the question; you've only just met."

"That's it, so what are you worried about?" Anastasia said. "Gibson and I have only reached a preliminary agreement on cooperation. Whether we will actually cooperate depends on whether these four preconditions can be met."

Mike turned to Anastasia, and after a long while asked, "What about me? I don't seem to meet those four prerequisites either."

"I've said it many times, protecting your mandate is essentially a business transaction," Anastasia said. "There's no business relationship between us."

That's a really hurtful thing to say.

“I’m talking about that private commission from that night,” Mike said. “In your view, was that also a business deal?”

"Humility is a fine virtue, but one should not underestimate oneself," Anastasia said. "You are my accomplice, young Mr. Montague."

Although Mike Montagu lacks ambition, he does possess a ruthless streak, though he hides it quite well.

That night, Mike said something like this: "Montague will never sit idly by and wait to die."

Despite Mike Montagu's many shortcomings, Anastasia thought he was a decent rich kid.

"I remember you said you accepted the protection request because of the priest and the FBI," Mike said. "Could I know the specific reasons?"

"Because protecting you is part of the assessment that the Bureau of Abnormal Investigations assigned to me," Anastasia said. "Only by passing the assessment can I legitimately join the Bureau."

Mike said in disbelief, "You actually need to pass an exam to join the Bureau of Investigation?"

In Mike Montagu's view, given Anastasia's demonstrated abilities, the Bureau of Investigation should be begging her to join.

"Oh, I remember now," Mike continued. "You're on the priest's side, and the reason they're making things difficult for you is to weaken the priest's influence within the Bureau of Investigation."

"That's right, my memory is still okay, not to the point of forgetfulness," Anastasia said. "They want to get rid of me, clip the priest's wings, and prevent that old geezer from stepping into the limelight again."

"You've already had a public conflict with the Bureau of Paranormal Investigations. Do you still want to join the Bureau?" Mike asked.

"My plan hasn't changed for now, and the Bureau of Investigation hasn't stopped the assessment either," Anastasia said. "I bet they're kicking themselves right now."

"They not only lost a combat squad, but they also offended you. How can they not regret it!" Mike's tone was quite sarcastic.

"Mike, my conflict with those people isn't irreconcilable," Anastasia said patiently. "We just have different sides; it's not a life-or-death situation."

Upon hearing this, Mike lowered his head and thought for a while.

Although the conflict between the two sides is out in the open, they have not completely broken off relations yet.

The Bureau of Abnormal Investigations did not target Anastasia again, and Anastasia did not retaliate. Both sides tacitly stopped their actions.

As for the conflict that resulted in the annihilation of Rollins' team, the Bureau of Investigation could easily pin the blame on Rollins, since the dead cannot speak out to defend themselves.

"Is there something about the Bureau of Abnormal Investigations that you value?" Mike asked. "Otherwise, I can't think of any reason why you would join the Bureau."

"I think there probably is," Anastasia said, though she wasn't sure. "The Bureau of Anomalies has been operating for so many years; it must have some merit!"

The fact that the Bureau of Anomalies has stood the test of time for so many years must mean it has something special about it, and the infighting among its top officials also proves this point.

People living in dilapidated houses have no time for fighting and strife; wouldn't it be better to stick together and keep warm?

"Let's get back to Lopez. You didn't get carried away and agree to conquer this city with him, did you?" Anastasia asked.

"No," Mike shook his head. "I told him I needed time to sort out my own problems."

"Although you rejected Lopez for now, you're tempted," Anastasia said, seeing a longing look on Mike's face.

"Yes, I'm tempted," Mike said. "I also want to go to the top of the mountain and enjoy the view."

Anastasia stared intently at Mike and said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple."

“Lopez gave me two examples, each of which was enough to convince me,” Mike said. “If my dad hadn’t repeatedly reminded me before I left, I might have impulsively agreed.”

The first example Leon Lopez brought up was Mike Montagu himself.

If the Montagu family is powerful enough, even if the accelerator is extremely coveted, no one will covet it.

The problem is that the Montague family wasn't powerful enough, and they happened to develop something that made others envious: an accelerator. That's why they're facing this disaster now.

Mike struggles to empathize with his status as an illegitimate child, but he is deeply moved by what happened to him and has to admit that he was persuaded by Lopez.

The second example Leon Lopez brought up was Anastasia, which also happened to someone close to Mike.

The Bureau of Anomalies believed Anastasia was an accomplice of Father Lawrence, so they made things difficult for her at every turn and even sent a combat squad to deal with her.

But when Anastasia killed all of Rollins' team members, and Gibson hung the team members' bodies on the streetlights in front of the Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Investigation all fell silent and stopped making any moves.

They had assumed Anastasia was an easy target, someone they could manipulate at will.

It wasn't until they actually started fighting that they realized the seemingly easy target wasn't so easy after all, but rather an unshakeable steel plate.

Since that's the case, let's try to resolve the conflict and gradually turn her into one of our own. Anyway, we haven't really broken ties yet, so there's still room for reconciliation.

The two examples Leon Lopez cited were both based on Mike's personal experiences and were closely related to his own strength, directly hitting Mike's sore spots.

The Montague family, due to its own lack of strength, has attracted the covetous eyes of others and is facing a crisis of destruction; Anastasia, on the other hand, is strong enough that the Bureau of Anomalies chooses to settle the matter peacefully after losing a combat squad, temporarily quelling the conflict.

With two contrasting examples, one positive and one negative, plus Leon Lopez's enthusiastic invitation, it's quite remarkable that Mike wasn't completely fooled by this barrage of attacks on the kidney reflex zone.

Just a few days ago, Mike Montague staged a tragic love story between a human and a ghost, almost transforming into a ghost knight.

"Not bad, not bad, you've really improved." Anastasia looked very pleased.

Mike felt like Anastasia had taken advantage of him again.

"Should I meet with Mr. Gibson again and have a proper talk about copyright fees, patent fees, and the like?"

Anastasia stroked her smooth chin, looking like she was eyeing money.