Sophia had no idea how the other person got her phone number.
But in this day and age, getting a phone number wasn't that hard.
Honestly, if she had known things would get this troublesome, she would have rather picked up a stray puppy and raised it from a baby.
But it was already too late to regret. As time passed, she had developed feelings, and Sophia wasn't someone who could easily abandon something she cared about.
She moved the phone away and set it aside. Then she took out some dried fish snacks and a chew stick she had prepared for Four-Eyes. The little guy finally seemed to be in better spirits.
By the time Four-Eyes had nearly finished gnawing on the chew stick, the other side of the call finally quieted down.
Only then did Sophia pick up the phone again.
"If you have any complaints, contact the police station directly."
She ended the call right after saying that. There was no point in talking to someone that unreasonable.
Then she blocked the number.
Now, she just had to wait for the shelter's response.
Meanwhile, on the other side, it was already the thirtieth before she finally got a call.
This time, Sophia was finally able to enter the headquarters of the company called Lide.
She got in touch with Mr. Ziwen, but it was Assistant An who came out to meet her.
Assistant An was still dressed like a top-tier professional. He didn't look like someone working a regular job but more like a rich heir doing field experience.
Sophia was 168 cm tall, but even then, she only reached his shoulder.
He led her into a meeting room. Only then did Sophia realize she wasn't the only one invited.
There were already more than ten people there, and most of them seemed to know each other.
Seeing Sophia, a new face, they couldn't help but glance at her curiously.
Meanwhile, Yijan was taking the supplies that General Yves had gathered and doing business in the Zhao Kingdom while also stirring up trouble.
General Yves was being generous. Since there was no war at the moment, he gave the rare supplies that Sophia had delivered to Yijan so he could use them as bargaining chips in Zhao.
High-quality fine rice, chocolate, fruit candies, bread, individually packed marinated eggs, preserved foods, and more.
These things were easy to carry during wartime, good for energy, and could be eaten as snacks when things were calm.
Even modern people who had tasted all kinds of delicious food were impressed by them, so it was even easier to win over the people in ancient times.
There was nothing that modern science and flavor enhancers couldn't win over. And if it didn't work, it just meant not enough seasoning had been added.
With these supplies, Yijan managed to break into the business circles in Zhao, then quietly got involved with the aristocrats. He had now secured a foothold in the Zhao Kingdom.
He had a country backing him. General Yves had just conquered two other nations and had an abundance of resources and wealth.
Zhao was in chaos, and few people noticed what Yijan was doing.
By now, he had moved into the former Zhao family estate.
The house had been burned down before, but now it was rebuilt, with no trace of its past.
Yijan had fully settled in. According to their original plan, he moved around different regions of Zhao, stirring up conflicts wherever he went.
It was so easy to provoke fights because Zhao was already rotten inside.
Rumors had spread that the Zhaos all knew the Zhao Kingdom's rival, the Zhao Nation, had divine weapons. These weapons could dig hundreds of meters into the ground and create deep wells with water.
Yijan was now just waiting for General Yves to give the order. Once the troops started moving south, he would meet up with him.
Right then, a new order arrived from General Yves.
General Yves sent over drilling machines and asked Yijan to arrange for their reception.
According to the agreed time in the letter, Yijan led dozens of men out of the city gate. When they were about twenty miles from the Chen border, they saw a group of Chen soldiers transporting five drilling machines this way.
Yijan originally planned to avoid them, but the other side came forward instead.
As they got closer, Yijan recognized that it was actually one of his deputy commanders disguised as Chen troops.
Yijan smiled and then greeted them.
"How come it's you? Why did the commander suddenly change his mind and send drilling machines to Chen?"
The deputy commander explained the whole plan.
"The commander set a trap for both Chen and Wu. When the two fight, the third party benefits. This time, we want to be that third party. But the most important step right now is to get these drilling machines inside. The Wu army is probably chasing us."
The deputy commander was a little anxious.
Their plan was to give all the drilling machines originally meant for Wu to Chen instead, taking advantage of Wu not knowing how to use them.
The drilling machines given to the two countries by General Yves couldn't work yet. They had to be carried by hand, which was hard and slow.
After handing them over, Zhao's army intercepted halfway and brought the machines to the Chen border, making it look like Chen had stolen them, trying to cause conflict between Chen and Wu.
They believed Chen would want the extra machines.
And if Wu soldiers got killed on Chen's border, even if it didn't start a war, it would damage the alliance between the two countries.
Yijan shook his head after hearing this. "Don't rush into the city. Turn back."
The deputy commander was confused.
Yijan explained, "Your plan has many flaws and is too crude. We'll turn back."
"As you said, Wu's men have caught up already. They will think Chen stole their five drilling machines and will kill Chen soldiers to take revenge."
"If both sides suffer losses and lose their heads, they won't notice the flaws in this plan so easily."
The deputy commander thought for a moment and nodded.
Yijan covered them as they moved. When they were one or two miles from the real Chen army, they indeed met Chen and Wu forces fighting.
Hearing the sounds of clashing weapons, Yijan quietly led the deputy commander, his men, and the five drilling machines closer.
Just as the Song army was about to win decisively, Yijan signaled the deputy commander to make some noise.
This quickly caught Wu army's attention.
Yijan's men fought briefly but then pretended to be defeated and retreated, leaving behind the five drilling machines.
He signaled the deputy commander to take the wounded men to find Chen soldiers by the city.
To give the Wu army enough time to escape, Yijan deliberately told his men to go slowly to send the message.
By the time Chen troops arrived, it was too late. They only saw bodies everywhere, and the five drilling machines had disappeared.
Chen soldiers who came in enough numbers erased the traces of the drilling machines' path.
But among the corpses, they found some evidence left by the Song army.
On the other side, Wu took ten drilling machines back. They were already short-handed and unfamiliar with how to use the machines, so their travel was very difficult.
At that moment, a group suddenly appeared. General Ulric personally led men and retook the ten drilling machines.
King Chen received the news five days later. Furious, the court shouted for sending troops to attack the Wu army.