My Substitute CEO Bride

"You can call me Charlotte," Zero, or rather, Charlotte Calhoun, said.

Sterling could not resist and teased, "Can I call you Charlie?"

Everyone turned to him awkwardly, and Avery patted him on the shoulder. "Bro, maybe skip the jokes for now."

"Heh, sorry..." Sterling mumbled.

Charlotte did not seem bothered and continued, "My name was Charlotte before I moved to Gorgeous Country. You can call me that if you prefer."

"Okay... but wait." Puelo quickly redirected the conversation. "Can you explain why you're here now and why we were brought to the Land of Nion?"

Charlotte nodded and, without much expression, explained, "It's simple. Since you're trusted members of Universal Group, there's no need for secrecy. I showed myself because I wanted to lower your guard by meeting you face-to-face. Fairness is crucial in any transaction." She then pulled out a contract.noveldrama

"This is the agreement Mr. Hughes signed with us. I'll be your ally, but only temporarily," Charlotte explained, handing over the contract.

Sterling, still curious, asked, "Where do you get all your intel? You dug up stuff about BrightState so easily. How exactly did you do it?"

"It's simple..." Charlotte started, but then she suddenly vanished from their sight, only to reappear behind Sterling. "It's thanks to my ability."

If Charlotte had not spoken, the group would not have noticed her presence.

"This is one of my abilities. Martial artists can sense the presence of true energy. The stronger someone is, the more sensitive they are to it. So, I blend my energy with the air, essentially becoming one with it.

"The stronger a person is, the less likely they are to detect me. This is one of the ways I conduct infiltrations. I don't actually disappear. I've been in front of you the whole time."

Everyone was amazed by her explanation. Despite now being seated, Charlotte still looked somewhat tired as she continued "But that's not the main point. The main point is the current situation in the Land of Nion."

Avery pulled out the mission briefing and asked, "We've all read the brief. To be honest, we don't see any significant threats..."

Charlotte shook her head. "Do you know the current ratio of martial artists to ordinary people?"

"One in a thousand," Helio answered.

Charlotte nodded. "Exactly. Because

one

of this ratio, most countries don't have comprehensive regulations for managing martial artists. Their existence is akin to a body's immune system where they become a line of defense when disaster strikes. Otherwise, they're left to their own devices.

"This is the current mainstream approach. It's difficult to treat martial artists, especially those at

the Profound Oriental Realm anel

above with the same rules as ordinary people. The constraints on them are minimal.

"But what if an entire country's population became martial artists?"

At this, everyone realized the gravity of the situation.

Sterling frowned and asked, "Are you saying Blair plans to turn everyone in the

Land of Nion into martial artists?"

Charlotte nodded.