Collide Gamer

“Sorry that we intrude upon your date.” The Heavenly Jade Empress hid her mouth behind an opened folding fan. Though her smile did reach her eyes, it mixed there with a tinge of regret. “I know intruding on harem time is quite rude.”

“Is that the royal ‘we’ or is there someone with you?”

“I have left Daiyu and Qingmei by the shore.” She pointed over her shoulder, then stopped her sashay. The fan snapped shut with a satisfying ‘tack’. “May I have a greeting kiss?”

John obliged, of course. She was too cute to deny her. Her habit of wearing lipstick to mask the jade green had been entirely defeated, much to his enjoyment. It was an unusual colour, but it harmonized nicely with her porcelain skin. She was a true jade beauty.

Simultaneously, his mind was racing. He put words to his thoughts as soon as his lips were released from their obligation. “Daiyu, I expect, but Qingmei?”

“She has made herself useful of late. The woman understands her importance and wishes to make herself indispensable to me in perpetuity.”

“What do the other two snake clans think of that?”

“They remain convinced they are in charge of their own destiny. She is quite the manipulator… alas, not so skilled as to avoid all mistakes. There are some bothersome movements made by her ‘peers’, but we are sorting that out.”

John hummed and leaned into the appreciative scratching of his chin. Sometimes, base geography did have a pivotal role in world events. Qingmei’s power base was in the north of the empire. In other words, she was about as far removed from the rebellion brewing in the south as possible. Qingmei’s allegiance was the proverbial wall that Lu Zhi could lean on.

Scarlett and Fianna had enough just lingering on the floor. Since their sexy time was now interrupted, they rose and withdrew some towels from the Guild Inventory to clean themselves up. As they did, the sniper asked, “Do you think the lamia is the Azure Dragon’s chosen?”

“It is the obvious theory, isn’t it?” Lu Zhi took a step back from John and began to circle around them. “Her seat of power is in the easternmost province of the Middle Empire. Her family has held the position of Azure Dragon before, as legend goes. Her clans trade in magical woods, the element of the Azure Dragon. Also, she has a literal blue snake tail. All of that being said…” She completed her circle. “I have consulted the scryers and the scribes and the omens… and I just asked her. No such luck. The Azure Dragon remains obscured.”

“And the Black Turtle?” Fianna asked.

“No progress either. Whenever the warrior appears, they disappear just as fast. It is quite bothersome.”

John sucked on his gums. Whenever the Black Turtle was mentioned, he had that… nagging feeling in his mind that he was overlooking something obvious. It was not a sensation he was used to. Usually, his mind was making even false connections at a rapid pace. ‘I am sure I will get it eventually,’ he thought.

“But, the Cardinal Chosen are not why I am here… well, not finding the missing two.” The Heavenly Jade Empress lowered her head. “We ask for an audience, Emperor of Fusion, for we are in need of council and favours.” She straightened back up and smirked at him. “Fortunate that I ran into you here already.”

Protocol for a haremette to arrive in secret was to get to the private island in one way or another. It wasn’t perfect, especially not for Lu Zhi, but it was the best they could do. Everywhere else there were prying eyes. How that haremette got to the private island unseen was an individual issue. Lu Zhi had her ways, John did not have to doubt that.

“Good call making Qingmei wait by the shore,” Scarlett said.

Fianna was no secret to Daiyu, but she was to the lamia and John would have it kept that way. He trusted that Qingmei’s interests aligned with theirs, not that she was a proper keeper of their secrets.

“Is she aware of us?” John asked.

“I have not told her, courtesy of finding the confirmation redundant.” A tossing gesture underlined the point. “Even the dumbest courtiers are beginning to piece together the scheme of unifying our empires. Such theories are easier made now that it would be a true unity.”

John hummed in agreement. “Uniting two imperial bureaucracies will be much easier than what we had before.”

“It adds to the matter that your proposed noble structure is not terribly unlike the Mandate of Heaven’s system,” Lu Zhi added. “Aristocrats appointed by the Forbidden City compete with those elected by the clans for local authorities.”

“It’s missing my planned guard rails on the maximum land distributed to nobles and the direct elections, but those are minor points in actuality.”

“On the former, we simply disagree that it is a good idea. It benefits us to shuffle the balance of power around. Keeps everyone on their toes.” Lu Zhi smirked her little, dangerous smirk. “On the latter, a difference in technology. Not that I am certain individual voting is the superior system.”

John acknowledged that with a nod. The questions of what produced better outcomes aside, it was doubtlessly true that individual voting would have been cumbersome when the system was first devised. Having every single peasant stop to travel to cast a ballot would have caused a cascade of issues. Better to have the heads of the clans go to a meeting where they elected a representative for their area, who then went up the chain to elect a representative of the province and so on.

It was a good enough system to assure that the lower classes were heard.

“I suppose Fusion could take some pointers from the traditionally working systems of the Middle Empire,” John thought aloud.

“And the Mandate of Heaven shall study the outcomes of your experiments with great interest.” The Heavenly Jade Empress fully faced her fellow haremettes for her next question. “Would you allow me to drag him away for official business? I can wait an hour or two by the shore…”

For a woman of Lu Zhi’s station, making the offer to wait so a date could be wrapped up was an objectively big deal. Within the context of the harem, it was only appropriate.

“I do not mind, I had my bonding time,” Fianna responded.

“I’ll be part of that meeting,” Scarlett stated plainly.

Lu Zhi nodded to both, then clasped her hands in thanks. “I’ll make it up to you, Fia.”

“I look forward to that,” the sniper maid purred, then turned around. The jiggle of her plush posterior was incredible. Both women and John were glued to it while Fianna took her leave first. She would be long out of sight by the time Qingmei entered the Palace.

“Let’s fetch your assistants, then,” John spoke, once the hypnotizing jiggle was out of sight.

Neither Daiyu nor Qingmei looked any different than John remembered. The black-eyed shortstack produced an embarrassed “Awawawawa” sound when she saw him approach. Her hands dashed to her face. Indecisively, they lingered on her cheeks, the impulse to cover her eyes suppressed by an attempt to get used to what she was seeing – and appreciation for it.

It was an overly dramatic reaction. Not like she hadn’t seen him naked before.

For his part, John ogled her a bit. Lu Zhi had stuffed her into a black, gold-trimmed Chinese dress. It was the empress’ preferred display piece for her favoured lady-in-waiting. This one was particularly tight. Somehow, it wasn’t the pair of large breasts that drew John’s eyes, nor was he entranced by the promise of a peek of her womanhood that the absurdly short skirt offered. No, he found himself platonically staring at Daiyu’s midriff and the shadow of her abs. From there, he inspected her arms. Her well-maintained physique was more apparent there.

Abyssals reaching an impressive level of fitness was normal. For Daiyu to be this toned spoke to an effort beyond that.

![](Daiyu AI: https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/f71434944f67.png ]

While the petite lady-in-waiting was impressively curvy for her size, doubly so for a woman of Asian stock, Qingmei was the true eye-catcher between the two of them.

Pure human instinct first drew his eyes to her cleavage. He would not be blamed for this by anyone. Her tits were massive, rivalling Salamander’s with their gorgeous purple roundness. They had that delicious bit of all natural sag to them, underlining just how soft they were, while the glisten of her taut skin laid testimony to the firmness that held them in equal measures. Further guiding the eyes to her cleavage was a symmetrical body marking that started on her shoulders. It curved towards her cleavage, then took a first turn, climbing the hill of her breast, before curving again and disappearing between the two hills. Between those mirrored S-shapes, her cleavage was framed in a way that subtly invoked the image of swollen mons.

All of that female flesh was presented in the most acceptably obscene way possible. The cups contained her tits with deliberate minimalism. Some of the overabundant softness spilled over the sides.

And that was just her tits.

Though they transitioned to her blue snake tail, Qingmei’s wide hips were unmistakeably humanoid. Her midriff was narrow. The pelvic curtain dangling from it hid her womanhood. John knew that lamias used their limited shapeshifting to mate, but he was thankful he didn’t have a butt to drool at.

He finally managed to snap his gaze to her face. Not bothering with the demure persona she usually displayed in public, she smirked at him. Her hand, covered in blue scales, reached up to brush a stray strand of her swept bangs back behind her pointy ears. She was a gorgeous woman, entering her mid thirties. The advance in age had only ripened her further, adding a collected air to her beauty.

[Qingmei AI: https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/07d52c810c6b.png ]

“Emperor Newman,” she greeted him, her voice calm, gentle and yet forward. It was an open middle ground between the matronly mask she wore in public and the biting mockery he knew her capable of. “Thank you for allowing us this meeting.”

“She suggested we be in your care for a bit again,” Lu Zhi said.

“I merely floated the idea,” Qingmei downplayed her involvement immediately. “All final calls are yours to make, my empress.”

“Indeed.” The imperial self-assuredness of the word rang in the air. Used to leading, Lu Zhi then made a gesture for everyone to follow. John did not mind and they wandered to the nearest teleportation outpost. Courtesy of its size, there were several on the island. “I suppose you can guess why we are here?”

“Vinh caught wind of you being back in China and tried to challenge you directly again?”

“Why, whatever gave you that idea!” Lu Zhi cried out, then laughed at her own sarcasm. “Right on the money. Not sure where the little firebird picked up a spymaster, but she managed to find a decent one. The traitor that fed her the information has been found already. I would like to enlist Claire’s aid to dig deeper on that matter.”

“I am not entirely sure I can spare her,” John confessed. “Another matter will command my attention after the wedding is over… though I am not strictly sure Claire will be needed for it?”

“Oh? Something that makes you hesitate to give aid to me?” The Heavenly Jade Empress emphasized the last word, though she sounded more surprised than offended. She was a bit offended though. Tapping her chin, the imperial tomboy thought aloud. “Now what could that be… Another one of your women requiring help with something? No, you would already be dealing with that… so… Magnus or Maximillian need something big? Probably Maximillian, Magnus does not have any issues large enough to command your attention to that degree.”

“I halfway expect Magnus to one day need some outrageously rare material for his experiments,” John said. “You are, however, correct. Upstart is causing upsets in the Austrian kingdom. I owe him a great deal, so I am going to partake in some… peacekeeping measures.”

“The former foremost defender of republicanism in the Abyss, turned defender of the crown.” It was a nice-spirited mockery, but a mockery all the same.

John let out a long sigh. “Even if the Federation was still standing at this point, I would help Maximillian. I think loyalty to friends supersedes loyalty to any particular government system.”

“A traditional way of viewing matters,” the imperial tomboy complimented.

They reached the teleporter. Qingmei had a bit of difficulty fitting on it with them. As oddly aesthetic as he found the snake tail, its three metres of scaled muscle could be awkward in tight spaces.

All the same, they made it into the Palace. “You live well,” the lamia opined as she slithered alongside them. She took particular care inspecting the potted plants that decorated the hallways. They were the least interesting things to John, with all of the paintings, vases, and other art that he had on display. He wasn’t surprised either. Qingmei had kept a collection of bonsai in her office in the Forbidden City. She clearly enjoyed her greenery.

‘If I didn’t have Lulu’s word that she had looked into it, I would accuse her of being the Azure Dragon right now,’ the Gamer thought. ‘Paranoia tells me to not discount it even now.’

They descended a flight of stairs. Another challenge for Qingmei, though one she was used to. Her way of gliding down the steps by carefully balancing her body weight across several steps was simultaneously graceful and a bit comical.

“Maybe I should integrate some sloped paths,” he suggested aloud.

“I would be thankful for it,” Qingmei responded.

They reached the area of the Palace where all of the meeting rooms were assorted. After John opened the door to it, Daiyu was the first to hasten inside. The lady-in-waiting may continue to blush whenever she snuck glances at his nudity, but she was still dedicated to her duty. She pulled out the chairs for everyone, then pushed it in for her empress. The room of burgundy velvet and dark oak furniture was now their little plotting den.

“Daiyu, get me a glass of water,” Lu Zhi ordered, pointing the servant at the integrated fridge. Like every other room of this kind in the Palace, it maintained a stockpile of snacks and refreshments.

“Y-yes, empress,” Daiyu stammered, but moved smoothly.

“Alright, so you are seeking refuge here for a bit… any updates on the situation at large?”

“It is developing as expected, which is to say: poorly,” Lu Zhi answered. “Vinh’s idiotic forwardness is gaining her a lot of admirers among the Awakened in the south, especially on the peninsula.”

“That’s the least surprising news ever,” Scarlett weighed in. The redhead had chosen John as her seat, as she so often did in settings like this. It complimented both of their status, so he loved it. “Obviously they want to practice their magic freely and they have no ethnic alignment with you either.”

“Exactly,” the Chinese empress acknowledged that situation with a playful pointer. “Her influence gradually diminishes as we move north. The foundational structures of the Middle Empire remain staunchly loyal.”

“Fear, tradition, respect,” Qingmei listed. “Just the three biggest reasons to remain aligned with our empress.”

“How are you faring with the Awakened?” John asked.

“By and large? Better in some areas, worse in others.” Lu Zhi spilled national secrets to him with ease, a depth of trust that he did not take for granted. “There’s a surprising amount of… one could call it nostalgia for the imperial rule among the mundane population. Simultaneously, the long communist rule has trained many to reject monarchy outright, even among those that have misgivings with the way the mundane land is ruled. The minority populations are a… larger issue.”

John could believe that in an instant. The situation was worsened by the fact that it had been the highest representatives of the Turkic Uyghurs that had stabbed Lu Zhi after the ritual of the Cardinal Beasts. Wisely, the Heavenly Jade Empress had refrained from suggesting this was an ethnically motivated attack. Still, animosity had been created.

That alone would have been an issue that would have faded within weeks, months at worst. The perpetrator had died, Lu Zhi had survived, and nothing pointed at the man having been motivated by a conspiracy originating in Xinjiang. Now, however, there were mundane Uyghurs joining on top of that who were not too pleased with Chinese overlordship.

“It could be Tibet all over again,” Lu Zhi groaned aloud. “I pray for the Sinophobia cultivated by my representatives on the mundane side.”

John had his issues with her labelling a lashing out against oppression as a ‘phobia’, but that was one of those discussions on which they wouldn’t see eye to eye. Fusion had to contend with some similar issues when it came to ghettos, Amish or other such communities having enough Awakened to form a resisting cell. The scale, however, was so much smaller. In terms of ethnic conflicts, comparing the old and the new world was borderline nonsensical.

“How dire is it all actually?” the Gamer asked.

“Not that dire, in totality,” the Heavenly Jade Empress responded with a shrug. “Even if Xinjiang breaks towards the rebellion and even if Vinh can unite behind her Southeast Asia, Tibet, and treacherous clans, by my most pessimistic estimation, we will outnumber them 2 to 1.”

‘God, even I sometimes forget just how huge China is,’ the Gamer thought.

“Obviously, the true issue is that Phoenix Army of hers and the other Latebloomers she might pull onto her side. Upstart being invented might work out to my advantage, but it will not tip the scales. I need more elites.”

“Y-you do have… the, uhm… Black Turtle to rely on?” Daiyu gingerly reminded.

“Indeed, and they have been very helpful, but I can’t truly rely on a warrior who I can’t get a grasp on.” The Heavenly Jade Empress sighed. “If nothing else, they will protect me. I know that with certainty.”

“An assurance for us all,” Qingmei added.

“For the rest of the tipping of the scales, you have us,” John promised. “When the time comes, I will commit all that I can.”

“Good, good… we can wed on the eve of our victory. That will silence any and all protests against marrying a foreigner.” The Heavenly Jade Empress paused for a moment. “Do I dare suggest you wait with knocking up your women until after the civil war concludes?”

Scarlett snorted derisively. “Unless you want Eliana to join the enemy side, I would say keep that idea to yourself.”

“Yeah, I figured.” Fingers tapping on the smooth tabletop, Lu Zhi pondered. A momentary silence settled on the room.

If they started delaying their knock-up schedule in anticipation of conflicts, they might as well throw out the entire thing. Aclysia, Nahoa and Lee could perhaps be persuaded to wait, but Nathalia, Eliana and Lorelei would not. Much as they all loved Lu Zhi, this was a sacrifice they weren’t willing to make.

“It would have been too selfish to ask. I already have you put your lives on the line for my ambitions.”

“Ambitions I benefit from,” the Gamer pointed out.

“My ambitions all the same.” Lu Zhi was just stating this as a matter of fact. She was not apologetic nor was she aggrandizing herself. “Now, while we stay here… I am lending you Qingmei to help with your portal problem.”

“I suppose I can use more brainpower on that… though there has been a development on that front.” John tilted back. He hadn’t informed Lu Zhi about Devos yet, just because he didn’t trust the phone lines. “Do you know what a Throthaxen is?”

Lu Zhi tilted her head, Daiyu stared blankly into their air, completely checked out of the conversation, Qingmei’s left eyebrow shot up sharply.

“I can take that as a no… well, then you’ll be interested to meet the Mite King.”