The person in front had reddened eyes and was restrained and polite, with the expression of a caring father dedicated to his child's love.
It made some on-duty officers feel moved and reminded them of their own sons or parents, lamenting the universal woes of parenthood.
"From an emotional standpoint, I support it."
Qi Yuan lowered his head to look at them, realizing they had misunderstood his meaning, and hastened to add the latter half of the sentence.
"But this matter is not under my jurisdiction."
The gratitude or delight that had just emerged on their faces froze.
Qi Yuan shook his head slightly. He had only chosen to use a gentler tone to avoid appearing unreasonable in refusing outright, but little did he know it would be mistaken for consent.
He didn't know if these reclusive clans had some mental issue, always preoccupied with who was the clan head and whose fist carried more weight.
What use did they have approaching him so early in the morning, when the responsibilities of each department were already clear?
He wasn't in charge of this area and lacked the authority.
While he sympathized with them, impacting others' normal work would be inappropriate.
The officers following Qi Yuan sighed in resignation.
Here goes Qi Squad again, they thought, unsure why he had to be so mischievous.
"Young man, you mustn't..."
The Ma Family Patriarch's expression soured. After being turned down by Qi Yuan, he could have simply said, "Let's disperse, everyone, and not put Director Qi in a difficult position." But Qi Yuan's giving them hope only to refuse and play with them - what was the difference?
But when he met Qi Yuan's calm gaze, the Ma Family Patriarch fell silent, unable to utter a word.
It wasn't a mischievous look of playing with them, but a serene gaze that seemed to see through everything.
Rumors had it that the Golden Eyes could discern one's heart and manipulate others at will.
He had initially thought Qi Yuan was merely more intelligent than his peers, hence the acclaim from others.
Little did he expect to have underestimated him...
His plan to take advantage of this opportunity and gain some insider information from the officers was dashed. The Ma Family Patriarch felt regretful.
If he remained obstinate after Qi Yuan's warning, the situation would not look good.
The Ma Family Patriarch quickly understood all this and instead asked on behalf of the others,
"If any survivors or remains are discovered during the investigation, could you inform us?"
The logistics officer, aware that his superior would be visiting the reclusive clans soon, didn't want to sour relations and quickly stepped forward to say,
"That's only natural."
The Ma Family Patriarch stared directly at Qi Yuan, awaiting his response.
"Yes, we will."
Qi Yuan had no choice but to repeat the logistics officer's words under the patriarch's gaze.
Indeed, the Golden Eyes had seen through his intentions.
The Ma Family Patriarch understood.
As long as they didn't enter the fusion realm, his request would be granted.
This indirectly confirmed the great importance of the matter above.
"Thank you."
Having received a definite response, he turned to reassure the family members behind him.
The logistics officer was truly astonished at how easily Qi Yuan had made the Ma Family Patriarch yield. He had heard complaints from his superiors and colleagues before.
While these clans wouldn't create a ruckus, they would masterfully evade and deflect by exploiting the fact that officials had to operate by the rules, always setting traps with their words or adeptly brushing things off.
Never would they simply give up after a short exchange, completely contrary to their usual style.
He carefully analyzed the exchange between Qi Yuan and the Ma Family Patriarch and discovered the reason.
Qi Squad had refused the patriarch's request for a reason, and had warned him not to harbor futile hopes through his playful manner, hence the patriarch's retreat in the face of difficulty.
The logistics officer clenched his fist. His sympathy had ultimately been misplaced.
No wonder Qi Squad had toyed with the patriarch - that cold-hearted old man!
"Well done, Qi Squad!" he said, giving Qi Yuan a thumbs-up.
His voice drew the attention of the others.
Qi Yuan frowned in confusion.
Seeing Qi Yuan's frown, the logistics officer quickly pondered the reason and suddenly realized.
"I understand."
Although Qi Squad also had no respect for that old man, the basic courtesy was still due on the surface - see through but don't call out.
Seeing his startled and presumptuous demeanor, Qi Yuan's frown deepened.
Convinced of his conjecture, the logistics officer apologized, "My mistake."
He then returned to the team.
His teammates gathered around, curious about what had happened, but he remained tight-lipped.
It wasn't until they had taken a helicopter to Jidu and Director Yu had pulled Qi Yuan aside for a chat that the logistics officer finally spoke to his friends with an air of mystery,
"Let me tell you, but you must not spread it further."
"Do I seem like someone who can't keep a secret?" his friend reassured him, thumping his chest.
"It was like this..."
"Uh-huh." His friend nodded along with the narration, then slapped his thigh. "I see, the patriarch was already in such a sorry state, yet Qi Squad still had to toy with him. No wonder."
"Indeed, Qi Squad was even willing to damage his reputation for this cause. We had underestimated the situation."
"Who says it's not?" agreed the friend, and the two nodded vigorously before exchanging a glance.
Wait, neither of them had said that last bit. Then who did?
They turned to see a group of people eavesdropping, ears perked.
Noticing they'd been discovered, the group grinned sheepishly, not the slightest bit abashed.
The two friends clenched their fists.
These scoundrels!
They had let their guard down!
...
At Qi's Villa in Jidu,
Qi Yuan lounged on the sofa in his room, browsing forums.
After spending some time abroad, he missed the leisurely days of being a slacker at home.
Conveniently, Director Yu had told him that a delegation from Buddha Country would be arriving soon, so he should refrain from going out during this period.
Judging from Director Yu's bright smile, this delegation was likely less than enthusiastic about the visit.
Thus, Qi Yuan had naturally ended up spending several days holed up at home and in the headquarters' data room.
He glanced at a post on his phone and clicked into it.
[Does anyone know if the floating fusion realm in our sky is real or fake?]
[One look and I can tell it's real, pure NT]
[Sweating soybean.JPG]
[If it really was floating in the sky, even if Dragon Country doesn't publicize it, other countries' satellites would capture it and make a huge fuss about it. I don't know what you're thinking to believe this.]
[Dude, that news is outdated. We've discovered a new world now, we're about to move to a different world to live in. Woohoo!]
The last comment sparked a chaotic discussion below.
[You're NT-ing, it's the discovery of the Underworld]
[Huh? Isn't it the discovery of a fusion realm leading to a parallel space-time?]
[Is the one above for real?]
[Caught an honest person]
Qi Yuan couldn't help but admire the public relations efforts of the logistics team, who had completely controlled the narrative.
The fusion realm codenamed "Moon" had been concealed by the state using anomalous objects, and a research team had been dispatched to take up long-term residence there.
There was also a research institute in Jidu dedicated to analyzing this realm. Director Yu had told him that if he wanted to learn more, he could approach the institute, as long as he didn't disrupt their work.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
