The golden-haired female assistant saw the people in the arena nodding, so she continued.
"Regarding him, I need to emphasize a few points."
"First, if we can obtain important information about him, we will receive a substantial reward, but this is not crucial."
"Second, while he is present, try not to look directly at him. I don't want any of you to be inexplicably controlled and do something irrational, forcing us to lose a compatriot on the way back." She paused, her tone low and filled with warning, "Or more than one."
Everyone except Smith felt their throats tighten, unconsciously swallowing a mouthful of saliva.
They were well aware that the golden-haired assistant was not joking.
This was serious.
Before leaving the Bit Seraph Nation, they had gathered for a meeting like today.
That meeting venue was more formal than this one, a well-furnished conference room.
Before entering the conference room, they were searched by fully-armed soldiers, went through a mental power test, and were interrogated in front of a thick book.
The content of the meeting was Mr. Johnson recounting his harrowing experience of falling victim to Qi Yuan's illusions.
The haggard-looking Mr. Johnson appeared completely different from before. The phrase he repeated the most was, "That damned illusion felt as real as every day of my life."
The content was worthless, with Mr. Johnson merely repeating similar words over and over again.
Finally, he snapped, howling, "All the instruments tell me this isn't an illusion now, but that's what I thought that day too!"
"What's real? What's that damned illusion! I can't tell anymore!"
His eyes were bloodshot, his expression manic, making it hard to connect him with the previously confident superhuman.
These people couldn't help but associate it with the experience of dreams within dreams.
Upon waking from such dreams, they too would be dazed like Mr. Johnson, unable to discern whether they were still dreaming or awake.
The previous meeting did not avoid mentioning his name directly, so they hadn't reacted at first.
Now, after being solemnly warned, they finally realized what it meant to enter this place.
"Why didn't you tell us before we left the Bit Seraph Nation?"
A young man angrily stood up and questioned.
He suspected the Bit Seraph Nation's higher-ups had done this intentionally.
No wonder there were no romantic encounters with privileged ladies or arrogant young masters abusing their power on this trip!
The golden-haired assistant smoothed her long hair, her gaze fixed on him as she spoke calmly and sadly.
"I'm here too, aren't I? Along with Mr. Smith."
She skillfully avoided his question, aligning herself with him in the same camp, implying that she too was being oppressed.
Whether her situation was as she claimed remained unknown.
The young man was soothed by her tone; most men found it hard to stay angry when a beautiful woman spoke softly and reassuringly.
He plopped back into his seat, remaining silent.
"Third, don't actively seek information about him, including searching for him online."
"Fourth, don't say his name or title. If you must, use an alternative."
"Finally, if you feel you've fallen under an illusion, immediately inform us. We have detection equipment that will help you return to reality."
Upon hearing the last point, they silently let out a sigh of relief. There was still hope.
However, these young people failed to notice that the golden-haired assistant used the word 'help' instead of 'clear' the illusion.
This implied they would only attempt to help using instruments, with no intention of dispatching special personnel to clear the illusions.
Moreover, the assistant did not mention how they could seek assistance if they fell under an illusion.
She placed her hand on her chest, the cross necklace around her neck giving her solace.
It was a spiritual guardian artifact.
...
At the Duty Bureau,
Hong Feiheng prattled on incessantly in Qi Yuan's ear.
"Yuan-ge, I've been looking for you these past few days, but haven't seen you once. Did you use an illusion to avoid me?"
"I also wanted you to help me train. Just set up an infinite illusion filled with powerful figures for me."
Qi Yuan heartlessly pushed away Hong Feiheng's invading face and said indifferently, "This is an illusion too. I'm not really here."
Hong Feiheng looked shocked. "Huh? Since when?"
You actually believe that?
Qi Yuan didn't know where to begin mocking him. After the Bit Seraph Nation's exchange group left, he'd ask Director Yu to find some work for Hong Feiheng, preferably not involving Sakura Island.
Last night, Su Ke had texted him that the Bit Seraph Nation's group had arrived yesterday afternoon. She suggested he visit the Bureau today if he had time and included the best time slot to come to the headquarters in parentheses.
It was clearly instructed by Director Yu.
Things weren't as Lv Cheng had expected. He thought this was an elder gathering where the juniors would put on a performance, but in reality, the "elders" were very busy.
The alliance letter of intent, non-aggression pact, scope of cleanup plans, cooperation methods, and more—any one of these topics could occupy an entire day of discussion.
But none of that concerned Qi Yuan. He came here today to hold the fort and browse some materials, as per Director Yu's suggested timeframe.
Upon arrival at the Bureau, he encountered Hong Feiheng, who was waiting for him.
Qi Yuan ignored Hong Feiheng's daydreaming and looked towards a group of people.
Director Yu, grinning like a Buddha statue, led a team headed by a tall, red-brown-haired man.
As the Bureau Director, he too had people behind him, including Su Ke.
"Mr. Smith, this way, please."
Director Yu noticed Smith's attention was elsewhere and followed his gaze, his smile deepening.
Qi Yuan saw Smith nod in acknowledgment, returning the gesture from afar.
The two sides briefly intersected before going their separate ways.
"Why does that guy's gaze seem so shifty?" Hong Feiheng commented bluntly after Smith had left.
"No idea."
Smith's behavior had indeed been strange. After nodding at Qi Yuan, he immediately averted his gaze, only to turn back again, his eyes darting around erratically.
For some reason, Qi Yuan felt a strong sense of déjà vu from his demeanor.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
