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.
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?!
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?"
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!
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
