Qi Yuan cast a meaningful glance at him, a faint smile playing on his lips. Wei Zhiming instantly understood the meaning behind that expression—he was being viewed as a clown.
It seems I couldn't hide it after all, he thought.
"There's no one below SS-rank peak in our organization, except for you, of course. With our strength, it's not difficult for us to uncover any information we want. We just need a member with precognition abilities."
Wei Zhiming finally understood where Qi Yuan's source of information came from. No wonder he couldn't avoid being discovered despite his caution.
"So, that's why you've kept me around until now."
Qi Yuan's casual words jolted Wei Zhiming out of his thoughts, filling him with a cold dread. Now, he could only be grateful... grateful that he still had some use.
Power... power!
Only with great power could one break free from the limitations of humanity, even transcend the shackles of mortality. As he grew older, with Special Fusion Zones appearing one after another, Wei Zhiming could only believe, and only wanted to believe, that the gods would eventually awaken. This had become his obsession.
He was like the emperors of old who sought immortality, no matter how great their contributions or how many traps they could see through, they were ultimately defeated by their own desires.
After a moment of silence, Wei Zhiming spoke, his reluctance evident: "What can I do for you?"
Proving his worth would make it easier to join the organization, but bowing his head to a junior was still a bitter pill to swallow.
"Find the reincarnated Shared Operator, and collect monsters."
"Shared Operator?"
Wei Zhiming frowned slightly. The latter task, while not fully understood, wasn't difficult to carry out. But the former left him completely bewildered. This term had come up several times, yet no one had ever explained what it meant.
Although there was only one person in front of him, Qi Yuan didn't relax. Explaining all this in detail, and then having it spread through Wei Zhiming as the source of information, was crucial.
"I remember your wish is to become an immortal god, right?"
Qi Yuan smiled slightly, making Wei Zhiming's scalp tingle. These smiles had been the prelude to trouble several times now, and he was already developing a phobia.
But Wei Zhiming didn't deny it, only correcting the mistake: "Infinite life and absolute power, whether it's a god or a demon doesn't matter."
"Then let me tell you, both Shared Operators and Stolen Operators are beings from outside this world. Is your goal still to become a god or demon?"
Wei Zhiming's heart surged, various thoughts flashing through his mind, a wave of wild excitement coursing through him. He wasn't shocked by the phrase "outside this world," but rather by the fact that the strongest power could reach this level, representing infinite possibilities for him.
Due to the Special Fusion Zones and monster upgrades, he had always believed that the world was gradually awakening, and thus he was anxious about his own lifespan. He believed that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't cross the barrier set by the world until it fully awakened and the gods revived.
When monsters descended on San Zhu and Qi Yunzheng hadn't yet broken through to SSS-rank, Wei Zhiming became even more convinced of his theory. He saw himself as an unfortunate soul caught in the period of spiritual awakening, unable to touch the bright future no matter how beautiful it might be.
If he were twenty years younger, he might have even shouted that his fate was in his own hands.
And now Qi Yuan was telling him about beings from outside the world. How could this not fill him with wild joy?
"You said outside the world?" Wei Zhiming eagerly sought to understand it all. "And what are Stolen Operators?"
Having been retired for many years, he couldn't immediately obtain detailed intelligence about what had happened in the Fallen and Luo countries, so this was the first time he had heard the term Stolen Operator.
"The High Priest prefers to call the Stolen Operator—"
"Supreme God."
Wei Zhiming swallowed hard. So the one who could rival the mysterious organization's leader, the Shared Operator, was indeed that being!
He put on the fake smile of an adult, trying to suppress his thoughts, "Is it alright for you to refer to your superior like that?"
"I don't believe in it."
Qi Yuan raised his right hand, resting it on the edge of the sofa: "I'm merely curious to see what the world outside looks like. Aren't you?"
Who would believe such an excuse...
This thought reflexively popped into Wei Zhiming's mind, but after glancing at the person in front of him, his thoughts immediately changed. What a freak indeed, who on earth raised such a man-child?
Not talking about benefits, not pursuing power, no interest in money or authority, completely detached from normal social interactions, utterly unpredictable.
"Can't the Stolen Operator tear through space? Why not just invade directly? Is it because of the Shared Operator?"
All the people who returned from San Zhu described the Stolen Operator as "terrifying," "powerful," "undefeatable," "able to tear through space," and "under its gaze, no secrets can be hidden."
"With such an obvious name, could it be that you're..."
Qi Yuan pointed to his head.
Wei Zhiming was somewhat displeased by his pretense of ignorance, but the advantage... wasn't in his hands. Swallowing his pride, he said, "I mean, what happened in between?"
"That's a bit more difficult to explain. Let's start with the collapse of the world..."
Wei Zhiming: ...!!!
Qi Yuan concisely laid out the fabricated narrative about the Shared Operator, then described how the Stolen Operator and Shared Operator couldn't overcome each other and had to compromise.
Wei Zhiming pondered. The so-called Stolen Operator was nothing more than a wanderer forcibly extracting energy, while the Shared Operator was a wanderer settling in one world.
They had different ideologies, but ultimately were lifeforms beyond their comprehension.
Since even the world couldn't accommodate them for long, these wanderers could only stay briefly, with Shared Operators having to reincarnate as intelligent beings within the world.
What an enviable and powerful race!
Wei Zhiming couldn't help but feel a sense of inequality. The difference between them was merely a matter of race...
Wait!
He urgently asked, "If that's the case, how can it help me become stronger?"
If they were gods, blessings or heavenly treasures could help him grow stronger, but for a being relying on racial advantages...
Qi Yuan, watching Wei Zhiming lean forward, instinctively leaned back. "Didn't I just say? Collect monsters."
"Collect monsters?"
"Monsters are products of the Stolen Operator. You may not be able to utilize them, but that doesn't mean the Stolen Operator can't."
Seeing Wei Zhiming's skeptical expression, Qi Yuan added, "Why do you think all the organization's members are so powerful?"
This hit home. Wei Zhiming immediately believed most of it, as it perfectly fit his imagination of mysterious organizations and masked figures.
Immersed in his own logic, Wei Zhiming completely failed to notice Qi Yuan's barely contained expression.
It was nothing but an empty promise, one he could make as he pleased!
Freeloading made him happy!