The office was dead silent.
【Jian Lai】 hung his head, his body trembling slightly as he awaited Yue Shi's reaction.
His mind was filled with a chaotic mess of thoughts, wondering how Yue Shi would deal with him.
Would he slap him to death? Or chop off his head with a single blow?
Yue Shi leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping gently on the armrest. He tapped neither too fast nor too slow, maintaining a steady rhythm, his expression completely unreadable.
The Snow Leopard lay on the desk, rolling over to yawn.
As the minutes ticked away, 【Jian Lai】 grew increasingly anxious.
He regretted it so much.
He couldn't pinpoint exactly what he regretted; it felt as though no matter what he did, regret would have been inevitable.
Finally, Yue Shi spoke. “Xiao Jian, recognizing your mistakes and correcting them is the greatest virtue. Who doesn't make mistakes? Being able to pull back from the brink is a good thing, so I forgive you.”
【Jian Lai】 snapped his head up, his eyes widening into perfect circles. “Boss, you forgive me?”
“Yes.” Yue Shi's expression was dead serious.
【Jian Lai】's brain failed to process this.
Since when is the Boss this generous? I poisoned the tea to kill you! And you just forgive me like that?!
Is the Boss actually this kind-hearted?
No, wait, what's the point of your forgiveness? The people outside won't let me off!
【Jian Lai】's expression shifted rapidly, flickering like a faulty lightbulb.
“Boss, I've completely lost face now. No matter how thick-skinned I am, I can't take this. Your forgiveness won't do anything. I've constantly flip-flopped and backstabbed my co-conspirators. The others lying in wait outside and the Bureau definitely won't let me off.”
As he spoke, his eyes welled with tears. It was hard to tell if he was genuinely remorseful or simply terrified, though it was likely a mix of both.
He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, smearing tears all over his face.
Looking at 【Jian Lai】's weeping face, Yue Shi felt a little impatient. Cry, cry, cry—all he knows how to do is cry. He's crying away all his good fortune!
“Xiao Jian, I'm giving you a way out, so take it. Players can't die anyway, and trying so hard to play along with your drama is getting pretty awkward. Or do you want to delete your account and start over? Don't think I won't recognize you just because you change your face and identity.”
【Jian Lai】 shuddered, freezing in place.
Players can't die, changing faces, deleting accounts and starting over... These phrases replayed over and over in his head.
The Boss actually knew everything!
That makes sense. The Boss claims to be an Outer God, so he should naturally know everything about players. Even if I delete my account and start over, he'll definitely recognize me at a single glance. I have absolutely no way out.
A complex wave of emotion suddenly welled up inside 【Jian Lai】. As expected of an Outer God.
Yue Shi looked at 【Jian Lai】 with relief, his gaze carrying the satisfaction of an elder seeing a junior finally understand.
“Look on the bright side. Sometimes, being thick-skinned is an advantage. Thin-skinned people are easily exploited in society, whereas the thick-skinned can play both sides. I really appreciate shameless, morally bankrupt talents like you.”
【Jian Lai】 stared blankly. Being thick-skinned was actually a merit?
He carefully recalled Yue Shi's past actions—requiring players to commit a hundred bad deeds just to receive a spell, exploiting and squeezing them in every way. Yue Shi himself was a villain through and through.
Thus, it made perfect sense for Yue Shi to say such things.
Yue Shi looked at him with a beaming smile. “Do you understand now?”
【Jian Lai】 took a deep breath. The panic on his face gradually faded, replaced once again by greed and desire. “I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Boss.”
Yue Shi stood up and said with burning eyes, “Xiao Jian, don't be so short-sighted. You should be looking at the bigger picture now. That trashy group of players outside is not even worth mentioning; they are nothing but jumping clowns. They only deserve to be stepping stones on your path to success. Now, it is up to you to rewrite their destiny.”
Gazing at Yue Shi, 【Jian Lai】's breathing gradually quickened. His heart pounded wildly against his ribs, and a strange wave of excitement flooded his brain.
Is this the confidence of an Evil God?
He nodded vigorously, his voice trembling with excitement. “Yes! I will write their destiny!”
The Snow Leopard lay on the desk, its eyes half-open. It glanced at the fired-up 【Jian Lai】 and couldn't help but look at him as if he were a complete idiot.
It yawned and buried its head in its paws, too lazy to look any longer at this fool who was being played like a fiddle by Yue Shi.
Yue Shi said in a serious tone, “Xiao Jian, even though you harbored intentions of harming me, I choose to let bygones be bygones. Right now, I will teach you a spell to deal with today's situation. Once you master this spell, you will easily be able to clean up those people outside.”
【Jian Lai】 was overjoyed, his eyes lighting up. “Thank you, Boss!”
With a gentle swipe of his finger in the air, Yue Shi retrieved a spell manual.
【Jian Lai】 respectfully accepted the manual with both hands, his fingers lightly brushing over the rough texture of the cover.
His heart raced as he impatiently flipped to the first page.
“Alice in Wet-Dreamland?”
【Jian Lai】's lips twitched.
Is this a fucking decent spell?!
...
The sky gradually darkened, and the Tulip Security Company building was brightly lit, with every single window glowing.
The streetlights on both sides cast orange pools of light onto the pavement. The ambushers for the assassination operation were split into two groups.
One group consisted of the players recruited by 【Jian Lai】. They crouched in their pre-arranged positions nearby, their eyes darting toward the stairwell from time to time, waiting for 【Jian Lai】's signal to act.
Anxiety gradually mounted in the chat channel as messages flooded the screen one after another.
“Why hasn't 【Jian Lai】 sent the signal yet?”
“What the hell is he doing in there?!”
“Could something have gone wrong? Maybe we should pull out.”
“Let's wait a bit longer. Another five minutes. If there's still no news, we retreat.”
These players wouldn't lose anything if they retreated now; it would just be a wasted effort.
The Bureau members, however, could not retreat so easily. They had noticed something was amiss long ago.
An action team from the Bureau was stationed in the shadows, their expressions solemn.
The captain stood at the forefront, his face grim and his lips pressed into a thin line.
Their plan was for 【Jian Lai】 to administer the poison first, and then they would make their move once it took effect.
But after waiting for so long, 【Jian Lai】 had neither sent the signal nor emerged from the office.
Under the current circumstances, either Jian Lai had failed to administer the poison and had been killed on the spot by Yue Shi, or he had been turned by him.
They leaned toward the latter, because if Jian Lai had failed and been killed by Yue Shi, it would have surely caused a massive commotion.
The captain gritted his teeth, his voice squeezing out from between them. “【Jian Lai】 might have defected. The assassination plan has been leaked.”
The investigator beside him frowned. “The plan is leaked? What do we do now?”
“We'll have to force our way in. These players have absolutely no conviction; they're just a bunch of fence-sitters.” The captain's voice was cold and hard.
Another investigator hesitated. “Captain, now that the plan is leaked, shouldn't we retreat first and plan our next move?”
The captain glared at him in annoyance. “Retreat my ass! The Bureau already intended to eliminate Yue Shi. 【Jian Lai】's betrayal only means Yue Shi didn't drink the poison; it doesn't affect the Bureau's overall plan.”
“Besides, we have no way out now. Yue Shi definitely knows the Bureau is targeting him. A narrow-minded Evil God like him will surely seek ruthless revenge. So today, either he dies, or we do!”
The area fell silent for a moment as several investigators exchanged looks.
“Captain, when you complain about having 'no way out,' you're already anticipating defeat in your mind, as if you're certain we'll fail. That kind of mindset isn't very good,” one investigator said casually.
The captain froze and looked at the investigator, who had a calm and indifferent expression.
“You're right. I shouldn't be thinking about a way out. We just need to fight to the death!”
The captain straightened up and began barking out orders one by one. “First, set fire to the place and force Yue Shi out.”
“Aim all weapons at the door. Open fire the instant Yue Shi steps out. Everyone else, find the right moment to launch a surprise attack. Don't give him any room to breathe.”
The members of the action team nodded in unison, each preparing their respective powers.
The captain looked at the brightly lit Tulip Security Company, his eyes filled with the absolute resolve of someone who had burned his bridges.
“Yue Shi, tonight, either you die, or I do!”
Rate on N.U.
