this infinite world

"Drip, drip, drip..."

"Really? Why did it start again?"

Sitting in a room full of screens, Jian Yun casually glanced at the message on the screen in front of her that the Third Regiment of the Ninth Army had lost contact for nearly a year. She sighed and dragged the message into the trash can: "This kind of news again..."

"Senior, is it okay to ignore this kind of news?"

Next to Jian Yun was a young man who looked not that old. He was full of bookish air and had just entered the society. With his extraordinary eyesight, he could see the content of the message with just a brief glance: "An entire regiment is missing. This is no small matter..."

"It's okay. You just joined our department and don't know much about it. Let alone the fact that you haven't reached the warning line, even if you have exceeded it, what does it matter? It's nothing more than following the normal reporting procedures."

Jian Yun waved her hand, indicating that nothing was wrong: "For those immortals who are fighting outside, this kind of thing is normal... Even the loss of contact may be intentional on their part."

"what?"

Hearing this, Chang Kong was puzzled, but he was not the kind of young man who didn't understand the ways of the world. Seeing Jian Yun's right index finger move slightly, he immediately took out a bag of tea and handed it to the other party respectfully: "This season's enlightenment tea has just been on the market for a short time."

"Well... the prices in Honghuang have become much more expensive recently. Even the price of old brands like Wudao Tea has increased by about 20%. No wonder these immortals have to go to the grass valley one by one."

"Da Cao Gu?" Hearing an unfamiliar term, Chang Kong suddenly became more confused: "If I remember correctly, this word means..."

"It's what you think it is. Literally."

She casually manipulated the energy to tear open the tea bag, and then made a spell with one hand to condense pure water from the air. Jian Yun explained to the newcomer who had just joined the Plane Supervision Department: "Expanding territory is the first merit. The immortals who lead a group always have the most money... But over time, some people are not satisfied with the rules of the Heavenly Court, so they do some private work under the banner of external conquest."

"Private work?"

"Yes, private work, such as discovering a new plane and not following the normal process, but choosing to eat it all by myself."

"!"

Although Jian Yun's answer was so casual, Chang Kong was shocked and almost jumped out of his seat. The young man first looked around like a thief to see if there were other people around, and then asked with some fear: "How is this possible... Don't they care about the rules of the Heavenly Court?"

"After all, the rules are made by humans. Since they are made by humans, there are loopholes that can be exploited. The turbulence of time and space that no one can monitor is their best excuse."

Jian Yun said nonchalantly, "You only need to go into the turbulent space-time flow. It may take a year or two, or ten or eight years. You can do this every now and then. As long as it doesn't interfere with your work, who would really want to go in and look for someone? By then, all the gains will go into your own pocket."

"This, this is..."

"What do you want to say? Abuse of power for personal gain? Or taking advantage of the situation?" Chang Kong was shocked to hear the inside story for the first time after only joining the department for a few days, but Jian Yun was not surprised by his reaction. The middle-aged man took a sip of the enlightenment tea in his cup and nodded with satisfaction: "Don't be surprised, this has long been the unspoken rule of our department. In fact, most of the immortals have related dealings with our department... Otherwise, your bonus last month would not have been so high."

Thinking of the frighteningly high bonus on his salary slip, Chang Kong realized that this actually included a portion of the hush money. Unknowingly becoming a vested interest, he spoke in a much lower voice: "But, this..."

"The world is bustling with people, all for profit. The world is bustling with people, all for profit. This is the reality. It is said that we should work hard to change our fate, but is it realistic?"

Jian Yun curled her lips with a sneer on her face: "Listen to me, don't worry about things that you shouldn't worry about, and don't think about challenging the long-standing unspoken rules on your own... To put it bluntly, how much money do we make? How much salary do we get? It's better to have less trouble than more."

"But, Senior, the education I have received for a long time does not say this." After hesitating for a long time, Chang Kong finally spoke his mind: "Whether it is the Human Emperor Charter or the propaganda of the Heavenly Court..."

"Ha! You really believe it?"

Jian Yun sneered briefly, as if she was mocking Chang Kong's naivety, or as if she was mocking something else: "They say everyone is equal, but what about the reality? They say it's fair competition, but what about the reality?"

"Everyone can talk about the truth. From the perspective of the high-level officials in the Heavenly Court, of course, they will suppress all disobedience, but no matter what, the gap in this world still exists. Maybe on the surface, all information is available to you, but people with money and power, resources and connections, must have a higher starting point than others. Unless you are really a genius... Otherwise, the news that spread throughout the prehistoric world a while ago would not have caused such a big stir."

At this point, Jian Yun glanced at Chang Kong and said, "Remember? A young girl who has never received any systematic training in cultivation and does not even belong to any famous school in the prehistoric world won the twelfth place in the rune analysis competition in the prehistoric world. After that, she will challenge the immortal as a fourth-level cultivator to prove what she has learned..."

"Of course I remember." Chang Kong nodded heavily, as if the blow he had suffered before had also subsided a lot: "Even when challenged directly, the immortal still responded gently, which is enough to prove that the Heavenly Court values ​​all people with real talents and knowledge..."

"You are still too young... I think this is probably just a show."

Jian Yun drank the tea in her cup while speaking incoherently, "First, the immortal raised doubts, then they traced the cause and effect and waited for public opinion to ferment, and then they proposed a gambling agreement, and monitored the whole process under the magic mirror... What's the so-called decades of hard training? In fact, it's just a show. Where do so many geniuses come from in this world?"

"But, Senior..."

Despite being hit, Chang Kong still whispered: "What if the facts prove that the casual cultivator did not cheat, but has real talent and knowledge?"

"First of all, let me tell you that the probability is extremely small. It's almost as small as the Non-Face Immortal actively entering the space-time turbulence and accidentally getting trapped in a small plane in some unknown corner. It's smaller than the Heaven Court being in imminent danger. It's smaller than you winning the lottery in the next second..."

Although he attacked Chang Kong and said sarcastic words, Jian Yun's words became slower and slower, and there seemed to be a light flashing in his eyes. Until the end, this weathered man looked at the bottom of the tea in the cup and slowly uttered a word...

"If there really is such a person, he can rely on his fourth-level body to defeat the immortals and even defeat them..."

"Then he must be a true genius." (End of this chapter)