Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 736 The Beginning of the Old Slut

Sanctuary paradise, academic sect.

Om-! !

In the simple office, the black-haired young man who was sitting on the sofa with his head down suddenly raised his head, his eyes fixed on the strange sand table in front of him, his mouth slightly open, an expression of disbelief and a little confusion on his face.

Lost...

Xin Lailai looked at the sand table in front of him, his mind flashing back to the experiences of the past two hours in that dream-like illusion. His original confident expression had long since disappeared.

Five games.

In these two hours, he and Ling Yuzi went through a total of five role-playing "games", and the results of these five games were all without exception: they were very successful in the early stages, had some minor problems in the middle stages but managed to hold on, and then in the late stages when the market was about to close, they began to collapse inexplicably.

The closest they came to victory was when they even pretended to be an unpopular and down-and-out prince and forced the extremely treacherous old king to step down, taking control of the country's military and financial power. However, when they opened their eyes the next day, they found that the originally good situation began to collapse all the way from the border. In less than three days, they were beheaded by their own subordinates who turned against them, and until the end they were unable to find out whose vest the old professor was hiding to plot against them.

"Haha, young man, you are smart, decisive, and even good at judging people, but you still have a fatal weakness. Do you know what it is?"

An old, pleased and kind laugh sounded, and the old professor sitting opposite Xin Lailai squinted his eyes, stroked his beard, and said with a smile.

Xin Lailai's expression changed slightly when he heard this. After a moment of silence, he took a deep breath and bowed respectfully to the other party.

"Please give me some advice, Professor."

"Haha, don't be so polite. Actually, young man, you are very good. Well... at least at your stage, I can't find many people who are better than you. If we were to cooperate with each other, I think you should be the best one. It's just..."

The old professor laughed, narrowed his eyes, and stared at Xin Lailai. After a brief pause, he slowly said in his old voice:
"As an enemy... you haven't done enough."

Not enough...absolutely?

Hearing what the old professor said, Xin Lailai was startled. It felt like the other party's words were like some kind of magic, constantly echoing in her mind. The old professor continued to speak slowly in his kind old voice, like a kind old man instructing his students:

"That's right, you haven't done enough. This is your most fatal weakness."

"Young man, you are too focused on win-win situations. This is good. After all, in this day and age, only cooperation can maximize benefits. However, if you insist on leaving a way out for everything, sometimes it will only have the opposite effect."

"Liliana Verrick, let me think, that seems to be her name? Haha, you must be very curious, why did she betray you at that time? Obviously, there was no benefit for her. In theory, no matter from which angle, following you is the most profitable choice, but she still betrayed you. Do you know why?"

The old teacher said this with a smile, and Xin Lailai and Ling Yuzi's expressions changed when they heard it, obviously they remembered something.

Liliana Verrick was a capable general they had recruited during the second game. It could even be said that her status at that time was already that of the second-in-command of the entire force. They had also confirmed her loyalty several times, making sure that she would never betray them. However, the reality was that she still betrayed them in the most crucial battle and even sacrificed herself.

"Simply because she is human."

"She is very loyal to you, and you trust her enough. Neither side can find any reason for betrayal. She even has enough vision and judgment. There is nothing wrong with this. The problem is that having ability... does not mean that there will be no mistakes."

"Not everyone makes the best decisions all the time. You, me, and those who are not smart enough are even more so."

"Even the most perfect people can make mistakes, and your subordinates are even more so. No matter who they are, once they make a mistake, they will inevitably suffer consequences that even they themselves cannot imagine."

"Young man, this is why you lost, because you were not decisive enough. You thought that with enough benefits and a smart enough mind, you could firmly tie someone down, so you did not prevent the harm that might be caused by the stupidity of those who were smarter but not smart enough."

"You showed them the benefits of winning and told them the dangers of losing, but that alone is far from enough, because the choice is still in their own hands, because some failures are not something they can decide on their own, and you still can't prevent them from making the wrong choice and bringing themselves losses."

"Young man, if I were you, no matter how loyal they are, I would definitely consider the worst possible outcome and be prepared to abandon them all without them knowing."

"Even if that possibility doesn't exist in theory, young man, you should understand that there are many ways to manipulate people's hearts and make them do things against their will, right?"

An old and gentle voice came from the office, and Xin Lailai's expression changed when he heard it. Finally, he looked at the old teacher in front of him, and after a moment of silence, he said:

"Professor, what you mean is that even if someone is trustworthy, we should be prepared to treat him as an enemy? As a pawn in our hands?"

"Well, children can be taught."

The old professor stroked his beard, squinted his eyes, nodded and smiled:
"Young man, I can see that you have principles, but sometimes, principles can become a stumbling block. On the contrary, when you learn to let them go, you can see the world more clearly. What do you think?"

"..."

The old voice of instruction with a faint smile echoed in Xin Lailai's mind, causing Xin Lailai to lower his head and fall into silence. He looked at the sand table on the table, and pictures flashed through his mind. When he thought of those loyal subordinates in the "game" who had been given extremely generous conditions but still betrayed them at the critical moment, he was silent for a long time, and finally... he suddenly laughed softly.

Is it because I didn't act decisively enough and couldn't give up my principles that someone found an opportunity to take advantage of me?
On the sofa, Xin Lailai chuckled, took a deep breath, raised her head, and looked at the old professor in front of her again. Her eyes had returned to calm.

"Thank you for your teachings, Professor. You have made us realize that we are still not mature enough."

That’s right, after experiencing those immersive games, he now has a completely new understanding of his level in the field of old bitches.

Perhaps within the third order, they have already surpassed the vast majority of contractors in vision and wisdom, but when this scope is expanded to the entire Ten Thousand Worlds and even the entire Star Realm, their current experience is still too shallow and immature.

Compared with those real old perverts who have lived for thousands of years and can watch their relatives, friends and loved ones being chopped into minced meat without changing their expressions, are not affected by any unnecessary emotions at all, and can see through other people's thoughts at a glance, their level of insidiousness and cunning is not even on the list.

In other words, just as the old professor said, they care too much about their own principles, pursue win-win cooperation too much, and value the people around them too much, which leads to them not being decisive, ruthless, or vicious enough in many areas.

but--

"It's just that I'm sorry, Professor. Perhaps in your opinion, being unable to put aside your principles and being ruthless towards those who trust and follow you is childish and immature, but... I don't think there's anything wrong with it."

"So please forgive me, we don't plan to make the changes you expect in this regard."

Downstairs in the office, the black-haired young man looked at the old professor in front of him and answered calmly. His words were sonorous and powerful, without any regret or hesitation. Upon hearing this, the old professor stared at the black-haired young man in front of him, and his eyes narrowed a little more.

"Haha, what a lively answer. But a smart young man like you should know that being too persistent in something will make it very difficult to move forward."

"I understand. Actually... I don't think the professor's advice is wrong, but I believe that I have persisted all along just to be qualified to choose the path that better suits my heart at this time."

Xin Lailai answered in a sonorous and powerful voice, with an extremely determined look in his dark pupils.

That's right, the real them are not those guys in the game who are powerless and have no ability to turn the tables except relying on conspiracy and trickery. On the contrary, most of the time, they are the ones who have absolute power. And the reason why they master these powers is to give themselves the power to make choices when facing all kinds of unpleasant things, to give themselves the ability to stick to principles and bottom lines, and to give themselves the qualifications to not choose the path that goes against their own heart.

If in the end they abandon their principles in order to make themselves have no so-called weaknesses, and treat Xiaobai and 04296, their trusted friends and relatives, as abandoned pawns, it would be the biggest denial of their efforts along the way and the biggest betrayal of their own pursuits.

"Stick to your own heart? Haha, you are such a stubborn young man. If that's the case, how are you going to overcome your weaknesses?"

"It's simple. I will do everything I can to become stronger."

Xin Lailai spoke, looking at the chessboard on the table, a deep look in his eyes.

"As the professor said, I still have many shortcomings. But I don't think that there is only one shortcut to make up for these shortcomings. Improving my own vision, experience, and intelligence, so that I will no longer be irresponsible and no longer fall into a situation where my subordinates are used by others without realizing it, is also a way."

Yes, even if you don't take the shortcut of abandoning principles, the weaknesses mentioned by the other party are by no means unrecoverable.

In the final analysis, the reason why they couldn't beat the opponent in those games was not so much the fault of their "teammates", but more importantly, it was because they, as leaders, were unable to detect the opponent's plans in time, unable to understand their methods and conspiracies, which led to one failure after another.

Xin Lailai is well aware that principles and bottom lines without sufficient wisdom and strength will only become weaknesses that the enemy can use to scheme against them.

But on the other hand, as long as they can make themselves more cunning, more sinister, more sensitive, and more difficult to deal with than those old bitches, then -

"I am convinced that when all my tricks and schemes are no longer effective, the weakness that the professor mentioned will turn into an unstoppable force, destroying everything that stands in my way."

Om-! !

A sonorous and steady voice fell, and in an instant, Xin Lailai's temperament was like a king sitting high on the throne, crushing the world with his might, giving people a sense of vastness, heaviness and unstoppability. The old professor looked at this scene with his eyes slightly narrowed, stroking his beard lightly, and a deep color flashed across his cloudy eyes.

Finally, the old professor stared at the black-haired young man and chuckled:
"Haha, it seems that I, the old man, have made a mistake. I am old, old. After all, I am not as energetic as you young people."

The old professor chuckled and then looked at the chessboard in front of him and asked with a smile:

"Well, young man, do you want to continue?"

"Ah."

Xin Lailai responded, and he stretched out his hand, picked up the king chess piece that was close to him, moved it forward, and placed it steadily on the chessboard. At the same time, he looked at the old professor in front of him, looking him straight in the eye, and spoke in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant:

"Senior, please give me some advice."

……

……

"A-choo! Tsk, why do I always have a bad feeling?"

On the barren field covered with bones, Randy, who was massaging the shoulders of a middle-aged devil, suddenly sneezed, glanced at his contact list, and muttered.

"Haha, stop interrupting me, I'm just getting to the point."

The middle-aged devil lying on the rocking chair gave the gray-haired young man a slap on the head without hesitation, and opened and closed his skull mouth, mockingly saying:
"Do you know what your biggest problem is? It's that you're too careless!"

"In terms of brains, thick skin, and insidiousness, you are not bad, and you are also very thoughtful about things, but life has been too smooth for you, which has led to your half-hearted mentality. When faced with things, you are not decisive enough and always like to hesitate and can't make up your mind!"

"You're lucky this time, a blind cat catching a dead mouse, and the person you met happened to be a smart person who can listen to others, and the other party also gave you enough face. But what if the person you meet next time is a fool who doesn't understand what others say and will explode with you if you poke him?"

"Well, the thing is, Uncle Wood, you see I'm a wandering hunter, I can't just rush up and fight with people when I'm indecisive... Ouch! Why do you always hit me?"

Facing the ridicule of the middle-aged devil, when Randy was about to say something stubborn, the other party hit him hard on the forehead with his sturdy skeleton palm without hesitation and greeted:

"Who the hell asked you to risk your life? When I say decisive, I don't mean that you should just rush in and die when you are indecisive. I mean other things, understand?"

"Do you think your problem lies in how you responded to the mistake you made after firing that shot? You are wrong! You shouldn't have fired that shot! Instead, you should have decisively sold out that Abyss Shadow kid on the side of the Dharma Extermination Team. That would have been the correct approach!"

"Uh, that, Uncle Wood, I signed a blood oath with the White Demon. It's not right to sell him out right away..."

"You are so stupid! Don't you know the difference between real sale and fake sale? What about the covenant? Didn't you tell him in advance that you planned to go undercover and then cooperate with the guy named Black Sword?"

"Helping the superior and not the inferior, do you understand? If all else fails, you should have let the Abyss Shadow kid on the Fa-destroying side take the initiative to lead the charge. You are so foolish as to split up with him and even self-righteously use your trump card to help him out of trouble. How many of you dare to act so arrogantly?"

"I……"

"What do you mean by 'I'? Tell me, if the battle you mentioned turns into a situation where only one person can be the final winner, what will you do?"

"Also, you said before that you were plotted against by the natives, and you almost fell for it?"

"Well, that's because..."

"Because you, my old mother, can you explain the fact that you were tricked by getting hit on the head? Go, copy the Devil's Heart that I taught you ten thousand times!"

"..."

"Oh, by the way, let me tell you something else. The guy called Bai Mo that you mentioned seems to have found an old friend of mine. That guy is an old bastard who is as good as me. Guess what he came to ask for advice?"

"?!!"

"Fuck, I knew there was something wrong with that sneeze just now! How could that bastard BYD Bai Mo be so sinister?"

Hearing the last words of the middle-aged devil, Randy, who was distracted at first, suddenly shuddered, as if he had been given an injection of chicken blood. After cursing and greeting him, he immediately knelt down and copied the experience known as the "Three Character Classic of the Devil" according to what the middle-aged devil said, and very seriously.

Being tricked by Black Sword would be fine, but if one day he were tricked by White Mage who only knew how to fight and kill, he would feel that he would never be able to stay in the outer-level team circle in this life!

……

(End of this chapter)