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Chapter 217: The Hunter Who Never Makes Mistakes and the Ambition of Dancing with Evil

A mansion in the imperial capital.

Yuan Qi sat in the courtyard, looking at the newspaper spread out in front of him. Looking at the headline "Shocking! The whole process of [Death God in the Mist] surrendering his head, [Minister] praised it, [Esdeath] was amazed", he felt a strange sense of frustration for the first time.

He was cheated by the same trick twice within two days.

He was always calm and rational, but at this moment, because of this little "shocking" newspaper headline, he easily violated the "rules" he had set, which made him feel a little angry.

This suddenly aroused a desire for destruction in his mind, and driven by the desire, he wanted to split and smash the stone table in front of him.

However, he glanced at the spies who were secretly watching him in several corners behind him, and tried hard to suppress this strange desire.

[You can't do that. You must create a calm and reliable persona. That way you'll be more likely to win the [Minister's] favor.]

[The aimless use of violence is meaningless and extremely stupid.]

Judging from the Minister's approach to employing people, it's clear that he doesn't like people with poor self-control and no brains.

So you have to be patient.

Yuan Qi took a few deep breaths, controlled his facial expressions, silently recited the "Rules" several times, and recalled his past experiences before he calmed down his somewhat chaotic mind.

However, he still felt a little upset about the fact that the [rules] he adhered to were easily violated.

He considered himself a meticulous and rigorous person, and was very strict with his words and actions. He even set a rule for himself that only he knew and would not break.

Never make the same mistake twice.

For the past twenty-six years of his life, ever since he could remember, he had kept this rule in mind and put it into practice.

The reason why Yuan Qi did this was very simple.

For someone like me with my background and talent, if I keep climbing up the ladder and gain a position where I can decide life and death with a single word and easily dominate others, my margin for error is quite low.

【If you take one wrong step, you will fall into the endless hell. 】

Therefore, I must try my best to avoid making mistakes, and never make the same mistakes again.

This was also the truth he learned on his first day as a handyman in the pharmacy after he mixed up the medicinal ingredients and was scolded by his supervisor.

After calming down, Yuan Qi began to analyze the information revealed in the report.

Right now, with his movements restricted, he could only use this insignificant method to speculate on the progress of the mission of the reincarnationists in this mission world.
-
Yuan Qi flipped through the newspaper several times and finally extracted some useful information.

At this moment, he was looking at Fang Yi with a righteous face in the newspaper, Arya crying beside him, and several sentences reported in the newspaper.

"[Minister]'s spokesperson, Rakshasa Four Ghosts Zhu Tian, ​​praised Fang Yi's performance last night and believed that he had the potential to become a being like [Esdeath].

He felt a little complicated.

Unlike other onlookers, he had seen Zhu Tian and Fang Yi fighting in front of the city gate and had some understanding of the power structure within the empire. He quickly realized the meaning behind several statements.

"Zhu Tian is playing a double act to build momentum for this reincarnationist named Fang Yi.

"The other party has clearly gained the trust of the [Minister] and has begun to advance the mission and gain support from the [Minister's Camp].

The reason why Yuan Qi felt complicated and even a little indignant was very simple.

"This guy named Fang Yi is really lucky. The Shinsengumi's Death God in the Mist just became famous, and he was lucky enough to kill a member.

"From his description in the report, it seems that the enemy he was fighting was a weakling who didn't even have a grasp of 'momentum'.

“We only defeated such an enemy but quickly gained support from the [Ministers’ Camp].

“That’s really ridiculous!”

He glanced at the several spies behind him again, and his mood, which had just calmed down, began to fluctuate again.

“I defeated Brand, who had transformed into a dragon, with one punch, but the authenticity of my victory is being questioned.

"He is a warrior with very good 'momentum', and his strength has increased dramatically after transforming into a dragon.

"Why does Fang Yi get the favor of the [Minister], while I am still trapped in this prison, I have to put away my minions and pretend to be kind to these weak people."

Although he was complaining in his heart, after reciting the "Rules" several times in his mind, Yuan Qi calmed down and began to continue extracting the information from the report.

After reading the report several times, he stared at Fang Yi's photo in the newspaper for a minute.

"If what that Arya woman said is true.

"That enemy should be a corpse-refining reincarnationist who has taken an unorthodox path. His body's defense should be quite strong.

"But he was easily killed by the other party with a knife. Obviously Fang Yi's knife skills are stronger than I imagined, which meets one of the requirements of my hunting target.

"Also, from what I've experienced, the entry threshold to the [Minister's Camp] is not low, but he's quickly gained the favor of multiple characters, which also meets the requirements of the talent described in the target's intelligence to gain character friendship."

The scene of Fang Yi's confrontation with Zhu Tian at the city gate instantly emerged in Yuan Qi's mind.

"And judging by Chengmen's combat performance, the opponent's basic attributes are a bit too weak. Unlike the veterans in the Tier 2 world who have completed several missions and unlocked two attributes.

"No matter how you look at it, this reincarnation named Fang Yi looks very much like my hunting target.

"So, could it be that the Human Pill Method's inference was wrong in determining whether Fang Yi was a target, just like what happened to me before?"

Yuan Qi stared at Fang Yi's smiling face in the newspaper and wondered if he should leave here, find an opportunity to approach the other party, and start collecting information about him.

After thinking for a moment, Yuan Qi gave up the idea.

"There's no need to do inefficient and laborious tasks. Waiting until the mission is halfway through and the ability to detect and hunt the target is unlocked before taking action is a more efficient solution.

"Besides, you can't unlock the opponent's relics or convert their talents into traits until you're halfway through the mission. There's no point in rushing now.

"For now, I should stay here and start earning the trust of the [Ministers' Camp] so that I can get help to complete my 'wide-ranging' strategy and obtain more information about the reincarnationists."

Having made up his mind, Yuan Qi began to think about what he could do now.

He was not being arrogant, but was absolutely confident in killing his target and decided to complete the task in the most efficient way.

"Even if Fang Yi is my target, if I choose to let him develop before the mission is halfway through, it will hardly affect my final victory.

"The gap in our strength cannot be reversed by the gains of this world. As long as I don't make any mistakes in battle, the other side will have no chance of winning.

“No matter what struggles my prey makes, I have one thing to tell him.

"Your efforts are completely useless. I am the strongest in this mission world."

At this moment, Yuan Qi had no idea that his only chance to defeat Fang Yi had slipped away because of the "steady" and error-free strategy he followed.
-
The fourth day of entering the mission world, the imperial capital, the wealthy area, Arya's house, after lunch.

When Fang Yi was sitting in the study and disposing of Arya's family property with the "very well-behaved" Arya in a communication method that was called discussion but was actually notification, the carriage sent by the [Minister] to pick up Fang Yi had arrived.

This somewhat shabby and unremarkable carriage stopped at the back door of Arya's house exactly at the agreed time.

Fang Yi observed Goziqi and Zhu Tian in the carriage and heard the secret code they had described to him in advance, then he realized that it was time for him to leave.

After exchanging words with the coachman, who looked rather ordinary and had a square build, Fang Yi finally got on the somewhat shabby-looking carriage.

The interior of the carriage was completely different from the exterior, its decor appearing luxurious yet private. The sensation of the seat from Fang Yi's butt told him it was even more upscale than Arya's sofa. The surrounding walls were also luxuriously soundproofed with materials found on dangerous creatures. The moment Fang Yi stepped inside, he felt completely isolated from the world.

After the coachman and Fang Yi nodded slightly, the carriage began to run smoothly.

Along the way, the sounds outside the car were almost inaudible, and Fang Yi could only hear the slight sound of the wheels rolling over the ground.

With such a monotonous background sound, Fang Yi even felt drowsy. So, out of boredom, he used his [Battle Spirit Perception] to observe the driver in front of him.

The feedback from [Fighting Spirit Perception] made Fang Yi instantly sober.

The driver's physical attribute has reached 16 points, which clearly shows that he is not a simple person.

Although the driver looked ordinary, Fang Yi noticed that every movement he made was extremely precise.

Fang Yi, who had "learned" the military temperament from Natasha's dream, noticed that the driver had a strong military spirit.

He instantly analyzed the other party's identity.

[An empire veteran serving as a coachman? That's quite a luxury.]

[If a soldier like this were placed in the army, it wouldn't be a problem for him to become an officer, right?]

While he was thinking, Fang Yi noticed that the carriage had stopped.

The driver, who had been silent all the way, finally spoke.

“Lord Fang Yi, the place the [Minister] wanted you to go to has arrived.

"There is a waiter in front to lead the way for you. After you have adjusted your appearance, you can follow the waiter to see the [Minister].

"My code name is 'Zhe Xia'. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will be responsible for communication between you and the [Minister] in the days ahead."

After saying this, the driver stopped talking.

Fang Yi nodded to show that he understood and had tidied up his appearance before the driver opened the door for him.

Then, Fang Yi discovered that what he was facing was not the [Minister's] residence, but the entrance to an underground tunnel.

Interesting. It seems the minister doesn't want anyone to know about my meeting with him.

What will my mission be?

With such questions in mind, Fang Yi followed the waiter into the underground tunnel.

Twenty minutes later, he saw a fat lion in a study.

At the pinnacle of imperial power, the [Minister] was sitting at a long table, gnawing on meat in an indecent manner.
-
[Minister] The place Ernest chose to meet Fang Yi was obviously the study.

However, this study is a little special. Fang Yi keenly noticed from the flow of air that this study should not be in a building on the ground, but underground.

At the same time, this study is very spacious.

It is so spacious that it can display countless collections of the [Minister], and the ceilings of this room are much higher than those of ordinary buildings.

The Minister's study even made Fang Yi feel a little empty, because he could already hear the echo made by the Minister pulling his chair.

Seeing Fang Yi coming, the [Minister] did not stop eating the meat, but raised his head slightly as if giving orders.

A moment later, a man whom Fang Yi had not sensed walked out from behind the bookshelf.

There is a suture line on its forehead, its body is quite strong yet beautiful, and there are several strange lines under its eyes and on its ribs.

It is Ji, the strongest among the four Rakshasa ghosts.

After Ji walked out of the bookshelf, he stared at Fang Yi with interest, with an ambiguous smile on his slender face.

Then he suddenly appeared in front of Fang Yi and pulled out a chair for him.

After doing all this, Ji clapped his hands and disappeared in front of Fang Yi.

[My perception ability failed? I didn't even notice the other party's existence? ]

Is this a warning from the Minister?

[However, the opponent's strength should not be underestimated. At the moment, it seems that I cannot defeat him head-on.]

While Fang Yi was lost in thought, the [Minister] swallowed the meat in his hand in one gulp and then began to speak.

"You must be Fang Yi, a truly remarkable talent.

"What are you standing there for? Sit down. I have something interesting to tell you."

After Fang Yi sat down, the [Minister] did not ask about the intelligence of the revolutionary army, but threw an unexpected question to Fang Yi.

"Suppose I need you to do something that is cognitively evil in a broad sense, what do you think is most important in doing it?
"Don't answer with 'power, strength, intelligence' or any of those boring answers.

“I expect you to give a more interesting answer.

"If your answer satisfies me, I can fulfill some of your moderate wishes."

Fang Yi pondered for a moment, recalled the plot about "Minister" that only he knew in his mind, as well as the scene of his conversation with Zhu Tian, ​​and gave the answer with a smile.

"The most important thing, of course, is to avoid being caught doing evil."

"The second is 'Whatever the means, do it efficiently and without compromise.'

“And ‘don’t do anything extra.’”

[Minister] laughed out loud after hearing Fang Yi's answer. It was obvious that Fang Yi's answer was very much to his liking.

[Minister]'s wild laughter echoed in the empty study, causing an echo.

Until the echo disappeared, the [Minister] looked at Fang Yi with a smile on his face and asked another question.

"So, how did you quickly gain the trust of the Revolutionary Army and obtain enough intelligence to report to me?

"Did they submit a large amount of money or assassinate imperial officials for it?"

When Fang Yi was thinking about how to answer, he caught a glimpse of an item mentioned in the conversation with "Banarame" out of the corner of his eye.

The smile on his face grew wider, and he gave a clear and concise answer.

"I cut off the head of the 'Hyena' and handed it over to the revolutionary army."

"The character [Minister] Ernest's friendship towards you has been changed to [68/100].

The [Minister]'s eyes lit up and he asked the last question.

"So would you mind becoming a member of the Imperial Army and completing a difficult mission?"

Seeing Fang Yi nod, the [Minister] added another sentence.

The words that the [Minister] added later raised countless black question marks in Fang Yi's mind.

(End of this chapter)