They won the Holy Grail War, but this turned out to be the Virtual Tree Universe.

Chapter 304 The Invitation from the Duke of Netherfire

Alan told him everything he knew, but just like in the game, he had no way of knowing who the attacker was until Grand Duke of Hellfire sent out the provocative video.

All that is known is that the disappearances are accompanied by spontaneous human combustion.

Because so much crucial information was missing, including whether the person was dead or not, he hadn't reported it yet, intending to investigate further before making a record.

Meanwhile, to prevent unease from spreading on the space station, Estádio blocked the news and ordered the defense department to conduct a secret investigation.

In this situation, the information was blocked at the lower levels, and even Dan Lei, who had been waiting for the Grand Duke of the Underworld to attack, did not notice it immediately.

However, there are only so many people on the space station, and everyone sees each other all the time, so the sudden disappearance of four people couldn't be kept secret.

With someone's deliberate spreading of the information, Danlei eventually learned about it.

However, to play along, once he knew the "Worrying About Nothing" quest in the game had started, Dan Lei immediately went to give Aista a warning, since she hadn't handled the matter very well.

After questioning Alan, Danlei didn't say much, only telling Alan to find the missing person as soon as possible before leaving Está's office.

Then, Dan Lei contacted Xiao Huanlong, who had been having a blast playing on the space station with the pseudo-phase spirit fire these past few days, through a contract.

With Dan Lei's indulgence, she had already half forgotten about the task Dan Lei had given her, and hadn't put any effort into finding the Phase Spirit Fire.

Every day, carrying a pseudo-phase spirit fire and a group of whimpering old men, he would play pranks on the space station, stirring up all sorts of emotions in the crew members before slowly enjoying them.

Of course, Xiao Huanlong was just playing a prank. With Dan Lei's restrictions, she didn't dare to, and couldn't, hurt anyone.

"Little Huanlong, how's the task I gave you going?"

At this moment, Xiao Huanlong was transforming into a small ball of flame, preparing to play a prank on a new target, when Dan Lei's call startled her, causing the flame to tremble.

Dan Lei's orders were absolute with Xiao Huanlong, and she quickly replied through the contract.

“My dear master, I have been moving around the space station with the pseudo-phase spirit fire these past few days, but I have not attracted the real phase spirit fire, nor have I found any signs of it.”

Xiao Huanlong was telling the truth. In principle, her pranks with the pseudo-phase spirit fire space station could be understood as stimulating flame energy and attracting the appearance of phase spirit fire.

Therefore, Danlei didn't criticize the little guy too harshly.

Xiao Huanlong is derived from Huanlong and is born with a destructive desire.

Coupled with Suiyang's instinctive craving for food and the seven emotions and six desires, Xiao Huanlong can be described as a born villain.

Like those children who were particularly naughty and mischievous when they were young, or even enjoyed torturing and killing small animals, and who were exceptionally cruel.

However, children still need to be guided.

Dan Lei didn't suppress Xiao Huanlong's nature too much. Instead, he explained to her directly who she shouldn't hurt and who she could attack.

The desire for destruction cannot be completely suppressed? Then use it to destroy Danlei's enemies and villains.

This universe has no shortage of these two types of people.

However, Dan Lei doesn't need Xiao Huanlong to bother anyone yet; instead, he wants to make use of the little brother Wuwubo that she built up in the space station.

As the current leader of the Black Tower Space Station, Xiao Huanlong has an extremely strong ability to gather intelligence.

So Danlei asked directly
"If we can't find any, then so be it. You've had enough fun these past few days. We need to find some worthy opponents to fight."

"Come back now, but before you do, have Uncle Wuwu find Doctor Zhenli and then keep an eye on him."

Upon hearing that they needed to find Doctor Zhen, Xiao Huanlong immediately ordered his subordinate, Uncle Wuwu, to go and find him, and then asked...
"Master, are you planning to deal with that plaster-headed guy? He's as dull as stone, so boring. Do you need me to destroy him?"

Dan Lei directly refuted Xiao Huanlong's question.
"Don't act rashly. I'm just asking you to find him."

Also, hurry back, there are guys behind you who can destroy you.

Since Dan Lei had said so, Xiao Huanlong gave orders to his underlings and immediately returned to Dan Lei's side. Then, using Suiyang's talent, he gave Dan Lei a mental massage.

Before long, the Wuwubos found Dr. Truth's location. He was gazing at the universe from the port, lost in thought.

Knowing Dr. Truth's location, Dan Lei wasn't in a hurry and leisurely walked towards the port.

Danlei wasn't worried about Dr. Zhenli playing hide-and-seek with him; he was sure Dr. Wuwu had already discovered Wuwu's actions.

With his intelligence, he could definitely guess that it was Xiao Huanlong, who had been hanging out with Wuwubo, who had instructed them to spy on him.

Xiao Huanlong has his eye on me; it must be at Dan Lei's behest.

As for the reason, there's no need to think too much; this guy, who calls himself a fool but is surprisingly clear-headed in certain matters, must have seen through his little tricks.

Given this, Dr. Truth can naturally conclude that he can run away, but he can't run away from the temple.

Danlei is not Screw Gum.

Screw Goom was just looking after his friend's house, and he was also studying human nature, so he would sit back and watch Dr. Truth's actions, observing this "social experiment."

But for Danlei, this was just a prank by a stranger taking his things. If the person ran away when he came to ask about it, the prank would escalate into theft and malicious attack.

Dan Lei is a hunting envoy. If he follows the hunting path to hunt down Doctor Truth, the Doctor's Society, being in the wrong, will not dare to openly protect him.

So Danlei walked slowly to the port, asked Himeko for two cups of coffee, and then came to Dr. Truth's side and said...
"Professor Ladio, would you like a Star Train specialty coffee?"

Dr. Truth turned around, took the coffee, and then said with unusual seriousness.

"I've been waiting here for a whole system time, and I have to say, you're way too slow."

Also, is this cup of coffee some kind of weird punishment game?

In response to Dr. Zhenli's questioning, Danlei simply took a sip of Himeko's coffee right in front of him and then said without changing his expression.

"If it was a punishment drink, I drank it too, didn't I?"

As for the waiting time within a system, you should have the patience for that.

Danlei had already drunk his coffee; if he didn't drink some with Dr. Zhenli, it would be disrespectful.

So Dr. Truth could only say with a stiff expression.

"As expected of a hunting envoy, such a vengeful heart..."

After saying that, Dr. Truth, with the mindset of taking medicine, downed half a cup of coffee in one gulp.

Then his expression completely went out of control, revealing a bitter and distorted look, and he only recovered after seven or eight breaths.

After recovering, Dr. Truth immediately complained.

"Just like it smells, it's shockingly bitter."

I had heard that the coffee at Star Train was very unique, but I didn't expect it to be this unique.

Is this meant to express the sentiment that the nameless traveler, having endured a difficult journey, needs to seize the day and enjoy life to the fullest?

Dr. Truth's assessment: Dan Lei said that he used the Six Treasures Immortal Thief to drink Himeko's coffee, and now he's just playing a prank on you.

So he took another sip and said...

"I don't think Miss Himeko has that many thoughts. She just likes to drink this kind of coffee. Besides, this stuff tastes better than Luofu's soda soy milk."

"Oh, and after you finish your coffee, please return the lost artifact from the space station to me. It's all very strange." Dan Lei's words were a clear statement to Dr. Zhenli.

He didn't try to deny it, but after a few seconds of silence, he asked...
"When did you start doubting me?"

Regarding this question, Dan Lei took another sip of coffee, released the Immortal Trapping Sword, and bluffed...
"After I understood the situation and went to the site for investigation."

Polkakaka, the fourth seat of the Genius Club, possesses an ability called Omniscience.

When you were conducting social experiments on the space station, I clashed with her twice and gained her omniscient abilities.

Therefore, all I need to do is go to any location where the attack occurred, expand my omniscient domain, and then use my memory ability to trace back the process of spontaneous human combustion through the memory matter in the surrounding objects. I will then discover that two forces were involved in the spontaneous human combustion.

One possibility is that the true cause of this incident comes from the power of the Fire Demon, Tofit.

One of them is the power of the phase spirit fire seed, a rare artifact I was searching for before, which was lost from the space station.

Having identified the source of the power, tracing it back to its origin, it wasn't difficult to determine that the power of the Phase Flame came from you.

Besides, you know the space station lost this thing.

After Dan Lei finished speaking, Doctor Zhenli looked at the Immortal-Trapping Sword floating beside Dan Lei, shook his head helplessly, and smiled.

"So, it turns out I was exposed because of my genius? How ironic."

Dr. Truth did not question Dan Lei's claims about Polkakaka's purpose at all.

After all, from the outside perspective, only Dan Lei himself knows how many geniuses he has been in contact with.

Although the age gap between Polkakaka and Danlei is too large, given the eccentricity of this Luofu Dragon Lord, if one day in the future he were to claim that he had a relationship with Zandal Yisan, even Doctor Truth would believe him.

Moreover, Dan Lei has already drawn his sword; if I don't know what's good for me, I'm afraid I'll end up in pieces here and there.

So Dr. Truth didn't say anything more. He reached out and raised his hand, and a ball of blue flame appeared in his hand, but the central area was twisted and separated by flames.

Seeing that Doctor Truth had summoned the Phase Flame Seed, Dan Lei didn't say anything more. He used the Hand of Pure Beauty to bind the flame and bring it into his own hand.

After it was all over, Danlei said with a smile
"Professor Ladio, thank you for saving the space station crew members who were attacked by the Fire Demon of the Defit."

Although throwing people into the spatial artifact and letting them become deeply immersed in it is a bit too harsh.

However, I can take this as an assessment of the Black Tower space station's capabilities by you, the company's technical consultant. I will not provide any further information about their whereabouts and will let Está continue to investigate.

Now, I need to eliminate another hidden danger.

Dan Lei's words essentially defined Dr. Zhenli's actions, and after saying that, he turned to leave.

However, Dr. Truth spoke up at this moment.
"The fate of knowledge is neither reasonable nor logical; geniuses stroll among the stars, while mediocre ones cannot even follow in their footsteps. Mediocre people can only learn to walk independently, spending their lives in a mediocre existence, falling and getting up again."

Like the Academy of Liberal Arts, the space station has no geniuses, only mediocre people.

But a life of failure is still a life, and people have the right to experience it to the very end; and only when they fall to the ground and no one helps them up can fools learn how to stand up.

Danlei, you can't protect them forever.

Dan Lei turned around and smiled at Dr. Zhenli's words.

"Professor Ladio, you probably have some misunderstanding about my behavior."

I don't intend to shelter the people here for the rest of my life.

However, the staff here are ultimately working for Black Tower, and as one of the people in charge here, I have an obligation to ensure that the staff are not disturbed by risks outside of their work.

This has nothing to do with whether they are ordinary people or geniuses.

Also, Professor Ladio, you seem a bit too attached to the distinction between geniuses and mediocrities.

Heta wrote a manuscript evaluating the Bo Shi Society.

She made it clear that the efforts of the Broad Knowledge Society were respectable in some respects.

The philosophy of the Bo Shi Society is communication and sharing, and the circulation of knowledge as a hard currency.

In contrast, the club is full of eccentrics, madmen, lone wolves, autistic geniuses, and people with social difficulties.

In terms of knowledge dissemination, well-informed people who can communicate effectively do a much better job than geniuses.

Your so-called dullness, if overemphasized, is just making trouble for yourself.

After all, I'm a rather dull person.

After saying that, Danlei waved his hand, leaving Dr. Zhenli, who was deep in thought, behind, and left the port.

However, Danlei had just left the port when he ran into Screw Gum.

He didn't try to hide anything and spoke directly to Dan Lei.

"Danlei, I'm very sorry for eavesdropping on your conversation with Mr. Ladio from a distance."

Out of curiosity, I've been spending my free time these past few days observing his behavior alongside him.

Danlei accepted ScrewGumm's apology immediately and said...

"No need to apologize, Professor Ladio is a noble person."

But no matter how noble a person's character is, it doesn't change the fact that humans can get stuck on trivial matters.

He sets his expectations too high for the world. It's fine to have the grand ambition of eliminating all ignorance, but to think that everyone can recognize themselves is, let's just say, an easier said than done.

I wouldn't even dare say I understand myself, let alone that he himself is the same way.

After saying that, Danlei extended the Phase Flame toward Screwgoom and said...
"Please help me pass this Phase Flame on to the Black Tower."

I still need to deal with that ball of Netherfire from the Fire Demon Tophart. If it attacks the space station crew again, there's no one left to save them now.

Screw Gum didn't say much about Dr. Truth's evaluation, but simply silently accepted the Phase Flame.

Just then, someone in the [Black Tower Inspectorate] group tagged everyone and sent a new message.

Bill Gewa: "@Everyone, look, there's new information! [Video containing new information]"

Announcer: Ms. Black Tower's Breaking News – A breaking news brief! A breaking news brief!
Announcer: There's finally an update on the attack on Ms. Black Tower! The "Obliteration Gang" has claimed responsibility for the entire incident and will take further action. The association strongly condemns this...

Screen switching
Grand Duke of the Underworld: The gods among the stars have departed from the mortal realm and are detached from worldly affairs, having no heart to care for the insignificant beings.

Only the wounded Lord will allow all worlds to be bathed in the flames of destruction.

There are always cowardly people who try to refuse grace and escape the pain it brings.

Run away, run away as much as you want—no matter where you flee, oblivion will eventually come!

After watching the video, Danlei revealed a classic villainous smile of triumph, and said to Screw Gum...
"It seems the Annihilation Gang sent an invitation to me and Black Tower."

Perfect timing, I'm just venting my anger after being tricked by Polkakaka.

"Screws, see you later. I need to deal with that ball of Netherfire quickly so I can have a good chat with this Netherfire Grand Duke."

(End of this chapter)