National destiny: Starting with a coffin, building an aircraft carrier is broadcast live globally.

[It's been over half an hour... what are the big shots doing...?]

[This looks like the last time the big shot was at the wishing well!]

[Has everyone entered the illusion?!]

[Hey... what crawled out? Little Nine!]

The swampy waterways of the rainforest.

In the chilling stillness, the floating temple-like boats drifted along with the gradually calming current.

Suddenly, Renyi's pocket bulged, and two tentacles emerged. Then, Xiao Jiu's round head, which had just woken up, drooped at the edge of the pocket.

I've been feeling sleepy ever since I swallowed that dark-colored relative!

Hi hi...

"Where did this come from? It smells a bit off... When is dinner served?... Ugh ( ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧"

It waited quietly for two minutes but no one paid any attention to it.

Xiao Jiu then realized...

Something seems off!

It climbed onto any collar, using all ten legs at once, grabbed the collar and shook it, but there was no response.

Then he jumped onto Ethan's head next to him, tugged at his hair and shook him, but still no reaction.

"? 』

The confused Xiao Jiu turned into a puzzled yellow.

But soon.

As if sensing something, Xiao Jiu's pair of dark, beady eyes gradually focused on the northeast direction of the river.

……

Meanwhile, in places unseen by the audience and Xiao Jiu.

Six people on the shore.

Or rather, they thought the five and a half people on the shore were playing a classic game—

Who is the undercover agent?

"What on earth is going on!?"

Klaus grabbed Renyi and pulled her behind Ivan, watching warily as Queen Vanessa returned to normal.

"What's wrong~" Vanessa curled her luscious yet inexplicably sinister red lips, her long forefinger licking her index finger.

"Is it because you can't bear to part with your sister...?"

Just as Renyi was pondering how he woke up, he suddenly heard these words and couldn't help but look up and carefully examine the alluring Vanessa. She was indeed beautiful, but...

"...I'm twenty-six this year...How old are you?"

"..."

"..."

Vanessa didn't understand what "gui geng" meant, but Ivan and Klaus understood because of the translator.

The atmosphere froze for a moment.

Then Klaus abruptly turned his head, and blurted out in astonishment:

"How many?! Twenty-six?"

Ivan, who was feeling guilty and confused, was also distracted. He scratched his head and looked directly at Renyi, whom he had been calling his boss by name for a long time.

"I thought you had just turned 18..."

Any: "..."

Is this the key point?

He just wanted to know if the Naga queen was an immortal monster, that's why he asked that question!

"You..." Vanessa said, a hint of displeasure on her face as she was ignored.

But her speech was interrupted again—

"Boss!"

Ethan and Aurora also arrived and stood on either side of Renyi.

"What mission?" Aurora gripped the Light tightly, warily facing Vanessa.

She wouldn't hesitate for a second, even if it meant 'purifying' the guy in front of her!

I glanced around at my friends, including Vanessa, from any angle:

"We're probably not in reality."

"The mission is... to wake up."

......

Let's rewind a few minutes.

After arbitrarily arranging the rear guard, he was about to return to the battle to help Ivan and Klaus, but after taking only a few steps, he subconsciously wanted to wake up Xiao Jiu, who was sleeping in his pocket, to prevent her from getting injured later.

They ended up empty-handed.

He stopped walking.

He was certain that from entering the Naga territory to rescue Sita, and then boarding the ship...

Xiao Jiu has always been in this pocket.

It can be said that the reason I dared to act so recklessly was not only because of the [Deep Sea Shadow] skill that shares health bars, but also because of the trump card that is Xiao Jiu.

It's not a real pet, so it couldn't possibly lose itself.

So... where is the problem?

He gazed from afar at the Naga queen, over three meters tall and exuding an imposing aura, who hadn't moved an inch regardless of the intensity of the battle—

"Ethan, Aurora, come with me, we have a mission."

If this is an illusion

Therefore, the purpose cannot simply be to create a fake BOSS for them to "defeat".

He had to consider the worst-case scenario—fratricide.

Even if there's only a one percent chance...

Not at all.

What confirmed to him that it was an illusion was Ivan's axe blow.

It really hurts.

The senses of smell and touch are all very real.

Even the tingling sensation during wound healing is 100% replicated...

However, the bio-energy of the [Deep Sea Shadow] was not consumed!

As for why Ethan and Aurora were called here...

"No wonder it felt so out of place..."

Ethan's face showed a moment of realization, then his eyes cleared up. They didn't know when they were trapped, perhaps it was from the very beginning... when Sita showed signs of abnormality, the fear of being relentlessly pursued had already been sown!

He was arguably the person present who knew Queen Vanessa and Sita best, and now that the illusion had been exposed at will, many details began to surface—

"Queen Vanessa is cold-blooded and arrogant; she enjoys the fear of her prey as they die, not like this... talkative one."

And Sita.

"The Sita I know, even if his tail is broken off, would pick up a stone and smash it on the enemy's head, instead of being like this now, dejected and waiting for someone to help him up and save him."

"So..." Ethan concluded.

"You're not real, and neither is she."

The moment the words fell.

Sita, who had been hanging his head and whose shoulders were trembling slightly, remained motionless.

She slowly raised her head, her vertical pupils filled with annoyance at having her tricks exposed.

then,

With an elegance that was the complete opposite of her previous frail demeanor, she slowly straightened up, her huge snake tail supporting her steadily, as if her previous paralysis had been a mere facade.

"...We've been discovered~"

Ivan and Aurora instinctively took a step back.

However, after Ethan scrutinized "Sido" for a moment, he chuckled again.

"No."

"You're not the real Vanessa either."

The smile on Siddhartha's face disappeared.

"You can't escape—!"

The surrounding scenery began to shake and tear violently, like burning film, revealing the pitch blackness underneath.

……

"Splash..."

The gentle sound of water filled my ears.

He suddenly opened his eyes and saw the familiar ship's side with bone bells hanging from it, and the sky above his head, which was fragmented by the dense canopy of trees.

They are still on the ship.

Klaus, Ivan, Aurora, Ethan, Siddo... everyone was there.

They remained in the same position, standing or sitting motionless, as if they had lost their souls.

"Mr. Anything?" Ethan shook his head, his eyes regaining their clarity.

Klaus and Ivan then woke up as well.

Only Sita remained unconscious.