Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

Surrounding Block 3?

Nine glanced back at the brightly lit Third Street. Tonight, the slum's electricity meters would probably be replaced with helicopter propellers.

Could it be that Wei Yanwu has already discovered what's going on here? But only a few minutes have passed, and it's still late at night. How could Wei Yanwu have received the news so quickly? Could it be that he's been monitoring our actions all along?

"His Highness Wayne has been trapped in Block 3 by a group of thugs. We need to find a way to rescue him. You think of something first, Nine."

Prince Wayne... Wayne Bruce?

Nine's mind flashed back to the blond boy who had spent an afternoon having tea at the Guard Bureau. To this day, two members of the Inspection Department remained in mandatory quarantine at the Guard Bureau, while one was under home quarantine in a hotel. Nine knew, of course, that neither Jingzhe nor Xiazhi were ill, much less prone to sudden madness; it was all Wayne's doing. Without incurring any cost, he had driven the Inspection Department into a corner simply by virtue of his identity and a few words.

At that time, Jiu had already made his assessment of Wayne, saying that he was definitely a politician no less capable than Wei Yanwu.

Why would a man like that be inexplicably trapped in Block 3? Why would someone like that put himself in such a dangerous situation?

Jiu couldn't help but scoff. How could such a thing happen? It was as ridiculous as saying that Wei Yanwu would be shot in the head by a sniper on Longmen Street.

A premonition arose within Jiu Ming that tonight's events might be inextricably linked to Prince Victoria, who was "trapped" in Block 3.

If it were him... Hoshiguma might not be in danger?

...........

Wayne snapped his fingers and said, "Let there be light," and the lights of Third Street illuminated the sky like daylight. Wayne shook his head and said, "People should dress properly, go out of their homes, and come out into the streets." So the common people of Third Street, bewildered, came out of their homes and gathered in the streets and alleys.

Manipulating everything—justice, evil, sincerity, despicableness—all the criteria for judgment are in one's own hands. There is no distinction between friend and foe; only the useful and the useless remain. The Mandate of Heaven and imperial power—this force can indeed be incredibly alluring.

Vain suppressed his burgeoning desire for conquest. The power of the Mandate of Heaven could never have reached this level, but Vain's overwhelming mental power filled the gaps in its most fatal flaws as a support-type Originium Arts: insufficient output, insufficient duration, and insufficient range of influence.

When Wayne, with his almost limitless spiritual power after the dimensional reduction, officially activates the Heavenly Mandate Imperial Power, what will the world look like in his eyes?

Humans will become helpless pawns, manipulated at will. The land and cities will become chessboards, welcoming his strategic deployment. The world of Terra will become a game, a real-life version of "Arknights".

This is not a good thing, because once players are detached from the world, it becomes difficult for them to care about the feelings of NPCs. When a mentality of treating human life as worthless develops, it gradually deviates from Wayne's goal of saving the tragedy, so he has been reducing the number of times he uses the Mandate of Heaven.

However, I have to say, it feels really good to go all out once in a while!

"You have to be careful in everything you do, and you have to be meticulous in everything you do. It's so suffocating."

Wayne stretched. The Heavenly Mandate of Heaven was like a cheat code; using it too much might not get you banned, but it drastically reduced the gaming experience. But occasionally experiencing the feeling of the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Ancestor's celestial "ding" and all demons and monsters being no match for him was quite nice.

He waved his hand and ordered all the people to be moved to the streets.

In this way, those gray-robed men and their informants had nowhere to hide.

Opening the bedroom door, Wayne glanced at Little Anso sleeping peacefully in the darkness blocked by the curtains, smiled slightly, and walked out of the only unlit house in the entire Third Block.

Now, let's begin the interrogation of His Majesty the Shadow Emperor.

No one would think that I'm going to run away after hitting you, would they? Wayne is very vengeful.

Leave of absence form (please come in and take a look)

University has started, and I'm very busy. Making my bed, getting to know my roommates, team building activities, building relationships, buying daily necessities, and queuing up for registration—it's been quite a lot. I'm taking a day off today, and I apologize for that.

Well, I don't really understand why, even though I didn't say anything, a bunch of people were posting things like "It's canceled, it's canceled!" or "So this book is temporarily canceled?" It's hurtful, really hurtful.

I wouldn't say Shuke is the most diligent, but he's definitely among the most consistent. He updates twice a day, even on holidays. Unless he's sick or has a family emergency, he basically never takes a day off. Compared to those authors who can fill a dozen or more leave slips, he's not even in the same league, right?

Why is it that just because I took a leave of absence due to being busy at the start of the school year, some people are already predicting my downfall?

Is the trust built by the author's 920,000 words of diligence less terrifying than a 100-word leave request?

I'm taking the day off today because I'm just too busy. My dorm room needs cleaning everywhere, the bed is covered in dust, and I need to buy a new mattress. Tomorrow, as usual, I'll post two updates as soon as I have some free time.

I'll delete those comments that keep saying I'm going to quit. Keeping them around only an eyesore and annoys me; they just disrupt the atmosphere of the thread section.

I hope everyone will give me more trust.

mutual encouragement.

Chapter 71 Too Ugly to Immerse Myself

Longmen Slum, Block 3, tenement building area.

Wayne's presence was conspicuous, not only because of his distinctly different attire, but also because he emerged from the only unlit room. His movements were unrestrained, seemingly unaffected by the Word of Power—the infected sorcerers lurking in the slums had unanimously reached the same conclusion: this must be a large-scale Originium spell unleashed by the Black-Cloaked Sorcerers, summoned by Wei Yanwu to eradicate the organization after he had discovered the true nature of [Rattlesnake].

Otherwise, there's simply no way to explain why this bizarre situation occurred. In Longmen, besides Governor Wei Yanwu himself, who else could have accomplished such a thing?

Although they knew that none of Wei Yanwu and his men possessed such bizarre spells during the past wars to reclaim Lungmen, the Yan people were always unpredictable. Compared to the unchanging Western bloodline magic and Originium arts, the spells created by the Yan people themselves were clearly more diverse and mysterious.

Even a simple lightning spell can be categorized into countless types in Yan Kingdom. It's not impossible that they were able to develop such a spell.

Moreover, with such a vast range and such a powerful effect, it is a spell that can be considered a forbidden spell. How could it be released by a single life form? It must be the result of a team's long preparation.

The Rattlesnakes have been lurking in Lungmen for a long time; every corner of Lungmen is under their watchful eyes. If such a new organization truly existed, they couldn't possibly be unaware of it. Unless this organization has been there from the beginning, and is located in a part that is difficult for them to infiltrate and investigate.

After thinking it over, the only option left is a black raincoat.

"Wei Yanwu!"

Standing beneath the unfinished tenement building, a member of [Snake Scales], a servant of Duke Koschke, and also the leader of the Rattlesnake organization, was now consumed by a profound sense of shock and boundless rage.

Every member of Serpent Scales was a sorcerer, and Rattlesnake was no exception. Moreover, his strength far surpassed that of his Originium sorcerers, who had just been converted from Infected to basic militia. Yet, even he could hardly stir up the slightest ripple in the face of the power of the Mandate of Heaven!

All those conspiracies, those venomous schemes, that sense of certainty of victory, seemed to vanish in an instant. Rattlesnake had laid a trap, even resorting to violence and threats to silence Block 3 tonight, all to create a suitable venue to lure Wei Yanwu's confidant and his niece, the director of the Lungmen Guard Bureau, into a trap so they could be captured in one fell swoop.

Who would have thought that the Guard Bureau was not a helpless sitting duck, but rather a pitiful bait that would willingly take the bait?

The Joker ended up becoming himself?

"Wei Yanwu, Wei Yanwu, Wei Yanwu!!"

The name roared incessantly in his mind; if wishes could kill, Wei Yanwu would probably be torn to shreds by now. But alas, Rattlesnake could do nothing. The Herrscher code wasn't universal in this other world, and he couldn't transform from Rattlesnake into some snake-skin Herrscher.

He couldn't even muster a ferocious expression to vent his anger through swearing; he could only maintain the calmest face, waiting for Wei Yanwu's arrest, which could come at any moment.

He couldn't even bite his tongue to commit suicide!

Fortunately, his five senses were still intact. Although his vision was locked in front of him and he could not see around or behind him, his hearing and sense of smell were not affected.

He could still hear the approaching footsteps from not far away.

Is he here, Wei Yanwu?

Rattlesnake's pupils contracted slightly as he watched the golden-haired lion king walk past him, giving him only a casual glance, and he held his breath.

Wayne glanced at him, shook his head, and walked away disappointed.

Watching Wayne's retreating figure, Rattlesnake held back the words he had been preparing for so long, all of which got stuck in his throat.

That look! What's with that look?! You can move, so you're part of Wei Yanwu's newly assembled troops? Why aren't you wearing that ugly black raincoat? Why are you looking at me with such disappointment? Do you even know who's standing in front of you?

I am the snake scales, I am the rattlesnake! I am the one you're looking to capture!!

Even your master wouldn't dare look at Lord Kosich's servants like that. How dare you, a mere servant, look at me with such contempt?

Turn around, turn around and let me speak, look at me properly!

Perhaps because his expectations had been met, Wayne did indeed turn back and glance at him again, but the doubt in his eyes quickly turned into contempt. He shook his head a second time, shrugged, and walked forward.

Wayne seemed to have sensed a deep resentment coming from behind him. But not knowing where the resentment came from, he turned around and looked back.

The gray-robed figures behind them all had calm expressions and ordinary appearances. They didn't look like important people at all; they were definitely faceless people with masks covering their faces.

Some might think that Wayne's method of judgment is a bit illogical, but it is indeed the case. Is it possible that a villain who can force himself to use the power of the Mandate of Heaven doesn't even have a decent character design?

Impossible. Don't you see that even the weakest boss, Jeston, and the second weakest boss, Pan Qiao, still have character art, and they can even transform into second-stage character art?

The game world should be about the game world's ***. How could someone who wouldn't even bother to look at you in Arknights be the boss he's looking for?

Moreover, he had seen no fewer than thirty or forty gray-robed men along the way, and he had asked one or two of them. They all said that the leader was a man named "Rattlesnake." They had never seen this man before, but according to the second-in-command, Scarface, this man did not have three heads, but he did have six hands. He was tall and imposing, only two centimeters shorter than Sister Huang, and his face was full of fat. He was the type of person who could be recognized at a glance in a crowd.

But here... people with higher emotional intelligence, Wayne can only reluctantly make some necessary trade-offs with these people.

He has low emotional intelligence, is too ordinary, and doesn't look like a ruthless person. He doesn't fit the character's persona; in a game, he'd get overrun. He's also ugly, making him unrelatable.

But Wayne did receive some pleasant surprises here.

There were far more gray-robed people in this area than in other areas, and the number was steadily increasing, indicating that he hadn't gone astray. And the number of gray-robed people reached its peak beneath this unfinished tenement building.

If nothing unexpected happens, he should be able to find some surprises in this building!

Wayne stepped onto the first step of the stairs with anticipation.

Chapter 72 Wenyue: clear mind

"Madam...Madam!...Madam is moaning and groaning!"

"Stop yelling! Governor Wei Yanwu, what kind of behavior is this, shouting like that in the street?! What do you want? Speak up, I'm listening."

"Um, slow down. Slow down, madam."

Looking at the roadside trees around him that were gradually turning into a thin line, Wei Yanwu swallowed hard, suppressed his fear, and whispered.

Wei Lao Er had never regretted anything in his life. Why did he have to rush and ride on Madam Wen Yue's motorcycle?

Upon receiving Wayne's distress call, Wei Yanwu didn't dare delay for a moment. He immediately ran to the basement, retrieved the Dragon-Slaying Sword—Chixiao—which he planned to give to Chen as a gift after Jiu retired and Chen took over. He changed into his most comfortable and well-fitting clothes, summoned a driver, prepared the car, and notified the Rat King to head to the slums together.

Wei Yanwu wished he could be like the heroes in popular novels, able to fly on a sword so he could ignore the winding streets and dense buildings of Longmen and quickly reach the third slum district.

But things didn't go as planned. Although he was also royalty, unfortunately, he couldn't fly on a sword.

However, before setting off, Lady Wenyue suddenly came out of her bedroom and earnestly suggested to Wei Yanwu:

"I have a way to get you to Slum 3rd Street right away, at least half the time it would take you to get there by yourself. But you might not be used to it, there might be some side effects, are you okay with that?"

Wei Yanwu, of course, didn't hesitate; he had to listen to his wife's advice! He immediately agreed to Wen Yue's plan. He followed her to the backyard, where a powerful motorcycle emerged from under a camouflage cloth.

Until he sat in the back seat of Wen Yue with some skepticism, Wei Yanwu never imagined that there really was a way of driving that could ignore buildings even without flying on a sword.

As long as you're fast enough, disaster (car accident) will always be one step behind you.

Because, before you die in a car accident, your soul may have already freed itself from your body during the acceleration.

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!"

The motorcycle engine roared again. Wen Yue, dressed in a motorcycle outfit, ignored Wei Yanwu's pitiful wails from the back seat and spoke:

"Slow down? How could that be? If you're a step too slow now, and something happens to His Highness Wayne, not only will your plan be in jeopardy, but we can't even guarantee our current safety, or Chen's safety! So, just bear with it when you're done!"

"Clear mind! (Pure consciousness/tranquil mind!)"