On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

If it were him, he would definitely send out a spy who would pretend to be a stranger to Luo Xiaoji, and then act as a new friend that Cheng Gang had just made, in order to secretly assist Luo Xiaoji.

"So we don't need to worry about Liao Ji, and we can't worry about him. If I'm not mistaken, Liao Ji should be the eyes and ears of the Quess Group. If we make too many moves against him, we'll alert him and expose our purpose. We just need to keep an eye on Luo Xiaoji, the main target."

"Understood, Steward William."

Magic City.

If you were to ask everyone to name one person, the one that would undoubtedly be most memorable for most people would be their beautiful and intelligent City Lord Reina.

If you were to ask them to name a corporation, most people would probably think of the Quess Corporation first.

It's very simple. Regardless of the size of the Quess Group, its rise to prominence is itself a legendary tale.

From handing over the entire group to a teenage girl who had just come of age, to the girl repeatedly investing in projects that were obviously doomed to fail and that all investors avoided, to the point that she would lose money every time.

However, Diane used her success stories to repeatedly slap the faces of various investment groups. Every project that was supposed to fail would miraculously become a hit, bringing in several times, or even ten times, the returns.

In less than ten years, the Quess Group went from being on the verge of bankruptcy to becoming a business giant in Shanghai.

From then on, although the Quess Group lacked a solid foundation and was still far behind those century-old groups, no one dared to underestimate it, much less ignore the current business legend, the twenty-seven-year-old Chairman Diane.

However, in the chairman's office of the Quess Group today, the young female president was clearly not in a good mood.

The reason stems from a phone call I just had.

"Chairman, we have just received information that your brother, who is not related to you by marriage in the Mechanical Alliance, has used the group's network of connections to purchase a batch of illegal Dream items from the underworld."

Chapter 196 Little Boyfriend

幻梦

A more advanced form of cinematic presentation, virtual reality, is the most popular form of entertainment in the Mechanical Alliance. Illegal Dreams, on the other hand, mostly involve recording prohibited images or removing sensory limitations to provide users with a more realistic and stimulating experience, which is highly addictive.

Diane looked at the critical column in her hand, titled "How Dreams Are Destroying Today's Youth."

The above lists numerous cases of teenagers who, due to their addiction to fantasy, became aimless, stayed indoors, and ultimately became social outcasts. Illegal "dark fantasy" is even more harmful, filled with various incorrect value orientations, which are poison to young people with weak willpower. Over time, it will cause a series of mental illnesses, including but not limited to personality disorder, antisocial behavior, and violent tendencies.

At this point, even without the remaining research reports, Diane couldn't bear to look any longer.

The woman put down the documents, closed her eyes, and took several deep breaths to calm her heaving chest. When Diane opened her eyes again, her amber eyes were filled with coldness and icy light.

Luo Xiaoji's calm voice rang out in the office, like the calm before the storm.

Diane, expressionless, picked up the phone, ready to transfer personnel from the group to the Mechanical Alliance to arrest the person, when she suddenly seemed to remember something. Her hand paused while dialing, and then she frowned and quickly dialed another new number.

"Hello, this is the internal hotline for complaints in Magic City. Miss Diane, how can I help you?"

"I want to see Lady Reina."

"I'm so sorry, we couldn't find your appointment here."

"I will be at the Magic Tower in fifteen minutes."

"Dear, you..."

Before the succubus customer service representative on the other end of the phone could finish speaking, Diane had already hung up. She didn't even bother to change her clothes; she just grabbed a coat from the rack, took the direct elevator to the underground parking garage, started the engine, and sped off towards the Demon Tower.

"Tsk, isn't this the stunningly beautiful CEO, Ms. Diane, who has captivated millions of young entrepreneurs in our Magic City and is considered the dream girl of countless wealthy young men? What brings you here?"

In the upper reception room of the magic tower, the pink-haired succubus leisurely sipped her red tea while casting her gaze at the beautiful woman who had come to visit her across the hall.

Diane quickly sat down opposite Rena and then got straight to the point.

"I agreed to let Luo Xiaoji join the Shanghai scholars' group because you assured me that you would ensure his safety, but now I seriously doubt whether you have kept your contract."

As Diane spoke, she pushed the record of Luo Xiaoji using the group's network of connections to purchase Black Dream's sunglasses onto the pink-haired succubus opposite her.

“First of all, it’s no longer the Demon City, it’s the Demon City Scholars Group. Also,” Lena corrected Diane’s mistake, then picked up the report, glanced at it, and nodded sympathetically.

“Young people like to try things they shouldn’t. Let them hit a wall a few times, learn a lesson, and temper themselves. Isn’t that exactly what we agreed on when we sent your brother abroad alone?”

However, Diane remained silent, simply continuing to stare at Reina.

She did have this in mind when she agreed to Lord Lena's suggestion, but there are limits to hitting a wall. Clearly, the harm caused by the Black Dream has far exceeded Diane's tolerance limit.

"Alright, alright, the people I sent will protect your brother." Lena waved her hand dismissively.

"Is this the person you were talking about, the one who will take care of my brother?"

Seeing this, Diane took out a file on "Dr. Liao Ji" and placed it on the table. Then, with a hint of anger on her face, she said, "My brother said he bought Black Dream for a friend!"

"Pfft. You actually believe that kind of talk? Ask your brother if that friend is him."

Diane didn't answer Lena, but with a stern expression, continued, "I've investigated this person; his identity is entirely fabricated. He's not from Demon City at all. Who is he really?"

Previously, out of trust in Lena, she could refrain from questioning, but now, as it was also the purpose of her trip, Diane needed to find out Liao Ji's identity before she could feel at ease.

Seeing that Diane was determined not to leave until she got an answer, Lena sighed helplessly. The succubus calculated the time and seemed to think it was about time. She chuckled and said:

"You want to know his identity? Okay, well, let's just say he's my boyfriend."

"Your little boyfriend?" Diane frowned, and quickly became genuinely angry, emphasizing again, "Lady Lena, I expect a proper answer. I'm not in the mood for jokes."

Lena's response was equally straightforward: "I wasn't joking with you."

A silence fell between the two. Diane stared at Rena for almost a minute, but unfortunately, she couldn't read anything from the succubus's face.

"If you insist on this ridiculous behavior, then don't blame me for breaking this explosive news. I believe that the major media outlets in the city will go crazy on the very next day."

"Sure, go ahead. It was bound to happen sooner or later anyway, but..."

Faced with Diane's threat, Lena, with her legs crossed, seemed to welcome it. She paused halfway through her sentence, then, seeing Diane's immediate tense expression, slowly continued:

"Miss Diane, you wouldn't want your brother to be bullied in the Mechanical Alliance, would you?"

Diane clenched her fists. She was filled with regret, deep regret for ever believing the old succubus. Now she had essentially handed over her weakness to someone else.

However, Diane, as the chairperson of a group, quickly calmed down.

Realizing she wouldn't get any more useful information from Lena, she prepared to leave, but before she left, she had to repeat herself to Lena one last time.

"Lady Lena, if something really happens to my brother, there's really nothing I can do for you, but I hope you can protect your little boyfriend for the rest of your life."

"Tsk, then, Chairwoman Diane, if your brother really makes something of himself, how will you repay me? After all, my boyfriend is quite good at mentoring people. Even if your brother just follows him around as a follower, he'll probably impress you when he comes back, right?"

"The Naquis Group will naturally repay you and your young boyfriend."

"No need for that. We don't ask for much. How about this, although you are a bit old, coming over to warm our bed should be enough. What do you think, Chairman Diane?"

Instead of being angry at the succubus's wicked sense of humor, Diane returned a sweet smile.

"I don't think that's a good idea. What if your human boyfriend, who's about my age, falls for me and abandons you, this hundreds-of-years-old succubus? I would feel so guilty towards you."

Chapter 197 Unexpected Information

Dream City, Jinbi Grand Hotel.

After returning from the Night Charm Bar in District 13, Liao Ji and Luo Xiaoji had just gotten out of the car and entered the hotel when Liao Ji called out to the young man who was about to go back to his room.

"What's wrong, Brother Liao?"

"Give me."

The young man immediately felt guilty and asked, "Give what?"

"Those two Black Dreams you bought." Liao Ji pointed to the cassette tapes that Luo Xiaoji had hidden behind his back.

While Liao Ji was speaking, he had already completed the transfer, transferring one million yuan, the money for purchasing equipment and Black Dream, into Luo Xiaoji's account.

"Oh, Brother Liao, look at us here!"

"You don't have to give it to me, but when your sister comes knocking on my door, I won't help you."

Luo Xiaoji was initially hesitant and very reluctant, but after Liao Ji brought up his sister, the young man reacted as if by stress and immediately became nervous. He then dejectedly handed over both copies of Black Dream to Liao Ji.

Liao Ji was merely using Luo Xiaoji's connections; the Black Dream artifacts that these young people wanted to "casually" hoard were naturally confiscated.

“If I said it was for a friend, then it was for a friend. Although I don’t know your sister, since I made a promise to you, we have to keep our word. That way, you can be assertive when your sister questions you, and I can explain things to her if she comes looking for me.”

"Okay, okay."

"May I make one last request, Brother Liao?"

"what?"

"Please, please don't tell my sister that I also bought Black Dream! Especially, please don't tell her the names of these dreams! Please!"

Luo Xiaoji clasped his hands together, looking as if he was about to kowtow to Liao Ji.

Seeing the young man's frightened expression, Liao Ji looked at Luo Xiaoji with surprise to see what kind of illusion he had bought.

I am very happy to be born a dog.

Liao Ji: "."

"Okay, I promise you."

"Thank you! Thank you so much, Brother Liao! From now on, you're like a brother to me!"

After thanking them repeatedly, Luo Xiaoji blushed, a rare occurrence for him. He couldn't bear the strange looks from Liao Ji and Yilin, so he quickly made up an excuse and slipped back to his room.

"So, Doctor, are all rich people this perverted?" Irene stared at Luo Xiaoji's back and then looked at the Black Dream in her hand.

"I can only say that human potential is limitless."

After this little incident, Liao Ji quickly returned to his room with Yilin. Just like in the private room at the Night Charm Bar, he had 86 activate the shielding system to ensure secrecy. Liao Ji then put the Black Dream aside and took out the eye mask-shaped terminal that could enter "Dream Zero" and handed it to 86 for inspection.

Soon

"Scan complete. Twenty-three code vulnerabilities, five intrusive viruses, one monitoring virus, and three propagating Trojan viruses have been detected. Unit 86, which has activated the kill mode, reports."

After the sound of 86, Irene next to her clicked her tongue.

"Good heavens! So many viruses? These gangsters are really up to no good. If that rich kid is stupid enough to wear it, it'll turn into a virus reservoir."

Yilin sighed, but Liao Jize wasn't too surprised. After all, judging from the actions of those gang members in the private room, it was clear that these people probably wanted to achieve other goals besides selling Black Dream to Luo Xiaoji.

"Master, Number 86 has just recovered the data and discovered a video that may contain relevant information. Would you like me to project it to you now?" Number 86 suggested.

"Put it out."