Forge a path to success

My colleague's picnic basket was still full of snacks; it wouldn't be easy to make them all in a short time. Her plump face beamed with a smile: "My husband returned safely from the front lines, and I took a week off!"

Secretary Hill repeatedly congratulated him, noticing a large man playing guitar and singing by the fountain, attracting a large crowd of scholars. His voice wasn't great, but the song itself was excellent. It seemed to be a new tune from Jing Sha, and she secretly memorized it, planning to buy a recording crystal later.

"He's even more energetic than before he left!" his female colleague said proudly. "His mercenaries all say he's a good leader, but I said no matter how good he is, he can't stay in that place for long."

Hill agreed: "At this critical juncture, it's always good to stay away from the front lines."

"I think so too..."

Seeing that no one was paying attention, the plump woman whispered to her, "But no, right? I heard you've been taking action. That bill can't possibly pass, can it?"

“That’s hard to say, ma’am.” Hill took a bite of potato pie. Considering it wasn’t exactly a secret, she decided to be frank: “The boss has made many arrangements, but Speaker Parryman is like another old tree, deeply rooted within the thorn bush. I’m afraid it will be difficult for us to change the situation.”

"But she's not the kind of person who does things for nothing."

“I think the boss will take real action much later,” Hill said. “And right now, as you know, it’s all a long period of preparation…”

“Of course, of course…” the fat woman said with a strange expression, “but to be honest, I’m a little worried about the scale of her ‘operation.’ You know, that was… too exaggerated.”

Hill wholeheartedly agreed: "I think it should be over soon."

They turned their heads together, looking towards the north of the park with an almost awe-inspiring gaze. There was a clear "line" there, with the sun-drenched land on one side and the dark, abyss-like buildings on the other.

A colossal object, as massive as a cloud, stood silently above the Dustless Land headquarters, its size obscuring nearly half the sky above the island. That terrifying, cold cloud continued to expand, countless tiny machines darting between the behemoth and the earth, like industrious worker bees adding bricks and tiles to the "cloud." The boss stood at the center of that cloud, a faint glow emanating from it—her transformation array, concealed by the colossal object.

They spoke softly, like two little people gazing at the mountains.

"Your boss will succeed, right?"

"It definitely will. If she fails, the Dustless Land will probably collapse."

If they were granted permission to use high-precision observation instruments, they would be able to detect that every wisp of breath within the "dark clouds" was fluctuating. The granularity of that movement was extremely small, not the breathing of a colossal creature, but rather a wave formed by countless tiny objects converging, like a drop of water compared to a tsunami.

If the observation instruments were of a sufficient level, they could see the true form of that tiny object. It was a smooth, mirror-like, autonomous machine, only the size of a hand mirror, with four corners composed of dark blue magical energy rings. Countless machines were moving data and transporting energy, progressing at an astonishing speed to bring the design on the blueprints to reality, a process that appeared slow to the naked eye but was actually incredibly fast.

Once a machine has completed its task, it returns to its place to participate in assembly. They are the workers and craftsmen, and also the smallest "cells" that make up this behemoth.

Violet Vellus floated silently in the center of this cold, thick cloud. She had just completed the final program fix, eliminating any possibility of it going out of control. The design optimization had reached its limit; all that remained was to wait for the assembly of the Holy Grail to be completed.

In theory, she could even leave the site now to take a nap or have a cup of coffee, and then officially advance after the monotonous work was finished. But Vilbert was still staring at the design drawings.

She always felt that something was missing from the Holy Cup, and if she overlooked this flaw, she would probably regret it for the rest of her life.

The Cup of Honor is a symbol of leadership. The "ideas" that a leader is recognized by all are contained within the cup, thus generating corresponding abilities. Its design is consistent with the Divine Blade and the Heart Sword, as it is essentially a manifestation of one's own ideals in a weapon. Therefore, as long as there is no deviation in direction, there will be no fatal flaws.

Vilbert wouldn't make such a basic mistake; she's always been decisive and never hesitates. She has a clear understanding of the goals to be achieved and the means to be used. Moreover, she had been a leader for a long time before embarking on her path to promotion, and she has her own set of insights at the "ideological" level.

Her Holy Grail should not have any flaws, but now, as it nears completion, a sense of incongruity, lacking theoretical support, lingers like a fishbone stuck in her throat. Something is missing, something is incomplete; a crucial piece of the puzzle remains unfinished. Continuing on this path will surely lead to success, but the risks will inevitably surface someday.

There is no evidence, and the simulation results do not show any unstable factors, but...

She remembered something someone had said.

"I advise you not to take theories too seriously. If everything in the world could be solved with arithmetic, we wouldn't need to bother with all this nonsense."

She was meticulously reviewing the battle plan when the assassin, lounging on the sofa playing video games, not only offered no help but also made sarcastic remarks. She retorted with her usual sarcasm, to which the assassin laughed, "Then why don't you use a computer to calculate my moves? See if that works."

Vilbert rejected his provocation, because it was pointless to try to calculate the capabilities of a closed system that was completely chaotic in terms of both action patterns and strength during a battle. She then threw away the action plan she had painstakingly developed over the past week and changed it to "Chu Hengkong infiltrates the main force alone to coordinate an attack."

Of course, the result was a resounding victory.

This recollection brought her a slight sense of frustration, which in turn led to renewed doubts about her own abilities. For most of her career, Chu Hengkong had been her companion, and the vast majority of seemingly irreconcilable conflicts could be resolved with the simple solution of "let Ah Kong go." With such an omnipotent assassin by her side, even a clueless little girl could easily secure her position as a gang leader.

"I'll listen to you then," Wilbert thought, deciding to try a non-logical approach.

Chapter 334 Smoke

She temporarily halted her checks for potential vulnerabilities and instead initiated an inefficient self-checking process. Looking back, searching for potentially helpful fragments, and applying past experiences to current problems—this is the kind of empiricism that scholars scorn but assassins champion.

He always emphasized the importance of experience. Experience makes one knowledgeable and mature. A person's character and abilities are determined by everything they have experienced from birth to the present. The so-called "person" is actually the "accumulation" of countless past experiences. As a child, he had seen too many things, so in most situations he could wear the mask of a peerless master and handle things with ease. Only in situations beyond his expectations and control would his true childlike nature be revealed.

That's it. Unexpected events, uncontrollable variables, failures that cannot be dealt with no matter how much calculation or what methods are used. If her thought process hasn't undergone any significant changes, then past failures still cannot be resolved through calculation in the present.

Wilbert Vellus rarely failed. Excluding the rainy night Lucas ambushed her, she could almost claim to have never lost. She manipulated the other patriarchs, secured her high position within the Blood Alliance, and even spent years uncovering traces of the royal power. The final battle with the Blood Alliance was destined to be a suicidal one; though she died, she witnessed the demise of her enemies.

In terms of results, she always manages to achieve her desired goals quickly, except for some minor things.

Some trivial things that she cared about very much.

For example, getting Chu Hengkong to quit smoking.

·

The theme of "quitting smoking" dominates the conflict between the head and deputy of the Verus family. It lasted for about seven years, from when the two met until they came of age, and can be said to be the absolute main axis of this protracted struggle.

The theme first appeared on the day Violet helped Chu Hengkong clean his room for the first time. She confidently announced that she was going to change this guy, and the first thing she would do was make him quit smoking.

At the time, young Violet was unaware of how naive she was. In her mind, at least when it came to dealing with those around her, everything was simple: presenting facts and reasoning was enough to solve the problem. Therefore, she found an opportunity to have a serious talk with Chu Hengkong, discussing everything from classic cases in medical history to the latest academic papers, demonstrating with impeccable comprehensiveness the universally acknowledged fact that "smoking is harmful to health."

"So?" the deliveryman asked with a grin.

"If you continue smoking like this for a long time, you will develop various lung diseases, even lung cancer, within three to five years..."

"Me? Sick?" He laughed loudly, lit another cigarette, and exclaimed, "How could that be!"

He demonstrated his confidence in his health in a blind, stubborn, and inexplicable manner, and showed no concern whatsoever about the harmful effects of smoking.

Wilbert repeatedly emphasized the horror of lung disease, even going so far as to use her connections to obtain diseased lung specimens from the medical school to spread alarmist claims, but this had no effect whatsoever on the audacious individual.

Later, when someone saw the smoking science lecture coming up again, he simply crossed his legs, lit a cigarette, and listened with great interest while smoking without saying a word. After listening, he asked, "Is today's show over?" "Yes, it's over. Go home and get some work done. I have to go out and deliver takeout. Goodbye."

Finally, Vilbert lost her temper and threatened, "If you don't quit, just wait and see your medical report. I will never pay your hospital bills then."

Two years passed, and Chu Hengkong remained healthy without a single ailment, even his teeth were as white and bright as ever. His medical report showed him to be so healthy that you could see his boundless energy even through the paper. When the family doctor completed his first checkup, he was so moved that he burst into tears, saying that this was the first time in all his years of practice he had seen a truly perfect human being. He begged the family head to ensure that his deputy was involved in the gene optimization project. What did the family's prosperity matter? He carried the future of humanity!

The head of the family was so angry he had a headache. It wasn't until he had thoroughly investigated the man's background that he was shocked to learn that this person had never been sick in his entire life. He had never suffered from pneumonia, gastroenteritis, or even a common cold. His file was filled with two solid "healthy" marks. After studying the case for a long time, the doctor concluded that the deputy's physique was simply too tough. Viruses and bacteria would be instantly killed by his immune system, and even carcinogens would probably heal on their own. Let alone illness, even common poisons would probably be ineffective.

Vilbert had to admit the fact that Chu Heng's physical condition was different from that of the weak Earthlings; he could probably smoke three packs of cigarettes a day for eighty years without ever developing pharyngitis. Therefore, persuading him to quit smoking was indeed unfounded; cigarettes were harmless to Chu Heng.

But how could she just give up like that? She had made a solemn promise that day and she was determined to keep it. Moreover, she really disliked the way someone smoked. While everyone else was sitting upright and serious, he was puffing away in the meeting room, acting like a spoiled brat who didn't care about anyone. Not to mention the old members with their aristocratic style, even his peers said they couldn't stand it.

So Violet took the opposite approach; if reasoning didn't work, she tried appealing to his emotions. She began explaining the dangers of secondhand smoke, patiently telling him that the smoke was harmful to everyone. This time, her reasoning finally worked; Chu Hengkong considered for a moment and then stubbed out his cigarette.

"I'll smoke on the balcony from now on." There was a hint of apology in his eyes. "I'm sorry, I really didn't expect you to be so fragile."

Vilbert was so angry that she couldn't sleep all night.

After that, Chu Hengkong basically stopped smoking in public. Like a polite adult, he only took out cigarettes in the smoking room or on the balcony, and even apologized if someone saw him. But the essence of the problem remained unchanged: he still hadn't quit smoking!

Vilbert knew perfectly well that this was now a battle of egos. This was the first time she had encountered such a purely "emotional issue" without any vested interests or life-or-death grudges. The root of the problem was that some people would never do what you expected. She shifted her approach again, trying methods she would never have used before, such as bribery.

She promised to pay someone triple their salary starting that day if they were willing to quit smoking.

"What use would I have for so much money?" Chu Hengkong asked, looking completely bewildered. "Actually, I think you're giving out too much right now. Shouldn't you consider taking the money back and using it for something else?"

The money offensive failed. She then used a game console as bait, telling him that if he quit smoking, she would give him a brand new handheld console that hadn't even been released yet.

Chu Hengkong laughed incessantly: "Boss, the thing I can buy in two more months, I'm going to have to trade it for the rest of my life of unhappiness. Do the math yourself, isn't that a bad deal?"

Game consoles failed too. She then tried animation, comics, real estate, and more, all to no avail. He didn't care about material things at all; nothing was more important than his own desires. As for coercion, she hadn't even considered it. Young Master Chu was known in the industry for being easily swayed by gentle persuasion, not by force; she couldn't possibly make him angry.

At the age of 16, the competition entered its third stage, and Velvet began to use her wits. This time, she tried to appeal to his status, mentioning that he was now the dignified Serpent of Life, and that smoking cheap cigarettes would be inappropriate for his position. If he were to smoke, he should use a cigar he didn't like, otherwise his colleagues might gossip about his family.

This time, Chu Heng thought about it for a while and said, "How about this, each person takes responsibility for their own actions. Boss, you find out who has any objections, and I'll go and resolve the source of the objections."

Rumors couldn't withstand the threat of violence, so Vilbert devised another wicked plan. She added a smoking cessation clause to the employment contract, and after Chu Heng signed it without even looking at it, she told him that smoking again would be a breach of contract.

"Then sue me!" Chu Hengkong laughed uncontrollably.

At this moment, Violet also realized that she was dizzy from years of failures, and she actually tried to restrain this guy with rules and regulations. She covered her forehead, dejectedly admitting her stupidity. Chu Hengkong was not angry at all, and twirled a cigarette in front of her with a sly smile.

"We sincerely look forward to your next move, which has added a lot of fun to our monotonous lives."

This bastard is treating this like a game. There will always be some people who find pleasure in going against you; they don't even care about their own interests, they just want to oppose you. What can you do?

Desperate and reckless, Violet decided to be impulsive and do whatever it took. Late at night, she summoned Chu Hengkong to her room and bluntly told him that she despised men who smoked and that she would never want to live with a smoker.

“No problem, boss.” He patted his chest and said, “Just let me know when you find someone suitable. If he dares to smoke, I’ll break his legs.”

That night, he was kicked out of his room by Vieille, who then yelled in the hallway, completely bewildered, "What's wrong with you in the middle of the night?"

With things having come to this, Violet finally gave up. She despairingly admitted that it was impossible to get Chu Hengkong to quit smoking. If there were things in this world that could never be changed, this assassin's temperament would certainly be among them. The next day, she announced to Chu Hengkong that the war on quitting smoking was over; she conceded defeat and chose to surrender.

Chu Hengkong felt a pang of regret, a sense of loss at the shutdown of his favorite entertainment program. He cautioned her that getting her to quit smoking was as impossible as letting her smoke, and that she should learn a lesson from this: not everything can go her way.

It was almost like divine revelation; Wilbert had a brand new idea.

The next day, Chu Hengkong asked about the work arrangements as usual. When he entered the office, he saw Wilbert lighting a cigarette.

He snatched the cigarette so fast that it stirred up a gust of wind in the room.

"What the hell are you doing?" Chu Hengkong said sternly.

“I’m practicing smoking,” Wilbert said. “I need some signature moves to reinforce the image of myself as a mob boss, and cigarettes are a great symbol.”

"No way." He glared at her. "I'm telling you, don't even think about it."

Vilbert found it very interesting: "Why? Many family heads are heavy smokers..."

"They are them, and you are you!" Chu Hengkong slammed his fist on the table. "This stuff is harmful to your health; you can't touch it."

"One cigarette now and then is no big deal."

He seemed to want to give some impolite examples, but gave up halfway through, and instead, like a savage middle-aged man, emphasized his authority in a rising voice: "There's no room for discussion, Vilbert, I said no and that's final!"

"So why?" Violet nestled in her office chair, watching him with keen interest. "Why do you smoke and drink every day, while I get such strong opposition even for smoking a single cigarette?"

"I'm different from you—"

Vilbert smiled and handed over the knife: "Akong, you smoke every day, so you don't seem to have the right to lecture me."

Chu Hengkong plopped down on the sofa, like a volcano about to erupt. Velbert, with her fingers interlaced, awaited his response with the air of a victor.

He lit the cigarette on his desk, gritting his teeth: "I've quit smoking."

“Oh, when did you quit smoking?” Wilbert asked in surprise.

"I quit last night, I don't smoke anymore, and you're not allowed to smoke either!"

“Okay, then it’s a deal.” Vilbert added the final blow, “You don’t smoke, and I don’t touch tobacco either. You smoke one, I smoke one.”

"Vilbert, I really... how could I have raised such a scoundrel—"

Chu Hengkong's gaze was as if he wanted to devour her whole. She happily got up and hugged her beloved assassin, not forgetting to remind him before leaving: "It's a deal."

From that day on, Chu Hengkong quit smoking.

Chapter 335 Song of a Foreign Land

Wilbert smiled slightly, holding the same cigarette from back then in her hand.

After the agreement was made, she was afraid that Chu Hengkong would break his promise, so she carried the cigarette with her and reminded him from time to time not to forget the agreement. As it turned out, she was worrying too much. Young Master Chu was a man of his word; he said he would quit smoking and he never did, and he would never go back on his word.

Looking back now, it was about five years ago. The struggle to quit smoking began shortly after they met and didn't end until they were adults. It was a petulant fight between two immature kids, but it also unconsciously corrected many of her beliefs.

There are people in this world who don't care about interests or gains and losses, and have no weaknesses whatsoever. Although they are on your side, they are also on your opposite side from time to time. You can't confine them with interests or reason, and traps and schemes are nonsense. The only thing that can make them compromise is emotion.

It's feelings that make him willing to stand by your side; it's because he cares about you that he'll never leave you.

She tossed the unlit cigarette into the core of the Holy Grail structure. The system immediately issued a warning, stating that this extra component would reduce overall computational efficiency.

She casually wiped the message window, watching the colossal machine complete its final assembly. That lingering unease vanished the moment she offered it a cigarette; she had completed the most important piece of the puzzle of being a leader.

People respect you as their leader because of their trust, and the foundation of that trust is ability... and affection.

The countless autonomous machines coalesced into one, their transformation array converging towards the center of the dark clouds. In a mere instant, the thick clouds that had shrouded the dust-free land vanished, and she descended into the blazing sunlight, like an angel descending to the heavens in mythology.

·

Wilbert felt exceptionally well, a result of the satisfaction of completing the transformation and the sense of fulfillment from a renewed rise in her self-existence.

However, her body was still weak, and her physical condition was naturally different from that of the Earth era, but she was still considered to be of the mortal level in the world of sinking.

She suspected her arm strength might still be inferior to Chu Hengkong's. When she returned to Earth to arm wrestle with the assassin, she might face an interesting defeat.

Such is the norm on the Path of Floating Light: your spirit, skills, and tools constantly evolve, your power and territory continuously expand, but barring unforeseen circumstances, your physical body remains unremarkable. She certainly has many ways to enhance her body—prosthetic replacement, genetic optimization, introducing a more efficient energy system, or even undergoing full-scale mechanization like a real machine—but she has never considered such a path.

She didn't want to become someone who was no longer pure, and her strength never depended on mere physical strength.

Vilbert walked back to her office, her arrival unnoticed by anyone; the information interference layer automatically blocked most observation methods. She poured herself a cup of tea, sat quietly in her office chair for a moment, and imagined life after successfully returning to Earth.

She would find Ah Kong, and perhaps, unusually, crack a little joke for him, telling him not to worry that everything was fine. The dejected man would become energetic again, occasionally nagging and keeping her company as before.

They will revive the family once more, eradicate the alien contamination, and render the Blood Alliance meaningless. Then, she will completely isolate Earth from the Shrouding Realm, fulfilling her final responsibility. After that, she will pretend to be an ordinary person and live a simple life with him…