No strange things are allowed to evolve!

"Why has it taken so long? Nightmare level should be quick for you, right?" The minister asked, puzzled. "What's your IQ?"

"1.6".

"?" The minister exclaimed in disbelief, "Charm of 150 and Intelligence of 1.6? You're not kidding?"

"No," Jiang Shu asked helplessly and anxiously, "What do we do now? If I can't learn this skill, will I be unable to leave the house?"

"This..." The minister sighed, "There really is no other way. If you really want to go out, you can only cover your face and wear sunglasses. It's best to cover yourself up completely and not be noticed by anyone. Otherwise, even if no one can see you, they may still be affected. Consultant Liu has the spiritual root of lust. I've heard her talk about this. Anyway, it's quite serious."

"Why didn't anyone tell me sooner?"

"Isn't this just basic common sense?!"

"My common sense tells me that charm is completely useless..."

“That was when your charm value was very low, but yours has already far exceeded what a level six love and desire spiritual root evolver should have. It has begun to undergo a qualitative change.” The minister sighed, “There’s nothing we can do. You’d better wait until you can control your charm before coming to the bureau.”

"Alright, let's talk about the enhanced items."

"I will consult with the director, don't worry."

"Thank you, Minister."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Shu stared at the countdown on the skill tree and slumped onto the sofa.

"This time they rushed things. They should have realized that my charm is irresistible to most people."

......

Bureau of Different Systems.

The director was in his office, frowning as he flipped through the new posts about "Lone Smoke in the Desert" that kept popping up on the Tongzhou Association.

That's just how people are; they get very enthusiastic when they're watching the drama unfold, and even evolved beings aren't immune to it.

As time went by, many of the people who entered this incubator have already left, bringing with them a wealth of firsthand information.

This information was then shared on the forum by their elders, those advanced evolvers who had accounts in the Tongzhou Association.

This is a kind of boasting, since only the living can bring back news. In this way, they can show others in the forum that they have a close junior who has successfully survived this perilous incubator and has a promising future.

Those who remained silent were either dead or hadn't yet emerged; they made up the majority of the population.

However, the experienced director could tell that many of these people were able to escape the hatchery alive only because they had life-saving items after failing, because their understanding of the hatchery was very limited and fragmented, which was not the amount of information one should have to successfully conquer the hatchery.

Most people didn't even complete the first objective of the task.

Only a very few people who actually killed the Sand Demon would mention in their posts that the stone on the Sand Demon's forehead was his weakness.

However, although it has weaknesses, overcoming them has come at a great cost. Apart from the evolved beings, there are many cases where the locals, that is, the guards, have been almost completely wiped out.

Although the descriptions in the post were not very detailed, the director could sense that it must have been a very brutal battlefield; otherwise, so many people wouldn't have left immediately after completing the first objective and discovering they could escape.

This shows that even the first objective of the task had already caused these top performers to lose confidence and the courage to continue.

Of course, a few people persevered.

Then the same thing happened again.

Those who had life-saving items managed to get out, while those who didn't died inside.

It's been almost twelve hours now, and it seems no one has successfully completed the challenge.

But just as the director was about to go back to the system's incubation pool to check on the situation of [Desert Lone Smoke].

Suddenly, a newly posted message came into his view—

[The "Lone Smoke Over the Desert" service is now available globally. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.]

However, when the director clicked in and saw the contents, he was somewhat disappointed.

"So it's still that Yellow Crane Tower after all..."

But after he finished reading all the content, he showed a strange expression.

"What do you mean by 'it's uncertain whether there are any catastrophe-level items'?"

"Could it be..."

He picked up the phone to ask the minister to contact Jiang Shu to verify his idea.

But before he could dial the number, he heard a knock on the door.

"Chief, it's me."

Upon hearing this, the bureau chief smiled slightly, put down the phone, and had already guessed most of the situation.

"Enter."

Chapter 182 The Crown Prince of the Bureau of Different Lineages

The minister pushed open the door and hurriedly sat down opposite the bureau chief.

"Director, I have good news and bad news that isn't so bad."

He had a smile on his face, a serious expression mixed with a hint of humor, as if he had discovered something interesting while away from serious business.

The bureau chief didn't spoil his mood and cooperatively said, "Then you can say whichever one you want to say first."

"Then let me tell you the good news first," the minister said seriously. "The good news is that Jiang Shu really did obtain the Boundless Sand."

Upon hearing this, the bureau chief nodded.

Sure enough, he was right. It was indeed Jiang Shu who ultimately obtained the Boundless Sand. So, the Yellow Crane Tower mentioned in that post, who was also the most promising talent in the forum before the incubation site opened, should be Jiang Shu's teammate this time.

This is indeed good news for the Bureau of Different Principles.

Using a catastrophe-level item as a guide for sublimation is not exactly unique, but it is certainly extremely rare. Even the director can hardly predict what kind of terrifying qualitative change will occur in Jiang Shu's evolutionary path if he really succeeds.

The stronger Jiang Shu is, the greater his advantage will be in the Ancestral Spiritual Root Incubation Field, which will open soon, and the less he will need to rely on Elder Wuzheng and his sect.

Those you cultivate yourself are always more trustworthy than those from outsiders.

"The only thing I find strange is how he learned that his desired sublimation required Boundless Sand, and then immediately brought Boundless Sand out of the incubation site. If you ask me, this can't be explained by coincidence. It seems that ever since he knew we started to value him, he stopped acting altogether," the minister said with some confusion.

However, he wasn't really confused.

He felt somewhat wronged.

His words implied that he was blaming the bureau chief for not informing him of such a significant matter beforehand.

Clearly, he assumed that Jiang Shu obtained the information about Wuliangsha from the bureau chief.

The bureau chief understood the minister's unspoken meaning and realized he had misunderstood.

So he waved his hand and said, "It wasn't me who told him. Actually, I don't know where the Boundless Sand is either."

The minister was taken aback: "Then how did he...?"

"Perhaps he has a better way of handling things."

The bureau chief calmly said:

“I must remind you that although he still has a long way to go, you can stop treating him just as a junior.”

"This..." The minister was genuinely startled.

That's a bit too high a rating.

It's as if the director has already accepted that although Jiang Shu is still weak in terms of strength, the potential he possesses, or rather, his foundation, is enough to sit at the same table with the higher-ups of the Bureau of Different Principles.

This changed the minister's expression, and he seemed somewhat worried.

Having talent is a good thing, but there has to be a limit. If it's too high and you grow too fast, then it's not necessarily a good thing.

The Bureau of Different Principles wants to grow stronger and more firmly hold its leading position, which is why it wants to break away from the technical guidance of Elder Wuzheng and develop core technologies independently. However, if the core technologies bring instability to the Bureau of Different Principles, then it is putting the cart before the horse.

This is not what the minister wanted to see.

With that in mind, the minister tactfully asked the bureau chief, "Should I look into this?"

“No need.” The bureau chief shook his head: “He will say what he wants to say himself. If he doesn’t say it, there’s no need to ask.”

Is this appropriate?

Seeing the minister's hesitant expression, the bureau chief remained silent for a moment before suddenly saying, "Do you think Shen Mo would want to ask that?"

"Probably...no way." The minister didn't understand why the director suddenly brought up Shen Mo, but he still answered honestly, "I don't think he would consider these things."

"Hmm...that's not right." The bureau chief shook his head.

"So you mean he'll ask?" The minister nodded. "That's true. They have a good relationship, and Shen Mo is a very generous person. It's very likely he'll ask without thinking."

Unexpectedly, the director said, "What I mean is, Shen Mo will consider it, but he won't ask."

"why?"

"Because he trusts the people under him, he is unwilling to scrutinize his team members with suspicion."

The director explained:

"He doesn't have the concept of weighing pros and cons in his dictionary, nor does he want to have everything under control. He is genuinely happy for his companions' success."

The minister was stunned for a moment, his face seemingly saying: How come I didn't know he was this kind of person?

“He may not be a good leader, but he is definitely a good comrade.” The director said meaningfully, “All the conflicts in this world stem from different positions. For someone like Shen Mo, no matter how the positions of the people he has come into contact with change, those who are friends will still be friends. Even if they go their separate ways, at least they will not be true enemies.”

"You mean..." The minister seemed to understand but not quite: "It doesn't matter whether Jiang Shu's growth goes out of control or not. As long as we treat him sincerely, even if he leaves the Bureau of Different Principles one day, he will still be one of us?"

"Isn't that why the Bureau of Different Lineages has been able to stand the test of time?"

The bureau chief smiled:

"And don't always be so pessimistic. Don't think the worst of everything. Does he really have to leave the Bureau of Different Systems? If he grows up faster, wouldn't it be better to have one more person supporting the Bureau of Different Systems?"

"As expected of the bureau chief." After figuring it out, the minister shook his head and said self-deprecatingly, "His vision is indeed beyond my reach."

"In short, don't say things like that again."

The bureau chief summarized the situation and then didn't elaborate further on the topic. He changed the subject and asked:

"What's the bad news?"

"Oh."

The minister suddenly laughed:

"That kid is too unbalanced. Last time he put all his evolution points into strength, and this time he put them all into charm."

"What kind of bad news is this?" the director asked, puzzled. "Besides, how bad can his specialization be? After all, he's an evolutionary being of the erotic type, so focusing on charm shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"But he has 150 charm points and only 1.6 intelligence points."

"A hundred times? That's a bit unbalanced..."

The bureau chief pursed his lips and remained silent.

This was the director's speechless surprise. The minister, as his right-hand man, knew him very well. Although he seemed calm and collected, it was actually quite different from his usual composed state. He had fallen into deep thought.

However, unlike the minister, he didn't simply think that Jiang Shu had added things randomly.

After a moment, he said with great certainty:

"Although I don't quite understand it either, there must be a reason why he added it this way."

Furthermore, an intelligence of 1.6... I reckon he's never actually increased his intelligence; that's just his base stat. Plus, besides his charisma, his base strength is also very high. Although I don't know about his physical strength and speed, well...

I think he's probably a polymath.

So, a slight deviation is fine; raising all the stats wouldn't be difficult for him.

Judging from the director's tone, the minister wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he had a feeling that the director seemed... somewhat happy?

However, the minister did not say anything, but continued:

"That's not the most interesting thing. The most interesting thing is that he didn't know the special nature of charm and didn't learn how to dispel the allure of love and desire. As a result, he called Shen Mo, and Shen Mo was affected by his charm even over the phone. He said that he had never realized that Jiang Shu's voice was so magnetic before."

Then I answered the phone and told Jiang Shu what to do. However, because he had a low IQ and was slow to learn skills, he couldn't leave the house for the next 24 hours.

Before I came to see you, Shen Mo knelt on the ground and begged me not to tell anyone about this. Those two are really something, haha.

But after he finished laughing, he realized that the bureau chief hadn't laughed.

Instead, he was frowning.

The minister, thinking he had said something wrong, asked, "W-what's wrong?"

The bureau chief asked very seriously, "Why is Shen Mo's intelligence so low?"