"Not only is the moonlight beautiful here, but the breeze is also cool. We're having an outdoor BBQ. Jealous, homebody?"

No sooner had Dong Chengling finished speaking than Yu Kuangtu's voice loudly followed, causing Ren Suo to roll his eyes—wasn't lounging on his couch, ordering BBQ delivery, and watching movies way better than roughing it outdoors?

It seemed that after handing the phone to Dong Chengling, Yu Kuangtu hadn't gone far, seizing every chance to tease him.

However, their living conditions seemed pretty decent. Ren Suo only knew they were on the Outskirts of Lianjiang, and from the Space Gate, he could see they were likely in a green-roofed house—at least there was a roof over their heads. Ren Suo just hadn't expected that they could even hold an outdoor BBQ. They really knew how to live it up. But then again, with Yu Kuangtu, the human-shaped charcoal stove, it would have been a waste not to use him.

"Deputy Director, don't disturb others when they're chatting," Li Dan's calm voice rang out. "I've never let anyone disturb you when you're on the phone with your girlfriend."

"What, how did you know I was calling..."

"Deputy Director, have you gone silly from love, forgetting what my awakened spell is? The fire in the stove isn't enough. Go add some more."

Li Dan's awakened spell, "Insight into the Mortal World," could make it impossible for him to sleep at night due to his overly sensitive hearing.

If Yu Kuangtu dared to sweet-talk his girlfriend from the Tactical Bureau roof, Li Dan could probably hear Yu Kuangtu's sweet nothings from the underground parking lot through the noisy wind.

At that moment, Bai Ji's voice seemed to also rise not far from Dong Chengling, "Is it Ren Suo's call? Wait and switch me in; the signal here is really bad..."

"Teacher Bai, the nurses at the infirmary are calling you to make ice. What are you doing here? Go back, go back." Qiao Muyi appeared to be blocking Bai Ji, and soon, Ren Suo heard a chorus of chirping voices, then Bai Ji's voice was drowned out.

With such an interruption, Ren Suo couldn't help but laugh, and it seemed Dong Chengling did too. She laughed and said, "Did you watch Ren Naiser's stream today?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, I watched it."

"We watched too," Dong Chengling said somewhat wistfully. "The people from the Fairy Palace... are really strong."

Of course, the object of Dong Chengling's admiration wasn't the Disaster Girl controlled by Ren Suo, but Ilina transformed into one of the Supreme Supreme's Top Ten True Disciples from the Cloud Sky Palace.

"You too will eventually stand above the heavens, looking down at the earth," Ren Suo said with a smile. "And then you'll know, there's nothing so great about the Fairy Palace."

Ren Suo spoke sincerely, and Dong Chengling openly accepted Ren Suo's flattery but still cautioned, "Don't speak carelessly about this. It's still appropriate to preserve a trace of reverence for beings that grant blessings to the world yet remain unattainable."

"Don't worry, I'm known for researching Ren Naiser. When I'm outside, I always say that the Fairy Palace is the coolest, the Supreme Supreme is handsome, wise and valiant, seeing thousands of miles…"

As Ren Suo rattled on, Dong Chengling seemed to think of something and turned to ask Yu Kuangtu, "Deputy Director, can I tell Ren Suo?"

"Hmm?" Yu Kuangtu, munching on chicken wings not far away, twisted his mouth and after pondering, said, "Go ahead. The confidentiality level has been lowered, and he's an internal network Researcher; he might already know what we're up to from the internal network. Just avoid mentioning specific locations."

Dong Chengling acknowledged with an "Oh," then said into the phone, "Ren Suo, do you remember the last time at the Sky Capital Base, when we opened the Space Gate and met the Palace Nine-Tailed Fox?"

"I remember," Ren Suo said. "I was totally flabbergasted then. Weren't we in Sky Capital because we couldn't separate our hands? How did it suddenly come to opening a Space Gate together and meeting the Palace Nine-Tailed Fox?"

Recalling the hand-holding incident, Dong Chengling's cheeks reddened slightly as she continued, "The task I was summoned for by the Tactical Bureau today is actually similar to that last incident."

"Oh~? Could it be—?"

"Just like last time in Sky Capital, opening the portal to Flourishing Sakura Tokyo, today, here in Lianjiang, I opened a portal to Tokyo!" Dong Chengling said with a slight tinge of excitement. "Though I had some help, this time the portal I opened lasted a full 255 seconds."

"I even saw the Disaster Messenger with my own eyes, and caught a distant glimpse of that blue-haired girl walking in the sky."

"That's so awesome~~ I'm so jealous~~" Ren Suo could only try to stretch his tone to feign his surprised emotions.

However, the phone signal didn't transmit Ren Suo's voice directly. It converted the sound signal to an electronic signal, which Dong Chengling's phone then received and converted back to a sound signal, playing it in the frequency most similar to Ren Suo's voice. This means that while the phone replicated the sound, there could be distortions.

So Dong Chengling didn't hear any problem and said, "During tomorrow's Ren Naiser livestream, I estimate I'll make a move once or twice, so you might see me on the broadcast."

"Oh?" Ren Suo blinked. "Then I'm really looking forward to it."

"Or," Dong Chengling suggested, "you could come to the scene and witness the Disaster Girl with your own eyes."

"Ah? That doesn't sound very appropriate..."

"You can always watch the recording of the broadcast later, but opportunities to witness events firsthand are rare," Dong Chengling said. "I thought, since you're researching Ren Naiser, you would highly value such experiences..."

Indeed. If Ren Suo continued to refuse, it wouldn't quite match his persona—in anyone's eyes, as a Researcher Ren Suo should embody professional ethics. How could such a person miss the chance to witness an Immortal Palace Envoy just because he's too lazy to leave his house?

"What, Ren Suo is coming? I highly approve," Bai Ji finally seemed to have broken free from the twittering crowd. Hearing Dong Chengling's words, he immediately spoke out loud, "There might be a fight tomorrow, and I feel the medical capabilities here are quite inadequate. If Ren Suo, the strongest Healing Cultivator in Lianjiang, could come, that would be wonderful."

"Did you hear that? The strongest in Lianjiang," Dong Chengling joked.

"Ah, I'm not the strongest Healing Cultivator in Lianjiang. At best I'm one of the strongest," Ren Suo humbly responded over the phone.

A fight tomorrow? Ren Suo's thoughts raced—tomorrow wasn't a BOSS battle; it was probably another journey retracing the Disaster Girl's Path of Destiny.

Having seen the previous four broadcasts, most people could guess the routine of tomorrow's broadcast. The Commander of the Great Wall must know as well.

In this situation, did they still want to open a Space Gate and try to snatch benefits from the hands of the Disaster Girl, or was there another purpose?

"So, are you coming?" Dong Chengling asked.

"I actually really want to come," Ren Suo said with feigned regret. "But it's getting late now. I probably won't make the last bus, so I guess I'll pass."

"I can teleport you over," Dong Chengling said. "I'm still in the city. Just activate your Spiritual Energy Coordinate Necklace, and I can pull you over directly."

Ren Suo blinked and quickly looked for an excuse to decline. "But this necklace is an important gift from you and should be used on very important occasions; how could I use it for something like this..."

Dong Chengling chuckled softly. "It's okay, did you forget? Yours and Gu Yueyan's Spiritual Energy Necklaces are custom-made, not one-time props, and can be used unlimitedly. Plus, I maintained a Space Gate for a full 255 seconds today, which gave me further insights into my awakened spells. Considering the straight-line distance between you and me, pulling you to my position would actually not cost me much Spiritual Energy—it's quite convenient."

"Yeah, Ren Suo, why not come over? My tent still has a spot open," Bai Ji's voice sounded.

Ren Suo clicked his tongue, wondering why Qiao Muyi hadn't spoken up yet.

As expected, Qiao Muyi's voice sounded very close, "That sounds like a great deal! If you miss this village, there won't be such a shop again. You absolutely must not miss out! Ren Suo, you should hurry over!"

*Negative emotions from Ren Suo, +233.*

"I actually haven't finished writing my research report…" Ren Suo tried to find an excuse to dodge.

And at that moment, Yu Kuangtu's voice again arose in the phone, "Wait, Dong Chengling, did you mention 'Outskirts of Lianjiang' in your first sentence?"

Ren Suo felt Yu Kuangtu's words were inauspicious. Sure enough, Dong Chengling seemed to nod, then Yu Kuangtu continued, "By doing that, you also disclosed the location… According to the confidentiality regulation, now you either have to 'invite' Ren Suo to stay at the Tactical Bureau for a dozen hours, or let Ren Suo participate in the operation. If he plans on sleeping in, the Tactical Bureau has beds too…"

Dong Chengling immediately said, "Sorry, Ren Suo."

"No, it's not about you." Ren Suo smacked his lips, wondering if he should collude with Qiao Muyi to give Yu Kuangtu a hard time...

With the term 'Outskirts of Lianjiang,' one could say it was revealing or not revealing. Either way, it was Yu Kuangtu who decided. Ren Suo believed that Yu Kuangtu had sensed his reluctance to come, suspected that he wanted to sleep in, and thus had smoothly pushed him into this predicament—this guy really was petty at heart.

However, Ren Suo himself couldn't come up with a substantial reason to refuse this. Not only was it a professional requirement, but many bonding partners were also looking forward to it, so there was no need for him to refuse here.

"Alright, I'm willing to come over."

"Shall I teleport you over now?" Dong Chengling asked.

"Well, actually, I'm quite particular about where I sleep, and I might not be able to sleep well in the suburbs," Ren Suo said. "How about you teleport me over tomorrow morning? I'll sleep at home tonight."

This request was quite reasonable. After Dong Chengling relayed Ren Suo's request, aside from Bai Ji seeming a bit disappointed, even Yu Kuangtu did not object—after getting revenge for being hung up on three times, his anger had also dissipated.

"Then I'll call you at 5:50 AM tomorrow. You'd better get up early and get dressed," Dong Chengling instructed. "Go to sleep early tonight. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

After hanging up the phone, Ren Suo leaned back in his chair and began to ponder.

Should he kick the corner of the wall with his pinky toe, or should he stab himself? No, he could heal those injuries himself. He needed to come up with an injury he couldn't heal... Ren Suo suddenly felt the limitations of being a Healing Cultivator—he found it very hard to feign illness. Cultivators rarely caught colds, and as a Healing Cultivator, he couldn't use the excuse 'I accidentally stabbed myself with a kitchen knife' to go to the hospital. That was troublesome.

There was absolutely no way Ren Suo could go to Dong Chengling's place because that would mean he couldn't play the game or live-stream. After all, the fifth chapter had a time limit; not playing on time meant failing the entire beta test of the game.

By then, not only would the free game be gone, but the Disaster Girl character would also disappear, and Ren Suo had already wasted a holiday promotion, which was almost a total loss.

There might also be a hidden danger: if Ren Suo went out to work, Ren Naiser wouldn't stream. People might ask, "Do you guys have some kind of dirty partnership?" But the likelihood of this danger becoming a reality was pitifully low, something Ren Suo had never worried about.

Of course, all these were minor issues. The most important hidden danger was—in the first four chapters of "Hand of Fate," the game content involved Disaster Girl tracing clues and then snuffing out crises that might occur in the future right at their onset.

Thinking this, Ren Suo turned on the intranet and found that the hot topics there indeed centered around today's live stream content.

One Researcher said that the reason the live stream was postponed to the afternoon was because the sun was fierce and the solar energy strong, which could weaken ghosts the most, hence the choice of this timing—Ren Suo preferred Researchers with strong imaginative abilities.

There were also discussions on whether there were factional divisions within the Fairy Palace and whether every strong individual in the Fairy Palace could touch the laws of space, time, and destiny. Some believed that "Abide by the command of the Immortal Venerate" might be a phrase used in cultivation and Casting Spells, similar to "May You Have Boundless Longevity" and "Hastily as Decreed".

Ren Suo quickly found the content he wanted to see: "Analysis of Day 4 of the 'Destiny' Live Stream".

"...After killing all the Violent Evildoers, the mysterious blue-haired girl displayed three cards: Apostle Era, Fantasy Era, and The Blank Era.

According to the designs, our research group believes that the futures augured by the three cards are:

The Fantasy Shikigami Breeding Project is completely successful and is no longer confined to just Flourishing Sakura, but succeeds in spreading globally. Compared to cultivating on their own, this method of easily enhancing one's Cultivation through Shikigami will be favored by more people and organizations. However, killing Shikigami will bring severe side effects—Angel Envoys who are possessed by Shikigami will also gradually be eroded by violent emotions; hence, Angel Envoys will continuously instigate battles among themselves.

This will be the Apostle Era.

Then, when human fondness for Shikigami reaches a critical point, or when the revival of Spiritual Energy reaches a critical point, more fantasy Shikigami will materialize, and even Fantasy Secret Realms like Netherworld and Heaven will appear. There will be many wild fantasy Shikigami, all filled with violent emotions, with killing as their duty, descending upon Earth like end-of-days Heavenly Calamities. Humans will have no choice but to employ Shikigami, or even rely solely on Shikigami—having abandoned other Cultivation methods, they will have no better choice.

This was the Fantasy Era.

In the end, humanity discovered that Shikigami were endless because they were born from human fantasies. The method to eradicate Shikigami was to forbid fantasy, forbid reading, burn the books, and burn the past. However, fantasy is an instinct of humanity. How could it be completely severed? In the pattern, a human being reading a book was killed by a wild Shikigami that had been born from his fantasies. Perhaps people in other places could survive, but at that time, humans had probably suppressed their own imaginations in some way, leaving their minds perpetually blank.

This was The Blank Era.

The Supreme Supreme of the Fairy Palace, the mysterious blue-haired girl, and the chess piece Disaster Girl, together destroyed a world called Fantasy."

Rather than interpreting alone, Ren Suo chose to directly read the analysis on the internal network—the guys here spoke well and were talented. He really liked it here.

On his own, he couldn't come up with so much just from the names and patterns of three cards.

After reading the analysis, Ren Suo felt even more resolute.

If he didn't play "Hand of Fate," would the world-class crises that made up the subsequent six chapters of the game also disappear?

He didn't know. He didn't want to gamble either.

He wasn't so arrogant as to think 'only I can save the world,' but... if it was a simple matter of lending a hand and gaining quite a few benefits, he naturally wouldn't want to give that up.

And the best strategy, naturally, was to find a way to take leave and not go, then hide at home and secretly play the game.

Ren Suo fell into deep thought. "With eight hours left, what's a good excuse to ask for leave? Sick? Who would believe that, unless it's an STD.

Injured? Even if I'm not afraid of pain, injuries requiring a hospital visit would at least need a finger chopped off… What if a friend got stabbed and I went to help? That could work, but other than my sisters, all my bonding partners are over at Dong Chengling's place! I can't just go stab Gu Yueyan and the others. I could stab Zhao Huo, but he isn't a bonding partner. I don't know if he would help me out with this…"

However, taking leave on account of stabbing someone was something he couldn't bring himself to do, especially since Zhao Huo had just treated him and Little Jiu to a seafood buffet today. Ren Suo, shameless as he was, couldn't repay kindness by stabbing him that same evening.

His eyes suddenly lit up. "Food poisoning! Poisoning isn't sickness! It's quite normal for Cultivators to be poisoned!"

But then his spirits fell again. "No, that's not right. If something happened to me, Dong Chengling could still pull me over."

"They have medical facilities there. If I can't cure myself, a regular doctor can help."

"At the end of the day, it's strange for me not to go, considering there's no real reason for me to be absent: the temptation of the Immortal Palace Envoy, the calls of friends, the duty of a Healing Cultivator..."

After half an hour of thought, Ren Suo still couldn't think of a good solution. Dinner in the cafeteria hadn't been great tonight, and he was starting to feel hungry again.

"To save the world, I've gotten so tired I'm hungry. I might as well treat myself to some delivery. Maybe I'll actually get food poisoning?" Ren Suo muttered.

But now the cafeteria was closed, and Heavenly Lotus Academy didn't allow delivery personnel to enter. If he were a student, at this point, he could only go to the campus supermarket and buy instant noodles.

But Ren Suo was different. The moment he heard Yu Kuangtu and the others were probably having a barbecue, he started craving it and was unwilling to settle for instant noodles.

"Then let's have barbecue tonight!"

Ren Suo happily decided on his late-night snack. But with his personality, he obviously wouldn't go out to eat by himself, so he planned to call his personal errand runner to buy the barbecue...

...Hmm?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.