"Did you have a dream because you were suffocating?"

Ren Suo guessed the outcome correctly but not the person.

"Why did you come..."

"Because the Deputy Director thinks I'm familiar with you, so he sent me," Qiao Muyi said with an air of composure. "If you really were dreaming, the Deputy Director thinks I have stronger persuasive power and can snap you out of it."

What persuasive power? It's clearly about leveraging your ability to beat people into submission, right?

Qiao Muyi smiled. "What, a First Transformation Cultivator like you still has the right to look down on me, a dignified Second Stage Cultivator?"

"..." Ren Suo scratched his head. "Alright then, you really didn't find anything?"

"We've been searching all morning." Qiao Muyi looked at the glittering Ailan Lake in front of her. "The diving team almost turned over every bit of silt in the lake. If that's still not enough, there's nothing more we can do."

"By the way, following your request, all personnel who went into the water are Cultivators, because you said the Qi Cyclone is the key to triggering the strange event."

"We've spent so much time; we have to call off the search now."

Qiao Muyi said, "After all, there were no casualties this time, and all the testimonies are just your and Qiao Muyi's version of events, which are uncorroborated. The Tactical Bureau has its rules and can't expend resources on such a matter. In fact, if it weren't for your 'special relationship' with the Lian River Countermeasure Bureau and Deputy Director Yu, our Team Seven wouldn't have come at all."

Qiao Muyi uttered the words 'special relationship' rather loudly, causing nearby Tactical Bureau members in Black Body Armor to look at Ren Suo with newfound respect:

"Never thought he and Deputy Director Yu..."

"But it seems Deputy Director Yu must be the more dominant one..."

"The head of the Tactical Bureau and a First Aid doctor... Ah, I'm done for."

Ren Suo sighed and waved his hand. "If it can't be found, then there's nothing to be done. You've worked hard."

"That's true, but we'll still inspect the area for a while longer," Qiao Muyi said. "You can leave now. Oh, right, the Deputy Director said that as the price for this, the number of papers you have to write this month will increase by one."

"However~" Qiao Muyi suddenly leaned close to Ren Suo's ear and whispered, "Why did you and Gu Yueyan come to Fragrance City for a date?"

"Because she wanted a Second Awakening, and she made me her accompanying healer," Ren Suo tilted his head away from Qiao Muyi, as if afraid she would spew venom from her mouth. "It's work, not a date."

Qiao Muyi's mouth curled up. "What if I tell Dong Chengling about this?"

"Hmm? Then I'll have one less topic to talk about at dinner," Ren Suo glanced at her and said, "I was planning on mocking Gu Yueyan at the dinner table for taking photos until she fell into the river."

Qiao Muyi seemed somewhat surprised and looked at Ren Suo earnestly, trying to determine if his words were true or false, and asked, "Aren't you afraid?"

"Afraid of what?" Ren Suo asked, genuinely puzzled.

Qiao Muyi's expression changed as if she were scrutinizing a curiosity and eventually nodded emphatically. "You, are amazing."

"...It's rare for you to praise me, so I'll shamelessly accept."

Qiao Muyi covered her eyes with her hand, making a 'get out of here' gesture. "Go on, you being here is irritating."

Watching Ren Suo take a taxi away, Qiao Muyi leaned against the trunk of a willow by the lake, glanced at the workforce on Ailan Lake, looked down at her phone, and couldn't help but laugh.

*Gu Yan sent a message.*

"This really is..." Qiao Muyi's lips formed a subtle smile, painting a pleased expression. "Too... interesting."

The members of Team Seven who noticed their Captain's behavior all shuddered with goosebumps and broke out in a cold sweat.

They knew that whenever their Captain showed that expression, it certainly meant that someone was in big trouble.

***

When Ren Suo returned home in the afternoon, the first thing he did, naturally, was to post a report about the suspicious incident at Ailan Lake on the internal network.

This time he was personally involved and had ample reason to upload the report. As for the other temples, even if Ren Suo knew their locations, he wouldn't dare to upload them—if they asked him where he got the information, Ren Suo would be doomed. He certainly couldn't say he had awakened the Prophetic System Spell.

Hmm? The setting of the Prophetic System Spell seems pretty good too, as long as I add a limitation like 'the range, frequency, and subjects of prophecy are uncertain'...

However, after thinking it through for a while, Ren Suo still gave up on adding such a setting for himself. Mainly because if Ren Suo's prophecies were always accurate, the Tactical Bureau might focus their attention on him and protect him due to their expectations, and the well-protected Ren Suo wouldn't be able to play games anymore.

Rather than being a 'Prophet', the identity of a 'researcher with strong deductive abilities' fits Ren Suo's situation better.

Moreover, when Ren Suo browsed the internal network, he would also occasionally post discussions, a behavior very much in line with a researcher—engaging in forum activities. From big data analytics, Ren Suo's accuracy rate for his responses wasn't actually high, but once they were adopted, the solutions were very correct.

So Ren Suo continued to engage in forum activities, trying to make himself seem like an ordinary researcher.

At dinner time, Ren Suo once again went to the Dong Chengling family to freeload a meal, but unexpectedly discovered that Gu Yueyan wasn't there.

"Classmate Gu actually didn't come, that's rare," Ren Suo tsk-tsked.

"She said she got a cold and was embarrassed to come out. I could have made porridge and brought it to her, but she didn't want that either," Dong Chengling said somewhat helplessly. "She really is a good kid."

"By the way, you also didn't come for dinner last night and at noon, did something happen?"

Ren Suo had intended to tease Gu Yueyan at dinner about her falling into the water while taking selfies, but since she wasn't there, he lost the desire to bring it up and honestly said, "I went to Fragrance City; a lot happened. I even joined the Tactical Team for a search this morning, sigh."

Dong Chengling blinked. "You encountered danger?"

Remembering the Holy Grail, Ren Suo still felt shaken. "Quite dangerous. I ran into a strange incident, and I almost stayed there forever."

Dong Chengling uttered an "oh" and didn't press on.

After Ren Suo finished eating and washed the dishes and left, Dong Chengling, who should have been starting her nighttime Cultivation, instead picked up her phone and made a call.

A woman's voice came through the phone, "I thought it was about time you'd call to ask me..."

Dong Chengling curiously asked, "Muyi, why would you think that?"

Qiao Muyi replied, "Intuition... Go on, what is it?"

Dong Chengling said, "Oh, I was just wondering when the portable spatial positioning devices will arrive?"

Qiao Muyi replied, "You mean the prop that allows you to pull someone to your side from a distance? The Tactical Bureau is working on it, and the first batch will be ready soon. Why, are you in a rush?"

Dong Chengling hesitated for a moment, then confirmed, "Mm."

***

*You have obtained a new Key. Note: As it was acquired in a state of danger, there will be no reminder.*

The moment Ren Suo turned on the Mini-World Game Console, he received this message, looking baffled.

"So there's this kind of mechanic? It's quite considerate. Otherwise, if I'm in the middle of playing and hear the system voice, wouldn't that be quite off-putting... But I don't remember being in contact with anyone asleep for over five minutes?"

Could it be Gu Yueyan? But she didn't seem to be completely knocked out, and although her struggle in the water seemed intense, it only lasted for a minute or two in reality.

Though not sure about the process of obtaining the Key, Ren Suo quickly forgot these details. Now the focus was that he already had four One-Star, one Two-Star, and could combine them into a three-star key—

He could finally open his first Three-Star Treasure Chest!

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