Only Spiritual Attacks Can Counter Spiritual Attacks

The argument between Chen Yuan and Old Wang continued to escalate.

Chen Yuan slammed the table and raised his voice an octave higher: "Who will take responsibility if something happens to the examinees?!"

Old Wang also stood up, his face flushed red. "Then let me ask you—has any examinee died yet?"

"They’ve just reached adulthood!"

"Adults should bear responsibility!"

"Bearing responsibility doesn’t mean marching to their deaths!!"

"Then have they died? I think you’re the one who’s lost your mind!"

Their quarrel grew increasingly irrational.

What had started as a debate over whether to terminate the martial exam devolved into a meaningless argument about the value of life and sacrifice, then escalated into personal attacks and dredging up old grievances. All traces of their usual rationality were gone.

Su Qi didn’t know why he alone remained relatively clear-headed.

Was it because his "resistance" was higher? Or was it because he was still in a "zen state," meaning even if his emotions were amplified, they wouldn’t spiral out of control?

But that didn’t matter.

Su Qi stepped forward, maneuvering around Chen Yuan and Old Wang, who were still locked in their heated exchange.

His movement went unnoticed—everyone else was absorbed in their own amplified "id," lost in their primal impulses.

Some were gleefully watching the argument, others were zoning out, and a few were doing bizarre things.

Without a word, Su Qi manifested his spear, Lu Jin, and aimed it directly at the main monitoring equipment.

He raised it, ready to smash it down.

In a brief pause between shouts, Chen Yuan caught sight of Su Qi’s action and reflexively barked, "Su Qi! What the hell are you doing?!"

The roar acted like a bucket of cold water dumped over Chen Yuan’s own head.

What Su Qi intended to do suddenly seemed irrelevant.

The real question was—what had he been doing just now?

Seeing that Chen Yuan had snapped out of it, Su Qi withdrew his spear.

His goal had already been achieved.

As for Su Qi’s logic in breaking the deadlock, it was simple.

The root of their argument was how to handle this year’s examinees.

Both sides were ultimately trying to minimize casualties against the invaders—they just disagreed on the method.

It was like seeing a little girl on the street.

Passerby A thought she was cute.

Passerby B thought she was vanilla.

And just as the two were about to tear each other apart over their opinions, Su Qi stepped in.

He picked up the little girl, declared, "Cute vanilla," and walked off.

What was left for them to argue about?

They’d just turn their fury on him: "What the hell are you doing?!"

Old Wang, hearing Chen Yuan’s shout, also turned to Su Qi.

Only then did Su Qi speak up. "At this rate, everyone’s going to die before you two finish arguing. Might as well smash the damn thing—out of sight, out of mind."

The redness in Chen Yuan’s face visibly faded, his anger giving way to confusion.

Old Wang opened his mouth as if to retort, but no words came out.

Their emotions had been amplified, not their minds controlled.

If the invaders truly had the power to manipulate minds from a distance, Great Xia would have long since fallen to them.

Faced with such a jarring disruption, they naturally let go of their "personal feud."

After a brief moment of clarity, their thoughts became sharper.

Looking around, they saw the monitoring staff still lost in their own little worlds—some grinning mindlessly at their screens, others staring intently at their fingers.

Most, however, wore expressions of pure, detached amusement, their eyes glued to Chen Yuan and Old Wang, eagerly awaiting the next round of verbal fireworks.

A chill ran down Chen Yuan’s spine.

"How long has it been since you’ve gotten this worked up?"

Though still affected, he at least recognized the abnormality in his emotions now.

"I…" Old Wang blinked, instinctively touching his face. "Over a decade, probably…"

"Stop reminiscing, damn it! I didn’t wake you two up so you could gaze into each other’s eyes!"

"Get to work!"

"Or do I need to gift you both a hundred gacha pulls?"

Su Qi didn’t take credit—he just kept grumbling.

But the way Chen Yuan looked at him had completely changed.

To remain clear-headed in such a situation, to swiftly identify the problem and resolve it—this level of composure and ability was far beyond ordinary.

Perhaps he’d misjudged the man…

Maybe Su Qi wasn’t some privileged nepotism hire, but a genuinely detached powerhouse.

Otherwise, how else could he have broken free so easily?

Suppressing his shock and lingering dread, Chen Yuan returned to his seat.

If Su Qi hadn’t interrupted their argument…

He could almost picture the horrifying collapse of the entire command system.

His eyes flicked to the screens displaying Liu Yuan and Su Muxue’s coordinates, then to the surveillance feed of the Black Knight, and finally to the anomaly reports flooding in from other sectors.

The crisis was still unfolding—precious response time had already been wasted because of his earlier outburst.

Chen Yuan refocused on the screen. "Su Muxue’s team will continue their mission to cover the evacuation. Notify her that we were just hit by an emotional interference wave. She must stay vigilant against similar tactics."

Then, realizing no one was listening, he roared again: "Get the hell back to work!!"

Still no response.

Clearly, snapping out of this state wasn’t so simple for everyone.

He and Old Wang were eighth-tier, so the effects on them were milder.

The others? Not so much.

"Old Wang, go slap them awake one by one."

Just as Old Wang stood to do so, Su Qi spoke again.

"Waste of time. Just dock their pay."

Chen Yuan: ???

Seriously?

Would that even work?

He was skeptical, but remembering Su Qi’s earlier stroke of genius, he decided to trust first and question later.

"Anyone still slacking off, I’m reporting them for a three-month pay cut!"

Chen Yuan had never truly understood the phrase "a word to the wise is sufficient."

Today, he witnessed it firsthand.

With just that one sentence—

The staff, who had been deaf to his shouting, collectively flipped a switch.

The ones grinning at their screens froze, then scrambled to pull up data.

Those mesmerized by their fingers suddenly slammed their hands onto keyboards, typing furiously.

The spectators, who had been reveling in the drama, instantly shed their gossipy expressions, replacing them with a "I’m busy, don’t bother me" work mode as their eyes darted to their stations.

The entire transition took less than a second.

The efficiency was terrifying.

Chen Yuan’s eye twitched as he glanced between Su Qi and his now-frantic subordinates.

He’d screamed himself hoarse to no avail. Old Wang had been ready to physically shake them awake, yet no one cared.

But one mention of "pay cut"…

Was the threat really that potent?!

Old Wang looked equally stunned, leaning in to whisper, "That… actually worked?"

"Apparently… it did." Chen Yuan’s tone was complicated.

He looked back at Su Qi, who remained as nonchalant as ever, chin propped on his hand as he stared at Liu Yuan’s feed.

He seemed utterly unaware that his single sentence had just saved the entire monitoring system.

Then, abruptly, Su Qi stood up again.

"What is it? Did you find something?" Chen Yuan pressed urgently.

Without realizing it, he’d already promoted Su Qi from "slacker" to "carry."

Now that the carry was making a move, the support had to step up.

"Then go retrieve the phone."

Before entering the monitoring room, everyone's phones were confiscated after a thorough search to prevent any potential leaks from insiders. Though puzzled, Chen Yuan first issued a series of instructions: "Black Knights, continue priority surveillance. Report any anomalies immediately. If necessary, Su Muxue is authorized to suppress."

"Keep monitoring the activities of the Source Realm creatures. If they show signs of converging toward the examinees, initiate emergency evacuation protocols immediately. If required, combat units are permitted to eliminate any seventh-tier Source Realm creatures that get too close to the examinees, provided their own safety is ensured."

With that, he pulled Old Wang along and left.

To retrieve their phones, verification from the heads of at least two designated zones was required.

As for the possibility of both zone heads being moles?

At that point, leaked information would be the least of their worries.

The two moved quickly—it took only half a minute.

Chen Yuan handed the phone to Su Qi. "Do you need to notify Guardian Jiang?"

"But we're inside the Source Realm right now. We only have access to the Source Realm's dedicated network, and there's no telling if Guardian Jiang has even returned."

Su Qi raised an eyebrow. They were inside the Source Realm?

Since when?

He hadn’t even felt the transition.

Well, that wasn’t the main issue.

He shook his head. "Turn on the recording."

Chen Yuan was confused but complied.

"Say it again."

"What?"

"Salary deduction."

Chen Yuan glanced around once more.

The employees, who had been working diligently earlier, were now slowing down—showing clear signs of slacking off.

Could it be…?

Chen Yuan might be cautious, but he’d risen to his position because his mind worked faster than most.

A master!

This man was absolutely a master!

He should’ve known!

No invigilator given free rein would ever be an ordinary player.

So this man wasn’t a "warrior"—he was a "strategist"!

Chen Yuan had an epiphany!

Only magic could counter magic.

Only a mental attack could counter a mental attack.

Faced with relentless psychological pressure, he took a deep breath and bellowed—

"Slack off at work, cry over your paycheck."

"Laze on surveillance, kiss this month’s wages goodbye!"

Then, he set it on loop in the monitoring room.

Almost instantly, the previously distracted monitors sharpened their focus, their fingers dancing across keyboards like concert pianists.

And soon, Su Qi began receiving notifications—almost every minute.

[Delight +999]

[Delight +999]

[Delight +999]

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