Lin Mo had previously imagined countless possibilities for the higher-ups of Yanhuang Awakening. They would either be stubborn old men like Wen Tonghai, stoic and iron-blooded soldiers, or at the very least, serious politicians.
But what was this?
This voice, so overly sweet and coquettish that it practically dripped with honey, made him seriously doubt Dongfang Shuye's sincerity.
Dongfang Shuye's face flushed red. He quickly let out two light coughs, and as he spoke into the phone, his tone instantly became incredibly respectful:
"Director-General Long, there is an urgent matter I need to discuss with you."
The voice on the other end paused. The coquettishness dialed back a bit, taking on a more profound, lingering tone. "I recall you're over in Pengcheng, right? What could have happened to make you this nervous?"
"It's about the ability transfer technology, as well as matters concerning Perfected Beixuan of the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect and Lin Mo," Dongfang Shuye reported concisely.
Soon, the crisp clacking of a keyboard echoed from the other end. A few seconds later, the voice changed completely. All traces of coquettishness vanished, leaving behind only an unquestionable seriousness and icy sharpness.
"I see it. Speak, what happened? If nothing was wrong, you wouldn't have reached out to me on your own initiative."
Dongfang Shuye thought for a moment, then recounted how Wen Tonghai had rushed over right after getting off the plane.
Throughout the entire recount, he didn't add any embellishments or exaggerate a single detail.
There was a full half-minute of silence on the other end of the line, as if she was digesting the sheer volume of information.
"Bring Elder Wen back to Tianjing. I'll hand the rest of the matters over to others to handle."
Director-General Long's voice was decisive and crisp.
"As for the issues in Yangcheng and Pengcheng, I'm putting you in full charge.
Little Leaf, I trust you not because you are a member of the Dongfang family, but because you are truly working for this country, so I still think highly of you."
"Yes!" Dongfang Shuye subconsciously stood up straight.
He hesitated for a moment, glanced at the utterly bored Lin Mo beside him, and braced himself to add:
"Um... Lin Mo, who destroyed the ability transfer technology, is right here beside me. He has some things he wants to say to you."
A few more keyboard strokes came from the other side, as if she were pulling up a more detailed file.
"Alright, let me chat with him."
Dongfang Shuye covered the mouthpiece and whispered to Lin Mo, "That's the Director-General, the supreme head of Yanhuang Awakening. It's a different level."
The underlying meaning was to tell him to rein himself in.
Lin Mo, however, acted as if he didn't understand the hint and unceremoniously took the phone.
"Hello there, Director-General Long. My name is Lin Mo."
His tone was as relaxed as if he were greeting a next-door neighbor.
The silence on the other end only lasted for a split second.
The next second, that deeply seductive and somewhat languid voice rang out once more. The end of her sentence tilted up slightly, as if harboring a smile she simply couldn't hide.
"Hello there, student Lin Mo. I see your academic records are excellent. Any interest in joining our Yanhuang Awakening? We offer a comprehensive benefits package with seven insurances and a housing fund, plus meal allowances."
Lin Mo's reaction, however, was pure indifference. He didn't even bat an eyelid as he calmly replied with a question of his own.
"If I don't join, you guys probably won't hold me accountable for destroying the ability transfer technology, right?"
As soon as these words came out, Dongfang Shuye's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously looked at Lin Mo.
This guy had some serious nerve!
To actually dare to speak to Director Long like this!
The amusement on the other end of the line only deepened, even carrying a hint of delight.
"I never intended to let them pursue it in the first place. To be honest, that thing is a hot potato right now. Those foreign flies have probably already caught the scent and are swarming over. We were just worrying about not having anyone to destroy it for us."
Hearing this, everyone rested their gazes on Wen Tonghai.
Wen Tonghai also understood. The news had already leaked. Once this kind of technology truly appeared, there would probably be many people who would resort to any means necessary to obtain it.
Therefore, Wen Tonghai's guarantee was just a joke.
"So, I personally still highly recommend that student Lin Mo joins our Yanhuang Awakening."
Lin Mo immediately understood the underlying meaning of this last sentence upon hearing it.
It was nothing more than an undercover game. There were moles from foreign organizations within Yanhuang Awakening, and conversely, Yanhuang Awakening definitely had informants planted within foreign organizations.
The fact that he had destroyed the technology couldn't be hidden at all.
Most crucially, the name Lin Mo had probably already appeared in the files of certain transnational organizations.
No one knew when Lin Mo would become a target. Perhaps someone would think that making a move against him would be a good thing.
So Director-General Long's implication was that by joining Yanhuang Awakening, the organization would offer him their protection.
But Lin Mo stubbornly refused.
"I'll pass on joining," he refused cleanly and decisively. "My teacher said your organization is too chaotic inside. Going in would only hinder my cultivation."
Dongfang Shuye snapped his head to look at Lin Mo. He just rejected it like that?
And it would hinder his cultivation?
Lin Mo ignored his shock and carried on speaking, "But I wouldn't mind being an external contractor. I can help out if something comes up, but normally, we stay out of each other's way. How does that sound to you, Director Long?"
The other end of the phone was silent for a moment, then burst into a string of crisp, coquettish laughter.
"Heh, interesting. You truly are a clever little rascal. You're hoping that Yanhuang Awakening can provide you with information when things happen, right?"
"Alright, I'll allow this. I'll have Little Leaf make the arrangements."
Hearing the words Little Leaf, Dongfang Shuye's cheek twitched imperceptibly.
Director-General Long's amusement didn't fade, but her voice suddenly dropped a few notches. She no longer sounded like the supreme head of Yanhuang Awakening, but rather like an affectionate, fair-skinned auntie living next door.
"However, there is one question I'd like to know the answer to."
"Ask away, Director Long." Lin Mo already had a guess in his heart.
"Ning Qingcheng was taken away by you. How do you plan to handle her?"
Just as expected.
Lin Mo's tone was completely unruffled. "Nothing much. My teacher plans to take her in as a door-locking disciple."
Hearing this, even Dongfang Shuye couldn't help but turn his head to look.
"What the heck? A door-locking disciple?" Even Director Long on the phone couldn't help but let her accent slip.
"Mhm."
Lin Mo explained with a straight face, "Originally, I was my teacher's closed-door disciple, but the old man felt that Ning Qingcheng had better talent and such a tragic background, so he made an exception and took her in as a door-locking disciple."
"..."
There was another long silence on the other end of the phone, as if she were digesting this brand new vocabulary term.
After a long while, Director Long let out a long sigh, her tone full of regret: "Let's negotiate. Can you yield Ning Qingcheng to our Yanhuang Awakening? We really need talents like her. Her talent could be put to much better use..."
"Ning Qingcheng is not an object."
Before Director Long could finish speaking, Lin Mo directly interrupted her. His voice wasn't loud, but it revealed an unquestionable firmness.
This caused everyone in the room and Director Long on the phone to freeze in stunned silence.

e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!

close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"