First Glimpse

The suspicion that had been building up for a day was finally released, and Smith was like a snapped string.

"Anyway, we can't judge whether the illusion is real or fake. Whether this person is real or fake, strong or weak, or even possibly Qi Yuan himself, it's all up to you to decide, isn't it?"

If Smith had been in his right mind, he wouldn't have said this, but once people have an object of suspicion, they start grasping at straws, interpreting everything to fit their preconceived notions.

He was now in this state of paranoia.

Yu Anhe was dumbfounded. Was this bastard trying to renege?

Perhaps it was Yu Anhe's excessively shocked expression that awakened him, or maybe it was the return of rationality after the release of pressure. Smith covered his forehead with his hand.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. Let's consider it our loss."

Although Yu Anhe wanted to correct him, he thought better of it.

If Smith were to go crazy, Dragon Country would have to bear the responsibility. It wasn't worth it just for a moment of verbal satisfaction.

After Smith left, Qi Yuan and the other two entered the room.

Yu Anhe smiled, "I didn't expect them to be so wary of your abilities. I was careless."

"This is the power of Zhuangzi's butterfly dream. Once you fall into doubt about whether you're the butterfly or Zhuangzi, you can't escape."

Minister Cai shook his head with a smile, "Let's send them back soon. I think this lesson is enough. If they stay longer, I'm afraid something might happen."

"Little Yuan, what do you think?"

Yu Anhe thought the same, but if Qi Yuan wanted to have some more fun, he'd rather it be at his friend's expense than his own.

"Hm? You can decide," Qi Yuan replied absent-mindedly.

Minister Cai and Yu Anhe exchanged a glance, noticing Qi Yuan's perfunctory response. They didn't say anything more to disturb him.

This matter didn't have much to do with him anyway. Qi Yuan didn't want to form a team because he didn't want to be entangled in trivial matters, having to consider development and personnel allocation issues. It was too troublesome.

It was better to join the largest organization and coast along.

As long as he was powerful enough, he wouldn't have to bow to anyone.

Qi Yuan made up an excuse and slowly strolled back home.

He had just been inspired by Smith and had a good idea.

He had already reached the pinnacle of human exploration. Beyond that, there was no prior experience for him to refer to.

How should he proceed in the future?

This was a question that had been bothering him recently.

Waiting for a decisive moment was ultimately too dependent on luck.

If it were a crisis, he would certainly charge in without hesitation, but to charge in when nothing was happening would be too reckless.

Moreover, even if he could win by relying on telepathy and monster imagination, not every monster would be as selfless as the curse monster of Sakura Island.

He couldn't ask others to film for him and post it online, could he?

The sense of mystery, the aura of a big shot, and the prestige of a strong person would instantly drop a notch.

But Smith's words just now reminded him of something.

If the main account couldn't score big, he could always create a smurf account to dominate lower ranks.

There are ways to enhance prestige other than direct improvement; there's also indirect enhancement.

When a group of big shots say someone is their boss, people's first impression of that person is likely to be a boss among bosses.

If these big shots unanimously praise their boss as omnipotent, and can even give examples, it would unconsciously deepen the impression.

He could create a fictitious organization, leave the position of the organization's leader empty at first. If successful, he could drop some clues for others to connect him with the organization. If unsuccessful, all members could perish and the organization could disband.

Moreover, he had the illusion ability, which could make everyone present simultaneously.

Since others couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion, wasn't everything up to him to decide?

As for whether there was anyone hiding their true abilities who could see through the illusion...

Qi Yuan paused his steps and pondered for a moment.

There was indeed a chance of social death, but as long as he didn't reveal himself, Qi Yuan would pretend it didn't happen.

Of course, reducing situations where people gathered together could effectively avoid the embarrassment of the illusion being seen through.

Everyone had work to do, why gather for no reason?

Hmm...

Qi Yuan found a secluded corner to sit down, resting his elbows on his knees, quietly thinking about the loopholes in his plan.

He felt that it would be too jarring for a group of big shots who had been hiding their identities to suddenly reveal themselves.

This needed a reason.

Also, within an organization, whether acknowledged or not, there must be some belief and goal that brought people together. Otherwise, they might as well create a chat group and just chat there.

The belief would definitely be himself, but what about the goal...

Finally, how would he, as one person, play multiple roles across different regions? They couldn't always be near him, or the facade would be too obvious.

Although Dragon Country people occupied a significant proportion of the world's population, to become stronger, he would need recognition from more people.

He had heard that Britain was researching the use of ability items to build teleportation arrays...

This might be a solution.

These problems didn't have clear solutions yet, so he decided to note them down and find methods later.

Qi Yuan was about to take out his phone to record his thoughts in the memo, when he suddenly remembered the administrator in the data room and silently put his phone back.

The internet was too dangerous; it would be better to carry a small notebook.

Speaking of the compensation Sakura Island gave to Dragon Country, he, Hong Feiheng, and Bai Li could each choose several ability items from it. Getting a spatial ability item was very important.

Thinking of ability items, Qi Yuan couldn't help but think of the large batch of products on the moon...

Damn, it hurt!

...

In New York City, United States,

Towering steel behemoths formed the skeleton of this city. Beneath the surface of the brightly lit bustling streets, countless immigrants struggled to survive in this city.

Kaili could no longer distinguish which national bloodlines were mixed in her family's genealogy. She only gave herself a Dragon Country name following the tradition, but unfortunately, this name wasn't of much use.

Even though she lived in an area where Dragon Country immigrants congregated.

Too much time had passed, countries had become isolated, and even though they desperately held onto traditions, they gradually forgot their former homeland.

In the impression of other countries, people who immigrated to New York City must be well-off, but there were also failures like her grandfather who drifted to New York City, trying to follow the trend and get a piece of the pie, but ended up unable to even afford the fare back home.

Kaili checked the inventory in the convenience store as usual. After confirming everything was in order, she locked the door and headed home.

Unlike the so-called early-closing shopping malls, the small supermarket closed late, and by the time she left, it was nearly midnight.

The streetlights, which hadn't been maintained much, some had gone out, making it pitch black.

But she was so familiar with this road that she couldn't be more familiar. The darkness was actually the best protection.

Lightening her footsteps and reducing her breathing to a minimum could help her avoid attacks from some vagrants.

The only drawback was that if there were monsters feeding nearby, she would become their food.

But tonight seemed a bit different from usual...

On her way home, Kaili saw in the distance that a patch of abandoned construction site was lit up with flickering beams of light.

In the dim light, she saw quite a few people standing on that empty lot.