Outlaw Qi Yuan

The strength of the Masked Man was evident to all, but Wei Zhiming believed his rationality had not yet been completely shattered.

The relentless pursuit of him on the surface, the untraceable background, the inexplicable absence from the rescue of Duo and Luo, and the terrible personality...

He recalled Qi Yuan's abnormal behavior and understood.

If he was one of the Masked Men, it could indeed explain all the doubts about Qi Yuan, but it still couldn't prove they could give him power.

Qi Yuan listened to his entire mental journey and sneered at what he thought was a lychee.

Given Wei Zhiming's level of self-preservation, if he were still in a calm state, he should know that the Masked Men were not philanthropists. He should be trying to discern their motives and find a glimmer of hope for survival, rather than wondering if they could give him power.

But bait is bait because it works. If it doesn't work, it's time to up the ante (just kidding).

However, the outlaw's promise of more money was nothing but an empty check. While capitalists might be strung up on lampposts, Zhang San would simply eliminate the victim.

The fate of the second Gumantong would be different from the first, earning the disdain of those with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Immersed in the emotion of his dream about to come true, Wei Zhiming organized his thoughts, ready to ask for clarity, when he met Qi Yuan's "playful" gaze. It was like dry ice clinging to his skin, instantly drawing away his heat, chilling him to the bone.

It felt somewhat familiar, yet very strange. Familiar because he had seen the same evaluating look in his subordinates' eyes when he assessed their usefulness. Strange because almost no one had ever looked at him like this, not even his initial superiors, who had always regarded him with hopeful approval.

Qi Yuan: I didn't, don't make things up!

At most, it's like looking at fish on a chopping board!

With some rationality returning, he suppressed his desire and forcibly changed the subject: "Masked Men? What exactly is your purpose? And what kind of deity is that?"

"Very good," Qi Yuan nodded approvingly, "At least you didn't make me prove my identity. You're not completely stupid."

This way of a superior evaluating an inferior made Wei Zhiming frown imperceptibly. "There's no need. You possess illusions that are indistinguishable from reality."

A dry applause echoed in the hall.

"An impeccable reason, if only it wasn't just thought up."

Wei Zhiming's face changed abruptly as he suddenly remembered that Qi Yuan had once told the monster from Cherry Blossom Island that he was omnipotent within his domain.

At that time, the monster hadn't said a word, yet Qi Yuan had answered its questions as casually as he was doing now.

Having his inner calculations exposed, Wei Zhiming rose angrily, his tone rising several notches, speaking without thinking.

"You brat!"

He could have clarified everything from the beginning, yet he chose to wait until he had thought through everything. This made Wei Zhiming acutely aware once again of how detestable this young man, not even twenty years old, was.

Qi Yuan didn't refute, accepting the blame for his mischievous nature. He had simply forgotten about his previous illusion settings, but Wei Zhiming would certainly not believe his explanation.

Elderly folks, besides having poor blood pressure, also like to reminisce about their eventful past.

In just an instant, this old uncle's memories flashed through various "How unfair!"

None of his uncle's SS-class group were older than him. It must be the world's slow recovery that prevented him from breaking through, missing the best time. Born in the wrong era, how unfair of heaven!

Unable to enter the Special Fusion Zone, seemingly possessing the power of a deity, why couldn't he have been born in the era of gods!

The Masked Men would rather choose Qi Yuan than him, how unfair!

In short, a bunch of misfortunes must be heaven's targeting, it wasn't his fault, but the world's.

If the heavens could speak, they'd probably retort, "Who are you? Go find Tokiomi."

Qi Yuan, who had arbitrarily imagined the heavens' response, pulled his runaway thoughts back. Reality doesn't have a time-stop function, unlike certain hot-blooded manga where N days of flashbacks only take an instant in real time.

Mentioning this, his mind wandered again, wondering if there was an ability that could stop time when entering a flashback.

Pulling his thoughts back once more, Qi Yuan had no reason to let him reminisce for a year and a half, wouldn't that completely break character?

His smile suddenly faded, and he saw a flash of panic in Wei Zhiming's eyes. A silent atmosphere spread through the space.

Tiny beads of sweat appeared on Wei Zhiming's forehead. The eyes, like a deep abyss, made him rigid and unable to move, the pressure suddenly increasing.

Qi Yuan unhurriedly gestured for him to sit down, uttering two words that sent Wei Zhiming's blood pressure soaring.

"Nervous?"

But after flip-flopping between anger and fear several times, Wei Zhiming also realized, believing he had seen through Qi Yuan's thoughts, and snorted coldly: "Only children play such boring games. Let's talk business, or are you not planning to tell me, deliberately changing the subject?"

"There's nothing to hide, but I need to know about your intelligence-gathering capabilities in Dragon Country. If you've silenced everyone, then there's no point in wasting my breath."

The implication in his words was clear to Wei Zhiming. He had been forced to learn about Qi Yuan's connection to the Masked Men, and if he couldn't join, it meant death.

Wei Zhiming desperately wanted to wring Qi Yuan's head off. If you had this requirement, why didn't you say so earlier?

"Reestablishing contact wouldn't be difficult..." he paused halfway: "Your investigative abilities are stronger than mine, so this probably isn't for investigation, right?"

Although he knew he was in an illusion, out of habit, Wei Zhiming tried to probe Qi Yuan's true intentions.

No, old Biden's real purpose was to use this habit to test the illusion.

Qi Yuan clicked his tongue, the old guy's mind wasn't slow either.

As Wei Zhiming spoke, his inner thoughts also resonated simultaneously, though they were fragmentary, not forming complete sentences. He was testing whether the illusion made him unconsciously voice his thoughts, or if it was reading and presenting them from his mind.

If it was the former, he could hide his thoughts while speaking.

"Usually, we don't recruit useless people, but time is running out."

This out-of-the-blue statement left Wei Zhiming perplexed. He began to say some meaningless words to fill the time while he thought.

"What do you mean? Why is time running out? What's really going on with you Masked Men?"