Understood

Hearing this, Luo Zhao froze for a moment before a deeply complicated, bitter smile touched her lips.

"You should know," she said slowly. Her voice had regained its former calm, but it felt even more distant.

"Such a thing as absolute trust cannot possibly exist."

"Yes, I know it's impossible too."

Gu Chengyin sighed softly, as if he had anticipated this. But then, his tone took a sudden turn.

"So, Your Highness, why don't we make a bet?"

"A bet?" Luo Zhao's vigilance instantly spiked to its peak.

Proposing a wager while she was completely at his mercy reeked of a conspiracy no matter how she looked at it.

"If Your Highness wins, I will untie you immediately. From then on, I am at your disposal. Whether you wish to kill me or torture me, it is entirely up to you."

"But if I win... I will still untie you. You only need to agree to what I said just now and grant me your utmost trust."

Gu Chengyin took a step forward, closing the distance between them. His eyes were clear, even appearing somewhat innocent.

"The wager is also very simple. We lock eyes. As long as Your Highness does not blink for five seconds, you win."

Luo Zhao was stunned.

Lock eyes for five seconds without blinking?

What kind of wager was this?

But her mind raced, quickly deducing the outcomes: whether she won or lost, the other party promised to release her.

If she won, not only would she regain her freedom, but she could also subdue this unfathomable talent.

If she lost, she would merely have to agree to his seemingly absurd, yet actually quite absurd, demand for trust.

As for the reality of that trust, wasn't that entirely up to her? No matter how she looked at it, this wager was extremely favorable to her.

Although stalling for time was also a sound strategy.

However, Shangguan Yunying had yet to appear, and the building was abnormally quiet. She feared her only chance of escape lay in drawing the attention of Chen Busha.

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind in the blink of an eye.

Ultimately, Luo Zhao suppressed the lingering trace of unease in her heart. Meeting Gu Chengyin's gaze, she nodded resolutely.

"Very well, I will take your wager."

"Your Highness is straightforward."

Gu Chengyin smiled faintly and slowly raised his eyes, meeting Luo Zhao's gaze with a peaceful look.

Luo Zhao also stared intently, focusing all her willpower to control her eyelashes, ready to endure these seemingly simple five seconds.

One, two...

Time flowed steadily by.

Luo Zhao's pupils clearly reflected Gu Chengyin's calm face.

Three...

However, just at the split second when the fourth second was about to tick into the fifth.

A sudden change occurred!

Deep within Gu Chengyin's originally clear and peaceful eyes, it was as if an abyssal vortex silently exploded!

It was not a trick of light and shadow, but a magnetic pull acting directly upon the level of consciousness.

Luo Zhao felt her vision being violently sucked in!

Immediately after, the world began to twist and turn upside down in a frenzy!

"Ugh..."

Luo Zhao wanted to look away, to close her eyes, to cry out.

But her eyelids, her vocal cords, all of her muscles, they seemed to no longer belong to her.

Only Gu Chengyin's face remained clearly suspended in the center of her rapidly blurring vision.

The hateful smile on his face became the final brand burned into her mind before her consciousness plunged into darkness.

Her last sliver of lucid awareness, like shattered ice sinking into the deep sea, crashed into the depths of her soul with a piercing chill.

[Hypnosis Successful]

After successfully hypnotizing Luo Zhao, Gu Chengyin did not leave.

He calmly untied the restraints around the fake Luo Zhao's wrists.

Then, through a series of commands, he guided the now-controlled Highness to take a seat with him on opposite sides of the tea table.

The fragrant tea swirled with faint steam. As the two sat opposite each other sipping tea, their postures displayed a somewhat eerie harmony under the flickering candlelight.

However, Gu Chengyin's gaze drifted toward the tightly closed door from time to time. His fingertips tapped lightly against the rim of his cup, as if he were waiting for something.

Sure enough, hurried footsteps approached from afar. Accompanied by the sharp, clanging sound of armor plates rubbing together, they shattered the silence within the building.

"Your Highness! Are you..."

Shangguan Yunying burst through the door first, rushing in with a voice that was shrill from extreme anxiety.

However, when she got a clear look at the scene inside:

Her Highness and a strange man were sitting across from each other, sipping tea. The atmosphere was so peaceful it bordered on leisurely. The rest of her words caught in her throat, and she froze in place.

Chen Busha, who followed closely behind, had almost the exact same reaction.

Just moments ago, he had bumped into a dazed Shangguan Yunying downstairs.

Upon hearing from her that she had absolutely no memory of bringing anyone upstairs, the battle-hardened general felt as though he had been plunged into an icy abyss.

He had actually allowed an assassin of unknown origins to get close to Her Highness right under his nose!

But the scene before him... how did this look anything like an assassination?

Instead, it looked like... Her Highness was having a secret, late-night meeting with a highly important guest?

Just as the two stood there in shock and bewilderment, the fake Luo Zhao raised her eyes, her expression instantly darkening.

"How utterly audacious of you." Her voice was not loud, but it carried a bone-chilling coldness.

"Do you not see that I am discussing matters with a distinguished guest? To barge in without being announced..."

Her phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze piercing the two of them like ice picks. "Are you planning a rebellion?"

"This subordinate would never dare! Please quell your anger, Your Highness!" Chen Busha trembled violently. This bone-chilling tone, this commanding and majestic posture, it was absolutely Her Highness, without a doubt!

An immense terror instantly seized him. Without a shred of hesitation, he immediately bowed and cupped his fists, not daring to steal even another glance.

"This subordinate was reckless and will withdraw immediately! Please forgive my offense, Your Highness!"

With that, he hastily retreated, his figure swiftly vanishing outside the door, leaving behind only a bewildered Shangguan Yunying.

Shangguan Yunying's gaze darted back and forth between the fake Luo Zhao and Gu Chengyin, her face written with disbelief and immense confusion.

An unprecedented sense of crisis violently pierced her heart.

Just a short while ago, she had lost Her Highness's favor due to a slip of the tongue.

In the blink of an eye, a stranger, whom she had no recollection of, yet who could sit on equal footing with her master, had appeared by Her Highness's side?

How could she not panic? How could she not be thrown into disarray?

The fake Luo Zhao's eyes sharpened. Seeing Shangguan Yunying still standing there in a daze, she was just about to reprimand her again.

"Please quell your anger, Your Highness," Gu Chengyin spoke up at the perfect moment. His voice was gentle, carrying just the right tone of mediation.

"Lord Shangguan and General Chen were merely eager to protect their master. In their desperation, they lost their sense of propriety."

He stood up and slowly walked over to Shangguan Yunying, who was still in a state of shocked bewilderment. Smiling faintly, he said:

"Does Lord Shangguan not remember? It was you who introduced me to Her Highness."

Shangguan Yunying blinked hard, her gaze toward Gu Chengyin now filled with even deeper confusion and vigilance.

Introduced him? Why did she have absolutely no memory of this?

At this moment, Gu Chengyin was also feeling quite helpless. The system's rules were clear: there could only be one hypnosis target at a time.

When he chose Luo Zhao as his new target, the hypnosis on Shangguan Yunying was naturally lifted.

Fortunately, she would not retain any memories from that period, otherwise the situation would be far more troublesome.

But looking at Shangguan Yunying's complete disbelief, and the faint scrutiny and hostility in her eyes...

Gu Chengyin knew he had no choice but to use his final trump card.

"You..." Shangguan Yunying furrowed her brows, just about to demand answers.

"Shang! Guan! Yun! Ying!"

The fake Luo Zhao's icy voice suddenly rang out. She enunciated every single syllable, each word feeling as if it were coated in shards of ice, slamming mercilessly into Shangguan Yunying's heart.

This unprecedented, bone-chilling call by her full name instantly detonated the most primal fear deep within her soul.

All suspicions regarding Gu Chengyin and confusion over the bizarre situation before her vanished into thin air the moment she heard that reprimand.

"This subordinate deserves death!"

Her knees gave way, and she dropped heavily to the ground with a thud, her forehead knocking hard against the cold floor. Her voice trembled uncontrollably with fear:

"This subordinate was reckless and foolish to offend our distinguished guest! I beg Your Highness to... grant me death!"

The fake Luo Zhao rose to her feet and paced slowly toward her, looking down from above with a gaze of unquestionable, absolute authority:

"Mr. Gu is an honored guest I have invited, and he is the key to breaking this deadlock."

"From this moment on, all matters inside and out, regardless of their magnitude, shall be decided entirely by Mr. Gu. He will temporarily assume the authority of the Chief of the Internal Affairs Bureau."

Her voice suddenly grew heavier, ringing out like the clash of iron and steel, echoing through the silent room:

"You, Chen Busha, and everyone else must obey Mr. Gu's orders unconditionally. There shall be not the slightest questioning or delay."

She leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice even further, yet it only made it all the more bone-chilling:

"Am I understood?"