70 The Challenge

Pretending to be surprised, Lu Fengyi lifted the pen off the form before raising his eyebrows in a questioning expression, "Do I need to feel every section out? I feel like I want to keep some details private..."

A subtle, but sharp glint flashed in the man's eyes, however he hid it immediately, "Of course! Every detail is essential to our research and may affect the development of our cause. Please, take your time if you need to."

Once again, the man's voice was quite comforting, however this time, Lu Fengyi noticed an underlying intent of some sort beneath the facade of a trustworthy scientist, and the intent was definitely not of any benefit to him.

Looking back towards the sheet once more, Lu Fengyi muttered under his breath, however still loud enough for the man to hear, "Do I really have to join? I don't see what's in it for me..."

With that, the man stood up with his hands outstretched, as if about to hug Lu Fengyi, "Benefits? If you would like to know of the benefits that are included when one joins the Exis Cult, you'll have to sign that sheet before you find out. However, since your amazing personality captured my attention at first sight, I'll give you one time clue that nobody else gets."

While Lu Fengyi was still completely committed to escaping at all costs, he was curious as to what the man had to say. Lu Fengyi shifted closer to the edge of the seat before putting his ear out, indicating for the man to continue.

As if a world class actor, the shorty stepped onto his stool before putting on a secretive face and whispering into Lu Fengyi's ear, "If you join and successfully accept five new members, you will be given the opportunity to choose between 100'000 T-gold, or something of equal value."

Involuntarily, Lu Fengyi's eyes widened in shock. The man only smiled at his expression, before continuing, "Of course, that's only the first rewards. Anything beyond that, you'll have to join to find out..."

100'000 T-gold was definitely no joke. One had to know that Lu Fengyi had only gathered enough T-gold to place in the double digits, causing the sudden display of a six figure number to be shocking beyond belief. And not only that, but the only requirement was to invite five people as well? Wasn't this too easy of a deal?

Realising that his thoughts were wandering towards the fanciful direction, Lu Fengyi internally knocked himself on the head before clearing his thoughts. Though it sounded appealing, Lu Fengyi was more than sure that it was a scam. If he were truly to join and somehow succeed in inviting five clueless others, it was most definite that it would only result in a flurry of excuses or religious orders that would turn him away from the promised reward. If they did not do as he expected, but instead truly gave out the reward, it would only result in failure.

Back on Earth, there was a large scale, fraudulent act that was called a pyramid scheme. As his junior high commerce teacher had taught, pyramid schemes were made to fail and it was mathematically proven so. Those who were caught in the later parts of the scheme were hit the hardest while those at the top of the scheme would escape safely with their money, essentially scamming the innocents that were desperate enough to take such baits. Pyramid schemes had been banned in Australia by the Australian Consumer Law Part 3-1 Division 3 legislation due to their malicious nature, and the situation before him did not seem to differ much.

Standing up abruptly and putting on the most apologetic tone he could muster, Lu Fengyi bowed slightly towards the man, "Unfortunately, due to confidential reasons, I cannot join the Exis Cult. Sorry for wasting your time..."

The sharp edge that had appeared earlier resurfaced upon the man's eyes, however this time, it was much more obvious and Lu Fengyi could almost feel the gaze drilling through his mind.

"That will not do. No matter what, you will join the Exis Cult today!"

Although short, once angered, the man in the oversized lab coat exuded an enormous presence, crushing Lu Fengyi mentally. Despite reading and writing about characters with imposing auras throughout the later part of his life, he had never truly experienced such a tyrant before, however now he knew. It was not the physical aspect of a tyrant that frightened others, but rather the mental ferocity and the absolute control that they exerted over their subjects.

Willing himself to speak out, Lu Fengyi balled his fists as he gathered his determination, "There's nothing I can do about it. I simply cannot join the Exis Cult!"

No matter what, he had to escape!

Just as the man was about to speak once more, the pressure alleviated a little before the man stroked his stubby chin, "Hmm... Since you're so adamant about not joining, I assume there must be a good reason, however I will not give up my view that you must join today!"

Lu Fengyi's stomach turned in fearful anticipation. When a tyrant called down from his rage, was when you knew that the schemes were about to flow out like the oppressive nature of a roaring waterfall.

With a broad grin, the man struck out a pose, "I have thought of an optimal solution that may very well serve to solve both our problems."

"Our problems are polar opposites though..." Lu Fengyi muttered cautiously.

"No matter! How about this? I propose that we duel each other in a ranked match. If you win, I concede to your choice of not joining the Cult AND I give you a healthy stash of ranking points, however if I win, you join the Exis Cult." The man spoke as he showed a friendly smile.

"A duel?"

Glancing around the room once more, Lu Fengyi knew that his only way to escape the situation would be to accept the duel, and to somehow emerge victorious from the obviously unfavourable situation.

"That's right. Although generally the challenged transcender is the one who decides the rules, since I'm already granting you a huge favour, I shall be deciding the contents of the duel. You have no issues with that, surely!"

Although the prick sounded sincere, Lu Fengyi could almost taste the victorious aura that radiated so vibrantly from the man. It was as if he had already won!

The man annoyed him. Very much, in fact. Gritting his teeth, Lu Fengyi faced the scammer before shouting towards his face, "Fine! I accept your duel!"

A devious smile emerged upon the man's face, "Good, good..."

BANG!

At that moment, the locked door which had seemed so secure only moments ago, fell down to the floor, creating a cloud of dust in the room. Although it was thick, Lu Fengyi could just manage to see the figure of a woman within the dust.

"Let him go now! Or do you want to offend me once more?"

Lu Fengyi's eyes widened in surprise, "Song Mei?"

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Quick note that even people who don't read author notes will see

Thank you so much for getting me to 1 million views! I know that I've lost many readers along the way and I've had some rough spots due to my inexperience, however it's truly a wonder that I've been able to reach this point.

While views are good, what I enjoy the most are not views, nor power stones, but instead comments! If you have any thoughts about the novel, or simply want to say something, please do! I read them all! When I write a chapter, the thing I anticipate the most is reading the comments of my readers who can give me that constructive feedback and support that I cannot.

Once again, thank you for far exceeding my expectations when I first started this novel, and I hope you enjoy the journey as we venture deeper into Lu Fengyi's life with the Fictional Transcension System.

Special mentions to [ The Liberal Assassin ] and [ Devil, be nice! ], the former for simply being a great first person novel, and the latter, for igniting my passion for writing.