Chapter 21: Overdone

Capital.

In an office on the twenty-seventh floor of the Congress Building, designed in extreme business style, a young man sat in a leather chair, smoking a slender woman's cigarette.

But he was a man, a very masculine man with a full face of beard.

In front of the man stood a bald middle-aged man.

Smoking a woman's cigarette, the man picked up a women's magazine and said:

"Xueyao is actually not a smart pioneer, to be honest, her unique personal characteristics are more suited to being a Mutator. But maybe, luck is sometimes more useful than thought."

"How many smarter observers than Xueyao are stuck at the door of becoming a Sky Eye."

"How many people fail their missions, try every means but cannot survive."

"Yet surprisingly, the average-strength Xueyao managed to advance and survive. If possible, the guild absolutely absolutely... cannot give up on Xueyao."

"We thought Xueyao was surely dead, but unexpectedly... she was given a lease on life."

"Fortunately, this silly girl, I had once tricked her into revealing her real name. Once she comes back alive, arrange immediately for her to meet me."

The bald middle-aged man, as a subordinate, expressed confusion:

"But in the Pioneer Voice forum, you clearly stated... giving up on Xueyao."

The bearded man slapped the expensive wooden desk and said in a low voice:

"Foolish, what, have you become foolish too? Do you think the people of the Divine Consort Association would just randomly have a woman set the tone?"

"Do you know what Jiang Xianwu and Xueyao have achieved? They have done what many people want to do, but dare not do. Xueyao is a Sky Eye, Jiang Xianwu is the person who has communicated with the demon lord for seven consecutive days..."

"Both of these people hold tremendous information. Even Jiang Xianwu possibly holds some... secrets that no one else knows."

"Such people must be pursued at all costs. Given that Xueyao has survived the hardest ordeal, we must consider that she can survive the next one."

The bald man suddenly realized:

"So what you arranged was a smoke screen? Let everyone think that Jiang Xianwu and Xueyao were certainly doomed to death, not worth winning over?"

"And the Divine Consort Association is cooperating with us because they are also playing this game?"

The bearded man's expression turned icy:

"The people of the Divine Consort Association, their audacity to poach our people is growing! Jiang Xianwu and Xueyao, they are ours!"

"Do as I say, although they are indeed very likely to die. But... we at Future Gate must be fully prepared."

First, have someone lead the narrative in the Pioneer Voice, doing PR, to find a justifiable reason for not rescuing Xueyao.

Then, let most people give up on winning over Xueyao and Jiang Xianwu, assuming Jiang Xianwu and Xueyao were certainly doomed to death, reducing the pressure of the competition when the time comes.

Finally... quietly making moves, begin slowly sending people using both carrot and stick, prepared to immediately win Xueyao back as soon as she returns to the original world...

The presumed confidant of the bearded man, the bald man praised:

"Your move is really brilliant."

"Hmm, the Divine Consort Association is not bad either. They too have noticed the value of Xueyao and Jiang Xianwu and are planning to target them. After all, no guild can refuse a Sky Eye."

"But we absolutely will not let the Divine Consort Association succeed, right? It seems like all other powers have been deceived."

The bearded man was very confident, after all, although the Divine Consort Association has its means, the people of the Divine Consort Association do not know Xueyao's real identity.

When the time comes, I'll show off my wealth, earnestly apologize, concoct a reason for not rescuing...

Ling Hansu, that foolish girl, how could she not obediently return to Future Gate?

"Of course we cannot let the Divine Consort Association succeed. The president said, '2.0 may have started the post-apocalypse era, but with version 3.0, victory will definitely belong to humans!'"

"The president is farsighted and has already predicted the outcome of the internal war among human pioneers after the end of the apocalypse, to thoroughly end the strife, jobs like observers that handle information are extremely important."

If the apocalypse ends, then looking at history, humans will not learn any lessons, civil war will inevitably break out, and a new reshuffling of powers will commence.

Then... with Future Gate controlling many observers, it will firmly become the world's leading power.

"The president really has a brilliant view!" The bald man was genuinely impressed.

Leading the narrative to make everyone give up on winning over Xueyao and Jiang Xianwu is undoubtedly a very far-sighted plan.

But... the bearded man miscalculated one thing.

That was the unstable element, Jiang Xianwu.

...

...

Linxian City.

Shangri-La Hotel, Room 2204.

A man and a woman alone in a hotel room is bound to raise suspicions, and it was Zhou Baiyu's first time staying in a five-star hotel.

Ling Hansu was very beautiful.

Even having met the real Laisheng Lei and the seductive leader Midel, Zhou Baiyu felt...

that most women could only be considered ordinary, but Ling Hansu still made Zhou Baiyu think... she looked pretty good.

As soon as they met, Zhou Baiyu started to complain.

"Do you know how dark that night was?"

"Seven days! A whole seven days! Do you know how I made it through those days? You think I enjoyed it?"

Indeed, I really enjoyed it.

But Zhou Baiyu would definitely not admit it.

He gradually twisted Ling Hansu's perception of his experience over those seven days, making her realize...

that her actions had put someone through endless torment.

Ling Hansu was innately kind-hearted, and like all kind-hearted people, she had a common flaw – she liked to put herself in other people's shoes and consider their feelings.

So, when she started to put herself in the position of a man torturing her for seven days...

She felt she definitely couldn't have endured and survived under such indignity.

After this manipulation, Ling Hansu's guilt and apologies towards Zhou Baiyu reached their peak!

She began to apologize while crying:

"Brother Zhou, I'm sorry... At that time, I was just focused on surviving, I really didn't mean to cause you so much trouble…"

"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry!"

Zhou Baiyu nodded internally.

It was wrong to manipulate a woman like this, but he needed to have absolute control to make her obey him.

This wasn't to take advantage of her, but to ensure survival.

The place they were going to next might lead to their erasure from reality if they weren't careful.

So, his teammate had to be obedient.

Only by being obedient could they achieve good cooperation, and actually, he didn't even need cooperation; he just needed her not to complicate things.

But what Zhou Baiyu didn't know was that he had pushed a little too hard.

Although to Zhou Baiyu, Ling Hansu seemed like a tool with some potential.

Ling Hansu didn't think so…

Her kindness had led her to develop an unimaginable sense of guilt, which made her decide to compensate Zhou Baiyu for the rest of her life.

For a considerably long time, she decided she would do whatever Zhou Baiyu asked of her.

"I am no longer the Sky Eye of the Future Gate; I am your eyes, Brother Zhou! Use me as you wish!"

If Zhou Baiyu knew what Ling Hansu was thinking, he probably would feel he had indeed pushed too hard.

Of course, this didn't seem to be a bad thing. Zhou Baiyu interrupted Ling Hansu's crying:

"Alright, now let's talk about the area where you failed last time, some free information you may mention."