Chapter 48... Nangong Qi sat in the basement, heartbroken and utterly despondent.

...

Nangong Qi sat in the basement, feeling utterly hopeless; she truly never expected this.

There were traps set up here! Before she could even react, she was already locked up, and what's worse, she couldn't contact the system from here.

Not long after, da da da da.

A crisp footstep sounded, and Nangong Qi looked up, her pupils suddenly contracting.

Now he finally understood how foolish and weak she appeared in these novels and in front of those extraordinary people, without a system.

She saw the director suddenly move closer to her, his face expressionless, showing none of the infatuation he usually displayed when he saw her.

If she didn't realize he was faking it, then she'd be a fool.

"You!" Nangong Qi originally wanted to scold him, but when she looked at him, she couldn't help but cower and shrank her neck.

She finally understood what kind of character the villain in the novel really was.

The descriptions in novels are never comprehensive. The novel describes the villain as a scumbag, or in short, a pervert who enjoys all kinds of torture, including the male lead, the second male lead, and the female lead.

Moreover, he possesses a strong ability to control minds and emotions, which leads the male lead, the second male lead, and the female lead to be completely devoted to him.

They wouldn't have realized their mistake if the villain hadn't decided they were useless and abandoned them.

At first, she was pleased that the villain was obsessed with her looks, and felt that the task was easy after driving the female lead away.

At least an hour before, he was full of confidence in the mission.

But this cage, specially built for her, allows her to deeply experience this.

Everything was still under his control; everything he did, including playing the role of a clown with his tacit approval.

She heard the director talking to himself there.

"Although this cage wasn't finished before you broke in, thankfully, it's managed to suppress that strange thing of yours." He smiled.

"You don't actually think that what you used can bewitch me, make me feel sorry for you, and that I won't notice your liking for me, do you?"

Nangong Qi... lowered her head and remained silent, that was the charm halo she had redeemed on the system.

It can be used on specific people to make them infatuated with her.

Unexpectedly, this aroused the villain's suspicion. She didn't know what principle this cage used, and she couldn't even contact such a system.

"Don't worry, you'll still be very useful. I won't abandon you so quickly."

Unlike Nangong Qi, who reacted as if her sore spot had been touched upon, he did not react as if his words had been touched upon.

"You can't do this! Shao Ji, A Ji, and Hong Ji are all angelic figures. How can you use them?" She gritted her teeth. The current main characters hadn't completely changed their situation with him yet. He could just snap his fingers and the three of them would be back by his side. She absolutely wouldn't allow this to happen again.

"Oh, so what can you do?" With a sneer, he turned and left, ignoring the person's frantic shouts behind him.

Although the plan has changed somewhat, the cage was not yet fully built under the original circumstances, even though he had started planning it a long time ago. This factor was too unstable and would affect his plans.

So he planned to lock her up. He had already read almost all the information from her mind, and even if he hadn't finished reading it, the mind reader had already left.

However, since the cage is not yet finished, they plan to lock her up in a month or two.

It now appears that the doctor barged in (he didn't know the doctor had entered another place; Nangong Qi had gotten here through the system's directions).

You should go see a doctor.

——

The doctor was fiddling with his hands; the letter on them was from his assistant.

Suddenly the door creaked open.

The doctor instinctively hid the letter, then realized that the only person who could come in now was the director, but after hesitating for a long time, he still didn't take the letter out.

"Doctor, did you...go somewhere?"

Looking at the director backlit by the light, the doctor couldn't help but feel that his childhood friend was somewhat unfamiliar to him.

"..." He did not answer.

"Alright, doctor, I don't mean to blame you. You need to understand that everything I'm doing now is for the base." Now that the doctor knows Nangong Qi's secret, he should be able to understand that his purpose in creating this cage is to imprison her.

The doctor's throat tightened as he replicated a child without any special abilities, injecting the memory of death into the new clone.

What is this for regarding the base?

But he suppressed all these thoughts and let out a muffled sound. "Hmm."

He looked to the side, at the person who had always been by the director's side... no, he should say, a copy that had been replicated countless times.

He didn't seem to have any aftereffects, but the doctor could clearly see that his skin was as smooth as if he had just been born.

It's just been born, isn't it?

However, he didn't know how to criticize this behavior. It was consensual, so there wasn't really anything wrong with it.

"Alright, doctor, I know you feel sorry for her because she's just a child, but I'll let her go after this." The director patiently explained to his childhood friend, not wanting to appear as a scumbag in front of the doctor.

Let him go? Let go of a clone that has been copied countless times? A clone who depends entirely on him for survival—even if you really let him go, with memories of countless deaths, can he really survive?

Perhaps the moment the director no longer wanted him was the moment he broke down.

"Next, we need to go somewhere." The director took out the invitation card to the black market in Nan Gu.

The black market has changed hands, and the situation is becoming increasingly brazen.

Furthermore, this year they sent invitations to various bases, saying there was a treasure that everyone would be very interested in.

So what treasure will everyone be interested in this year? Everyone knows the answer.

So whether the treasure is real or fake, they still need to go.

This is also an opportunity for the black market to officially open and make a fortune, but if mismanaged, it can lead to bankruptcy.

With several major bases present, if Mingqiang were to act, he wouldn't be able to control the situation.

After a few days of packing, the director was almost ready to depart.

What he didn't know was how many rumors were circulating in the base because of Nangong Qi's disappearance.

Since no one was sent to search for him, almost everyone assumed that the director had hidden him, or that he had simply killed him.

It should be noted that not long ago, Shao Ji was driven away because of his favoritism towards this girl.

They got tired of it so quickly.

Now, not even a trace of them can be seen; one can imagine how tragic their fate must be.

As a result, the director's reputation soured once again, without his knowledge.

Jiao Qianyu frowned as he looked at the invitation card in his hand. He had no choice but to attend this auction.

He is now 40 years old, but the base still doesn't allow him to leave in peace.

He has too many things to do.

Although the successor has now been chosen, his daughter, So-hee, is the heir.

When he first returned, he thought his daughter was a spy sent by the other side to attack him, but he never expected that she would expand the base to this size in just a few days.

That's why he's so busy.

Although his daughter didn't have the ability to win people's hearts, for some reason, many people still followed her and regarded him as a god-like fanatic.

Although this situation does seem a bit crazy.

But in this chaotic world, there is hardly any faith, which may actually be a blessing in disguise for them.

Countless people have come to regard his daughter as a source of spiritual sustenance, and some have even erected a statue of her at the base.

This made him frown. He couldn't help but think that the current situation was somewhat similar to that of another base called Saint Ti Base. Both the mental state and the standing sculpture seemed to have some similarities.

In the end, he decided to let his daughter attend the auction.

In this situation, we have no choice but to take a gamble.

If they succeed in this peaceful and prosperous era, their base will remain stable for the next few years. If they fail... at most, his fate will be worse, but the base will be fine.

So trust me—it's okay.

——

"Little Chang'e flies, flies, steals the elixir of immortality, the moon chases after her~ Aww~ One bite and it's crunchy~ The beauty is so delicious."

A child, skipping and hopping, holding a candied hawthorn stick in his hand, sings some strange tunes and lyrics.

He moved through the bustling crowds, yet no one in the black market dared to touch him; they tried their best to shrink their bodies and avoid him.

This child has been here for about a month.

This past month has made the people here realize just how troublesome a child can be. It's not that he's particularly capable, but... just look at that black liquid on the ground. Just a month ago, he was a tall, well-dressed man in a suit.

Upon closer inspection, the liquid was still churning, as if it were alive, emitting a silent roar.

The child didn't care at all. "Oh dear, I've made the floor dirty. I'm a good child, and I should clean up properly. The adults said they like good children the most."

Then, with some effort, he collected the liquid into a large bag.

I don't know how these liquids were collected.

Then he poured it all into the toilet.

"How filthy!" The child skipped away again.