Chapter 88 "They say I killed the director, they say the director is right here, but I can't find him no matter how hard I look."

"You guessed it, I'm not Hongji, he is." The tall man pointed to the black-robed man who hadn't made a sound beside Aji.

The black-robed man next to Aji also cooperated by taking off his hat, revealing a face of utter innocence, young and harmless.

Nangong Qi was incredulous; could she have been mistaken? She glanced at Hongji again with some suspicion, but couldn't see anything wrong.

She silently swallowed her words, taking it as an admission of wrongdoing.

"What do we do now?" You can't be too demanding of someone living in peacetime; she hasn't even figured out if they've come back.

Therefore, Nangong Qi is currently feeling lost.

"Let's take it one step at a time." The tall man walked in front, and the others naturally followed behind. The robot formed a semi-circle, enveloping them.

Nangong Qi looked at Aji following behind with some confusion. Weren't they competitors?

Why does the relationship seem so harmonious?

Aji didn't say a word, which doesn't fit the character of the Holy Son. Shouldn't he say something nice to comfort her at this time?

(Actually, it was because they were afraid this sockpuppet account would be banned for making outrageous remarks.)

As they walked forward, they found that it seemed no different from the real world. However, even though this world was a one-to-one replica, what they didn't know was that those robots only had one consciousness.

They arrived at Shao Ji's base, and everything was normal, too normal; they didn't even encounter a single monster.

They walked on, their destination clear: the place where the director had last disappeared.

Upon opening the door, I saw the director lying alone on the bed.

The clothes were still the same ones the station chief was wearing before he went missing, but...

Shao Ji stepped forward and touched him; he was not breathing...

The tall man stepped forward in confusion and touched it; it was cold...

"What's wrong? The director came back by himself?" (Nangong Qi still thought she was in her original world.)

Nangong Qi pushed aside the two people surrounding her, wondering why they weren't moving.

She also touched her wrist... her eyes widened, "So..." Shao Ji and the tall man quickly covered Nangong Qi's mouth.

With a glance, Nangong Qi, though puzzled, kept quiet.

Her eyes darted around, and she didn't understand what they meant, but she was also self-aware enough not to move.

The tall man consciously carried the director on his back.

“Let’s find an exit, Huji.” A knowing glance from someone in a different persona immediately revealed what was going on.

"Okay." Then he led Aji forward.

Huh? Ah? What do you all understand? I don't understand! Nangong Qi hesitated to speak the whole way.

Finally—"Shaoji, why don't you take Nangong Qi to the restroom? It looks like the little girl is about to burst. You're more familiar with this place," the tall man said.

I'm not... But when I looked up and saw Shao Ji's warning look, I swallowed my words again. Fine, I'll just accept the arrangement and it's best to be mute.

Shao Ji was a little reluctant; she wanted to wait, but she also knew that the important matters were more important.

Shao Ji led Nangong Qi through a maze of twists and turns, and Nangong Qi felt like she was about to lose her way back.

Shao Ji finally stopped.

"This isn't a toilet," Nangong Qi looked up. Shao Ji offered a weak explanation.

"We absolutely cannot reveal that the director isn't breathing, or you could simply remain silent."

"Ah!" After holding it in for so long, she could finally speak, but then she was immediately silenced! "What does this mean? Is there something here spying on us?"

"......no."

"What is that?" Nangong Qi asked, puzzled.

"You just need to keep it a secret from everyone else."

"Could it be Hōjī!"

......

What? You can't even guess the right answer when there are only two! Take a deep breath, oh well, I should get used to "It's Aji".

"Huh? Why?"

Why are you asking so many questions! "He'll go crazy."

"What?! Is the director really dead?!" Shao Ji started to let her mind wander, imagining the expressions on the faces of the others after the director's death. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

"No!" Nangong Qi was a little tired. "You have to remember, Aji is not rational right now. Even if we explain to him that this is not the real director, he won't listen." So it's better to keep it a secret from the beginning.

If this pseudonym gets out of control, they might have a hard time controlling it; the pseudonym's intelligence is a real problem.

"What....." What do you mean that Aji is irrational right now? Why are you hiding things from Director Aji?

However, Nangong Qi understood one thing: this director was a fake, and it should be fine since the real director wasn't here.

It seems like the last time was the same. After the director fell into a coma, Aji clung tightly to the main body, even giving up her divine status. It was only after Shaoguan pressed her and tempted her that Aji let go!

Therefore, the director is very important to Aji. If he disappears, he will lose his mind and even fail to see the current situation.

Hmm? Something feels off. Everyone clearly said they were cutting ties with the director. When the director was doing well, everyone could sever all ties with him, but they didn't refuse his request.

They showed utter disappointment with the director. Shao Ji betrayed the research institute and took a large number of people with her. A Ji lost her memory and declared herself king. Hu Ji took advantage of the director's absence to occupy the research institute and became its leader.

Why were they so disillusioned with the director before this? Shao Ji was because of Nangong Qi, but that was a misunderstanding that has been cleared up. But what about before? Didn't Shao Ji know about all the rumors and gossip that Aji and Huji had caused before? Why did Shao Ji leave as soon as Nangong Qi provoked her?

And then there's Hu Ji. No matter how much the director abused him and A Ji before, he accepted it willingly without the slightest resentment. He even died for the director. Why is it that after he came back, he...

Aji is the strangest. His feelings are more like transference, like a lack of love. At first, that person was "Uncle", but later it became the director.

But it doesn't quite feel like transference, because Aji has the ability to see the future, so he should have known from the beginning what the consequences of his actions would be, but he still did it anyway, for a moment of warmth? Shaoji felt that Aji was definitely not that kind of person.

Even though he's already lost his memories of the director, why does he still care so much about him? Perhaps he himself doesn't know why? Maybe it's just instinct?

Nangong Qi nodded, deciding not to think about it anymore.

I went out with them. Actually, all the thoughts in my mind were like beads neatly arranged there, just missing a string to string them together.

After they went outside, Nangong Qi seemed much more docile, and the tall man nodded in satisfaction.

They led the director around, discovering that the space here was only about the size of where they had just come from and Shao Ji's base. In a much larger area...

Shao Ji stretched out a branch, retrieved it, and it appeared perfectly intact.

Shao Ji stretched out her hand, and yes, it was completely severed. She took it back and used energy to regrow her hand.

It seems that it can only move around in this small area. The branches look intact, but that's only because the tree was originally part of this world, so when it was brought back, the world completed it.

However, Shao Ji does not belong here and cannot construct similar energy, so Shao Ji's severed hand can only be repaired by herself. Fortunately, she herself is just a ball of energy.

Their walking around naturally aroused suspicion in others, but because of Shao Ji, no one raised any questions.

Until—"Why are you carrying the demon on your back? Wasn't he already executed by the Holy Son?" a high-ranking official in the base asked.

Aji seemed to realize something, and her first reaction was to call on the head of the compound. Aji seemed to freeze.

It seems the person behind this doesn't want to waste any more time.

But Nangong Qi didn't have time to look at Aji's expression.

Buzz————

Nangong Qi experienced a ringing in her ears.

When I opened my eyes, I found that everyone was gone and I had been moved to another place.

It looks peaceful and serene, but there's a strong sense of incongruity, like the deliberately portrayed tranquility in a TV drama—it's too one-sided.

The two children were playing around and accidentally bumped into Nangong Qi, causing her to stumble.

Steady myself up and ask, "Hello, little friend, what time is it? Where are we?"

The child sniffed, "Huh? What? I don't know."

The little girl next to her answered quickly, "I know! I know! It's the first year of the Gregorian calendar, also called the Holy Year, to celebrate the peace that the Holy Son brought us!"

Saint Yuan?! She knew! This was the new calendar set by the protagonist after defeating the villain in the novel! She had transmigrated again! And she had transmigrated to the finale! And after the director had already died?

She felt lost; no one was directing her, and she didn't know what she should do.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out ahead. "What's going on? Up ahead?"

"It seems like the savior has gone mad."

"What's wrong with him?"

"They keep saying things like he couldn't possibly have killed the police chief?"

"Director?"

"It was yesterday, before the savior killed that person, that everyone seemed to call him 'Chief'..."

Nangong Qi immediately understood, and pushed through the crowd, ignoring the curses of others, and squeezed to the front.

“…Aji?” Nangong Qi watched as Aji frantically searched through a charred execution rack.

Aji seemed not to hear anything and kept searching.

Nangong Qi stepped forward, about to say something, when Aji shoved her to the ground. "Get out!" Aji roared and then frantically searched for her.

At this moment, Nangong Qi deeply understood why it was impossible to say that the director was dead; it was indeed utterly irrational.

Watching Aji, dressed in a white robe and completely disheveled, turning over and over in a pile of still-warm ashes.

"Wait!" In her panic, Nangong Qi's mind raced. "I know where the director is! He's not dead!"

Aji finally stopped. "Do you really know where the director is?"

"Yes, I know." Nangong Qi tried to appear calm.

“They say I killed the director, they say the director is right here, but I can’t find him no matter how hard I look.” Tears welled up in Aji’s eyes and fell directly to the ground.

"Yes, I believe you." Nangong Qi knew that the most important thing now was to reassure her.

"You really can't kill the director." Even though his mind wasn't clear, he firmly remembered that he couldn't reveal that he was the director, so he could only repeat this sentence over and over again.

“Hmm…” Nangong Qi nodded, but what she was thinking was—but in Aji’s novel, it was indeed you who killed the director.