Mu Chen followed behind Mingmei, his eyes fixed on the spot where Mingmei and he were holding hands.

This was the first time she had ever taken the initiative to pull him along, without any hesitation or panic, holding him tightly and leading him toward her destination.

"Meimei~"

"Um?"

"Meimei~"

"What's up?"

"No, I just called out to let you know I wasn't lost."

"Aren't you childish?"

...

"So, Father, you're only telling me this now?"

After sitting in his father's office and reading through this document that he couldn't take with him, Julian felt like he had seen a ghost.

He only realized after playing the game for a while that some of the NPCs were played by real people, and there were even non-human beings among them.

He had previously asked people to investigate multiple times, but each time he received only ambiguous answers. Now, he suddenly knows so much.

"Why tell you so early?" Louis ignored his son's displeased expression, took a leisurely sip of strong tea, and then slowly said, "Now that you've played so many games, after each defeat you've summarized your experience and discovered more and more doubts. You've gone to investigate and verify things yourself. Isn't it just right for me to show you this information now to fill in the gaps?"

Julian: ...

Where is it just right?

Julian couldn't help but recall the overly "enthusiastic" mysterious merchants he sometimes encountered in the game, as well as some very interesting NPC passersby.

So they were all real people!

"The game was spearheaded by Hualan Star, but most of the NPCs in it are real people associated with the Empire... Isn't that unfair to the Federation?"

"Oh? Most of them are related to the Empire? You... really think so?"

Louis suddenly looked at Julian, a hint of teasing in his smile, and said, "Didn't you already confirm the identity of Durant's daughter? You even deduced that this game has other functions as well."

"Father!"

Julian's face suddenly flushed red; he knew his father was going to make fun of him about that incident again.

"You moved that girl to tears in the game, and then she actually woke up because of what you said. She came back to pursue you, but you were so scared you didn't know what to do. It took you a long time to explain and reject her... And while rejecting her, you didn't forget to try and find out more about her. You!"

Louis sighed, speaking in a tone that was both joking and warning: "Julian, maintaining a good image doesn't mean you have to be genuinely kind and gentle, but at the same time, it's also unacceptable to abandon your conscience in order to achieve your own goals."

“I understand, Father.” Julian pursed his lips, reflecting inwardly on whether he had done anything wrong in his treatment of Dewie.

"Alright, it's almost the end of the semester. I remember your class was selected for this eight-school exchange program, right?"

Without bringing up the past, Louis pointed out the things Julien needed to pay attention to recently.

"Yes, I will lead everyone to achieve good results."

“Of course, you are my son, and I believe you can do it.” Louis’s smile was full of confidence. “But that’s not what I wanted to tell you.”

"Father?"

"Make more friends, Julian. The Eight Schools Exchange brings together eight major military academies from the Federation and the Empire. Each school has different methods and standards for selecting students, so you'll meet many different people."

They come from different regions, have different backgrounds, and different perspectives; you should learn more from them.

"Yes, Father."