Chapter 82

At 1:33 AM, the Solomon was booting up, flashing a breathing red dot.

The time until Shen Jian arrives...is poorly estimated.

Heavy rain and wind.

The black clouds were rolled up and flattened, and the wind pulled them in all directions. The deafening thunder, wild laughter, screams, and buzzing iron gongs could be heard far away on the ground. The yellow flashes that disappeared suddenly came one after another.

The rain fell on the glass windows of the Wuyin Tower like a waterfall, as if buckets of water were poured on it, constantly washing away the emotions of the cadres present.

None of them turned on the lights, and only the faint light from the sky filtered through.

The breathing wrapped in the sponge came in and out slowly, revealing a corner of the scarlet piled heavy curtains with room to cling to, as if blown by the wind outside the window, and fluttered faintly. On the messy but orderly dark red sofa, the soul of Wu Yanta rested silently.

They kept a very restrained distance from each other, and even stopped looking at each other. They were like lions that had been patient for a long time and could not bear to be invaded. As long as they stepped into the other party's sphere of influence, an irreversible conflict would occur. Smoke and gunpowder filled everyone's body.

The reason is very simple.

Chen Lanhe silently glanced at the people behind him who were changing their postures slightly almost every minute, and lowered his eyes indifferently.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, and not long ago, until now, they were all monsters who could set up their own organizations under the pressure of major organizations at any time. The patents and research projects in their hands were all top technologies that large organizations could hardly match even if they devoted their entire lives to it.

Every direct descendant, even senior cadres, and even researchers at lower levels, exudes leadership charisma and arrogance that is no less than that of the leader of a large organization.

The only reason to suppress them temporarily and make them seem to stay here peacefully...

Chen Lanhe sneered silently, his expression hidden in the darkness and could not be seen clearly at all.

But Shen Tu felt it keenly. He glanced at Shen Lanhe, his eyes did not fluctuate at all, but just changed his stop point.

He knew what Shen Lanhe was thinking just by thinking from the tree that had been scorched by lightning outside.

It has been a long time since Sir has disappeared like this, and he has a reasonable reason: Oh, to save the universe... save, the universe.

Shen Tu slightly curved the corners of his lips, and it was unknown what he was thinking.

In fact, he should have taken care of this atmosphere that was on the verge of collapse. But...

However, the superior-subordinate relationship between them was only effective when Shen Jian was around. The rest was nothing more than meaningless competition for glory between knights. No one could tolerate the other side stepping into their territory.

In other words, Shen Tu can’t control them now.

So Shen Tu let go as a matter of course, very as a matter of course, to ensure that it was not his own selfish desire that was on the verge of exploding.

Shen Lanhe, who was warned, glanced at Shen Tu, tutted lightly, and took out a miniature lancet from his sleeve, and skillfully and calmly cut a bloody wound on the inside of his forearm.

The direct descendant who had always maintained absolute rationality raised his other hand, pinched the bleeding point casually to block the bleeding hole and pressed hard twice before he barely forced himself to stop thinking about it.

If nothing unexpected happened, Shen Jian would never know until his death that the reason why Shen Lanhe had been wearing long-sleeved uniforms from spring to winter was because Lanhe had been self-harming due to stress before he met him - he worked in a medical research institute and came back every day with the smell of iodine and disinfectant. This is easy to explain, isn't it?

Fortunately I'm back.

The head of the medical department touched his wound and thought casually.

If they really didn't come back, they really couldn't help it and would find something for their leader to do.

——The situation here is far from being as peaceful and tranquil as shown in the communications with their leader; each direct descendant maintained an expressionless look for a long time when the communications could not be seen.

Just as Shen Jian thought, his subordinates had reached the point where they could be blown away by the wind, but it was not as simple as Shen Jian imagined.

After Shen Jian left, as time passed, they became more and more silent. Shen An no longer sat in his office, but stood at the door of the closed leader's room for a long time with a blank expression on his face.

Shen An leaned against the door of the leader's room and thought for a long time, and finally figured it out.

It's not that they can't live without Shen Jian.

But life is not easy without Chen Jian.

"Luckily you're back, sir."

After another downpour of rain that washed like glass slowed down, Shen Wenyan, who was sitting almost at the front, spoke up and broke the shaky balance.

His voice was very soft, but Shen Xiuzhu, who was closest to him, twitched his fingers nervously as if a nerve in his brain was touched, suddenly opened his eyes and spoke hoarsely, "Wait until he comes back before talking."

“What are you talking about?” Shen Wenyan’s expression was very calm. He slowly scanned the entire room, and finally stopped his gaze on Shen An, who had his eyes closed and his head supported, and remained silent.

Amidst the sound of rain and lightning, they heard Shen Wenyan's clear words: "Can you quickly collect these things before the master comes back?"

After a pause, Shen Wenyan held back the words that were about to come out of his mouth: "This sentence should be said by Shen An."

Once these words are spoken, the boundary between superiors and subordinates, which could have been temporarily ignored, becomes like the water surface broken by heavy rain outside the window, which can only be repaired by waiting for that person to come back.

Chen Wenyan said calmly, "For the sake of Wuyan Tower, please suppress it for now, my lords; it's not terrible if the sir is angry, but if he changes our blood, who can hold out to the end?"

Shen Wenyan used a declarative sentence: "Are you ready to go away and set up your own business, each playing one chess game with the master, until you devour the Wuyan Tower and take the master under your wings?"

"Will you stand in the corner with jealousy and helplessness because you were replaced by a newcomer and watch them come to the master and get encouragement and reward for simple return work?"

"...Come on, gentlemen, the gentleman would rather die on the way you meet him; even if we take a step back, who can break the gentleman's spine..."

As soon as the words fell, hundreds of direct descendants all made subtle movements. They changed some postures to make themselves appear less ambitious.

They fell into a silence even more dead than before, letting the heavy rain rage outside the window, some twisted emotions almost condensed into water droplets.

"Didn't that leader's Wu Yan Tower also plan not long ago?" Shen Wenyan's face was cold and indifferent, which he had never shown in front of the leader. "Although the plan they said was to overthrow the leader who 'destroyed the world', but..."

"You can fool the master, but can you fool me?" The subordinate raised a very sarcastic smile, "We are not preparing to do something big like the four years when the master was missing..."

He paused for a long time, and finally said, "Suppose you know that when An took away all the research equipment of the Wuyan Tower and left, he told us that it might be able to reverse time and space."

Then, Wuyan Tower did not stop An.

The thunder blasted human eardrums, and lightning struck, briefly illuminating the hidden expressions of everyone in the darkness of the room.

An unresolved topic.

They acquiesced when the cycle that changed everything began.

Shen An said slowly and softly: "Don't admit it in public, Wen Yan."

The chestnut-haired officer whispered, "We also slowly recovered our memories after the master passed away... Um, memories of our past lives?"

Shen Wenyan said nothing.

The steaming and rolling murderous intent suddenly locked onto him, it belonged to Chen An.

The premise that Shen Jian could tolerate all of their actions was only that they were not directly involved in this reversal.

In any case, they had to keep it secret.

Don't let your husband know anything about this.

Shen Pingyan in the corner maintained his usual calm expression. After a while, the second person spoke up, "If anyone is willing, you can give it a try."

Shen Wenyan raised his eyebrows, “Shen Pingyan!?”

"Don't worry, everyone." Shen Pingyan said calmly, "We can think of it, why can't you think of it?"

"Perhaps the gentleman came back so late just to see how chaotic we would be?" Shen Pingyan thought for a moment and said slowly.

Why couldn't that document, signed as a joke, be a means for the gentleman to artificially delay and postpone the restlessness of his subordinates?

He pushed up his glasses and glanced at the direct descendants in the corner who hid their expressions in the darkness. "In fact, I am in favor of everyone going out to try their luck. Perhaps the master will be more tolerant of you for the sake of our past relationship?"

It seemed that they were not discussing whether there was betrayal or not, but what flowers should be decorated on the wall when welcoming the leader's return.

Shen Pingyan looked like he wanted to hang some people's bodies on it.

In another corner, the long-haired man in military uniform smiled silently at what he noticed.

Shen An said calmly, "Xu Yinmo."

"Hmm?" Xu Yinmo leaned lazily on the sofa, pulled a piece of curtain over his legs, and put his right arm on the armrest.

He seemed to be the most relaxed one among the group, and tilted his head, "Don't look at me, Lord Shen An. You dragged me here, didn't you just want me to fall into this plan?"

"What's your answer?" Shen An said.

Xu Yinmo thought for a while and said, "Now my last name is Xu, and it has nothing to do with you."

He stood neutral.

Shen Pingyan understood what Xu Yinmo meant. He glanced at the long-haired man and acquiesced.

After entering this room, the silent and tacit decision among everyone was to test each other's goals.

Now, the Tower of Immortality is clearly divided into three factions.

A rational faction that agrees with the leader's own choice, and a radical faction that wants to keep the leader at all costs.

And, a neutral party who seems to be involved in nothing.

Shen Pingyan thought for a while and felt that if the gentleman really had no preparations for the next step, it would be very easy to fail.

He said almost calmly, "But, sir, if you choose to commit suicide this time, I can change my position for once."

Xu Yinmo knocked on the armrest and slowly raised his hand, "...Follow."

.

Shen Jian was silent for a moment when he walked out of the simulation chamber and appeared in the leader's once empty leader's room.

The once bright room turned gloomy and gloomy again. Several sofas were piled in different positions, leaving only the space in front of and behind the leader's desk.

The cadres stood in front of their respective sofas and looked up at Shen Jian almost synchronously.

The atmosphere was very subtle, the rain was pouring down, the raindrops were crackling against the windows, and Shen Jian could smell the gunpowder smoke wet by the rain in the air.

Shen Jian paused slightly, and quickly checked the cadres present with his peripheral vision.

……all.

Shen Jian counted them out almost without surprise.

He calmly watched as all the cadres lowered their heads in his sight.

With just this one glance, all the cadres confirmed one thing: the gentleman knew exactly what they were planning.

Shen An's mind was in a mess, thinking about a bunch of random things, from the first time they connected with the leader in another world, to the second time they lost the communication signal, to the second time they connected, and then quickly jumped to when he leaned against the locked door of the leader's room, thinking about the days that had been going on for a long, long time.

Sir, it was intentional.

Deliberately, they came back at the last millisecond before they could reshape the market.

Deliberately, waiting like a hawk to reap the pain that will eventually befall them.

At this moment, they couldn't be more aware of this problem.

But no one moved.

Shen An recalled with great sadness how he had been tossing and turning all night long over whether it was "betrayal" or not, but he did not move.

Shen Lanhe beside him didn't even change his expression, he just curled the corners of his mouth.

But they all lowered their heads, so Shen Jian couldn’t see.

Almost all the direct descendants did not feel more sorrowful because of this. They just briefly pulled their thoughts away from reality and shifted to a moment of confused panic.

They were forced into a desperate situation because of Shen Jian's repeated disappearances.

...But why did the gentleman choose to give it a push?

Do you really want to make a major change?

They were almost unable to hold back and fixed their murderous intent on the man standing behind the leader in the corner.

The sorrow that was more violent than a rainstorm rushed over, causing Shen Jian's plan to pause for a moment.

Shen Jian observed silently for a while, and made sure that the idea of ​​"I allowed them to develop to this point" was conveyed, and then he let his soft heart exist for a few seconds with confidence.

Shen Jian thought, he will leave eventually.

Anyway...this desensitization course...

The young leader thought no more.

The leader took this opportunity to quickly glance sideways at him.

Shen Jian was not surprised to read the leader's lips.

[It flipped over, didn’t it? ]

A strand of the leader's long hair fell from his chest, hanging in the air as he moved, and his eyes had a very obvious half-smile.

Shen Jian: “…”

Shen Jian calmly skipped over the leader, pretending that he had never learned lip reading.

Yes. Although he had made all the preparations for his return, he still failed, the young leader was sure.

——Shen Jian didn’t know what exactly his subordinates discussed, but the thick emotions that were about to reach him were about to overwhelm him.

This emotional collision was much more serious than he had imagined, and it almost made Shen Jian think that he had entered the scene of some tragic drama.

The young leader adjusted his emotions and sighed silently.

At least this is better than the worst outcome. After all, no one is really forced by him to go out and work on their own.

Whenever an organization learns that a leader has forced a cadre to leave, no matter what the reason is, they will send a congratulatory invitation to Shen Jian, with a free celebratory firework attached.

Also, ask Shen Jian when he will force the next one to leave so that they can prepare to rescue him.

Shen Jian imagined this scene at first, and sneered in front of Wu Yan Tower in another world.

If one of his direct descendants really went out to form his own organization, he could tolerate it. But what if he wanted to go out and join another organization?

He would bring the person back himself.

This seems unfair...but then, their status wasn't equal to begin with, right?

The young leaders who have long since evolved into cruel capitalists may have been sufficiently restrained. Under the double brainwashing of ancient chivalry and ritualism popular among the upper class, countless organizations and cadres have signed contracts lasting hundreds of years. Even if they die, the contracts will be inherited along with their wills, and their descendants will have to work for the organization.

In the eyes of most leaders, their subordinates are their private property.

The leader calmly stared at the dead silent scene in front of him, thinking nonchalantly that Shen Jian had acted with sufficient restraint.

...In the worlds he traveled through, there were several "Shen Jian" who were almost annihilated...

Shen Jian looked at his subordinates who seemed to be getting more depressed because of him, and sighed gently again.

It is better to say that Shen Jian had already anticipated this situation and handed the plan to his past self instead of the current Wuyan Tower.

Then again…

In an atmosphere that seemed like he would usurp the throne in the next second, Shen Jian casually recalled what happened when he came back from [Shen Jian] to negotiate with the leader.

He had vaguely discussed these things with the leader as topics of conversation during the break.

The leader put his hand on his hair and asked him abruptly during the tacit halftime break, "Are you sure you want to go back later?"

Shen Jian paused, “Aren’t you curious?”

Aren't you curious about what his subordinates will reveal after losing him?

Shen Jian admitted that he really wanted to see it - the Wuyan Tower. God knows how much his possessiveness and territorial consciousness boiled when he realized that he did not have complete control over his subordinates.

He was vaguely aware of this problem when he first entered Shen Xiuzhu's underground laboratory in this world, and it was confirmed during their phone call, which ultimately delayed the date of his return again and again.

Shen Jian communicated with Wuyan Tower almost every day to judge their mental state so that he could go back when they only had a little bit of sanity left.

The young leader didn’t seem to understand what kind of suffering his men were enduring—or, before caring about their suffering, Shen Jian prioritized their belonging.

"…Since we have to solve it, let's solve it all at once."

The black-haired boy lying on the leader's lap narrowed his eyes, his half-long hair fell on the leader's legs, and a subtle expectation flashed across his pupils.

"..." The leader seemed to think for a moment, and paused in stroking his hair before slowly continuing.

The leader said, "You're going to get yourself into trouble sooner or later."

Shen Jian said calmly, "Have you ever seen Shen Jian playing himself into it?"

The leader did not deny this point, but he looked down at Shen Jian and said slowly, “But you will be the first.”

At that time, Shen Jian strongly disagreed.

In any case, the young, undefeated leader would not compromise unless he personally tried the avoided arena.

And now, looking at the stray dogs in front of him who seemed to be gnawing at the bones, Shen Jian was silent for a while.

He blinked slightly, not knowing what he was thinking.

The leader paused, looked up at Shen Jian, took a step back, raised his hand, and pulled Shen An to stand in the dark.

Shen An took another step back and landed behind the leader, then silently took off his cloak.

He stared at his leader in a manner that was not solemn but definitely not inappropriate, and then his eyes swept over the direct descendants in the front without missing an inch.

The leader paused, raised his hand to take the cloak and hung it on his arm, then casually stretched out his hand to cover his dark eyes.

“It seems that [Chen Jian] did not teach you well.” The leader whispered to the people around him in an extremely low voice.

"When he was teaching you, didn't he think of teaching you a little bit about the hierarchy between superiors and subordinates?"

Shen An did not move, allowing his sight to fall into darkness.

His expression was calm and his back was straight.

Shen An also said to the leader softly, "In fact, he taught me so well."

So no matter what, he would only stand on Shen Jian's side——

He knew very well why Shen Jian brought him back.

Very clear.

...very clear.

The young chestnut-haired boy still looks like a child, but no one would look down on a child from an upper class.

Especially when this child is about to become the youngest direct descendant of Wuyan Tower.

The leader glanced at the sword at his waist and finally removed his hand.

“Your Excellencies.” Shen Jian moved and raised his hand slightly, signaling his subordinates to look up.

The footsteps shifted from the converter to the front, and when Shen Jian was reflected in Shen An's eyes, he was already standing in front of them.

The leader turned around, his subordinates reflected in his inky irises, his pale hands pressed on the table, and his expression slowly turned gentle.

He smiled and said, "Long time no see."

Shen An moved stiffly, his breathing quickening.

He took a step forward, as if he had escaped from a long struggle with an invisible enemy, and with difficulty shifted his gaze from Shen Jian's face to his shoulder, taking a few deep breaths.

Shen Jian calmly watched Shen An adjust his posture.

A leader returning from battle deserves respectful and joyful congratulations from his subjects.

But Shen Jian didn't say anything, Shen An didn't move, and the subordinates behind him didn't move either.

They were in a stalemate for at least a minute as if they were at war. Only God knew what thoughts flashed through both sides' minds during this time.

Shen Jian could be called appreciative as he watched Shen An go through a dozen emotional stages, finally settling on a painful and compromising expression.

“…”

Shen Jian slowly blossomed into an expression that could not be seen.

He was a little surprised.

In fact, Shen Jian thought that if he at least said something, Shen An would be able to suppress the emotions that were about to burst out.

Little did the young leader realize that what was causing his men pain was not his letting things happen, but their perception that they were not doing well enough.

Shen An lowered his head, leaned over very slowly, bent his knees, and hit the carpet with his knees. Even under the pressure of the soft wool, it produced a sound like a collision.

He knelt down in front of the leader, pressed his right hand hard on his heart, closed his eyes, and said something deep across the ground, carving cold indentations like a knife: "...Sir."

"You're back."

He bit the words one by one, his expression pious and ferocious, and his fingertips twitching.

The next person to kneel down was Shen Tu.

Shen An seemed to have pulled a switch, and the people behind him knelt on one knee in tacit understanding, bowed their heads, and soon everyone in the room knelt down.

"Welcome, sir." Shen Tu waited for a while, and after confirming that there was no more sound of footfall, he raised his head.

His face had a completely different expression from Shen An's. Shen Tu was smiling, and seemed very happy. "Sir, I hope you are not angry now."

Shen Jian shook his head.

He walked across the table and took two steps, quickly standing next to Shen An and Shen Lanhe, and first looked down at Shen An.

The chestnut-haired man's wrist was still twitching due to his overly excited and twisted emotions.

Shen Jian looked for a while, retracted his gaze, and continued to walk back.

Shen Lanhe raised his eyes slightly, and the next second he heard Shen Jian’s cold voice: “Bear with it.”

"..." He was silent for a while, clenched his fists, lowered his head and continued to suppress the urge to see the leader.

The young leader walked from the direct line to the end of the senior cadres, always maintaining a balanced speed, as if he had no idea what kind of wolf's den he was walking through.

The cadres were well aware that every sound of footsteps approaching them was a challenge to their hearts which had long been on the verge of collapse.

By the time Shen Jian reached the door and turned around, the person in front of him had evolved from an active volcano in the awakening stage to an active volcano that was already erupting.

The cadres couldn’t see Shen Jian’s expression, but the leader and Shen An could.

Shen Jian looked at the subordinate in front of him who wanted to look back at him but was stiff and dared not move at all, and showed a very gentle smile that none of them could see.

The leader stared at the corner of Shen Jian’s lips for a while, then looked away after a moment.

……very good.

The leader bent his arms and placed them on his waist, stroking the empty belt. His long hair fell on the sides of his face and behind his back, slightly covering the upturned corners of his lips.

He really thought that this was a textbook dog training... Forgive him for calling it that, well, textbook examples of managing subordinates are very rare, so he had already joined forces with the Silver-haired God to activate the universe-wide live broadcast function that Shen Jian had forced to shut down...

I believe the magnanimous Shen Jian won’t mind, right?

The leader seemed to suppress his smile.

Isn't it just that the whole universe sees how you overturned and saved yourself, enriching the diversity of species, how great is that?

Shen Jian glanced at the leader with a sense of meaning, and the other party looked back at him, and then put on an expression that made Shen Jian feel bad.

Quickly, Shen Jian looked away, to prevent him from having the urge to throw this free labor into the blocking prison area because of the leader's next lip reading.

He quickly turned his attention back to his puppy house.

"……?"

Shen Jian reacted for a moment before he realized what he was thinking. He was silent for a while, and slowly deleted this passage from the void.

What kind of puppy, what kind of puppy would be so disobedient.

Shen Jian thought expressionlessly, how could one disobey the master's orders and attempt to rebel?

Well, he'll have a reckoning for his underlings soon enough.

Before that…

The young leader stood in the back for a while, and the gentle smile on his face became a little more genuine.

They heard their leader hum and say, "I'm back."

Almost in that instant, the expressions of many subordinates changed on the spot, and they turned their heads away helplessly and resignedly, and the air suddenly became hotter.

Shen Wenyan took a breath and found it very funny.

What?

Have you persisted until now, and are you going to give up resistance just because the leader gave you some humane comfort before settling accounts?

We all know that this is the last bit of warmth from the poison before the gate knife falls.

Are you ready to resign yourself to falling into the vortex of denying your own abilities, and be satisfied as long as the leader's gaze lingers on you for a little while?

Shen Wenyan thought about it casually for a while, and even felt a little good.

Assuming you are willing to support them...

…Let’s just forget it.

If they were worthless, the master would quickly discard them.

Shen Wenyan knew that he was not the only one who thought so, because the warming air soon disappeared again.

“Now.” Shen Jian, who had no idea where his subordinates’ minds were going, clapped his hands, stepped on the hearts of many subordinates that were beating again, and returned to the front from the door, walked around the table, and sat on the only chair covered with a scarlet draped curtain.

He smiled and placed his hands on the table, interlacing his fingers. Without calling anyone to stand up, he just casually said, "Let's do a reckoning."

After he had calculated and forced his subordinates to this point step by step.

The young leader had a mask-like smile on his face, and no one knew what he was thinking.

The subordinates in front of him were still panicking, trying to find out why their leader made such a choice, and the despair of being abandoned was almost overflowing.

They didn't realize that their thinking was in parallel and they were putting all the blame on each other.

The leader standing in the dark took in everything with a calm expression.

He calmly shifted his gaze to Shen Jian's slightly tightened hands, and his expression suddenly turned cold as if he realized something.