"Mr. Dita, I'm surprised to see you."

Fang Zheng stood up and looked at the IBC president in front of him, who smiled slightly.

"It's not just me, Mr. Founder."

As Dita spoke, several figures walked out of the darkness, led by a man with long black hair and a scar on his face. He was none other than the ace of the Crossbell Guerrilla Association - Arios Marklein, the Sword Saint of the Wind.

Next to him was a woman with golden curly hair in twin ponytails. She looked about the same age as Ellie, but in terms of appearance, she was much more mature than the latter.

Next to the blond with curly ponytail was a burly middle-aged man. He said nothing, but just stared at Fang Zheng in front of him, as if he was sizing up something.

"Let me introduce you. This is Saint Arios of the Wind Sword. Next to him is my daughter Mariabell Kurois and Lawyer Ian."

President Dita stared at Fang Zheng smugly, trying to find a trace of panic and surprise on his face, but Fang Zheng just looked at him silently without saying a word.

"I think you must be curious about why we are gathered here. The reason is simple. I have a plan, a great plan..."

At this point, President Dita raised her hands.

"Now, I am here to invite you to join my plan, Mr. Fang Zheng. I believe that after you hear about my plan, you will definitely become our comrade..."

"Isn't it just the Phantom Treasure?"

However, before President Dita could finish her words, Fang Zheng interrupted her out of boredom.

"……Why?"

Hearing Fang Zheng's words, President Dita's expression changed, and the other three people also looked at Fang Zheng in surprise.

"Humans always like to make the same mistakes. It was the same a thousand years ago and it hasn't changed now. You just want to tell me the current situation of Crossbell, and then express your hope that Crossbell will be independent and hope that I can join. Then you will use the trump card of the Phantom Treasure to seduce me...right?"

"Uh...you, how did you know..."

"Kurois, a descendant of the alchemist family, oh, really, why not just be a villain? Why did he have to jump out and die?"

As he spoke, Fang Zheng narrowed his eyes and stared at President Dita and Maria Bell.

"If you ask me, it was a mistake for the Goddess of the Sky to hand over the Illusionary Treasure to humans, and I will not make the same mistake as Edythe. But now, you are actually eager to recreate miracles and use them to control the entire world?"

“We’re not trying to control the world.”

At this time, Lawyer Ian spoke.

"We only hope to use the power of the treasure to eliminate all the suffering in this world..."

"Another unlearned person who wants to cheat by relying on external forces."

Fang Zheng glanced at Lawyer Ian.

"It's nothing more than feeling that the differences between individuals have brought about too many tragedies, so they want to use some means that are forever beyond the reach of humans to completely change everything and create an eternally happy world? Hey, why are there such people everywhere? What about the Human Instrumentality Project, the world of C, the phantom treasure... Every time I see you guys trying to cheat, as an invigilator, I really have a headache..."

"You, what do you mean..."

Hearing this, President Dita was shocked. However, the next moment, suddenly, an incomparable pressure descended from the sky, directly pressing everyone to the ground. Even the Wind Sword Saint could not withstand this pressure, groaned, and knelt on the ground.

Fang Zheng, with his hands behind his back, walked slowly in front of the group of people.

"You know what? President Dita, if you are really a group of people who care about the country and the people, then I really wouldn't mind joining. But unfortunately, you are not... I know very well that your Kurois clan created a cruel organization like the Cult hundreds of years ago, and used them to kidnap children everywhere to carry out your own plans. As for the grief of those families who lost their children, I don't think you have ever considered it at all... Hehe, you did such a thing yourself, and now you are still under the guise of doing it for the happiness of this world, isn't it a bit ridiculous?"

"This, this is a necessary sacrifice on the great journey."

Under the terrifying pressure, Dita's face was pale at this moment. He was not a fool. Now Dita clearly realized that he had provoked an enemy who should not be provoked, but things had come to this point... He had no other choice.

"As long as we can complete our plan, all the suffering in this world will be eliminated..."

"Ah, here we go again, the villain's sunk cost argument. We have sacrificed so much. If you stop our plan, then all those sacrifices will be in vain... Hehe, I guess only a fool would believe your nonsense."

Having said this, Fang Zheng looked at everyone again.

"I'm not afraid to tell you that I know Crossbell's current situation very well, and I know your situation very well too. In fact, I also hope that Crossbell will be independent. But I will not adopt your approach, Kurois. No matter what obsessions and wishes you have, since you created an inhumane organization like the Cult and flirted with such a lowly rat like the Society, you no longer have any room for cooperation and value for me."

“Woo…”

Hearing Fang Zheng's words, President Dita opened his mouth but could not utter a word. He had not expected that the young man in front of him was so powerful. Before he could say anything, he had already exposed his past.

"Lawyer Ian."

Fang Zheng no longer cared about President Dita, but instead turned his gaze to the lawyer who was as strong as a bear not far away.

"I can understand your motives. Considering that there are reasons for what happened, I can spare your life. However, as the murderer of Guy Bennings, I hope you can take the initiative to turn yourself in. After you are released from prison, I will discuss with you the independence of Crossbell."

"I...I understand."

Lawyer Ian hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

After receiving his reply, Fang Zheng looked towards the Wind Sword Saint.

"Mr. Arios, I understand your thoughts, but the dead cannot be resurrected. I'm sorry, this is an iron rule. So I can't help you revive your wife, but if you just want to heal your daughter's eyes, then Starlight Technology can still do it. So... are you willing to cooperate with me? At least it's better than this group of rats who only know how to control the cultists and do some shady things in private."

"Can you really heal Shizuku's eyes?!"

Hearing this, Arios immediately raised his head and looked at Fang Zheng in surprise, and the latter nodded.

"Of course, this is not a difficult matter for me. In fact, I was planning to discuss this matter with you. Since you took the initiative to come to me, I'll just mention it by the way."

"I do!"

This time, Arios answered almost without hesitation.

"As long as you can heal Shizuku's eyes, I'll do anything for you!"

"It's settled then."

Fang Zheng nodded, then took another step and came to Mariabell's side. Looking at the girl with curly blonde hair in front of him, he chuckled.

"Miss Maria Bell, I never thought that you are so smart at such a young age."

"You simply don't understand..."

Mariabell clenched her teeth and stared at Fang Zheng.

"You don't understand our Kurois family's thousand-year obsession and everything we sacrificed for it..."

"I don't care about the wisdom of a mere mortal. Since you refuse to repent, I have no choice but to re-educate you."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng snapped his fingers.

“Pah.”

The next moment, the shadow behind Mariabell suddenly began to wriggle, and then several azure tentacles stretched out from it. They tightly wrapped around the girl's body and limbs and pulled her hard. Before Mariabell could even scream, she disappeared into the dark shadow without a trace.

“…”

Seeing this scene, everyone else couldn't help but gasp. They still didn't know who Fang Zheng was, but based on what Fang Zheng showed at this moment, they could be sure that he was definitely not an ordinary human.

"And finally, Mr. Dita."

After dealing with Maria Bell, Fang Zheng looked towards President Dita.

"As the current head of Kurois and the mastermind behind the cult, well... I hope you can take on the responsibilities you should take on."

"You, what do you mean?"

"That's what I meant."

Fang Zheng raised his right hand again and snapped his fingers.

Then, in front of everyone, an unimaginable scene happened.

With a groan of pain, President Dita fell to the ground. Then, under the horrified gazes of Arios and Lawyer Ian, his appearance began to change. His originally well-maintained skin gradually became dry and his golden hair turned white. In almost a moment, the blond business leader who was originally in his prime turned into a decrepit old man.

"This, this is the power to manipulate time?!! Who are you..."

Dita, who was already an old man in his eighties or nineties, raised his head, stared at Fang Zheng with wide eyes, and struggled to ask, but Fang Zheng just laughed.

"Don't worry, at least I'm not Edythe. So you don't have to worry about being tied up and burned to death in the Seven Lights Church..."

“Ugh…ah…”

President Dita wanted to say something, but he couldn't make any sound at this moment. He stretched out his hands trembling in pain, trying to grab Fang Zheng in front of him, but in the end, his skinny, strengthless hands just fell to the ground.

"So, why don't you just be a villain and get beaten to death by the protagonist? Why do you have to come and cause trouble for me?"

Looking at the old man in front of him, Fang Zheng snorted coldly, then he looked at Arios and Lawyer Ian again.

"Well, excuse me, I have to leave first. I'll leave this to you guys."

After saying this, Fang Zheng turned around and disappeared into the night.

It was not until this time that the invisible pressure that suppressed the two of them finally dissipated.

"Huh...how could this happen..."

Lawyer Ian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and stood up tremblingly. He had never expected that things would turn out like this. In just a few dozen minutes, the plan that President Dita had put so much effort into and spent several years on was completely overturned, and even they themselves were involved.

"What are you going to do, Arios?"

"No matter who he is, as long as he can heal Shizuku's eyes, I will do anything."

After saying this, Arios turned and left. Only Lawyer Ian remained standing there, watching everything in front of him.

"No matter who he is... To be honest, I don't want to know who he is..."

Recalling Fang Zheng's contemptuous expression when he spoke just now, and his indifferent tone when he mentioned the Goddess of the Sky, and even called her by her name... Lawyer Ian shuddered suddenly.

Don’t think about it, maybe... maybe the facts are not what you think?

In any case, this day... looks like it's going to change completely.