Chapter 39 The Infinite Boss Invites You to "Eat Melon" 39. What if...
Faced with the system's question, Lu Yu solemnly replied, "Because Yan Zhi is my destined lover."
The gossip-eating system: [...]
Let's get down to business! Who wants to hear your love declarations!
Lu Yu coughed dryly: "So you mean that Yan Zhi, or those players like Yan Zhi, such as the Great Prophet, the Elementalist, etc., are somewhat different from other players who are deeply corrupted and have become admirers of Ji Chengchuan?"
"Or, there's another possibility: that gaming addiction is one of the reasons Ji Chengchuan is so popular, but not the most crucial or primary reason?"
"So what are their differences?" the gossip system asked. "And what is the most crucial and primary reason?"
"The former, because of hatred or stance? Yan Zhi and the Elementalist both wished to eliminate the Smiling Game as soon as possible. As for the latter, the main reason why Ji Chengchuan has the aura of being a heartthrob is..."
Lu Yu glanced at the projection: "I think it's time to unlock it, what do you say, system?"
The system agreed with Lu Yu's assessment, but added: "[...I'm very sorry, host. Due to limitations in your understanding and abilities, this 'gossip' entry is temporarily unavailable. Please explore further.]"
Lu Yu: "..."
Okay, very good.
Lu Yu coldly severed his mental link with the system, then withdrew his hand and released the brother and sister.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Although Xiaoqian and the others knew that Lu Yu possessed purifying power, they didn't understand the specifics. Pei Yanzhi, in order to protect Lu Yu, also didn't say much. Therefore, they didn't know that Lu Yu's press was purifying the pollution on the brother and sister. But even without knowing anything, they could clearly see the changes in the brother and sister.
"Something feels off."
Xiao Qian leaned closer to Wang Kun: "Why do they look like they just woke up, all dazed... Could it be that Boss slapped them and made them lose their memory? Is this a new ability that Boss copied from somewhere?"
Wang Kun: "...It doesn't seem like amnesia, it's more like he wants to have amnesia."
The brother and sister who overheard the entire conversation were speechless.
Lu Yu glanced at the two people whose pollution had greatly decreased, then turned on his phone. A crystal-clear recording came through: "Dare to kill me, and the vice president will devour you, tear you to pieces, and avenge me!"
"...This shows how much the vice president values us! It's love!"
“You don’t understand the vice president at all… He is the light in my life, my only salvation…”
"I'd give my life for the vice president's favor!"
The brother and sister stared blankly at Lu Yu's phone, their eyes growing wider and wider, as if it weren't a phone but some kind of man-eating monster.
The next second, the younger sister suddenly sprang to her feet, grabbed her own hair, her eyes dripping blood, and crawled wildly on the ground, screaming, "Aaaaaah, Ji Chengchuan, I'll kill you! I'll kill you! You piece of shit, you beastly, shameless lecher, you despicable, brain-dead, invincible whirlwind of idiots, you deserve to be slapped on the left cheek, kicked on the right cheek, kicked by donkeys and trampled by pigs!"
Lu Yu and the others: "..."
Holy crap, that's some serious cursing!
While his sister was spewing out her rant, the brother next to her finally realized what was happening. He tilted his head and started gagging, his face contorted in pain: "I...I'm straight! I'm sorry, I'm not discriminating against other sexual orientations, but I really am straight, I...uh...sorry, I...uh...uh...Ji Chengchuan, I...uh!"
Although the game's influence was not the main reason for Ji Chengchuan's popularity, the results of this experiment were enough for Lu Yu.
He coughed lightly, turned off the recording, and stopped provoking the brother and sister.
"Gentlemen, calm down," Lu Yu said.
The older brother struggled to lift his head: "If you and Ji Chengchuan had slept together for half a year, would you... could you still stay calm...?"
Lu Yu: "...Ugh."
Don't make such terrible assumptions!
Lu Yu forcibly suppressed the sudden wave of nausea, then raised his hand and used his spatial power to hold the two of them down.
Upon seeing this, Xiaoqian and Wang Kun immediately stepped forward and manipulated the strange object to pour two large basins of cold water down their throats, which physically calmed them down.
"What on earth is going on..."
The older brother slumped to the ground, his expression barely returning to normal, though his pupils were still somewhat unfocused, indicating that he was still in a state of near collapse: "How could I... how could I like Ji Chengchuan? I clearly don't like men, and I even have a crush on a girl! Besides, even if I liked someone a lot, I would never want to kill my own sister and cause trouble at Grandpa's funeral, right?"
"This isn't love, this is madness!"
After venting her frustrations, the younger sister seemed much more sober than her brother.
She looked at Lu Yu and bowed her head sincerely: "Mr. Lu, I apologize for my brother's and my previous irrational behavior and am willing to bear any consequences. But before that, could you please enlighten me?"
"Since you intervened and pulled us out of that... seemingly cursed state, you must know what happened, right?"
Lu Yu didn't answer immediately, but instead asked, "How are you feeling right now?"
The younger sister frowned slightly, considered for a moment, and said, "I feel very clear-headed yet... disconnected, like I just had a dream. All those things with Ji Chengchuan were in the dream. And the me in the dream didn't seem like me, but I know that it really was me. It's a very strange feeling."
“What’s wrong with us? Is it caused by some ability or strange creature of Ji Chengchuan? But isn’t his special ability to devour? Even if he devoured a charm-type ability, it shouldn’t be like this. Whatever he devours will only mutate and merge into his own body, achieving evolution. That’s why he’s called an ‘Evolver’…”
“It’s not an ability, nor a strange object,” Lu Yu said, looking at the two who had regained consciousness. “It’s game corruption.”
"Game pollution?"
The younger sister was taken aback.
The older brother also turned his gaze: "Is it the one you mentioned when we were fighting for the first fragment of divinity? Many of the top-ranked veteran players know about it."
Now that Lu Yu had made his move, he naturally wouldn't keep everyone in suspense any longer. After a moment's thought, he revealed his guesses about the relationship between Smiling Game, Ji Chengchuan, Game Pollution, and the Aura of a Charismatic Person.
Of course, he didn't mention his purifying power. He only said that he could reduce the pollution of players, which they already knew from their own experience. But he didn't say much, leaving it to their imagination.
"So that's how it is..."
The brother and sister were in a daze, their disbelief evident, yet deep down they were beginning to accept the explanation.
If they weren't under some invisible influence and control, how could they have given up so much for a man with countless concubines, willingly groveling at his feet and even losing themselves?
This is even more terrifying than being possessed!
They dared not recall what they had done in the past six months.
The only saving grace is that even in that state, they did not do anything to harm the innocent, otherwise they would not know how to face themselves now.
But perhaps it is precisely because they did not do so that they have the opportunity to be alive and conscious right now.
The younger sister keenly realized that this Boss might not be the wanton and crazy hedonist that most players imagined.
She glanced at Lu Yu cautiously and said, "Mr. Lu, you helped us regain our senses, find ourselves again, and told us the truth. You probably don't want to kill us, and you still have a use for us. Just give us your orders, and as long as it's not immoral, we'll do whatever it takes to help you!"
Lu Yu smiled indifferently: "Orders? No, don't overthink it. I have no orders, nor do I need you to do anything. I just happened to have this little guess and on a whim wanted to carry out this little experiment. And coincidentally, I found suitable test subjects like you. That's all."
"Can……"
Lu Yu raised his hand, silencing his sister. "I said I don't need you to do anything. But at the same time, I don't want you to do nothing either, understand?"
"At least, it's not difficult to settle scores and avenge wrongs, is it?"
Lu Yu never expected that a single capture and purification would make him so domineering that players would immediately bow down in worship. Unless they were on the same side from the beginning, it was unrealistic.
But he wasn't in a hurry. This was just the beginning of his efforts to win over and divide the Mercury Star player group. Moreover, his strategy among the Mercury Star players wasn't about recruiting followers for himself, but rather about weakening and hindering his enemies.
If the enemy is weak, I will naturally be strong.
As for the ability to replicate, Lu Yu had already secretly completed it when the two were powerless to resist.
Although his ability to replicate is strong, the same ability can only be replicated once. Once it is used up, it cannot be replicated again. It can only be replenished with new, unreplicated abilities. Therefore, Lu Yu never thinks he has too many abilities in his storage pool. It is best to fill it just to the limit.
Regardless of whether he is exceptionally capable or not, just copy it first; it will always come in handy eventually.
He seemed to ask for nothing, but in reality, he had already taken everything he was entitled to. Perhaps this is what it means to be a seasoned corporate slave who has been dealing with capitalists for years. Lu Yu sighed with melancholy.
"Of course, revenge must be taken!"
Mentioning Ji Chengchuan, the younger sister's eyes blazed with anger: "Even if you didn't mention it, we would never let Ji Chengchuan get away with it!"
The older brother didn't speak, but his teeth were clenched so tightly that they made a grinding sound, and his face was full of hatred.
"That's enough," Lu Yu clapped his hands with a smile. "The more lively the better, I like a lively atmosphere. Alright, everyone get a knife, go collect them from Xiao Qian, and then get lost."
"Anyone who dares to mess with me will pay a price. I'm not a kind person."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiaoqian walked out with a grin, carrying a large sword.
The brother and sister turned pale, but they still gritted their teeth and walked over. Ren Xiaoqian stabbed each of them once, and then removed the strange objects from their bodies.
He may not have killed any innocent people, but he did aid and abet evildoers, so this blow was well-deserved.
"Mr. Lu, thank you for your help in any case."
The younger sister, clutching her shoulder where blood was gushing out, bowed to Lu Yu, then quickly retreated, leaping away and disappearing into the dense forest.
The older brother followed closely behind.
Watching their departing figures, Xiao Qian shook the blood off her broadsword and asked curiously, "Boss Lu, are we just going to let them go like this? Will we still achieve our goal? Wasn't our only objective this time, besides the second fragment of the divine core, to lure Ji Chengchuan into making a personal move and steal all his fragments?"
"Now that this first round of probing has yielded such a result, won't it scare Ji Chengchuan so much that he no longer believes in the 'paper tiger' theory and gives up on taking action, becoming a coward?"
“No,” Lu Yu said. “The core of our plan is to exploit his desire for my divine fragments to lure him and his divine fragments.”
"After this round of probing, Ji Chengchuan's desire for my godhood fragments will definitely be even stronger—with Smiling Game around, he should know that my power is related to godhood fragments. The stronger I am, the more greedy he will be for godhood fragments. Furthermore, although the result of this battle seems to be a complete defeat for him, all sorts of 'details' will tell him that the fact that I am a 'paper tiger' is more real than fake. As long as he goes all out, the probability of him succeeding will definitely not be low."
"His greed and the probability of success are both increasing. How could he possibly give up?" Lu Yu raised an eyebrow calmly.
“By the way,” he said briefly, then stood up and walked toward the tree-hole statue, “I actually prefer the way you called me before.”
The previous name?
Xiaoqian's eyes darted around, and she secretly clicked her tongue. What could she have called him before? Wasn't he just the captain's husband?
Goodness, Boss isn't just being reserved, she's openly flirting! From now on, whatever wedding gift she gives, she'll give him a T-shirt with the words "Pei Yanzhi's Love of His Life" on the front and "Captain's Only Husband" on the back. This guy will definitely love it.
While complaining, Xiaoqian picked up her knife and followed Wang Kun and the others.
As it turns out, Xiaoqian's worries were indeed unnecessary.
When Ji Chengchuan received the detailed process and results of the rainforest siege, his first reaction was excitement and agitation: "Sure enough, the Boss is definitely suspicious!"
"how?"
Zeng Ming, the guild leader of Tianyuan Guild, half-embraced him. "The information we got from our probing is quite good?"
Ji Chengchuan didn't hide anything and simply made the information public.
Qian Yue stood to the side, sword in hand, and frowned upon seeing this: "This isn't good news, is it? The Boss wiped out sixteen S-rank players with a flick of his finger. What kind of paper tiger is this? Could the information we overheard from Jiang Yan be a trap to lure us in?"
"Quite the opposite!" Ji Chengchuan laughed.
“Yes, quite the opposite,” Zeng Ming also curled his lips, “If the Boss really had no problems, this test wouldn’t have turned out like this.”
"What do you mean?" Qian Yue looked up.
Seeing that Ji Chengchuan had no intention of answering, Zeng Ming seized the opportunity to put his rival in the shadows, scoffed, and said, "It's very simple, three points."
"First, Boss was too hasty in his reaction to Pei Yanzhi's disappearance. Doesn't he know Pei Yanzhi's strength? Even if they are lovers, how long have they known each other? How deep can their feelings be? He shouldn't be acting so anxiously. It doesn't seem like he's worried about Pei Yanzhi, but rather that he's worried about losing such a great help as Pei Yanzhi."
"Secondly, when the Boss and our people were fighting, he not only mentioned the trap, but also asked where the news came from. This is unusual. Given the Boss's past behavior, would he care if these things were unrelated to him? If you think about it carefully, it has a strong sense of bluster but weakness."
“Third,” Zeng Ming raised his hand to pour a glass of wine, “If the Boss is truly incomparably powerful, then what’s the point of Pei Yanzhi’s team? A Boss that is powerful enough to destroy everything, the followers either go on stage from the beginning to deal with the minions so as not to dirty the boss’s hands, or they don’t go on stage and just cheer from the sidelines and admire their boss’s demeanor. In any case, whether they go on stage or not will not change anything.”
"In short, it shouldn't have been a mid-to-late game entry. More than anything else, the timing of this move seems more like a desperate attempt to help the Boss in case he couldn't hold on and revealed some weakness. It's quite intriguing."
Taking a sip of the deep red wine, Zeng Ming chuckled: "The Boss isn't as weak as we thought, but he's not as strong as we thought either. The information we gleaned from Jiang Yan has raised our trust level to forty percent. But just to be on the safe side, we'd better test him one more time."
Ji Chengchuan leaned against Zeng Ming: "Then I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you this time, Brother Ming, Sister Yue. I want to put on a good show for Boss and Pei Yanzhi."
“I’m willing to do anything for you.” Zeng Ming held Ji Chengchuan’s hand and looked at him affectionately.
Qian Yue frowned, about to say something more, when the door outside suddenly rang.
"President, Vice President! Lu Dan and Lu Shuang are back!"
Ji Chengchuan's smile froze. Sixteen cannon fodder were sent out, and two of them actually came back alive?
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