“Haha, Xiaobai is back!”
His feet touched solid ground, and his vision cleared.
Bai Xiaodu was just about to raise his hands in celebration when he heard the sharp clicks of dozens of safety locks being disengaged.
He looked up in utter bewilderment, only to see countless dark gun barrels pointed straight at him.
A massive, dense crowd of tactical police and SWAT officers carrying riot shields stood with submachine guns raised, while two light machine guns were mounted on a platform not far behind them.
What was going on?
Did I break some heavenly law?!
Bai Xiaodu silently transitioned his hands raised in excitement into a posture of surrender.
He immediately shouted to show he had no ill intent.
“I surrender, meow.”
The atmosphere remained dead silent and tense; no one dared to respond.
However, the faces of the officers in the front row clearly twitched.
Tap, tap...
Faint footsteps approached from behind.
The tactical police in the center immediately pulled back their riot shields, the crowd parting swiftly and orderly to make way.
Tall and dressed in a sharp suit, Director-General Shen walked forward, her face devoid of emotion.
With her hands clasped behind her back, she walked over slowly.
After sparing Bai Xiaodu only a single glance, Director-General Shen withdrew her gaze.
Her tone was indifferent.
“He hasn't been possessed. You may stand down.”
“Yes, Director-General!”
The captain, clearly the officer in charge, barked his response and gave Director-General Shen a crisp, standard salute.
He then led his men, who formed several columns and marched away quickly and orderly, disappearing from Bai Xiaodu's sight.
Only then did Bai Xiaodu lower his hands, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
This woman really carries herself like a tyrant.
If she gets any more powerful, she'll probably start training me like a dog!
The remaining people, however, were very familiar to him.
President Liu was beaming with joy, looking as if he had just risen from the dead.
Alongside him were his two teammates, who both let out sighs of relief upon seeing that he was unharmed.
Liu Qingzhu was the first to rush over. She sized him up from head to toe before reaching out to help tidy his disheveled collar.
Only then did Bai Xiaodu realize his collar had been completely flipped inside out.
He must have messed up his clothes while pulling out all those items earlier.
“Captain, did that dragon-kin get too angry and pick a fight with you?”
“How despicable! As a remnant spirit of the Secret Realm, he refused to follow the rules and kept raising the difficulty on purpose!”
Bai Xiaodu maintained his professional smile.
He gently brushed her hand away before she could reach down to smooth out the creases around his waist.
“With me here, we were always going to win.”
Quit touching me, damn it.
You want to win the trial and feel up my muscles? You can't have your cake and eat it too.
Can't you see Director-General Shen standing right there?
This body is reserved for Director-General Shen's eyes only! If you touch it, it's off with your head!
Bai Xiaodu's right eyelid twitched. Director-General Shen remained entirely expressionless.
She didn't seem to care in the slightest.
But the less she seems to care, the more she actually does!
Although there are plenty of memes online about petting cute cats, I highly doubt Director-General Shen is that generous.
She is an Autocracy transcendent, after all.
They're even more possessive than those rigid bastards from the Trickery Pathway!
Having just escaped a life-or-death situation, Liu Qingzhu was still riding a massive adrenaline high and completely missed the hint in Bai Xiaodu's words.
Seeing that he was perfectly fine, she did a lighthearted spin right beside him.
“Captain, you're amazing! I didn't even think we could clear it directly. I thought we'd be lucky just to gather some information on the third stage.”
“But will our strategy guide actually be useful for those who come after us...?”
Bai Xiaodu honestly hadn't given that any thought.
But what did that have to do with him anyway?
“It doesn't matter. Have faith in the wisdom of future generations.”
Liu Qingzhu nodded in agreement and then extended an invitation.
“We've been fighting in the Secret Realm all morning. Do you want to grab lunch together?”
The young girl's delicate face flushed slightly, her heart fluttering.
In truth, she had known Bai Xiaodu's name for a while, having first heard it from her grandfather.
At first, she hadn't been very interested. After all, it was a small district—how impressive could a "genius" from here really be?
But after today, Liu Qingzhu was utterly astonished.
Even if he relied on tricks to clear the Secret Realm, that was still a testament to his sheer capability!
Plus, he was just so incredibly cute!
Normally, boys were the ones who took the initiative to ask girls out for lunch.
But seeing that Bai Xiaodu showed no sign of doing so, she had to summon all her courage to make the first move.
Bai Xiaodu blinked.
He realized that the Liu Qingzhu in front of him was truly lovesick—and also truly asking for death.
He didn't even dare look at Director-General Shen's expression. He quickly laughed it off.
“I still have some things to take care of. Let's do it next time.”
Liu Qingzhu let out a disappointed murmur, and Bai Xiaodu quickly sidestepped her to stand beside Director-General Shen.
The director-general turned her head, her pale blue eyes quietly observing his behavior.
Bai Xiaodu spread his arms wide and raised them high again, speaking in an eager, enthusiastic tone.
His silver-white tail wagged furiously behind him, almost blurring into an afterimage, as if he were a pet eager to claim credit.
“Director-General Shen, completely in accordance with your wishes, the Secret Realm has been successfully cleared!”
“Also, I obtained a dragon-kin body-tempering method. Would you like to take a look?”
Director-General Shen reached out her hand, and Bai Xiaodu instinctively closed his eyes.
Her slender, pale hand brushed over his cheek, eventually coming to rest on his floppy fox ears, giving them a gentle squeeze and a few rubs.
Bai Xiaodu immediately put on a look of sheer bliss.
It was just like how some girls let out soft, compliant whimpers—not out of genuine pleasure, but purely to be polite.
Regardless of whether her petting technique was actually good, providing maximum emotional value to his master was all that mattered!
Director-General Shen, however, paid no heed to his act.
After giving his ears a final pat, she turned and began walking out of the cavern.
Her voice drifted back to him.
“Let's go.”
“As for the body-tempering method, you can keep it for your own training.”
“Martial arts and spells obtained directly from a Secret Realm function similarly to magic scrolls.”
“Only the first person to assimilate them receives the perfect effect. Anyone else can only learn them through instruction.”
Bai Xiaodu eagerly scurried after her, tailing her closely.
His movements were perfectly ordinary, but the way he positioned himself relative to her...
Liu Qingzhu rubbed her eyes and stared again in utter disbelief.
From her vantage point behind them, the scene looked incredibly bizarre.
The only thing missing from the picture was a leash in Director-General Shen's hand!
It was too weird. She looked again.
It still looked exactly the same!
Remembering the rumors and descriptions regarding Autocracy transcendents, Liu Qingzhu couldn't help but shudder.
No, there's no way... right?
Could a highly talented, calculating person like the Captain really be willing to act as a lapdog for an Autocracy transcendent?
In the Secret Realm, he was openly mocking that simp Kiru. How could he turn around and become the very thing he despised?
How could he possibly become the very thing he hated most?
Could it be... that he's being blackmailed?
Her heart clenched as worry washed over her.
She instinctively took a few steps forward to intervene, but quickly stopped herself.
What am I doing? Am I trying to get myself killed?
I heard Director-General Shen's rank is even higher than the district chief's!
She stood frozen in hesitation, ultimately forced to watch helplessly as Bai Xiaodu was led away by Director-General Shen like a pet on an invisible leash.
Rate on N.U.
