GRMFBS CH299

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On the way back, Gu Jiancheng thought a lot.

He thought about Infinite. There were many bizarre aspects to Monster Doctor’s attack this time that had to be investigated. But without Infinite’s direct involvement, it actually made things harder to track.

He thought about Yan Yan’s parents. His future father-in-law and mother-in-law were the Chongming Demon King and Tianshi; the difficulty of farming favorability with them had more than doubled. Furthermore, back when he was a wanted fugitive, he had frequently clashed with the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau and the Wan Yao Alliance.

He thought about teaming up with Tianshi and the Chongming Demon King to take down Infinite. This would resolve Infinite more efficiently, while simultaneously providing many opportunities to farm favorability. They already had one prior experience collaborating, so it wouldn’t be too awkward this time. Clench fists, work hard!

Various thoughts lined up in Gu Jiancheng’s mind, transforming into viable strategies. But upon seeing the door to the break room, they were all suppressed back down into his mind.

Gu Jiancheng had brought seven flavors of dessert, wondering which one Yan Yan would like best. Heh, with Lin Yuan’s cake-making skills, he actually thought he could sow discord?

Gu Jiancheng opened the door brimming with confidence. The latter half of Zhan Yan’s sentence slipped out through the crack of the door: “…I am Approaching Science.”

Clatter.

Gu Jiancheng’s shadow darted out with a whoosh, catching the food container steadily. The container was lifted onto the table, and the shadow extended a little corner to nudge it closer to Zhan Yan.

Gu Jiancheng just felt his brain go completely blank. His instincts were currently disconnected from his brain.

Yan Yan… Approaching Science?

Zhan Yan looked as if he was startled by this accident, snapping his head up to look over, his cat-like eyes perfectly round with shock.

Gu Jiancheng’s crashed brain suddenly restarted, running at high efficiency, playing back every single detail of his interactions with Approaching Science in high-definition on a loop.

“Heh.”
“No.”
“Speak human.”
“You can’t do it?”
“You’re an information-type, and you don’t stay up late; does that make sense?”
“Your speed isn’t cutting it.”
“Not interested.”
“Heh.”
…

How many times had he scoffed “Heh” at Yan Yan? One, two, three, four, five… I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead…

Boss Deep Shadow’s precise and efficient brain rapidly mapped out the timeline of every instance. The timelines of “Approaching Science” and “I Just Saved the World!” were laid out side-by-side and cross-referenced with his and Yan Yan’s timeline.

Why was Yan Yan acting cold toward him? Why did Yan Yan have no time to go on dates with him? Who was distracting Yan Yan? Oh, it was himself.

Where did he learn that Yang Ran could be cured? Approaching Science!

Where did he get the clue about Di Ting’s single horn? Approaching Science!

Gu Jiancheng’s eyes turned red.

Wuwuwu, Yan Yan treats me so well!

Gu Jiancheng took a step forward, his deep black eyes brimming with shimmering light: “I…”

“You are Approaching Science?!” Zhan Jinli’s shocked exclamation cut him off.

Gu Jiancheng: …

Forgot there was a third wheel here.

Zhan Yan rubbed his head in distress, his slightly messy curly hair bobbing in front of his forehead. Sigh, he had wanted to drop his secret identity, but he hadn’t planned on dropping it in front of both his brother and Xiao Gu at the same time. It would have been easier to explain to them one by one, but unfortunately, Xiao Gu came back and overheard it at exactly the wrong moment…

He glanced at his brother, then at Xiao Gu; both of their eyes were bulging wider than the other’s.

Perhaps seeing that he hadn’t moved for a long time, the shadow on the table opened the lid of the food container and attentively presented the seven desserts.

Zhan Yan touched the shadow in amazement. How come he didn’t know Xiao Gu’s shadows could be used like this before?

Zhan Jinli’s expression darkened. All the shocking thoughts about his younger brother being Approaching Science were suppressed, and he glared at Gu Jiancheng first. Deep Shadow is actually this good at currying favor with my brother; he really is full of scheming tricks!

Zhan Yan: “Ah… let’s talk while we eat.”

He picked up one of the desserts. The item was a soft yellow color with a layer of fine white crumbs sprinkled on top. Upon picking up the plate, it jiggled softly and bouncily; he didn’t know what kind of pastry it was, but it looked very appetizing.

Gu Jiancheng had already smoothly sat down beside him, seamlessly picking up a spoon and handing it right to Zhan Yan’s hand. Zhan Yan took the spoon, only to see his brother’s face was dark, his gaze gloomy. He took another look at Xiao Gu. Gu Jiancheng’s ears were red, his eyes bright, his gaze fixed solely on Zhan Yan, completely ignoring Zhan Jinli.

Zhan Yan: “Ge, you eat too!”

Keep your mouths busy and don’t argue!

He took the lead by scooping up a bite with the spoon, fretting over how to explain.

The bite of dessert entered his mouth; the soft, tender treat melted instantly, and a rich milky fragrance immediately filled his entire mouth.

This base was located on the grasslands, so there was no shortage of fresh milk; the dessert’s quality was extraordinarily high!

Zhan Yan instantly forgot his fretting over how to explain and began slacking off: “Sigh, there’s really nothing much to explain. It’s just that last year I suddenly gained information-type abilities, and then discovered that this world actually isn’t purely materialistic. After that, I fumbled my way onto the chaofan forum, and then through a series of accidents, I discovered everyone was wearing secret identities.”

What else was there to explain? Things were already like this, knowing was enough.

His younger brother was blatantly lying flat. Zhan Jinli’s forehead vein popped twice.

He refused to believe this brat would explain it like this when facing their parents!

Based on Yan Yan’s previous confession, their sister should have been the first to know… Oh, no wonder his sister had suddenly started tormenting him before. Because Lin Yuan had asked Rong Sui to revise the order eighteen times, his sister knew he was Lin Yuan. From whom did she find out? No need to ask, it was definitely his younger brother.

“You told Wan Yan my whereabouts,” Zhan Jinli said, his tone heavy.

Zhan Yan felt a little guilty: “Ah… um, I didn’t know you were my brother back then.”

“You told Suiru, yet you didn’t tell me.” Zhan Jinli’s gaze was lingering and resentful.

Zhan Yan felt even more guilty, too embarrassed to keep eating the dessert: “Th-that was an accident… Mmph.”

Gu Jiancheng stuffed a spoonful of his own dessert into his mouth. The blueberry jam and cream flavors blended harmoniously; the refreshing sweet and sour taste of the blueberries perfectly neutralized the heavy richness of the cream, leaving only an enriched, fragrant sweetness.

Zhan Jinli looked coldly at Gu Jiancheng.

Heh! Scheming green tea! Just trying to make himself look magnanimous, acting like he doesn’t care about anything, right?

Gu Jiancheng had no time to bother with him. He was currently drowning in his own guilt. Thinking back to his aggressive, picking-fights-with-everyone behavior when using the “I Just Saved the World!” account, he wished he could time-travel back and start over. When people are on the internet, it’s inevitable that they act a little bit unbridled…

When he registered the “I Just Saved the World!” account, he never intended to hold himself back, always acting as flamboyant and arrogant as possible. The moment he remembered that all those behaviors had been witnessed by Yan Yan… Gu Jiancheng turned red from the roots of his ears all the way down his neck.

Zhan Jinli: “You…”

His communicator suddenly started ringing; tapping it open, the message was from Ning Xi.

Ning Xi’s emotions were a bit complex right now. Da Wule had messaged him, telling him that Tianshi and the Chongming Demon King had suddenly bolted halfway through a mission, and also asking him to verify the news that “Tianshi and the Chongming Demon King are married”—Lingzhou Wendi suspected that the Howling Moon Wolf King, Bai Po, was pulling his leg. This white-furred guy didn’t look like a good demon at all!

Ning Xi verified this news for Da Wule, and simultaneously contacted Ji Yueming urgently to ask what had happened. While waiting for a reply, he dealt with the matter of Da Wule and the Howling Moon Wolf King discovering the Ghost King Seal of Lin Yuan on the remains of Monster Doctor’s clone—

Within these few minutes, replies trickled in from various locations: the Monster Doctor clones they found were all dead, bearing different traces—Tianshi’s heavenly thunder, the Chongming Demon King’s demonic power, the Ghost King Seal of Lin Yuan, and Rong Sui’s mental energy storm.

To simultaneously trigger the powers of these four people—there was no need to even think about it; it was definitively their youngest son, Zhan Yan, who had encountered trouble. And the one who attacked was Monster Doctor.

By the looks of it, Monster Doctor had tried to steal a chicken only to end up losing his rice. He wondered if the guy had any other clones left alive now. Judging from the reactions of Tianshi and the Chongming Demon King, as well as the condition of Monster Doctor’s clones, Ning Xi deduced that Zhan Yan should be fine.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, he received Ji Yueming’s message. Zhan Yan was fine. Ning Xi breathed a sigh of relief.

“What about Monster Doctor?”

Tianshi: “Dead thoroughly.”

Dead thoroughly, that’s quite good.

But he had just used Monster Doctor as a pretext to unite the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau, the Wan Yao Alliance, and the players, using the opportunity of collaboration to help them mesh together. Yet Monster Doctor just up and died just like that.

Who should he find for the next target? Using Infinite’s will directly as a target felt a bit too abstract; other anomalies were either too scattered or lacked enough weight. It was still better to have a more concrete figure.

Speaking of which, Monster Doctor was truly a perfect target for tempering. He had enough weight, a clear image, and also created many clones; each clone could serve as a target for a small group, allowing members of many groups to mesh together simultaneously. He hadn’t expected him to die this quickly. He needed to find a new target.

While Ning Xi’s mind rapidly scrolled through follow-up plans, he was also thinking that Ji Yueming’s reply had come later than he expected; he wondered if something had happened.

Ning Xi: “Did some accident happen?”

Tianshi: “Mmh…”

Tianshi: “The situation is rather complicated.”

Tianshi: “But it can’t be called a bad thing.”

Ning Xi rarely saw Ji Yueming acting this hesitant about something, and couldn’t help but feel curious. Tianshi: “Yan Yan is in love.”

Ning Xi looked at his communicator during a pause in reviewing documents: Oh, the worries of parents. He could listen for now, and after finishing these few documents, it would be about time to discuss the more important matters…

Tianshi: “His partner is Deep Shadow.” Ning Xi nearly stabbed his pen through the document. “Who did you say?!”

Ning Xi spent some time digesting the news he received from Ji Yueming. Approaching Science, Deep Shadow… no wonder he had vaguely felt earlier that if he wanted to handle Deep Shadow, he would need to start with Approaching Science.

When Ji Yueming turned on the communication projection and let him join the ad-hoc meeting on their end, Ning Xi was still slightly in a daze. This family had already swept up the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau, the Wan Yao Alliance, Mount Chaofu, and Infinite bosses all in one net; now with Deep Shadow added to the mix, even the side of the Infinite players was encompassed. This definitely wasn’t a coincidence!

Once the projection connected, Ning Xi quickly recovered his professional demeanor. The people participating in this meeting were all those who had guessed Zhan Yan’s identity. They could all figure out why Monster Doctor would make a move on Zhan Yan. The question now was: how did Monster Doctor find Zhan Yan? Had he and Infinite discovered that Zhan Yan was Bai Ze?

“Yan Yan still hasn’t suspected his own identity even now,” Zhan Suiru said. She had just probed her younger brother; the kid was acting like a little fool, still fretting over how to resolve the conflict between his brother and Deep Shadow, not feeling that he was anything special at all.

This situation was highly abnormal. Given Bai Ze’s sharpness, he shouldn’t be completely oblivious up to this point. But they were all very familiar with this phenomenon—wasn’t it exactly the same as when everyone mistook “mental” for “network” before?

Zhan Yunkai understood this situation better: “He is self-concealing.” Many strange beasts possessed this instinct, hiding their existence when heavily wounded. It was just that Bai Ze’s divine ability was special, and the way it manifested seemed somewhat different.

Having a direction to guess towards, combined with the reactions of Infinite and Monster Doctor, they could roughly deduce a few things. Bai Ze’s self-concealment made others unable to connect Zhan Yan and Bai Ze. The fact that they could know was likely due to spending time together day and night, sharing a close relationship. Ning Xi was the exception; the sensitivity to information possessed by the former Great Diviner was not something ordinary people could compare to.

The current situation was roughly that Infinite already knew Bai Ze was still alive, but couldn’t confirm who Bai Ze was.

Ning Xi: “Monster Doctor might have been thrown out by Infinite to test the waters. Previously, it only knew Rong Sui was by his side; now that you are all exposed, the next time Infinite tries to make a move, it will inevitably target you.”

Zhan Yunkai gave a low hmph, very much wanting to say that even if they were exposed, they could protect him, but his brows still furrowed involuntarily. Infinite was sinister and treacherous; guarding against a thief for a thousand days would eventually lead to mistakes.

Zhan Suiru thought of someone: “Deep Shadow hasn’t been exposed yet. By the time he arrived, Monster Doctor was already dead.”

Gu Jiancheng definitely left protection on Yan Yan too, but she didn’t know what type it was; it hadn’t been triggered. That actually kept it perfectly hidden. Infinite would never imagine that Bai Ze was currently dating Deep Shadow.

Ji Yueming was thoughtful: “His identity is also hidden well; no matter how we investigated before, we couldn’t find any issues. It should still be possible to fool Infinite.”

Zhan Suiru hesitated for a moment, then asked: “Then, should we drop hints to him about Yan Yan’s identity?”

Zhan Yunkai and Ji Yueming said in unison: “No.”

Ning Xi added slowly: “I also think it’s best not to. No one knows the extent of his self-concealment. One less person knowing means one more layer of safety.”

Zhan Suiru: “Then… should we tell Ge?”

Ji Yueming: “Mmh… to be safe, let’s not tell him for now either.”

Zhan Yunkai: “If he can guess it himself, that’s fine.” Zhan Suiru nodded silently.

Then, Ge, just wait a bit longer. Waiting is fine too. Ge probably suffered a huge shock this time; he should rest a bit before taking the next wave of shock.