Nothing good ever came of Lu Renyi wearing that expression. After spending this much time with him, the System had already figured out how his mind worked.
If he found something boring, Lu Renyi would not do it no matter how great the reward. But if he found it interesting, he would see it through no matter how much trouble he encountered.
Unfortunately, whatever caught Lu Renyi's interest and struck him as fun was rarely anything good.
The System had just submitted a request for emergency contact regarding a major incident and connected directly with the head of their branch bureau, only to receive the response that they should let matters run their course.
"If he's truly powerful enough to keep the original protagonist completely suppressed, then what need is there for the original protagonist to exist?"
That was what their department head had said. He had even contacted the person who had created the plot and called him over to discuss it in person.
Then, under the System's expectant gaze, the man blinked his large eyes and stared at their department head in disbelief.
"You called me over in the middle of the afternoon just to ask me this? Look at the dark circles under my eyes. I wish those characters could all move on their own instead of relying on my plot arrangements."
Under the department head's satisfied gaze, the System received its assignment.
It was to tell Lu Renyi that, as long as the plot arrangements remained unchanged, he could add screentime for himself. If he surpassed the original mission target, he could contact them afterward and join their department directly.
"When that happens, Host, you'll truly have an iron rice bowl. After joining our Quick Transmigration Branch Bureau, you won't be able to experience different lives like those in the General Bureau and will only enter various comic worlds."
"But in a sense, Host, you can achieve immortality. The compensation is generous too. You can use the points earned from completing missions to obtain anything you want."
Lu Renyi was not currently interested in the Quick Transmigration General Bureau or Quick Transmigration Branch Bureau the System spoke of, but he understood that the System's superiors were extending an olive branch.
He no longer needed to think about how to negotiate with them. As long as he did not interfere with the plot's development, he would have the freedom to choose whatever he wanted to do in the future.
"Your superior is pretty good at winning people over."
With one airy promise, they had a chance to secure a permanent worker.
And what would happen if Lu Renyi interfered with the plot's development or failed? When the System first found him, it had said that this world was like a testing ground to them. If they were dissatisfied, they would simply restart it, and the loss would not be too great.
The System could not tell whether Lu Renyi's words contained more praise or sarcasm, so it silently shut its mouth.
Lu Renyi did not make things too difficult for it. When he saw that the red dots marking Lin Shubei and Qi Yue had stopped moving while Xie Qin and Jian Yi were drawing closer to him, he stood and left the room.
"I'm not interested in joining you and spending my whole life as a slave. But since you've said I now have some freedom to do what I want, thank you."
The System was not surprised that Lu Renyi had refused to join them. After all, the department head had just said that the probability of Lu Renyi joining them was no higher than 0.1%.
"Then why did you still ask me to negotiate with Host, Department Head?"
"Him being able to see that we'll never come out at a disadvantage is one thing. Us asking whether he'd like to join us is another. Merely asking recognizes his ability, and it's also an excellent means of intimidation."
"A means of intimidation?"
"Suppressing people through force is the stupidest method. I prefer watching everyone take on missions voluntarily. It's so nice when everyone is happy."
The department head had worn a constant smile as he said that, yet the System had instinctively found him frightening.
"We recognize his ability, but we aren't forcing him to join us. That's how we show him respect. You said it yourself: your Host is outstanding. The more outstanding someone is, the more pride they have and the less willing they are to let us manipulate them. That's why he won't join us."
"But he also knows that we're watching his every move, so he'll be even less likely to let himself grow lax. After all, we've recognized his ability without forcing him. If he grows weaker and weaker, we'll inevitably mock him a little."
"He'll work harder and harder, striving to do his absolute best to prove that he doesn't need to rely on anyone or any faction. In the process, the plot is bound to become more exciting and attract more readers. Isn't that exactly what we want?"
"So it's better if he doesn't join us. If he came here, I'd be worried he'd slack off and waste our branch bureau's resources. Things have been unsettled at the General Bureau lately. It's best that we don't create any complications."
Obeying its superiors' orders was embedded at the core of the System's directives. Since their department head had said so, it had negotiated with Lu Renyi in line with his attitude. But after seeing that Lu Renyi really was more motivated than before, it could not help admiring their department head even more.
"Host, aren't you afraid that some passing Church member will see you standing in the doorway like this and use it as an excuse to punish you?"
Although Lu Renyi truly controlled the situation on this floor, in everyone else's eyes, he was still the original leader. In essence, he was still the lowest slave in the building.
Once someone caught him slacking off, troublemakers would inevitably come over to make things difficult for him. They might not be able to hurt Lu Renyi, but there was still a chance his identity would be exposed.
If he were eliminated early, it would also affect the grades of the other members of the protagonist's group.
"This is the quietest part of the floor. Apart from Xie Qin and Jian Yi coming to find me, no one should set foot here for some time. Even if someone does come, unless the Grand Elder himself comes for me, no one on this floor can hurt me."
The System raised no objection, such as asking why Lin Shubei and Qi Yue would not come. Lu Renyi could more or less guess why those two had remained stationary for so long.
In the original plot, the two of them must also have encountered something at this point. Coupled with the notice Lu Renyi had just received that the mission had been accepted, he could piece together part of the truth.
Lin Shubei and Qi Yue had probably encountered aberrants. The only question was whether the aberrants they met were alive or dead.
They had to investigate the aberrants' origin. Low-level aberrants might not be intelligent, but they were not stupid enough to run here and offer themselves up for death. Someone had brought them here. All they needed to learn was who had done it and why.
Lu Renyi hoped Lin Shubei and Qi Yue could find more information on the second underground level. It would be troublesome if they did not even have a clue to the true identity of the person who had lured them there.
Lu Renyi sorted through what he needed to do next in his head and asked the System to bring up a screen so he could record it. When Xie Qin and Jian Yi arrived, they found him writing and drawing in midair with his hand, occasionally zooming in and out.
"Lu Renyi, is this a lingering effect of Qi Yue driving you insane? Is there something here for you to look at?"
Xie Qin walked over and waved his hand in front of Lu Renyi, striking the screen the System had erected. Lu Renyi watched the screen in empty space flicker before several random wavy lines appeared across his notes.
Lu Renyi: ...
Could anyone use this thing the System had made?
"Host, you can't blame me for this. Xie Qin came over and caused trouble on his own. But I made a backup for you just now, so don't worry."
Afraid that Lu Renyi might split it apart in a fit of displeasure, the System hurried to declare its loyalty. It then withdrew the screen and fell silent, clearly unwilling to communicate with Lu Renyi any further.
With peace restored inside his head and nothing wrong with his notes despite Xie Qin's interference, Lu Renyi remained in a fairly good mood and looked Xie Qin and Jian Yi over.
"Looks like you two had a decent time over the last few hours. Your clothes aren't even rumpled."
Xie Qin rolled his eyes. He considered himself a well-mannered person. After all, he often attended banquets with his elder brothers and sisters and could not embarrass his family.
But in the few days since he had met Lu Renyi and the others, he had rolled his eyes more often than in all the previous dozen years combined.
"We were dragged into a meeting all morning. We originally planned to discuss what to do next together, but you just ran off."
"Running off was one thing, but then you stayed in one room for so long. We thought something had happened to you. That Ke fellow even came over to enjoy the spectacle."
Lu Renyi shrugged, paying no mind to Xie Qin's complaints. Instead, he brought up the other mission.
"I don't know who sent Lin Shubei and Qi Yue to meet the aberrants either. Judging by its point value, the mission we just accepted shouldn't be easy."
"Do you need me to make a prediction?"
Jian Yi could predict any specified point within the next three days. The closer the point in time, the more accurate the prediction. But if it involved too many people and events, the backlash she suffered would be severe.
"We'll be here for ten days. Make the prediction on the seventh day and see how much of our mission we've completed."
Lu Renyi did not think he would get a poor result while on the team with the true protagonist. But for that very reason, his score could not stand out too much.
The System had told him before that, according to the plot's development, Lin Shubei would receive the highest individual score for the practical portion this time. Lu Renyi therefore could not do too much. His score could not exceed Lin Shubei's, but it could not fall too far behind either.
Things did not always unfold according to his plans, but he was somewhat controlling and disliked matters slipping beyond his grasp. With Jian Yi here, they could learn the result in advance and make preparations early.
Three days was a good interval.
Neither Xie Qin nor Jian Yi objected to his idea. They simply assumed that Lu Renyi wanted to make the mission a little safer.
"Then should we go find Linzi and Old Qi now? If they're shown on the second underground level, it looks like we can take that unguarded staircase straight down."
Jian Yi was a little anxious. The moment the bonus mission was issued, she had begun feeling uneasy, constantly worrying that some danger involving Lin Shubei and Qi Yue had triggered it.
The moment she saw Lu Renyi waiting here for her and Xie Qin, Jian Yi knew her premonition had most likely come true. In the three years since she had met Lin Shubei and Qi Yue, the three of them had faced calamities large and small without end, but the dread in her heart this time ran deep.
Lu Renyi stared closely at Jian Yi for a long while. When he noticed that her hands were trembling with anxiety, he prodded the System and asked it a question.
"Will anything happen to Lin Shubei and Qi Yue during this trial? Jian Yi's emotions seem so off."
"No. This midterm exam's trial-ground plot is meant to showcase every member of the protagonist's group to the readers. The focus is on letting them show off. The protagonist becomes famous throughout Supernova Ability Academy because of it, and the following plot develops from there."
Then what was Jian Yi worried about?
Lu Renyi had originally thought that since Lin Shubei, Jian Yi, and Qi Yue had known one another for so long and shared a bond forged through life-and-death experiences, the comic was displaying their concern for one another's circumstances.
But if the two below were fine, what was Jian Yi worrying about now? He first offered a few words of reassurance, then heard the System speak hesitantly.
"Host, there's something I'm not sure whether I should say. I have a theory about why Jian Yi is so worried."
"What is it?"
"Is it possible that the illusion you laid down is affecting Jian Yi, Host?"
Lu Renyi found that strange. He had not cast an illusion on Jian Yi, so how could it affect her?
"The nature of an illusion is that it separates spaces, just like the 【Silent Prison】 you display to outsiders, Host."
"By laying down an illusion on such a large scale just now, Host, you effectively separated the entire floor from the outside world. Information inside and outside no longer matched. Lin Shubei and Qi Yue were far away from Jian Yi, leaving her no way to learn their condition. Maybe that's... that's why."
Lu Renyi fell silent for a long moment and looked gravely at Jian Yi.
He had thought the three of them had merely developed an unspoken understanding after spending so much time together. Had they actually reached the point of precise location tracking? The plot truly was remarkable.
"There are aberrants on the second underground level, and we've been asked to investigate their origin. That can't be somewhere we can enter casually. Going there like this could easily cause trouble."
Lu Renyi disagreed with the idea, and Xie Qin also found it inappropriate. Jian Yi's concern had clouded her judgment, but she was not entirely without restraint. Hearing them say this, she barely suppressed the unease in her heart and asked what they planned to do next.
"I already have a general understanding of this floor's layout. The room beside the one where I stayed just now is the Grand Elder's lounge. Two guards stand watch outside, and defensive abilities have also been laid down around it."
"What about you two? Did you see the legendary Grand Elder during the meeting?"
Lu Renyi briefly described what he had done without mentioning the details, then turned the conversation toward them.
"That meeting lasted all morning. They kept going on about how the Church would definitely defeat the government and how they needed to win more people over instead of letting the government attract too many ability users."
The more Xie Qin thought about that morning's meeting, the more disgusted he felt. He had always been interested in history. When he had read accounts of the Church, he had merely regarded it as a fallen, decaying institution. Experiencing it firsthand revealed just how revolting the Church truly was.
"We saw the Grand Elder too. He's a Level-Eight ability user, and that staff really is powerful. Even from far away, we could sense intense elemental fluctuations from its lightning ability."
Elemental abilities were highly suited to attack, especially lightning and fire. No wonder stealing the staff was a separate mission.
The Grand Elder never let the staff leave his side. Stealing it would be no easier than killing him.
"Let's spend this afternoon and tomorrow focusing on the Grand Elder's daily routine, then investigate the aberrants. When Lin Shubei and Qi Yue see us gathered together later, they should come over too."
"BOOM—"
A deafening crash interrupted their conversation. Even the floor beneath them shook.
The three of them exchanged looks, realizing something was wrong with the noise. They raised their wrists and looked at the red dots marking Lin Shubei and Qi Yue's positions, only to find that both were moving rapidly.
All right. It looked like those two really had caused the disturbance.