Chapter 23: Your Saviour

Have these people gone mad?

That was the first thought that popped into Yu Ziyu’s mind.

He subconsciously took a step back.

Because they were still staring at him.

That eager, shocked, and comical expression still hadn’t faded from their faces.

Even Xiao He had slowly opened his mouth, obviously stunned by Lou Chen’s words.

He had been checking Xu He’s wound just a moment ago, and now his fingers unconsciously tightened.

Even Xu He, who would have normally cried out in pain, forgot to make a sound.

“Is this for real?!”

After a long moment, Xiao He scraped his chair back with a screech and abruptly stood up, almost dumbfounded.

“Captain, I thought you were joking before!!”

“This is not a joke,” Lou Chen said.

His words caused another stir.

Then Yu Ziyu watched as the so-called elites of the Supernatural Management Bureau began to whisper and murmur among themselves.

They turned the originally quiet meeting room into something like a vegetable market.

If Lou Chen hadn’t been holding onto his windbreaker under the table, Yu Ziyu would have already asked them what they thought they were doing.

“So it wasn’t just an excuse to flirt with him after all…”

Xiao He said painfully.

Lou Chen smiled: “Actually, that was part of it too.”

Yu Ziyu’s face darkened: “…Shut up.

Are you proud of yourself?”

Before they could start arguing, Xu He’s already blood-loss-pale face became even whiter.

He adjusted his glasses, his expression complex: “…I thought that was a rumor.”

“Now that the game is back, it means it wasn’t a rumor.”

Yu Ziyu noticed that when Lou Chen answered his subordinates’ questions, he was somewhat concise and cold, completely different from how he treated him.

He was about to speak, but Lou Chen tugged at the corner of his clothes again.

Yu Ziyu narrowed his eyes at him.

The other man gave him a harmless smile, then blinked, clearly saying “I’ll tell you privately later.”

This deliberately familiar attitude made Yu Ziyu curl his lip and lose interest in asking why.

“We finally have a savior.”

The girl who had exclaimed earlier said, her eyes sparkling.

“My name is Fu Ying.

Hello.”

Her self-introduction was very natural, and honestly, her expression didn’t seem too abrupt.

Because aside from her, the other players’ gazes were also very undisguised.

The kind of treatment Yu Ziyu had received as the photographer Ziyu from the boss-worshipping players was replicated.

Yu Ziyu narrowed his eyes at the girl who had spoken for a moment, then suddenly said, “Hello, Fu Ying.”

Fu Ying gave him a sweet smile.

This sudden change to a more composed attitude surprised Xiao He, who glanced at him.

He hadn’t expected Yu Ziyu to suddenly take the initiative.

The latter turned, walked to the table, bent down slightly, and pulled out a large stack of documents from the drawer.

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed them out.

The stack of papers landed on the table with a crisp thud, sliding a long distance across the surface and scattering like feathers.

Yu Ziyu raised an eyebrow at Lou Chen: “Since that’s the case, shouldn’t you be presenting this document, Captain?”

He emphasized the word “captain,” deliberately drawing out the syllables, making it sound utterly sarcastic.

Everyone’s gaze instinctively followed his movement to the documents.

The words “Psychological Evaluation Report” on the first line immediately caught their eyes, with the subtitle bearing Yu Ziyu’s name.

“If you want to know, just ask me.

I’ll tell you everything,” he said contemptuously.

Yet even with this expression, he still didn’t seem to provoke any aversion.

He tapped the paper with his finger.

“No need to harass my psychologist.”

Lou Chen had no doubt that if this were an RPG game, he would have heard the sound of favorability rapidly dropping into negative values.

The members at the long table exchanged glances.

Only after seeing Yu Ziyu give a slight nod did they take the documents and begin reading.

After a moment, Yu Ziyu cleared his throat.

His presence had already completely overshadowed everyone else in the room, so much so that even a small sound from him attracted everyone’s attention.

“I know you’ve all gathered here for one goal.”

“The savior,” someone murmured.

They had completely forgotten about the previously mentioned appearance of Pride.

Their tones were a bit strange, as if something was caught in their throats.

Their gazes stuck to Yu Ziyu’s face like glue, like people dying of thirst in a desert seeing sweet spring water.

They didn’t question the identity of the savior at all, contrary to what Yu Ziyu had imagined.

“…”

Because of this subtle atmosphere, Yu Ziyu frowned slightly but still intended to finish what he wanted to say.

“And you’re wondering why I was brought here by this guy.”

As he said this, he glanced at Lou Chen.

Lou Chen now had only one thought in his mind: he had become “that guy.”

Damn.

But everyone else was still looking at him, so he just shrugged, silently acquiescing to the correctness of Yu Ziyu’s words, and casually stepped back.

“It’s just like he said.

You’d better listen to me from now on.”

Yu Ziyu said, lifting his chin slightly and speaking coldly.

“I’ll notify you in three days.

Until then, don’t bother me.

If you have any questions, ask your wonderful captain.

I don’t care what you’re thinking, but when Pride appears, you will ensure that every order I give is properly executed.”

His gaze fell on Lou Chen.

Lou Chen immediately obediently stood up and surveyed the room.

That previously restrained aura of authority emerged once more.

For a moment, no one could raise any objection to his words.

“I know what you’re thinking.

It’s true, and we’re ahead of them.”

Them?

Who did they mean?

Yu Ziyu’s confusion was quickly resolved.

“So that’s really great.

You have no idea I couldn’t sleep at all last night!”

Fu Ying said, still shaken.

“When I first saw the announcement that the savior was the photographer Ziyu, I thought we were doomed.

Having those cult members get their hands on our savior—there’s nothing more terrifying than that.”

Xiao He finally snapped back to reality as well: “I originally thought the captain was just trying to win over an enemy…”

As expected of the captain.

No wonder his whole demeanor was off when he met Yu Ziyu back then.

And at that time, the game hadn’t even released the information that “photographer Ziyu is the savior,” right?

He slowly and cautiously filed Lou Chen back into his mental cabinet, unaware that he had overthought it.

“This is good news.”

Even Xu He’s pale face gained a bit of color, let alone the other members who showed delighted expressions.

After all, the information they had received at the time was—photographer Ziyu had attended Jealousy’s manifestation ritual as a “special guest.”

Those cult members, who thrived on chaos and had confused minds, regarded him as the earthly representative of the Land of Desire Amusement Park’s Pride.

After all, his photographic works all had a terrifying, eerie power.

He was practically the spiritual faith among the cult members.

They had originally thought photographer Ziyu would become an enemy on par with Lou Chen.

After all, even the villain side needed a human leader if they were misguided.

So when they heard the game announce that only he could kill Pride, they were terrified.

It’s over.

Everything is finished.

Their savior was actually the spiritual leader of the neighboring heretics?

You must be joking!

This was the game viciously slapping them in the face.

If that were really the case, what should they do?

Because unlike them, those heretics would absolutely help the other bosses appear.

They couldn’t be judged by normal standards.

Even the most experienced high-level members of the Supernatural Management Bureau fell into a state of panic and at a loss within this inescapable loop.

They anxiously hurried over only after hearing Lou Chen wanted to convene a 3A meeting, waiting for their captain to provide a solution.

“Let them cry about it.”

Xiao He sighed in relief and laughed smugly.

“Teacher Ziyu is one of us now.”

Because of his words, the room instantly filled with a cheerful atmosphere, dissipating the previously tense and frozen, terrifying atmosphere.

Yu Ziyu suspected that if they weren’t indoors, they might have immediately started an exaggerated celebration, maybe even surround him up and whooped.

It was too terrifying.

Finally.

Yu Ziyu pieced together what they were thinking.

His expression also turned somewhat strange…

No wonder, no wonder these people were looking at him so strangely.

This game was simply too interesting.

He even wondered if, since he held multiple positions, he should ask for multiple salaries.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

So, that meant, as the “outsider photographer Ziyu,” he was completely, absolutely not the marginal figure he had imagined himself to be.

The subtle power transmitted through his casually taken photographic works had actually made those heretic boss-worshippers acknowledge him as their spiritual leader.

He had actually had some premonition about this identity too, after all, Gu Leyue and the gatekeeper’s attitudes had already explained everything.

But now, listening to these people, they had actually accepted the existence of a real savior without any obstacle?

Unbelievable.

…Although he did need this to get those points.

Thinking of this, Yu Ziyu finally deigned to glance at Lou Chen.

He belatedly realized that this was probably what the other wanted to tell him privately later.

He noticed that the other had been watching him all along.

His gaze held no inquisitiveness, as if he simply wanted to look at him quietly and attentively.

This made Yu Ziyu feel a trace of complexity.

He suddenly remembered when they had been partners during the level process.

Yu Ziyu rarely made a move back then because he didn’t think it was necessary.

So he always appeared very lazy, with a low presence.

And Lou Chen never felt there was anything wrong with that.

His consideration had been very agreeable to Yu Ziyu at the time.

And when they had free time, Lou Chen would always look at him like this—quietly and steadily—almost making him drowsy.

It was this kind of tolerant, attentive gaze that made him feel so at ease.

That was why, on a whim, he hadn’t left this human… until… until they reached the seventh floor.

Yu Ziyu’s expression remained impassive on the surface.

He simply suppressed the memory and gave Lou Chen a cold, warning glance.

“Still want to keep your eyes?”

Lou Chen was momentarily speechless at his domineering attitude.

But then, he looked away and said calmly, “Whatever you say, savior.”

Yu Ziyu’s eyes darkened.

Then, he turned his face away.

The others hadn’t noticed their hushed exchange.

They were still excitedly discussing the matter of the savior.

Yu Ziyu didn’t understand why their acceptance was so high, but he knew he would eventually find out the reason.

His peripheral vision slid towards the door.

He happened to catch a glint of light reflecting from the crack in the door.

It indicated someone was pacing back and forth outside.

This detail made Yu Ziyu slowly narrow his eyes, revealing an intrigued expression.

“…Anyway, this is Pride’s mistake.

Its biggest error was not imagining that someone could contend with it.”

The voice grew louder.

The girl named Fu Ying said excitedly, “Three days is more than enough.

We have Teacher Ziyu now—that’s our biggest trump card!”

“So it’s called Pride, because it can’t see the power within Teacher Ziyu.”

She said firmly.

“It will definitely pay the price for this.”

As her inflammatory words fell, an excited atmosphere permeated the room.

They all whipped their heads around, staring intently at Yu Ziyu as if afraid he might disappear.

The way they looked at him was practically as if they wanted to hold him in the palm of their hands.

Yu Ziyu was again: “…”

“I don’t think that was its original intention,” he muttered, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Then, he stepped back somewhat annoyed.

Lou Chen immediately realized he didn’t want to be stared at with such fervent gazes.

So he instantly hid him behind his own body, completely blocking Yu Ziyu from view.

Unable to see the savior’s figure, the members immediately showed disappointed expressions.

Lou Chen ignored their protests and even moved forward slightly.

Although his figure was similarly slender and upright, his movements were elegant and powerful like a leopard’s.

He was half a head taller than Yu Ziyu, so this completely obstructed even a glimpse of him.

“Your phone rang just now.

It was your agent looking for you,” Lou Chen said, quickly getting into character.

“Leave the rest to us, okay, Minister?

Your inspection can end here.

I promise I won’t cause any trouble and will inform you if anything comes up.”

Yu Ziyu didn’t know how, from that distance, he had seen the screen of the phone he’d just fished out.

But it showed his abilities were quite extraordinary; perhaps the special physique the game had given him hadn’t disappeared.

But realizing what he was saying, Yu Ziyu immediately frowned: “Don’t call me minister.

I haven’t agreed to join you yet.

Don’t be so familiar.”

But Lou Chen just pretended he hadn’t heard that.

By now, he had learned how to maintain a smile under Yu Ziyu’s sarcasm—by pretending to have intermittent deafness.

Yu Ziyu gave a light snort.

“One last thing.”

He suddenly remembered something.

Still frowning, he beckoned Lou Chen over before leaving the room.

The latter, though puzzled, still lowered his head so Yu Ziyu could whisper in his ear without standing on tiptoe.

Then, he felt Yu Ziyu’s breath brush against his cheek: “Don’t say I have any connection to you.

It won’t do you any good.”

Lou Chen quickly caught on: “What are you planning?”

This wasn’t the usual resistance… it had another meaning.

“Just in case, I’m thinking of trying my hand at being a leader on the heretic side.”

Yu Ziyu said coldly, with his trademark sarcastic tone.

“Maybe you’ll end up with a double agent?

Who knows.

Since I’m already drawing multiple salaries, a little more wouldn’t hurt.”