“You wouldn’t be trying to tell me that Xiao Tan is essentially some kind of monster, would you?” Feng Bujue asked.

“Heh heh heh… very good. After accepting the supernatural setting, your way of thinking has suddenly broadened,” Woody said with a smile. “But your guess is wrong.”

“Then what is it? Multiple personality disorder?” Feng Bujue continued.

“Nay, nay…” Woody replied. “It should be said that it’s a soul’s self-preservation mechanism; a kind of… power he can’t fully control yet.”

“Oh… then would this mechanism you speak of cause amnesia?” Feng Bujue asked again.

“Of course not,” Woody said.

“Hmm… that’s strange then,” Feng Bujue mused. “I remember… the day after that incident, Xiao Tan’s family helped him take a week off from school and took him away from S City. Just when I thought they were preparing to permanently flee the country… a week later, Xiao Tan came back to school as if nothing had happened.” He paused at this point. “Later, I tested him a few times… he had clearly completely forgotten everything that happened in the alley. I also talked to his parents, and they only said… Xiao Tan has already forgotten about it, so don’t mention it again.”

“Heh heh… they’re not wrong, because Wang Tanzhi’s memory of that time has indeed been isolated,” Woody replied.

“Huh?” Feng Bujue was stunned for a moment, then speculated, “So… he was taken abroad to be brainwashed?”

“No such thing,” Woody said. “It’s just that Wang Tanzhi’s parents weren’t too comfortable with their son’s condition, so they took him to Dubai and had his grandfather help deal with it.”

“His grandfather is a magician?” Feng Bujue asked.

“Hahahaha…” Woody seemed to have been struck by a funny bone and burst out laughing. “Hahaha… used to be… hahahaha…” He laughed harder and harder, even slapping his thigh.

“Sigh… they all claim to be geniuses, but usually act like idiots…” Asazhi sighed on the sofa, looking at his superior.

“Ah… sorry… heh heh heh…” Woody finally stopped laughing after a long while. “I thought of something very interesting.”

“Let me summarize…” Feng Bujue said, “My buddy who I’ve been playing with since I was a kid, a Gao Shuai Fu (tall, handsome, and rich) with a decent job… actually has some amazing supernatural power hidden in his body, and his family knows about it… and doesn’t care. Because from his grandfather’s generation, this has been a common occurrence.”

“That’s right,” Woody replied.

Feng Bujue took a deep breath. “Okay… I think… some problems that have been bothering me for years have been solved.”

“Heh heh heh…” Woody continued, “You mean the cover-up work for the murder case?” He shrugged. “I was responsible for the cover-up, so naturally it was seamless.”

“You did it?” Feng Bujue pondered for a few seconds. “No wonder there was no media coverage of this back then… I was wondering, four people died, how could…”

“Heh heh… if it wasn’t me, who else could it be?” Woody smiled. “Also… are you sure only four people died back then?”

As soon as he said this, Feng Bujue felt a chill run down his spine. His eyes changed slightly. “You took care of that…”

“Yes, I took care of the eyewitness as well,” Woody said. “The case was closed as a melee between four hooligans that affected passersby, resulting in the deaths of all five.”

“Are the police also under your control…” Feng Bujue said, “And… how could the families of the dead accept such a result?”

“I’m a devil… I have plenty of ways,” Woody said. “Heh heh heh… anyway, it’s more effective than what you did…”

“Hmph…” Feng Bujue just snorted and didn’t reply. Because… he had done something similar back then.

…

That day, in the alley, Jue-Ge’s appearance restored Xiao Tan’s sanity, but the latter immediately fainted.

So, the whole mess was dumped on Feng Bujue.

Jue-Ge first calmly observed the situation in front of him. Then, he checked the pulses of the four thugs… After confirming that all four were dead, he simply left the dead aside and walked to the little fatty squatting in the corner of the alley, and began to ask about the situation just now.

With the help of both deception and a series of ear slaps, Jue-Ge successfully extracted what had happened from the eyewitness, who had already been scared witless.

Next, he faced a major decision…

Calling the police was undoubtedly the “correct” choice. Leave this to the police to deal with, and after that, it would have nothing to do with him. Just like countless famous detectives had said – “Our duty is to find out the truth, we have no right to decide the life and death of others.”

But… Feng Bujue made another choice… He intimidated the eyewitness.

He used his reasoning ability to quickly state the other party’s school, grade, and even the neighborhood where he lived… and made violent and death threats in a serious, cold tone.

“You hate them too, right? You wish they were dead, right? Do you think anyone will believe what you say? If I and my friend testify together, saying that you killed them, it seems more credible, right?” After intimidation came guidance. Only in this way could the other party be made to act according to his ideas, only in this way could the other party believe that – doing what the person in front of him said was the only way out.

Soon, Feng Bujue forced the other party to memorize a statement of “four hooligans fighting among themselves.” After confirming that the eyewitness dared not call the police, he let him go.

After that, he began to clean up the scene and clear the evidence… He wiped off all the bloody palm prints on the iron rod and imprinted the fingerprints of several of the dead; he took off the clothes of the dead man in the leather jacket, cleaned the collar, cuffs, and hem of the clothes where fingerprints could easily be left, then covered them with some of the dead man’s own fingerprints, and threw them aside; he carefully wiped off every footprint left by himself and Xiao Tan, as well as the palm prints on the ground; he even carried out secondary destruction on the corpses… further expanding the impact of the fractures, in order to disrupt the judgment during the autopsy…

When Feng Bujue was serious about doing something… his execution and planning were very strong, and the whole process only took him five minutes…

Finally, he took off his school uniform, put it on over Xiao Tan’s coat, carried him on his back, and carried two schoolbags by himself, and swaggered out of the alley.

In order to avoid the surveillance cameras on the nearby streets, he deliberately detoured through two more alleys and passed through a residential area. Then, Jue-Ge hailed a taxi and sent Xiao Tan home.

This road was not very long, and Feng Bujue’s school uniform had covered the blood and stains on Xiao Tan’s body, so the driver did not suspect anything.

In less than ten minutes, the two arrived at Xiao Tan’s home. His home was a high-end community with a detached house. Feng Bujue had been there a few times before, and he used the intercom to call Xiao Tan’s parents down, one to have them pay the fare (Jue-Ge’s pocket money was really small back then), and two to have them help carry the person…

…

“What you did can indeed interfere with the police’s investigation to a certain extent, but that’s far from enough,” Woody said. “You should be very clear about this.”

“Yeah… even if I consciously avoided the surveillance cameras on the street when leaving the alley, I can’t guarantee that they weren’t filmed before entering the alley…” Feng Bujue said. “After all, I was only a junior high school student that year. Even if I could come up with several plans to sneak into the local police station and destroy the video files, it would be difficult to implement them.” He spread his hands. “Of course… what I’m most worried about is that witness… it’s only a matter of time before he tells the truth.”

“So… in the end, all you can do is delay the progress of the investigation,” Woody continued. “Heh heh… but you only need to do that… because you know that Wang Tanzhi’s family has a certain background. As long as there is time, they can operate a lot of things. Whether it’s legal… or illegal…”

“Actually, I was prepared at the time… waiting for the police to come to my door at any time to assist in the investigation,” Feng Bujue said. “I watched the news every day during that time, but there wasn’t a single report… I originally speculated that it was the result of Xiao Tan’s family’s mediation, but when I thought about it, it seemed unlikely… after all, this case is not small. It wasn’t until today… that I knew the truth.”

“I have a question…” Woody pushed his glasses and cast a strange look at Jue-Ge. “If you had enough ability, could be as foolproof as I am… would you kill that eyewitness in order to help your friend get away with the crime?”

“How is that possible,” Feng Bujue replied quickly. “I helped Xiao Tan cover up the evidence because I believed in him, I believed that his original intention was self-defense.” He said with a face full of righteousness. “But let me kill someone to silence them… this involves another life, that eyewitness has no grievances with me, I’ve never met him…”

“We can tell that you’re lying,” Asazhi interrupted Jue-Ge’s nonsense.

“Tch… why didn’t you say so earlier,” Feng Bujue’s tone immediately became lazy and casual. “Since I’ve decided to do it, of course I have to do it flawlessly and completely eradicate the root of the problem…”

“Well said…” Woody praised. “You really are that kind of person…”

“Oh? What kind of person am I?” Feng Bujue smiled.

“You are the kind of person… who deep down regards morality and law as worthless, and always applies your own unique criteria to things,” Woody said gloomily. “You are the kind of person… who must be constrained by strict laws and systems; you are the kind of person… once you gain the power to break common sense, the consequences will be unimaginable…”

“Hmph… the last two sentences of yours apply to most human beings,” Feng Bujue said. “Doesn’t everyone want to run wild?” He tilted his head. “As for the first sentence… can’t you just say that I have antisocial tendencies?”

“Heh heh heh… very good…” Woody said. “Conversations between villains should be a little more explicit.”

“Then let me ask you a few questions in a more direct way,” Feng Bujue said. “First of all… Xiao Tan should be fine right now, right?”

“You don’t need to worry about his affairs,” Woody pointed to the clock on the wall. “Because he hasn’t been answering the phone, so… two minutes ago, Gu Xiaoling has already driven to his home.” He grinned again. “Heh heh heh… she can handle this kind of small scene.”

“Huh?” Feng Bujue continued, “Could it be that Gu Xiaoling is also…”

“Heh heh heh… don’t worry, she’s human,” Woody said. “And not under my jurisdiction.”

“Hmm…” Feng Bujue pondered. “I say… how many non-normal humans are there among the people I know?”

“No comment,” Woody replied.

“Heh…” Feng Bujue sneered, “Then let’s talk about me.” He raised his hand and gently tapped his temple with his index and middle fingers. “What did you do to my brain?”

“Heh heh… is there even a need to ask? I sealed your fear,” Woody replied.

“Why?” Feng Bujue asked again.

“Ah… why… heh heh heh…” Woody repeated the question, then laughed again.

“You don’t want to answer this question either?” Feng Bujue said.

Woody shrugged. “It’s not time to tell you yet.” He seemed to suddenly remember something. “Oh, but you can rest assured, this is not some incurable disease, you are temporarily not in danger of losing your life.”

“Heh…” Feng Bujue gave a dry laugh, his face full of displeasure. “That’s really encouraging news.”

“Heh heh heh… perhaps this news can make you a little happier…” Woody continued, “You are not the only one who has been sealed.”

“Oh, who else?” Feng Bujue continued in a cold tone.

Woody grinned to one side, and said the name, “Li Ruoyu.”

Feng Bujue’s eyes changed, and then he was silent for a few seconds before saying, “That’s not right, you’re lying, she can feel fear.”

“Heh heh heh heh… I didn’t say that the emotion she was sealed was ‘fear’,” Woody replied.

Feng Bujue’s expression tightened, he tried hard to recall every moment he spent with Si Yu, recalling her words and deeds… but he couldn’t find any clues.

“You can’t guess,” Woody said. “Even she doesn’t know about the existence of the seal.” He continued with a smile, “Li Ruoyu’s seal was set up not long after she was born. Because it was an infant’s brain, it was easier to handle. Taking action on an adult’s brain may result in shadows, but her seal… is that human medical equipment cannot see…”

Poof—

Feng Bujue suddenly stood up and punched Woody in the face.

“Heh heh heh…” Woody’s cheek was hit hard, but he just pushed his glasses and smiled indifferently. “I said last time… ‘When we meet again, you will be very angry’, look…”

“My finger seems to be fractured,” Feng Bujue lowered his head and looked at his right fist.

“If our conversation can return to a rational and harmonious atmosphere,” Woody said, “I can consider helping you heal your hand.”

Feng Bujue glared at Woody with dead fish eyes, returned to his seat, and after settling down, he raised his right hand and raised his middle finger to the other party.

Woody didn’t care, he just snapped his fingers and helped Feng Bujue repair the injury on his hand.

“You must think… that we guys who treat humans as toys and manipulate them at will are very hateful, right,” Woody said, “But have you ever thought about… what is the relationship between you in the game and those NPCs, monsters, and derivatives? Would beings of higher dimensions care about the feelings of those lower-dimensional beings? Would you care about an ordinary zombie in a game? Would you consider… what was his name before he was infected, what work did he do, does he have a wife, children, and parents waiting for him?”

Feng Bujue did not respond. He had indeed thought about these questions, but he could not get an answer, or rather, he was unwilling to think deeply.

“This is just one of the problems of you humans,” Woody laughed, “You don’t need to be too entangled, heh heh heh…”

“You are unwilling to say the reason for the ‘seal’…” Feng Bujue said, “Then at least tell me… what is the emotion she was sealed with.”

“What is it…” Woody looked up and said desolately, “That is a strong, heartfelt emotion, it is an emotion that no science can explain; it is poetic and full of fantasy… it can make people unforgettable, it can make people fascinated… it can make people swing their fists at opponents they cannot defeat regardless of everything…”

“‘Love’… is it?” Feng Bujue interrupted him, “Unlike fear… not being able to fall in love with others will not be noticed by oneself…”

“Bingo!” Woody shouted.

“You deliberately told me this information…” Feng Bujue continued.

Woody said directly, “Of course it’s to make a deal with you.”

“The content of the transaction?” Jue-Ge responded.

“You do things for me, and after it’s done, I will not only lift your seal, but also hers,” Woody said.

“You make it sound like lifting her seal will do me much good…” Feng Bujue said.

“Heh heh heh…” The lenses of Woody’s glasses flashed with white light. “Say whatever you want.”

Feng Bujue said again, “Then… what do you want me to do?”

“The immediate goal is…” Woody said, “Put away your nonchalant attitude, fight well for me in the Die Zhi Zhan (Butterfly War), and then enter the final stage of the Peak Conquest…”

“By the way,” Feng Bujue interjected, “I was just about to ask you… what exactly is this game…”

“Without me saying it, you should understand that Thriller Paradise is not just a game,” Woody interrupted him. “The things it can decide… and the role you play… are extremely important.” His expression was solemn. “Feng Bujue, you are no more normal than the other three of Hell Front… there is a reason why I bet on you, don’t disappoint me.”

“Okay, okay…” Feng Bujue said, “Then what about after I enter the top 50?”

“Stop her,” Woody replied.

“Stop who?”

No one answered this question, because before Jue-Ge could finish speaking, Woody disappeared abruptly, as if he had never appeared…

Only Asazhi was still lying on the edge of the sofa. He yawned, as if he could see through Feng Bujue’s thoughts, and said, “No, this is not a dream.”