I Am Your Natural Enemy-Chapter 719 - 274: Evil Thoughts, Time to Claim the Prize (5k)_3

"At least for the Scorching Sun Department, it really does make a lot of sense."

Feng Yao put away his phone and acted like an invisible man, pretending not to have heard a word from the two big shots.

He was just following instructions—General Director said to give Wen Yan a call.

Now that the call was made, he turned around and left.

In the room, only the General Director and the Old Celestial Master's yang spirit remained.

"I wasn't wrong, was I? He'll definitely come, and the reason for him coming to Headquarters is totally reasonable, perfectly justifiable, and officially discussed."

The General Director smiled, easily coming up with a flawless excuse—one that Wen Yan definitely wouldn't refuse.

This whole thing could even be made completely public—anyone who found out wouldn't matter.

Tomorrow, they could even make a commendation statement inside the Scorching Sun Department, letting everyone know.

Of course, that was just one of the reasons for Wen Yan's visit.

There was something else they needed Wen Yan for.

The Old Celestial Master was a bit speechless; after all these years, the General Director was still like this.

"Are you really sure he knows about the time anomalies? And that he knows more than even we do?"

"Old Celestial Master, want to make a bet?"

"I never gamble."

"Then how about a guess? Just for a bit of fun?"

"What do you want to do?"

"If I'm wrong, I'll agree to any request you have, Old Celestial Master."

"And if you're right?"

"How many years do you have left, Old Celestial Master?"

"Around seventeen years."

"If I'm right, then please hold on for another fourteen years."

"Pretty generous of you, actually leaving me three years," the Old Celestial Master chuckled.

"The last three years are for you to train and pick out the next generation's Heavenly Master."

"Alright, just as you say. If he knows more than both of us, you win."

The Old Celestial Master smiled, completely unfazed by the wager—after all, he'd already attempted ascension once. That feeling, when he recorded his information into the Celestial Court, it was all synced up.

He didn't care whether he ascended or not; in fact, he probably understood better than anyone what "ascension" really meant.

The General Director also smiled—he honestly didn't care about winning or losing either. He just wanted an excuse to keep Old Celestial Master around, or rather, to place a sense of promise or responsibility on his shoulders, so he'd have a good reason not to ascend.

Out of all the Celestial Master Mansion's Heavenly Masters through the ages, not everyone qualified for ascension.

In fact, out of sixty-four Heavenly Masters, fewer than ten ever earned that qualification.

But for this generation's Old Celestial Master, he was definitely qualified.

If he ascended, based on past records, the Celestial Court would certainly emerge, the Southern Heavenly Gate would burst open, welcoming his ascension.

Their playful back-and-forth ended up setting the general course for the next decade or so.

The two continued to sip their tea, and less than an hour later, Feng Yao came to report—Wen Yan had already arrived.

"Ha..." The General Director burst out laughing. "This young man, honestly... such a straightforward guy."

Less than an hour from Nanwu Commandery in southern Divine Land, to the northern Capital City, then from the Capital suburbs through the capital's complex and congested streets, and finally to Scorching Sun Headquarters.

The mobile squad inside Scorching Sun Department would have a hard time moving this fast, even if it was an emergency.

The Old Celestial Master shook his head with a laugh too—Wen Yan's eagerness when there's a reward on the line was, honestly, through the roof. Not shy at all.

When Feng Yao brought Wen Yan over, and said there would be no commendation ceremony, the General Director insisted on meeting him anyway, taking time out specially to have a chat and offer some encouragement.

Once Wen Yan arrived and saw the General Director and the Old Celestial Master's yang spirit both present, he knew this wasn't going to be as simple as it looked.

The Old Celestial Master reached out, tapping lightly, and the Gray Cloth wrapped around Wen Yan's left arm flew out, limp as a boneless snake, playing dead the whole way.

The Old Celestial Master tapped the Gray Cloth and smiled.

"You rascal, quit pretending. Since you've attached yourself to Wen Yan, that's your own fortune. You'd better stick with him from now on."

When the Old Celestial Master finished speaking, the Gray Cloth instantly revived on the spot, wriggled twice—who knows what it meant—then with a swish flew back, wrapping itself around Wen Yan's left arm again.

"Don't worry, you're mainly here to collect your reward.

After all, achievement deserves reward. That's the rule here in the Scorching Sun Department, no exceptions for anyone.

There's also a matter I'd like to discuss with you."

"Please go ahead, General Director." Wen Yan stayed perfectly polite—he always held a junior's manners in front of these two.

"The flow of time in this world is wrong. You know about it, don't you?"

Wen Yan's face shifted. He glanced at the Old Celestial Master, who added:

"The time I set up a ritual to suppress the Cloud Sea, I sensed something off. Back then, I should've ridden the clouds and ascended, suppressing things through the Celestial Court—and I left some information behind. The next time I did a ritual in the Cloud Sea, I found that information waiting for me."

"I've got an Atomic Clock here..." The General Director unlocked a mechanism behind him.

The first thing Wen Yan saw was the record on the wall.

Then, he caught sight of a familiar number—he recognized it instantly as the moment the third cycle began.

But then, he realized—the third cycle wasn't the first time.

There had already been two cycles!

Meaning, halfway through the third cycle, Little Mustache had triggered another reset?

And this time, he hadn't even seen Little Mustache, there was no real-time Cloud Sync. In his memory, it was just the first time through the third cycle.

Cold sweat broke out on Wen Yan's forehead—this was exactly why he'd been so cautious, never daring to act rashly.

Because the opponent's error tolerance was just too high. As long as he didn't have real-time Cloud Sync, there'd always be missing info somewhere.

"You really do know far more than us." The General Director watched Wen Yan's reaction and finally let out a breath.

The Old Celestial Master also relaxed, placing a hand on Wen Yan's shoulder.

"No need to worry, and no need to explain anything. Just tell us what you know."

Wen Yan looked at the Old Celestial Master, then at the General Director, then over at the Atomic Clock, and finally at those densely packed times on the wall.

If every timestamp meant a reset, then by his estimation, in the past three years, that Little Mustache had reset several hundred times already.

"I know who this person is. That Black Box was prepped for him especially. I was worried any snooping would tip him off, so only the Black Box records the data. I'm still working on a solution."

"You already know who it is?!" The General Director looked enlightened.

"Knowing who it is doesn't guarantee safety. All he needs to do is trigger a reset, and everyone will forget what actually happened."

Wen Yan said this and looked over at the Old Celestial Master.

"Of course, except for the Old Celestial Master."

Saying this, Wen Yan was honestly a little blown away. No Professional Ability required—just relying on his own realm and power, he could forcibly leave clues for himself even during a reset.

Wen Yan had to admit, the Old Celestial Master was basically giving him a master class here. He was now convinced that, in the end, raw power would be more important than any Professional Ability.

Professional Abilities were really limiting, with too many weaknesses. Like that Doll Master—sure, he could control dolls over a thousand kilometers away, but his real body could get taken out with a single ordinary 7.62.

But someone like the Old Celestial Master, relying purely on his own raw power—there would never be that kind of flaw.