He Wuning walked out of the administrator archives with a dark expression. Seeing that there was no one beside him and that his face didn’t look good, Yi Luo could more or less guess what had happened.
Still, he asked without much hope, “Where’s Q?”
Yi Luo stepped forward and glanced into the administrator archives, but of course saw nothing.
“He needs to be ransomed.” He Wuning’s brows were tightly knit as he briefly recounted what had happened inside. After a moment of hesitation, he looked at Yi Luo. “I need to go out.”
He walked to the window and looked down. Yi Luo’s expression turned complicated. “What are you doing?”
He Wuning answered honestly, “Seeing if it’s convenient to climb out the window.”
Yi Luo rubbed his temples. “They just told you to rest properly, not that they’re restricting your personal freedom! Wait a second—80% fragments. I’ll contact Zuo Qianming and have him bring out the remaining fragments from the lab first.”
He Wuning paused, then looked at Yi Luo with a slightly complicated expression, but still nodded and obediently waited by the window.
He was still getting used to fully treating Yi Luo as one of his own—he wasn’t yet accustomed to the fact that no matter what decision he made, Yi Luo would help him.
He rested his hand on the windowsill, wearing his usual expressionless face as his gaze wandered around the hospital room.
There was a bouquet in the vase by the bedside. Seeing flowers inside the game was rare—probably a product of Tang Yu’s ability.
His eyes paused slightly. Behind sunflowers and lilies suitable for visiting patients, he suddenly noticed a conspicuous red rose hidden at the back.
Before he could ask about it, the person Yi Luo had summoned burst in energetically—though there were more people than they had expected.
A moment later, Li Liangzi, Zuo Qianming, and Xue Xun were all standing in the hospital room.
Yi Luo: “……”
He looked at Zuo Qianming with a pained expression. “Why did you bring a buy-one-get-two-free deal? Didn’t I tell you to secretly bring the fragments?”
Zuo Qianming shrugged innocently. “Bad timing. They just happened to be there.”
Li Liangzi pushed up her glasses. “Unfortunately, my subordinate isn’t very good at lying.”
“After you sent the message, he said—‘Wait a moment, I’ll secretly deliver the fragments to Yi Luo.’”
Yi Luo: “……”
Zuo Qianming didn’t seem bothered at all. “People have to have some flaws.”
Xue Xun frowned. “What’s going on? Why do you suddenly need fragments?”
He Wuning was about to explain again, but Yi Luo spoke first. “The kid at home got lost. We’re gathering ransom.”
With a completely serious face, he said it so naturally that Xue Xun didn’t react at first. “When did you two even have a kid—”
“Hey, what are you talking about?” Yi Luo almost laughed before quickly straightening up. “Your Brother He wouldn’t like that.”
He Wuning: “……”
“Q”
“It’s Q.”
After hearing the explanation, Li Liangzi adjusted her glasses. “I understand.”
“We’ve actually been discussing whether to let you raise your administrator authority. Eighty percent might be slightly ahead of schedule for us, but it’s not impossible.”
“You could even rescue the system first, then transfer the authority back down to the expected 60%.”
He Wuning nodded. “Alright. I’ll return it afterward.”
“What are you saying?” Xue Xun gave a bitter smile. “The fragments were originally won by you. We’re limiting the other side.”
“We’re not being stingy—”
“I can approve the use of the institute’s fragments as director, but we only have 10 left. With yours that brings it to 60%. You’re still 20% short. What do you plan to do?”
“If you just take risks randomly, collecting that many fragments in one day will be extremely difficult.”
“I know somewhere with fragments.” He Wuning looked up; he clearly had a plan. “The mobile dungeon we encountered before—the Mahjong Parlor.”
“They’ve probably been waiting for me. Back then, they violated the rules because of my report—”
“Sounds like you’ve thought it through.” Li Liangzi nodded. “But I have one question. Do you know how to play mahjong?”
He Wuning: “……”
He fell silent for a moment, rubbed his nose, and looked at Yi Luo.
Yi Luo sighed helplessly. “Don’t look at me. I don’t either.”
“Heh heh.” Zuo Qianming laughed proudly. “An excellent researcher doesn’t just raise problems, but solves them.”
“After obtaining information about this dungeon, we prepared countermeasures. We knew it would eventually be implemented.” He smiled smugly. “We’ve already determined the optimal lineup.”
“I just didn’t bring it out because I recently decided to prioritize your upgrades, but I didn’t think it would come in handy again.”
“First: Ji Ou.”
Everyone present nodded. Whenever luck was involved, bringing the lucky king was always the right choice.
“Second—ta-da—our director.” Zuo Qianming gestured grandly. “Data analysis is extremely useful in mahjong. It’s basically card counting.”
Li Liangzi sighed and lowered her voice. “I’m not allowed to leave the safe zone. If I go, we’ll have to sneak out.”
Yi Luo nodded. “Don’t worry. We’re pros at sneaking out.”
“And the third—Qi Ming.” Zuo Qianming grinned. “No, you haven’t heard the name before. He’s severely colorblind and sees everything without color, but his awakened ability is ‘True Eye.’ Whether cards or mazes, he sees everything clearly.”
“So altogether—luck, skill, and… cheating. Hard to lose, right?”
Yi Luo looked very satisfied. “If we still lose, I’ll suspect they cheated first.”
“The issue now is…” He Wuning’s gaze fell on Xue Xun.
Even after a few days, Xue Xun still looked sleep-deprived and pale, handling work even while listening.
Xue Xun looked up. Yi Luo had already slung an arm over his shoulder. “Director Xue, let’s make a deal. We’re sneaking Director Li out for a bit. Don’t tell my dad.”
Xue Xun: “……”
“You know, the Commander-in-Chief told me to communicate more with you because you can’t lie to me.”
“So what’s this now?”
“Since you can’t fool me, you’re dragging me in, too?”
“Exactly.” Yi Luo patted his shoulder. “If you refuse, I’ll just knock you out.”
“Your choice—join us or die resisting? Honestly, I suggest dying resisting. You look exhausted. Take the chance to sleep.”
Xue Xun: “……”
“I’ve noticed you people just don’t reason properly.”
He sighed. “Wait. Let me arrange things.”
“Arrange what?” He Wuning looked ready to act immediately.
“Arrange for Ji Ou to hurry over, and have Qi Ming head to the rainforest area to try his luck finding the mobile dungeon. Even if he can’t find it, he can call and order it. Then you can sneak Director Li out.” He snorted. “What, were you planning to drive her out openly? Do you think our defenses are that weak?”
“Now that we know ‘believers’ exist, do you think we’d let her wander around?”
He pointed at them. “Young people—so impulsive, no planning!”
None of them refuted him.
Yi Luo patted his shoulder firmly. “I misjudged you, Director Xue. You’ve got heart.”
“That sounds like an insult.” Xue Xun bared his teeth. “Fine, go.”
“If the cost can be minimized later, I won’t stop you. Sneaking Director Li out would require a report, which is troublesome—so we’ll do as Yi Luo usually does. Act first, report later.”
“But.”
He looked seriously at He Wuning. “No matter what, bring everyone back safely.”
He Wuning nodded. “Mm.”
“I won’t trade anyone’s life for Q’s. We’re all coming back.”
Hurried footsteps sounded outside. Ji Ou burst in. “I’m here! What’s the emergency mission?”
Yi Luo grabbed him. “We’ll explain on the way. Let’s go.”
Ji Ou looked confused. “What mission?”
He glanced at He Wuning and sighed in relief. “I thought Brother He was in danger and needed surgery with low success odds, and you wanted me as a lucky charm in the operating room! You scared me!”
Yi Luo knocked his head. “Watch your mouth. Your Brother He’s perfectly fine.”
Xue Xun’s communicator buzzed. He glanced at Ji Ou. “Is this the power of the lucky king? Qi Ming just contacted me. He’s found the mobile dungeon and can enter anytime. Are you ready?”
He Wuning nodded and headed downstairs first.
Yi Luo followed, glancing at the vase on the table.
He had originally planned to say something, but the rose he had hidden in the bouquet had somehow been tucked further back. He Wuning probably hadn’t noticed.
Fine. First, rescue that noisy system.
Xue Xun watched them leave and sighed. “I don’t know why, but watching them always makes my blood boil with excitement.”
“Don’t talk like an old man.” Zuo Qianming glanced at him. “We’re not rational—that’s humanity’s flaw. But because of that impulse, even against enemies far stronger than us, we won’t easily admit defeat.”
“It’s a bad instinct—and also a possibility.”
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