This World

"Do you understand?"

Xiao Qi nodded frantically. He could already feel the water tentacles that had merely sealed his mouth beginning to stir, as if they were about to burrow inside.

The burning sensation in his body slowly faded alongside Great Sage's analysis, replaced by a wave of weakness. He was not particularly powerful yet.

This place was not safe!

Jiang Rui dispelled the stream of water sealing the other man's mouth—

"Why were you trying to kill me?"

"W-We accepted a mission..."

"What mission?"

"..."

Seeing the other man's nearly broken expression, though fear kept him from showing it, Jiang Rui somehow felt like the man was looking at him as if he were an idiot.

"K-Kill... kill you..."

Jiang Rui blinked. That did seem to be it—

Damn it, that's annoying. No, I can't let my persona fall apart!

He licked his lips, trying his best to assume the image in his mind: elegant, deranged, and ruthless.

"I'm asking for the details!"

"I... I... I really don't know..."

Water crawled over his ears and nose, making him so anxious that he was nearly in tears. "I really don't know!"

The man did not seem to be faking it...

Too bad Jiang Rui did not have a lie-detection skill...

"You said earlier that there were no normal people in this world. Are there many people like me in this world?"

"Not many. You normally wouldn't encounter them." He answered obediently, as if he had given up struggling. "I just didn't expect you to be one too..."

He had said "this world" twice in a row without finding it strange...

In other words, he was not from this world either...

With himself as an example of someone who had slipped across worlds, Jiang Rui accepted that possibility quite naturally.

At that moment, he casually swept his gaze over the man, and his pupils contracted—

The man's eyes widened in terror before he turned, like a stone weathered for a thousand years, into wisps of dust that dissolved into the water...

Jiang Rui felt sick. He immediately dispelled his magic power, and the water scattered across the floor, splashing into beautiful droplets.

At that moment, only two words remained in Jiang Rui's mind—

Erasure!

The Main God Space...?

So that meant he was in a "plot world"...?

Was he the mission target?

Or was he overthinking it, and that was merely one method of silencing someone? That was possible too. From their conversation, this world seemed to possess a very high level of power—

Still, they had been able to use some kind of currency to directly purchase his location...

So it really was the Main God Space, wasn't it?!

Assuming—assuming this was something similar to the Main God Space, there were several urgent matters he needed to figure out—

His identity, and the world he was currently in.

Whether this was an original world or a replicated world that could reset.

If it was the latter, that would be fine. If it was the former... then he was a virus... ah...

More information...

"Information can be obtained by using Predator to analyze the deceased's mind, extraordinary traits, brain memories, and so on."

Even so, what if it drew the Main God's attention?

Besides, he still could not bring himself to swallow a corpse.

"Predator Space is a separate dimension, not a biologically defined stomach organ. Predator, assisted by Great Sage, does not require digestion and absorption to complete predation. Analysis alone is sufficient, and the integrity of the corpse can be preserved."

Hearing that, Jiang Rui was somewhat speechless. He wondered inwardly:

Why do I feel like you're always trying to lead me down the path of becoming inhuman?

"Unable to comprehend. The above is the optimal conclusion derived from the racial traits of a Slime."

Slime...

Jiang Rui rubbed his head helplessly. He could practically see Great Sage after evolving into Wisdom King.

Grabbing him by the collar and shouting, "Wake up! You're not human anymore!"

Fine, if it could not understand, it could not understand. An unevolved Great Sage was, at best, a weak artificial intelligence—

Several minutes later, he stepped out of the room, feeling somewhat uneasy.

By his calculations, nearly half an hour had passed since the sniper attack ended, yet no one had come...

A barrier that drove away bystanders, perhaps?

Oh, right. His phone.

He picked up his phone and glanced at it. There was a missed call from twenty-three minutes ago, and everything else was clean. Since the call had gone unanswered, he had received a text saying that the sender had arrived and was waiting downstairs, afraid of disturbing his rest.

As he walked, he casually opened the browser.

Great Sage, can you collect information through the internet?

"Answer: Confirmed. Mana Essence consumption required."

Then forget it. If it required Mana Essence, he might as well use Great Sage's "All Things," which could receive unblocked information from around the world.

His body was still weak, and recovery was extremely slow—

Mana Essence, also known as aether in some universes, was a higher-level existence than magic power.

Because he had eaten one very important cheat item less than in the original story—the nuclear power plant known as the Storm Dragon—

He seemed to have rather little Mana Essence at the moment.

"You're awake, Mr. Brent."

"Mm."

It was the waiter at the stairway.

"By the way, did you hear any sounds or see anything earlier?"

"No, sir. Did any noise disturb your rest?"

"No. Mm, I rested very well. Thank you."

Jiang Rui nodded to show that he understood, then handed over a fifty-dollar tip. "Do not let anyone into my room. If anyone comes looking for me, keep an eye out for them. Thank you."

"No problem, sir. Have a pleasant day."

When he reached the magnificent lobby downstairs, Jiang Rui immediately noticed the young man stuffing his face with the complimentary fruit platter.

Chinese, and a poorly dressed Chinese man at that.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Rui walked over.

Seeing Jiang Rui approach, the young man hurriedly put down the fruit he was eating, stood straight, and tensed his body, though he looked somewhat awkward...

"G-Good afternoon, Mr. Brent."

He seemed nervous. It was probably their first meeting...

Jiang Rui sighed inwardly in relief, because he did not know what the Brent they spoke of was usually like.

He wanted to put on an indifferent air, but after thinking about it, he did not know how to begin. In the end, he simply gave an "Mm" and said nothing else.

"Um... Mr. Brent... Boss Charlie asked me to take you over before four..."

He seemed somewhat restrained and uneasy.

Jiang Rui looked at the time. It was 3:27. He understood immediately.

"I'm sorry I didn't hear your call. If we're late, I'll explain it to Charlie."

"We're not late, not late. Actually, I got here half an hour early. Haha... uh, would you like something to eat first?"

He looked regretfully at the fruit platter on the table. He wanted to reach for it, yet felt embarrassed to do so. His simple manner made Jiang Rui like him somewhat.

An honest Chinese young man. No wonder he was not doing very well here. Thinking that, Jiang Rui glanced once more at the weather on his phone.

Below it was written—New York.

"No need. Let's go."

Jiang Rui lowered his eyes. He would give the young man a larger tip once they arrived. To be honest, he had formed a guess about this world, and the way to confirm it was simple.

The Chinese young man was quite talkative. Well, if possible, Jiang Rui would rather call him a chatterbox.

The parking lot was huge. It took them five minutes to find the car, and the young man's mouth never stopped moving along the way. Still, Jiang Rui found it pleasant. Although he had innate language proficiency, and the young man was speaking English too, it still gave him a sense of home.

Once they got into the car...

"You have a younger sister?"

"Yes, sir. My sister is very cute. Weren't you curious why I've been saving money?"

"Oh? Because of her?"

"Yes, sir. She gets very good grades. I don't think she should struggle to make a living with me in the slums of the Manhattan District."

"Ha, not a bad idea. So where do you want her to go?"

The Manhattan District... Jiang Rui took out his phone and lightly typed several letters into the browser.

"The Queens District, sir!"

"Is that so? I'm sure it's a wonderful place." Jiang Rui smiled. He truly thought that area was nice. At the very least, it had a good neighbor.

On the news page, one line of English dominated every headline—

Tony Stark: The Jericho Missile, made by Stark. The best missile only needs to be used once!