Passing the Buck

"Hello... hello... calling the Celestial Immortal Headquarters... calling the Celestial Immortal Headquarters... needs backup, needs backup..."

"Qingyang Altar Master, aren't you going to start answering the questions?"

Daoist Qiongqi had been squatting on the ground, raised his head and looked blankly at the examiner and protector of the Divine Cult beside him, and then at the group of children around him who were writing and drawing on the metal touch panel in front of the crystal display screen, participating in the Divine Cult's military level examination.

Well, judging from their appearance, they are young people of similar age to the current Fat Daoist's Qiongqi, though most of them are only at the Foundation Establishment. These are new recruits trained by the Divine Cult, some are vessels prepared by various families, and others are talents promoted from Blood Slave and blood puppets. In short, they are all newcomers without a 'past life,' and are probably only at the level of three-heart or four-heart disciples. Although they do not have the opportunity to learn the Five Arts, they will still undergo the Divine Cult's unique primordial spirit cultivation method and receive various basic educations from the legion. Only those with excellent grades can stand out, and through exams and tasks, they will upgrade one heart at a time to become core members of the Divine Cult, which is equivalent to the Divine Cult's version of the college entrance examination.

Although these kids can't go directly to the battlefield, they can remotely control and command the monsters and demons that have been trained and transformed by the cult through this 'computer' in front of them. Therefore, they also need to have basic military knowledge to accept the command of the legion.

Qiongqi swallowed hard, got up, and sat down next to the 'computer'.

"No, no, I was just about to start."

The cult's proctor and protector stared at Qiongqi for a while through the demonic mask of the deity.

"Qingyang Altar Master, this is the Kunlun main altar, the Divine Venerable Hall. It is impossible to cheat here using the Primordial Spirit Technique."

Qiongqi was enraged by the other party's distrust.

"Who, who said they were going to cheat! Did I cheat?! If I cheated, would I still be here to retake the exam?!"

The protector watched him silently.

"I don't understand either, how can someone who cheated be allowed to retake the exam here?"

Qiongqi swallowed hard. Okay, it had sneaked over cheat sheets last time, and although the proctor turned a blind eye... but those were questions that weren't on the test, damn it!! And you're just fighting a war! Why do you need to calculate food supplies in a war?! This is a battlefield! Can't you see there are dead people everywhere?!

Qiongqi narrowed its eyes, its tiger-like pupils scanning the computer screen.

Damn it... another bunch of math problems... Calculate them all... Why do you need to calculate the area of the shadow? Why would a cultivator need to calculate the area of the shadow? Is it to calculate the area of the shadow in its mind???

Qiongqi glanced sideways at the invigilator beside him and roared.

Why are you just standing here! You're bothering me!

The proctor, seeing the creature's expression, knew it still couldn't answer a single question, and drifted away quietly.

Qiongqi squatted on the stool, staring at the computer, head in its hands, grinding its teeth. It couldn't solve many of the questions after scanning them. If they were multiple choice, it could at least sneakily copy the answers, but why the hell did it have to write out the calculation process for everything?! And draw diagrams?! Translate codes and calculate coordinates?! Holy crap!

Qiongqi really wanted to give up, but he couldn't, because the Pure Dharma King said that if he couldn't pass the exam, he should go to the battlefield as a vanguard. But the boss of Ink Bamboo Mountain also said to keep a low profile and stay at the Qingyang Sect and not move.

What will you do with Qiongqi then!?

If it had passed the exam earlier, it might have become a commander in the legion, participating in military operations remotely from the Qingyang Sect. But it failed. Now that the Dharma King has spoken, can it refuse to go?

Why isn't the boss responding? Give us some clear instructions...

As Qiongqi was holding its head in a daze, it suddenly heard the sound of flapping wings. Looking up, it saw a crow with glowing red eyes fly into the hall and land on the 'computer'.

"Guiche?"

"Qingyang Altar Master, please don't talk to yourself and disturb others."

The proctor suddenly appeared from behind, uttered a few words in a low voice, and then drifted away again.

Qiongqi, "??"

No, didn't you see how big this bird is?

The crow stared at Qiongqi, then suddenly twisted its neck and split its shoulder, giving birth to one, two, three... a total of nine heads, each with shining eyes and singing in unison!

"Subnets connected in parallel! Quack!"

"The divine court invades! Gua!"

"Spiritual Reset! Croak!"

"Sound shield! Quack!"

"Limited-time vision! Quack!"

"Divine Sense Interference! Croak!"

"Qi Sensing Seal! Croak!"

"Transmission inhibition! Quack!"

"Memory erase! Quack!"

As the croaking sounds arose, a series of arcs of light flashed, spreading out like shockwaves and covering the temple. The disciples of the cult taking the exam inside trembled violently, freezing in place as if they were in a daze, completely dumbfounded. Meanwhile, the invigilators and protectors who had been patrolling the surrounding area, suddenly revealed themselves, as if they had developed dementia, each of them walking unsteadily, moving at a snail's pace.

"Wow! That's amazing! What is this? Is it a cheating method using the primordial spirit?"

Qiongqi, though bewildered, exclaimed in awe, and clapped his hands in admiration.

The nine crows glared angrily at Qiongqi, cursing in unison.

"You wretched creature! You're gluttonous, lazy, and utterly useless! You even have to retake the exam! And you cheat on the retake! And you still fail!"

You still have the nerve to call me to save you from this mess! You've utterly disgraced me! Just kill yourself!

Qiongqi was so frightened that the hairs on his body stood on end. He shuddered and jumped off the chair, falling flat on his face.

"Mountain Lord, please calm your anger! Mountain Lord, spare my life! Mountain Lord, give me a chance!!"

"Snort!"

Li Fan was furious. If it were truly a leopard-like mount, that would be one thing, but Qiongqi, though one of the Four Fiends, was also an alter ego of Li Fan's own personality. He hadn't had time to deal with it, so it had been left in this pathetic state! Didn't this mean that without the assistance of destiny, the guidance of Xuan Tian, and the help of the system, Li Fan was essentially a lazy, good-for-nothing good-for-nothing, destined to remain like this for life, only reaching the Divine Transformation? Even if that were true, he couldn't let anyone else know!

"Fine! I'm in dire need of manpower right now, so I'll spare your life! I'll remember this debt for now and settle it another day! Now, copy down the questions, become a commander, and go to the battlefield with the army! Once on the battlefield, go and learn skills from the apostles of those legions! If you dare to slack off again, I'll slap you to death! Rebuilding yourself will be a piece of cake!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Daoist Qiongqi hurriedly got up, crawled on all fours, and thrashed around the examination room, copying questions from the Fourth Department.

At this moment, the proctors, guardians, and disciples around them all had their five senses and six senses sealed, and even their sense of time was disrupted. It was as if their thinking and reaction were slowed down ten or a hundred times, so naturally they could not sense anything.

Sigh, look at this, look at this! They're both Li Fan's clones, but the difference is so huge!

Qiongqi is a lazy bum who does nothing all day long, but Guiche is different. This bird has been serving as a demon god protector alongside Sarilang for ten years. In addition to advancing to the Transformation Stage, it has not only refined the <Taiyi Nine Songs>, but also mastered the general primordial spirit technique tutorial for the disciples of the Divine Sect. It just hasn't yet had enough merit points to Blood Record Heavenly Book. Moreover, it has even started to 'begin' learning the <System Programming, From Beginner to Tomb> that Li Fan gave it.

Look how powerful this new, improved version of the Hacker Flow Primordial Spirit Technique, which combines the Nine Songs and the System's Heavenly Book, is! It instantly controlled the entire battlefield! If used during a fierce battle or tribulation, it could turn the tide of battle in one move, controlling the map and clearing the field...

"Hey! You idiot! You missed a question! You're hopeless if you can't even copy correctly!"

"Agh! Mountain Lord, spare me! Spare me!"

Sigh, it's true what they say, comparisons are odious...

Li Fan stared at Qiongqi, who was engrossed in copying questions. His eighteen eyes flashed, and a large flock of blood crows invaded Qiongqi's divine court. They transformed into red crow eggs and hid within Qiongqi's divine court.

These are Blood Raven Puppets cultivated by the Guiche clone. Unlike Li Fan's main body's Heavenly Book Magic Puppet and Tai Su Puppet, the hacker scripts packaged within the Blood Raven Puppets mainly contain the primordial spirit techniques of the Blood Talisman God Sect Cult. For example, secret techniques that attack and kill primordial spirits, such as Blood Demon Puppet, Blood Talisman Sword, Earth Fire Wind Thunder, and Annihilation Immortal Light.

When Li Fan used this primordial technique himself, he couldn't deal much damage because he was too calm. However, when Guiche used it, combined with the system-flow puppet invasion of the primordial spirit, it could achieve twice the result with half the effort and unleash its true power.

Of course, these Blood Raven puppets were placed in Daoist Qiongqi's divine court not to trick Fatty Tiger, but rather as a backup plan to protect him.

Because Qiongqi will be the first piece that Li Fan's Celestial Immortal Group actively plays to formally join the chaotic world's chess game.

Or more precisely, bait, or even, in the worst-case scenario, a scapegoat for Li Fan.

"The cult has already made arrangements. They'll still make the legion take the blame. The puppet has already been deployed to Qiongqi. If they really track us down, sacrificing it should be enough to settle things with the company... right? Seriously, do we really need to be this careful?"

After helping Qiongqi cheat his way through the level, Li Fan used his Guiche clone to fly to the roof of the Divine Sect's headquarters, overlooking Kunlun. He then opened a separate secure communication channel and contacted the system Pisces.

He originally intended to protect Qin Jiu and the others and return directly to Ink Bamboo Mountain, but the system suddenly contacted him again, requesting him to arrange a backup plan, erase all traces to avoid being hunted down by the company, and even throw Qiongqi out to take the bullet in an emergency.

Li Fan wasn't particularly reluctant to part with it. After all, the Tai Su incarnation was originally meant to shield against calamities. Since he had gotten involved in the Heavenly Demon Tribulation and ruined the company's affairs, there would definitely be consequences.

"If necessary, the company has already called the police."

"What!? Call the police?!"

"Yes, we analyzed the logs repeatedly and deciphered the River Chart. It's true that the Grand Tutor could sign a contract with the company through that thing and work as a temporary employee. Now that he's dead, the company's system triggered an alarm. We can't intercept this signal."

"... Wait... how come the company actually signed a contract with a native? Isn't this kind of plot usually about the cunning rabbit being killed and the hunting dog being cooked, discarded like worn-out shoes, turning their backs on you, and leaving as soon as they've pulled up their pants?"

Li Kun, "You think they all act as ruthlessly as the Three Great Sects? The 'Gate' side is very particular about the spirit of contracts, okay?"

Furthermore, the company must have proactively called the police. The death of a full-time employee would automatically trigger an alarm in the Public Security System. The company hasn't recently registered any new virtual network access permissions, so the contract signed with Taifu was likely an outsourcing service contract, essentially a temporary labor dispatch contract. His salary was settled locally; there was no salary, medical insurance, or social security coverage from the other side, and there would be no transaction record. His treatment is different from that of a full-time employee."

Li Fan was speechless for a moment, "... Then why call the police? Does the company value employee welfare that much? Did she look like she'd seen a ghost when that 'Empress Dowager' fired her?"

Li Gan, "How can that be the same? That guy was at best a copywriter, and he was fired and defected before he died. Taifu is a manager and a top performer at the Enlightenment Stage! Moreover, he was a precious experimental subject who personally experienced the Tai Su Heavenly Demon Tribulation. All the data he collected during the tribulation is a valuable intelligence asset for the company. The company will definitely bind it through a formal contract to ensure that its private intelligence is not leaked."

By reporting a crime to the police immediately, the relevant data is considered patented and its illegal transcription is strictly prohibited. Once transmitted to the external network, it will be detected by the gateway, immediately triggering patent protection laws. The company can then independently recover lost assets, and the dispatched private armed forces will have unrestricted killing rights.

Li Fan, "... Holy crap, the 'gate' is cracking down on piracy and smuggling, are they really that strict... Aren't you guys just asking for trouble by causing trouble right under their noses?"

Li Kun: "Ahem, the greater the risk, the greater the reward, right? Anyway, after something like this, the company will definitely send someone to retrieve the remains of the Celestial Devil Emperor. Fortunately, the Three Realms caused such a big commotion this time, with even the Xuanmen Daojun involved in covering up the secrets of heaven. The deviation value has already exceeded the heavens. The company probably can't find your background yet, but they will definitely start paying attention to 'Qingyue'."

Li Gan, "What we're most worried about is that if this gets reported to higher authorities, the company will definitely launch an internal investigation into the failed plan, the death of the temporary worker, and the loss of patent assets."

Don't forget, there's a regional manager sleeping in the cabin on the sun. Someone inside the company will definitely ask, "When the temporary worker was undergoing his tribulation, when the Three Realms were destroyed, what were you, the lobby manager, doing, all that 'Feather Transformation Immortal' doing? Why didn't you intervene at the very end?"

If it's just a communication signal, we can intercept it, but what if they send people on business trips again? We can't brainwash them one by one, can we? Sooner or later, we'll be exposed..."

Li Fan was completely bewildered upon hearing this.

"Sigh, I knew it was never good news when you guys contacted me first!"

Li Kun: "No, there's actually some good news."

Li Fan breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, at least there's some good news. Tell me about it..."

Li Kun: "Our client is dead. The one you placed at the Grand Tutor's house also perished in the calamity. Fortunately, his 'meat chicken' body was completely destroyed, so this lead can't be traced back to us."

Li Fan sighed, "This is supposed to be good news?"

Li Kun, "Wait until I finish speaking. That bastard woke up on the other side of the 'door.' It seems that because he was too ruthless when his memory was erased last time, he doesn't remember anything at all. He doesn't even remember that he came in to buy mining machines. This time, his death seems to have been quite tragic, as if he caused permanent psychological trauma and physical impairment to the customer."

So he finally concluded that he thought he had linked to the dark web, played some restricted online game, entered a black market private server, and had his account hacked and his cybernetic chip destroyed, so that guy called the police, accusing us of fraud and hacking crimes..."

Li Fan is too tired to even complain anymore.

Li Gan: "Ahem, the good news is that the mining machines he bought from us can be resold again. Moreover, the risk of a corporate war breaking out recently is getting bigger and bigger, speculative funds are panicking, and all kinds of assets are being sold off and people are running away. Cryptocurrency has surged, and the account's profits don't need to be settled. In fact, we even made a small profit, so we didn't lose money."

Li Fan couldn't hold back any longer, "Damn it! You call this a good deal?! Now the company's calling the police! The clients' calling the police! The company's system is going to arrest you! The security system is going to arrest you too! And I was the one who handled both cases! You only made a little bit of virtual currency, and you think it's a good deal??"

Li Kun: "... It's not exactly a little bit..."

Li Gan, "Oh, don't worry, it's alright. So many people call the police every day, how can the security system cover such a remote dimension? Besides, this is company property. Do you know how difficult it is to get a search warrant?"

In the end, they'll just pass the buck everywhere. Even if it gets transferred to the Seven Departments, at most they'll just send a document to the company for questioning. The company needs to protect its patents, so how could they easily let the investigation department's intelligence network get involved? It'll just be the law firm and legal counsel arguing back and forth."

Li Fan: "... Really? How much did you make? Can you share some with me? My Qiongqi is about to be thrown out to take the blame, aren't you going to give his family any compensation?"

Li Kun: "Oh? I intercepted the private message the company executive sent to his son! It seems the company really did notice this project failure... Holy crap!"

Li Gan, "Don't be so alarmed, what's going on... Holy crap!"

Li Fan, "Hey, don't think you can get away with this by pretending!"

The system remained silent for a while. Just when Li Fan thought the two of them had hung up and gone offline, Li Kun suddenly spoke in a deep voice.

"This is serious, the search warrant has been issued."

Li Fan was puzzled because he couldn't believe his voice sounded like he wasn't joking.

"What? Are the Public Security System agents coming to the Taiji Realm? Is it that Seven Departments or Nine Departments again, from last time?"

Li Gan spoke, his voice as cold as ice.

"It's not the Seven Departments or Nine Departments, it's the Third Office of the Public Security Bureau, agents from the Security Department, from Earth. They've already entered the company's Zhuānxū branch with a search warrant, and sooner or later they'll link to 49327 and descend upon the Taiji Realm."

For a moment, each of the three was lost in their own thoughts and remained silent.

Li Kun was the first to speak, "Have you discovered us?"

Li Fan urged, "Even at a time like this, you still won't be honest? What else are you hiding from me? Are you going to wait until Wudao signs the contract before you'll tell me?"

Li Gan sighed, "... I really don't know this much information. If they're keeping an eye on us, we'll have to be more careful with the shipment of mining machines..."

"So all you've been worried about is shipping the goods?!"

The system remained silent for a while, then Li Gan spoke again.

"There are only three departments. The security department is mainly responsible for security, protection of VIPs, and technical confidentiality. Once they are mobilized, it's either to arrest researchers or to investigate technology leaks. I suspect they're after your system chip."

"My system chip? Oh, I see. Wasn't that bound to happen sooner or later? And it took ten years to find it, so it doesn't seem that impressive..."

Li Fan knew that the upgraded chip he possessed was probably not from a clean source. A large number of people died and the space station was destroyed when the chip was stolen. The fact that this plot had only come to light now made him feel like he had already made a profit.

Li Gan continued,

"It's inevitable that someone will investigate, but the key question is who is investigating. Oldest One, you were using a level 3 chip, civilian technology, which was no longer sufficient to support the information collection of Tai Su Dao. We felt that you were upgrading so quickly, so we planned to upgrade you to a level 5 chip, a professional chip from a large company."

At first, we thought the chip was stolen, but we figured that even though it would offend the company, the case would still be handled by the Seven Departments's Economic Crime Investigation Department. We figured that even if you hid in the territory of another company in the Taiji Realm, they couldn't do anything to you. But now it's the Third Division that's stepping in..."

Li Fan: "Why are you being so coquettish about the three places? At worst... I can just give them back."

Li Kun added, "Are you really willing to give that up? Don't say I didn't tell you: Level 1, 2, and 3 technologies are open source, for citizens to make and use themselves; Levels 4, 5, and 6 are private patents, blueprints are charged, and they can circulate freely in the market; Level 7 technologies are restricted, requiring citizens to register them under their real names and report them for security; Level 8 technologies are strategically dangerous, requiring real-time location tracking and inspection and control; Level 9 technologies are unknown, pending threat assessment and ethical review. The security department usually only registers and manages the circulation of dangerous technologies above Level 7."

If it's a level seven chip, a quick check of the registration form will tell you; no fool would sell it for the price of a level five chip. If it's a level eight thing, a fleet-sized legion would have jumped in to protest ten years ago. In other words..."

Li Qian said, "In other words, what you're using now is definitely level nine technology, which I don't know which cutting-edge laboratory leaked it from."

Li Fan: "Wow... So what exactly is this thing used for? I don't seem to have noticed anything special about it?"

Li Kun: "Didn't you hear me? Unknown technology. We don't even know where this stuff came from, who knows what use it is. Anyway, the people from the Third Division are coming, why don't you grab a couple and question them?"

Li Fan, "... Okay."

Just shift all the blame to the Legion.