I Like This Setup

Faced with Wu Wei's toughness, Lan Meng fell silent.

In the end, she still had not cultivated herself enough to plead for Wang Zixuan.

"Wu Wei, can't you leave me a little dignity? Other men aren't this attitude when they're around me."

"But you like me, not them. Mortals like you are all the same. Deep down, you all have a servile nature." Wu Wei calmly stated the conclusion he had drawn from big data.

Lan Meng wanted to hit him.

But before she could, Wu Wei's next words made cold sweat break out all over her body. "Lan Meng, don't you think you've been showing up a little too often?"

Lan Meng's body stiffened slightly. "What do you mean?"

Looking at Lan Meng's forced smile, Wu Wei narrowed his protagonist-like eyes. His tone also became gentler than usual. "My three dorm mates seem to have all chosen to become my enemies because of you. This kind of Mary Sue plot usually appears more often in Mary Sue novels."

"Haven't you already guessed? This should be Wang Zixuan's doing. His Dream Builder ability may not work on you, but it is still very effective against Kuang Zhiguo and Li Long. Their willpower is far inferior to yours."

Lan Meng's explanation was not enough to convince Wu Wei.

"I believe Wang Zixuan did all this, but like I said, Lan Meng, you show up a little too often."

Lan Meng fell silent.

"Several times, when you saw me, you seemed like you wanted to say something but stopped yourself, as if you knew a lot. Isn't it time you told me what you know? Or am I still in a lucid dream?"

When Wu Wei finished his last sentence, Lan Meng's right hand twitched unconsciously.

Wu Wei raised a brow. "Did I guess right? Wang Zixuan built the dream, and you infiltrated his dreamscape, subtly changing the plot to protect me? You awakened too, and your talent is dream theft?"

He had not sensed any malice from Lan Meng. Besides, although he was a little narcissistic, he felt that Lan Meng truly liked him.

Lan Meng gave a bitter laugh. "If I said you guessed everything right, wouldn't you think it was too easy?"

"No. I don't guess wrong often." Wu Wei spoke calmly.

Lan Meng was once again rendered speechless.

This guy really was narcissistic.

"But why did you know I would be in danger? And given the extent of your crush on me, shouldn't you have helped me nip the danger in the bud?"

"By the time I found out, the conspiracy against you had already begun. I had no ability to stop it beforehand, so I could only hope to help you along the way. But you really are strong. I watched from beginning to end and never got the chance to help. You resolved everything yourself."

"I can accept that answer, but you still haven't fully explained why you knew I was in danger."

Lan Meng was silent for a moment, seemingly choosing her words.

Then she looked at Wu Wei and asked seriously, "Wu Wei, do you believe in rebirth?"

Wu Wei frowned. "If technology keeps advancing, it's not impossible that a time machine could be built."

"It has nothing to do with a time machine. Several supreme beings paid an enormous price to reverse time and space, all so they could eliminate you while you were still weak." Lan Meng spoke with complete seriousness.

Wu Wei's pupils widened slightly at her words. Of course, he would not be completely unfazed.

"Go on. That can't be all you know."

"That's right. Wu Wei, you became very powerful in the future. Extremely powerful—the kind of powerful that could destroy heaven, earth, and air in seconds." Lan Meng's praise came from the bottom of her heart.

"So I traumatized those villainous big bosses so badly that they had no choice but to reverse time and space, then instill thoughts of opposing or even killing me into many people within the limits of their abilities?" Wu Wei asked based on logical deduction.

Lan Meng nodded. "As unbelievable as it sounds, that is indeed what happened."

"What about you? Why didn't you become my enemy? Did the future me send you?" Wu Wei continued asking.

Lan Meng continued nodding.

Qi Lin raised a brow and smiled. "There's a contradiction here."

Lan Meng calmly brushed the hair from her forehead and smiled as well. "What is it?"

"If future me could beat the bosses of the villain faction into complete submission, how could I possibly have let them reverse time and space? So there was a traitor in my faction?"

"No, absolutely not. Wu Wei, our goals have always been the same." Lan Meng answered without hesitation.

"Then I did it on purpose. Keep making use of trash and let them have another go." Wu Wei muttered to himself.

[Father, I smell the scent of a power bank.] Wu Xie's voice suddenly appeared in Wu Wei's mind.

Wu Wei: ...The hell with power banks. It was obviously experience points.

"Lan Meng, was I a powerful awakened one in the future?" Wu Wei asked without revealing anything.

"Of course. You were the strongest awakened one in history. Not only did you awaken yourself, you could also help others gain supernatural abilities. You were the greatest contributor to our final victory." A look of worship inevitably appeared in Lan Meng's eyes.

"So you failed to win me over in the future, and wanted to hitch a ride back to try again, determined to make me yours this time?"

Without waiting for Lan Meng's answer, Wu Wei had already reached his own conclusion.

"Foolish human. Since I did not arrange for you to return, why go to all that trouble? What if you disrupt my plans?"

Lan Meng: ..."Wu Wei, you can't be that narcissistic. You did win in the future, but the enemy was not without the ability to fight back. It wasn't that you chose not to stop them from reversing time and space—it was that you couldn't. Two fists can't beat four hands. We were all worried about you, so we decided to send me here to warn you to stay vigilant."

"Is that so? So Wang Zixuan's hostility toward me was also because of this?"

"Yes. Wang Zixuan thinks he hates you because of me, but that isn't true. He might dislike you because of me, but he would never want to kill you just because of me. If I'm not mistaken, his mind was eroded by the Heart Demon, which amplified his desires and caused him to do this. The Heart Demon is one of Department 404's greatest enemies. It has countless incarnations and is everywhere, fully capable of influencing someone without their knowledge."

Wu Wei smiled. "Two questions. First, you say the Heart Demon has countless incarnations and is everywhere. Then how can you prove to me that you haven't been influenced by it? Second, you say what Wang Zixuan believes is not the truth because his level is too low and he does not understand what reality is. Is your level very high now, then? What makes you so certain that what you believe is the truth, rather than another trap laid by the Heart Demon to lead me astray through you?"

Wu Wei frightened Lan Meng into breaking out in cold sweat.

She was silent for a long time, then candidly admitted, "You're right. I was naïve. Make your own judgment. Don't let my judgment affect yours."

Wu Wei smiled.

"You just said the Heart Demon is one of our greatest enemies. What other enemies do we have?"

"Demons, devils, ghosts, and monsters are all potential enemies. The Heart Demon is the leader of the demon race."

"What about gods, saints, immortals, and Buddhas?"

"They are nowhere to be found. The Future Ghost King once said that our world was a place abandoned by immortals and Buddhas, left behind as a paradise for them to inhabit." Lan Meng's smile carried a trace of mockery, but it soon turned proud. "Even so, we relied on ourselves and still won this war."

At those words, Wu Wei's lips curved into a smile as well.

"I like this setup."