Wu Wei still hadn't fully realized that Lan Meng was also all bark and no bite.
She was feeling pretty nervous herself.
She hadn't been wrong about one thing: the future Wu Wei was incredibly strong—the kind of strong that could crush the heavens, the earth, and everything in between.
Although some of their enemies were powerful, and they vastly outnumbered the 404 Administration, Wu Wei had still driven them back again and again.
Left with no other choice, they had taken a desperate gamble. At tremendous cost, they reversed time and space, hoping to kill Wu Wei while he was still weak.
But in doing so, they had also given Wu Wei an opportunity.
The real big shots had already been badly wounded by Wu Wei. Even if they managed to recover, Wu Wei would surely have grown stronger by then.
As Lord of Systems, he was powerful in every respect. He wouldn't leave any weaknesses for his enemies to exploit.
He had let them do as they pleased only so he could wipe them all out in one fell swoop—and torment them all over again.
Sometimes, being invincible really was lonely.
Wu Wei had complete confidence in himself, both in the past and in the future. But to be safe, the deputy director and the others had secretly sent their souls back along with him, so they could warn the present-day Wu Wei in time.
Given how powerful Wu Wei was back then, there was no way he hadn't noticed. The fact that he hadn't intervened meant she wasn't important to him.
For Lan Meng, that was a good thing. She had finally gotten another chance to start over and fulfill her dream.
Still, it was going to be difficult.
Of course she wasn't stupid enough to try to stop Wu Wei from entering Night Emperor Academy. Besides, there was no way she could stop him.
After all, Aunt Lin had once been an honorary vice president of Night Emperor Academy. And all these years, Lan Meng wasn't the only one who had kept an eye on Wu Wei as he grew up. The Lan Family had plenty of company.
So while Wu Wei was lost in thought, Lan Meng hurriedly changed the subject. "Wu Wei, I still want to ask you to spare Wang Zixuan."
"You two are that close? I never noticed," Wu Wei said, puzzled.
"It's not just because we go way back. If Wang Zixuan's talent is developed properly, he could also resist the Heart Demon's influence. It'd be a waste to cripple him outright."
Wu Wei fell silent for a moment.
The Dream Builder Ability was exactly what its name suggested: it could subtly influence a person. But Lan Meng's Dream Stealing Ability was its natural counter.
Of course, just as Lan Meng had said, Wu Wei could also see the ability's potential uses.
But...
"Wasn't Kuang Zhiguo an only child?"
Lan Meng fell silent.
"Ultimately, Wang Zixuan killed Kuang Zhiguo. Maybe he does have more potential, but he should still show some respect for life and the law."
Wu Wei had no intention of blaming himself. He had only acted in self-defense, while Wang Zixuan had deliberately set out to harm someone.
If Kuang Zhiguo hadn't borne him ill will, Wu Wei would never have hurt him. So there was no way Wu Wei was going to be so sanctimonious as to think he was in the wrong.
"Wu Wei, when all's said and done, the Heart Demon was what had the greatest effect on Kuang Zhiguo. It magnified his desires and clouded his judgment. Wang Zixuan thought he'd planned everything himself, but at most, he'd added a drop of oil to a raging fire. It didn't change the outcome."
"Adults should pay the price for their actions. Everyone has negative emotions inside them, and everyone has someone they hate. But some people can control themselves and act within the limits of the rules, while others insist on crossing the line—and then expect me to forgive them. Why should I?"
The Heart Demon wasn't all-powerful. Wu Wei and Lan Meng could, at most, be considered immune to its attacks. But people with strong self-control, clear minds, or unshakable willpower wouldn't become puppets even if the Heart Demon caught them off guard.
Defeating the Heart Demon wasn't as difficult as people imagined. Of course, getting rid of it still required a powerful move like Wu Xie's Light of 404.
"But we have to consider the greater good..."
Wu Wei cut her off. "The greater good? Lan Meng, I am the greater good."
Lan Meng was at a loss for words.
Because she realized Wu Wei did have a point.
Wu Wei was the greater good. By comparison, Wang Zixuan was a nobody.
As long as nothing happened to Wu Wei, the future was bright.
"Then let Wang Zixuan disappear for the greater good," Wu Wei declared.
After all, he had a daughter on the way, and that put him under a lot of pressure.
Power banks were hard to come by. Since there was already one right here, why go looking farther afield?
"If you insist, then Wang Zixuan will definitely pay the price he deserves. I'm actually thinking of you, too. Three out of four people in your dorm have had something happen to them. It'd be easy for people to point fingers at you, Wu Wei."
"That's true, but I don't care what people think. And college students won't stay interested in this kind of thing for long."
More importantly, Night Emperor Academy was about to start recruiting.
With a chance to learn more, Wu Wei wasn't particularly attached to Imperial Capital University.
"Hm?" Wu Wei's gaze suddenly sharpened.
"What is it?" Lan Meng noticed the change in Wu Wei's expression. She followed his gaze, and her own expression changed too.
They'd stumbled upon it already.
"It's Chi Yu."
"If I remember right, she's Qin Yunhai's girlfriend?"
Lan Meng knew perfectly well, but she still had to go through the motions and ask.
Wu Wei nodded, already mourning Qin Yunhai.
He saw Chi Yu walk in hand in hand with a guy. The guy's other hand was wandering somewhere it shouldn't.
It was obvious: Qin Yunhai had been cheated on.
Thinking of how Qin Yunhai used to brag to him about his girlfriend, six words suddenly appeared in Wu Wei's mind:
What goes around comes around!
"Let's go." Given Wu Wei's relationship with Qin Yunhai, Chi Yu naturally knew him.
Wu Wei didn't want Chi Yu to find out that he'd already discovered what was going on.
"Are you not going to do anything?" Lan Meng asked.
Wu Wei didn't know that, before she came back, the deputy director had asked him to make sure she got over the trauma of being cheated on as soon as possible.
Lan Meng had always remembered that. She just hadn't expected them to catch someone in the act so soon.
Wu Wei hadn't thought that far ahead. He simply said, "I'll check Chi Yu's chat history, then figure out how to tell Yunhai."
Though he really didn't want to do that.
Sometimes, finding out that your best friend is being cheated on puts you in a tough spot. Do you tell him or not?
Wu Wei had to admit that, at least on the surface, Chi Yu and Qin Yunhai seemed to get along very well. In the eyes of many people, they were a perfect match.
What if Chi Yu was just fooling around?
Wu Wei shook his head. Whatever. He'd do what he thought was right.
The results of his investigation were exactly what he'd expected.
Qin Yunhai had a vast green grassland on his head.
After thinking it over, Wu Wei decided to tell him.
He sent Qin Yunhai a message on WeChat:
"Yunhai, I have a question for you. (green-hat soldier emoji)"
Qin Yunhai: Go ahead.
Wu Wei: If I found out that a good friend was being cheated on by his girlfriend, should I tell him? (green-hat soldier emoji)
Qin Yunhai: Of course you should.
Wu Wei: But what if that friend stopped talking to me because of it?
Qin Yunhai: If he'd stop talking to you over something like that, what would you need a friend like him for?
Wu Wei: But it'd still be awkward. I wouldn't know how to tell him, so I could only keep sending him green-hat emojis and hope he got the hint. (green-hat soldier emoji)(green-hat soldier emoji)(green-hat soldier emoji)
Qin Yunhai: /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~ Holy sh~it.
Before you continue