Response 2 (Thanks to Ai Zong for the Alliance Leader reward)

That momentary comfort almost made Wang Yiyang groan aloud.

He wearily adjusted to the light, feeling waves of dull pain surging through his head.

"How long... have I been asleep?" He squeezed a hoarse sound from his throat.

"Thirteen hours, Boss," Jian replied promptly.

"Thirteen hours?" Wang Yiyang tried to sit up from the bed. He twisted a few times, only to find he couldn't move. He was still bound by several ropes.

Seeing this, Jian quickly stepped forward to untie him.

Once the ropes were off, he even diligently wrung out a hot towel from the bathroom for Wang Yiyang to wipe his face.

"Thanks." Wang Yiyang took the towel and pressed it against his face.

The gentle heat made his entire head feel a little more comfortable.

Only then did he have the leisure to check his system data.

The data hadn't changed much from before, save for two new lines of text.

'Congratulations, you have successfully passed the Red Hypnotist's lethal suggestive dream.'

'Congratulations, you have gained Alcohol Immunity. Willpower slightly increased. Spirit slightly increased.'

Wang Yiyang wanted to smile, but he didn't know how to move his facial muscles.

He felt as though he had slept so long that he couldn't even control the muscles in his face. Thinking of this, he pushed himself, struggling to force a smile.

"Heh heh..."

"Bo... Boss... you look a bit scary when you cry..." Jian couldn't help but remark from the side.

"..." I'm fucking smiling!!

The expression on Wang Yiyang's face stiffened before slowly returning to calm.

Yet, he suddenly felt a coolness on his cheeks and reached up to touch them.

What is this?

He looked down at his fingers, seeing faint water stains on his fingertips.

He brought his finger to his mouth and tasted it. Bitter and salty.

"Are these tears?"

Just then, he felt as if his brain had been struck by a giant hammer. Countless new pieces of information surged into his mind, as if they were about to burst his skull.

Those memories were all from his time as Finn, the memories of hypnotizing others time and time again.

The suave Finn, the sinister Finn, the confident Finn, the powerful Finn, and finally, the vanished Finn.

'Identity mission complete, beginning random reward acquisition.'

A new line of text suddenly popped up in the bottom right corner of the system.

'Reward acquisition complete, congratulations, you have obtained Tasdak Symbol Hypnosis.'

In front of the Yingxing City Municipal Bureau building.

A young man in a purple suit, accompanied by the Mayor of Yingxing City and the Speaker, walked slowly through the main entrance.

The group was surrounded by a large number of heavily armed soldiers.

From time to time, reporters attempting to sneak in were grabbed and dragged away, their camera and phone memory cards destroyed.

The man in the purple suit had handsome features and graying hair, a soft and refreshing smile on his face as he chatted quietly with the high-ranking officials of the Municipal Bureau while walking.

Following closely behind him was a tall, muscular bald man.

The bald man's muscles were clearly visible beneath his tight black clothing, and he carried two black, saw-like short blades on his back.

"Luokebing City was the first city to establish a sister-city relationship with Yingxing City. Over the past decade, both sides have cooperated in economy, culture, and public livelihood, achieving significant results.

With this visit, we also hope to delve deeper with the Yingxing City side to explore new business opportunities in marine mining development. This will pave the way for the upcoming land reclamation project..."

The man in the purple suit spoke eloquently, communicating on equal footing with the Mayor of Yingxing City.

"Councilor Gewen visiting our city on behalf of Luokebing City and investing ten billion to promote the land reclamation project is of great significance to the in-depth cooperation between our two cities.

This is a testament and symbol of the friendship between our two cities, and it will also become one of the hundred major projects of the Federation in recent years..."

The Mayor of Yingxing City, Bofaria, was already over fifty. Although he wasn't sure why a councilor from Luokebing City would come to a remote place like Yingxing City to make such a large investment.

But businessmen were always profit-driven, especially those who were also councilors.

He knew very well that the Councilor Gewen before him not only represented the Violet Group of Luokebing City but also had the Mister Group standing behind him.

With the backing of these two major groups, this seemingly massive ten-billion investment didn't seem quite as shocking.

After the two discussed the cooperation projects to be reached during this visit, After a string of pleasantries, Councilor Gewen finally mentioned his specific request.

He smiled and gestured for his bodyguard to hand over a slip of paper.

Bofaria, the mayor of Yingxing City, took the note into his hands.

He lowered his head to examine it, pondered for a moment, and gave a slight nod.

"Since this is a legitimate mission requirement, we will naturally cooperate to the fullest."

Gewen immediately broke into a smile.

"That's good to hear. If this is completed successfully, it will certainly provide a boost to both of our future prospects."

Bofaria mused for a moment. "I will instruct the City Police Department to coordinate with your operations."

"Then I thank you in advance." Gewen nodded with a smile.

Once the meeting concluded, he declined all invitations to dine, instead leaving the Municipal Bureau with his bodyguard and returning to his suite at a five-star hotel.

A person had been waiting in the room for quite some time.

It was a woman Wang Yiyang would be intimately familiar with—Lei Wei.

Lei Wei wore only a simple, plain white dress, the hem so short it barely covered her hips.

With her eyes lowered, she stood quietly to the side of the living room, her full, alluring curves laid bare under the soft lighting.

Gewen took off his coat and walked to the room's bar to pour himself a glass of juice.

"Tell me about the situation you've gathered over the past few days."

"Yes," Lei Wei replied in a low voice, then began to report, point by point, all the information she had obtained regarding Wang Yiyang over the last few days.

The report lasted for about five minutes.

"You're saying Wang Yiyang has somehow grown close to the Yanhu Sect? And the Avengers arrived early, yet they haven't made a move? They're just waiting?" Gewen frowned as he asked.

"Yes," Lei Wei nodded. "My subordinates suspect that the Avengers may have already caught on. The reason they aren't acting immediately might be because they intend to investigate thoroughly first."

"They caught on that quickly?" Gewen took a sip of orange juice, letting it linger in his mouth before swallowing it bit by bit.

"We can't do anything about the Avengers for now; their strength is beyond what our current manpower can handle. We have to wait.

However, just waiting around won't do. I still have some connections within the Security Department. I can arrange something there."

His voice lowered as he walked closer to Lei Wei.

"Well, it's been a long time. Let's play a new game."

Lei Wei played along, flashing a charming, coquettish smile.

Light Blue Memory Bar.

At the bar counter.

The bartender was dancing and gesturing, performing a variety of tricks as he continuously shook up new cocktails.

Two young girls with dyed blonde hair, wearing camisole dresses, sat on high stools chatting, letting out soft gasps as they watched the bartender's movements.

The atmosphere in the bar was quiet and intimate, with only a dozen tables and chairs in total.

The bar counter took up half the space, and the seating area was sparsely populated with a few customers.

One middle-aged man was hunched over, scrolling through his phone.

A young couple sat huddled together, whispering to each other.

There was also a man with black hair, looking haggard and pale, sitting alone on a sofa with his hands braced on his knees, his breathing slightly rapid.

In the dim light of the bar, the man slowly reached out, gripped a glass of chilled, light-green liquor, and brought it slowly before his eyes.

"It seems... it worked."

The man whispered, a sense of indescribable relief in his tone.

The previous trouble with Twist had been solved so easily that Wang Yiyang had become somewhat lax and careless, thinking it would be just as easy to break the hypnotic suggestion of the Red Hypnotist.

The result, however, was that he had nearly lost his mind.

He had almost become a mindless fool.

This profound lesson taught him that the troubles associated with system identities varied in scale; some could be solved easily, while others, though seemingly simple, could actually harbor lethal danger.

Wang Yiyang set down his drink, his hand resting lightly on the edge of the cold glass table.

The soft singing of a woman rippled through the air of the bar, bringing a touch of warmth back to his heart, which had been on the verge of despair and collapse.

Ever since he woke up from the hypnotic nightmare, an indescribable sense of loneliness and fear would well up from the depths of his soul whenever he was alone.

He hadn't experienced this before, but it seemed to be a lingering side effect of breaking free from the nightmare.

Fortunately, he could feel that as long as he was in a relatively lively environment, his body would slowly recover.

"Hey? All alone?"

Suddenly, a girl with short hair wearing a leather skirt sat down on the leather sofa opposite Wang Yiyang.

The girl had fair skin and wore an off-the-shoulder purple sweater; her shoulder-length hair was dyed a dark red, and her face was lightly made up.

She looked very young, perhaps only eighteen or nineteen years old. Yet, as she sat on the sofa with one leg crossed over the other, her posture was quite seasoned.

Such a pose could give others a casual sense of "I am very familiar with my surroundings."

At the same time, it could effectively prevent any accidental exposure while wearing a skirt.

"Who are you?" Wang Yiyang asked, his voice still not fully recovered and slightly hoarse.

The girl smiled.

"Seeing you drinking alone, isn't it a bit pathetic? Shall I keep you company?"

She casually opened the wine bottle on the table, had a waiter bring over a new glass, and poured herself a drink.

"How about it? One hundred an hour." The girl smiled and downed the glass of wine in one gulp.

Wang Yiyang immediately understood; the other party was a drink promoter for this place. A professional drinking companion.

The role of such people was to stimulate customers to consume more alcohol in the bar in order to earn a commission.

They dressed themselves up to be flashy, stimulating the secretion of male hormones, and then with a little verbal provocation, they could make male customers wave their hands generously and order all kinds of drinks at will.

Under normal circumstances, Wang Yiyang might have just refused directly.

But today, he didn't want to drink at all; he just wanted to quietly watch others drink.

"Drinking is fine. I ask a question, you drink a glass, regardless of the price," Wang Yiyang said calmly.

The girl was taken aback, then a flash of joy crossed her eyes.

"Sure, what do you want to ask? Something a bit more exciting is fine too~" She leaned forward slightly and boldly, letting the curves of her chest be more exposed to his eyes.

"Your name."

"Nai Nai." The girl quickly poured herself a full glass of red wine and downed it in one gulp.

"Can I order my own wine?" she asked.

Wang Yiyang waved his hand, signaling her to do as she pleased.

"Age?"

"Nineteen." Nai Nai quickly drank another glass and added a bottle of the most expensive red wine in the bar.

She was not polite at all, knowing she had encountered a wealthy patron.

Wang Yiyang didn't care; for his current status, buying out the entire stock of this bar was just a small figure.

He dipped his finger in some wine and drew a circle on the table.

"Why not go to school?"

Nai Nai quickly poured another glass and said indifferently.

"What's the use of studying? You still end up working for others anyway, right? You don't earn as much as I do."

"Do you like this kind of life?"

"I do. The money comes fast, life is easy, and I can make myself more comfortable. Why wouldn't I like it?" Nai Nai drank another glass.

Wang Yiyang drew another circle on the table.

"Do you like drinking?"

"It's alright, though it's not very comfortable when you drink too much." Nai Nai opened a bottle of the most expensive wine and filled her glass.

"In other words, you like money, but you hate drinking?"

"Hate... maybe." Nai Nai continued to drink.

Wang Yiyang continued to draw circles.

"Do you know? Actually, hate and disgust are connected."

"Is that so?" Nai Nai poured herself more wine, though she was now somewhat drawn to the circles Wang Yiyang was drawing on the table.

"Do you feel a bit disgusted right now?" Wang Yiyang was drawing more and more circles at this point.

"...A little." Nai Nai's movements as she continued to pour wine slowly became sluggish.

"I guess, actually, you don't feel disgusted by the wine; you feel disgusted with yourself?"

"..." Nai Nai paused, then gritted her teeth and continued to pour herself a drink.

Wang Yiyang's index finger slowly came to a stop. The entire table was covered in circles he had drawn with the wine.

The dense, crowded circles made one feel a faint sense of discomfort at a glance.

"Do you still remember why you left school back then?"

Wang Yiyang raised his head, his eyes faintly reflecting a strange light.

"Bad grades, obviously. What other reason could there be?" Nai Nai said in a low voice.

"Do you still want to go back?"

"I don't want to." Nai Nai downed another glass of alcohol in one gulp.

"Then, do you miss home?"

The hand Nai Nai used to hold her drink began to tremble.

She didn't finish it in one go as she usually did; instead, she held the glass suspended in mid-air, frozen.

Seconds later, she slammed the glass down, buried her face in her hands, and let out a painful whimper.

"I'm sorry... Dad... I'm sorry... It wasn't my fault..."

Within mere seconds, she was sobbing uncontrollably, tears, snot, and saliva streaming down like a broken string, dripping onto her short skirt.

She recalled her childhood, when she had thrown a tantrum for a doll in a shop, and her father, in his rush to buy it for her, had risked crossing the street outside of the crosswalk.

The result was a car accident, leaving him lying in a pool of blood.

Back then, she had been so desperate, so full of agony.

She seemed to have fallen into some kind of hallucination of her own, completely losing perception of her surroundings.

Wang Yiyang fell silent, stood up, and reached out to gently place his hand on Nai Nai's head.

He said nothing. After paying the bill, he turned and left.

In the bottom right corner of his vision, a new line of characters slowly flickered.

Tasdak Symbol Hypnosis: Activated.