After the guests dispersed, Cheng Yu said goodbye to the father and daughter of the Li family and left the venue. At the entrance, he spotted Yog beneath a streetlight nearby and walked over to him.
"Uh, Big Shot, where are you headed next? Can I give you a ride?"
Yog smiled and said,
"Not bad. You knew how to exploit a loophole in the mission."
Cheng Yu could only give an awkward smile. That was right: the mission required him to thoroughly humiliate Lin Mo, which meant making other people look down on him.
But he had found a loophole. First, some of those people were on good terms with Lin Mo. No matter how much of an idiot Lin Mo made of himself, they would only think his behavior was a little inappropriate.
They would not conclude that he was a complete dumbass. After all, someone who had built his fortune from nothing could hardly be a dumbass.
Second, that lovesick fool Li Xuehong would not think that way either. She was just a young girl; a shock like this was not enough to bring her to her senses.
Lin Mo's behavior would only make her think he was easygoing and sincere. A big-time boss had personally spent time making you a gift. Wasn't that sincere enough?
Third, Lin Mo's gift actually had considerable artistic merit. Unfortunately for him, as the person responsible for organizing this banquet, Cheng Yu knew exactly who would be attending.
Just as ordinary people could not appreciate the works of great masters, given the Rainbow Company's current size, those people from family-run businesses would not do Li Ming the favor of attending. Li Ming knew his place well enough not to invite them.
Putting those three points together, the mission's completion condition was either for most people to scorn Lin Mo's behavior this time, or for Lin Mo himself to feel mocked.
Clap, clap, clap. Yog was the one applauding. He had just read Cheng Yu's thoughts with ease, and Cheng Yu's guess was very close to the mission's true meaning.
He smiled and said, "Let's go to your place. I know you have a lot of questions. I'll tell you everything you're allowed to know. And while we're at it, I'll give you a little reward."
Cheng Yu paused, then nodded and went to get the car.
Cheng Yu was now part of the Rainbow Company's management and had helped it land several major projects. Li Ming had not treated him poorly, either: without a second thought, he had given him a riverside villa in Jiangcheng's villa district.
Back home, Cheng Yu felt a little strange. Since he had transmigrated with his physical body, he naturally had no parents, relatives, or friends here. Even his identity had been arranged by the system.
Otherwise, he would have been completely undocumented. That was why he had always lived alone in this huge villa, with only housekeeping staff coming by to clean. Now there were two grown men staying here. Well, it felt a little odd.
"Uh, Big Shot, what would you like to drink?"
"Anything. Whatever you like."
"Uh, all right."
After brewing two cups of tea, Cheng Yu sat opposite Yog. Yog lifted his cup, took a sip, and spoke.
"I know what you're wondering. Let me tell you a story. The answers to your questions are all in it."
By the time both cups were almost empty, Cheng Yu felt as though his entire worldview had been rebuilt. He drained the remaining tea in his cup, gathered his thoughts, and asked Yog,
"So, Big Shot, you're that being's incarnation with human reason, and you need to recover your authority in the Chaos Sea. You chose me as your agent because taking action yourself carries a certain risk?"
"Yes, you could put it that way."
Cheng Yu fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Aren't you worried I won't be able to keep this secret?"
Yog smiled.
"No matter how weak a fierce beast becomes, what it fears is always another fierce beast. Besides, the beast it fears is only a little one that has just learned to walk.
"And it is merely a full-grown beast in a weakened state. It is wary because it fears that little one might strike a vital spot while it sleeps. That is why it must avoid being discovered, not because it is afraid of the little one itself. Do you understand what I mean?"
Cheng Yu gave a bitter smile. Of course he understood. No matter how weak a fierce beast was, it would not care about an ant. No, he did not even qualify as an ant. With that thought, he asked,
"So my system is also part of your authority?"
"Yes. Part of omniscience."
Cheng Yu was puzzled. "Omniscience?"
"Knowledge is power."
Cheng Yu only half understood. Fair enough-if he could understand how it worked, then even if he was not a god, he would not be far from becoming one.
"Then what about Lin Mo?"
Yog did not answer his question. Instead, he stood, walked to the bookshelf, and pulled out a book at random. In his hands, it slowly transformed into a book bound in pitch-black sheepskin.
Even its pages, viewed from the side, turned yellow. Yog returned to his seat with the book, handed it to him, and said,
"Didn't I say I'd give you a little reward? Here, take it."
Cheng Yu accepted the book with trembling hands. He could not help it. Who knew whether tentacles, eyeballs, or something else might suddenly spring out of it? And surely just holding it would not drive him insane?
Well, thankfully, none of that happened. But would it happen when he opened it? Or did it contain countless forbidden secrets of the universe? Black magic? Summoning rituals? Like the wildly famous Necronomicon from the Cthulhu Mythos?
Filled with unease, Cheng Yu slowly opened the black-bound book. Whew. Thankfully, nothing happened.
With that thought, Cheng Yu began reading. He would have been better off not reading at all: the further he read, the more wrong the book seemed, until two names appeared-Lin Mo, and his own, Cheng Yu.
As he continued reading, Cheng Yu grew increasingly shocked. He abruptly looked up at Yog.
"Big Shot, this... is this...?"
Yog smiled and nodded. "That's right, little fellow. You now hold the script of this world in your hands."
Holy shit! Cheng Yu screamed inwardly. This fucking omniscience and all-seeing power really isn't a joke. With power like this, I'm fucking clinging to this Big Shot for good!
Yog spoke again.
"Because my authority has been shattered, the mists of time obscure part of my vision, so I cannot fully observe the details.
"But using you as an anchor, I have narrowed down your personal timeline. In other words, everyone connected to you will act according to the script in your hands.
"However, I have not consolidated your timeline. If you deliberately do something to disrupt the script, it may diverge. So the choice is yours. Of course, where Lin Mo is concerned, you can act as freely as you like."
Yog then added, "As for the problem of this world assimilating and eroding you, once you help me recover the authority within Lin Mo, I'll resolve it for you."
Cheng Yu nodded repeatedly. No kidding-this was not just a script, but a strategy guide! It practically recorded exactly how much toilet paper Lin Mo had used from birth until now. How could he possibly not know how to deal with him?
"Then please get some rest, Big Shot. I'll excuse myself."
Back in his room, Cheng Yu eagerly opened the book and began planning his strategy. Naturally, the more he read, the angrier he became.
"Fuck, I actually transmigrated because of this dumbass! And this fucking idiot came from the same world as me! He even left me drifting in a gap in time for two years! So much for a heartwarming reunion with someone from home-more like shooting them on sight!"
"Fuck me, this animal! Those thugs who harassed Li Xuehong back then were acting on his orders. She was only seventeen at the time!"
"Is this fucker possessed by a horny poodle? He'll take anyone! Mature women, married women, cute girls, little girls-he fucking wants to ruin them all!"
"Is Li Xuehong brain-dead or something? Helping an outsider screw over her own family!"
At this point, veins bulged on Cheng Yu's forehead. He had read that Li Xuehong helped Lin Mo take over her family's company. That brain-dead woman enraged Li Ming so badly that his blood pressure shot up and he suffered a brain hemorrhage, leaving him hospitalized for more than half a year.
Cheng Yu himself was also pushed out by Li Xuehong. No matter what he tried, nothing could overcome a single sentence from that brain-dead woman: "I'm the largest shareholder now. You're fired!"
Then the Rainbow Company was swallowed up by Lin Mo.
"Fucking hell!"
Li Ming had treated him well. Cheng Yu could not stand by and watch him meet such a dismal end. But he remembered very clearly what the Big Shot had said: if he changed the fates of the people involved, reality would deviate from the script.
Cheng Yu was torn. On one side was this incredible advantage; on the other was his conscience. It was a difficult choice.
But only children choose. I'm an adult, so I'll take both!
He started leafing through the script again. There had to be an opening-a way to reconcile the two.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, Cheng Yu complained, "How did time go by so fast? Huh? Time!"
Suddenly struck by inspiration, Cheng Yu opened the script again and muttered to himself,
"In the script, Lin Mo starts taking over the Rainbow Company after the first phase of the university town project is completed. That's when he starts setting his sights on Rainbow.
"The university town project was agreed on two months ago, and construction began a month ago. There are nine months between the start of construction and the completion of the first phase, which means there are at least eight months before this happens.
"The Big Shot's ultimate goal is to recover the fragment inside Lin Mo. The way to recover it is to deal Lin Mo a major psychological blow, then use the principle of mutual attraction between fragments to take his fragment away. So, within eight months, I need to deal Lin Mo a major blow..."
Cheng Yu suddenly smiled.
"A little challenging, but worth a shot!"
In the guest room, Yog smiled too.
"Not bad. He's not too stupid."
Before you continue