"All right."
Su Wen took the mask from the Star God and nodded.
Replace my original identity with a mask?
After putting on the mask, we'd address each other by our professions as codenames. That sounds good.
Hide my true identity. From now on, Su Wen is Su Wen, and the God of Wealth is the God of Wealth. The two have nothing to do with each other!
It seemed the Star God knew something about the treacherous situation that lay ahead.
"Aren't you curious?"
The Star God chuckled. "Showing a false face to the world while hiding your true identity-that's clearly not how a normal organization is structured. No matter how you look at it, there's something a little off, isn't there?"
"Don't you have anything you want to ask?"
Su Wen replied, "Didn't you just ask it for me?"
The Star God froze, then laughed out loud. "You're different from all the other Heavenly Mandate Bearers I've met."
"But you're right. I'll voice the doubts in your heart for you and answer them as well."
"God-Prefixed Heavenly Mandate Bearers, like my Star God and your God of Wealth, are all different from ordinary Heavenly Mandate Bearers. They're powerful, and their talents take countless forms."
"For example, give one God-Prefixed Heavenly Mandate Bearer of the same tier enough time to prepare, and no matter how many Heavenly Mandate Bearers of the same tier come after him, he can kill them all."
The Star God paused, then said, "Simply put, your life is very valuable. Before you have the power to protect yourself, you must never reveal your true identity."
"Otherwise, whether in your daily life or while exploring the Arrow Realm, you and your family and friends could all be in danger."
"In confrontations between nations, God-Prefixed Heavenly Mandate Bearers are the first targets for assassination, especially those who haven't yet grown strong... You understand, right?"
After putting on the God of Wealth mask, Su Wen said softly, "I understand."
In fact, there was another, even more terrifying danger: being murdered by someone on the inside!
But he had only just joined the Star God's organization and didn't know much about the rest of it, so he would wait and see.
He would investigate the Star God's reliability through timelines that crossed space and time. If the Star God stood up to the test of those timelines, everyone would naturally be happy.
"Oh, right. The mask can also resist probing, detection, divination... and various other methods of gathering information."
The Star God patted Su Wen lightly on the shoulder and said softly, "It can also help conceal fluctuations in your aura and your physical strength."
"And from today onward, only I know, and only I can know, that the God of Wealth is Su Wen. Do you... understand?"
Su Wen's brow twitched at the Star God's words. It seemed the Star God had already sensed his aura as a second-tier life-form.
But he wasn't surprised. The Star God had casually given him a little weapon that could destroy Monkey King City. His tier was probably already far ahead of Su Wen's.
If the Star God meant him harm, could he resist at this stage?
So it was good that the Star God knew and was helping him hide it.
"I understand."
Su Wen thought for a moment, then said, "But the police bureau has my information on file, and I also came into contact with several police officers there."
The Star God waved a hand. "Don't worry. I've already taken care of everything at the police bureau for you."
"Yesterday's Su Wen was an ordinary person. Today's Su Wen, and the Su Wen of the future, will still only be an ordinary person."
"Everyone at the police bureau who saw you voluntarily signed a confidentiality agreement and voluntarily agreed to have their memories erased, removing every memory they had of you."
"The surveillance footage containing your information has also been destroyed."
"And I've already arranged the itinerary an ordinary Su Wen would have had yesterday, as well as surveillance footage of you on the street and in the supermarket."
"I've replaced everything for you, and the people who remembered you no longer have any recollection of you."
"As for the information the police bureau uploaded to the police system, I transferred it out and set the highest level of access clearance. I even disguised it to some extent, just in case."
"Don't worry. I've thought all of this through."
Su Wen: "..."
You're really practiced at this!
But seeing how cautious the Star God was, he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
Perhaps the Star God knew even more than he had expected.
"Then did you pay back the three million I owe Li Wenze for me?"
"..."
The Star God looked at Su Wen and fell silent.
The atmosphere in the room turned quiet and awkward at that moment.
"Don't tell me... you didn't pay him back?"
After a while, Su Wen asked tentatively.
"..."
The Star God said nothing, but his silence had already made the answer clear.
"So does that mean I've cheated Li Wenze out of three million?"
Su Wen gave an embarrassed laugh. Li Wenze had voluntarily had his memories of him erased, so he surely didn't remember lending him three million.
That left the loan in an awkward position.
Even if he took the money to pay Li Wenze back someday, Li Wenze might not accept it. Without knowing who Su Wen was, he might even think he had come to offer a bribe.
"If you get the chance someday, repay Li Wenze for this favor!"
The Star God said, "Once the Memory Erasure Technique removes his memories of you, everything concerning you will be rationalized as a result of his blurred memories."
"Li Wenze lent you three million, which means his account is three million short. The missing three million is an established fact."
"It already happened, and he didn't mention it, so naturally he wasn't compensated after the erasure."
"Once his memory grows hazy, he'll assume of his own accord that he spent the three million.
"As for what he bought, or whom he gave it to... there are plenty of explanations to choose from, but his memory's instincts will help him choose the one he finds most acceptable to convince himself."
Su Wen: "..."
The Memory Erasure Technique is that terrifying?
After a memory is erased, will memory itself choose the most convincing explanation for any unreasonable circumstances and facts?
This...
What explanation could be more airtight than one you use to convince yourself?
"You don't need to feel burdened. Three million in exchange for a favor from you, the God of Wealth-he got an enormous bargain."
The Star God chuckled. "Besides, I checked just now. Li Wenze has only a little over 120,000 left in his account. In other words, the three million he lent you was money he'd saved for a long time."
Su Wen sighed with emotion. "Yeah! He saved that money for so long, and just like that, I've pocketed it. And... Li Wenze really is a good person!"
"Can't you look at it from another angle?"
"What do you mean?"
"It took Li Wenze a long time to save three million, which shows how important that money was to him. So why didn't he mention such an important sum before signing the confidentiality agreement, or even before having his memories erased?"
"You mean..."
"That's right. He didn't say a word about it, didn't even mention it, precisely because he wanted to exchange that three million for a favor from you."
The Star God said softly, "That's why I said getting a favor from you for three million was a bargain well worth making!"
Su Wen: "..."