Chapter 369 One-Vote Veto

Jiang Ran couldn’t help but sigh. ‘If only Qin Feng were here.’

‘Qin Feng might have been able to figure out the answer. After all, he was the one who deduced the principle behind Time SMS.’

Unfortunately, Qin Feng was now completely unreachable, and Jiang Ran had lost his super brain trust.

And as for his other brain trust, Lu Yu, something had happened. He hadn’t been admitted to East Sea University as planned.

He had searched the database for information on Lu Yu before, hoping to find some clues. But he still came up empty. Most likely, Lu Yu had also died in the 2028 super-disaster.

“Let’s go, Xiaoxue.”

‘Since there’s no way to download information into my brain, there’s no point in staying in the library any longer.’

Jiang Ran took Cheng Mengxue by the hand and started walking out.

“Let’s go wander around somewhere else.”

…

「Three days later. The rooftop of an academic building at East Sea University.」

Fang Ze sat on the edge of the roof, watching the fiery red sunset. He took out his phone and dialed a number.

“Witch.”

He said softly,

“It’s about time. Give Lilith the order. Have her get Jiang Ran’s visa for Europe taken care of.”

‘In truth, they could have used Lilith’s power to get Jiang Ran’s visa approved instantly, right from the start.’

‘But… that would have been too obvious. It would defy common sense and make Jiang Ran suspicious.’

That’s why Fang Ze was only calling Witch about it today. Getting a visa approved in five days, while fast, was still within the realm of possibility.

“Heh heh.”

A woman’s laughter came from the other end of the line.

“Our dear Jiang Ran is on the move again so soon? I feel like he’s an even bigger troublemaker than I am… With him helping us take out our opponents one by one, we can just sit back and enjoy the show.”

“Exactly.”

Fang Ze smiled faintly.

“His target is very clear this time. I suspect it’s the one who once assisted the Magician and later colluded with the Priest to create the fake Cheng Mengxue—Puppet.”

“Many people in the world are researching the topic of Consciousness Upload. My former teacher, Yan Chonghan, was one of them. But out of all those people, Jiang Ran is only going after this Professor Noah… I’m sure he’s not just shooting in the dark.”

Hmm…

On the other end of the line, the woman mulled it over.

“From that perspective, the member behind Jiang Ran is most likely the Magician. His targets are very specific—all people connected to that Cheng Mengxue girl.”

“Perhaps this is its own form of revenge. The Magician must be furious about the Priest’s use of Cheng Mengxue’s memories, and he certainly won’t forgive Puppet for his betrayal.”

“That’s why, even while facing his own crisis and being hunted by Clown, he’s having Jiang Ran act as his proxy… We can understand it that way, can’t we?”

“Not that the truth really matters. We’ll just tag along with our little friend Jiang Ran and watch the show. Since we can get someone else to do our dirty work, why get our own hands dirty?”

“But… you still have to go with him to Switzerland, you hear?”

The woman added,

“Under no circumstances can Puppet’s Identity Coins fall into anyone else’s hands. Not to mention… I’m afraid that if Jiang Ran and Magician learn about Puppet’s future plans, they could start the Hide-and-Seek Game at any time and regain Veto Power.”

“It was hard enough to free the Genius Playground from the Priest’s dictatorship. It would be a real problem if it fell under the Magician’s one-man rule.”

“Because the Priest, at least, was a reasonable person. Whatever he proposed, everyone just agreed. The Priest never targeted anyone.”

“But Magician is different… He doesn’t seem to have any concrete goal beyond simply winning the game. Someone that single-minded and ruthless only cares about costs and benefits; he won’t waste time trying to reason with you.”

“So, do you understand, Fang Ze? No matter what, you can’t let Magician and Jiang Ran start the Hide-and-Seek Game. You must, before that happens… find Puppet’s real body, kill him, and destroy his Identity Coins!”

Fang Ze sighed on the rooftop.

“How many times have I told you… when it’s just the two of us, don’t call me Fang Ze. I hear it all day at school. I’m sick of the sound of it.”

“But don’t worry. I definitely won’t let them start the Hide-and-Seek Game. Under no circumstances can the Veto Power fall into Magician’s hands.”

He cleaned out his ear, stood up from the edge of the roof, and smiled faintly at the setting sun.

“I’m afraid Switzerland… is about to see a bloodbath!”