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nThere was an army of undead at the front, and a besieged base city at the back.

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nWhile Chen Yiming was killing the undead army, everyone in the stronghold was nervously watching the battle on the horizon.

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nThe dull buzzing sound continued. The only thing they could see was that the undead army had stopped moving forward, and a large number of undead creatures were continuously being killed.

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nAt some point, the undead army started to retreat.

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nThe entire stronghold was discussing the situation.

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n“This… did he really hold them back?”

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n“One person, just one person. The master realm is too terrifying!”

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n“Even if nuclear weapons can be used in the otherworld, I’m afraid they won’t be able to stop such a large army of undead!”

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nThis was the reason why the long-term plan for the stronghold in the otherworld had previously been shelved by the higher ups.

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nWhether it was attracting the attention of powerful creatures during the exploration, or the fact that powerful humans could deliberately lure the monsters to attack the stronghold, there were too many factors that would cause the stronghold to be destroyed.

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nThe only feasible solution was to have a martial master guarding it.

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n…

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nOn the battlefield on the horizon, there was silence all around, and only two figures remained.

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nChen Yiming asked, “Can you show me your skills?”

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nThe spiritual figure said, “Yes.”

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nWithout another word, he became like a ruthless machine.

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nThe spiritual figure floated in midair. At the same time, the sharp aura of the sword shot into the sky, and the dark red night sky was temporarily split into two.

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nAt a certain moment, only the sound of the sword swaying could be heard. The power of nature was temporarily borrowed and transformed into the corresponding attributes and gathered above the spiritual figure.

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nAfter the energy storage ended, a huge light sword descended from the clouds and split into countless small light swords that were more than a meter long. In the next second, the ground cracked open and countless clouds of dust rose into the air.

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nAfter the dust settled, an area of rubble about three to four kilometers wide appeared.

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n“The range of destruction in the otherworld is already so large? With the same attack when we return to the blue planet, a large city will probably be razed to the ground.”

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nChen Yiming gasped in shock.

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nUnlike using his own brute force, this way, he could share the perspective of the spiritual figure. It was similar to controlling his character in a game.

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nChen Yiming could also experience the borrowing of natural power, which was the distinguishing characteristic of the master realm.

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nUnfortunately, just like the Sword Aura ability, this was a talent ability given by the system. The exact method to master it from scratch was not something he could analyze at the moment.

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nChen Yiming asked, “What is the range within which I can control you?”

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nThe spiritual figure said, “Any distance is fine.”

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nChen Yiming asked, “Can I stay on the blue planet while you stay in the otherworld?”

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nThe spiritual figure said, “There’s a space-travel passage separating us, so I can only follow simple instructions.”

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nChen Yiming clenched his fists and paced back and forth excitedly.

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n“Why don’t we just change the name to a control system? I don’t mind staying behind the scenes and just controlling things from afar.”

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nHe then thought of the martial master from the Western countries. If the other party did not appear, he would not be able to find him. However, there was a solution now.

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nPerhaps he understood that Chen Yiming wanted to leave it in the otherworld to kill the creatures there, so the spiritual figure added, “With the enhancement from the Undying Body talent, the sword spirit can be created from your consciousness again and again after being killed. The time it takes to be reborn depends on the difference in our cultivation levels.”

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nChen Yiming asked, “Does this mean that I can treat it as though I am playing games at home in peace?”

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nHe could revive indefinitely after death?

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nHe no longer had to hide his abilities or worry about the situation outside.

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nWouldn’t the otherworld be destroyed by me one day?

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nChen Yiming said excitedly, “The system didn’t trick me. Take my swordsmanship talent and use it. The suggestion to fuse with the sword spirit is great.”

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nAfter calming down again, he instructed the spiritual figure to investigate the surroundings and try to find the hidden martial master.

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nAbove his head, the three glowing spheres in the sky remained the same as always, and everything returned to normal.

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nThe birth of the sword spirit gave him the ability to fight on two fronts. He quickly rushed back to the stronghold.

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nAs he approached the stronghold, he heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the entire stronghold was intact. The deterrence from his previous attack was still there, and no other creatures from the otherworld dared to attack the stronghold.

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n…

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nIn the military camp, Chen Yiming found his sister and the teachers and students of the martial arts academy.

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n“Brother, you’re finally back. I was so worried. Are you injured?”

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nChen Yingying ran over quickly, her voice choked with tears.

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n“What can happen to me? Look at me. My clothes aren’t even torn. I’m not injured at all.”

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nChen Yiming patted Chen Yingying’s head. His voice was full of energy, and he didn’t sound tired at all.

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n“That’s good.”

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nChen Yingying smiled through her tears and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.

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nChen Yiming had walked out of the stronghold and held back the army of undead alone. Chen Yingying was frightened by his action, but she didn’t dare to stop him.

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nAfter all, there had to be someone strong to step out, and her brother was the strongest person in the stronghold.

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nAt this moment, a high-ranking military officer walked over quickly.

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n“Sir, did you encounter that person?”

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n“From the start to the end, that person showed no traces of revealing himself.”

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nChen Yiming shook his head.

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n“The undead army has completely retreated?” the officer asked again.

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n“I’ve killed most of them. It shouldn’t be a problem for the time being,” Chen Yiming replied.

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nThe two of them did not discuss the matter of a martial master from the Western countries openly. This made the people around them confused, and they could not understand who they were referring to.

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nHowever, when they heard that the matter of the undead army had been successfully resolved, everyone felt relieved. The invisible burden on their shoulders had disappeared.

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nSoon, the officer turned to leave.

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nChen Yiming instructed his sister and the others to stay in the camp before walking towards the space-travel passage.

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nThe sword spirit was at the true master realm, and his Level-4 swordsmanship talent was the highest level he had at the moment. In reality, there was nothing safer than staying in the stronghold.

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n…

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nAfter returning to the base city through the space-travel passage, he could not wait to test it out and contacted the spiritual figure in the otherworld through his consciousness.

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nChen Yiming asked, “Hey! Can you receive my thoughts?”

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nThe figure in his mind said, “Yes.”

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nChen Yiming asked, “Have you found any traces of that person?”

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nThe figure in his mind said, “No.”

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nEven though he did not receive any good news, a smile still appeared on his face. The eyelids of the soldiers stationed around the space-travel passage twitched. This person looked like he was smiling foolishly.

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nThe base city had not been attacked for the time being, and soldiers were kept on alert everywhere.

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nChen Yiming looked into the distance. In the forest outside the base city, a group of mutant beasts was wandering around. They seemed to be wary and didn’t directly attack.

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n“I heard that many Western countries like to tame mutant beasts and make use of them in battle. Their control of mutant beasts is indeed extraordinary.”

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nThe reason for the beast tide could be guessed at. It was none other than someone controlling the strongest individual in the gathering place of the mutant beasts and giving orders to the mutant beasts below through their king.

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nSoon, Chen Yiming seeked out the person in charge of the base city to find out the details.

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nWang Mengwei was a lieutenant general in the military. He was nearly 60 years old and was wearing a dark green military uniform. Due to his achievements in martial arts, he still looked like a middle-aged man.

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n“The base city and the other cities in the province are surrounded but not attacked.

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nAfter summarizing the information, we concluded that the beast tide was just a cover. This is because many martial arts experts have disappeared from many cities. The Western corporations might have taken advantage of the chaos to capture them for human experimentation.”

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nHearing this, Chen Yiming’s expression turned ugly.

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nHe was no longer ignorant. In the end, the research on bloodline warriors inevitably required actual humans for experimentation.

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nIn the Daxia Kingdom, pure martial arts was the main focus. The government had always strictly prohibited human experiments that had not been approved. Once illegal human experimentation was discovered, they would immediately send troops to destroy the involved parties.

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nBut now, these Western corporations were trying to kill many birds with one stone.

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nNot only did they plan to send a martial master to kill him with the help of the undead army and destroy the stronghold established in Jiangnan province, but they also wanted to take as much as they could from Jiangnan province before retreating.

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nSuch actions were really unacceptable.

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nChen Yiming immediately communicated with the figure in his mind and increased the intensity of his search. He was determined to find the hidden martial master.

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nWang Mengwei’s expression was solemn as he hinted, “The other large countries in the east are very calm. Now, it’s almost as if we are fighting against the entire western world alone.”

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nChen Yiming knew what he meant.

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nIn most countries on the blue planet, the popular view of long-term cultivation was focused on bloodline warriors. Pure martial arts was thought to be limited to the disciple realm and the warrior realm, with the exception of a few individuals.

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nAs a country that insisted on purely martial arts, the Daxia Kingdom was naturally ostracized. At this moment, even the other large countries in the east, who should have been on the same side, had no intention of supporting the Daxia Kingdom.

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nIt was not difficult to tell that the Western corporations definitely had some breakthrough results in their hands, and they could use this opportunity to rope in some of the large eastern countries.

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n…

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nAfter leaving the base city, Chen Yiming glanced at the mutant beasts wandering around.

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nThe figures of mutant beasts in the forest were faintly discernible. They ranged from a few meters long to 10 to 20 meters long. There were all kinds of them, and from time to time, he could hear the roars of the mutant beasts.

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nTheir number created an aura so heavy that even the base city did not dare to send troops to chase them away.

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nHis figure flashed, and he appeared in the forest as if he had teleported there. In the next second, a golden sword of light attacked wildly.

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nWherever he passed, the forest was flattened, the ground was cracked, and the mountains were flattened. None of the mutant beasts participating in the beast tide could withstand a single strike from him. When they tried to escape, he would catch up to them in the blink of an eye.

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nAfter nearly half an hour, Chen Yiming had covered a distance of more than 100 kilometers and defeated most of the mutant beasts in the beast tide, scattering the rest of them.

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nThose huge and powerful mutant beasts wished they could shrink themselves, but there was no point in wishing for the impossible. The bigger they were, the more they would be targeted, and the sooner they would die.

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nAfter removing the threat of the beast tide from the base city, he rushed straight to Jiangdu City.

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nSince the Western corporations wanted to capture martial arts experts, their main target was undoubtedly the city where a large number of martial arts practitioners were gathered.

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n…

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nWhen Chen Yiming arrived at Jiangdu City, there were a large number of soldiers guarding the city gate. There were helicopters circling in the sky, and the sound of their rotors could be heard from afar.

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nThe atmosphere in the entire city was solemn, and there was a faint smell of blood lingering in the air.

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n“I was right. Jiangdu City must be an important part of the plans of those Western corporations.”

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nHe walked openly to the city gate and reported his identity to the soldiers.

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nThe goal was very simple. He wanted the spies from the Western corporations to send the news back to intimidate the hidden organizations in Jiangdu City. He would try his best to rescue the martial arts experts of the Daxia Kingdom.

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nA few minutes later, Zhou Hongquan, the guardian of Jiangdu City, appeared at the city gate.

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nZhou Hongquan had only recently been transferred from the capital to Jiangdu City for two reasons.

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nFirstly, as the only city connected to the base city, Jiangdu City needed someone at the peak of the warrior realm to oversee it. Secondly, Jiangnan province needed to maintain some balance to prevent any problems from occurring.

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nHowever, not long after he took office, he encountered a huge matter that involved the entire country. This made him as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

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nAs soon as Zhou Hongquan arrived, he shook Chen Yiming’s hand enthusiastically. The two of them got to know each other with some small talk.

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n“That’s right. It’s that man.”

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nAs Chen Yiming’s identity was confirmed, the surrounding soldiers could clearly see the light of hope. A sense of security was brought about by his strength.

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nAt this moment, Jiangdu City had entered a state of military control. The streets were empty, and there were no pedestrians walking around.

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nZhou Hongquan told him, “An incident involving a blood ritual occurred in an abandoned factory in the suburbs of Jiangdu City. It involved the missing people from Jiang City and the guards who were assigned by the organization at the time.”

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nChen Yiming’s expression was calm as he instantly thought of Lu Feng, who had turned into a traitor in the Jiangdu City organization.

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nAlthough there were soldiers around him, he could not guarantee that there would be no problems. Therefore, he left without interacting much with Zhou Hongquan.

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n…

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nThe sun turned the road into a scorchingly hot surface.

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nChen Yiming set up an illusory internal force around his body and walked along the street alone.

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nUnder the supervision of the military, there were almost no pedestrians on the street. However, he still found out from an auntie in the alley about the location of the abandoned factory where the blood ritual had occurred.

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nNot long after, he arrived at the abandoned factory in the east of the city.

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n“There are quite a few people!”

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nChen Yiming saw that the factory had been cordoned off. More than 100 people had gathered outside, and armed soldiers were guarding the entire abandoned factory.

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nMany people outside the factory were crying. They were likely to be the families of the victims.

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nChen Yiming walked over quickly. Before he got close, he could smell the thick scent of blood.

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nHe frowned. The air was leaking out of the abandoned factory. What had happened during the blood ritual to cause the smell of blood to linger and not dissipate?

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n“Hello, can I ask you something?”

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nChen Yiming instinctively patted a woman on the shoulder.

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nThe woman ignored him and continued to wipe the tears from her eyes.

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nHe had no choice but to go around to the front of the woman. The woman was blocked by a figure, and her sadness immediately turned to anger. She looked up and was about to curse.

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nHowever… Before she spoke, she changed her mind.

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n“Brother Hong, is that you? Am I dreaming?”

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nChen Yiming felt a little awkward when faced with the woman’s emotional question.

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nThe other party had lost her lover. At this moment, her mind must be filled with the image of her lover. Under the influence of the illusory internal force around him, she had mistaken him for Brother Hong.

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n“Cough, cough!”

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nChen Yiming coughed and reminded her, “I’m sorry, you’ve got the wrong person.”

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n“Ah! I’m sorry, I might be feeling a little faint from the heat, so…”

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nHearing Chen Yiming’s response, the woman felt her vision blur. The person in front of her was indeed not Brother Hong, but a young man with a similar appearance to him.

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nHowever… he was too handsome. He looked like someone that she had idolized when she was 18 years old.

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nShe continued to be affected by the illusory internal force. The memories from her school days surged into her mind, and her sadness turned into nostalgia.

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nChen Yiming felt that something was amiss. He was here to settle some serious matters, not to flirt with the woman. Hence, while the woman was still in a daze, he turned around and looked for someone else to ask.

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