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nChapter 1012 A New Round of Hints

nIntis Group, Administrative Department.

nZhou Mingrui, wearing a black T-shirt, walked in and casually scanned the room before saying to Luo Shan, “It’s really hot this year. School has started and there’s still no sign of cooling down.”

nLuo Shan nodded repeatedly in agreement and praised the effectiveness of the company’s air conditioning.

nZhou Mingrui glanced to the side and back, asking, “Luo Fu didn’t come today?”

nHe had been planning to approach Luo Fu today to ask why she appeared in the underground area of Mushu Hospital last night. However, it was almost an hour into the workday and she still hadn’t shown up.

nLuo Shan looked around and said in a hushed voice, “Luo Fu is going to resign.”

n“Hasn’t she been working for less than a month? She’s resigning before even passing the probation period?” Zhou Mingrui was somewhat surprised, but then felt it was also normal.

nFor a mysterious person like Luo Fu, working at the company was definitely not for the salary, but for some other purpose. Once that purpose was achieved, or if she felt it couldn’t be completed and she might be in danger, she would undoubtedly resign without hesitation.

n“Yes, there’s something going on at home. Otherwise, who would give up such a good job?” Luo Shan spoke sincerely. “Luo Fu has already submitted her letter and will come tomorrow to go through the procedures.”

nLuo Fu’s resignation made Luo Shan feel that she herself probably wouldn’t be fired in the short term.

n“She’ll come tomorrow?” Zhou Mingrui nodded thoughtfully.

nHe could foresee that Luo Fu’s resignation wouldn’t go smoothly. Someone who had just been hired leaving before completing even a month—wasn’t that a slap in the face for the recruiters?

nMoreover, it would affect the HR department’s performance evaluation.

nZhou Mingrui then turned to Luo Shan and asked, “How is Luo Fu doing now? Why did she go to Mushu Hospital last night?”

nHe spoke with a tone of concern for a colleague.

n“She’s doing fine now, just hasn’t fully recovered emotionally.” Without receiving any “instructions,” Luo Shan didn’t dare reveal too much.

nShe directly skipped over the latter question.

nSeeing this, Zhou Mingrui politely smiled and said, “Slacking time is over, I’m going back to work.”

n“Bye-bye.” Luo Shan waved habitually.

nZhou Mingrui turned and walked towards the exit of the Administrative Department.

nLuo Fu’s resignation made him more acutely aware of the undercurrents lurking beneath the surface.

nThis female colleague seemed to have joined the company specifically for him. She hadn’t even fully familiarized herself with the Administrative Department’s affairs, yet had already had two meals with him, made some hints, and mysteriously appeared in the underground area of Mushu Hospital when he was investigating it.

nDid last night’s events cause Luo Fu to resign?

nWhat exactly is hidden in the underground area of Mushu Hospital, and why did Luo Fu and Luo Shan go there?

nWhat specifically did Luo Fu encounter?

nAre mystical methods now being used in workplace competition?

nAmidst his lampooning, Zhou Mingrui increasingly wanted to find Luo Fu and ask her face-to-face.

nHe felt that the things around him were getting stranger and stranger!

nLuo Fu and Luo Shan too, they clearly showed goodwill and provided effective hints, so why don’t they just tell me the truth about what’s going on?

nWe’re all people with supernatural powers, what can’t be said?

nWe could be completely open and honest about everything, and discuss things together. Even if I wouldn’t believe everything, I certainly wouldn’t ignore it completely. I’d remember the key points and verify them one by one in subsequent developments.

nIf they don’t explain anything clearly, how am I supposed to help them?

nAre we filming a TV drama here, where one misunderstanding can be dragged out for twenty episodes?

nIs there a reason they only hint at things instead of speaking directly?

nIs some force preventing them from telling the truth about what’s happening?

nAre there others monitoring me?

nZhou Mingrui unconsciously raised his head and looked around, but didn’t notice anything unusual.

nDoes the monitoring power come from a supernatural level? Can it even listen in on my private conversations with Luo Fu and Luo Shan?

nThe first time Luo Fu showed something was wrong, Luo Shan hinted for me to wait two days before talking to her again. That was the day after my first meal with her, during which Luo Fu had hinted at the existence of supernatural powers and the hidden dangers of beverages after Assassin…

nWas it because she hinted at these things to me that it led to her subsequent problems?

nZhou Mingrui returned to his own workstation and sat down, staring at the screen in front of him, seriously considering how to determine if there was monitoring around him, and if so, how to avoid it afterwards, how to meet with Luo Fu and Luo Shan discreetly, and how to communicate in a safe environment.

nIn the Administrative Department, Luo Shan picked up her phone and sent a message to True Hidden Blade: “Zhou Mingrui came to ask about your situation. He’s not unfazed by last night’s events, he’s just waiting for an opportunity to inquire.”

n…

nIn the open parking lot below the Tech Building housing Intis Group’s headquarters.

nFranca, her hair tied in a ponytail, read the WeChat message sent by Luo Shan.

nShe had originally planned to take Ludwig and wait around the Hall Film Company, ready to help cover up immediately if Dreamscape Jenna made any mistakes. But after much consideration, she decided to come near the company instead.

nDreamscape Jenna was “professionally trained,” with acting skills no worse than the real Jenna. She had also inherited Jenna’s memories of applying to the Hall Film Company and signing the contract, and her own dream was to be a good actress. So, as long as there were no accidents like last night, she shouldn’t have any problems.

nMoreover, the Hall Film Company had a good boss who managed things strictly, and the internal atmosphere was quite good. As long as Dreamscape Jenna didn’t go to outside film crews for auditions, she was unlikely to encounter the casting couch.

nOf course, even if she did, Franca wasn’t worried that Dreamscape Jenna would accept. More than that, she was concerned that Dreamscape Jenna might overreact, use excessive self-defense, and get arrested by the police—she had probed Dreamscape Jenna’s personality and style this morning and felt that if Dreamscape Jenna encountered something dirty, she would grab all the sharp objects she could find at the scene and make the other party see red.

nComparatively, Luo Shan’s situation was more dangerous.

nThe forces that caused last night’s incident had clearly targeted Luo Shan, and if one attempt failed, there would be another. Franca didn’t want to be careless and have Luo Shan encounter an “accident,” die on the spot, or become a puppet of the Celestial Worthy!

nAfter reading the message from Luo Shan and listening to the sound of Ludwig eating, Franca pondered for a moment before typing out a response:

n“You can recommend that Zhou Mingrui watch the ‘Terminator’ series of films.”

nLuo Shan was suddenly stunned when she received the reply.

nShe finally understood why the story Luo Fu had initially made up sounded so familiar to her!

nMost of it was from a movie plot!

nEssentially, it really is a bit similar… Luo Shan pondered for a few seconds, then opened her chat with Zhou Mingrui: “We’ve been watching old movies lately, the ‘Terminator’ series. They’re much better than current Hollywood blockbusters. You should rewatch them too.”

nZhou Mingrui, receiving this seemingly random message, fell into deep thought.

nHe had long forgotten the details of the Terminator series, but still remembered a bit of the core story.

nAfter a moment, he silently said to himself, Are they trying to tell me that I’m the savior?

nDownstairs, in the open parking lot.

nFranca alternated between checking her phone and observing the situation, patiently waiting for the lunch break.

nHer biggest worry now wasn’t Luo Shan’s problem, nor where she should go to make people despair, but that running the air conditioning in a gasoline car while waiting wasn’t a good thing.

nSuddenly, someone opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat.

nFranca’s spiritual perception had already sensed it was Lumian who had arrived.

nLumian had changed back to his male form and was in disguise, so he wouldn’t be recognized as security guard Li Ming at first glance.

n“How did you know I was here?” Franca asked, both puzzled and curious.

nThey hadn’t even replenished the Mirror Substitutions they had placed with each other yet!

nLumian smiled, raised his right hand, and pointed to his head. “It’s a simple deduction.”

nFranca rolled her eyes at him. “I just didn’t feel like thinking about it.”

nLumian didn’t continue to tease her. He summarized the key points of what he and the others had discussed with the Major Arcana card holders, as well as Mr. Fool’s past experiences.

n“That’s truly legendary…” Franca sighed sincerely.

nLumian nodded. “There’s another detail. At the time, I was the one who told Jenna and Luo Shan to ask Zhou Mingrui for help, to make a trip to the underground area of Mushu Hospital. On the way, Jenna remembered it was late at night and worried that directly contacting Zhou Mingrui might cause worse things to happen, so she let Luo Shan go alone.

n“Zhou Mingrui agreed to help, and after he ran out of the emergency center, Jenna was immediately kicked out of the dream. But she hadn’t actually appeared in Zhou Mingrui’s sight, and Zhou Mingrui didn’t even know such a person existed.”

nFranca understood what Lumian was trying to express.

n“The Celestial Worthy’s gaze can lock onto indirect reminders?

n“Then when we have Luo Shan tell Zhou Mingrui the truth, we need to be prepared for the relevant people to be kicked out of the dream…”

n“I was the one who told Luo Shan and Jenna to go, I was the mastermind, but I wasn’t kicked out of the dream,” Lumian added.

n“Either there’s a range or some other limitation on locking onto indirect reminders, or it’s because you were already at B2 of Mushu Hospital at the time… Can that place affect or interfere with the Celestial Worthy’s gaze?” Franca proposed two possibilities.

nLumian smiled. “If the underground area of Mushu Hospital can indeed interfere with the Celestial Worthy’s gaze to some extent, we might be able to use that at a critical moment.”

nThis was a collection of details. They might be useful, or they might have no effect at all, but without collecting them, there wouldn’t even be a chance to test them!

nFranca tersely agreed and picked up her phone again, saying, “I should let Queen Mystic know about the mirrored Emperor Roselle, and remind her to pay attention to Mr. Huang’s contradictory behavior.”

nAfter opening the WeChat contact “Bernadette,” Franca adjusted her mood and sent an energetic emoji: “Pop quiz!

n“Please answer which five seas are referred to by the Five Seas!”

nShe wasn’t sure if the person on the other end of WeChat was currently Queen Mystic Bernadette or Miss Bernie Huang, so she first sent a question whose answer only an outsider would know to verify the other party’s identity.

nAfter a moment, Bernadette responded: “The Sonia Sea, the Fog Sea, do I need to continue?”

n“Congratulations, you’re got it correct!” Only then did Franca briefly mention last night’s events and the possible role played by the mirrored Emperor Roselle, as well as the reasons they had speculated.

nAfter some time, Bernadette replied: “I’d like to discuss this matter in detail. Let’s meet at 2 pm at the book warehouse at 15 Jinhua Street.”

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