Chapter 2934: Necessary Setbacks

Legendary-level equipment is almost perfectly irreplaceable by the [Hundred Forms] with the [Thousands of Postures].

A role-playing derivative [task chain] with floating difficulty and a myriad of contents.

And that seemingly overly strict yet quite reasonable punishment mechanism.

All these factors combined created a jaw-droppingly surprising yet somewhat sensible answer that Jiawen straightforwardly presented to Motan.

If this game wasn’t [The Realm of Innocence], but any similarly styled virtual reality game, this sort of answer would be utterly nonsensical, yet solely in a game with distinctive features from NPC to system, which boasts an extraordinary intelligence capable of breaking dimensions, lies the soil where such surreal answers can become reality.

Motan did not question whether the system could achieve this level because he knew that both the initial [Premonition] and the subsequent progression talents derived from his various roles indicated the system’s profound understanding of him.

This understanding, in some cases, surpassed the information Yi Dong knows, and some occasional incidents made Motan aware that the ‘System’ he spoke of was not an inflexible, stubborn, rigid AI, but a versatile existence endowed with independent thinking abilities, even showing a bit of playfulness sometimes, though this versatility is confined to [The Realm of Innocence].

So, although regrettable, the explanation provided by the other party was indeed reasonable, plausible, and even completely aligned with Motan’s ideal answer.

And this is exactly what he expected, after all, compared to the odd emergence of someone knowing his ‘secrets’, he could more readily accept that the other party’s ability to reach such extent was merely because the system gave them a shortcut, revealing quite a bit about him.

[If that’s really the case, then it’s actually a good thing.]

Exhaling lightly, Motan established such judgment in his heart.

The reason is simple, when ‘the other party knows my secrets’ is replaced with ‘the other party is supporting me with the system’s help’, the nature of the issue loses its severity and even becomes quite comforting, because regardless of how you look at it, that equipment named [Thousands of Postures] far surpasses [Hundred Forms] in effect, and the Flower Elf in front of him… or rather, the person currently using the Flower Elf’s female appearance, also outperforms Cole in acting and adaptability, and the task given by the system is virtually tailored to help him through difficulties.

So for Motan, this should be a welcome development.

After all, the other party hadn’t learned too much information, just like a puppet adhering to system tasks, and as the system has expressed goodwill to him several times… or can be said to have expressed ‘no malicious intent’, since it hasn’t exposed his mildly concerning issues to game operators, police, or hospitals over the past year, it can tentatively be considered harmless.

Although not completely unguarded towards the system, and with no trust relationship between both parties, Motan clearly understands that unless he decisively quits the game, as long as he plays [The Realm of Innocence] for a day, he’s likely unable to escape the system’s control for a day, but since this control poses no threat and even occasionally helps him, he gladly accepts it.

In summary, the answer provided by Jiawen certainly meets all of Motan’s psychological expectations, not only providing a sufficiently reliable response to the issue of knowing ‘too much’, but also managing to wash away some of his previous wrongdoings for Buffy Marshall, even though she doesn’t know if the other party has intelligence about the Violet Empire’s coup months ago, yet given her consistent style, she’s still willing to meticulously handle such details, since even if there’s no immediate impact, laying the groundwork isn’t a bad thing, at least it’ll make lying smoother in the future.

This silence lasted longer than before.

Approximately two minutes later…

“So, this is your answer?”

Exhaling lightly, Motan asked the Flower Elf before him with blazing eyes, “Role-playing-style task chain?”

“Exactly, that’s why I now genuinely regret coming to Academy City to join the commotion.”

Jiawen shrugged regretfully, “After all, in most cases, every task tends to be near me personally. Had I not come here, I wouldn’t have this situation now.”

Motan acknowledged with a nod, but even Jiawen couldn’t decipher much from his calm and serene visage.

However, having gradually gotten a hold of the rhythm, Jiawen became increasingly relaxed, as the opponent who had ‘already lost patience’ didn’t continue to pressure her, but started asking for details, which itself can be considered a gesture, so she continued to explain self-consciously.

“Honestly, this is the toughest task I’ve faced since obtaining [Thousands of Postures].”

Jiawen gently stroked the tome in her arms, flowing with dark green characters, while she elaborated, “Because the character to be portrayed is a Player, and I have to play the role well in front of the target’s acquaintances. Even with [Thousand Faces] assistance, it’s tough as nails, and there are plenty of blind spots like friend messages that can’t be avoided, alongside those in reality that I can’t even inquire or observe… to be honest, today is the first time since I arrived at Academy City that I’ve really gone shopping, and it ended up being a short stroll.”