[Ding! Option 3 has been completed! Reward obtained: Shape-Shifting Garment]
[Shape-Shifting Garment: Fireproof, waterproof, theft-proof, bulletproof, and bestie-proof! Can transform into any form and never needs washing.]
Nice, nice, nice!
With a thought, Lucian had the system transform the Shape-Shifting Garment into a vest worn under his clothes—after all, changing clothes in public wasn't exactly presentable.
"Alright, let's see if we can fix this scout tower first."
Lucian looked at the scout tower not far away, the very one the exiles had tried to steal from earlier.
"Let me see… Hmm… Is this… a matching game?"
Lucian fell into deep thought as he stared at the colorful wiring on the control panel.
"All we have to do is connect the wires of the same color, right?" Jianxin asked.
"Doesn't that seem a bit too simplistic?" Lucian wondered. Was this thing really that easy to fix?
The two of them were amateurs in this regard—this was something Yangyang, as a Midnight Ranger, would know better.
"Let's give it a try first."
Lucian reached out and connected a few wires of the same color.
Then, with a ding, the control panel emitted a green glow, and the screen displayed a "Connection Complete" prompt in the middle.
"Done. This really is something anyone with hands could do."
Lucian frowned. "That's weird. If it's this simple, it shouldn't take more than two minutes to fix. Are the Midnight Rangers really so short-handed right now?"
"I heard a battle broke out on the front lines not long ago. They might genuinely be stretched thin," Jianxin speculated.
Just then, Yangyang and Rover returned.
"How'd it go?"
"We handed the exiles over to the Midnight Rangers. They said they'd punish them accordingly," Rover explained.
Yangyang looked worried. "The rear is already overwhelmed. The front lines must be in complete chaos."
"There's one more scout tower left. Let's fix it quickly and head to the front."
The last scout tower was entangled with thorns, but fortunately, there were explosive pods nearby that could be used.
The explosive pods looked somewhat like plants and could be lifted using the Levitator function in the terminal.
Using this method, they cleared away all the thorns and finally repaired the scout tower.
With that, the group continued toward Rearguard Base.
Along the way, Rover sidled up to Lucian. "You did pretty well back there."
"Flattery will get you nowhere. Do you know what people in my world call me?"
"What do they call you?" Rover asked curiously.
"They say I'm the man among men! The dominator of men! The ruler of men! The lord of men! The terminator of men!"
Lucian declared with utmost seriousness:
"King! Master! God among men! Emperor! Demon King! The overwhelming man! The eternal pinnacle of human history!"
Rover had covered his face the moment Lucian started. "When will you ever drop this bragging habit of yours?"
Lucian sighed and shook his head. "These days, no one even believes the truth anymore. The world's morals are declining, and people's hearts are no longer pure!"
Jianxin overheard Lucian's self-aggrandizement. "Master, when you're out in public, please don't tell anyone I'm your disciple!"
"Traitorous disciple! Even you don't believe me?!" Lucian muttered. "Seems Saitama was right all along—being invincible really is lonely!"
Jianxin asked, "Master, that move you used earlier… 'Blood Saber'? It looked really impressive!"
Yangyang and Rover also looked over curiously. After all, they'd known Lucian longer than Jianxin had.
They knew Lucian had never displayed any martial prowess before—had he been hiding his skills all this time?
Lucian smiled faintly. "Want to learn? I can teach you."
Jianxin pondered for a moment. "This disciple is an inheritor of the Breeze Grace Fist and is more skilled in hand-to-hand combat. I'm not very proficient with blades…"
"But I could tell that Master's swordsmanship is deeply refined—so much so that I couldn't even follow it clearly. I used to think Master's martial arts were lacking, but now it seems my own skills were too shallow to perceive the truth…"
As Jianxin spoke, he glanced at Lucian, only to find him with his eyes closed, basking in the praise.
"…Master?"
"Jianxin, if you've got more to say, keep going. This master enjoys listening."
Rover laughed. "Jianxin, don't encourage him. He'll start floating away any second now."
Just then, Yangyang, who had been checking her terminal, spoke up. "Lucian, you're on Jinya Forum…"
Lucian jolted. "Nani?! I haven't even posted anything yet. Did someone secretly film my dashing heroics and upload it?"
"Not exactly… See for yourself."
Lucian hurriedly pulled out his terminal and opened Jinya Forum. There, he saw a highly discussed post.
[Title: Exposing the Truth About 'Master Jinhsi's Dog' and the Legendary Figure 'Lucian'!]
Lucian froze at the title, then flew into a rage. "Oh, you little— Let's see which brat is trying to ride my coattails for clout!"
[Content: Yesterday, I met with the forum user 'Master Jinhsi's Dog' in person.
[During this encounter, I learned that 'Master Jinhsi's Dog' is none other than the 'Lucian' he's been boasting about in his posts.
[In other words, he's been hyping himself up this entire time!
[I urge everyone surfing the web to keep their eyes sharp and not be deceived by those with ulterior motives!
[—Edited by: Autumn Water Without Ripples]
"Good, good, very good! So it's you, Autumn Water Without Ripples. Seems two million was too little!"
Originally, Lucian had planned to reveal the truth at a critical moment to maximize his fame, but Autumn Water had caught him off guard.
Still, even though he'd only made two posts so far, the name 'Lucian' had already gained significant attention.
After all, he'd hyped 'Lucian' up as the person Magistrate Jinhsi was searching for.
The post already had plenty of replies.
[Unknown User: Tch, I knew it all along. I tailed him for a whole day, and he never noticed.]
Lucian jolted and immediately scanned his surroundings but found nothing.
Rover, who was also browsing the forum, gave Lucian an apologetic look. "Sorry, I didn't notice anything either."
Lucian frowned. "This person might not necessarily be strong, but at the very least, their scouting and counter-scouting skills are top-notch. Hmm… They'd make a great paparazzo."
Lucian kept scrolling.
[Youtan: You met him? Where is he now?]
"Youtan?"
Wasn't that the white, unidentified creature always by Baizhi's side? So this user must be Baizhi. She really wasn't letting him go, huh.
[Cloudpeak Dragon Beard Candy: So is he actually as strong as he claims? I still want to spar with him!]
[—Autumn Water Without Ripples replied: Based on my brief interaction with him yesterday, he seems like an ordinary person.]
[—Snow-Clad Clarity replied: Ordinary, yet not ordinary.]
[—Autumn Water Without Ripples replied: Who are you? Have you met him too?]