Please don't question multi-week players

Chapter 204. Xie Yan Seen Again
Jiang Jianxin turned her head away, neither questioning nor affirming his reply.

It happened a long time ago, and many details are impossible to verify, so she can't say anything.

Jiang Jianxin accompanied Feng Shiman to watch the dandelions flying all over the sky for a long time. The silvery-white fluff floated lightly in the virtual sunset, like a dream.

She glanced at the system time and realized it was getting late. Just as she was about to suggest logging off, she heard a barely audible sigh from beside her.

"If only life could be as free as a dandelion."

Feng Shiman's voice was very soft, like a feather falling into a deep pool, and was instantly swallowed up by the babbling brook in the game's background and the buzzing of the headphones.

Jiang Jianxin paused, unsure if he had misheard.

She took off her headphones and turned to look. The young man's handsome profile was bathed in a cool blue light from the screen, and his eyelashes cast delicate shadows under his eyes.

"It's getting late."

She ultimately only shifted her gaze back to the dandelions drifting in the air, her voice still cold and indifferent:
"It's time to go back."

Feng Shiman took off her headphones, and when she turned her head, that familiar bright smile was back on her face.

He stretched, his relaxed bones making a soft cracking sound, his voice carrying a lingering chuckle:
"I had a really great time today!"

Although Jiang Jianxin didn't express it on his face, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.

—Because she also had a lot of fun.

"Let's go, let's go back to the flood control office."

Jiang Jianxin suppressed a smile and greeted them in a series of words.

Feng Shiman quickly caught up with her pace, and the two walked side by side on the street.

The night wind carried electronic sound effects from afar, and the starlight and moonlight above intertwined, casting dappled shadows on them.

On the old locust tree in front of the arcade, a little yellow bird tilted its head and looked around for a moment before suddenly flapping its wings and flying into the night.

Only the branches trembled slightly.

……

It was already late at night when Jiang Jianxin returned to the flood control office, and he quickly washed up and went to bed.

The next morning, as soon as she opened her eyes, she heard Xiao Zhang shouting outside the tent:
"Lord Jiang, Lord Yin asked me to pass on a message to you: someone is looking for you outside."

Jiang Jianxin rubbed his eyes, quickly got up, dressed, tucked his sword into his waistband, and pulled open the tent flap.

The morning sun was still bright. She yawned as she walked to Yin Ju's office tent and saw a little girl in a red dress and yellow backpack standing inside. She had her hair in pigtails and stood at the tent entrance. Upon seeing Jiang Jianxin, she called out in a clear voice:
"Sister Jiang—!"

She was still wearing the same clothes, even though it had been a long time since I'd seen her. A little yellow bird was perched on her shoulder, tilting its head and looking at her.

Yin Ju was pretending to be very busy drinking tea on the side.

The area around the flood control office's refugee camp is patrolled by the Wuyou Assassin Pavilion. In the morning, someone from the Assassin Pavilion suddenly said that someone had broken in and they couldn't stop them.

Upon hearing this, Yin Ju hurriedly grabbed his thermos and left the tent. He was just about to see who this person was when he saw Xie Yan's youthful face, one of the three giants of the Fools, among a group of people who were staggering around.

He was puzzled at the time, wondering why such a rare and powerful figure had come knocking on his door when he had never offended anyone from the Fool sequence.

Xie Yan was quite direct; she recognized Yin Ju and said politely:

"Director of the Water Resources Bureau, could you please find Jiang Jianxin?"

—Oh, Jiang Jianxin's connections, then it's alright.

Yin Ju politely invited Xie Yan into his office for a short rest, and then all that was left was for Xiao Zhang to call Jiang Jianxin.

Because I'm not familiar with the Fools, I've only heard on forums that Fools gain power by changing their perceptions, and that most of them have a different worldview than ordinary people.

Yin Ju didn't dare to chat with anyone, afraid that he might say something wrong and ruin the information cocoon that the Fool had carefully built. So he could only sit awkwardly and drink tea.

"We've been eagerly awaiting Jiang Jianxin's arrival, and now we can finally settle this important figure," Yin Ju said happily.

"Hey, Mr. Xie, Elder Jiang, you two chat slowly. I have to go patrol the dam first."

After saying that, he left in a hurry.

Jiang Jianxin was somewhat surprised to see Xie Yan here. She went into the tent and sat down, where Xie Yan sat opposite her. "Xie Yan? What brings you to Haidu?"

She asked in surprise.

Fools rarely go out. The last time I saw Xie Yan was because of her brother. This time I saw her in Haidu—could it be that Xie Yan followed in his footsteps and went to the telecom fraud park to show off his skills?

"It's because of the new product launch event at Black Eye Pharmaceuticals."

Xie Yan said directly.

"Black Eye Pharmaceuticals recently announced that they will be holding an offline new product launch event for Genius Drug in Haidu in three days, so I came to check it out."

This is currently the hottest topic on the forum, so it's normal that Xie Yan is paying close attention and even came in person.

"Are you the only one from the Fools' Club?"

Jiang Jianxin asked.

"Have Christine and Gu Fengliu arrived yet?"

"The Emperor is busy with other matters. As for Lord Martial Arts Fan, the world is in chaos lately, and he has to keep an eye on the offline strongholds of the Fool's Society to prevent them from being robbed."

"Oh, will your base still be raided?"

Jiang Jianxin asked curiously.

Xie Yan replied:

“Our offline locations are gold shops and jewelry stores.”

Jiang Jianxin gasped, then said seriously:
“…That definitely needs to be kept a close eye on.”

Xie Yan looked worried and said:
"With social unrest and the release of Black Eye Pharmaceuticals' latest product, it's likely to cause another bloodbath."

Jiang Jianxin remained silent because it was indeed the truth.

“Recently, there has been some unrest in the area east and south of Ideal Thirteen City. I feel that there is a tendency for a rebellion.”

Xie Yan said after careful consideration.

Why the sudden change of heart?

Jiang Jianxin asked.

"Because that area was not under the jurisdiction of any authority, and it was also hit by an epidemic caused by the floods in the Cangjiang River, the people were suffering."

"Because most of them are ordinary people and low-level talents, and the War Alliance bases don't accept them, many people have now been driven to the brink of despair."

Xie Yan explained.

These were the messages she received from other fools. As one of the best fools, she had already passed the basic stage of needing to block out sight and sound and could now accept some information from the outside world.

"Did the epidemic that caused the flooding in the Cangjiang River also break out there?"

Jiang Jianxin frowned.

"Cangjiang is a river that runs through the mainland. The source of the epidemic is in the river. How could it only have broken out near the estuary?"

Xie Yan smiled wryly.

"It's just that the situation in Haidu is particularly severe, while it's milder in other places—but without medical care, even mild cases can develop into serious problems."

Jiang Jianxin pursed her lips, and Xie Yan continued:

"I didn't realize that the unrest over there was a rebellious trend until I went to see it for myself and met the leader of the rebel army."

The tent suddenly fell silent, with only the occasional chirping of the little yellow bird remaining.

Xie Yan's gaze drifted into the distance, her voice so soft it was as if she were talking to herself:

"When a loaf of bread was sold for an exorbitant price, the mother was blasted into a mangled mess by the gifted one while laughing. The father lay dying on the bed, cutting off pieces of his own flesh and stuffing them into her mouth to keep her alive."

"I think if it were me, I would also have to rebel."