My wife is the stand-in.

Rin Tohsaka alone is worth an entire tactical squad.

And this is just how Amanosaki's abilities are performing today; who knows what kind of wives he'll bring out tomorrow or the day after?

The atmosphere in the monitoring room was somewhat heavy. Someone, unable to bear it any longer, whispered words of advice:

“Lord Amber, I think we should reconsider our proposal to send this child to become Master Scabies’ apprentice.”

The person who spoke was a middle-aged man with some balding hair. When the people around him saw him questioning Amber's proposal, they all moved to the side and kept their distance.

【Xia Ke Shan】is a retro organization, its organizational form largely derived from feudal-era societies. Its long-term survival in the modern world relies on its superpowers that allow it to reverse the course of history. Within this organization, seniority and rank are more important than in other parts of China.

Amber Gongneng's ability to become the guardian of the Yushan branch basically represents the most outstanding knights in the province protected by the Yushan branch.

His abilities and reputation far surpass those of others.

Seeing that Amber Gong remained in a contemplative posture, the middle-aged man took a deep breath, organized his thoughts, and continued, "I belong to the intelligence department and have a relatively in-depth understanding of the quality and potential of the personnel inside and outside the branch."

"Our Yushan branch has lacked new blood in recent years, and the younger generation's skills are not as good as before. When evil spirits and heretics disturb social order on the border of the branch, the heroes we send to various halls often have to ask other branches for help."

"Amanosaki's abilities are indeed unstable, and he himself is the biggest weakness. But..."

The middle-aged man spoke louder and louder, his voice becoming stronger and stronger:

"I believe that based solely on the fact that he easily defeated Li Jiajia and Li Junzi without having received any training, he has the potential to become the next generation of chivalrous role models for the Yushan branch."

"Hu Zhun, what nonsense are you talking about!" Someone saw that the balding Hu Zhun was speaking too bluntly and was suspected of slandering Amber Gong, so they immediately spoke up to shut him up, while giving him a wink, "Today is just a test. Jiajia and Li Junzi naturally wouldn't use their life-or-death skills. Everything was done to the point. I think it's this kid who doesn't know his own strength and has injured two colleagues in succession. He should be given a small punishment as a warning."

Who are Li Jiajia and Li Junzi? They are students of Amber Master.

Hu Zhun said they couldn't beat a completely untrained rookie. Who's losing face here?

Immediately, those in the monitoring room who were trying to smooth things over started to chime in with comments like "Yes, yes," "That makes sense," and "A small punishment to serve as a warning."

Another group of people pursed their lips in disdain, whether they were dissatisfied with the peacemakers' feigned ignorance or disgusted by Hu Zhun's sharp tongue.

Hu Zhun, however, showed no appreciation whatsoever. He stared intently at the amber ornament that had sprouted in his palm, the amber figure deep in thought, his face flushed with excitement.

"Li Jiajia is my niece, how could I not know that? Even ten of her tied together couldn't beat that girl!"

The thunderous roar stunned everyone. As they stared at the suddenly crazed Hu Zhun, an invisible low pressure lingered in the monitoring room, centered on Hu Zhun, for a long time.

Hu Zhun, panting heavily, gritted his teeth and continued speaking despite the silence around him:

"Lord Amber, forgive my arrogance. I have reviewed the recruitment files for each year since the establishment of our Yushan branch. Among the older generation of superpowered descendants, only one in a hundred have inherited their abilities. The new generation's superpowers are more and more extreme, either purely supportive or crazy combat types. Li Junzi's [Power of All Things] is indeed very good, but with his current mentality, it can't be called upright at all."

"Was Nozaki upright that day? He hasn't even learned a single day of chivalrous etiquette. How could he distinguish between righteousness and petty righteousness? How could he make a clear choice between life and death?" Someone in the crowd said sarcastically.

"What the hell do you know!" Hu Zhun was so angry that he blew his beard and stamped his feet.

"Just based on what happened two days ago, when he was nobody and could have easily walked away, he stepped forward and subdued the evil spirits, that proves the child's true character! A gentleman judges by actions, not intentions; his deeds prove it!"

"Your sons and daughters! My sons and daughters, and the new generation currently studying in the branch, how many of them dare to take on more than a dozen demons in their first battle after awakening their superpowers?"

"Who else!?"

Silence, an even more oppressive silence.

“I’m not saying Li Junzi is wicked, quite the opposite. This kid is too honest; I can see right through him,” Hu Zhunping said, calming himself down.

“He likes Jiajia, like he’s crazy about her. I was young once too, and I understand that kids from rural areas don’t have much resistance to girls like Jiajia, but that just shows he still needs to grow up.”

"If you put a group of refugees and the injured Jiajia together, he, blinded by love, would definitely choose Jiajia. From my uncle's perspective, I admire this kid, and I believe Jiajia and he will have a good future. But from the perspective of a chivalrous person, and from the perspective of a member of the Yushan branch's intelligence department, I firmly believe that Li Junzi, and every single one of his peers, are fucking unqualified!"

Snapped.

The amber ornament was slapped flat on the table, and Hu Zhun, who was usually fearless in his debates with the assembled scholars, shuddered and shut his mouth.

Amber Gong opened his hand, and the melted amber was slowly absorbed by his palm until the simulated palm lines reappeared. Only then did the duty officer of the Yushan branch let out a long sigh:

"Old Hu, I'm glad you said this to my face."

The amber-carved face stared straight at Hu Zhun, and the lifeless, dead-fish-like eyes made Hu Zhun's heart skip a beat.

“You should say these things, and you must say them, because you are the intelligence officer of the branch, and this is your duty.”

Amber stroked his palm, his tone tinged with helplessness: "But besides being the guard of the Yushan branch, I am also a chivalrous hero of [Heroes of the Mountain], and even more so, a chivalrous hero of China. I cannot just focus on our little corner of the world; I have a responsibility to the people of the whole country. It is my duty to provide new blood for headquarters and cultivate heroes of the headquarters level."

"The greatest heroes are those who serve their country and its people. The more outstanding Amanosaki is, the less reason I have to keep him."

"but……"

Amber waved his hand, stopping Hu Zhun who was about to try to persuade him: "However, I will refuse Old Man Jie's request."

"It's not because of any future branch, it's just that he's not suitable to be Mr. Jie's student."

The amber-clad man stretched out his long fingers, his amber-textured hands branching out into countless forks, as he operated the monitor.

The collaboration between Amanosaki and Rin Tohsaka was replayed once again. Kohaku pointed at Amanosaki, who was acting like a mad dog in the video, and said in a calm and unhurried tone:

"We originally thought his special ability was that of a woman who could create her own martial arts and open up new avenues for the country, but after observing him for the past few days, we realized that this is not the case."

"His talent lies in his versatility. Amanosaki is like a chaotic machine. We don't know what his special ability will be tomorrow, or what kind of woman he will bring with him. Using his past self to decide his future path is like trying to find a sword by marking the boat where it fell. Just like this girl named Rin Tohsaka today, she should go abroad to study with a knightly order."

The bespectacled man standing on the periphery of the crowd pushed up his frameless glasses and spoke slowly: "Our public opinion team has some information about his superpower."

"Public opinion monitoring team? What kind of department is that, and which team does it belong to?"

Many people were asking around, having no idea what this little-known department was.

Amber raised his hand, gesturing for him to introduce himself.

The bespectacled man glanced at Hu Zhun again, and seeing Hu Zhun nod with a gloomy face, he then put his legs together and gave a military salute.

"Report! The Yushan Branch Public Opinion Group is a special intelligence department jointly established by the Cybersecurity Supervision and Management Bureau under the State Administration of Public Security of China and the Intelligence Section of the Yushan Branch. It is responsible for collecting information on the Internet, especially on Jianghu Forum and its sub-forums and derivative forums, and is a special department for monitoring network security!"

Now everyone understands.

The department jointly established by the government and Qunxia Mountain is under dual management, and it happens to be located within the intelligence section where Hu Zhun works. I'm afraid that Hu Zhun has had quite a few conflicts with them.

After all, there are differences in organizational structure and basic stance.

"Then who are you, and how come you're standing here?" someone asked. "Each department only sent its head and deputy head. Your highest rank is just a team leader. You shouldn't be qualified, right?"

The bespectacled man smiled shyly: "My name is Cao Bin, deputy head of the intelligence section, and head of the public opinion group. I used to work in a government department, and I was transferred here yesterday."

"Oh, another deputy section chief." The man chuckled. "I was wondering why the section chief wasn't here today. Turns out you're filling in for her."

His words were laced with veiled barbs, both mocking Cao Bin, an outsider, and subtly criticizing Hu Zhun, also the deputy head of the intelligence section, for his incompetence in allowing an outsider to squeeze into the decision-making level of the Yushan branch.

The word "substitute" subtly demoted Hu Zhun, the deputy section chief who was not a substitute, to a lower rank.

However, judging from Hu Zhun's expression at this moment, everyone knew that this attempt to sow discord was mostly pointless.

“They’re all seasoned veterans, don’t mind them.” Amber waved Cao Bin into the circle to talk. “Tell me the information you’ve gathered.”

"Yes."

Cao Bin showed no emotion whatsoever. He pulled out his phone from his pocket, quickly opened it, and read out the intelligence report:

"Based on the intelligence we've gathered, this young man named Amanosaki has an unknown past, and we can't find any information about his past activities online or offline..."

"Let's not talk about things that everyone already knows. In short, he can't be a spy. The intelligence department, other departments, and even Amber have all verified this."

Hu Zhun, who was just refuting Amber Duke, is now using Amber Duke's name to intimidate others.

“Yes.” Cao Bin remained calm and didn’t seem to mind. “But we found his source of income over the past two years on the Jianghu forum.”

"This Amanosaki entered the circle of the Master Scholars two years ago through the introduction of a man named Du Wenxi from the urban village of Yushan City."

Someone exclaimed, "Oh! Is that the folk organization that worships Xiao Rang, the Earthly Star of Literature, as its patriarch, draws promotional posters and business cards for the Free Knights, and has some reputation among the Free Knights?"

Cao Bin nodded: "Amanosaki made money with his drawing skills, bought a household registration, and honed his drawing skills. He has made great progress in the past two days. But most importantly, he used his drawing skills to start a thread in the 'Fenghua Xueyue' section, which is known for its spam, cursing, and gossip."

After obtaining permission, Cao Bin projected his phone screen, publicly revealing Amanosaki's deeply hidden secret.

Yes, it's that letter titled "To That Distant ACG."

"According to Amanosaki's understanding, he collectively referred to anime, comics, and games as acg, and then uploaded hundreds of pictures of... well, pretty girls that he drew himself, along with short stories featuring these girls as the main characters."

As Cao Bin moved his fingers, countless beauties of all shapes and sizes, spanning from loli to high school girl, mature woman, and sophisticated woman, appeared before everyone's eyes.

When a girl appeared on the big screen with her feet in a Tai Chi pose, her eyes white, and two balls of blue chakra forming two lion heads in her hands, her serious face radiating an undeniable gentleness, everyone involuntarily leaned back slightly, as if to avoid the suddenly appearing fists.

A painting certainly wouldn't attract the attention of most people with special abilities.

But those who had witnessed the power of that fist could not ignore the blue lion-head chakra that had once shattered more than ten demons as if dancing.

"Amanosaki calls the girl Hinata Hyuga, and her current technique is called Gentle Step Twin Lion Fist."

Amber's hand trembled almost imperceptibly.

Cao Bin noticed this subtle movement, a faint smile flashing across his face, and continued scrolling the screen.

Saria stands on the shattered earth, with a two-legged dragon soaring behind her, as majestic as a mountain.

Beneath the walls of the mansion, shrouded in countless ivy vines, standing on a magic circle, Rin Tohsaka, her aloofness like a glacier, her hands flowing with magical power.

There are countless other women of all shapes and sizes, whose names I don't know, but who are all undeniably beautiful and charming.

"Holy crap...no way?"

Someone's teeth chattered as they squeezed out those five words, their eyes brimming with unspeakable fear.

"call!"

Amber Lord opened his mouth and exhaled a stream of heat powerful enough to melt steel. His amber face was indistinct in the distorted, hot air; only his finally serious tone revealed itself.

“He cannot go with Jie Laobin. From today onwards, his true identity will be subject to the highest level of confidentiality procedures of the branch. We have arranged for him to meet with me this afternoon.”

The sound produced by solidified amber carried the coldness of life, striking everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

Amanosaki's ability has a major drawback: its randomness. No one can guarantee what state he will be in tomorrow.

Now that someone has told everyone that Amanosaki's superpower is controllable, his weakness has been overcome.

Moreover, if one is bold enough, one can have even wilder imaginations.

The women that Amanosaki manifests with his supernatural abilities are all his own creations. What if he drew a god?

Is it really possible to manifest a deity?

This is an extraordinary ability that gives one the qualifications to compete for the position of Grand Master, or even to represent China!

Everyone stared intently at the monitor, their eyes fixed on the boy who was burying his head in Rin Tohsaka's chest and taking advantage of her, like starving ghosts eyeing a tempting treat.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Dog Food, Meeting, and Regret