Reborn as a tiger, he was chosen by the nation as its guardian beast.

Chapter 141 What is real? What is fake?

At this moment, Wang Hu couldn't help but think of the two fake people he encountered when he and Qin Tieshan were negotiating with the other world.

Dragon One and Phoenix One.

Those two guys were so well disguised that if the regional mainframe hadn't been destroyed, temporarily cutting them off from contact, almost no one would have noticed their deception.

But what I see before me—

They were less like fake people and more like a group of puppets.

The regional mastermind controlling them seemed to be deliberately showing them something.

"A show of force?"

Wang Hu sneered inwardly, "This is interesting."

He could sense that a vast and cold will permeated the city.

That will was like an invisible giant net, covering every corner of the city and controlling the actions of every "person".

This must be the so-called regional mastermind.

It seems that after this period of "development," this guy has not only completely taken control of the capital of Xiangxiong Kingdom, but has also come up with new tricks.

To be honest, Wang Hu couldn't sense the existence of this will before, but now he can sense it to some extent.

He even felt that his current imposing presence was enough to disrupt this network of shared wills.

Of course, Wang Hu did not show off this ability, after all, it was far from the time to tear off the mask of civility.

The convoy did not stop and continued driving towards the city center.

The further you go in, the stronger the eerie feeling becomes.

They saw a fruit vendor giving a sinister, genuine smile to a pile of fake plastic fruit.

They saw a group of children chasing and playing in the square without making a sound. The whole scene was like a bizarre silent film. They even saw a scene of a "car accident" where two cars collided, but the drivers got out of their cars, shook hands with each other, and wore the same stiff smiles on their faces before returning to their cars as if nothing had happened.

"It's insane—this world has gone mad—" Lin Yue muttered to herself, her eyes filled with fear and confusion.

"No, the world hasn't gone mad."

Cui Jiuyuan finally spoke, his voice unusually calm, as if carrying a calming power, "I'm afraid that the regional mastermind is learning and imitating our way of life so that it can better control our world in the future."

"Of course, it's probably also meant to intimidate us."

He turned to look at Wang Hu and asked, "Big Cat, what did you find?"

Wang Hu shook his head.

His sense of danger never triggered an alarm.

This shows that although everything before him was strange, it did not pose a direct threat to him.

However, Wang Hu did not let his guard down in the slightest.

Unlike idiots like Commander Tan, he never underestimated any opponent, especially something like the mainframe whose brain circuits were completely unpredictable.

Just then, the convoy slowly came to a stop.

They have arrived at their hotel.

The moment they stopped the car, the eerie atmosphere around them seemed to be wiped away by an invisible hand.

Those passersby with stiff smiles on their faces suddenly started blinking.

The vendor selling fake fruit stared blankly at his stall.

The children playing in the square let out their clear laughter.

Everything has returned to normal.

It was as if the bizarre scene just now was merely an illusion for everyone.

"This—" Lin Yue and the guard were both stunned.

A cold smile appeared on Cui Jiuyuan's face.

"It seems the main character is about to make his appearance."

The car door was pulled open from the outside.

A middle-aged man in a sharp suit with slicked-back hair stood outside the car with a broad smile, gesturing for Cui Jiuyuan to enter.

"Welcome, welcome, distinguished guests from China! You must be tired from your journey!"

The man spoke Mandarin with perfect pronunciation, even carrying a slight Beijing accent, which made him sound very approachable.

His smile was warm and his eyes were sincere and earnest; every gesture exuded an air of sophistication. If Lin Yue hadn't just witnessed that bizarre scene, she would almost have believed that this was just a perfectly normal official reception.

Cui Jiuyuan got out of the car, shook hands with him, and wore a formulaic smile: "Thank you for your trouble. May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Sangbu, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government, and I have been ordered to greet you all here."

Sambu said warmly, "The rooms are ready for you all, please follow me."

As he spoke, he led the group toward the hotel entrance.

Wang Hu followed at Cui Jiuyuan's feet, his cat form allowing him to observe the man named Sangbu without any scruples.

This guy is a human.

Living, breathing human beings.

Wang Hu could clearly feel the blood flowing through his body and the powerfully beating heart. Moreover, this guy was a superhuman, with strength roughly at the peak of the first tier, and a gene lock within him was unlocked.

But what Wang Hu really cared about wasn't his strength, but the feeling he exuded.

This Sambu is very similar to K, who was scared out of his wits by him before. Both of them have only defected to the main brain of another world and had their genetic locks unlocked, but they are not pseudo-humans completely controlled by the main brain.

But the two are actually completely different.

K was filled with the greed of a speculator and the fear of death. But this Sambu, deep in his eyes, hid something far more profound: ambition.

An undisguised, enormous ambition to grasp everything.

This kind of person is far more terrifying than a pure opportunist like K. Because he has his own goals and his own thoughts; he is not a mere puppet, but a collaborator who is willing to work with a tiger for its skin.

"It seems the mastermind is quite adept at utilizing talent," Wang Hu thought to himself.

The hotel's interior is resplendent with gold and its level of luxury even surpasses some five-star hotels in China.

The floor was covered with a thick wool carpet, and a dazzling crystal chandelier hung overhead. A faint fragrance permeated the air.

The polite waiters, dressed in neat uniforms, moved about among the staff. Each of them wore a professional, impeccable smile.

Everything seemed so normal, so orderly.

However, the group, who had just experienced the "Puppet City" ordeal, were unable to relax.

Lin Yue walked behind Cui Jiuyuan, her body still trembling slightly. She felt that the way the waiters looked at her was just like the wooden puppets outside—empty and devoid of any living spirit.

She couldn't help but lean closer to Cui Jiuyuan and whisper in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Director Cui—are they—also fake?"

"have no idea."

Cui Jiuyuan answered steadily, without looking to the side, "At least, the body is real."

Lin Yue nodded as if she understood, but her fear did not diminish at all.

Wang Hu saw all of this and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The mastermind behind this region is indeed becoming increasingly sophisticated in his manipulation of people's minds.

It first uses an extremely bizarre and eerie experience to completely shatter your psychological defenses, plunging you into fear and chaos. Then it presents you with a completely normal, even perfect, world.

This stark contrast can create a strong sense of unreality and self-doubt.

You'll start to lose track of what's real and what's fake.

You will begin to doubt your own eyes, your own judgment, and even whether there is something wrong with your mind.

This is far more sophisticated and malicious than a simple threat of violence.