It turns out I'm a second-generation demon.

Long Aotian's accident has always been a topic of conversation among the descendants of the Baoze Group, and also a source of deep anxiety. When the accident first occurred, many of Baoze's mentally awakened individuals entered the virtual world, most of whom perished there, while a few escaped but suffered mental breakdowns.

Over the next six months, more and more descendants tried to enter, but without exception, they all failed. There are few left who are as skilled and daring as the teenage assassin.

After the Thunder King issued the announcement, the bloodline group at headquarters was in an uproar.

Li Bai: "Light the candle."

Murphy: "Light a candle."

Vulcan: "Light the candle."

The God of Cookery: "Light the candle."

[Minister of Medical Affairs] Hua Tuo: "Lighting candles"

Li Shizhen, Deputy Minister of Medical Affairs: "Light the candle."

[Archives Administrator] Murphy: "Light a candle."

Tentacle Monster: "What's going on? Even the Three No's are trapped inside? Dharma King, are you serious?"

[Minister of Law Enforcement] Thunder King: "It's absolutely true, the tentacle monster. You're also an awakened spiritual being. Why don't you give it a try?"

Tentacle Monster: "Farewell."

The tentacle monster is also a psychic awakener, but he's not good at combat; his abilities are more geared towards fighting. He's a shut-in and is responsible for guarding the first level of the underground prison. His favorite thing to do is use his tentacles to bind banshees and female vampires.

Thunder King: "Long Aotian's cultivation seems to have improved, so Sanwu is also trapped inside and can't get out."

Li Bai: "Even a pure and innocent heart can't withstand an illusion array? Then even the masters of Taoism and Buddhism might not be able to help. The big boss once vowed to create an unprecedented illusion array, but now he's shot himself in the foot."

Grandpa Qin: "Even those who have nothing and no income have their own inner conflicts."

This seemed to be a taboo topic, and no one responded; the group remained silent for several minutes.

Murphy: "Five more colleagues are stuck in the virtual world. Ugh, when will this mess be resolved?"

Li Bai: "There's always a good side to everything. For example, we no longer have to listen to King Kong complaining in the group about asking for new episodes."

Vulcan: "Yeah, yeah, that toxic newbie went in too. No wonder the atmosphere in the group has improved a lot these past few days."

Murphy: "Senior, don't forget your apprentice's mental illness hasn't healed yet. [Facepalm]"

Tongtong: "The fortune sticks at Putuo Temple don't work. [Feeling wronged]"

Li Bai: "What do you mean?"

Tongtong: "Yesterday, Mom took me to Putuo Temple to burn incense. Sister Zhanji was going to rescue Uncle Killer, so I got them a fortune slip for safety. I prayed to the Bodhisattva to bless them so they would come back safely, but it's a lie, it doesn't work at all, and it cost me 100 yuan of my allowance."

Grandpa Qin: "..."

Li Bai: "......"

Hua Tuo: "..."

Murphy: "Tongtong, actually, your fortune slip has already come true..."

Tentacle Monster: "Let's sacrifice Tongtong to the heavens. I'll lift her up high with my tentacles."

Murphy: "Agreed."

Li Bai: "Agreed."

Vulcan: "Stop joking. Tongtong's curse only works when it's in front of them. Thunder War Maiden and the others are just destined for this."

Tongtong: "Isn't there anyone who can save them?"

Tentacle Monster: "Let's put a joint petition and force the big boss to come up with a solution. Isn't he known as a legend in the bloodline world? A legend shouldn't be stumped by a mere illusion array, right?"

Hua Tuo: "So far, 32 colleagues have been trapped in the virtual world, right? Boss, you're so amazing, surely you have a solution?"

Murphy: "High combat strength doesn't mean everything. The big boss isn't an omnipotent being. He's not skilled in illusion magic, nor is he a spiritual awakener. I searched through the files and found that there aren't many people who can solve the current situation. Unless the Buddha is willing to take action, he's a Buddhist master who can break through illusions and see the true nature. If he can help, the problem should be easily solved."

Vulcan: "After Li Wuxiang died, Buddha Head did not appear in the world for twenty years. How could he possibly travel thousands of miles to come here for such a trivial matter?"

Murphy: "That's why this is difficult; nobody can do it."

There was a collective sigh in the group chat.

While chatting in the group, in the equipment room, an accident suddenly occurred. Sparks flew from the two rows of towering mainframes, which reached the ceiling. The smell of burning electricity was overwhelming. The flashing indicator lights on the mainframes went out at the same time, and the power to the game pods was cut off, causing the indicator lights to go out as well.

The Thunder King was leaning against the computer while browsing a group chat when a strong current burned out his phone. Fortunately, the Thunder King is Pikachu, so he's not afraid of high voltage.

"What's going on? What's going on?" the technicians exclaimed in panic.

The Thunder King swallowed his question, "What happened?" and exclaimed, "Is the mainframe burned out? What about my colleagues in the virtual world?"

The technician, with a look of utter despair, muttered: "A vegetable..."

The Thunder King grabbed his collar: "Why did this happen? Why did this happen? How could the mainframe burn out? Are you technicians just sitting around doing nothing?"

Such a massive disaster was too much for even him to handle. From a metaphysical perspective, the virtual world collapsed, and the souls of those trapped within dissipated. From a medical standpoint, they became vegetative.

Of the 32 employees, nearly ten were senior staff, and one was particularly special: a descendant of the Li family's fighting spirit. Baoze Group had never suffered such a significant loss since its inception.

As minister, he is undoubtedly responsible and will certainly be dismissed by the board of directors. In fact, since last year, the board of directors has been intentionally reshuffling Baoze's power structure, placing some of its own personnel into Baoze.

For politicians accustomed to factionalism, Baoze's internal structure was unbelievably clean. Its members came from all corners of the country, with diverse backgrounds: some were orthodox Taoist priests, some were law-abiding independent cultivators with impeccable records, and some were ruthless executioners—a truly complex group. Yet, this complex group had no "factions" among its members.

Because from beginning to end, the power of Baoze Group was in the hands of one person.

Thunder King did not believe that the board of directors would give up this opportunity. Of course, his personal future was far less important than the comfort of his 32 colleagues. Thunder King felt a deep sadness. At that moment, he saw the door of one of the game pods open.

A chubby boy sat up from the game pod. His long sleep had left him with a sallow complexion, cloudy eyes, and a drastic weight loss, dropping from 190 pounds to 150 pounds.

"Long Aotian?" The Thunder King's eyes widened. He forcibly suppressed the urge to unleash a 100,000-volt attack on this guy and said in a deep voice, "How did you wake up? Where is everyone else?"

Before he finished speaking, the doors of two more game pods opened, and Sanwu and Li Xianyu sat up.

The Thunder King was both surprised and delighted. "You've woken up too?"

Li Xianyu was startled, as if he saw a bear rushing towards him. After recognizing the Thunder and Lightning Dharma King, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Dharma King, it's you."

The Thunder King took a deep breath, suppressing his overwhelming joy: "What happened in the virtual world? Does this mean the illusion array has broken? What about my other colleagues..."

"My other colleagues will wake up in a few days," Long Aotian said, his head bowed, obscuring his face, only his weary voice audible: "The virtual world, no matter how real, is still fake. In that world, I'm perfect in every way. But in the real world, I'm just one of the masses. Even if I awaken as a bloodline, I'm still just an ordinary member of the bloodline. I have a working-class family, an ordinary face, ordinary grades, and terrible interpersonal skills. After experiencing the virtual world, I suddenly thought, why not weave my beautiful fantasies into the virtual world? In the virtual world, I will have a good background, a group of loyal friends I can gain without needing to socialize, and a beautiful wife destined for me—how wonderful..."

"Zhao Ritian, you're right. No matter how wonderful the virtual world is, it's still fake, and fake can never become real. I can't negate that chubby boy's hard-working yet utterly terrible twenty-six years of life just because of the beauty of fantasy. That wasn't just the chubby boy's life, but also his parents' later years." Long Aotian's eyes welled up with tears. "I'm awake, finally awake. I'm sorry for causing everyone trouble."

The Thunder King silently watched the sadness flowing from the big boy's eyes, like a child, like a stray kitten that had been rejected by others.

He couldn't bring himself to say anything to blame him, and silently patted Long Aotian on the shoulder.