I, Valon, am frantically searching for my mother.

Seeing Wayne's increasingly dangerous gaze, Vivian shrank back, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace:

"Um...Master Jinlong...regarding the recommendation of the Jade Newspaper...I...I can explain..."

What's there to explain?

Is this the Jade Newspaper?

I've remembered you; I acknowledge your abilities.

With the help of such a rogue newspaper, Wayne felt that he was likely to be in the running for the next selection.

Next, of course, comes the familiar planning and strategy segment. As the famous military strategist Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdoms once said:

"Every strategy is successful, it all comes down to deduction."

Planning ahead and repeatedly rehearsing is indeed a good habit.

In the following days of preparation, based on the information provided by Vivian, Wayne went through almost every possible scenario he had envisioned.

Until three days later, just before the operation was about to begin...

"Waaaaah~ Golden Dragon Lord, you have to be careful! If you... if you die, then... then I won't live either!"

Vivian was still clinging to Wayne's leg, crying her heart out, her face covered in tears and snot, even more heartbroken than when she thought Wayne was going to fall into evil.

It was clear that she was both sad and nervous and scared this time.

I was so nervous that I forgot to fasten my mask last night, which is why I have two faint dark circles under my eyes today.

Even Wayne was a little touched.

This guy is a strange character, with a peculiar way of thinking, greedy for money and afraid of death, and a gold miner, but at least he's quite sentimental...

"No need for that, Vivian."

Wayne sighed and tried to gently pry her hands off his thigh.

"Although I don't think there will be any major problems, there's always a chance of something going wrong."

"If... I mean if, I really crash, you don't have to die with me."

"Take the rest of the money, leave Hel, go somewhere else, and live your life well."

Vivian shook her head, tears welling in her eyes, and hugged him even tighter.

"No, Master Jinlong! I'm personally escorting you there this time!"

"If something happens to you over there, they'll trace it back and definitely figure out I've betrayed them! Without your protection, I'll be scattered and disorganized, won't I?"

"Besides, where could a mere first-ring mage like me possibly run off to?"

"Waaaaah~ Lord Golden Dragon, please take pity on me and help me out. Do you have any powerful gadgets or scrolls that could save my life...?"

Hajime, you're just afraid of being purged, aren't you?

"Don't worry, Vivian."

Wayne rubbed his temples, feeling utterly helpless.

"I still have confidence in myself. I've planned for so long and gone through so many simulations. As long as nothing too outrageous happens, there shouldn't be any major problems."

"Instead of that, you should keep a closer eye on the newspaper. What if I resolve things here, but the newspaper's publicity falls short and they come up with some outrageous report?"

"Hmm... I understand."

Vivian nodded, sobbing, and finally let go of her hand.

Then Wayne gave a few more detailed instructions on how to handle other situations.

With the delivery deadline fast approaching, Wayne got into the swing of things ahead of schedule.

When acting, you have to go all the way.

According to the plan, Wayne needs to disguise himself as a suitable sacrifice and enter the escort team.

After transforming into human form, Wayne briefly entered a state of pseudosleep.

The intermediate process was entirely handled by Vivian.

In this regard, he still believed that Vivian was clever enough to handle unexpected situations.

When he estimated that the time was about right, he deliberately broke free from his feigned sleep and slowly woke up...

Open your eyes.

Wayne found himself inside a huge wooden cage that smelled musty and faintly of blood!

The cage was crowded.

He was surrounded by children of similar age, with a few slightly younger ones lying around him.

Everyone was asleep, probably because they had been given some kind of drug beforehand, and everyone was tightly chained.

It's clear that the members of the cult are quite cautious.

Even for these seemingly defenseless children, various methods were used to prevent them from causing trouble or running away.

Unfortunately, they encountered Wayne.

If Wayne wanted to, he could break these seemingly indestructible chains like ramen noodles with just a little force.

However, there's no rush.

Let's put a show of force on Tang Yin and his group first.

Next, it's time to observe the surrounding environment.

But to be honest, you can't observe anything from that.

The cage was completely covered from the outside by thick, opaque black oilcloth, with only extremely faint light able to penetrate through the seams of the cloth.

If it weren't for the fact that Wayne is a dragon and possesses dark vision far superior to that of humans, he probably wouldn't even be able to see clearly inside the cage.

Judging from the slight, rhythmic vibrations and bumps coming from beneath him, as well as the sounds of wheels rolling and animals trotting, Wayne could roughly tell that he was currently in an enclosed carriage traveling on a rather uneven road.

As Wayne continued to squint and carefully observe his surroundings, a slight noise came from beside him.

Wayne immediately fell silent and secretly focused all his attention on the direction from which the sound came from.

Then, in the dim light,

Wayne saw a girl with beautiful long blonde hair less than an arm's length away from him and suddenly opened his eyes wide!

The girl looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old. She was wearing a dirty linen long shirt, similar to the ones worn by the other children. Although her face was also dusty, it couldn't hide her delicate features.

Moreover, her eyes showed no fear whatsoever that of an ordinary child; instead, she calmly observed her surroundings, just like Wayne had before.

Unlike Wayne, the other party chose to remove the chains from his body.

It took almost no effort; she simply used two slender fingers to seemingly casually fiddle with the lock on the chains binding her hands...

The iron shackles, which seemed impossible for an ordinary person to open on their own, slipped silently off her wrists.

Immediately afterwards, the girl whispered some kind of incantation.

The next second, the original chains disappeared, and a fake iron chain reappeared on the other person.

After doing all this, the little girl, who looked about twelve or thirteen years old, slowly closed her eyes.

It's unclear whether he was sleeping or, like Wayne, secretly observing.

Seeing this, how could Wayne not know what had happened? At this moment, Wayne only had one thing on his mind.

Damn it, there's someone in the same industry.

The other party, like himself, had disguised themselves as a sacrifice to infiltrate and prepare to destroy this cult!

Why is it that no one does good deeds when he's not around, but as soon as he arrives, some random guys pop up?

Visibly glancing at the blonde girl beside him with her eyes closed, Wayne felt no liking for her whatsoever.

As he analyzed, the Golden Dragons' approach will eventually become a showcase for certain small groups.

Just like the recommendation of filial piety and integrity, the later stages became increasingly outrageous, even producing things like the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, which are almost like mythological tales from the underworld.

The other person's long golden hair, fearless eyes, and ability to silently remove the chains on his body all made Wayne suspect that this guy was actually the child of some nobleman who came here to gain prestige.

Generally speaking, such children will inevitably have a lot of life-saving scrolls and some high-level equipment, and may even be secretly protected by some expert.

Even so, you're still too young to think you can play with your Uncle Wayne.

If you want to compete with your Uncle Wayne for an opportunity, wait until your next life.

Damn it, are you faking fainting?

Then I might as well just knock you out with the fumes.

Thinking of this, Wayne immediately secretly held back a few dragon farts, intending to leave them on the road to let this guy ferment properly.

However, just as Wayne was secretly calculating the timing of the biological attack...

The carriage, which had been moving smoothly but with a slight jolt, suddenly came to a stop.

Immediately afterwards, voices, footsteps, and the sound of metal clashing could be heard outside.

The thick black tarpaulin covering the cage was suddenly ripped off with a whoosh!

They arrived.