Pretending To Be A Boss

——Preface to Volume Two: This story takes place in a fictional parallel world, and all content is purely for entertainment and does not allude to any reality.

~~~~~~~~~Main Text~~~~~~~~~~

Fortress No. 39, the eighth layer.

A long while after the scene that was even more dramatic than a play had ended, Li Wanye was the first to come to his senses.

His expression had changed the most.

The Li family had always prioritized the interests of the entire fortress. As the lord of the Pyramid, Li Wanye had particularly embodied this principle.

When Tang Xian was engulfed in the red light, he constantly tried to stop the judgment knight.

But as those huge fox tails appeared, even though Li Wanye was shocked and filled with regrets, he knew he had to make the painful decision to eradicate all potential sources of disaster.

He was the father of Li Zheng and Li Xiaoyu.

The most insightful person in the Li family, he had been paying attention to Tang Xian since the incident six years ago when the Li family covered up Tang Xian's cheating.

Even earlier than Li Zheng. And he had always known the true thoughts of Li Xiaoyu.

After the hunting festival had ended, Li Zheng had come to the study several times to suggest that he enlist Tang Xian.

Although no one knew what had happened during the hunting festival, and no one mentioned Tang Xian,

Li Wanye was convinced that Tang Xian might have performed as well as Song Que.

Until today.

Only after today's events did he finally affirm that one of his conjectures was correct.

——The crystallization of the calamity-level boss creature had indeed come from Tang Xian.

And with that, everything else fell into place.

Li Wanye's expression had completely changed, and with a cold glance at Li Zheng, he said,

"I remember you telling me that Tang Xian has his own hunter team, and its members have also been invited here, haven't they?"

Li Zheng glanced at Li Xiaoyu with difficulty in his eyes.

Li Xiaoyu did not speak.

Dong Ran and Qiao Shanshan also did not speak.

It was only now that they understood the apologetic look in Tang Xian's eyes when he had left.

He had foreseen this development.

The events of today were also a bit too intense for Li Zheng, so much so that he still could hardly believe it.

He opened his mouth anxiously, wanting to speak, but hesitant.

"I'm speaking to you!" Li Wanye barked in a low voice.

Li Zheng nodded helplessly.

This was also when Qiao Shanshan and Dong Ran stepped forward.

Qiao Shanshan said,

"My lord, I am a member of Tang Xian's team."

Qiao Shanshan could already imagine that her days ahead would be quite difficult.

What was supposed to be a frightening situation didn't seem particularly scary to her, though she could not explain why.

Dong Ran looked at Li Wanye and said,

"Master, I too am a member of Tang Da… Tang Xian's team."

Li Wanye nodded and said,

"I will give you as fair a treatment as possible, but for now, I must take you into custody."

This statement made Li Zheng the most anxious.

He wasn't worried about the two outsiders. Even if Dong Ran was a servant of their house, to the Li family she was dispensable, and apart from being good-looking, Li Zheng saw nothing regrettable about her.

He was worried about Li Xiaoyu.

He had cast a glance at his sister just before; she was eerily calm.

If anyone among this group cared the most about Tang Xian, it had to be Li Xiaoyu.

So the more she behaved like this, the more Li Zheng felt there was a problem.

The guards by Li Wanye's side began to escort Dong Ran and Qiao Shanshan to the interrogation room on the second layer.

At this moment, Li Wanye said,

"If there's anyone else who is particularly close to Tang Xian, step forward voluntarily. I will seek justice for you as far as possible, but if you conceal something now, hoping to be lucky, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

His usual scholarly demeanor had vanished, and Li Wanye now stood as a merciless sovereign.

Li Zheng did not think his father was wrong.

Everyone had seen what happened inside the red pillar. Setting aside whether Tang Xian was a demon from Eden or not, the young girl by his side was definitely a creature from the mining area.

If it had been him, he would likely have done the same as his father, thoroughly investigating the matter.

Investigating Tang Xian's entire background and connections.
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To put it mildly, this was a responsibility toward the fortress; to put it significantly, this was a responsibility toward the entire human race.

Soon after, Shang Lu also stood up and was taken away.

Seeing no one else come forward, Li Wanye did not conclude the matter just yet.

If an investigation was warranted, it had to be thorough.

"Li Zheng, take your sister back to the residence on the sixth layer. Without my command, she is not to go out, nor is she allowed to see anyone," he said.

Li Zheng looked at Li Wanye in surprise, while Li Xiaoyu calmly began to walk.

"What are you standing there for? Don't my words carry weight anymore?"

"Yes..."

Li Zheng walked beside Li Xiaoyu, followed by a judgment knight activated by Li Wanye.

The knight's clanking metal sounds made Li Zheng feel that his father was being somewhat harsh on Xiaoyu.

Watching Li Zheng's troubled face, Li Xiaoyu whispered,

"Great families are concerned about face. Brother, father is not wrong in doing this. He has taught us since we were young not to make mistakes because if we do, we will be more easily subjected to harsh criticism than others. To silence the voices of criticism, we need to face more severe punishment."

Li Zheng did not know what to say.

The resolve to bear the pain and cut ties with the past, he believed Li Xiaoyu had that strength.

After today, Tang Xian would probably become an enemy of humankind, and his sister must be very clear about this.

Seeing the calm expression on Li Xiaoyu's face, he felt a touch of relief.

But that relief disappeared quickly.

Li Xiaoyu continued,

"Yet it is not for him to judge right from wrong. I haven't done anything wrong."

...

...

The next day.

Just as Li Zheng had thought, Li Wanye did not play favorites, because he couldn't silence a hundred people.