Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye

The two men ahead of him were completely oblivious to what was happening, still discussing what to have for dinner that evening. Behind them, Luca raised his hand like a blade, swiftly and cleanly striking the back of their necks.

Bang! Bang! Two soft thuds, and the slightly plump middle-aged man and the balding middle-aged man had no idea what had happened. They felt a sudden heaviness in the back of their heads, their vision went dark, and then everything fell into oblivion.

The two men rolled their eyes and collapsed limply, but Luca caught them, making little noise.

After searching their bodies, he found two work IDs. The plump middle-aged man was named John, and the balding middle-aged man was named Doe. Both were members of a group called the "Gene Research Team."

Looking down at the two men, Luca's eyes flickered. Initially, he had planned to gather some information and leave, but their appearance gave him a much better idea.

If successful, this could yield significant results. A violet glow appeared in his eyes as a surge of Dreamweaving energy materialized in his hand, flying toward the foreheads of John and Doe, merging with them in the blink of an eye.

Luca placed a hand on their foreheads, his eyes slightly closed as fragments of memories flashed through his mind—these were John and Doe's memories.

Dreamweaver Advanced Skill—Dream Extraction!

Fragments of memories were extracted, and to Luca's surprise, the dream fragments were very fragmented, with most of them being from their previous life in the normal world.

There was nothing about Dragon Gate Mountain or Zenith.

These two men's memories were protected by a strange and powerful secret technique, one that Luca couldn't crack despite his mastery of secret arts.

This was unexpected but also made sense. If finding information about Zenith was that easy, then countries around the world in his previous life would not have spent ten years without any breakthroughs.

After searching for a while without finding anything useful, Luca had no choice but to abandon this simple method and adopt a different approach.

After a brief moment of thought, he infused another wave of Dreamweaving energy into the two men.

The previously unconscious men suddenly opened their eyes wide, a fleeting purple glow flashing in their eyes before disappearing, making them appear no different from ordinary people.

Dreamweaver Superclass Skill—Dreamweaving!

This ability allowed Luca to weave other people's dreams and alter their memories—perfect for infiltrating Zenith Technology Company.

Luca gazed into their eyes, raised two fingers, and said, "Remember what I say next. First, I am your master, and you must obey my orders unconditionally, even if I command you to die. Second, after I leave, forget everything that just happened as if nothing ever occurred."

With that, he snapped his fingers, and John and Doe shuddered violently.

As soon as they saw Luca, their eyes immediately filled with excitement, and they were about to kneel, but Luca stopped them, fearing it might alert someone else.

"Take me to where you work," Luca ordered directly.

"Yes, master," John and Doe immediately nodded without hesitation. Under the influence of the Dreamweaving, Luca now seemed to them like a creator, no different from a deity.

As the two men walked toward the peak of Zenith Technology Company, their memories of Luca quickly began to fade, until they were completely gone. Luca, meanwhile, used his magic runes to transform into a shadow and followed them from behind.

After walking for about ten minutes, a brightly lit ancient castle appeared before the three of them. The castle looked aged, not like a modern replica, but grand and majestic, almost like a palace. What stood out even more was the fact that at the entrance of the castle, there were two knights in bronze armor standing guard.

They held long spears, their postures straight, their entire bodies covered in armor, standing like statues at the castle entrance, exuding a chilling aura.

Luca could clearly sense an unusually strong fluctuation coming from them—at least Sky-level.

Sky-level guards? Luca couldn't help but be taken aback. Even though he had already anticipated the strength of Zenith Technology Company, he was still surprised. Truly extravagant!

At this moment, John and Doe had already reached the bronze knights. The two knights turned their heads in unison, their cold eyes glaring from beneath their helmets, and said indifferently, "Please show your passes."

Their voices were devoid of any emotional inflection, like two robots.

John and Doe remained calm and handed over their work IDs. The two knights examined them, and Luca could sense their mental energy sweep over the IDs and across John and Doe, collecting the information in an instant.

"Enter," they said in unison, as though they were the same person. At the same time, the large door to the castle creaked open, revealing a golden, resplendent hallway inside.

John and Doe nodded and stepped into the hallway.

Luca, blending into their shadows, followed them in.

Before he could relax, one of the knights suddenly called out, stopping them. "You two, wait a moment."

In an instant, Luca's heart skipped a beat.

Had they been discovered?

That shouldn't be possible. He had used the Superclass magic rune "Serpent of Shadows." Even a Star-level expert shouldn't have been able to detect him.

Could it be that John and Doe, under hypnosis, had revealed a flaw?

Just as Luca's mind raced, preparing for any moment to strike and kill.

He heard one of the knights speak calmly, "Professor Marx just instructed that after you rest, you should go to his laboratory. There have been new developments in the research."

Hearing this, Luca let out a long sigh of relief. It turned out he had been overthinking.

John nodded and said in a low voice, "Understood. We'll head to the lab right away."

With that, the two of them turned and walked deeper into the castle.

Once their figures disappeared from sight, the two gatekeeper knights withdrew their gazes and once again became like statues.

The castle was much larger than Luca had imagined. After passing through the entrance hallway, they arrived in a spacious foyer with numerous passageways, resembling an ancient Greek temple.

John and Doe were clearly familiar with the place and made their way down a hallway on the right.

At the end of the hallway, they entered a large hall with a blue water pool in the center. In the middle of the pool stood a lifelike white stone sculpture.

The moment Luca saw the sculpture, his eyes narrowed instinctively.

The statue in the water wasn't a typical human figure; it was an unusually eerie monster sculpture.

The creature had eight tentacles and three eyes, resembling a giant octopus. At the center of its middle eye was a multicolored gemstone that emitted an incredibly mysterious glow under the light. Luca's gaze was fixed on this gemstone.

Because it was none other than a Primordial Crystal, and a complete one at that!

The people at Zenith Technology Company were indeed deeply connected to the Ancient Gods.

Luca thought to himself, his mind already turning toward the idea of taking the Primordial Crystal. If he could manage to get his hands on it, it would be enough to disassemble Zenith's divine rank and restore Sophia's consciousness.

But now was not the time to make a move. He needed to use this opportunity to understand what Zenith was really up to before making any attempt to take the crystal.

As he was lost in thought, John and Doe respectfully bowed to the octopus sculpture, much like devout followers, before walking toward the pool.

Surprisingly, when their feet entered the water, the clear surface began to shimmer and distort. At the same time, a passageway appeared beneath the water.

It turned out that beneath the surface, there was more than met the eye. Luca, hidden in their shadows, followed them into this secret space hidden beneath the castle.

After passing through a neat and well-lit underground staircase, he found himself in a vast, semicircular room that was at least a thousand square meters in size.

There were staff members walking back and forth, all wearing white lab coats with work ID badges pinned to their chests.

Looking around, Luca noticed that the walls of this space were made of special metal, and the clean, polished floor reflected a cold, harsh light. In the center of the room, there was a massive blue virtual screen. Metal robots, shaped like eggs, bustled back and forth, giving the place a distinctly futuristic, sci-fi atmosphere.

More importantly, Luca realized that his mental energy could not be used here at all. It was completely suppressed. This posed a bit of a problem, but nothing he couldn't handle.

"John, Doe, why are you two only just now back!" A sharp, impatient female voice suddenly rang in their ears as Luca was surveying the area.

Luca's gaze shifted toward the voice, and he saw a woman with short hair and a capable demeanor, holding a stack of documents. She marched toward them, exuding an air of authority.

She spoke coldly, "What are you two still standing around for? Hurry up and go to Professor Marx's laboratory! If you delay the experiment, are you going to take responsibility for it?"

John and Doe seemed to be quite intimidated by this woman. They quickly lowered their heads and responded, "Sorry, Leader Rephovers. We'll go to Professor Marx's laboratory to assist right away."

"Then go! You two lazy good-for-nothings." The woman, named Rephovers, was extremely rude, paying no attention to their feelings. After berating them, she clicked her heels and stormed off.

"Stupid bitch. If it weren't for Professor Marx backing you up, you'd think you could..." John muttered under his breath.

Doe quickly hushed him, looking around nervously. He whispered, "Keep your voice down, you idiot. Don't drag me into this."

John realized what he had just said, and cold sweat immediately began to pour down his forehead.

Fortunately, no one seemed to have heard him, which allowed him to let out a long sigh of relief.