Pretending To Be A Boss

Tang Xian suddenly let go, feeling an intense stabbing pain in his mind.

The baby did not fall, but floated in the vast white space, which seemed like a sea.

"Do not go to the eighth level."

This sentence was like thousands of monks hitting wooden fish and chanting at the same time.

It began to continuously bombard Tang Xian's consciousness.

But Tang Xian still clenched his teeth and asked with difficulty,

"Why? What's on the eighth level?"

"Do not go to the eighth level."

"Tell me! What's on the eighth level?"

"Do not go to the eighth level."

The usually rational Tang Xian began to grow somewhat frantic, his eyes bloodshot.

He glared fiercely at the baby.

"Do not go to the eighth level."

The voices still swirled in Tang Xian's mind.

But gradually, the many scattered, fragment-like voices began to coalesce into one grand voice.

"Do not go to the eighth level, unless you are ready."

The stabbing pain in his mind gradually faded away.

Tang Xian's expression also relaxed a bit.

"Tell me, what exactly is on the eighth level?"

"Enemies. Do not go to the eighth level."

It began repeating again, and the stone statue actually began to slowly move, gently picking up the floating baby.

In the following scene, the statue and the baby began to disappear bit by bit.

It was like the previous visions.

But Tang Xian could see the baby's face, it seemed to be giving a final warning:

"Unless you are prepared."

Tang Xian suddenly felt that the baby's gaze, was very much like his own.

"Otherwise, do not go to the eighth level!"

He woke up.

The intense pain had not awakened Tang Xian, but as the baby's face dispersed with the wind, he suddenly came to.

His clothes were soaked through with sweat.

Tang Xian gently shook his head and pondered, his mind flashing with various interpretations of the dream.

But in fact, most of them were fragments of consciousness, not very valuable for reference, and even Freud's "The Interpretation of Dreams" was of no use here, since nearly seventy percent of the great psychologist's theories were related to sex.

Tang Xian didn't believe that the bizarre dream had any connection to that matter.

It couldn't be suggesting that he wanted to have a child, could it?

The warning naturally still related to the eighth level.

But what was it about the eighth level that his subconscious feared?

Why was there a baby in the dream telling him not to go to the eighth level?

"What a strange dream."

...

...

The next day, news came from all over the world.

These pieces of news were so important that even the people on the lower levels were given a day off, and many gathered in front of the various Vision Towers on the lower levels to watch the news.

For most of the people on the lower levels, this was the only channel to get information from other places.

The messages displayed in the Vision Towers were indeed unprecedentedly shocking.

First was the change in the mining area map.

The Red Soil Forest, though devoid of any creatures, was classified as a red zone and merged into the Sea of Trees.

It served as a natural moat for the Sea of Trees.

And the signposts at the southern border of the Red Soil Forest had also been changed, urging hunters not to go there to hunt.

Tang Xian found this news on his phone; now, all entertainment and current affairs apps were reporting these things.

He was currently preparing food, busily working while watching various news items.

"It looks like the Li family and the Song Family orchestrated this, is this their indirect way of trying to please me?"

Tang Xian chuckled wryly. His own face really did carry weight.

The second piece of news was that a month later, once all the hunters had recuperated, this time the hunters, regular armies, and global fortresses would join forces and gather in the southern part of Yuepela Plains to launch a decisive battle against the entire plains.

There had been reports about this previously, but the timing had not been set.

This time, it was an official announcement.

Many people were missing from last night's ball, such as Song Gengzhao, Li Wanye, and other fortress lords.

The ball ostensibly served as a ball, but in reality, it was a cooperative meeting between the leaders of the various fortresses.

And the human overall commander for the Yue Pella Plains campaign was to be Song Que.

Tang was not surprised, Song Que's popularity in the hunting festival, as well as his own status, made him a more suitable choice than Li Zheng and Qi Xun.

But some things are not sufficient just because they seem appropriate.

He could foresee that, even for Song Que, there would be quite a few who would not acknowledge his authority. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

Shaking his head, Tang Xian continued browsing the next message.

This message finally took Tang Xian by surprise.

[The 39th Fortress enters the countdown to the opening of the eighth tier!]

The bold headline also indicated the importance of this news.

It was the last and most crucial piece among several announcements.

About the method of advancing fortress tiers, actually, most residents within the Pyramid, like Tang Xian initially, were oblivious.

Even though this announcement was published, it did not disclose the precise method to advance to the eighth tier.

"This must be news released by the Li family themselves, it looks like a victory declaration."

Tang Xian was certain that he had given the Li family a Cataclysmic Boss Creature Soul Crystal, and coincidentally, the three-tailed dragon spine crocodile that the Li family had been grinding down for forty years in the western part of the mining area, the Blade Forbidden Ground, was also killed around this time.

Although the species of the creature wasn't mentioned in the news, the Li family provided the exact location, indicating that they had successfully acquired it, and even if Lincoln Fortress intended to compete, it was too late.

This was the advantage of the mining area.

Humans were unable to establish networks and communication equipment in the mining area; they were living in an era where travel was mostly on foot, and communication was primarily by shouting.

If a weakened Cataclysmic Boss Creature was found somewhere sparsely populated, it wouldn't be surprising for it to be guarded for decades.

The twenty Cataclysmic Boss Creature Soul Crystals had been gathered, a development that Tang Xian hadn't foreseen.

He had thought that only after the conflict on the Yuepela Plains would the opening of the eighth tier be witnessed, but it looked like it would happen in these next couple of days. The 39th Fortress was about to become the first fortress in the world.

All the previous messages were trivial in comparison to this one.

The last piece of news was that the Song Family announced the postponement of their marriage alliance with the Li family, mainly to prepare for this war.

People weren't surprised by this because the explanation was quite reasonable.

This war was described by officials as extremely sacred and brutal.

A deep sorrow arose from thoughts of generals falling in battle and stout warriors returning after a decade.

No one could say for sure if they would survive this war.

With the shock of the news that the Li family was about to open the eighth tier, what the eighth tier contained and the kind of technology it would bring to humanity were of utmost concern to everyone.

As one topic dominated, others naturally diminished.

No one would have thought that it was their neighbor Tang who had dodged Miss Li's affection, right?

Everything was moving towards a satisfactory conclusion.

After pondering for a moment, Tang Xian thought that as long as he made some contributions for the Li family in the war on the Yuepela Plains, then he could consider his promise to Li Xiaoyu fulfilled.

After that, life should be peaceful, collecting resistance against various creatures in the mining area and living a life focused on contemplating eating meat.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated.

Checking the caller ID, it was Li Xiaoyu; Tang Xian answered.

"What's up?"

"We got the last Soul Crystal."

"I saw the news. You must have gotten it a few days ago, right?"

"Yes, should I send someone to pick you up?"

"Pick me up for what?"

"To go to the eighth tier, of course. It's opening soon, and I thought you might be interested."

"Why would I go to the eighth tier?"

"Aren't you interested in historical documents? Much of our knowledge about various creatures and technologies comes from the documents provided by unlocking tiers. Perhaps the things you're curious about are in the eighth tier."

Tang Xian said:

"Based on previous rewards, what the eighth tier is likely to offer will probably be some kind of high-tech rather than historical or cultural items."

"So are you going or not?"

"..."

Tang Xian was actually very curious.

But to go or not to go, that really was the question.

If it weren't for that peculiar dream, he would have immediately agreed.

As for achievements like being the first to witness something, to Tang Xian, these seemed meaningless.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take it as you agreeing. I'll send someone to pick you up," Li Xiaoyu said.

Tang Xian was silent, recalling the content of the dream.

Unless he was ready.

What counts as being ready?

Was it awakening a talent?

Tang Xian was uncertain, but relying on a dream for proof also seemed absurd.

Eventually, his thoughts landed on the word 'enemy.'

When he asked about the eighth tier, the baby told him it was the enemy.

Tang Xian thought carefully; if it indeed was the enemy, then whether or not he went to the eighth tier, as the levels were unlocked, they would find him anyway.

It might be better to take the initiative and see for himself.

After deliberating, Tang Xian said indifferently:

"Alright then."