Liu Shuyue followed the test driver to another site where various types of engineering machinery were placed specifically for test drives.

Chen Xuan followed the salesperson all the way to the third floor of the park’s building.

"Please come in." She pointed to a door.

Chen Xuan glanced at the nameplate on the door, "General Manager’s Office?"

"Yes, customers like you who intend to order five machines at once are quite rare, so our Manager Wu decided to personally host you."

So that’s it, seems I’ve become a VIP.

Chen Xuan pushed the door open and walked in alone; the manager of Five Rings Heavy Industries immediately stood up from behind the desk and greeted him, "Come, come, Boss Chen, please sit, please sit. Do you smoke?"

"No, thank you." Chen Xuan waved his hand to refuse. As soon as he sat down at the desk, his phone rang again, "Sorry, I need to take this call."

"No problem, no problem."

The caller was still Lin Qing, "Hey, what’s wrong again?"

"Didn’t you see me sharing my location with you?"

"No, I’m busy."

"Jiang Siqi is heading towards your location!" Lin Qing quickly said, "She’s less than two kilometers away from you now, be careful not to expose yourself."

Chen Xuan paused, lowered his voice, "The Mechanism came to Five Rings Park?"

"Yes, and there are quite a few people, all in one car. Wait, they’ve already got off the car now."

"Wait, they’re after the Wanderer; could the Wanderer be near the industrial park?"

"Can’t rule out that possibility. In any case, you’d better stay away from Jiang Siqi. She’s not dangerous, but I can’t guarantee that someone from the execution team won’t notice your anomaly."

"Got it, thanks for the reminder." Chen Xuan hung up the phone.

He was inside the building now, so there was no need to worry about being discovered, but Liu Shuyue was still outside touring the test drive, possibly attracting the attention of the Mechanical Officers... After all, with her appearance, passersby would take more than a few glances.

Should’ve given her a phone.

"Manager Wu," Chen Xuan said to the general manager, "let’s hold off on signing the contract for a bit. I need to go get my friend upstairs first."

"What’s going on? Did something happen?" The other showed concern.

"It’s fine, just want her to be part of this purchasing phase, for the sense of ceremony." He casually replied.

"Oh... I understand." Manager Wu smiled slightly, "But you should stay. Whether you buy the excavator or not is irrelevant; I prefer you to remain here."

Chen Xuan had already reached halfway across the room when he stopped.

He halted, turned back, and saw the other party’s face still wearing an enthusiastic smile, as if he was completely unaware of what he’d just said.

Chen Xuan immediately used his Heart Method to scan the general manager, discovering that his light points were somewhat stronger than ordinary people, yet not reaching the level of a Qi Sensing Man.

He then pulled out a scanning gun and pressed the trigger in front of Manager Wu.

Two abilities instantly appeared on the screen.

"Soul Stealing Puppet" Level 5, white.

"Business" Level 2, white.

Chen Xuan was shocked inside; there was no need to look at the specific descriptions of the abilities, just seeing the name of the first ability, he knew something was definitely wrong!

Could this person be controlled by the Wanderer?

Since he’s just a puppet, whatever he says is irrelevant.

Chen Xuan didn’t bother with the other party anymore, planning to head downstairs to meet up with Liu Shuyue right away, yet the moment he turned, a big hand suddenly clapped on his shoulder.

Someone behind him!?

In the next second, the surrounding environment spun wildly; the office disappeared, replaced by a beautifully decorated European-style palace. A stone fireplace occupied an entire wall, with exquisite figure reliefs protruding on the mantle. Inside, the firewood crackled, and the flickering light stretched his shadow long and thin.

At the center of the palace was a long solid wood table, with various silver utensils placed on it, reflecting countless dazzling rays together with the firelight.

A foreign man, dressed in splendid garments, sat at the end of the long table, examining Chen Xuan with interest.

He was apparently the owner of this palace.

Chen Xuan was encountering for the first time someone who could completely evade Celestial Mist Skill detection.

"You don’t seem particularly surprised?" The man said softly, "Most people’s first reaction when they come here is to panic and ask me where this place is."

He spoke Chinese with a heavy accent, but at least it was comprehensible.

Honestly, it didn’t matter where he was.

Regardless, he could use the Store Manager Recall function to teleport himself to the shop.

"So you’re the Wanderer that the Mechanism is seeking?" Chen Xuan asked instead of answering. Despite this man’s luxurious attire and the palace’s elegant decoration, he was bald.

Chen Xuan found it hard to be intimidated by a bald middle-aged man.

"Mechanism? Wanderer?" The man made two inquiries in succession, then shook his head, "Strange names. But I prefer to call myself the Demon, you can also call me... Lord Gustav."

Jiang Siqi also mentioned the word ’demon,’ it seems he’s precisely the target of the Dimensional Limit Mechanism.

That’s troublesome, as he currently doesn’t want to be targeted by the Mechanism.

"If you don’t let me go quickly, you’ll be in trouble." Chen Xuan bluntly threatened.

Honestly, his luck today was a bit too bad, rare as it was to bring Liu Shuyue out shopping once, who would have thought they would run into a Wanderer. What’s even more coincidental is that this Wanderer actively sought him out.

"That won’t do, someone like you with a sweet soul, how could I let you go easily?" The man smiled, "To be honest, from the moment you entered the door, I noticed you."

He noticed him, rather than Liu Shuyue?

This man’s judgment standards are quite unusual.

But Chen Xuan understood one thing: this self-declared Gustav Wanderer seems to have taken the Five Rings Heavy Industries park as his lair, lurking at the center like a predator, quietly waiting for prey to enter his killing range.

Then there’s nothing to discuss!

Chen Xuan directly summoned the Thousand Thoughts Sword and slashed towards the opponent.

Gustav remained motionless, letting the sword light sweep over his body, while slightly raising his eyebrows in appreciation, "This is your ability? Not bad... looks quite handy."

No damage?

Is the man in front just an illusion?

Chen Xuan activated Celestial Mist Skill again, probing the situation within thirty feet — when narrowed down to such a small area, the Heart Method sensing gets very precise, yet even so, he received no feedback. Not just the Wanderer, even the ordinary people in the building seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Chen Xuan took out the scanning gun again, aimed at the man, but the screen still showed nothing.

"It’s useless, here you can’t harm me, just as I can’t harm you." Gustav spread his hands, remarked calmly, "I suggest you sit down sooner, so the game can start quickly. Of course... if you want to chat more with me, that’s fine, as I’m quite interested in this world."

Game?

An electric flash suddenly streaked across Chen Xuan’s mind —

What was the last image he saw in the instant before the environment flipped?

A hand was resting on his shoulder!

Touch-type casting, independent special space, invincible parties, and... ability’s core is the game, all these elements seemed familiar.

Could it be—

Chen Xuan immediately walked to the other end of the long table, sitting down bluntly as if he hadn’t considered his chat proposal.

"Whatever game you want to play, start it quickly!"

"Oh? You’re really not afraid to die..." Gustav said, surprised.

As Chen Xuan sat down, a pair of sky-blue hands suddenly appeared at the center of the table, with a thick stack of playing cards clasped between them.

So that’s it...

He suddenly understood; the opponent was employing an ability similar to Guess the Coin, only the manifestation differed slightly.

No wonder the adversary displayed such confidence.

Strong rule-based ability, unavoidable, unresistible, inherently tricky.

Especially since it likely has cheating dice vastly altering victory probabilities, much like Guess the Coin.

"Is this the game you mentioned? Poker?" Chen Xuan deliberately showed a bored expression.

Gustav’s expression became slightly gloomy instead, his initial ease and banter gradually fading, seemingly stirred by Chen Xuan’s response, "Foolish! Don’t you know how many destinies this game has decided on this table? Some were great heroes ruling city-states, some were arrogant sons of heaven, but once they lost, they were left with nothing."

"Not bad, you even know how to use idioms. Where’d you learn that?"

Gustav took a deep breath, seemingly suppressing his anger, "One game decides it all; the loser will suffer endless torment until the winner forgives his folly!"