Everyone Can Hear My Thoughts, and Now They're Panicking

The attendants in white no longer blocked his path. The Red-Haired Priest smiled, preparing to leave.

But after just a few steps, he felt a terrifying pressure wash over him, and he froze in shock.

"Who’s there?"

From the ethereal depths of the Sanctum, a figure slowly emerged.

The handsome man’s expression was cold. "You’ve crossed a line."

He had raven-black hair, a rare sight among the people of Aethelgard. It seemed similar to the hair of those from the smaller worlds, but a closer look revealed a difference.

The strands were intensely black, yet from certain angles, they shimmered with a deep blue luster.

Blue was this esteemed priest’s true hair color; it was just so dark that it created the illusion of being black.

Everyone in Aethelgard knew that the darker the hair, the stronger the power.

Countless thoughts raced through the Red-Haired Priest’s mind. He quickly forced a smile and explained, "My apologies, my apologies. The public has just been so vocal lately, I thought I’d add a little something to make the plot more interesting..."

He didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. Even if this was the world managed by Number 3, other priests still had the right to oversee it in his stead.

The Black-Haired Oracle stated, "When the contract was signed, it was agreed that we would not interfere with the mission-taker’s autonomy."

"How is this a breach of contract? That Jane Lancaster already wanted to seduce Gordon Dawson to get back at Caleb Lowell and Pauline Shaw. I just gave her a little push." The Red-Haired Priest spread his hands. "If she had just refused, there’s nothing I could have done, right?"

The Black-Haired Oracle said coolly, "That is still not acceptable."

The Red-Haired Priest’s face stiffened slightly. He had never been publicly contradicted like this before.

This colleague of his had always been quiet and reserved. He’d assumed he was good-natured, but now he saw just how cold he could be.

But the other’s power was profound and unfathomable, so he still felt a degree of apprehension.

"Alright, fine. I crossed a line. Well, I’m off." The Red-Haired Priest turned and walked out of the Sanctum. In any case, his goal was already achieved.

The Black-Haired Oracle walked to the control console. He glanced down at the encrypted plot segment the Red-Haired Priest had written, and his eyelids drooped slightly.

He knew, of course, what the Red-Haired Priest wanted. This colleague of his fancied himself a god, always viewing the people of the smaller worlds as ants. He loved nothing more than watching these ants, tempted by their desires, march step by step toward their own destruction.

To satisfy that twisted hobby, he was willing to risk breaching the contract.

The key was, these kinds of manipulations had instead earned him immense popularity. A latecomer surpassing the old guard, he was now the most famous priest in the Sanctum.

Inside the Sanctum, all the attendants were prostrated on the floor, not daring to even breathe.

The esteemed Priest Number 3 was a traditionalist. He believed that the contract and the mission-takers must be respected, which was why the plots in the worlds he managed seemed somewhat dull.

Compared to the thrilling and exciting style of Number 14, Number 3 was clearly not as well-liked, even though his power was terrifyingly immense, having long since surpassed that of Number 1 and Number 2.

The Black-Haired Oracle’s expression was placid, betraying no emotion. With a wave of his hand, he swept the planet back to its proper orbit.

His ornate robes, imbued with the flow of Star Power, stirred up a cosmic wind.

’Does Number 14 really think he’s a god? He’s about to be disappointed.’

Jane Lancaster also felt like the system was giving her a freebie.

When she got home, she closed her bedroom door and summoned the system.

"Sys, how is mission success determined?"

After a long pause, the system finally responded, [I don’t know.]

Jane Lancaster: "You don’t know? Come on, Sys. Why don’t you try cleaning your system, then searching for the standard answer?"

’So much for artificial intelligence. It’s just artificially idiotic.’

System: [...]

After a moment, the mechanical voice asked, a bit sullenly, [What do you think the standard answer should be?]

Jane Lancaster was even more surprised.

’Is this a bug? It’s letting me decide? In that case, I’m definitely going to take advantage of this.’

"The mission has three parts. First, go crazy with jealousy—I’ve already done that. Second, seduce Gordon Dawson—I’ve done that too. The last thing is to make Pauline Shaw feel the sting of betrayal..."

After a brief pause, she said lightly, "That’s easy. I just have to let Pauline Shaw catch us in the act."

The system’s voice sounded a little muffled. [...You don’t have to go that far.]

It knew she must be disgusted and repulsed by this kind of behavior. It was so low-class, practically trampling all over her dignity.

But this was exactly the kind of plot the public was bound to love.

Jane Lancaster couldn’t help but laugh. "What are you worried about? Gordon Dawson and Pauline Shaw are the official couple. The evil villainess could strip naked and he still wouldn’t be moved. In the end, Gordon Dawson will definitely resist the temptation and go after Pauline Shaw. The villainess will be thoroughly humiliated, left shamed and ignored. So nothing will happen to me."

[...But it’s still dangerous. Gordon Dawson is not a good person. He might actually do something to you.] It wanted her to set the standard for success, not make such a sacrifice.

Jane Lancaster’s eyes were clear. "The reason he’s suddenly hitting on me is because he knows about Timothy Lancaster’s will, right?"

The system was taken aback. [You knew?]

"It was easy enough to guess."

In fact, she had guessed it was Gordon Dawson who had tipped her off with that text message.

She had looked into it afterward. The number wasn’t registered under his name or his mother’s, so it must have been borrowed from some unrelated person.

He was being so cautious with the thought that if he was ever discovered, he could deny it was him.

Jane Lancaster had never underestimated Gordon Dawson. For someone to climb from the bottom all the way to Caleb Lowell’s level showed just how calculating he was.

For him to suddenly act like a reckless hothead, clumsily showing his interest and confessing to her, it must be because she had something he desperately wanted.

And what Gordon Dawson wanted most was to rise above everyone else, to crush everyone who had ever looked down on him under his heel.

"The Shaw Family is in chaos right now. Mr. Shaw has schemed away most of their assets, so the Shaw Group probably has countless holes for Pauline Shaw to fill. Pauline is out of money now, right? And with Caleb Lowell controlling the Shaw Group, Gordon Dawson can’t get his hands on it even if he wanted to."

"But I’m different. Julian and I have practically become mortal enemies. The war between siblings for control is about to begin, and I still have Timothy Lancaster’s support."

"If he joins my side now, under the guise of helping me deal with Julian, he can slowly occupy the center of power and eventually take the Lancaster Group for himself."

System: [Doesn’t that make you even more of a target? What if he decides to force your hand...?]

Jane Lancaster shook her head. "He’ll definitely find out, right at the last minute, that Timothy Lancaster changed his will and I won’t be getting a single cent of the shares."

The system fell completely silent.

At the control console, Priest Number 3 also fell silent.

She was too intelligent. Her view of the situation was so sharp and insightful that nothing could be hidden from her.

This was indeed the plot that Number 14 had written for her on the console. He was an expert at this kind of deception, sneaking his own agenda into the missions.

If the mission-taker refused the task, the plot’s constraints wouldn’t take effect. But as soon as the mission-taker accepted, the constraints would activate and lead to this very outcome.

Before any of that happened, Jane Lancaster would be abandoned by Timothy Lancaster—the very man who was supposed to dote on his daughter more than anyone in this world.

Wait! Priest Number 3 suddenly frowned.

They hadn’t set Timothy Lancaster as a mission objective in the first place because that character was un-targetable.