Elder Ling wanted nothing more than to reach out and strangle him, but he couldn’t lay a hand on him. True, he had some shrewdness, but he had never encountered someone like Xie Shuangxue before. It was like being pushed to the edge by a soft blade—no matter what he did, it was wrong.

This tactic! Yes, this exact tactic!

Xie Shuangxue knew Elder Ling saw Ling Xuan as his own child. He knew Ling Xuan, this disciple of his, was his weak spot!

Xie Shuangxue, this monster!

Elder Ling regretted it once again. Why had he been so foolish to pick him as the scapegoat?

Ling Xuan, that foolish boy, bought into it all completely. Hearing Xie Shuangxue’s words made him even more cautious, and he responded with extra care, “Don’t say that. I know everything—it can’t possibly be your fault.”

“I’ll stay by your side, of course.”

“Don’t worry, when we get back to the Feather Clan, you can stay with me. I guarantee no one will dare bully you.”

And just like that, the two of them were back in harmony. Ling Xuan was happily feeding him porridge again, as if it were some delightful task. Elder Ling couldn’t get a word in.

Frustrated, Elder Ling stormed in and out of the room without managing to quell his anger. On the contrary, that pent-up frustration seemed to boil all the way to his head. Every time he returned, Xie Shuangxue would get under his skin, and each time, Ling Xuan would see this and feel even more determined to take Xie Shuangxue back with him.

If these two actually went back to the Feather Clan together, and if Ling Xuan continued staying close while Elder Ling was busy, Xie Shuangxue would certainly be up to all sorts of mischief.

No, this could not continue.

Thinking about it, Elder Ling felt his whole world flipping upside down. But he also didn’t dare harm Xie Shuangxue. If anything happened to him, Ling Xuan would go mad—and that disciple of his wasn’t a fool; he’d immediately realize it was his master’s doing.

Then it’s best to send him far away, as far from Ling Xuan as possible!

But where?

Elder Ling pondered this for a while. Currently, his word wasn’t the law within the Feather Clan. After all, Xie Shuangxue was still the legitimate heir of the Xie family. And now that Chun Yao had taken a liking to him and even promised to induct him into the inner circle, he couldn’t just send him away without a valid reason.

Wait! The ongoing external issues of the Feather Clan might be the perfect excuse!

A light went off in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the clearer it became. He’d have Xie Shuangxue join the Feather Clan’s team to investigate the troubles in the main cities. It was entirely reasonable—since the incident began in Penglai City, it was Xie Shuangxue’s duty as a child of the city, as the young city lord, to see the matter resolved.

True, he was young, but it was his responsibility nonetheless. And right now, the Feather Clan was indeed short on personnel. They had to guard the Floating Dream Cloud, and a significant portion of people were being sent to investigate the issue, making it unlikely they’d return anytime soon.

Yes, that’s the way!

While Elder Ling was busy scheming a solution to his problem, Lin Tong, outside the game, was having her own difficulties.

Though Director Yu approved of her idea, her happiness didn’t last long before she encountered a new problem. Xie Shuangxue’s fanbase was growing overnight. Now, every time she opened the forum, it was all about him. Fans were arguing loudly because he wasn’t initially part of the world quest.

You couldn’t blame Lin Tong; when she planned the world quest, it made logical sense for Xie Shuangxue to be absent. He was still recovering and was so young that the Feather Clan wouldn’t even think of sending him.

But now, with his growing popularity, fans were unsatisfied.

Lin Tong wanted to add him in but found it tricky. While the world quest appeared flexible, it was built around specific checkpoints, and adding another character would require extensive rethinking, not to mention the SEA system’s approval.

Frustrated, she left the planning team’s office to clear her mind and headed over to the art team, where she unloaded her woes on Wei Lan.

Wei Lan listened with sympathy while working on a new outfit for her character, offering Lin Tong a somewhat whimsical reassurance.

“Don’t lose hope! Trust my character; he’ll solve everything!” Wei Lan declared. “You see, Snow Cub is like a little koi fish; if you make a wish, he’ll make it come true!”

Lin Tong rolled her eyes, gazing up at the ceiling. “…Wake up.”

Was the art team not busy recently? Why was Wei Lan going off the rails?

“I’m serious! He’s already helped me twice! You saw it last time too,” Wei Lan said earnestly. “If anything, he’s helped you even more. Without my Snow Cub, could you keep up with Dreamscape?”

Lin Tong thought it over and found herself unable to argue. “True.”

“So, no worries! Go ahead, make a wish on our Shuangxue,” Wei Lan held up her screen, showing a portrait of Xie Shuangxue in a new outfit. “Tell him your wish!”

When Wei Lan slipped into worker-bee mode, she was efficient. Even Department Head Gou Yuan couldn’t match her. But on regular days, well…maybe being a bit melodramatic was just normal in the art team.

Without much thought, Lin Tong closed her eyes for a bit of psychological comfort and made her wish.

“I hope that by the time I wake up, the world quest update will have automatically placed Xie Shuangxue in the Feather Clan’s team.”

Absurd, perhaps, like a document writing itself. But for the planning team, it was indeed a dream.

When Lin Tong opened her eyes, she noticed something odd. Xie Shuangxue still looked stunning on Wei Lan’s screen, but this new outfit seemed…weird.

“Why’d you put him in a skirt? And a koi-themed one at that,” Lin Tong asked, puzzled. “Can you even upload that?”

“Oh, I’m just playing around,” Wei Lan quickly hid her screen and laughed mysteriously. “I’ll just sneak it into the system myself. It’s actually really pretty!”

…Fine. Wei Lan was probably Xie Shuangxue’s first mom fan. Now, with mom fans popping up everywhere, was her taste getting a little…off?

Shrugging it off, Lin Tong left Wei Lan to get back to work. She decided to browse the forums, especially Xie Shuangxue’s dedicated thread, hoping to crowdsource—no, borrow—some ideas from players.

The thread was crowded, refreshing constantly with replies. It looked like Xie Shuangxue was gaining popularity at a level close to the main character.

Lin Tong also noticed Qiao Zhihui, who used the same ID across platforms. With his high profile, he had quickly become a prominent fan in the thread. Alongside the original poster, he influenced much of the discussion, and soon the whole thread saw Xie Shuangxue as their “precious son.”

Originally, Xie Shuangxue’s character wasn’t designed to attract mom fans, but with his youthful charm and slight childishness, he now looked innocent enough to be free from any blame.

The deletion of his negative moments further turned him into a pitiable character.

After being whipped in a recent scene, old wounds reopened, and fans were already feeling bad enough. Then they heard he’d be missing from future events too, cementing his image as a tragic character both in and out of the story.

Sure enough, mom fans were more passionate than mere admirers. When Lin Tong claimed he had the potential to become a breakout character, she wasn’t exaggerating.

Even Lin Tong, who’d watched his gradual rise from obscurity, now felt like a proud parent watching him grow up and genuinely hoped he’d do well.

So, how best to integrate him into the storyline?

As she scrolled, two out-of-place responses suddenly caught her eye.

YU009: No need to be mad at Endless Sea. He’ll join the world quest, trust me—I want him there too.

YU009: Also, don’t underestimate Xie Shuangxue.

It was a new account, and normally, in a busy thread like this, new posts wouldn’t stay at the top. But the content of these posts was odd enough to stand out.

People asked if he had insider info, but he didn’t respond.

Some suspected he was an undercover agent from Endless Sea. Others thought he might be an anti-fan sneaking in to cause trouble.

Even Lin Tong was puzzled. She knew no one else was planning to add Xie Shuangxue to the quest, so how could anyone else know?

Sigh, work was tough.

Just as she was rubbing her temples in frustration, Yu Haiqing’s secretary, Rui Na, passed by, looking for someone. Wei Lan, who had crossed paths with her before, greeted her.

“Is there something new from Director Yu regarding Gods and Demons?”

“No, I just need Gou Yuan’s signature on a document,” Rui Na replied, taking a seat nearby. “But he doesn’t seem to be around.”

“He’s in the core server room. You might be waiting for a bit,” Wei Lan pointed to a nearby chair and asked, “What’s the document about?”

“It’s some follow-up paperwork from a recent acquisition. A few assets from the purchased company are now assigned to the Gods and Demons department.”

“Aren’t these assets related to Lin Jiao Live?” Wei Lan asked, puzzled. “How’d they end up with us?”

Rui Na briefly explained that Lin Jiao had a tangled ownership structure. To acquire it, Endless Sea had to take on some extra “hot potatoes” that previous shareholders were eager to unload—some even had debt.

One of the companies was a struggling game developer involved in VR games. The assets were outdated, barely functioning, but due to regulatory requirements, they had to be processed through the Gods and Demons department before being discarded.

Wei Lan let out an “oh” and didn’t think much of it until her eyes scanned the name on Rui Na’s paperwork. She blinked in surprise.

The company’s name was Explosive Fire Games—classic for those who jumped into VR gaming hoping to make quick money.

“Something wrong?” Rui Na noticed Wei Lan’s expression. “Is there a problem?”

“No, nothing,” Wei Lan quickly shook it off, smiling. “You can leave the file here; Gou Yuan might take a while, and I’ll bring it back once it’s signed.”

Rui Na, juggling multiple tasks, agreed readily. She left, reassured by Wei Lan’s promise.

After Rui Na left, Lin Tong noticed the atmosphere shift slightly, but she didn’t pry.

She knew that Director Yu, Gou Yuan, and Wei Lan had known each other for over a decade, having been pioneers in the VR industry together.

As for Lin Tong, she joined four years ago, right before the creation of Gods and Demons and Endless Sea. She only knew the general outlines of their backgrounds.

But no matter the complexity, she didn’t have the luxury to linger on it—she still had a big task ahead of her with little time to complete it.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Elder Ling was doing everything he could to set his plan in motion. He’d gone over every detail meticulously and finally felt confident enough to seek out Chun Yao.

“He wants to meet with me? Why?”

Chun Yao was surprised. Since their last incident, their relationship had been strained, with both busy doing their own things. She hadn’t expected the old man to reach out again.