Chapter 48: Chapter 48

Meanwhile, Loren, who had been mistakenly identified by a legendary Grand Druid as someone from outside the Federation, was currently in the lounge, chatting with people on the Interstellar Hunter forum.

Ever since Loren's last post asking which star domain to settle in, his bizarre username had become familiar to these Interstellar Hunters suffering from "Severe Internet Dependency Syndrome." After all, Loren had been surfing the web at high intensity during this period.

Because the Energy Department was still blockading the Dusk Star Domain, the idle Loren, aside from sleeping, spent all his remaining time flooding two different forums. On the Interstellar Hunter Association forum, he played the role of a crazy Thrill-Seeker. On the Nature Sect forum, he played the role of a venerable and respected Grand Druid.

Whenever Loren grew tired of pretending to be a Grand Druid, he would skillfully switch to the hunter forum and go wild with witty remarks. This included, but was not limited to, provoking the Security Bureau, teasing the Federation Military, heavily criticizing the Federation's upper echelons, and extolling the greatness of The Empire...

The most outrageous part was that while claiming to have been obsessed with the "Star Traveler Society" for a long time, he would go into their posts and vigorously promote the doctrines of the Nature Sect... In short, Loren did pretty much every single thing on the Interstellar Hunter forum that a normal person wouldn't do, venting the exhaustion from pretending to be a Grand Druid on the other forum.

The more serious Loren was on his other account, the more bottomless his behavior was on this one. Among the more active users on the Interstellar Hunter forum, everyone had memorized Loren's username: "ALuckyPetKeeper."

A newbie had recently joined the forum, and his guts were incredibly huge, having provoked several of the Federation's major powers. However, the things he said were quite interesting. This was the impression most people on the forum had of Loren.

Those who were provoked often thought that the enactment of the "Federation Citizen Privacy Act" might have truly been a mistake. If not for this act, this guy called "ALuckyPetKeeper" would have already had someone come to his door to "deliver some warmth"...

Loren quite liked the atmosphere of the forum; it was always filled with an air of "freedom." Of course, Loren also made the Raven remember to remind him never to lose his portable computer. Even if he was about to be killed, he had to format the portable computer first, lest he get hunted down after reviving.

HalfAnUnknownHunter: "Pet Keeper, which star domain are you from?"

ALuckyPetKeeper: "What? You want to find someone to ambush me?"

HalfAnUnknownHunter: "No, I just want to know which star domain could produce someone like you. You know, in half a month, you're almost on the Security Bureau's most-wanted list..."

ALuckyPetKeeper: "Of course, I'm from the illustrious and prosperous Central Star Domain."

HalfAnUnknownHunter: "...Really?"

ALuckyPetKeeper: "Of course. Don't judge me by my appearance; I am the Federation's most loyal supporter."

HalfAnUnknownHunter: "Bastard! There's not a single truthful word from your mouth!!"

ALuckyPetKeeper: "Takes one to know one."

HalfAnUnknownHunter: "Boring. I'm going off to do a mission. Talk another day."

After saying this, the avatar of "HalfAnUnknownHunter" in Loren's private chat window turned gray. Loren also shook his head and silently logged off. Exposing his real identity was absolutely impossible. No real information could be revealed!

Loren even suspected that if he revealed even a little bit, he would be besieged by several major factions the very next day. This guy called "HalfAnUnknownHunter" was a friend Loren added while provoking people everywhere. After running into each other a few times, they felt they clicked very well and became fast friends.

This "HalfAnUnknownHunter" guy seemed to have a nose for Loren's scent. Often, right after Loren finished teasing someone in a post, this guy would mysteriously appear under Loren's reply. What he said was also always the same meaningless phrases like "666, that's a direct face-slap" and such.

Thus, on the Interstellar Hunter forum, Loren gained his third friend — HalfAnUnknownHunter. He was also the friend Loren got along with the best.

As for Loren's first friend, it was that user called "WannaCatchADruidAsPet." Loren added him as a friend with the intention of asking him about "kidnapping experience" for later, in case he couldn't make it in the Jadeite Star Domain.

Loren's second friend was that user called "InterstellarTravelerOnBike." This was the person Loren was most satisfied with adding. Whenever Loren asked him about something he didn't understand, the other party could provide a reasonable answer. He could be described as a person of extensive knowledge, practically a "human search bar." It was even this "InterstellarTravelerOnBike" who later told Loren about matters related to the "Nature Sect."

It was precisely this "InterstellarTravelerOnBike" who informed Loren that there was also a "Nature Sect" in the regions ruled by the Gods outside the Federation. These three were the connections Loren had accumulated on the interstellar forum over the past half month.

As for why there were only three, you'd have to ask the people on the interstellar forum. After all, even the Raven, who had witnessed everything from start to finish, felt that if its master accidentally exposed his real identity one day, he would most likely die without a proper burial... and it would be the kind of death delivered jointly by the Security Bureau, the military, and various cult organizations... ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

After logging off the Interstellar Hunter forum, Loren logged into the Nature Sect forum. Loren felt he had rested enough and could do some serious work to gather a bit of information.

As soon as he logged in, Loren noticed someone had sent a private message to his account.

Solon Linton: "Hello, are you there?"

I'm not!!! Seeing this name, the expression on Loren's face froze for an instant. Loren thought that his act of fooling the other's disciple had been discovered by the disciple's mentor, who was now coming to hold him accountable.

Just as Loren was about to pretend he hadn't seen this message and silently log off, the other party sent another message: "Thank you for your help with my disciple. I came specifically to express my gratitude."

Loren's confidence surged again, and he rapidly typed into the input box: "May nature bless you. No need to thank me. I also thought that little one showed quite some talent."

Solon Linton, this legendary Grand Druid, was able to accurately determine that it was Loren who had guided his disciple precisely because the Nature Sect was a small forum with not many active users on a daily basis. After all, a bunch of people who like protecting nature mostly aren't too fond of surfing the internet; they prefer sitting cross-legged in oak forests. Even Solon Linton himself only frequented this forum regularly with his disciples because he needed to manage it often.

That's right, this Nature Sect forum was managed by this "legendary Grand Druid" and his own disciples. And precisely because the number of active forum users wasn't high, Loren's unique and profound insights into the doctrines appeared very conspicuous. Loren's answers were highly upvoted and ranked very near the top.

Thus, Solon Linton easily found his account and believed Loren was that foreign Grand Druid. Especially since he was also using a "Grand Druid" username: "GreatDruid233WhoRespectsNature."

In the eyes of someone like Solon Linton, who liked using his real name as his online handle, the username Loren chose was most likely real too. Especially after Loren presented those novel and unique interpretations of the doctrines, Solon Linton became even more certain he hadn't found the wrong person. Some of the insights even made sense to Solon Linton himself.

Truly a Grand Druid from the "Gods'" territory! His understanding of nature is not inferior to mine!!