Chapter 903: Chapter 903

After He Ao returned, Li Cheng also regained his mobility under Goya’s treatment, and everyone in the sanatorium received the news of the "missing ones’" return.

Then all eyes converged on ’Hao Yi’.

Rudel made a special trip to ask ’Hao Yi’ how he had accomplished it.

He Ao roughly explained the Bubble Space and the rituals, only concealing some information related to the pages of the Book of Bygone Days.

After that, Li Cheng took ’Hao Yi’ out for a cup of tea but didn’t ask anything, merely expressing gratitude for ’Hao Yi’s’ "intervention".

Jie An was nowhere to be seen; he now refused visitors and did not meet with any Transcendents from the Three Major Organizations apart from nurses and physicians, spending the entire day in his room without even stepping out, and medical staff who entered saw only him sleeping.

While controlling the Hao Yi clone to chat and have tea with Li Cheng,

He Ao’s true self had already unfolded the page of the Book of Bygone Days in his hospital room once more.

To his surprise, after destroying the space filled with bubbles, the page in his hand seemed to have become a bit more "complete," and a new ability emerged, "Bygone Space."

This ability could create a ’Bygone Space’ out of nothingness, dragging a designated entity into this ’Bygone Space,’ which could recreate some profound memory for that person.

This power could only draw in Transcendents up to B-level at most, and the price to create such a space also had to be paid by He Ao, the stronger the entity pulled in, the greater the consumption.

He Ao estimated that without sacrificing anything and only paying the price himself, at most, he could sustain one or two ’Bygone Spaces’ capable of accommodating C-level entities.

The consumption was far greater than that of summoning bygone illusions.

However, this ability might play a special role at certain critical moments.

Allowing the page of the Book of Bygone Days in his hand to crumble into ashes, He Ao collected it.

To say he collected it was, in fact, to casually keep it in his pocket.

The pages of the Book of Bygone Days did not naturally conceal themselves in the void like the Tablet of the Eye of Truth, but they could disintegrate into ashes and float in mid-air, taking up little space, so when not in use, He Ao would control it to stay hidden in the corner of some clothing.

After gaining full control over this page, He Ao also managed to control its corruption spread so that as long as there is no close contact, the corruption is imperceptible.

At this moment, the ’Hao Yi’ clone was still outside chatting with Li Cheng.

Liu Zhengyun and some others were now using the Forgetfulness Stone and the Springs of Oblivion, which had similar effects from the World Tree, scurrying throughout the Western Lands, attempting to "cover up" the memories of people in the areas that had been under Blood Sun’s influence.

Such concealment would reduce the connection between ordinary people and Extraordinary Powers, lowering the chance they would encounter supernatural events.

Of course, widespread coverage would inevitably leave many people unaffected, and some might even go mad due to knowing too much, becoming ’danger elements’ that could harm regular people, which also meant that the management of areas previously covered by the Blood Sun would become much more challenging.

But these issues were not something these few ’casualties’ needed to worry about for now.

While part of his mind controlled ’Hao Yi’ to chat with Li Cheng about various anecdotes, He Ao simply made his true body lie down in bed to get a good night’s sleep.

Until the sun set in the west, and the evening sky grew dim.

Feeling the twilight darkening, after the medical staff came to remind them once more to rest early, Li Cheng put away his teacup. He gazed at the steaming tea inside, slipping into a brief silence.

And beside him, He Ao controlled the clone to slowly sip the tea, meanwhile picked up a piece of osmanthus cake beside him and took a bite.

They were now in a sanatorium in the Yika Republic, part of the World Tree’s domain, where there were originally no such things as tea or osmanthus cake.

However, now that the Yika Republic was under the actual control of He Ao’s true body, this sanatorium was also his choice; he directly had Yan Yue find a rather secluded but still close to the core area of the Yika Republic.

Yan Yue found this place and arranged for many workers from Central Earth to come here. They also sourced many Central Earth items from local supermarkets to the sanatorium.

"So, it’s difficult for Angels to control their sanity?" Li Cheng finally spoke slowly after a brief silence.

He Ao set down his piece of osmanthus cake slightly, looking out towards the twilight glow outside the window, "Angels who have lost their sanity are far more numerous than those who retain it."

Li Cheng, pale-faced, took a sip of tea and gave a small nod.

At this point, the medical staff came over again to remind them to rest.

’Hao Yi’s’ injuries were not severe, but Li Cheng was indeed unwell, so he bid ’Hao Yi’ farewell and returned to his room with the medical staff.

Watching Li Cheng’s retreating figure, He Ao picked up the tea and took a small sip.

Throughout the afternoon, Li Cheng had been trying every indirect method to question him about "Angels."

The setting sun in the sky gradually vanished behind the Western Lands, as the spreading stars slowly began to reveal themselves.

Sipping tea, He Ao’s gaze paused and swung to look behind him.

It seemed that just moments ago, a figure had zipped through the corridor behind him.

His eyebrows slightly raised as he put the last half of an osmanthus cake into his mouth.

At this moment, the elder standing at the corner in front of the hospital room door stroked his beard and took a deep breath.

Hao Yi’s perception was too strong, he wondered whether he had been noticed. He probably hadn’t been spotted, had he?

Just then, the door beside him burst open.

Startled, the elder instinctively wanted to run, but after seeing the young man in a hospital gown who opened the door, he relaxed and exhaled in relief.

He Ao, facing the doorway, looked puzzled at Rudel.

"There’s something I need to discuss with you."

Rudel cleared his throat, straightening up with the authority of a B-level, and as he spoke, he half-stepped as though about to enter the room.

He Ao tilted his head, glanced at Rudel, stepped aside to let him into the room, and then closed the door.

Rudel, having successfully entered the room, took a breath of relief. He coughed lightly again, "There’s a very important job offer, I wonder if you’re interested..."

He Ao nonchalantly walked past Rudel and sat down on the bed.

Rudel’s words got stuck in his throat as he looked at He Ao, "You haven’t even heard what the job is. It’s a very good offer—"

"I’m not interested in cleaning up your messes,"

He Ao shrugged his shoulders, eyeing Rudel, "Did you go to the director and he didn’t agree, so you came to find me on the sly? Were you just hiding from the director? Fearing he would prevent you?"

Rudel opened his mouth to deny but, faced with He Ao’s piercing gaze, which cut through pretense like a sharp blade, deflated and sat down on the chair opposite He Ao,

"Kid, you’re capable. Back in Central Earth, you were what, a deputy minister? If you come to the World Tree, you’ll have everything you want. I can appoint you as the special person in charge. You only need to obey me and Goya’s orders,"

He paused, then continued,

"After this incident is over, we’ll be taking back control of the Yika Republic. It’s one of the major powers of the Western Lands. Resources, materials, all the things you can’t get as a deputy director at the Research Institute. The Yika Republic can be completely under your control if you’re willing."

He Ao shrugged off the offer directly.

Rudel was left speechless, as He Ao’s categorical demeanor rendered all his carefully considered persuasive tactics useless.

He thought for a moment, changed his approach, and said slowly, "You know the world is not safe right now. If the management here in the Western Lands remains lax, problems will easily arise, as we’ve seen with the current situation. We can’t just keep repeating these events, can we?"

As he finished speaking, for the first time, a flicker of hesitation seemed to cross He Ao’s face.

Sensing a possible breakthrough, Rudel pressed on, "Therefore, the World Tree needs someone competent and skilled..."

He Ao shook his head, addressing Rudel, "But I have no intention of leaving the Research Institute. There are plenty of capable people within the World Tree as well."

"I’m here because of this very headache. Otherwise, why would I come to you?"

"There are actually quite a few capable people. For example, ’Komo’ from the Yika Republic is pretty competent, and I’ve also identified many capable individuals during this incident."

He Ao mentioned casually.

Rudel was taken aback. "Can they change the current situation within the World Tree where no one follows orders, and everyone is a law unto themselves?"

"We will need some violent measures, but they can become the backbone of the middle ranks and help with the reforms, weaken the power of these factions, and try to make them follow orders,"

He Ao said slowly, looking at Rudel, "but you need to provide support by using the strongest force as their backing to drive the reforms."

"But how do we formulate the reform plan? We don’t have any experience,"

Rudel pondered, looking at He Ao in front of him and whispered, "How about this, come over here and serve as a special advisor. You also know the people you recommended..."

"I can’t leave the Research Institute."

He Ao shook his head.

Rudel looked at He Ao’s resolute expression, thought for a bit, and then quickly said, "You don’t have to leave the Research Institute. Aren’t you in charge of Rodan right now? I’ll talk to Li Cheng, you come hang a sign here as ’advisor’ responsible for the overall reform activities."

He Ao watched his face, fell into brief contemplation, and then said slowly, "I don’t have a foundation within your World Tree, I fear it would be difficult to carry out the work."

"The Yika Republic is your foundation,"

Rudel immediately said, "That’s not a problem. Later on, I’ll place the Yika Republic directly under your ’advisory’ jurisdiction. You’ve already run it before, it can serve as the base for reform."

This response made He Ao pause for a moment, then he continued,

"If you really want to reform, you must be absolutely determined. If you let me organize this matter but don’t allow me to appoint people, deal with opponents, and if you are not firm enough, always trying to pull the strings, then this matter will definitely not succeed."

"I will give you my absolute support."

Rudel said in a deep voice, "Just like during the incident with the Blood Sun."

Looking at the Elderly man’s resolute gaze, He Ao kept silent for a moment, "If the Director agrees, then I am willing to try."

"Don’t worry, I will go and convince him."

Rudel took a deep breath.

Then he immediately turned around and walked out of He Ao’s room.

Lying on the hospital bed, Li Cheng looked at Rudel, who had a stern face, with confusion and rubbed his forehead, "Are you sure? Have you discussed this with He Ao?"

Rudel nodded his head, "I will support him, and he is willing to give it a try."

Li Cheng gave him an odd look, "Alright, then I have no objections."

"You see, I can solve it."

Rudel looked at Li Cheng, a smug smile on his face, and turned to walk out of the ward.

After confirming with He Ao again and giving He Ao access to the World Tree’s internal account, he stood in the corridor, happily spinning around,

Then he glanced around, excitedly pushed open the door of a ward located in the middle.

Intense dynamic sound effects entered his ears.

In this ward, a white-haired girl wearing a long white dress was sitting cross-legged on the bed, holding a pure white controller, frantically operating it against the 120-inch television hanging on the wall.

Then she saw Rudel, who was excitedly standing at the door, and blinked.

"Goya, you don’t know, I did such a great thing."

Rudel excitedly sat down opposite Goya and quickly recounted how he had just ’persuaded’ He Ao.

Hearing his narrative, Goya was slightly startled, pressed pause, and then asked in a low voice, "He sends people to reform, handles personnel affairs, and appoints his own people. When the reforms succeed, will those people listen to you or to him?"

Rudel’s smile froze on his face.

"What was your purpose in talking to him before?"

Goya continued to ask softly.

"Bring him over or take the opportunity to remove his control over the Yika Republic."

"Did you manage to bring him over?"

Goya blinked her eyes.

"He’s working for us..."

Rudel fell silent for a moment, "We couldn’t woo him over, he’s still with the Research Institute."

"What about the Yika Republic then?"

Goya asked again in a low voice.

Rudel paused mid-sentence, "Gave it to him."

Following that, he spoke quickly, "But I’m B-level, as long as my martial prowess is strong enough..."

"You were B-level before too,"

Goya, holding the handle, tilted her head, "Do those people below you listen to you?"

"And behind him, there’s support from the Research Institute,"

The girl stretched out her hand, counting three fingers, "Three B-levels, his relationship with Hao Yi isn’t bad either,"

She counted again, one more finger, "Four now, Jie An might even help him when the time comes."

She counted one more finger, "Five now."

Then she looked at the fourth finger, her gaze fixed on Rudel, "When the real fight happens, at most I’ll be responsible for your treatment afterward."

Rudel despondently rubbed his cheek, he’d always thought he was controlling the pace of the conversation, not realizing he was entirely dancing to He Ao’s tune, the best hunters often appeared in the guise of prey, he chuckled, "That kid has me completely outplayed."

However, he hadn’t thought about reneging on the deal, because the World Tree truly needed He Ao, just as he himself had said, this was beneficial in this world.

And he had also promised Liu Zhengyun that he would provide the greatest support for He Ao.

Goya picked up the controller again to resume her game.

Rudel bid her farewell and left the sanatorium.

In He Ao’s room at this moment, he was leaning against the bedside, gazing at the bright moon outside the window, and he massaged his temples.

Actually, he didn’t really want to undercut Rudel, but if he didn’t firmly set the conditions, he always felt that Rudel would be more of a hindrance than a help.

Just as He Ao was lost in thought, a gentle knock suddenly came from the door.

So much happening tonight.

He Ao scratched his head; Rudel should have already left at this time.

Everyone should be resting in their own rooms.

He walked to the front door and opened it.

There stood Jie An’s broad figure in his field of view.

Just as he was about to speak, Jie An gestured a ’shush’ sign next to his mouth.

Then, he coughed lightly, and said somewhat awkwardly in a low voice, "Little guy, I owe you one."

’Hao Yi’ hadn’t concealed from Jie An that it was ’He Ao’ who had come to his rescue, and with the circumstances of Lin Chichi and the puppet maid, everyone believed it was ’He Ao’ who had brought an Angel along to save Jie An.

After speaking, Jie An glanced around, and once he was sure nobody was there, he immediately turned to leave, but halfway through, he suddenly turned back and whispered to He Ao, "Don’t tell everyone I’ve been here."

Then, under He Ao’s bewildered gaze, he tiptoed, looked left and right, and sneakily made his way back to the hospital ward.

He Ao shook his head and closed the door.

Stretching lazily, he continued to lie on the bed, took a deep breath, and controlled his Divine Sense to descend from his mind, flowing along the pathways within his body.

Within him, the ’Qi of Heaven and Earth’ gifted by the ’Martial Predecessor’ had finally been completely absorbed.

The energy for cultivation emitted from the Jade Pendant had increased significantly.

The flowing Divine Sense passed through his body, merging with and separating from his flesh and blood, as if the same as before, yet seemingly with some subtle changes occurring.

During this time, the Three Major Organizations had brought out a great number of Extraordinary Items, testing everyone’s mental state and recovery status.