Learn one small skill every day

"Brother Bai! You're really alive!"

Shan Chengtian opened his broad arms, ready to hug Bai Miao, but Bai Miao easily dodged him.

Shan Chengtian felt a blur before his eyes, and Bai Miao was already beside him, which surprised him.

How agile is this kid?

"Shall we talk on the way?"

"No problem! Xiaolin, quickly bring over the food you brought for Brother Bai."

Kong Lin took out bread and milk from her small bag: "Here you go."

"Thanks."

Although Bai Miao wasn't hungry, he still accepted the other party's kindness.

The knocking on the door isn't about fighting and killing; it's about understanding human relationships and social customs.

Except for those who are shameless when given a favor.

The car that picked up Bai Miao was a military jeep. Bai Miao sat in the back seat, with Shan Chengtian and Kong Lin on either side of him, while Chen Ao looked Bai Miao up and down from the passenger seat.

"Bai Miao, we've been waiting for you outside the door for over an hour and haven't seen you come out. Did you choose another place to return to? Have you been watching us have fun these past few days?"

"I'm not that free." Bai Miao sensed that Chen Ao was joking more in his tone: "But have any of you written a self-criticism because of my problem?"

"I wrote five thousand words!"

Chen Ao said, cursing, "They said I didn't keep a close eye on you, and that I'll take the main responsibility if something happens to you."

Shan Chengtian pouted: "I bear the leadership responsibility; I wrote over three thousand words."

Then Shan Chengtian asked somewhat seriously, "So... what have you been through these past few days?"

Bai Miao organized his thoughts and explained that the person knocking on the door might also become one with the door, creating a copy.

Bai Miao also briefly mentioned that there might be a problem with the door.

"So you completed the dungeon by perfecting it when it was still in a half-finished state?"

This operation seemed utterly absurd to Chen Ao.

I find even the normal dungeons difficult, let alone a half-finished one.

“Your information is very useful… At least it clarifies one thing for us internally: since the Gate appeared, there have always been two factions within the organization. The radicals believe that we should do our best to explore the resources within the Gate, while the conservatives feel that it is risky to invest a lot of manpower and resources in exploring the Gate in the absence of information.”

Bai Miao continued, "I don't mean for you to stop exploring the door. Whatever comes out of the door will come out, and we can just beat it back. It's precisely because what comes out of the door that we need to improve our strength."

Shan Chengtian then realized he had misunderstood Bai Miao's words: "So you're saying all this to make us... intensify our efforts?"

"That's right. The world is just starting out, and we need to seize the opportunity. My experience shows that some doors actually need to be explored. My accidental entry into the half-finished dungeon was an accident within an accident. Normally, the doors that are discovered will be the complete dungeons."

"So instead of waiting for knockers to take on the task, it's better to actively seek out doors, which can quickly build up the initial resources."

Bai Miao paused for a moment and said, "This is just my personal suggestion. I won't interfere with how you do it."

Shan Chengtian asked, "Brother Bai, are you still not planning to join us? We're not as rigid as you think; we're very flexible."

Bai Miao shook his head: "I will fulfill my obligations as a citizen, isn't that enough? Brother Shan, do you think I'm not one of you?"

"Hey, that's not how it is. If you join us, you'll have a permanent position, you'll receive bonuses, and your actions will often be justified."

"I'll think about it again."

Bai Miao made polite remarks, but he had no intention of joining in the slightest.

It's said to be very free, but if anything really happens, the higher-ups will definitely think of you first.

Should I answer or not at that time?

By not joining an organization, you have many more options.

Of course, Bai Miao felt that if he encountered a situation like the one last time that others couldn't handle and that could easily cause huge social harm, he would still lend a hand.

The backend of Bai Miao Knocks on the network kept beeping; the little witch had sent countless messages since just now.

"Are you Bai Miao?"

"Bai Miao has also gone missing these past few days. Are you him?"

"Hey, say something! Why aren't you coming to school? Where have you been these past few days?"

"I've bought you the cherries. Will you come to class this afternoon?"

Holy crap, you're Zhao Wanyang?!

When Bai Miao saw the message the little witch sent him, he immediately guessed her true identity.

I was away for five days, and although I asked Teacher Li for leave, a fire broke out that very night, and I haven't been able to give an explanation yet.

It's easy for people to think they've sent it.

"Brother Shan... After the fire, didn't I ask you to help me tell the school? What did they say?"

"That very night, someone notified us that you had gone to your hometown for a funeral and that your phone had been stolen, so we couldn't contact you. Anyway, things have settled down with your homeroom teacher."

Oh... it seems Zhao Wanyang's side is getting anxious and doesn't believe the official explanation?

Bai Miao felt it was a bit melodramatic, so he didn't plan to stage a scene where they thought they were separated by death and then recognized each other again.

"I don't know this Bai Miao you're talking about. If your classmate is missing, you can ask the police."

"..."

The little witch was silent for a while: "I asked the homeroom teacher, and he said he went home for a funeral, but I don't know where his family is from, and I heard that his house caught fire that night... I feel like maybe he said that on purpose, and that he's actually already..."

Bai Miao has not yet revealed the specific details of the Crimson-level test to Shan Chengtian and the others, or to anyone outside of the ink painting group.

In other words, Zhao Wanyang did not associate the fire with her own bad luck. She only thought that way to convince herself that she was still alive.

"Just wait patiently. If they haven't returned by the time of the funeral, you can ask them again. Until then, it's best to trust your homeroom teacher."

"Oh... I understand, thank you..."

Bai Miao asked, as if possessed, "You care a lot about that Bai Miao?"

No, that's not true!

"But the college entrance exam is just around the corner, and his grades are pretty good. If he's not here, there will be no one to help me with my difficult problems!"

The little witch was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Actually... I think he's had a tough time too. Sometimes he's confused about why he can still smile so happily even though he grew up alone..."

"Ahem, you don't need to say any more of this..."

Bai Miao was so embarrassed he was about to have a stroke.

If she finds out my real identity, will she be more embarrassed or will I be more embarrassed?

"Okay, I'll wait for him for two more days. If he doesn't come back by then, I'll go to his house to deliver a wreath. It'll be a way of saying goodbye after we've been classmates for three years."

As expected of you, Squad Leader Zhao.

Author's Note on Release and Explanation of Subsequent Plot

First of all, I would like to thank all the readers who have made it this far. Thank you all.

This book will be available for purchase tomorrow, and I hope you can support me with a first-day subscription.

The subscription-to-order ratio is really important; it determines the book's future potential, recommendations, and even its ability to generate revenue.

……

That's about all for my launch remarks. Now let's talk about the recent plot developments.

I believe everyone felt that it was fast-paced, started strong but ended weakly, and somewhat bland.

First of all, I apologize; I was indeed a bit hasty when I was writing this.

I'm worried that writing too long a chapter before the book goes live might affect readers' ability to follow the story, which in turn would impact the book's recommendation status before it goes live...

So I rushed through each dungeon as much as possible, without delving deeper into the characters, which resulted in a character that seemed rather unsuccessful in the second dungeon...

I have thought about these issues and will make corrections later.

Then there's the question about the Hardman Town instance.

I'm really eager to introduce the main storyline and world-building, because I'm worried that lacking these elements will affect the initial subscription rate...

In short, I was very pragmatic in writing the book before it was published, and I was in a hurry to finish it. I will correct this after it is published and spend some time perfecting the characters' personalities and the details of the story.

Later, some ideas from Hardman Town (such as the Twisted People) might be extracted and redesigned into a multiplayer instance, which will definitely take a different turn than the current one.

Finally, thank you all again for your support.

(Please subscribe) Chapter Sixty-Four: Are you alright?

Bai Miao was taken by car to the military hospital, where he underwent a series of comprehensive examinations.

Only after confirming that Bai Miao was unharmed and in perfect health was he allowed to meet with the leader.

Bai Miao understood that these were all expressions of goodwill from the authorities.

The meeting place was arranged to be a teahouse, a place Bai Miao had heard of, where only high-ranking officials and nobles could enter.

It seems to be owned by the Qiangsheng Group.

Seemingly sensing Bai Miao's confusion, Shan Chengtian said softly, "Gao Qiangsheng wouldn't dare to spy on us. It's precisely because we're meeting openly in his teahouse that he won't take this opportunity to contact you. Gao Qiangsheng is a shrewd man. If you're looking for the best place to prevent eavesdropping and filming, it has to be this teahouse he owns. Of course, our department also has confidential meeting rooms, but I think you might not like going to those kinds of places."

Walking across the soft carpet and listening to the sound of flowing water on the artificial hill, Bai Miao arrived at an antique-style pavilion.

A middle-aged man was sitting there.

He was wearing a sharp suit, frameless glasses, and his temples were slightly gray.

"This is our section chief. Although he is a section chief... his rank is... well, I can't say, but it's quite high."

Shan Chengtian reminded Bai Miao, who then retreated to the side in fear.

"sit down."

The middle-aged man poured Bai Miao a cup of hot tea.

"Congratulations on clearing the dungeon again! This cup is for you to welcome back."