【The script is complete, rewards are being calculated.】

【Experience gained: 440000, Game Coins: 100000】

【Item Equipment Acquired: Bell's Everyday Knife】

【Completed Accepted Tasks: 88】

【Special, Hidden Tasks Completed: 0, Worldview Deciphered: None】

【Sudden Increase in Scare Value: 0 times, Highest Scare Value: 0%, Average Scare Value: 0%】

【Your Fear Rating is "Bold as Brass," you may receive one additional reward; please select it shortly.】

【Skill Points Gained: 2435】

【Skill Points Bonus Experience: 24350, Game Coins: 100000】

【Script Completion Reward: 90% Basic Experience Bonus: 396000】

【Side Quest Rewards: Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain, Yin, Thunder.】

【Settlement complete, please continue.】

As the settlement screen refreshed, a system prompt also rang out: 【Your title has been updated to – Scheming Maniac】

"Oh? Changed my title." Feng Bujue's expression shifted slightly, and he muttered, "Scheming Maniac Feng Bujue... Hmph... Sounds pretty cool..."

As he spoke, he summoned the game menu, turning his gaze to his brand-new "Title Ability."

【Name: Prophetic】

【Special Ability Type: Active】

【Consumption: Complete one act of divination (form or tool not limited)】

【Effect: Perform a divination with 99% accuracy on any objective event that has occurred, is occurring, or will inevitably occur (Cooldown time: ninety minutes. Events that have not yet occurred may be altered due to interference after calculation, leading to a decrease in accuracy).】

【Note: A divine toss of the cup decides fortune, a second divination grants further insight. Clearly seeing the events of this year, yet explaining next year's affairs differently.】

"Hmm... the skill isn't bad..." Feng Bujue looked at the skill bar, thinking, "But the final poem... feels out of place here..."

…………

While Brother Jue is pondering his new skill... let's first explain what exactly Brother Jue did in the script just now...

Actually, his plan wasn't complicated. I'll tell it in chronological order, and you, dear readers, will understand its mystery.

At 11:45, Clams Earle and his group left the pirate base.

At 11:50, Brother Jue packed his things, took a backpack (filled with items from his inventory), and went out.

At 12:00, as the twenty-two people were being checked by the pirates at the cruise ship, Feng Bujue had already arrived at the location of the Juse ore and started digging with his military shovel.

At 12:05, Clams Earle and his group had finished boarding the ship; the pirates then collectively evacuated the Dolphin and came to the stern to clean the congealed slurry with a special spray gun (containing special chemical ingredients).

On the other side, Brother Jue had just finished mining and was attacked by a parrot's droppings... He immediately decided to retaliate.

At 12:20, the Dolphin weighed anchor and prepared to set sail. At the same time, Feng Bujue used a small piece of Juse (which, after being shot out by Yi Da, turned into a strange metal cannonball in mid-air) to solve the parrot problem. At this point, all of Brother Jue's side quests, as well as the main quest 【Complete at least six challenges given by the program team】, were declared complete.

At 12:30, the Dolphin gradually moved away from Cannabis Island. And Feng Bujue returned to the pirate base once again.

He put down his backpack, sat in the chair in front of the monitoring station, and began recording himself... This recording was the "communication" that Max saw at 1:00 PM.

In this video, Feng Bujue spoke a total of only three times...

He started by stating something unbelievable to Max, successfully guiding the content of the conversation. After finishing this first paragraph, Brother Jue deliberately paused for a while, as if he were really having a real-time communication with the other party.

From the actual results... Max's reaction completely matched Feng Bujue's prediction. It's just that Max's response speed was slightly slower. When Brother Jue in the video began to say the second paragraph, Max still had the last few words to say, so... it looked like Brother Jue "interrupted the other party expressionlessly."

And Brother Jue's second paragraph was both an explanation of the first paragraph and a provocation. Whether it was the former or the latter, it was enough for Brother Jue to achieve his real purpose, which was to further attract the attention of Greybeard and Max.

As for the last paragraph mixed with strange laughter, it was purely to pave the way for his "appearance"...

At 12:37, Feng Bujue set the communication connection time and set the recording to play immediately. Then, he changed into a pirate's outfit (there were some in the base), put on his backpack, and headed towards the coast.

With the help of the 【Oxygen Snorkel】, Feng Bujue approached the Parrot along the coastline by "underwater walking." At this time, most of the pirates were very relaxed, and the few who were on guard were all looking towards the sea... Everyone thought that Stephen Carbon was still in the base in the heart of the island watching the monitors and could not possibly appear nearby. Taking a step back... what could he do even if he came alone?

At 12:52, Feng Bujue quietly boarded the ship. Soaked to the bone, he walked into the submarine with a calm expression and a backpack...

Brother Jue is very good at infiltration work. He knows very well that the key to doing this is to be calm. The more apprehensive you are, the easier it is to attract attention and reveal your weaknesses. On the contrary, as long as you put on an indifferent look, even if it's a little strange, others won't ask you anything... At most, they'll just give you a second glance.

At 12:55, Feng Bujue ambushed a pirate and asked where Greybeard and Max were.

Brother Jue's plan was flexible. Before coming, he had thought that if Greybeard and Max were in two different places, he would sneak into the submarine and assassinate the former directly. But if they were together, with Max's alertness, it would be difficult for him to approach smoothly... At that time, the recording would come in handy.

At 1:05, the tablet in Max's hand connected. Not knowing anything about Brother Jue's conspiracy, he naturally thought that he was communicating (Clams Earle's and Flat Cap's words also misled Max. Of course, this was all arranged by Brother Jue in advance). So, he, and Greybeard next to him, relaxed their vigilance at this moment...

How could they have imagined that the person "communicating with them from inside the island" was actually on the submarine, walking over with two grenades in his hand...

…………

Beep beep—

Two soft beeps interrupted Feng Bujue's thoughts. He looked up and saw a dialog box popping up on the screen, inviting him to enter the conference room.

"Ah! Crap... I'm late." Feng Bujue realized that the real-world time was now 2:30 AM, an hour and a half later than the time he had agreed with his companions.

This hour and a half in the real world is fifteen hours in the game. If they were watching a movie in the conference room while waiting for him, they probably would have finished even the extended version of *The Lord of the Rings*.

Brother Jue didn't even collect the rewards and turned around in a hurry, pressing the button to go to the conference room.

After the door opened, he quickly apologized, "Sorry... the script took too long..."

In the conference room, Xiao Tan and Xiao Ling were... actually watching a movie.

"It's okay." Xiao Ling replied, "After we went online and saw that you were still in the script, we knew that you probably wouldn't be able to arrive on time, so we teamed up with Sister Qin to queue for a script. As a result, we played for more than ten hours, and it only ended an hour ago."

"Oh..." Feng Bujue glanced around the conference room, "Where is she?" He paused, "Why isn't Ruoyu here either?"

Because he came in a hurry, Brother Jue didn't check the online status of his friends in the social bar, so he didn't know.

"Sister Qin... went offline to sleep." Xiao Tan replied, "She said it was the first time she had played such a long script, and she was a little tired."

"Cousin... went to browse the Scare Box, saying she didn't want to affect our alone time." Xiao Ling continued Xiao Tan's words, "She said she would contact you when you're ready."

"Hmm..." Feng Bujue thought for a while, "Okay... then you guys just watch for a while longer. I just came out of the script and need to prepare. After I'm done, I'll contact Ruoyu, and then we'll meet here."

…………

In short, one minute later, in the storage room.

As the white light condensed, Feng Bujue's extra reward appeared.

【Name: Bloodstained Spoon】

【Type: Weapon】

【Quality: Trash】

【Attack Power: Weak】

【Attribute: None】

【Effect: None】

【Note: Yes, this is indeed a weapon, and it can be used to kill people. Haven't you seen *Murder with Extremely Inefficient Weapons*?】

"Heh..." Feng Bujue looked at the thing and chuckled dryly, "For a level forty-six person to still draw something like this, it's also a kind of ability..." He wasn't too frustrated about it. Anyway, he would just go to the mall and sell the trash.

Then, Brother Jue walked to another glass pillar to receive his side quest rewards.

This time, the side quest rewards were quite strange. Logically speaking... six tasks, if six items were rewarded, then these six things should be placed in six glass pillars separately. However, there were only two glass pillars in this room. In other words... that "Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain, Yin, Thunder" were all in this one.

"Speaking of... what are these six things exactly?" Looking at the gradually condensing white light, Feng Bujue muttered, "Judging from the names... could they be some kind of elemental stones?"

He guessed right. Strictly speaking, these were indeed elemental stones. However, compared with ordinary elemental stones, they were worlds apart...

To describe the difference, it would be like a 1999 Lafite and a raisin that has been expired for nine months... that kind of feeling.