"Host," the System complained, aggrieved, "I did not lie about this! There really was something with a very fierce demonic aura coming closer to us! I was really afraid you would be exposed~~"
Feng Yongrui rolled his eyes. He would be a fool if he believed it.
"Anyway, if you do something like that again, I won't go easy on you," Feng Yongrui warned him. "The only reason I'm fine with it is because I know that sooner or later I'll have to buy something that can conceal my aura better than the artifact that Chen Tengfei gave me, so I'm willing to spend my points."
"But if you do this again, I won't play nice anymore," Feng Yongrui warned the System.
The System gave a small whine. It really wasn't lying this time, but of course, Feng Yongrui did not know it.
(At that time, Xiao Niao was getting closer and closer to Feng Yongrui, but both Feng Yongrui and the System did not know that Xiao Niao was coming to investigate him. If the System hadn't warned Feng Yongrui, then Xiao Niao would've found out Feng Yongrui's secret...)
A few days later, after Feng Yongrui finished eating his dinner, he returned to his room and locked the door. However, he had just walked a few steps forward when he felt his muscles tense up.
There, on the table, there was a piece of paper filled with words. Feng Yongrui had never left his papers or his reports on the table, out in the open like that...
Feng Yongrui hurried to the table and looked at the paper. The handwriting was unfamiliar...
"Did someone come into my room?" Feng Yongrui asked, looking around the room for any traces. He looked at every possible nook and cranny, but he did not see anything.
"Then... who left this here?" Feng Yongrui wondered.
Feng Yongrui read the letter and his heart began beating faster and faster. This was! A reply from Chen Tengfei!
Feng Yongrui quickly sat down on the chair and read the letter carefully. Actually, the letter wasn't very long; it was very straightforward and curt.
Chen Tengfei explained that recently there was a mole amongst his people, so he was afraid that the spies he had sent to various places were already gone, replaced by fake people.
Since that was the case, Chen Tengfei wanted all of his spies to send him a letter that contained:
-their identity
-who they were supposed to spy on
-their MailMe "username"
-their reason for becoming a spy
Feng Yongrui read the letter two times and sighed. So something like this had happened... No wonder Chen Tengfei didn't reply to him for some time.
"Wait... System, did something like this happen in the original timeline?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Wait a second, Host... Let me check..." the System was silent for 5 seconds before it replied.
"Nope. Nothing like this happened, Host," it said.
Feng Yongrui furrowed his brows and looked at the letter again. What is this was a scam?
When he read the letter... indeed, Chen Tengfei never mentioned his identity. He only used the pronouns "I" -- he never directly use his own name. Chen Tengfei also didn't sign the paper with his name at the end.
Wait, Feng Yongrui squinted his eyes and looked at the bottom of the paper. There was writing there!
"To the person to whom this letter is meant to be given to, this letter is from the person who hath written this letter," Feng Yongrui read the scrawling writing slowly.
Feng Yongrui paused and tried to understand the meaning of the words. What kind of jumbled writing was this... and why was it so familiar...?
"Ah!" Feng Yongrui exclaimed. Wasn't this the opening line that he usually used when he gave the letters to CHEN1213?
"Tsk, as expected of the protagonist," Feng Yongrui muttered. "He didn't need to write his own name explicitly, but I know it's from him..."
"If Chen Tengfei wrote his name on this letter, it would obviously be a big problem. I mean, what if someone finds this letter and Chen Tengfei's identity is exposed? I guess that's why Chen Tengfei didn't write his name..." Feng Yongrui reasoned.
"Instead, he wrote the line that I usually write to him. In this way, if someone finds the letter, they won't know who the sender is. But since I'm the one who received the letter... of course I know who sent this!" Feng Yongrui cried.
"Hmm... But, System, you said this never happened in the original timeline?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Correct, System. In the original timeline, there is no time when Chen Tengfei found a mole amongst his spies... Even if there is an incident like that, it didn't happen around this time," the System explained.
"I see... So... is there some sort of butterfly effect? Is that why this is happening?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"I think that should be it, Host," the System replied.
Feng Yongrui nodded his head. Anyway, no matter how well-behaved he was, there was bound to be variables in life.
Feng Yongrui took out a piece of paper. He had to reply Chen Tengfei immediately (and show his loyalty, of course)...
First of all, he had to state his identity... Feng Yongrui bit his lips as he thought of what to say. Since Chen Tengfei had found a mole amongst his spies, currently he must be extremely suspicious of his people. What if Feng Yongrui said something wrong, and Chen Tengfei found out that he wasn't the original 'Feng Yongrui'?
Feng Yongrui thought about the original Feng Yongrui's personality. If he was the real 'Feng Yongrui', what would he answer?
Feng Yongrui took a deep breath and finally wrote his reply.
[My name is Feng Yongrui. I am a Yon, a member of the gorgeous, shining clan that resides in the excess water that floats like a graceful swan. I have the blessings of the water gods and the heavens are my friends. Although my sister may seem imaginary, I truly love her so.]
Feng Yongrui stopped writing and took a deep breath. Now that was hard to write!
"...Host, what kind of rubbish is this?" the System asked. "I can't understand a single sentence you wrote!"
"Relax~ Can't you see that I've written my report with hidden meanings inside?" Feng Yongrui grinned.
"I wrote down here that 'I am a Yon, a member of the gorgeous, shining clan'. Don't you know what that means? It may seem like I'm just talking about the Imp clan, but actually I'm referring to the Cloud Realm," Feng Yongrui explained.
"'Gorgeous and shining' is referring to the immortals in the Cloud Realm. I can't say it explicitly, in case someone finds this letter and exposes my identity, but I can use metaphors, right? After all, the original 'Feng Yongrui' loved to use flowery words like this..."
"Huh, then what does 'reside in the excess water' mean?" the System asked, clicking its tongue.
"'Excess water' -- at first glance, it seems like I'm talking about the rivers and ponds and lakes, right? After all, members of the Yon family have water-based powers, so they live in ponds or places with water..." Feng Yongrui gave a small grin.
"But actually, the 'excess water' I'm referring to are the clouds in the sky. Aren't clouds made of water that has evaporated?" Feng Yongrui chuckled.
"The next phrase is about the water gods and friends of the heavens. It may seem normal on the surface, but what I'm actually saying is that I have water-based powers and I'm loyal to the Cloud Realm, thus claiming that I'm a 'friend of the heavens'."
"As for the last sentence, I'm explaining that I claimed to have a sister, but she's actually not real," Feng Yongrui added.
"Do you get it now? All of these sentences have multiple layers and can mean several things. This is the art of writing and making your readers confused," Feng Yongrui claimed proudly.
System: "..."
"The art of making your readers confused?? Host, aren't you supposed to send it to Chen Tengfei, your Boss? Aren't you afraid he won't understand what you're writing?" the System asked incredulously.
"Pfft~" Feng Yongrui couldn't help laughing because the System, who was normally very chatty, became silent all of a sudden.
"System, let me ask you a question, okay? Who is Chen Tengfei?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"Eh? Well... he is the protagonist of this world..." the System replied.
"Correct~ So, as the protagonist, is there anything he can't do or anything he can't understand?" Feng Yongrui asked.
The System was quiet for two seconds before it came to a realization.
"Ah... Host, I understand!" the System cried. "I get it, I get it~ Since he's the protagonist, he will definitely be able to understand the secret meaning in your letter!"
Feng Yongrui nodded his head in agreement.
"That's right. Now, I've already stated my identity. Next, he wants me to... tell him who I'm spying on, my MailMe name, and why I became a spy..." Feng Yongrui muttered.
***