"No, brother, this makes no sense. Do you think the officials would be so secretive and evasive?"

The Bookish Boss didn't fully believe the other party's words, instead, he retorted sarcastically in a cold voice.

In his view, although they weren't the most powerful underground organization, they had a fair number of Awakened under them, and they had some reputation among various organizations.

If the officials used such unscrupulous methods against them, weren't they afraid that other underground organizations would become disheartened upon seeing it and, in a fit of anger, turn to the Promised Land?

"Secretive and evasive? Did you misunderstand something? This is just a small test for you. If you can find out where I am within two hours, you'll prove your worth to exist."

"Otherwise, you're called Free Will, right? No matter the name, there's no reason to exist; there are too many and too chaotic underground organizations in the Capital City now, and I need to shuffle the deck."

The mysterious voice had a very calm tone.

His confidence even gave the Bookish Boss a misconception, or rather an inexplicable intuition.

That perhaps this guy wasn't joking at all...

"Heh, aren't you a bit too arrogant? Cleaning up all the underground organizations in the Capital City? Even the officials haven't said such a thing..."

Even though he was already uncertain in his heart, the Bookish Boss couldn't back down now; as he was refuting, he suddenly realized a problem.

Indeed, the officials hadn't said such an outrageous thing before, but that was before the Promised Land appeared.

Now, if they couldn't get a stance from these underground organizations for a long time, a desperate rabbit will bite; moreover, the officials are inherently a majestic lion, would they really want to reshuffle?

What if this guy wasn't lying from the beginning?

What if he... really represented the officials?

"Stop wasting words with him! Boss! You find the people! I'll handle beating him up!" The dyed-hair kid grinned ferociously with anger.

As the strongest fist in Free Will, he was always clear about his role.

Anyway, he just needed to hit whoever the boss told him to, just focusing on punching would suffice!

The nose-ring kid beside him couldn't take it anymore either; the opponent came openly to provoke, and now even claimed they were being tested?

Who the hell did he think he was? Speaking in such a lofty manner, he really deserved a beating!

"You two with glasses go upstairs and search inside and outside of this villa, make sure to find this person within two hours!" The Bookish Boss, with a stern face, threw out two pairs of glasses from his pocket.

He decided to accept this small test.

"Don't worry, I'll dig him out even if I have to dig three feet under!" The dyed-hair kid took the glasses and dashed out of the living room hurriedly.

The nose-ring kid went upstairs unhurriedly, also wearing the glasses.

The Bookish Boss didn't linger in the living room either, as if he had already determined Wu Liang wasn't there, he directly went to search other rooms.

This, of course, was due to the special nature of his own ability that gave him such confidence.

Thought Gaze

Anyone appearing before him would have their thoughts laid bare; even invisibility abilities couldn't escape this effect.

The Bookish Boss had experimented with a subordinate possessing a brief Awakened Ability of invisibility.

Even if the person was invisible, as long as they appeared in front of him, he would learn their thoughts even if he couldn't see their form.

In a way, the Bookish Boss's ability was akin to a walking lie detector, also serving as a polygraph and interrogation tool.

This is why he could become the leader of the Free Will organization.

"Heh, a bunch of privileged kids preaching equality and freedom with grand ideals, thinking that having Awakened abilities would put them beyond harm? I can only say they're too naive."

Wu Liang's voice gradually echoed in the vacant living room, as he lay comfortably on a nearby armchair.

He was only a few meters away from where the Bookish Boss had just stood.

His critique was naturally directed at the underground organization led by those three—Free Will.

In truth, the identities of these three youngsters were not simple either; their parents were either wealthy enough to make news just by dining out with a companion or held power to meddle in most institutions outside the Paranormal Handling Department.

As second-generation privileged individuals, they were born superior to others and became even more so after gaining Awakened abilities.

These three believed they could make a great career, establishing the Free Will organization to gather young Awakened individuals like themselves, claiming they could enjoy true freedom there, doing whatever they wished without constraint.

Since there were indeed many young Awakened in the civilian population, and with these three's affluent backgrounds and ability to navigate both legal and illegal circles,

Free Will, while not the strongest, was certainly the largest in numbers among civilian organizations.

"Thinking that indulging in unrestricted pleasures is freedom? Heh, kids, true freedom isn't doing whatever you want..."

"but rather not doing what you don't want to do!"

He squinted at his few Fierce Ghost Minions, who also walked ferociously towards the direction where the three had left.

This hide-and-seek game was certainly not just a simple human hunt; it would involve ghosts as well.

Actually, if Wu Liang wanted to, forget two hours.

The Mist Ghost's City-Destroying Level Fierce Ghost Ability would allow him to remain hidden for an entire night from those three without revealing a trace.

He only needed to see what choices these three would make in the face of crisis and adversity.

These three were the leaders of Free Will; in this crisis, whether they'd let their brains govern their actions or have their actions dictate their thoughts would indirectly reflect the stance and attitude of the organization.

This small test directly determined the fate of the Free Will organization.

He hadn't been joking with the Bookish Boss earlier; Wu Liang really was here to reshuffle the underground organizations in the Capital City!

This was also a secret mission given to him by Director Long.

"Find out the stance and attitude of the top three underground organizations in the Capital City within a week. Brother Long, sitting in that seat has made your words twist and turn, heh." Wu Liang shrugged helplessly and complained.

The Capital City's top three underground organizations were the Awakening Association, the Black Market, and Free Will.

This mission seemed simple, just to learn their stance and attitude, without any actual action required.

But was it really that simple?

If he confronted them head-on, forcing these underground organizations to declare their stance within a week, even if they initially leaned towards the officials, they might become resentful due to the coercion.

After all, most underground organizations' attitude was—let's wait and see, no rush.

Choosing to investigate secretly, a week would definitely be insufficient.

And those organizations inclined towards the Promised Land, upon discovering their stance being exposed, wouldn't just let Wu Liang leave to report to the officials, would they?

So, on the surface, Director Long seemed to have tasked Wu Liang just to ascertain their stance.

In reality, Wu Liang had to make two choices—to either successfully win over these three underground organizations or completely eliminate their inclination towards the Promised Land, making them even entirely neutral!

In summary, it was to ensure the officials would no longer be troubled by these underground organizations.

"Choice? I don't like making choices."

"But I do like making others choose!"

Therefore, in this predicament, Wu Liang relinquished the power of choice.

He wanted these organizations to make the simplest choice—either live or die.

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