Infinite Flow but I Submit Myself – CH51

Chapter 51: Ambers of the Long Night (7)

At that moment, Gan Lan instantly tensed up, every sense on high alert. The Secret Forest members behind him also stepped back in unison, ready to activate their defensive items or abilities at any second. Having once worked with Yan Wuzhen, they knew better than anyone how unpredictable his methods could be.

But a few seconds passed, and Yan Wuzhen didn’t move. He simply raised a hand to his ear, maintaining a listening pose. “Do you hear that?” he asked.

…What? A sound-based attack?

Gan Lan’s entire body stiffened. After Yan Wuzhen spoke, the surroundings fell completely silent—so silent that the distant sound of advertisements drifted clearly into everyone’s ears.

[Famous wealth Ment Adolf—learn how to level up fast in just 100 days!]
[100 quick tips to boost your virtue, intellect, fitness, aesthetics, and diligence—click to claim now!]
[Beauty Consultant: 10 new beauty insights for you every day!]
[Level 60 at age 20—here’s how I did it!]
[Level 70 Ment’s public course now open!]

Everyone present: “???”

Seeing their confused faces, Yan Wuzhen chuckled lightly. “You’ve been in this dungeon for a while—have you actually learned anything about this world? About this society?”

Over the past few days, Yan Wuzhen had been gathering intelligence from the local internet. And what he discovered was that anxiety here ran bone-deep.

Every social media feed was flooded with things like ‘How I reached Level 50 at 20’ and news about companies raising their recruitment requirements from Level 30 to 35. Every corner of society was screaming the same message: citizens must strive to level up. As if the only way to happiness was endless self-improvement.

Movies and vlogs glamorized the privileges of high-level citizens, immediately followed by ads for self-improvement courses and success seminars.

In short — this world revolved around one idea: Grind harder. Level up. Only then will you succeed.

The entire society was sick with anxiety, every person a restless motor forced to keep running by the lash of the ranking system. Or rather — by the weight classifications defined by the Super-Intelligence.

Just as Ment had described, this was indeed a “fair” world. The Super-Intelligence gave everyone the same starting point: zero. Even a poor child could become king if they were smart enough and leveled high enough.

Even the children of the rich or powerful couldn’t enjoy privileges without sufficient levels — because wealth didn’t exist, and level was absolute.

But that also meant from birth, every resource, every bit of social capital, had to be fought for. It was pure survival of the fittest — a world ruled by the jungle law of levels.

To Yan Wuzhen, this world was nothing short of paradise.

Gan Lan frowned, unable to see the point. “So what? We heard it. And? Those ads are everywhere.”

“Exactly.” Yan Wuzhen shrugged. “The entire world is like one endless exam the locals take their whole lives. And the Super-Intelligence is the only examiner. So tell me — in a world like this, what industry thrives the most?”

The guild members glanced at each other, confused what this had to do with their situation.

“The answer—” Yan Wuzhen said with a smile, “is Success Studies and Training Institutions.”

At their core, these institutions existed to gather intel — studying the Super-Intelligence’s logic and question patterns, desperately trying to find shortcuts to level up faster.

In essence, what they were selling was one thing: information disparity.
In other words—intel.

And the best at it all was Emmanuel.

He perfectly understood the operation model and weighting logic of the Super-Intelligence. His massive database had saved Yan Wuzhen an enormous amount of prep and research time.

Yan Wuzhen mentally thanked Emmanuel. He could have done it himself, but doing all that in just a few days was too rushed. And in a society where level equaled resources, and the internet connected everyone—

As a “Consultant,” this was the perfect stage for him.

[Fate Route 6: Consultant]
Effect: When you offer advice to someone, the more they trust and depend on you, the more you’ll understand them… You know what to do, right?

Originally, Yan Wuzhen hadn’t thought much of this ability. His process of “screening clients” had always involved understanding them deeply first — that’s how he gained their trust. But this skill reversed that logic, making people trust him before he understood them. To him, it seemed tasteless and unnecessary.

But once he came to this world, he realized — he’d been wrong.

The true terror of Consultant wasn’t in one-on-one use…It was in one-versus-many.

By distributing Emmanuel’s “optimization strategies” and “level-up formulas” online to anxious citizens desperate to rise, Yan Wuzhen quietly planted the seeds.

As those people succeeded and grew to trust him — his ability activated. He gained insight into each of them without any investigation: their social ties, current worries, upcoming jobs…

And people, after all, are defined by their social connections. Through six degrees of separation, you can reach anyone in the world.

Thus, he’d woven an immense web — each human a node, every bit of intel the connecting thread.

For an information broker, every new dungeon was like starting a new business. But [Consultant] removed all the setup costs, letting him spin an information web at minimal cost and in record time.

The Spider’s web was already woven — and the prey inside hadn’t even noticed.

Gan Lan was growing impatient, but forced himself to stall. “So what? Knowing all this — what good does it do you?”

He began to wonder if the Spider was deliberately delaying. Maybe his allies were on their way? Or he was preparing some kind of trap or item?

Yan Wuzhen just smiled. “You people really haven’t changed. After being tripped up by unaffiliated players last time, you’ve learned nothing. Everyone here is just faceless NPCs to you — beneath your notice, not worth understanding.”

“That’s why you’ve already walked straight into my web.”

Gan Lan didn’t understand his words, but the calm in Yan Wuzhen’s expression made his unease grow. Just then, one of his guild members leaned in and whispered, “Detection skill shows no ambush nearby.”

So he’s bluffing!

Feeling triumphant, Gan Lan roared, “Get him!”

The waiting guild members lunged toward the Spider — but Yan Wuzhen just laughed softly. “No one here? What do you mean—this place is full of people.”

The first wave of attacks hit, but Yan Wuzhen’s body shimmered with the glow of a defensive item.

[Item: Defense Shield]
Rank: Standard
Effect: Creates a 1-minute shield that blocks a set amount of physical and magical damage.

At that moment, hurried footsteps echoed from the nearby building. Several residents rushed out, weapons in hand — but when they saw the group, instead of panicking, they looked relieved.

“Thank goodness you’re here!” one shouted. “Run! The Inspection Bureau’s coming!”

The guild members froze in confusion. Then, a squad of people in black uniforms appeared. The lead inspector scanned them with a long device — and his face darkened.

“No chips detected?! Terrorists! Drop your weapons!”

Yan Wuzhen, standing behind them, immediately put on a terrified expression.
“Officer! They—they tried to kill me! Please, save me!”

The inspector scanned him and confirmed his citizen chip. “Over here—stay back from the crossfire!”

It was only then that Gan Lan realized what had happened. “You called the authorities?!”

Was this guy even a demon anymore?!

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Yan Wuzhen shrugged. “I didn’t call them.”

He hadn’t needed to. Through one of his “clients” — a Bureau officer anxious about leveling up for promotion — Yan Wuzhen had learned that there was an upcoming raid in this district, targeting a suspected terrorist cell called Blue Sky Society.

The operation was scheduled for today — which was precisely why Yan Wuzhen had invited Gan Lan’s group here.

They had no chips, carried weapons, and were assaulting a registered citizen — their identities needed no guessing.

The Secret Forest guild wouldn’t surrender quietly, and the inspectors wouldn’t show mercy to unchipped “terrorists.” The conflict erupted instantly.

With this world’s advanced tech and the Bureau’s elite anti-terror units, even the powerful guild members struggled to break free.

Gan Lan could only watch helplessly as Yan Wuzhen hid behind the inspectors, gave them a pleasant little smile, and waved goodbye before slipping away.

No way he could just get away like that!

Gan Lan gritted his teeth, bought a concealment spell from the guild store, and led several members after him.

Sensing danger, Yan Wuzhen immediately bolted toward the residential gate — only a couple of buildings away. Gan Lan’s eyes flashed red.

[Fate Route 6: Troublemaker]
Description: You envy those stronger, faster, or more talented than you. Wouldn’t it be nice if they stumbled at just the right moment?

Gan Lan’s ability could briefly disrupt a target, making them slip up in key moments — a stumble while fleeing, a daze in combat — but it required 30 seconds of direct visual focus to trigger.

Fortunately, the path ahead was a straight line. Perfect.

He locked eyes on Yan Wuzhen’s back. 5… 4…

“Fei Jing!” he barked.

“Got it!” the veteran guild member replied, readying a capture item, waiting for the Spider to slip up.

But just as the countdown hit two seconds, a hovercar shot out of the garage at full speed — right between them — completely blocking Gan Lan’s line of sight.

Gan Lan froze, barely stopping himself from slamming into the vehicle. Furious, he yelled, “Do you even know how to drive?!”

The driver panicked. “S-sorry! I’m late for work!”

He was late every day — right around this exact time.

Yan Wuzhen’s lips curved into a smirk as he sprinted faster. By the time Gan Lan’s group got around the car, Yan Wuzhen had already exited the complex. They chased, but every turn brought some new obstacle — a crowd, a sudden street closure, a swarm of vehicles — one “accident” after another blocked their way.

“Hey, sir, sir — is this your package?”

Gan Lan was stopped out of nowhere. “No, it’s not. I didn’t order anything.”

“No, no, it’s definitely you! Let me check your chip’s order record.” The delivery man insisted, thrusting a box toward him. “I’m sure it’s yours — please sign for it already, I’m really in a hurry!”

— Mike, face-blind and stubborn by nature.

“Are you insane?!” Gan Lan shoved the man’s hand away and took a step forward — just as a small hovering scooter almost crashed into his leg!

“Watch out! Move aside!”

— Maltz, pizza delivery guy, famous for cutting straight across pedestrian paths to save time.

“What are you people doing! Running in the driving lane?! This is for vehicles! You bunch of—”

— Dillon, chronic road rage sufferer.

Gan Lan and the members of the Secret Forest Guild were running in circles, completely dazed. In just a short stretch of road, they’d been yelled at countless times and shot angry glares from every direction — it was as if the entire city had turned against them.

By the end of it, Gan Lan was on the verge of exploding. If it weren’t for the risk of alerting the native authorities of this world, he’d have bought a large-scale destructive spell from the Demon Mall and wiped these idiots out on the spot!

“Chase him! Don’t let him get away!” Gan Lan’s eyes were bloodshot, his teeth clenched tight. “I’ll catch him myself and tear him apart!”

Several of his lieutenants hesitated — especially Mi Huan, who knew what Yan Wuzhen’s “Left Eye of Satan” could do. If this wasn’t an illusion, then what else could it be?!

“President, calm down!”

“Calm down? How the hell am I supposed to calm down?! Listen—if our plan gets exposed, do you think Jade Society will let us live? Keep chasing!”

Mi Huan sighed inwardly, but with no other choice, he followed Gan Lan and Duan Li as they continued the pursuit.

Finally, after breaking free of the dense crowd, they managed to glimpse Yan Wuzhen’s back disappearing into a nearby park. Gan Lan, fully consumed by rage, charged in. Mi Huan, still keeping a shred of sanity, hurriedly activated his scouting skill — the park showed very few life signals.

Perfect. That meant Yan Wuzhen couldn’t use the same crowd-interference trick again.

And indeed, when they entered the park, the place was nearly empty. Mi Huan let out a breath of relief — only for one of the guild members behind him to suddenly collapse.

He didn’t even have time to see who attacked before instinct kicked in; he dove forward, rolled behind a concrete barrier, and only then dared to peek out.

What he saw made his blood run cold — a humanoid robot, its joints and skin made entirely of metal, holding a gun-shaped weapon. It was clearly the one that had just fired.

At that same moment, the park gates slammed shut. A black-draped sign at the entrance fell down:

[ROBOT BATTLE ARENA IN PROGRESS — DO NOT ENTER]

Robot…?

“The Robot Arena’s one of the most popular attractions nearby,” came Yan Wuzhen’s amused voice from above. Mi Huan jerked his head up and locked eyes with those pitch-black, gleaming eyes — filled with delight. “You guys didn’t know?”

Of course they didn’t know!

Mi Huan froze. If he still didn’t realize this was all a setup, he might as well have no brain at all. He tried to open the Demon Mall to buy an escape item, but several laser shots from the shadows forced him to dive for cover again.

And then, one by one, the rest of the guild realized they were surrounded — dozens of robots closing in from all directions.

“Wait—wait! We’re human! Don’t shoot!”

One member yelled desperately, realizing the robots must be under human control. They’d just been used as bait by Yan Wuzhen.

Gan Lan and Duan Li also caught on, shouting, “We’re human! Don’t shoot!”
“Is there anyone operating these things?!”

Yan Wuzhen gave a mock sigh and pointed to the chip on the back of his neck. “You think I’d leave a loophole like that? Without this—” he tapped the chip lightly, “—to the robots, you’re just moving targets.”

He waved cheerfully. “Well then, have fun, everyone~”

“Damn you, Spider!!”

Their curses changed nothing. The robots surged forward, their weapons firing stun beams that instantly knocked anyone hit unconscious. The guild members scrambled to dodge, barely keeping their footing, too pressured to even open the Demon Mall interface.

And every time someone tried to create an opening to protect another, Yan Wuzhen’s invisible silk threads lashed out, forcing them back into the chaos.

*

“Nice! I got a point!”

“Damn, the obstacles in this round are so smart! Way tougher than before!”

On the other side of the city, Matthew and his friends were playing what they thought was a simulation game, shouting excitedly through their chips’ shared display.

“Dude, how’d you get access to AI enemies this strong? That kind of processing power needs a level 40 license at least. Did you team up with a bigshot?”

“No way, you saw the lobby — all friends! My ‘Ment’ online said I was doing great lately and gave me a reward, that’s all.”

“Ment? What Ment?”

“You know, like those coaching programs — only his tips are really accurate. I leveled up in two days under his guidance! Anyway, shut up and focus, these enemies hit hard! Are they using items too?”

“A new mode? Hell yeah, this is awesome!”

“Dude, send me your Ment’s contact after this. I’ve been stuck at my rank forever!”

“Sure, sure—after this match!”

——Everything was over.

*

As the last of the Secret Forest members fell — their president Gan Lan and Mi Huan collapsing beside him — Duan Li felt nothing but despair.

The unconscious guild members were suspended in midair, tangled in Yan Wuzhen’s shimmering silk threads, like a cluster of dead insects caught in a massive spider’s web.

And at the web’s center stood the man himself, cloaked in black, smiling like a devil.

“I should thank you all,” he said pleasantly, walking up to the dangling Gan Lan. “You’ve shown me that information can be far more powerful than I ever imagined.”

For all his career as an information broker, Yan Wuzhen had always seen intelligence as support. When thrown into a new world where his old network was useless, he’d been just another demon—no better than anyone else.

But now? That doubt was gone.

For the first time, he felt what true omniscience—and omnipotence—meant.

He glanced at his chip.

[Yan Wuzhen — Lv. 57]

A satisfied smile curved his lips. Reaching this level had allowed him to manipulate the city’s systems, hijack a tournament, and orchestrate the entire scene.

Emmanuel hadn’t exaggerated the society’s power hierarchy at all — if anything, he’d understated it. Here, level was authority. The higher your level, the more you could control — competitions, drones, even the order of queues. High-level citizens weren’t just elites; they were the true rulers of society.

They were almost godlike.

Just imagining what a Level 100 could do made his heart race.

He opened his “Lost Paradise” interface.

[Original Sin: Pride I]
You can vaguely sense emotional shifts in your chosen target. Mental recovery speed +25%.

[Pride II]
You crave to stand above all life, ruling in your own way. All attributes +10, Mental Resistance +30%.

Demons were honest beings — brutally honest about their desires.

Yan Wuzhen gave a low chuckle and turned toward the only conscious person left on the field.

Duan Li sat on the ground, shaking violently. He’d only survived because Yan Wuzhen’s silk had pulled him away at the last moment — a mercy that now felt worse than death.

As Yan Wuzhen approached, Duan Li’s voice trembled. “P-Please, let me go. I’ll talk. I’ll tell you everything. I haven’t been with Secret Forest long — really! I only know their basic plan! I’ll tell you all of it! You just want information, right?”

“I could let you go,” Yan Wuzhen said with a smile that made his handsome face look monstrous, “but there’s something I’m curious about.”

He crouched down. “You’re a newbie. No notable abilities. So why would Gan Lan bring you along for this mission?”

Duan Li froze, unable to answer.

“Let me guess,” Yan Wuzhen continued, lips curling. “You used your acquaintance with Tang Mobai to get into Secret Forest, didn’t you? In other words—you’re the one who set him up for that revival match.”

Duan Li opened his mouth, but the words wouldn’t come. He didn’t have to — Yan Wuzhen had already seen the truth in his eyes.

The silk tightened. A wet sound — and a head fell to the ground.

Yan Wuzhen stood, turning his gaze to the remaining unconscious guild members.

“Seems you can’t tell me your plan anymore,” he said lightly, “but that’s fine. There are plenty of others here.”

He smiled faintly.

“With all this intel to take back… I doubt he’ll stay mad at me anymore.”

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