Was he lying? Liam's gaze scrutinized the assassin-type fighter as he simply couldn't believe what he was hearing. How was it possible for this person to have not played the game at all? Or even heard about it, for that matter? 'Evolution Online' had been all over the news. So this was completely impossible. Seeing Liam's furrowed brows, Lan Ganjie started sweating and hurriedly stepped to explain, "He was in special military training. I was grooming him for…" The middle-aged man felt embarrassed to continue. "Ahem. I was grooming him for the leader's position." He awkwardly smiled. "So he was in an intensive training facility. They were cut off from the world until recently." "The leader's position? You mean the Premier's position?" Liam curiously asked. "Cough. Cough. Yes, sir." Liam nodded. He was still not completely convinced, but if these two indeed hailed from a traditional conservative political family, then that would make some sense. But even if Lan Deming was in some isolated training facility, then what about the other one? Liam looked at Lan Fen, the slender and elegant looking girl who seemed to be around his age. However, she also shook her head. "I have heard about the game, but I also haven't played it personally." She honestly replied. "She was also undergoing training in various aspects." Lan Ganjie once again explained with a bitter smile. He did not know if this person was going to believe him. After all, the game was wildly popular and all over the news. Even he himself had tried it out a bit, but he did not pursue it as he didn't believe immersing oneself in an alternate reality was the solution to anything. How could he know that their reality itself was going to become like the one inside the game? Fate had played a cruel joke on him. Liam looked at the three people in front of him and did not know what to think of anything. He remained silent for a few seconds and then nodded. The thing was, it didn't matter too much if they were telling the truth or simply lying. Sooner or later, the truth would come out. And even if it did not, it was not going to change anything. Liam did not bother asking anything else and finally left the area once and for all, taking off along with Luna. From high up in the skies, he glanced at the disappearing figures pensively. It was not a big deal if they were lying… because he as well knew two people just like this brother and sister pair. Alex and Mia. The two girls were naturally gifted. However… what if they were telling him the truth? On the off chance that something like this was indeed true and the strength of these two had nothing to do with the game, then that could only mean that there were going to be others. Crawford wouldn't necessarily be the only person standing in his way. Some of these naturally gifted people might crawl their way up to him. However, he was not foolish enough to let something like that happen. Liam clenched his fist as a rush of excitement swept past him. His gaze turned to the two dungeons in the distance. Those were his stepping stones. Using them, he was going to become much, much stronger before anyone could even come close to his shadow! And now there was another one. Liam glanced once more at the small settlement as he silently smirked and patted Luna. "Go as fast as you can." Kyuuu! The fox nodded, and she jetted off. Meanwhile… Back at the gated community, Lan Ganjie walked back and forth in the big hall room of his house. As a leader, he was allotted the biggest and the most luxurious bungalows in the vicinity. "What should we do now? How can we prepare for this?" Muttering these few words, he continued walking in the same stretch. The other people standing around him nervously looked at each other, not knowing what to do. "Sir, maybe he won't return?" Finally, someone suggested. "Yes, sir. The meeting went somewhat smoothly, and we were also very hospitable. We even gave away the dungeon address. There is no reason for him to be angry with us. We also don't have anything else to offer. Someone powerful like that probably won't pay any attention to us." Lan Ganjie sighed. He looked at the bunch of people advising him and again sighed. What was he supposed to tell these naive, optimistic idiots to make them understand the gravity of the situation? "You both also think so?" He turned towards Lan Deming and Lan Fen to ask. Thankfully, at least his blood did not disappoint him. Both the brother and sister shook their head. "No, father. He will definitely be back." Lan Deming said. "I agree with uncle that we don't have anything valuable, but in the current condition of the world, manpower itself is something very valuable." Lan Fen added. Lan Ganjie bitterly smiled. He wanted to feel proud that he had raised his children well and that they had a good head above their shoulders. If everything hadn't changed, they would have definitely had great political careers. His life ambition was to erase the corruption and greed from their society and bring back the former glory of their country where everyone was not suffering and working like drones from morning to night. Unfortunately, fate had played a cruel joke on him. Just like he wanted, everything had changed, but not for the better. He wanted to be hopeful that they could somehow make it for the better, but today's events shattered that hope completely. Lan Deming understood his father's thoughts very well. "Father, let's not give up hope just yet. All we need is time. If we could just have a little time, even a week, we could do it. We can become stronger." "Yes, father." Lan Fen also nodded, her eyes burning with ambition. "We will definitely become stronger than him. Then no one will be able to threaten us again." Lan Ganjie remained silent for a while. He then nodded at his two children. Perhaps it was his age that he was inclined to give up so easily but looking at the resolve of these two, he also decided not to give up just yet. Since the world had changed, it was time to change along with it! The group started seriously discussing a new and upgraded training strategy for everyone and especially Lan Deming and Lan Fen. A few minutes after that, the first batch set out to start this new training plan which naturally first started with running the dungeon. However, as soon as they stepped out, they noticed something weird. There was a lot more movement on their usually deserted streets. There were more people?