"Girl, you’re thinking too simple, you don’t understand this world..."
Wayne bid farewell to the female star in the hallway, watching her graceful blonde and white dress silhouette, he closed the door and shook his head.
Lily had devised a detailed strategy for him—how to capture the young lady’s heart, how to change Austin’s attitude, how to infiltrate the core of the Lando Family. If there were no supernatural powers in this world, the three-step plan would be highly feasible.
Unfortunately, Lily was clueless about the true nature of this world.
Wayne couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. It was understandable for ordinary people to be unaware of the real world; the upper echelons of Frank definitely knew, sending ignorant operatives to challenge supernatural forces with their mere mortal bodies despite knowing how dangerous the world was.
Wayne also felt relieved for Lily—if she had truly approached Austin and targeted him as a lover, she would have likely ended up in a cement barrel at the bottom of the river.
The Lando Family was a part of the Magic World, and it would be too easy for Austin to investigate Lily. He wouldn’t even need to resort to torture—shove a mushroom in her mouth, and she’d confess everything.
Wayne assessed the encryption level of his and Lily’s spy skills, and the result was obvious—cannon fodder level.
He even wondered if his predecessor had realized the truth about this world, which explained his bizarre actions; his daily slacking didn’t resemble that of an intelligence officer.
As for how he learned about the truth of the world...
Wayne’s eyebrows raised, and the thought of the Goddess of Death’s devotees came to mind.
Looking at it this way, he really did have quite a connection with the Goddess of Death.
"Forget it, what’s the use of thinking too much—it’s too bad not to practice in such a beautiful moment."
Wayne slumped onto the sofa, holding an Ancient Silver Coin to start his training. The Ancient Silver Coin belonged to Philark—it was lent to him for use, and could be reclaimed at any time.
The opportunity was rare. The most pressing matter was to kindle the Hexagram. Other issues could be put aside in light of this top priority.
"Wrong, there is something that can’t be delayed..."
Wayne curled his lips; he had encountered two attacks on the cruise ship in succession. The first was a threat from the Asylum, the second a seduction by the female star, and Austin was behind both.
It was only because he had good connections, friends from all over the world, that he easily diffused both attacks. If it had been any other Mage apprentice, they likely would’ve taken a tumble twice, dead without knowing how.
Moreover, according to what Philark and Lily had said, both of them knew about his journey in advance and waited for him like sitting ducks, which meant that the invitation from the White Glove Association was also sent by Austin.
Wayne wasn’t surprised Austin could pull off such maneuvers—wealthy and capricious, the top dog in the police department, the head honcho in the Asylum, and it made perfect sense for him to be the big shot in the White Glove Association.
He was only curious about what other plans were laid out on Dragonheart Island.
"Mr. President, you have successfully piqued my interest!"
Revenge is not urgent; patience is the strategy when one is weak. Yet the more he thought about it, the angrier Wayne got, and he took several metaphorical steps back, pondering whether it was time to strike back.
The problem was a difficult one. After much consideration, he realized he could only endure with his current abilities, unless...
Shadomare floated across Wayne’s mind.
"How about transforming into a Death Knight and causing a big scene at his house?"
Wayne imagined dominating Austin and grinding him into the ground, and he couldn’t help but let out a hearty laugh, but then, considering that his teacher and Veronica might get involved, he regretfully dropped the idea.
"I don’t want to involve the teacher and Veronica, and neither does he. Looks like, this guy is still somewhat honorable."
Wayne murmured with irritation; as a Death Knight, he was unexpectedly unable to deal with a nimble old white face.
What Wayne didn’t know was that the old white face himself had had his own run of bad luck. The latter had called Philark only to be addressed as Mr. Lando, which angered him so much that he smashed his phone.
The next day, as the waiter brought in the food trolley, Wallace made himself at home and seized Wayne’s hand, begging him to help put out a fire.
Pulling a brother out of trouble, from today on, you’re my bro!
Although not Wallace’s exact words, translating it amounts to something similar.
With only two days left in the cruise, the filming schedule was packed. If the scenes for the third male lead weren’t shot soon, the budget would definitely be overrun, which would upset the production company and affect the investment in the next movie.
Wallace wanted to replace the third male lead—prepared to shave and step in himself—but Lily disagreed, insisting that Wayne had to be the third male lead.
"Wallace, I’m really busy, and I warned you yesterday—bother me again and I’ll call people."
"No, Lily told me she talked to you about it yesterday."
Babbling, Wallace clung to Wayne: "The bed scene can be cut, the kissing scene can be misaligned if you want, the script has been changed so you’re no longer a lecher, but the ex-boyfriend of the female lead, who dies tragically at the hands of monsters..."
In short, the third male lead became a positive character, and his sacrifice would earn a flood of tears, especially among girls full of romantic fantasies—an absolute heartbreaker.
Wayne nodded, suspecting as much. This seemed to be one of the strategies Lily had devised for him.
The day the movie was released, he invited Veronica to the cinema, and she cried buckets.
Wayne pondered for a few seconds, agreed to take the script. Wallace promised it wouldn’t take much of his time—the shooting aboard the cruise would be completed within half a day, and even less was required on Dragonheart Island—just a few posed shots and a stunt double for the scene where he gets crushed by the prop gorilla.
Wayne’s shooting schedule ran from ten in the morning until two in the afternoon, conveniently ending just before teatime.
The third male lead didn’t have many lines, mainly concentrated in the scenes opposite the female lead. Due to the removal of steamy scenes and a makeover to a gentle persona, the third male lead seemed to have become the ultimate "nice guy."