436: What kind of resonance?

The manager's expression became slightly awkward when his concerns were noticed.

He was the head of the department, and if any subordinate was foolish enough to offend Xu Lian, he would not be exempt from responsibility.

Although Xu Lian told him to go and socialize, he was still physically present, but his mind was still on his boss.

Xu Lian did not force him any further.

Lan Xinju, who had been looking down at his phone, suddenly had his light blocked by a figure.

Lan Xinju subconsciously turned off the screen before looking up.

"What are you looking at?"

Xu Lian casually held a cocktail glass and naturally sat down next to him.

Lan Xinju pursed his lips slightly, seemingly a little nervous.

He was not yet accustomed to interacting with people in a crowd, especially when the person was his idol.

Xu Lian was just looking for a topic to start with. Just before Lan Xinju locked his screen, Xu Lian had already seen the content of the page open on the screen—it was pyke's game background information.

"I'm looking for resonance," Lan Xinju said softly.

"What kind of resonance?"

Xu Lian pressed him.

Then he skillfully changed the topic, "What about your hidden works?"

This was the real reason he came in person tonight!

"I..." Lan Xinju hesitated for a moment.

Xu Lian did not urge him, but just watched him quietly, slowly sipping the drink in his hand.

The silence lasted for a few minutes, and Lan Xinju finally sighed deeply and lit up his phone again.

He opened Baidu Netdisk, and after waiting for it to finish loading, he handed his phone to Xu Lian.

Seeing this, Xu Lian was slightly startled.

He knew how much Lan Xinju cared about his privacy.

Every talented person has their own forbidden zone, and Xu Lian always respected others' decisions.

So he didn't expect Lan Xinju to be willing to go this far.

Without saying much, Xu Lian took it and clicked on that set of pictures.

As soon as he saw the first picture, his pupils involuntarily constricted!

That was clearly a variant design of Bard, the Wandering Caretaker!

Although League of Legends had already launched Bard, the image in front of him had a similar artistic merit to the official design, and it seemed more like it came from another creative inspiration!

From Xu Lian's keen eye, he could immediately tell: this design drawing was clearly not a knock-off created after Bard's launch, but an original concept drawn long before its official release!

With this shock and anticipation, Xu Lian turned to the next picture.

This time, the character that appeared was Gnar, but only in his pre-transformation form, without the version where his rage bar was full and he turned into his mega form.

Xu Lian's heart raced as he continued to flip through quickly.

He looked at more than a dozen drawings consecutively, until the last page ended, then he slowly stopped.

If it was only one or two similar designs, it could be explained as accidental resemblance, but almost all the character design styles were identical, which could no longer be treated as a coincidence!

Noticing that Xu Lian's gaze lingered on the last drawing and did not leave, Lan Xinju couldn't help but ask, "Is there a problem with this drawing?"

It must be said that he had benefited greatly from that brief conversation in the car.

Therefore, deep down, he had developed an instinctive trust in Xu Lian.

Hearing Lan Xinju's question, Xu Lian's thoughts were interrupted, and he came back to his senses and handed the phone back to him.

Just as he was about to explain a few words, something that had been silent for a long time suddenly sounded in his mind—the system voice!

[Hint, the host has triggered a hidden challenge!]

[Challenge mission: Win the Bond's 100% trust, and you can unlock an exclusive private room; remaining time: 30 days, current trust level: 30%]

The bond mentioned, could it be... referring to him? [Bonds usually come in two forms, one is a soul connection (ethereal state), and the other is a physical link, which can randomly attach to various objects.]

The system explained.

As if afraid Xu Lian didn't understand clearly enough, the system added again:

[Your current Bond target is Lan Xinju, please try to gain his complete trust in you.]

My Bond target is actually a man?

Xu Lian subconsciously felt a bit repulsed; he was mainly paying attention to Lan Xinju to verify his own suspicions.

Someone whose game concept rhythm matched his own might also be from another world, just like him.

But he didn't expect Lan Xinju to be the one chosen by his "Bond"!

Why were most people's Bonds cute pets or beautiful women, but his was a man?

Perceiving Xu Lian's resistance, the system reminded him again:

[The existence of Bonds is to assist the host in quickly achieving goals. For example, whenever the host completes an associated task, the Bond partner will follow the host without any additional conditions until they are permanently separated, and will not change their stance as long as the host does not unbind them.]

[In the future, the host may also meet more Bond partners, some of whom may be soul-linked, and some may establish connections with actual entities.]

[At the same time, it is important to note that these Bonds will not be around you 24 hours a day; you can rest assured and arrange for them to go out independently to handle various affairs.]

After listening to the system's explanation, the knot in Xu Lian's heart lessened considerably.

If they were really stuck together all day like those scenes in wuxia dramas where they never leave each other's side, Xu Lian would rather die than accept it!

Since they would live their own daily lives, it was equivalent to him having an eternally loyal and good employee.

But all this had to be predicated on gaining Lan Xinju's complete trust before the system would activate the connection hidden within his body.

System products had always been excellent!

After thinking it through, Xu Lian calmly accepted the situation.

Gender neutrality was actually quite good, after all, many problems were more efficiently handled by men.

What's more, the system might bring other Bonds later.

"President Xu?" Lan Xinju's voice rang in his ears again.

Xu Lian had been in this state for half a minute, leaving Lan Xinju, who never took the initiative to communicate, full of doubts.

"Those design drafts, why didn't you submit them back then?"

Xu Lian came to his senses and continued with the previous question.

Lan Xinju seemed a little resistant to this question.

It wasn't because he wanted to draw these blueprints, but rather because there seemed to be a mysterious force guiding him.

Every time he finished drawing, even he himself would be startled by those incredibly imaginative designs.

Because what he drew had already deviated from the mainstream aesthetics of the time.

He once thought there was something wrong with him.

This was also one of the factors that led him to be unwilling to socialize much.

"Have a sip?"

Xu Lian did not forcefully demand an answer, but instead changed the subject.

Lan Xinju secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If the other party continued to press him, he really wouldn't know how to face it.

Although Xu Lian was his idol, an instinctive sense of fear always lingered in his heart.