End of Days Game: I'm the Only One Who Can See the Hidden Cues

After successfully eliminating the threat posed by the Moon Messengers, Jeremy, Ritchie, and Major Joseph returned to Valley City.

The soldiers at the outermost defensive position of Valley City were extremely happy when they saw the three of them laughing together. They all understood that the return of these three meant that the crisis had been averted.

Major Joseph stepped forward and addressed the crowd.

"With Jeremy and Ritchie's help, we've eliminated all the enemies that posed a significant threat to Valley City! There's no need for everyone to stay on alert any longer. Just leave a few people to stand guard; the rest of you can rest. The crisis in Valley City has been resolved, and we must conserve our strength to be prepared for any future emergencies."

Major Joseph certainly wanted most of the soldiers to rest. After all, the majority of them were ordinary people. Being in a constant state of tension would undoubtedly have a great impact on their well-being. Now that the crisis had been resolved, it was time for the soldiers to rotate and take a break.

The soldiers cheered loudly.

Most of the soldiers quickly left, leaving behind only those who were still on guard.

Major Joseph then turned to Jeremy and Ritchie.

"The crisis has been solved, and it's all thanks to you two. I hope you'll join me to meet the mayor and the speaker of the city council. Both of them will certainly want to thank you in person."

Jeremy hesitated slightly when he heard Major Joseph's suggestion.

Although Jeremy wasn't very familiar with the specifics of Hale Valley, he was well aware that the mayor of Valley City had certain connections with Kean. Jeremy didn't want Kean to know about his current situation.

Major Joseph noticed the hesitation on Jeremy's face.

"I know someone like you wouldn't want to waste time. To be honest, I also feel that meeting the mayor is a bit of a waste. But the mayor specifically told me that he wants to meet you."

Major Joseph was actually in a difficult position. He had his own conflicts with both the mayor and the speaker of the city council. However, on the surface, it was impossible for him to directly clash with either of them. Moreover, he still had to carry out the mayor's orders.

Major Joseph hoped that Jeremy would help him out.

After thinking for a moment, Jeremy nodded. "Alright. Since the mayor wants to meet with me, I can't refuse. Lead the way."

Major Joseph was extremely pleased with Jeremy's answer.

"Don't worry. If the mayor tries to cause any trouble, I'll back you up!" Major Joseph said with a smile.

Jeremy simply smiled and nodded. He had no desire to get involved in the internal conflicts of Valley City. What he wanted to understand now was why the mayor specifically wanted to meet with him. The mayor's relationship with Kean was likely quite close.

Jeremy and the others spent half an hour traveling to the city center, arriving at the mayor's office.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The mayor had already received word of their arrival, so he was waiting for them at the door. Surrounding him were several people—some were city office staff, and others were members of the city council.

Upon seeing Jeremy, the mayor smiled and extended his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you! Pleasure to meet you! I knew that as a talented player of the apocalypse game, you would surely help Valley City deal with the threats posed by the monsters!" The mayor praised Jeremy in front of everyone.

Jeremy responded, "This isn't just my achievement. Others have helped me a lot, especially Major Joseph. Without him, this mission would have been impossible to succeed."

The mayor's expression became slightly awkward at Jeremy's response. However, the awkwardness passed quickly.

"Of course! Major Joseph has always been excellent in his work! Without him, Valley City would have been attacked many times by now." The mayor begrudgingly acknowledged Major Joseph. Find your adventure at empire

But soon after, he changed the topic.

"Regardless, you and your companions are the true heroes of this operation. I would like to invite you and your team to a banquet hosted by the city government."

As soon as the mayor finished speaking, Jeremy immediately interrupted.

"A banquet isn't necessary. My companions and I have more important matters to attend to. We need to get some rest."

"Although the crisis in Valley City has been resolved, there are still many monsters in other places. We need to eliminate the monsters there as soon as possible," Jeremy responded.

His answer made the mayor feel even more awkward.

Before the mayor could speak, the people surrounding him began to persuade Jeremy. Their thoughts were exactly the same as the mayor's. They all hoped Jeremy would stay, at least for the banquet.

With everyone's persuasion, Jeremy had no other option. He could only smile and say, "Since so many people want me to attend the banquet, I suppose it would be rude to refuse. Alright then, my companions and I will attend the banquet."

This response made everyone extremely happy. The mayor even laughed heartily twice.

"That's more like it! The banquet will be held tonight! You and your companions can rest for a few hours! The banquet will surely be to your satisfaction!"

After saying this, the mayor instructed one of his staff to take Jeremy and Ritchie away. Major Joseph stayed behind to discuss other matters with the mayor and the others.

Jeremy and Ritchie were taken to a very luxurious hotel. After the staff left, Jeremy's smile quickly faded.

"This feels off! Clearly, the mayor and his associates don't have good intentions! The reason they want us to stay for the banquet is likely to target us," Jeremy said bluntly to Ritchie.

Ritchie looked very confused.

"It shouldn't be like that! What good would it do them to target us? We just saved Valley City! Plus, we're both high-level apocalypse game players who have completed the awakening. Our strength is top-tier. They shouldn't dare to directly offend us, right?"

Ritchie didn't know about the connection between the mayor and Kean, so he wasn't overly cautious.

Jeremy then explained the relationship between the mayor and Kean.

Ritchie was shocked after hearing this.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? If I had known about the close connection between the mayor and Kean, I would never have agreed to come to Valley City with you. We shouldn't have come here. We should have kept moving forward!"

Ritchie's reaction was quite strong.

Jeremy's expression didn't change at all. He simply said lightly, "That's why I didn't tell you earlier. If you'd known, you'd have made a big fuss about it, and that wouldn't help us at all."

His words finally quieted Ritchie down. He sat in a chair, looking slightly puzzled as he spoke. "Even if the mayor wants to target us, he probably won't succeed. Is he really going to poison us at the banquet? If he does that, he'll be in a lot of trouble himself. Even if he's working with Kean, he wouldn't do something that stupid. He must be planning something more covert. If that's the case, we shouldn't be facing too big of a threat."

Ritchie's speculation was reasonable. Jeremy didn't immediately disagree. He simply furrowed his brow, thinking about what exactly the mayor was planning.

"You're right. That's why the mayor inviting us to the banquet is so confusing to me. Could he really be planning something during the banquet?" Jeremy spoke as if answering Ritchie's question, but it also seemed like he was talking to himself.

Ritchie didn't respond because he figured he wouldn't be able to figure out the answer himself.

At the same time, an intense argument was taking place in the mayor's office. Major Joseph, furious, stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

The two other people in the mayor's office also had very grim expressions. One of them, of course, was the mayor himself, and the other was one of Kean's subordinates.

"See? Major Joseph will never follow our plan. If we make a move against Jeremy, Joseph will definitely side with him. At that point, we won't be able to handle the situation smoothly," the mayor said slowly.

During the recent meeting, Kean's subordinate had proposed a plan targeting Jeremy.

In an effort to persuade Major Joseph to go along with the idea, Kean's subordinate had even offered to provide high-level weapons and items to Major Joseph.

However, Major Joseph outright rejected the proposal.

The reason was simple: Major Joseph deeply respected Jeremy, and he considered Jeremy to be one of his closest friends.

Moreover, Jeremy had just recently saved Valley City, and Major Joseph could not, under any circumstances, bring himself to carry out a plot against someone who had done so much for the city and for him personally.

Joseph's decision left the mayor and Kean's subordinate in an extremely awkward position. Their plan had now been exposed to Joseph, and it was highly likely that Joseph would inform Jeremy of what they had been planning.