To be honest, although Li Xiao was the first to arrive today, he had been far too quiet, a complete departure from his usual demeanor.

Everyone found it a little strange.

Now that Tang You had passed the buck to him, everyone couldn’t help but turn to look.

Little did they know, Li Xiao was cursing up a storm in his head. That day, he thought he had escaped disaster at Gu Xi’s hands by pledging his allegiance. He never expected, however, that Gu Xi would secretly plant a Spirit Seed in his brain.

The kind that could blow him to smithereens at any moment.

It was a good thing he was so meticulous and always kept his guard up. Even when it came to being an opportunist, he was the subtle type...

So after escaping from Gu Xi that day, he had originally planned to contact the Gu Family to feel out the position of the higher-ups. But on a strange impulse, before getting in touch with them, he first sought out Ye Xin.

The two had worked together (and loathed each other) for many years, and Li Xiao knew better than anyone just how formidable and fiercely protective of her own people that woman, Ye Xin, was.

So, when facing Ye Xin, he hadn’t said anything direct about Gu Xi. Instead, he had subtly tried to gauge her attitude. But this little test didn’t reveal anything about Ye Xin; it revealed the bomb in his own head.

—The moment he had the slightest thought of backstabbing Gu Xi, his head would hurt so badly it felt like it was going to explode.

Li Xiao’s initial plan was quite simple: in this apocalypse, he would be a pragmatic opportunist—siding with whoever was strongest. That was why he had so quickly "surrendered" after meeting Gu Xi.

After returning, he had merely wanted to test the waters with the various factions before deciding which side to take. But who knew Gu Xi would have a trick like this up her sleeve.

She hadn’t even bothered to deliberately hide it, which was why Ye Xin had spotted that something was wrong with him at a single glance.

It was Ye Xin who told him that Gu Xi had imprinted a Spirit Seed in his brain...

Such a power was completely unheard of, and Li Xiao didn’t believe it at first. But then, he did as Ye Xin suggested and tested it just a little... and the pain was so intense he wished he could have passed out on the spot.

Thinking of this, Li Xiao discreetly glanced at Ye Xin, who was seated diagonally across from him, brazenly slacking off by painting her nails and rolling her eyes. He couldn’t help but suspect that Ye Xin had deliberately let him find out that Gu Xi, that Evil God, had planted a Spirit Seed in his brain!

’After all, this woman had always looked down on him. That day, she had even bluntly declared to his face... that she loved watching him suffer, completely unable to fight back, forced to be an obedient dog no matter how unwilling he was!’

’That woman is absolutely detestable!’

Just then, Ye Xin glanced over indifferently, raising a hand to her mouth as she let out a charming, coquettish yawn.

While a beautiful woman should have been a pleasant sight, Li Xiao shivered involuntarily and instinctively averted his gaze.

"I agree with Mr. Zhou’s proposal." So as not to appear cowardly, Li Xiao nodded and began to speak in a serious, bureaucratic tone. "Dealing with danger should be the military’s responsibility to begin with, especially in a unique environment like the Land of Death..."

"There’s no need for us at the Abnormal Ability Research Institute to be in such a rush. We can just wait for the military to handle everything before we move in." Perhaps to hide his unease, he forced himself to look up at Ye Xin again. "Miss Ye, what do you think?"

’Everyone here is as sharp as a tack. If I keep avoiding Ye Xin, they’re bound to get suspicious. That last little exchange might have already been noticed by someone paying close attention...’

His life and future were at stake, so of course Li Xiao had to deal with this potential threat.

Of course, he was also confident that Ye Xin would play along.

’After all, compared to him, her hands were far from clean.’

But who would have thought...

"Mr. Li, I’m not worthy of you calling me Director." Ye Xin gave a lazy yawn and raised an eyebrow. "After all, I’m just one of many vice-directors at the Institute."

"On this matter, you’ll have to ask our Mr. Chen. Or..."

She narrowed her eyes, her smiling gaze landing on Zhou Jinyu as she added nonchalantly, "You could also ask Mr. Zhou. He’s our Institute’s head of external relations. With Mr. Chen absent, he has the final say on matters like this."

"Vice-Director Ye, you must be joking." Li Xiao’s mouth twitched. ’He’d only called her Miss Ye out of courtesy, to save face for everyone. He never expected the woman to actually play along with the pretense.’

Li Xiao couldn’t hold it in and said jokingly, "Doesn’t everyone know that Mr. Zhou always follows your lead? If you give an order, would he dare to disobey?"

’Who the fuck here doesn’t know that the younger Chen was already forced out of the Institute by this woman, Ye Xin? And while the elder Chen has been holed up at the Institute all these years, she’s stripped him of nearly all his authority. The elder Chen has lived like a recluse for years, rarely showing his face in public.’

’And as for Zhou Jinyu?’

’Who the hell doesn’t know that Zhou Jinyu is just Ye Xin’s loyal simp?’

’So what’s with this act she’s putting on?’

Li Xiao wasn’t fully aware of the Institute’s internal affairs, but his thinking wasn’t entirely off the mark.

After all, to an outsider, it looked as if the two Chens had been steadily losing power over the years, forced to give ground again and again, while Ye Xin rose to prominence and consolidated her authority. The Abnormal Ability Research Institute had all but become her personal fiefdom.

Hearing this, Zhou Jinyu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and smiled gently. He said nothing, showing not a hint of embarrassment, and even looked toward Ye Xin with perfect composure.

He made his stance perfectly clear, just as he had for all these past years.

’Ye Xin laughed silently to herself, a hint of sarcasm in her heart. She had to admit, Zhou Jinyu was quite something. He could keep up an act for years on end. If she herself weren’t the object of his "affection," she might have actually believed his love for her was as deep as the sea, unchanging through the years.’

’Too bad for him... Zhou Jinyu might be a good actor, but she, Ye Xin, was no fool.’

’His act was only convincing in peacetime. But she... she had clawed her way out of an age of chaos.’

’So his little tricks... were useless against her.’

Ye Xin gave Zhou Jinyu an unreadable look before turning her attention back to Li Xiao. Her foxy eyes narrowed, a sly, languid gleam within them that gave her the distinct charm of a mature woman:

"It seems Mr. Li is quite familiar with our Institute’s internal affairs. Since Mr. Chen isn’t here today, and there’s something I’ve never quite understood, perhaps I could ask for your insight, Mr. Li? It’s about what happened back then..."

Ye Xin raised an eyebrow slightly, giving Li Xiao a meaningful look.

Li Xiao’s heart sank. His intuition screamed that something was wrong. He quickly averted his eyes, raised a fist to his mouth, and coughed twice to cut her off. "Vice-Director Ye, you’re joking. How could an outsider like me possibly understand the inner workings of your Institute?"

’Li Xiao was genuinely terrified of this woman now. He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was hiding something from him about the Spirit Seed in his brain.’

He thought of the rumors about the methods of the Blood-colored Asura—rumors he had never bothered to investigate in the past... Li Xiao didn’t dare to let his thoughts run wild, terrified of setting off the Spirit Seed in his brain. He quickly shoved the chaotic ideas to the back of his mind.

’But this woman, Ye Xin... Backed by the Qee Family and that figure in City A, she was always lawless and had no filter. If he let her continue, she might expose other matters.’

’Like the Gu Family’s plan, the core of "Project G"... or the fact that Ye Junhan and Shen Yue were the final trump card meant to deal with her!’

’Just like that apocalypse squad back then... a tool arranged in advance, the most effective means of controlling an unpredictable pawn like her...’