"Get in!" Two tall, black-robed subordinates with stern faces and voices that brooked no argument shoved Su Yaoyao forcefully.

"Easy, now," Su Yaoyao said as she stumbled, nearly falling over. Escorted by the two subordinates, she was brought back to the familiar, yet repulsive, birdcage.

This time, however, something was strange. Mingye hadn’t put her in chains.

"Sister, I was so worried about you! Are you okay?"

Noah threw himself into Su Yaoyao’s arms, his small hands clinging to her tightly. When he looked up, his eyes were brimming with tears, as if he were about to burst into sobs at any moment.

"I’m fine." Su Yaoyao raised her hand and gently wiped away the tear about to fall from the corner of his eye.

Just then, something occurred to her. As Noah rushed over, he carried a faint, fresh scent, as if he had just bathed. He also looked much cleaner and neater than before.

"I was so worried about you, all alone in here," Noah said, his voice catching in a sob. He clutched the hem of Su Yaoyao’s clothes as if afraid she would disappear. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Su Yaoyao led Noah to sit down on the soft, feathery carpet and gently reassured him, "Don’t worry. I’m still useful to Mingye. He won’t hurt me."

"Where did he take you?" Noah asked, tilting his head up with a look of deep concern.

"The market," Su Yaoyao answered simply.

"The market... You mean the black market, don’t you?" Noah said, frowning slightly.

"Black market?" Su Yaoyao repeated, confused. Her curiosity was piqued.

"This city is called Snake Scale City. It’s on the border of the Empire and controlled by Mingye, so it isn’t bound by the Empire’s laws. That’s why people also call it the City of Darkness."

Noah sat up straight and explained seriously, "And Mingye’s main source of income is smuggling arms and selling high-tech weapons."

Su Yaoyao listened quietly, a thoughtful look in her eyes. This gave her a deeper understanding of Mingye.

"But those Beastmen respect him so much. He can’t be entirely evil, can he?" Su Yaoyao couldn’t help but voice her confusion.

In the monitoring room, Mingye clenched his fists. He’d long stopped caring what others thought of him, but hearing the little female say that, a flicker of joy stirred within him.

"Because Mingye distributes most of the money he earns among the city’s Beastmen, allowing them to make a living."

Noah explained patiently, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. "Most of them were mercilessly cast aside by their wives. In society, no other female will accept them, and they face constant hardship, struggling to survive.

"But in the domain Mingye established, they can live good lives. They no longer have to be subservient to females, and no one torments them. Naturally, they are grateful to their Lord from the bottom of their hearts."

Then, with a worried expression, Noah stared intently at Su Yaoyao. "Mingye’s men are all males who oppose the Empire’s unjust laws. Sister, if you go out again, you must be careful. They might take their resentment out on you."

Su Yaoyao frowned slightly. She got the distinct impression that Noah didn’t want her to go out again.

"Okay, I get it. What about you? Why are you in Snake Scale City?" Su Yaoyao looked at the young boy before her, feeling a flicker of doubt. ’There are no females here. Noah couldn’t possibly have been born here.’

"I... my family doesn’t support my research into potions. They think it’s not a serious profession, but it’s all I’ve ever been passionate about.

"I heard Snake Scale City was recruiting talented people, so I thought I’d try my luck. Unfortunately, my skills weren’t up to par, and I didn’t want to go home and admit I was wrong. So... since I was already here, I figured I might as well stay and be a humble servant." Noah lowered his head slightly, his voice tinged with dejection.

"A rebellious youth," Su Yaoyao said, looking Noah up and down with a teasing tone.

Noah gave her a playful smile, as if trying to hide his nervousness.

"So, are you going to keep up the act?" Su Yaoyao’s voice suddenly turned cold, her gaze fixed on Noah as if to see right through him.

The smile on Noah’s face froze, and his once-lively eyes grew flustered.

"The two of you are playing good cop, bad cop. Using both hard and soft tactics... your goal is the same. You just want to test whether or not I can use the Spiritual Link." Su Yaoyao’s voice was laced with weariness as she looked straight into Noah’s eyes, not flinching for a second.

"Sister, what on earth are you talking about? I don’t understand," Noah said, trying to feign composure, but his eyes started to dart away, unable to meet Su Yaoyao’s gaze.

"You deliberately acted weak to gain my sympathy, but you still have the fresh scent of a bath on you. You’ve definitely been outside.

"And just now, when you spoke about Mingye, your tone was far too calm. He was the one who beat you, who injected you with the Frenzy Agent. You should hate him for that, shouldn’t you?"

Su Yaoyao spoke deliberately, each word like a sharp blade piercing straight through Noah’s disguise.

Noah fell silent. The air seemed to freeze, and a tense, oppressive atmosphere filled the birdcage.

After a long pause, he finally spoke. "Hah. When did you figure it out?" Noah’s voice had dropped low, his smile turning sinister. He seemed like a completely different person from the innocent, cute boy he was before.

"From the moment you urged me to comfort you," Su Yaoyao said, meeting his gaze fearlessly, her voice firm.

Noah nodded slowly. It seemed his acting had been a bit lacking.

"Exposing me does you no good. It just means you’ll be facing two villains now. And... you won’t want to see what I’m capable of." Noah leaned toward Su Yaoyao, a cruel, chilling smile on his face.

"But it’s a shame. You didn’t give me what I wanted when I was being good, so you can’t blame me for this." Noah’s voice was bone-chilling, without a trace of warmth.

The moment he finished speaking, his hand shot out like lightning and clamped around Su Yaoyao’s neck. His strength was astonishing, far beyond what a child should possess.

Su Yaoyao struggled, a stubborn defiance in her eyes as she met Noah’s gaze without flinching.

"Mingye still needs me. You can’t kill me."

She struggled to force the words out, her voice raspy and breathless from his grip on her throat.

She tried to use Mingye to intimidate Noah, searching for a glimmer of hope in this desperate situation.

"Who said I was going to kill you?" Noah replied coldly, his smile growing even more sinister.

At some point, Noah’s other hand had produced a vial of purple reagent.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he skillfully plunged the needle into the back of Su Yaoyao’s neck, injecting the entire dose into her body.

"What did you inject me with?" Su Yaoyao’s eyes widened in terror as a powerful sense of dread washed over her.

She could feel a strange energy spreading through her body, making her consciousness begin to blur.

Noah answered with a cold laugh, "An aphrodisiac."