Jiang Zheyu had just breathed a sigh of relief. ’No matter what punishment I receive next, at least it won’t be painful.’

Who would have known that in the next second, her chin would be forcefully seized and lifted.

The face that filled her vision was Si Yu’s—handsome, but with dark, terrifying eyes.

The brilliant white light shone down, casting a halo over Si Yu’s soft yet resilient hair. It also illuminated his grim and frightening face with stark clarity.

Jiang Zheyu had never seen Si Yu look so ferocious. Her heart instinctively clenched, and she trembled to her very core.

Si Yu squeezed Jiang Zheyu’s chin with brutal force, as if trying to crush the bone. But since Jiang Zheyu had already taken painkillers, she felt no pain at all. Her tea-colored eyes simply stared at him, trembling with shock.

But when Si Yu saw the terrified look in those strikingly familiar eyes, he subconsciously loosened his grip.

He noticed what he had done, and his brow, pierced with a Bone Nail, furrowed deeply again.

"Now you can talk. Where is the female I’m looking for?" Si Yu’s dark green eyes stared intently at Jiang Zheyu.

Jiang Zheyu tilted her head back, finding the white light a bit harsh. The glare reflecting off Si Yu’s Bone Nail and lip stud was so sharp it made her squint.

"I can," Jiang Zheyu’s lips moved slightly, "but you have to let me go first."

"Heh..." A cold, breathy laugh seemed to escape Si Yu’s lips. Something cold was pressed against Jiang Zheyu’s forehead. "You have one more chance. Want to bet your life on it?"

Jiang Zheyu felt the muzzle of a gun on her forehead. Her eyes widened, and her heart began to race.

She swallowed nervously.

’Wait, aren’t they supposed to use various torture methods to interrogate me?’

’I’ve already prepared the painkillers and all sorts of Detoxification Pills. I was all set to endure the punishment.’

’But now they’re not punishing me at all? They’re just going to blow my head off with a single shot?’

’He’s playing for such high stakes right from the start, betting my life.’

’Is he for real?’

"System, am I going to die?" Cold sweat beaded on Jiang Zheyu’s skin.

"Host’s novice protection period is over," the System replied helplessly. "If Host dies, you’ll really be dead."

Jiang Zheyu gritted her teeth. "What? How come I didn’t even know I had a novice protection period? You useless System!"

Just moments ago, Jiang Zheyu had been spared a lot of pain thanks to the System Mall, and she was thinking she would never curse it again. But now, she couldn’t help but call it a useless System once more.

"Host, you can buy Fake Death Pills. You’ll be fine even if a bullet goes through your head," the System suggested. "It only costs ten points."

"If I fake my death, will he desecrate my corpse? Like, break my arms and legs or something?" Jiang Zheyu was afraid she’d wake up from her faked death crippled.

"Rest assured, Host. All that damage will ultimately fall upon this Illusion Form body," the System comforted her. "When you change back to your own body later, you’ll be fine."

Jiang Zheyu took back her statement about the System being useless.

Hearing the System’s words, she hurriedly bought a Fake Death Pill.

’I’ll use the Fake Death Pill the moment the bullet enters my brain.’

She also instructed the System to wake her up once she was in a safe place after feigning death.

After hearing the System agree, Jiang Zheyu looked back at Si Yu, feeling reassured. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Alright, let’s make a bet," Jiang Zheyu said with a confident, arrogant smile.

Si Yu lowered his gaze to the Beastman’s arrogant smile, and the brow pierced with a Bone Nail twitched violently.

His heart also skipped a beat for some reason.

"I forgot to tell you," Si Yu said, his mood unreadable, before giving a malicious smile. "This gun won’t kill you if it hits your brain, but it will damage your spiritual power. And damage to one’s spiritual power is extremely painful."

Jiang Zheyu: ...

But Jiang Zheyu just smiled. ’Since all the pain will be inflicted on this Illusion Form, I have nothing to fear.’ "Go on, then. Give it a try."

Si Yu looked at her tea-colored eyes, now filled with amusement, and found the resemblance even more striking. For a moment, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Jiang Zheyu waited for a long time, but the man before her made no move. Instead, he just stared at her intently, his gaze so penetrating it felt like it was trying to pierce through her tea-colored eyes and nail down her very soul.

His stare made her scalp tingle.

"Jiang Zheyu." Si Yu suddenly said her name.

The expression on Jiang Zheyu’s face froze. ’He can’t have recognized me. He must be trying to trick me.’ Her lips twitched. "What are you talking about? That female isn’t here."

"Whether it’s you or not," Si Yu narrowed his eyes, "I’ll be the judge."

Just as Jiang Zheyu was feeling both nervous and confused, she felt a surge of spiritual power invade her Spiritual Domain Space.

She hastily raised her spiritual defense.

But the spiritual attack she expected never came. Instead, that spiritual power gently prodded her spiritual defense, sending a shiver through her.

"Yu Yu, your spiritual power." Si Yu raised an eyebrow slightly. "It went from S-Level to S+++ Level in such a short time."

"You... you..." Jiang Zheyu’s lips moved, and she continued her dry denial, "I’m not your precious Yu Yu. I’m a Male Beastman. I have a dick."

"Yu Yu, have you forgotten?" Si Yu leaned closer to her, his voice low and haunting. "Our spiritual powers have deeply merged before. I can recognize yours."

’I’m so screwed. So, so screwed.’

Jiang Zheyu had completely forgotten about that. After all, there weren’t many people whose spiritual powers had deeply merged with hers—only Su Yan and the man in front of her.

Her heart sank.

’So... so now that he’s recognized me, what do I do?’

"Yu Yu, how did you manage to disguise yourself so well?" Si Yu’s hand rested on her face, his eyes filled with curiosity. "The skin of this body doesn’t feel fake. Did someone perform surgery on you? Did they give you a new shell?"

"A Genetic Potion could also alter physical characteristics," Si Yu mused, his eyes fixed on Jiang Zheyu.

Jiang Zheyu didn’t know. All she knew was that she was done for.

"I... I’m a man now," Jiang Zheyu said tentatively. "You probably don’t like men, so can you let me go?"

"It’s fine." Si Yu caressed her cheek. "I’ll have my people research a Genetic Potion to change you back."

Jiang Zheyu was swept off her feet and into Si Yu’s arms.

"Now, it’s time we settled our score," Si Yu said, placing her on the table to sit.

Her clothes were torn open, and Jiang Zheyu scrambled to hold them together. "I... I’m a man right now!"

"So what?" Si Yu’s expression was cold. "You get to experience the sensations of being both a man and a woman, Yu Yu. Shouldn’t you be happy?"