At that moment, Jiang Zheyu truly and deeply understood the saying that in this interstellar society, a female’s Spiritual Power Level determined her social status.

In other words, the ability to purify Beastification Value was what truly determined one’s status.

That was why after the original protagonist, Bai Ruo, developed the reagent for purifying Beastification Value, she shot up from the slums to become the most valuable female in the entire interstellar space. Her status skyrocketed, and everyone fought to have her.

’It should be happening soon,’ she calculated.

After finishing Su Yan’s purification, Jiang Zheyu still had daily purification tasks to attend to.

She planned to continue healing the fifteen families she had visited, but she would still do so under the guise of the person in black.

’Thinking about it, I need to perform purifications every day. If I become a Princess, the Imperial Family will provide purification resources.’

In other words, Beastmen with high Beastification Values, provided by the Imperial Family.

’Then I wouldn’t have to search for resources on my own like this.’

’Although becoming a Princess comes with the risk of everyone fighting over me, there are rewards to be had along with the dangers.’

Jiang Zheyu opened a message on her Light Brain. The Beast Father of the sika deer Beastman she had purified yesterday had sent a message asking for two million. She had transferred the money yesterday, but then those two million had reappeared in the virtual account provided by her system.

In essence, the two million she had paid out had come right back to her.

It was as if she had performed the Spiritual Comfort on the sika deer Beastman for free.

Because of who she was, she felt a sense of guilt toward them and believed she shouldn’t be charging money at all.

But today, the Old Beastman had sent her another message.

Sika Deer Family: "Honorable female, my son’s follow-up treatment will cost one million. Could I trouble you to transfer the funds?"

Jiang Zheyu paused when she saw the message. She was willing to pay compensation, but she wasn’t willing to be a patsy.

She replied, "Could you please show me the invoice? The Empire only requires me to cover your family’s medical expenses and your retirement costs. I will not pay for any other expenses."

The Old Beastman didn’t send an invoice.

Sika Deer Family: "Honorable female, I was hoping to get an advance for next year’s medical and retirement expenses. That way, we won’t have to bother you for money every time a treatment is needed."

Jiang Zheyu paused when she read that. One million for a year was acceptable, so she transferred the money.

The moment she sent the funds, she saw an extra one million appear in her system’s virtual account—sent from the Old Beastman.

Jiang Zheyu: ...

「In a cramped, humble house in the outer city.」

A man asked softly, "Did you transfer it?"

"Yes, yes, I did." After sending the money, the Old Beastman looked up at Lai Ka, who had already recovered.

Thanks to that person in black, not only had Lai Ka’s spiritual power been restored, but his Beastification Value had also dropped to zero. Even his legs, which had gone numb from the spiritual trauma, were now healed!

Lai Ka would no longer have to suffer the torment of severe spiritual trauma. He was a normal Beastman again.

Lai Ka moved his legs, which felt as nimble as if they had never been injured.

He was in a daze. He had been at a dead end, ready to die, only to wake up and find all his pain erased. The dark, agonizing memories felt like a wisp of yesterday’s smoke—ethereal, yet unforgettable...

A tear fell, spreading into a dark spot on his trousers.

"If I ever get the chance, I really want to thank them..."

’Even if they only did it for the money.’

Jiang Zheyu had her system return the one million and then set up a new virtual account for receiving payments. That way, the old account would be unusable, and the Old Beastman wouldn’t be able to send her money anymore.

"System, can you spoof my Light Brain’s location to show I’m at the villa?" Jiang Zheyu suddenly asked.

The system replied, "Yes, I can."

"Then can you also notify me when Su Yan returns?"

"Can’t do, sweetie."

"Then can you instantly teleport me back to the villa?"

"Can’t do, sweetie."

Jiang Zheyu: ...

It was fine, though. Jiang Zheyu just didn’t want Su Yan to find out too soon that she was going to the outer city to purify Beastmen. She was afraid he would worry and forbid her from going. If he did find out, however, she would come clean.

Out of the fifteen families, the Beastmen tormented by Bai Ruo in ten of those families had already died, leaving only the old and the young behind.

So, Jiang Zheyu only needed to visit five families. The Beastmen in those five households were still alive, but they were not in good shape, mentally or physically. She planned to heal the spiritual bodies of these five Beastmen and purify their Beastification Value.

The sika deer’s family was one.

The others were the White Rabbit’s family, the tabby cat’s family, the elk’s family, and the dragonfly’s family.

This revealed Bai Ruo’s preferences—she liked small, cute, and pretty animals.

It was understandable, though. Most females liked small, fluffy pets.

The second family Jiang Zheyu planned to visit was the White Rabbit’s.

However, before she could leave, she once again sensed that prying spiritual power.

A chill instantly ran down Jiang Zheyu’s spine.

She had been about to step outside, but she slowly changed direction and headed back into the villa.

The moment she was inside, the prying spiritual power vanished.

The villa had advanced defensive systems, and the Beastman probably didn’t want to be discovered.

’Thinking about it,’ Jiang Zheyu suspected her stalker might have been following her all day. They probably hadn’t used that cloying spiritual power on her earlier because other Beastmen were around.

The thought of being constantly followed made her skin crawl.

Jiang Zheyu walked into the living room and quickly called out, "Xiaoyi, Xiaoyi! Please pull up all the surveillance footage from around the villa for the last twenty-four hours."

"Of course, Master Yu Yu," Xiaoyi replied.

So, Jiang Zheyu sat on the sofa and watched the fifty camera feeds displayed before her. She focused on the ones near the main entrance, since that was where she had sensed the spiritual power both on her way out and on her return.

’That person must think my Spiritual Power Level is low to dare use such a cloying spiritual power on me.’

Little did they know, Jiang Zheyu had detected their prying spiritual power immediately.

’Just who is following me?’

Jiang Zheyu stared at the monitors without blinking. Finally, she had Xiaoyi pause on a suspicious male figure from that morning.

In the morning, after Su Yan had left, a man in a black-and-white sanitation worker’s uniform stopped by the villa’s trash cans with a pedal-powered collection cart.

The man wore a plain black baseball cap, its brim pulled down so low that only the silver-gray hair at the nape of his neck was visible. He wore a black face mask, completely obscuring his features as he approached the trash cans outside the villa and began to collect the garbage.

He loaded all the trash onto his cart but singled out one black bag and opened it. Upon seeing its contents, he seemed to choke for a second. He pulled off his plastic gloves, revealing a surprisingly handsome hand beneath—slender, with well-defined knuckles and faint blue veins visible under pale skin. A closer look revealed fine, red scars on his fingers. Then, as if unable to restrain himself, the man used those fingers to fish a pair of pink panties out of the black trash bag...