"My spiritual power is fine." Si Yu looked at Tan Yue, the corner of his lip with its stud curling into a smirk. "But you’re the one who’s sick in the head. You really do need to go see someone."

The jab was a double entendre, alluding not only to the slight trauma his spiritual power had sustained but also to the fact that he was, as a person, genuinely sick in the head.

Hearing this pointed remark, the lazy smile on Tan Yue’s face almost faltered. A vein seemed to throb on his forehead as he asked again, his voice cold, "So, are you in or not? Give me a straight answer."

"Why wouldn’t I be?" Si Yu arched a sharp eyebrow. "How could I not get a piece of a good thing like this?"

"Fine." Hearing him agree, Tan Yue seemed to find the situation amusing. "Are you going to go snatch that Beastman yourself?"

Si Yu laced his fingers together and rested them on his crossed knees. He spoke slowly, "It’s just one Beastman. I’m not so desperately bored that I’d go catch someone myself, unlike you."

"You really are getting more and more boring. Where’d that crazy streak from decades ago go?" Tan Yue gave Si Yu a look of utter boredom. "Don’t you get tired of sitting behind the scenes all day? You’ve got to go out and kill some Beastmen once in a while. I really can’t sit still for a second." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"I’ll send some people your way when the time comes." Si Yu’s expression remained neutral. "You can court death however you please."

"Hah, you’re really becoming more and more of a coward." Tan Yue tugged at the corner of his lip, bored. "Your body’s already failing you at just over a hundred years old?"

Just as he was about to say more, his Light Brain chimed. He slowly raised his wrist to glance at it, then raised an eyebrow and gave Si Yu another strange look.

Si Yu arched an eyebrow. "What?"

The Bone Nail in his brow seemed to exude its own arrogant contempt.

"I heard today’s press conference was supposed to announce both a female with A+ Spiritual Power and the Beastman who discovered how to purify Beastification Value. But the conference ended up being just a solo show for that researcher." Tan Yue looked at Si Yu with great interest. "The female vanished backstage at the conference. What a coincidence. You just happened to capture a female yourself... Don’t tell me she’s that A+ Spiritual Power female, is she?"

Si Yu simply watched him, a faint, unreadable smile in his eyes, and said nothing.

But who was Tan Yue? He was a maniac of a Star Thief who lived to court death.

"You sure move fast. Your intel is so good, why didn’t you give me a heads-up?" Tan Yue grinned, revealing a set of perfectly straight, white teeth, his pink eyes alight with malicious glee. "What’s it like to play with a female with A+ Level spiritual power? When you’re done with her, I’ll send you a shipment of hot new military hardware. You can lend me that female to play with for a few days in return."

In an instant, Tan Yue’s spiritual power was attacked. A piercing pain shot through his head, and his entire body froze on the spot. The triumphant smile on his face was instantly locked in place.

"I don’t like to share." The smile on Si Yu’s face faded, replaced by a dark, inexplicable viciousness. "If you dare lay a hand on what’s mine, I won’t hesitate to blow your head to pieces."

The tall man slowly rose to his feet and walked toward the door. As he passed Tan Yue, his long fingers pressed lightly on his shoulder, and he added softly, "If there’s nothing else, hurry up and get your reeking fox stench off my Starship."

Si Yu left the guest room.

Tan Yue’s body slowly regained its mobility, but the lingering pain from the spiritual power attack still throbbed in his mind.

He was seething, his shoulders trembling and twitching spasmatically. A hoarse, crazed laugh escaped his lips.

His pink eyes were filled with a grim, murderous intent.

’Before his spiritual power was damaged, Si Yu would have never had the chance to attack him while his guard was fully up.’

’Hah, that disgusting lizard.’

’So what if she’s an A+ Level female? As if I’ve never played with one before.’

’Years ago, when I kidnapped the Little Princess of the Empire, I already had my fun with her.’

’Other than the fact that she purified my Beastification Value a bit faster, what’s the difference?’

With a dark, murderous expression, Tan Yue left Si Yu’s Starship.

’If he ever got the chance, he would definitely kill Si Yu.’

"Host, there are twenty minutes until midnight," the System’s mechanical voice sounded in Jiang Zheyu’s ear. "Your evolution task for today is not yet complete."

Jiang Zheyu: "..."

’She didn’t need the System to remind her that today’s evolution task wasn’t done yet.’

’She’d only learned from the System that she had fainted this morning and appeared on the Starship in the afternoon.’

’She had originally planned to use Si Yu to complete today’s purification task.’

’But who knew that it was almost midnight, and Si Yu still hadn’t come.’

’Didn’t that guy say he would definitely come over tonight?’

’Was he trying to trick her?’

Jiang Zheyu decided she couldn’t just sit and wait. ’Since I’ve already decided to accept Si Yu, it should be perfectly natural for me to seek him out myself.’

So, Jiang Zheyu walked to the door and pulled it open again. The two tall, sturdy Beastmen standing guard outside instantly turned around, lowered their eyes, and asked, "Do you have any orders for us, female?"

Jiang Zheyu hesitated for a moment before slowly asking, "Um, where did Si Yu go? When is he coming over?"

"Apologies, we do not know the boss’s whereabouts," one of the Beastmen replied matter-of-factly.

"Then can you help me call Si Yu over?" Jiang Zheyu fidgeted with her white dress.

The two Beastmen paused, not yet answering Jiang Zheyu.

Just then, the sound of slippers slapping against the floor echoed from down the hall.

Jiang Zheyu instinctively looked toward the sound and saw Si Yu slowly approaching, his posture graceful and relaxed. He was wearing a white bathrobe and a pair of wooden sandals, his long, silver hair hanging wet and loose, with droplets of water faintly visible falling from the tips to splatter on the floor.

"Boss." The two Beastmen immediately bowed respectfully.

Si Yu’s dark green eyes landed on Jiang Zheyu. "Were you looking for me?"

As he spoke, he slowly walked closer, and Jiang Zheyu had no choice but to retreat back into the room.

Si Yu entered and casually shut the door behind him.

"Y-You took a shower?" Jiang Zheyu’s long lashes lowered slightly.

"Yes, what about it?" Si Yu strode in on his long legs and sat down naturally on the large, soft, white bed.

Jiang Zheyu’s lips moved, but no words came out. ’She remembered that in the novel, every time this man tortured and killed a Beastman, he would shower and burn incense before coming to see the heroine, to avoid frightening her with the scent of blood.’

"It’s nothing." She quickly shook her head. ’Maybe he just took a normal shower. I must have been too poisoned by the novel to think of something like that.’

"You can begin. I’m curious to see how you’re going to make me fall for you again."

Si Yu’s deep, profound gaze fell upon her.