Zhou Yuanqi's gaze landed on Su Wan's face, his eyes swirling with far too many emotions.
“A Level 4 Ability User who appeared out of thin air, with no background and no records whatsoever.”
“This proves you must possess some secret that allows an Ability User to rapidly increase their strength!”
“That is what I want.”
He paused, lowering his voice even further, his tone carrying an almost pleading quality.
“Miss Su, I won't beat around the bush with you.”
“If we were to truly fight, I would be no match for you.”
“I don't want to make an enemy of you either. I only want to know... how on earth did you do it?”
“How did you go from an ordinary person to a Level 4 Mid Stage expert in just a few short months?”
“This is extremely important to me.”
His eyes were locked onto Su Wan's face, as if waiting for an answer that could alter his destiny.
“As long as you tell me this secret, I will help you conceal your identity and keep the organization in the dark.”
“From now on, I will inform you in advance of all Yuansou's operations in Jiangcheng.”
“I can even...”
He gritted his teeth, looking as though he was making a momentous decision.
“If necessary, I can provide cover for you within the organization.”
Su Wan looked at him, her gaze calm.
She realized her initial judgment had been correct.
This man, Zhou Yuanqi, possessed a thirst for power that far exceeded her expectations of Yuansou's members.
This desire had already overridden his loyalty to the organization.
When a person stayed in a certain position for too long without ever being able to take a step forward, that anxiety, that resentment, and that desire which threatened to consume him...
...was enough to make them do anything.
“Mr. Zhou,” Su Wan spoke, her voice still very soft.
“You are one of Yuansou's Abyss Seats.”
“Are you truly willing to betray your organization just to become stronger?”
Zhou Yuanqi fell silent.
He did not answer immediately, a fierce struggle churning in the depths of his eyes.
He remained quiet for a long time before finally speaking.
“The rules within Yuansou are... extremely strict and cannot be easily violated.”
“Without sufficient strength, I wouldn't dare, nor do I have the ability, to betray them...”
“But now, my thirst for power has surpassed my loyalty to the organization.”
He looked up, meeting Su Wan's eyes.
“Miss Su, I sincerely want to make a deal with you.”
“You tell me the secret to becoming stronger, and I will trade my resources, my identity, and my position within Yuansou in exchange.”
“This is not a losing deal for you.”
Su Wan nodded slightly.
“Mr. Zhou, do you truly want to make a deal with me?”
Zhou Yuanqi nodded, his gaze resolute.
“Miss Su, I won't beat around the bush with you.”
“As long as you tell me the method to grow stronger, I, Zhou Yuanqi, swear upon my name as an Abyss Seat that I will grant you every possible convenience within the scope of my authority and duties.”
“You should know that within Yuansou, strength is always the prerequisite that decides everything.”
His voice dropped lower, carrying a longing that had been suppressed for far too long.
“As long as I am strong enough—so strong that no one in all of Yuansou can match me—I will have the final say over everything.”
“When that time comes, I can give you whatever you want.”
Su Wan watched him, falling silent for two seconds.
“Very well! Then let me ask you: what exactly is the Guixu Project?”
Zhou Yuanqi was stunned. He hadn't expected Su Wan to actually know about the Guixu Project.
His expression froze visibly for an instant, his lips twitching slightly as if he were carefully weighing his words.
“Miss Su,” his voice sounded somewhat raspy, “this is the most core secret of Yuansou in recent years.”
“I...”
“You can't say it?” Su Wan finished the sentence for him.
Zhou Yuanqi did not deny it.
Su Wan's gaze sharpened, a layer of coldness entering her voice.
“I've been wondering what kind of project could possibly make you care so much about my Su family's land...”
“I want to know what on earth could destroy my family, cause my parents' mysterious deaths, and land my brother in prison under false accusations!”
Her voice wasn't loud, yet it carried the anger and hatred she had suppressed for so long.
Zhou Yuanqi remained silent, because he didn't know what to say.
He stood there, staring at Su Wan, his lips pressed into a tight line.
He knew of Su Wan's hatred and the Su family's blood debt.
If it were him, he wouldn't forgive either.
But he had no right to apologize on behalf of Yuansou, nor did he have the right to ask Su Wan to let it go.
He could only listen in silence.
Su Wan took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent emotions rising within her.
“Mr. Zhou, didn't you want to know the opportunity that allowed me to grow stronger?”
Zhou Yuanqi's eyes suddenly lit up.
Su Wan raised her hand and pointed toward the rubble.
“I can tell you that the opportunity... lies right here.”
“The anchor point that Yuansou has been searching for...”
Zhou Yuanqi followed her finger to look at the ruins, his pupils contracting slightly.
“The anchor point...” His voice tightened. “You actually know about the anchor point?”
Su Wan did not answer.
Zhou Yuanqi's heart skipped a beat as his gaze swept back and forth across the rubble.
The anchor point...
It was the connection point between Blue Star and another plane, the place where energy was the most dense and active!
What the organization had been searching for all this time was indeed the anchor point.
He was one of Yuansou's Abyss Seats, so it wasn't strange at all for him to know about the anchor point.
But how did Su Wan know about this?
Zhou Yuanqi suppressed the doubts in his heart.
“Miss Su,” he turned back, his eyes locked onto her face, a hint of urgency creeping into his tone,
“could you explain in more detail? What exactly is inside the anchor point? How did you use it to increase your strength?”
Su Wan looked at him, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly.
“Mr. Zhou, a deal requires fairness.”
“You want to know the method to become stronger, and I want to know the truth behind the Guixu Project.”
“Trading the truth for the method is very fair.”
She paused.
“If you agree, the deal is made. If you don't, then we can act as if nothing happened tonight.”
Zhou Yuanqi's expression was conflicted, a fierce internal battle clearly raging inside him.
Watching Zhou Yuanqi struggle, Su Wan decided to add fuel to the fire.
With a flick of her wrist, the silver Energy Source Crystal appeared in her palm.
Under the moonlight, a faint silver luster flowed across the crystal's surface. It lay quietly in her palm like a miniature star.
Zhou Yuanqi's breathing suddenly quickened.
His gaze locked onto the crystal. His pupils dilated, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his fingers clenched and unclenched involuntarily.
Being so close, he could perceive the pure, almost primordial energy fluctuations with absolute clarity.
This was the opportunity that could allow him to break through his bottleneck, shatter his shackles, and rid himself of the shameful label of being the “lowest-ranked Abyss Seat”!
“Mr. Zhou,” Su Wan's voice was calm and unhurried,
“do you know what this is?”
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