Zhou Yuanqi tore his gaze away from the crystal with great difficulty, looked at Su Wan, and shook his head.
“I don't know,” he said, his voice raspy. “But I can sense that it contains a massive amount of pure energy.”
“This... is exactly what I need most to increase my strength.”
Su Wan nodded slightly.
“This is called an Energy Source Crystal. It has an extremely low probability of condensing under special environmental conditions after the death of a Mental-type Ability User of at least Level 4.”
Zhou Yuanqi's pupils contracted slightly.
“A Mental-type Ability User of Level 4 or higher... condensing after death?”
“That's right.” Su Wan spun the crystal halfway around her fingertips, the silver luster flowing between her fingers.
“This thing is extremely rare. It's a treasure you can only find by luck, not by searching.”
Zhou Yuanqi's gaze fell back onto the crystal, the longing in his eyes almost overflowing.
With her other hand, Su Wan retrieved a black, bracelet-like object from her system space.
The bracelet was pitch-black all over, its surface completely devoid of luster, resembling some kind of metal-ceramic hybrid. It lay quietly in her palm.
Zhou Yuanqi's gaze drifted from the crystal to the black bracelet.
His brow furrowed slightly.
He didn't recognize this object, but in his subconscious, he felt an inexplicable repulsion toward the bracelet.
It was a strange feeling, as if his body were issuing an instinctive warning.
“Miss Su, this is...” he asked tentatively.
Su Wan glanced at the bracelet in her hand, her tone casual.
“An energy conversion bracelet.”
Zhou Yuanqi's brow furrowed even deeper.
“An energy conversion bracelet?”
“Yes.” Su Wan looked up into his eyes, her expression earnest and open.
“Mr. Zhou, to be honest with you, although this source crystal is a good thing, if you want to obtain all of its energy, your strength... is still not enough.”
The corner of Zhou Yuanqi's mouth twitched, but he didn't refute her.
“Furthermore, you are not a Mental-type Ability User. If you were to absorb the energy inside directly, thirty percent would be the absolute limit. The remaining seventy percent would be completely wasted.”
Zhou Yuanqi's expression changed.
“Thirty percent?”
If he could only absorb thirty percent of such a precious item, it would be a crying shame!
It was an absolute waste of a heavenly treasure!
“But if you use this bracelet, the energy absorption rate can reach ninety-five percent, and it can be absorbed safely without any danger.”
Zhou Yuanqi's pupils dilated slightly.
“Ninety-five percent...”
In other words, with the same crystal, absorbing it directly would only yield thirty percent of its power, but through this bracelet, he could obtain nearly one hundred percent.
“Miss Su,” his voice sounded dry, “is what you're saying... true?”
Su Wan looked at him, her gaze candid.
“Mr. Zhou, what would I gain by lying to you? Put on the bracelet and try it for yourself, then you'll know.”
Zhou Yuanqi was incredibly tempted. He reached out, but then pulled his hand back.
A fierce battle was raging in his heart.
He wanted that crystal, he wanted that ninety-five percent absorption rate, and he wanted to break through his bottleneck and escape his fate of being the lowest-ranked Abyss Seat.
But this bracelet...
That inexplicable sense of repulsion made him hesitate to reach out.
Su Wan saw his hesitation, and the curve of her lips faded slightly.
She took out another item from her system space.
It was a thumbnail-sized crystal core, completely transparent, with a faint blue light flowing inside.
Although its energy fluctuations could not compare to the source crystal, it was still pure and dense, something extremely rare on Blue Star.
This was a Level 2 Energy Crystal Core she had exchanged from the system using Points.
“Mr. Zhou,” Su Wan twirled the crystal core between her fingertips.
“Since you're not at ease, how about this: you try it with this energy crystal core first.”
Zhou Yuanqi's eyes suddenly widened.
“An energy crystal core?”
Su Wan didn't answer, casually tossing it over.
The Level 2 Energy Crystal Core traced an arc through the air, landing steadily toward Zhou Yuanqi.
Almost instinctively, Zhou Yuanqi reached out and caught the crystal core.
The moment the crystal core landed in his hand, he sensed the pure energy contained within.
Although it fell far short of the source crystal, it was still something he had never seen before on Blue Star!
His fingers trembled slightly as he looked up at Su Wan in disbelief.
The expression on his face clearly asked:
Why are you willing to give me something so precious?
Su Wan smiled disdainfully at his flattered look.
“Mr. Zhou, you don't need to be so surprised.”
Her tone was casual, carrying the nonchalance of someone who was thoroughly accustomed to fine things.
“I have plenty more of these energy crystal cores.”
Zhou Yuanqi's pupils contracted sharply.
“The reason my strength was able to increase so quickly is precisely because of these things.”
Su Wan's voice was unhurried, as if she were speaking of the most ordinary matter.
“However, the source of these crystal cores is the true secret. I cannot tell you just yet.”
She paused, looking at Zhou Yuanqi.
“But I can tell you that the energy conversion efficiency of this crystal core is exactly as I described earlier: absorb it directly, and you get thirty percent at most; use the bracelet, and you can reach ninety-five percent.”
She tossed the black bracelet in her hand toward Zhou Yuanqi as well.
“If you don't believe me, try it.”
Zhou Yuanqi caught the bracelet and looked down at the black, ring-like object in his palm.
He hesitated, but still chose not to put the bracelet on.
First, he gripped the Level 2 Energy Crystal Core in his palm, circulating the energy within his body to begin absorbing it.
The energy within the crystal core entered his body like a trickling stream, but at the same time, he also noticed a massive amount of energy dissipating!
Zhou Yuanqi was greatly alarmed. Unwilling to waste such a precious resource, he immediately stopped the absorption.
Su Wan watched Zhou Yuanqi's tense expression, the corners of her mouth slowly curving upward.
“Mr. Zhou, I'm sure you've already felt it. Now, why don't you try putting on the bracelet?”
Zhou Yuanqi looked down at the black bracelet in his hand.
His desire for increased strength and his greed for the source crystal urged him to put the bracelet on, yet the deep-seated unease in his heart kept him from making up his mind.
Su Wan watched the bracelet in Zhou Yuanqi's palm, her eyes flickering slightly.
Indeed, this bracelet was actually a Slavery Collar.
However, she had had the system modify its appearance.
Tricking Zhou Yuanqi into putting on a collar himself was highly unlikely to succeed.
After all, getting a fifty-something-year-old man to wear a collar was not something he would easily accept.
But if it were a bracelet, it would be far more palatable...
The main reason Su Wan did not want to subdue Zhou Yuanqi by force was her concern that the commotion of a fight would be too loud and attract the attention of others.
Su Wan had not forgotten that besides Yuansou, there was also the Special Abnormal Affairs Bureau in China.
She also had no idea if there were other hidden organizations besides these two groups of Ability Users.
Rate on N.U.
