Xiao Si Nuo noticed that Xu Chuyao had stopped talking, and her expression had subtly changed. He couldn’t help but cautiously ask:
“Did something unexpected happen?”
“No, just some personal stuff.”
Xu Chuyao put away her phone, unable to figure out what her girlfriend was thinking. Why would she randomly send R18 doujinshi in broad daylight?
Not knowing if Chuyao was very busy, there was no reply.
“Continue,” she said as she sat down in a chair. “Wen Fang is similar to Professor Swina, but also not quite the same. She’s a member of that evil organization, but her strength isn’t as strong as Swina’s, her status not as high, so naturally, her abilities don’t compare.”
“…Sounds like a good thing?” Xiao Si Nuo said.
“Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. For us right now, it’s definitely not.”
Simply put, Swina is stronger and holds a higher position, but because of that, he has to exert more initiative and do more things. The more you do, the easier it is to make mistakes and get exposed.
Wen Fang, on the other hand, is positioned at the very bottom of the Supreme Society, basically the same as Benjette—just planted a nail there and waiting for the right moment to explode. But that’s the problem. Before the nail blows up, she hasn’t really done anything bad, so it’s hard to find any cracks.
“So your main focus is to create a motive for her joining the evil organization based on her background, then we go to Twin Star Town and scare her into revealing herself. Done. Got it?”
Xiao Si Nuo nodded absentmindedly. “I understand, but it’s a bit hard to believe. It’s really that simple?”
Xu Chuyao patted his shoulder softly and said quietly, “That’s one of the truths in the Spirit Power era — as long as you can win, everything becomes simple.”
The reason Swina’s case was so troublesome before was simply because they couldn’t beat him and had to convince Long Jun to send two powerful bodyguards. Now Wen Fang isn’t that strong; Chuyao and Shen Ning can try fighting her themselves, so it’s very straightforward.
“Of course, our main mission for this business trip is the Soulstone experiment. Don’t forget that. Catching a mole is just a side task.”
After giving her instructions, Xu Chuyao left the Special Intelligence Team’s activity room and looked up at the mysteriously shifting clouds in the sky.
Long Jun told her that Monrose’s new Soulstone project had started. She didn’t know how far they would progress in the next few days, but she couldn’t fall behind.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed again.
[Shen Ning: Did you read the comic I just sent?]
[Chuyao: ?]
[Chuyao: I’m still immortal.]
[Shen Ning: Read it as soon as you’re done.]
Looking at the new message from her girlfriend, Xu Chuyao couldn’t help but reply with three words: [What is this]
Sending doujinshi was already strange, but now she was urging her to read it?
[Shen Ning: I want to discuss the plot with you.]
“Awesome, Ning,” Chuyao muttered.
In the girls’ dormitory, in one person’s room, the Suppressed Shadow hung on the wall, giving a thumbs-up to the girl.
“I thought you were just zoning out sitting there all the time, didn’t expect you even prepared a reasonable excuse. There’s subtlety in your bluntness.”
Broken Shadow shook its head. “I don’t think Chuyao would be fooled by such an obvious excuse.”
Milky Ning Reflection pulled out a small mirror from under her skirt, touching up her makeup as she said, “But Chuyao did say she likes watching girls fight on the bed.”
“…Then it’s just her wanting to watch, not being fooled,” Broken Shadow said, turning away bashfully.
Only Shen Ning herself was silent, scrolling through her phone app, filtering high-quality comics to send to her girlfriend.
Does a laboratory have to have a lab…?
Maybe not. Maybe for certain special research, any place could be a lab.
A heavy helicopter landed on the newly repaired helipad. An elderly man with a completely bald head but a spirited demeanor stepped down. His age didn’t look that old, but early hair loss gave a sense of time’s passage.
“Mr. Balf, we’ve been waiting a long time,” a man outside the helipad greeted him. “Please follow me.”
Bald Balf was somewhat emotional, never expecting that after decades as a low-tier Second Rank, today he would be shown such respect by a Third Rank.
But sentiment aside, he still had some questions. “Why build the research institute in a place like this?”
The island in southern Indonesia where they stood was barren and poor, except for the magnificent research institute. Describing the place as a desolate and harsh mountain area was no exaggeration.
More importantly, a few dozen kilometers further south lay humanity’s equatorial defense line. The advantage was that if anything happened at the institute, they could urgently request aid from the stationed troops at the line.
The bad news was, if the defense line had problems, the institute would suffer as well.
“Among the partners, some strongly recommended this place, and the others had no objections, so it was decided,” the man who accompanied him replied.
Balf stood on a slightly elevated platform and gazed southward. The raging waves occasionally swallowed the horizon, blocking any prying eyes.
“What is it?” the man asked.
“It’s the first time I’ve stood this close,” Balf said, pointing at the southern horizon. “Back then, when the summons lacked Spirit Power, humans couldn’t conquer the natural world’s creatures. That place’s former name was Australia.”
Beyond the sea lay the enemy.
He spoke with deep emotion, but the man guiding him no longer wished to discuss it.
“Mr. Balf, Lord Salir pulled you out for a reason, not to make you muse on humans and nature. Please hurry and catch up.”
Salir was Monrose’s surname.
Although the man still politely used “please,” his expression had darkened.
Balf didn’t dare speak more and hurriedly put on his hat, following along. He knew clearly that a Second Rank in front of a Third Rank should be this humble. The initial courtesy was just for appearances.
Being a millennia-old Second Rank, no matter how high his peak, he could never cross into the Third Rank realm and would be erased before Elementalization. Helpless, he devoted himself to researching Second Rank power, trying to make up for his incomplete strength.
That’s how the Hypnosis Flow was developed — exploiting Spirit Power’s characteristics to invade nerves and interfere with the brain, including but not limited to hypnosis and spiritual suggestions.
It seemed useful, but the only problem was it only worked well on ordinary people; any Spirit Power effect severely weakened it.
“You must have heard of the Erjiu Gang’s device,” the man in front said, “If it weren’t for Lord Salir’s help, you’d probably be stuck in a small town for the rest of your life.”
Balf’s face was bitter.
The Clown Gang had nothing to do with him, but during the first commercial attack, the black-hooded woman on the outside used his invented method to hypnotize the driver and prevent him from sending signals.
“Can I ask what Lord Salir wants me to do?”
“Very simple.”
The man placed his hand on the scanner at the entrance, watching the gates open to both sides.
“We’re going to have a lot of ordinary people here. You only need to plant a mental suggestion in them so that no matter what situation they’re in, they maintain a heart that constantly seeks forward.”
[Chuyao: I think it’s okay, although the teammate’s coldness is illogical, the revenge part is pretty satisfying.]
[Shen Ning: How about the action scenes?]
Looking at the new message from her girlfriend, Xu Chuyao felt a huge doubt just from a few short words.
After thinking for a while, she sent a question mark back.
Chuyao is the princess of Hangtou, so why ask her such a thing?
[Shen Ning: I just want to hear your opinion, which parts are good, which aren’t, so I can try next time.]
“Impressive, sis. You can come up with reasons like this.”
Suppressed Shadow nodded solemnly, analyzing the subtlety of that sentence for the gang sisters: “When you say it like that, regardless of whether Chuyao is willing, her mind will subconsciously picture the scene and empathize with it. The body has memory and will involuntarily recall it. Even if she…”
[Chuyao: You better not try it. Comics are fake and don’t match human ergonomics.]
“See, as I said, even if Chuyao verbally objects, her body has already felt it. The credit accumulates bit by bit.”
Shen Ning didn’t dare respond.
Because she hadn’t really thought that deeply, she was just looking for a plausible excuse.
[Shen Ning: Then check this one out. (Sent file)]
This time’s doujinshi was suspense-themed and actually had some room for discussion.
True to the no-spoil principle, Xu Chuyao skimmed what her girlfriend sent and, sure enough, half an hour later, her girlfriend sent another message discussing the plot.
Chatting aimlessly, since there was nothing better to do.
Just like that, one or two days passed. That morning, just waking up, Chuyao saw the unread message notification on her phone screen and wasn’t surprised because she had received a new doujinshi last night again.
Wondering what her girlfriend wanted to talk about today.
A few minutes later, when Mi Xiaolu woke from sleep, she saw her red-blanketed roommate and was very puzzled.
“Xu Chuyao, what’s wrong with you?”
“I’m about to get mad at Shen Ning,” the thunderous girl said angrily. “A few days ago, she suddenly started sending me weird comics and then discussing the plot with me.”
“So what happened?”
“Day one, we discussed revenge plots, analyzed murderers, and pondered logical mazes. Day two, we explored the source of life and had philosophical debates. Day three, that is, today…”
Xu Chuyao raised her hand, pointing at the phone screen:
“She asked me if it’s ‘kou’ or not?”