Page 24

Sure enough, Qi Heqian grew no more suspicious of him. He chuckled and said, "She's doing great, lively as ever. Before I came to the Evil Tower, she even went on a few missions with me to clear out 'devils.'"

Xu Qingran: ?

Had the cats in this world evolved enough to fight alien monsters?

"...I heard all about what happened a while back," Qi Heqian suddenly said. "I told you years ago that Lu Cheng was no good, but you insisted on throwing yourself at him."

At the mention of Lu Cheng, his smile faded considerably, and there was even a trace of undisguised mockery in his eyes.

Xu Qingran nodded in agreement. "You're right, so I came to my senses."

But given how desperately the original owner had loved Lu Cheng in the past, Qi Heqian clearly didn't take him seriously. His expression turned solemn again as he said, "Actually, I applied for a transfer to the Evil Tower under the pretext of studying and observing, mainly to investigate something."

After a pause, he added, "It has to do with the truth behind your mother's death."

Xu Qingran's biological mother was named Qi Shengxue, the only daughter of the head of the Qi Family. She had grown up doted on by everyone, and was kind, friendly, and courteous. She had even earned a doctorate at a young age and become a member of the empire's soul research team.

She had passed away when Xu Qingran was around seven. The story was that she had suffered from severe depression and eventually taken her own life at home. But Qi Heqian had met her as a child, and although they hadn't spent much time together, her manner of speaking and attitude toward life had shown him that she was an optimistic, driven young woman.

No matter how severe a setback she faced, she knew how to keep herself mentally balanced and put her career and child first.

She had adored Xu Qingran so much. How could she have abandoned him to face the rest of his life alone while he was still so young, especially when she already knew her husband had someone else?

Qi Shengxue was an important benefactor who had saved his life. He suspected something was amiss, so over the years he had looked for opportunities to investigate in secret.

"Later, during my investigation, I found a psychiatric patient who'd been brought to the Evil Tower. He used to work for one of your father's subsidiaries. A few days ago, I confronted him with a photo of your mother, and he finally admitted that your stepmother and father had indeed put him up to it back then."

Xu Qingran remembered something and asked hesitantly, "That psychiatric patient you mentioned—is he a man?"

"Yes."

He asked again, "...Bald on top?"

Qi Heqian was surprised. "You've met him?"

Xu Qingran fell silent.

No wonder the man had reacted so strongly when he saw him.

In a way, that kind of coincidence really was pretty uncanny.

Qi Heqian's communicator suddenly rang. He cut it off and said apologetically, "I have to go."

"In any case, watch out for your family, especially your stepmother. The reason your aptitude is so poor is that she used her younger sister to repeatedly drug your mother while she was pregnant with you. Your Spiritual Pool was severely damaged before you were even born, and you'd never be able to develop normally like other children."

"She also caused your mother's health to become so poor afterward that she fell ill every few days and eventually even lost her job."

Xu Qingran bit into his bread, lost in thought.

Who would have thought that the stepmother who seemed the kindest and easiest to get along with in the whole family would turn out to be the most ruthless?

Very nice.

Since she was an enemy, he could be even less restrained when he made his move in the future.

After Xu Qingran thanked Qi Heqian, he jogged away.

Just as Xu Qingran finished his bread, the old man next door, who looked for his wife every day, suddenly squatted beside the bars separating their cells and called out to him several times.

Then he asked cautiously, "Kid, have you seen my wife?"

Before coming in, Xu Qingran had made a point of looking over his neighbors' information and remembered that the old gentleman was a Type E. But the edge of a Type E was long gone from him. His eyes were cloudy, and only brightened slightly when he mentioned his wife.

"My wife is beautiful. I love her blue eyes most of all—they look just like the sea!"

As Xu Qingran listened, he suddenly thought of his examiner and couldn't help laughing.

"Then I probably have seen him. He's the one who threw me into this damned place."

After hearing that, the old man gave a haughty snort. "You're lying. My wife has been gone for a long time."

Then his eyes filled with tears. "My wife is dead... She's dead..."

Muttering as he went, he walked away dejectedly and squatted in a corner, his shriveled lips moving as he murmured to himself.

"If only I'd listened to them back then... Boo-hoo... Wife, what am I supposed to do without you..."

Xu Qingran stood by the cell door, head lowered, and silently finished the bread Qi Heqian had given him.

Then he added, "If you don't shut up, you'll be dead soon too."

The old man: "..."

He raised a wrinkled hand and covered his mouth.

It was quiet for once today.

During the time Xu Qingran enjoyed his luxurious single cell, he was always taken out during the day to join the people from Tower 5 in listening to counseling from professional psychologists, taking part in little interactive activities, and doing work supposedly meant to train their patience and endurance. The people from Tower 5 had to do the physical labor too, but his workload and its difficulty were twice theirs.

At first he was a little resentful, but once he got started, he discovered it was a perfect opportunity to exercise.

Thanks to the Evil Tower for the free special training.

He hadn't seen the youth who had caused trouble in the cafeteria again these past few days.

Apparently, the youth had been given another lash for wasting food that day and still couldn't get out of bed.

More than ten days after entering the Evil Tower, they faced their first assessment.

The assessment categories included, but were not limited to, extremism and dangerousness, empathy, pessimism, tendencies toward self-harm and violence, emotional instability, and irritability. Anyone who scored well in every area and had behaved properly during their time in the Evil Tower would be deemed non-dangerous and could leave soon.