The Second Treasure Chest Opens

Qiu Tu had put real force into it, so after only two hits, the girl cried out in pain.

She might have truly been enraged. She turned around and glared at Qiu Tu in embarrassment and fury, tears glimmering in her eyes. Her little tiger teeth bit down hard on her lip as she snarled with a fierce yet childish air, "You're finished! You're really finished!"

"I'll have my dad kill your entire family! Every last one of them!"

"I'll even scatter your ashes for you!"

Qiu Tu was so angry he laughed. He raised his hand and gave the girl's perky butt another hard slap, firing back, "What a coincidence. I have no one to worry about. My parents and relatives are all dead!"

"So don't provoke me. If you really piss me off, I'll X you first, then kill you, and run away afterward!"

"I don't care who your dad is. Even if he's the Emperor of Heaven himself, can he bring you back to life?"

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Shen Ling Shuang was dumbfounded.

She realized she had absolutely no way to deal with the tall agent before her. Soft tactics did not work, and neither did hard ones.

In the past, whenever she invoked her father's name, who wouldn't treat her with utmost respect? Yet he did not care in the slightest.

It was as though he did not belong to this world at all and had no idea what the Supreme Council Vice President of a shelter represented.

Was she really going to fall here today?

While Shen Ling Shuang was lost in Wild Guesses, Qiu Tu said nothing. The room fell silent for a time.

After a while, seeing that Shen Ling Shuang had truly quieted down, Qiu Tu subtly clenched the hand that had reddened from hitting her and said, "What? Scared now? Come on, then!"

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Shen Ling Shuang snapped back to her senses.

Tears welled in her eyes as she looked at Qiu Tu as if she were about to cry. "Agent Older Brother, I was wrong~ Don't be angry, and don't hit or scold me anymore. Ask whatever you want. I promise I'll tell the truth."

As she spoke, she pouted pitifully and fluttered her large eyes at Qiu Tu flirtatiously.

Qiu Tu was not fooled by Shen Ling Shuang's show of submission.

He still held Shen Ling Shuang firmly against the chair, placed paper and pen on her back, and said coldly, "Fine. I'll ask, and you'll answer."

"If I'm not satisfied, your punishment won't be as simple as it was just now."

Forced into such a humiliating position while being questioned, Shen Ling Shuang felt both ashamed and angry. But circumstances were stronger than she was, and she could only submit.

Thus, Qiu Tu quickly obtained a great deal of valuable intelligence from her, such as—

After Cataclysm Awakening, did everyone embark on a different cataclysm path?

Were there six such paths in total: destruction, life, mystery, immortality, order, and chaos?

Did the abilities or traits each person gained after Cataclysm Awakening correspond to their cataclysm path?

For example, one Calamity Descendant on the path of life possessed the simple trait of being able to give birth? She had ten babies in one pregnancy and gave birth to 107 children in five years?

For example, one Calamity Descendant on the path of destruction gained the ability to devour everything after Cataclysm Awakening? He could chew through soil, rubble, and even buildings?

To be honest, listening to Shen Ling Shuang's intelligence—which sounded like utter fantasy—Qiu Tu felt as though he had become Last Night's Yan Chen.

It felt like she was lying, yet everything she said was logically consistent.

It felt like she was telling the truth, yet it was far too fantastical.

Qiu Tu finally understood just how hateful "liars" were.

He gave Shen Ling Shuang, who was draped over the chair, a suspicious look before ultimately deciding to believe her for the time being.

Qiu Tu first helped her up from the chair, then dragged the table he had moved away back over. Finally, he took out a new pair of chopsticks and handed them to Shen Ling Shuang. "Eat."

Shen Ling Shuang did not take the chopsticks. As she rubbed the arm that had been painfully yanked earlier and her swollen butt, her eyes reddened and she pouted miserably. "I'm not eating. It's all cold now~"

Qiu Tu:

This girl really had a lot of demands!

Taking a deep breath and suppressing the inexplicable anger in his heart, Qiu Tu got up and called over a Qin Family servant from outside, ordering them to reheat the dishes. As for himself, he lit a cigarette and stood alone in the courtyard, smoking with a furrowed brow.

Moonlight was obscured by sparse dark clouds, leaving only a dim glimmer over the courtyard and draping the quiet grounds in a cold blue veil.

The cigarette butt in his hand flickered on and off like a lonely firefly, while Qiu Tu's thoughts were immersed in the method for brewing Cataclysm Potions that Shen Ling Shuang had just told him.

According to Shen Ling Shuang, the formula for a Cataclysm Potion was not actually complicated. One only needed to follow the Star Moon Monarch Minister ratio to create it.

Star Moon Monarch Minister referred to the different roles played by medicinal ingredients in a secret medicine formula.

Moon Herb and Star Herb referred to the two main ingredients in a secret medicine.

In a Cataclysm Potion, the Moon Herb was the primary Cataclysm Material, such as Aurora Stone. The Star Herb was the supporting ingredient that stimulated the primary Cataclysm Material's effects, usually an ordinary medicinal ingredient.

Monarch Herb and Minister Herb referred to the two auxiliary ingredients in a secret medicine.

Minister Herb was an auxiliary ingredient used to moderate the effects of the main ingredient. It was generally also an ordinary medicinal ingredient, though the required Minister Herb varied according to the effects of the main ingredient. There might be one kind, or several.

As for Monarch Herb, it was the catalyst that bound the entire secret medicine together and ensured that it functioned stably. Therefore, it needed to be a balanced, mild liquid Cataclysm Material.

As for balanced and mild liquid Cataclysm Materials, Shen Ling Shuang had given several examples. Common ones included Netherglow Insect Blood, Moonlight Tears, Ancient Tree Sap, and so on.

"Moonlight Tears."

Muttering the name of the material, Qiu Tu looked toward the treasure chest in the upper-left corner that he had received after surviving the previous crisis.

Inside the treasure chest was a bottle of sapphire-blue liquid: Moonlight Tears.

"Moonlight Tears: One of the commonly used Cataclysm Materials. Once the other Cataclysm Materials are gathered, they can be used to create Calamity Items such as the 'Cataclysm Potion,' 'Key of Another Dimension,' and 'Nate's Manuscript.'"

Qiu Tu was not surprised that the treasure chest had given him Moonlight Tears. After all, Crisis Intuition's description had long stated that "the reward is related to the crisis."

These two treasure chests had been obtained by overcoming connected crises, so it was only reasonable for the rewards to match.

What Qiu Tu was conflicted about now was whether he should hand over his only set of materials for making a Cataclysm Potion to Shen Ling Shuang, who looked completely unreliable.

Besides, given their current relationship, would she really put any care into making it for him?

After staring blankly at the sky for a while, Qiu Tu suddenly tossed his cigarette to the ground and crushed it beneath his foot. Fuck it! There's no one else anyway. I won't be satisfied unless I give it a try!

At that very moment, just as Qiu Tu made up his mind, something suddenly flashed before his eyes.

The next second, line after line of prompts appeared in his vision.

"Under your forceful suppression, Shen Ling Shuang has developed a trace of unusual feelings toward you."

"If you entrust her with making a Cataclysm Potion, kind-hearted as she is, she may mock you verbally, but she will not deliberately sabotage it—at most, she might spit into the potion after it is finished."

"However, concocting a Cataclysm Potion does not merely require following the four essential principles of secret medicine. There are also the crucial fifth and sixth principles: timing and terrain."

"Following the four essential principles of secret medicine will only ensure the successful creation of a Cataclysm Potion. The fifth and sixth principles are what determine the effects of the potion."

"You do not want to know what effects a Cataclysm Potion concocted near New Realm City within the next three days will have when consumed."

As the prompts ended, a three-day Countdown Hourglass slowly appeared beside the first hourglass.

Looking at the new Countdown Hourglass in the upper-left corner of his vision, Qiu Tu could not help blinking.

Wait a second. Didn't Crisis Intuition reveal a little too much information this time?

Let me sort this out.