The Iceberg Campus Belle's Request

The musty smell and scent of rust in the second-floor locker room of the abandoned gymnasium seemed to have seeped into Lin Xiao's very bones.

He leaned against a cold metal locker, his right arm crudely secured with strips torn from a worn curtain and two relatively straight, rusty iron pipes he'd found. Every heartbeat sent a sharp, stabbing pain through the fracture.

The slight comfort from the bruise on his chest, which the modifier was accelerating the recovery of, was almost negligible compared to the agony of the broken bone.

Source Energy Points: 1.1.

This number was like a searing hot brand on his consciousness.

Repairing the bone fracture required 3.0 points!

The massive deficit was like an abyss, stretching out before him.

The bizarre and terrifying scene of the sandbag turning to dust replayed in his mind, a constant reminder of the danger and uncontrollability of this power.

"Damn it..."

Lin Xiao cursed under his breath, his left hand irritably running through his greasy hair.

What was the way to obtain Source Energy Points?

Did he have to risk his life again against a martial artist like Zhao Hu?

With his current half-crippled state, was he just asking for death?

Just as he was growing anxious and his thoughts became chaotic.

"Rustle... rustle..."

An extremely faint, hesitant footsteps sound came from the dark corridor outside, approaching from a distance before finally stopping outside the dilapidated wooden door of the locker room, covered in cobwebs and dust.

Lin Xiao's muscles tensed instantly!

Vigilance coiled around his spine like a cold viper!

He abruptly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes, clouded with pain and exhaustion, suddenly erupted with a fierce glint like a wounded lone wolf, staring intently at the doorway!

Who?

Fatty Wang? The footsteps didn't sound like him!

Could it be Zhao Hu's people who found him this quickly?

He suppressed the intense pain, his left hand silently reaching for a sturdy-looking rusty iron pipe on the ground nearby. He crouched slightly, preparing for the worst.

A faint blue light screen appeared in his mind, the [Target Scan] function activated subconsciously, aiming towards the doorway.

"Screech—"

A grating, dry friction sound echoed.

The wooden door, which looked like it could fall apart at any moment, was cautiously pushed open a crack by a fair, slender hand with distinct knuckles.

Dim moonlight spilled through the gap, and the first thing that entered Lin Xiao's vision was half of a cold, peerlessly beautiful profile.

The moonlight outlined her straight nose and her tightly pressed lips, which were a pale pink, like cherry blossoms.

Her long eyelashes cast a small shadow under her eyelids, fluttering slightly, revealing a hint of imperceptible nervousness.

Su Qingxue?

Lin Xiao's pupils contracted sharply, and his left hand, gripping the iron pipe, loosened unconsciously. However, the vigilance and ferocity in his eyes did not diminish at all; instead, they deepened.

He stared fixedly at the cold face outside the door crack, his body still in a tense, ready-to-attack posture.

How did she find this place?

What was she here for? To mock him?

Or to gather information for Zhao Hu?

Or was she here to "thank" him for Zhou Xiaoya?

Countless thoughts flashed through Lin Xiao's mind in an instant, each filled with intense wariness.

The door was pushed open completely.

Su Qingxue walked in.

She was still wearing that spotlessly white martial arts uniform, her posture as upright as a pine tree in the snow. Her cold demeanor was utterly out of place in this dilapidated, filthy locker room filled with the stench of blood and sweat, like a drop of pure mercury falling into a dirty mire.

Her gaze quickly swept over the messy floor, Lin Xiao's right arm secured with rags and rusty iron pipes, the dried blood and oil stains on his face, and finally, it settled on his eyes, which were filled with wildness, vigilance, and undisguised scrutiny.

Their eyes met.

The air seemed to freeze.

An invisible pressure permeated the narrow space.

Su Qingxue's clear, cold eyes clearly reflected Lin Xiao's current state of dishevelment and ferocity.

She saw Lin Xiao's hand tightly gripping the iron pipe, the tangible coldness and wariness in his eyes, and even a hint of mockery?

The fine points of her slender eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

She hadn't expected to see such a scene.

This Lin Xiao, who had crippled Zhao Hu at the cafeteria entrance like a ferocious god just a few minutes ago, now looked like a cornered beast, curled up in a pile of trash, licking his wounds.

The stark contrast made her heart inexplicably flutter.

She took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress some surging emotion, forcing herself to maintain a calm facade.

But her slightly heaving chest and somewhat rapid breathing still betrayed her inner turmoil.

"Lin Xiao."

She spoke, her voice still clear and cold like a mountain stream, but lacking some of its usual ethereal quality, carrying instead a trace of forced steadiness, even an almost imperceptible dryness.

Lin Xiao didn't respond. He merely tilted his head, his lips habitually curling into a roguish arc, his eyes growing colder, as if appraising an interesting yet dangerous object.

He waited for her to continue.

Su Qingxue felt a flicker of discomfort under his unconcealed scrutiny. She instinctively avoided his gaze, her eyes falling on the dust motes beside him, then quickly shifting away as if burned.

She steadied herself and finally stated the purpose of her visit:

"What happened at the cafeteria entrance..." She paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully, "I saw it."

The roguish smile on Lin Xiao's lips deepened, laced with undisguised mockery. "Oh? Did Miss Su, the campus beauty, come specifically to see if this trash was dead yet?"

A fleeting look of stung embarrassment crossed Su Qingxue's fair cheeks, a faint blush creeping up to her earlobes.

She suddenly looked up, her clear eyes meeting Lin Xiao's directly, with a hint of defiant anger: "Lin Xiao! I didn't come to mock you!"

"Then why are you here?"

Lin Xiao's voice held an air of detached laziness, but his gaze was sharp as a knife. "You're not here to thank me for my 'righteous act' of saving your little best friend, are you? That's hardly necessary."

He deliberately emphasized the words "righteous act," dripping with sarcasm.

Su Qingxue's chest rose and fell slightly, clearly angered by Lin Xiao's defiant attitude.

She took another deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

She knew that trying to beat around the bush with this prickly, defiant guy was useless.

She once again avoided Lin Xiao's aggressive gaze, her eyes settling on the dusty window of the changing room. Her voice lowered, carrying a tension strained by her effort to maintain composure:

"Zhao Hu, that kick he took, and the backlash on his arm at the end..."

Her voice trailed off, as if recalling the earth-shattering scene. A flicker of incomprehensible confusion and a hint of unnoticeable longing crossed her clear eyes. "That's not something a normal martial artist could do."

Lin Xiao's heart skipped a beat!

His gaze instantly became deeper and sharper!

She had noticed it after all!

What had she seen? What had she guessed?

He tightened his left hand gripping the iron pipe, but his face maintained its nonchalant smile, though his eyes were cold enough to freeze. "So? Is Miss Su, the campus beauty, here to investigate for the Martial Artist Association or the Special Operations Department?"

"No!"

Su Qingxue turned her head abruptly, her gaze locking onto Lin Xiao once more. This time, her eyes held no trace of anger, replaced instead by a desperate resolve!

The faint blush on her clear face, brought on by her emotions, became more pronounced, spreading down to her slender neck.

She seemed to have made a momentous decision, biting her lower lip lightly, leaving a faint mark.

Then, in a voice that trembled slightly, tinged with humiliation, urgency, and a hint of indescribable allure, she spoke word by word:

"Lin Xiao, I know you have a secret. That power that can change the outcome!"

The roguish smile on Lin Xiao's face froze instantly!

His heart felt like it had been struck by a heavy hammer!

How did she know?

He suddenly remembered the fleeting sense of being watched from outside the changing room window!

A tremendous sense of crisis seized him!

All his muscles tensed to their limit, the iron pipe in his left hand nearly snapping from his grip!

A fierce glint erupted in his eyes, and a cold killing intent spread uncontrollably!

If this secret were to be revealed, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Su Qingxue flinched as Lin Xiao's sudden burst of palpable, icy killing intent, a cold sweat breaking out on her back!

She felt as if she were being stared down by a primordial beast, finding it difficult to even breathe!

She instinctively took half a step back, and for the first time, clear fear was evident in her clear eyes!

"Don't be nervous!"

She blurted out, her voice carrying a hint of undisguised panic, "I... I have no ill intentions! And I won't tell anyone!"

She added hastily, trying to placate the beast that could erupt at any moment, "I swear!"

Lin Xiao stared intently at her, his gaze like cold probes, attempting to penetrate all her defenses.

He could feel Su Qingxue's genuine fear, not feigned.

He forcefully suppressed the surging killing intent, but the vigilance and coldness in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

"What exactly do you want?"

Lin Xiao's voice was low and hoarse, carrying a heavy sense of pressure, each word squeezed out as if from between his teeth.

Su Qingxue felt incredibly uncomfortable under Lin Xiao's gaze, as if all her secrets were being laid bare.

She lowered her head again, not daring to meet his eyes, her long eyelashes trembling violently like those of a startled butterfly.

She clutched the hem of her martial arts uniform tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.

Her fair, jade-like cheeks were now flushed like a sunset, covered in an unusually prominent, alluring blush that spread to her delicate earlobes and slender neck.

She seemed to be undergoing a great internal struggle.

After several seconds, she finally spoke with a voice as weak as a mosquito's, yet tinged with a desperate shame, her words difficult to push out:

"I... I need your help."

Her voice trembled severely, as if every word drained her of strength, "My martial arts talent has hit a bottleneck. I've been stuck at the peak of Martial Trainee for a long time."

She suddenly looked up, her usually clear, cold eyes now misted over. They were no longer distant like a secluded orchid but filled with urgency, unwillingness, and even a hint of near-pleading vulnerability.

She stared intently into Lin Xiao's still cold and sharp eyes, as if grasping at the last straw of hope. Mustering all her strength, she uttered the trading condition that she found incredibly shameful:

"Lin Xiao! As long as you can help me modify my martial arts talent and break through my bottleneck..."

Her voice suddenly rose, carrying a desperate resolve, her cheeks so red they looked like they could bleed. Yet, her gaze stubbornly refused to waver, "I'll agree to any condition! I'll fulfill any one of your demands!"

"Fulfill any one of your demands!"

This sentence, like a magical incantation, boomed through the dilapidated locker room!

The air seemed to ignite instantly!

An extremely ambiguous and seductive atmosphere, accompanied by the alluring blush on Su Qingxue's face and the complex look in her eyes—a mixture of humiliation, urgency, and a barely perceptible allure—like tangible electric currents, instantly shattered the cold standoff!

Lin Xiao's heart, the moment Su Qingxue uttered those words, felt as if it were fiercely gripped by an invisible hand and then violently flung into the sky!

Fulfill any condition?

A thought, like a prairie fire, grew uncontrollably in his mind!

The face before him, so cool and peerless, now flushed with a deadly allure, and the graceful curves faintly outlined beneath the white martial arts uniform... any condition!

What did that mean?!

A primal heat, originating from his male instincts, surged from his lower abdomen like lava, rushing straight to his head!

His breathing grew heavy.

But in the next second!

A wave of icy vigilance, like a bucket of cold water poured over him, instantly extinguished the nascent flicker of lust!

A trap?

Could this be a trap set by Su Qingxue or her backing forces?

Using a honey trap to pry out his secrets?

Why would she believe he could modify talent?

How much did she see? Did she know about the modifier?

Countless questions coiled around him like venomous snakes.

Behind the immense temptation lay an unfathomable crisis!

However, another voice screamed wildly in his heart: Opportunity! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Who was Su Qingxue?

The Ice Mountain Goddess of Tianhai Third High School!

The eldest daughter of a collateral branch of the Su family!

Even a collateral branch was still significant!

Her background, the resources she controlled, her connections...

If he could latch onto this connection, it would be like a carp leaping over the dragon gate for him!

This wasn't just about satisfying physical desires; it was a ladder to change his social class, acquire resources, and gain information!

A shield! A perfect, high-status shield!

With Su Qingxue blocking the front, Zhao Hu and his forces would have to weigh the Su family's influence before making a move against him!

He could even, through her, access information from the Martial Artist Association or higher levels, learning how to safely acquire "Source Energy Points"!

Risk and opportunity coexisted!

Immense temptation was accompanied by immense risk!

Lin Xiao's mind raced at an unprecedented speed!

Greed, vigilance, calculation, the craving for power, the lust for beauty...

All sorts of complex emotions clashed and merged fiercely in the depths of his eyes!

Time seemed to freeze.

Su Qingxue's palms were slick with cold sweat, her heart pounding like a drum against her ribs.

Lin Xiao's silent gaze and the shifting light in his eyes made her feel like a fish, stripped bare and laid out on a cutting board. Shame and immense pressure threatened to crush her.

She even began to regret her impulsiveness.

Had she chosen the wrong person?

Would this guy, with his wolf-like dangerous eyes, actually help her?

Just as Su Qingxue felt she could no longer bear the suffocating silence and was about to turn and flee this humiliating place.

All the coldness, vigilance, and calculation on Lin Xiao's face vanished without a trace, like a mask being changed.

The corners of his mouth suddenly pulled up into a wide, brilliant smile, perfectly formed, with a hint of roguishness and a large dose of devil-may-care attitude.

The smile was so natural, so sunny, it was as if the person with the knife-sharp, dangerous gaze just moments before hadn't been him at all.

"Oh?"

Lin Xiao drew out the syllable, his voice returning to its usual lazy drawl, laced with undisguised amusement and keen interest.

He even casually, almost flippantly, ran his uninjured left hand along his chin, where there was no stubble.

His gaze swept unreservedly over Su Qingxue's chest, rising and falling with her tension and flushed embarrassment, and then across her beautiful face, now a canvas of crimson.

His eyes were predatory and openly appreciative, as if appraising a treasure within easy reach.

"Fulfill any one of my conditions?"

Lin Xiao's smile deepened, carrying the delight of a hunter spotting prey stumbling into a trap. "Miss Su, the campus beauty, do you really mean that?"

He leaned forward slightly, closing the distance, his voice dropping to a captivating, magnetic tone, mixed with an undeniable swagger.

"Then it's a deal!"