The musty smell and rusty tang in the abandoned gymnasium's second-floor changing room seemed to have seeped into Lin Xiao's very bones.
He leaned against a cold metal locker. His right arm was barely secured with strips torn from an old curtain and two relatively straight rusty iron pipes he had picked up. Every heartbeat tugged at the broken bone, sending sharp, stabbing pain through him.
The faint comfort from the bruises that the Modifier had accelerated healing in his chest was almost negligible compared with the agony of the fracture.
Source Energy Points: 1.1.
That number was like a red-hot brand searing into his consciousness.
Repairing the fracture required 3.0 points!
The enormous gap lay before him like an abyss.
The bizarre and terrifying scene of the sandbag turning into powder kept replaying in his mind, reminding him of how dangerous and uncontrollable this power was.
"Damn..."
Lin Xiao cursed under his breath and irritably scratched his greasy hair with his left hand.
What exactly was the way to obtain Source Energy Points?
Did he really have to risk his life fighting a martial artist like Zhao Hu again?
In his half-crippled state, was he looking to die?
Just as he was growing restless and his thoughts were in disarray—
"Scrape... scrape..."
Extremely faint footsteps, carrying obvious hesitation, came from the dark corridor outside. They approached from afar and finally stopped outside the dilapidated wooden door of the changing room, which was covered in cobwebs and dust.
Every muscle in Lin Xiao's body instantly tensed!
Vigilance coiled around his spine like a cold venomous snake!
He abruptly raised his head. His bloodshot eyes, filled with pain and exhaustion, suddenly blazed with the ferocity of an injured lone wolf as he stared fixedly at the doorway!
Who?
Fatty Wang? Those footsteps didn't sound like him!
Could Zhao Hu's people have found him so quickly?
Enduring the agony, he silently reached his left hand toward the relatively sturdy rusty iron pipe on the floor beside him. His body hunkered down slightly as he prepared for the worst.
The deep blue screen in his mind silently appeared, and he instinctively activated the target-scanning function, directing it toward the doorway.
"Creak—"
A dry, grating sound that made his teeth ache rang out.
The wooden door, which looked ready to collapse at any moment, was carefully pushed open a crack by a fair, slender hand with distinct knuckles.
Pale moonlight slipped through the gap. The first thing that entered Lin Xiao's view was half of an exquisitely cold profile.
The moonlight outlined her straight nose and tightly pressed lips, their pale pink color like cherry blossoms.
Her long eyelashes cast a small shadow beneath her eyelids and trembled slightly, betraying a trace of barely perceptible nervousness.
Su Qingxue?
Lin Xiao's pupils contracted sharply. His left hand loosened slightly around the iron pipe, but the vigilance and ferocity in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest. Instead, they grew even deeper.
He stared coldly at the face beyond the gap, his body still taut in an attacking stance.
How had she found this place?
What had she come here for? To watch him make a fool of himself?
Or to gather information for Zhao Hu?
Or was she here to "thank" him over Zhou Xiaoya?
Countless thoughts flashed through Lin Xiao's mind, each steeped in wariness.
The door was pushed completely open.
Su Qingxue walked in.
She was still wearing that spotless white martial arts uniform. Her posture was as straight as a green pine in the snow, and her cold aura was completely out of place in this ruined, filthy changing room filled with the stench of blood and sweat. She was like a drop of pure mercury falling into a dirty mire.
Her gaze swept quickly over the messy floor, Lin Xiao's right arm secured with rags and rusty iron pipes, and the dried blood and grease on his face. Finally, it settled on his eyes, filled with wildness, vigilance, and undisguised scrutiny.
Their eyes met.
The air seemed to freeze.
An invisible pressure spread through the cramped space.
Su Qingxue's cold eyes clearly reflected Lin Xiao's current dishevelment and ferocity.
She saw the hand gripping the iron pipe, the icy wariness in his eyes that seemed almost tangible, and even a trace of mockery?
Her slender brows knitted almost imperceptibly.
She had not expected to see such a scene.
Lin Xiao, who had looked like a god of slaughter when he crippled Zhao Hu outside the cafeteria only minutes ago, now resembled a beast driven into a corner, curled up in a rubbish heap and licking its wounds.
The sharp contrast caused her heart to inexplicably flutter.
She drew a deep breath, seemingly trying to suppress some surging emotion and forcing herself to maintain outward calm.
But the slight rise and fall of her chest and her somewhat hurried breathing still revealed the turmoil within her.
"Lin Xiao."
She spoke. Her voice remained cold, like a chilly spring in a mountain ravine, but it had lost some of its usual ethereal quality. In its place was a deliberately controlled steadiness, and even a faint, barely noticeable hoarseness.
Lin Xiao did not answer. He merely tilted his head, the corner of his mouth habitually pulling into a roguish curve. His eyes, however, were even colder, as if he were sizing up an interesting yet dangerous object.
He waited for her to continue.
Su Qingxue felt uncomfortable beneath his undisguised scrutiny. She instinctively looked away, letting her gaze fall on the dust beside him before quickly shifting it away again as though scalded.
She steadied herself and finally stated her purpose:
"What happened outside the cafeteria..." She paused, seemingly choosing her words. "I saw it."
The mocking smile at the corner of Lin Xiao's mouth deepened. "Oh? Is the great campus belle Su here specially to see whether this piece of trash is dead?"
A flash of painful embarrassment crossed Su Qingxue's fair cheeks, and an extremely faint blush quietly climbed to her ears.
She abruptly raised her head and looked straight at Lin Xiao with cold eyes and a trace of stubbornness born of anger. "Lin Xiao! I'm not here to ridicule you!"
"Then what are you here for?"
Lin Xiao's voice carried a lazy detachment, but his gaze was sharp as a blade. "Surely you're not here to thank me for 'heroically stepping in' to save your little best friend? You really don't have to."
He deliberately emphasized the four words "heroically stepping in," his voice thick with sarcasm.
Su Qingxue's chest rose and fell slightly. Lin Xiao's flippant attitude had clearly angered her badly.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
She knew there was no point beating around the bush with this prickly, roguish man.
She once again avoided Lin Xiao's highly aggressive gaze and looked toward the dusty window of the changing room. Her voice dropped, taut beneath the effort to remain calm.
"Zhao Hu's kick, and the backlash against his arm at the end..."
Her voice paused. She seemed to be recalling that world-shattering scene. Confusion beyond comprehension flickered in her cold eyes, along with a faint, barely perceptible yearning. "That isn't something a normal martial artist can do."
Lin Xiao's heart jolted!
His gaze instantly turned deeper and sharper!
She had noticed after all!
What had she seen? What had she guessed?
His left hand tightened around the iron pipe, but his face still wore that carefree smile. Only his eyes were cold enough to freeze. "So? Did the great campus belle Su come to investigate on behalf of the Martial Artist Association or the Special Operations Department?"
"No!"
Su Qingxue abruptly turned her head and looked straight at Lin Xiao again. This time, the anger in her eyes had vanished, replaced by a determination bordering on throwing everything away!
The blush caused by her agitation became even more pronounced on her cold face, spreading all the way down her slender neck.
She seemed to have made an enormous decision. Her pearly teeth lightly bit her lower lip, leaving a shallow mark.
Then, in a slightly trembling voice filled with humiliation, urgency, and an indescribable hint of temptation, she spoke word by word:
"Lin Xiao, I know you have a secret. A power that can change the outcome!"
The roguish smile on Lin Xiao's face instantly froze!
His heart felt as if it had been struck brutally by a heavy hammer!
How did she know?
He suddenly remembered that fleeting sense of being watched outside the changing-room window!
A tremendous sense of crisis seized him in an instant!
Every muscle in his body tensed to the limit, and the iron pipe in his left hand nearly snapped from his grip!
The murderous glint in his eyes surged. A cold killing intent spread uncontrollably through the room!
If this secret was exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable!
The sudden, tangible killing intent erupting from Lin Xiao made Su Qingxue's entire body stiffen. Cold sweat instantly seeped across her back!
She felt as though she had been targeted by a primordial ferocious beast. Even breathing became difficult!
She instinctively retreated half a step. For the first time, clear fear appeared in her cold eyes!
"Don't be nervous!"
The words escaped her almost involuntarily, her voice carrying a trace of barely concealed panic. "I...I mean no harm! I definitely won't tell anyone!"
She hurriedly added, trying to soothe the ferocious beast that might erupt at any moment. "I swear!"
Lin Xiao stared fixedly at her, his gaze like a cold probe trying to pierce through every disguise she wore.
He could feel the genuine fear in Su Qingxue. It did not seem feigned.
He forcibly suppressed the surging killing intent, but the vigilance and coldness in his eyes did not lessen at all.
"What exactly do you want?"
Lin Xiao's voice was low and hoarse, filled with oppressive force. Every word seemed squeezed through his teeth.
Su Qingxue felt deeply uncomfortable beneath his stare, as if all her secrets had been seen through.
She lowered her head again, not daring to meet his eyes. Her long eyelashes trembled violently like the wings of a startled butterfly.
Both hands clenched the hem of her martial arts uniform. Her knuckles had gone white from the force.
Her fair, jade-like cheeks were now covered in an exceptionally vivid blush, like clouds glowing red at sunset. It spread all the way to her delicate earlobes and slender neck.
She seemed to be going through a tremendous inner struggle.
Several seconds passed before she finally spoke with a mosquito-like murmur carrying the shame of staking everything on one throw:
"I...I need your help."
Her voice trembled badly, as if every word exhausted her strength. "My Martial Dao talent has hit a bottleneck. I've been stuck at the Martial Disciple peak for a long time."
She suddenly raised her head. Her cold eyes were now veiled in moisture. No longer distant like an orchid in a secluded valley, they were filled with urgency, unwillingness, and even a fragile trace of near-pleading.
She stared fixedly at Lin Xiao's still-cold, sharp eyes, as though she had seized the last straw keeping her alive. Summoning all her strength, she spoke the humiliating condition of the bargain in her eyes:
"Lin Xiao! As long as you can help me modify my Martial Dao talent and break through this bottleneck..."
Her voice suddenly rose, carrying the resolve of someone throwing caution to the wind. Her cheeks were so red they seemed ready to drip blood, yet she stubbornly refused to look away. "I'll agree to any condition you name! I can satisfy any condition you have!"
"I can satisfy any condition you have!"
Those words, like a spell imbued with magic, exploded through the ruined changing room!
The air seemed to ignite instantly!
An intensely ambiguous and seductive atmosphere, accompanied by the gorgeous blush on Su Qingxue's face and the complicated look in her eyes—mixed with humiliation, urgency, and a barely perceptible temptation—became a tangible current that instantly pierced the previously cold standoff!
The instant Su Qingxue spoke those words, Lin Xiao's heart felt as though an invisible hand had seized it tightly before flinging it into the sky!
Any condition?
A thought spread uncontrollably through his mind like a wildfire across the plains!
That cold and peerlessly beautiful face before him, now covered in rosy clouds and carrying fatal temptation, along with the graceful curves faintly outlined beneath the white martial arts uniform—any condition!
What did that mean?!
A primitive heat born of male instinct surged up from his lower abdomen like magma, shooting straight to the crown of his head!
His breathing grew heavier.
But the next second!
Cold vigilance poured over him like icy water, instantly extinguishing the newly kindled flame of desire!
A trap?
Could this be a trap set by Su Qingxue or the force behind her?
Were they using an alluring woman to pry out his secret?
Why did she believe he could modify talent?
How much had she seen? Did she know the Modifier existed?
Countless questions coiled around him like venomous snakes.
Behind the enormous temptation lay an unfathomable crisis!
Yet another voice was screaming wildly in the depths of his heart: An opportunity! A once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity!
Who was Su Qingxue?
The ice-cold goddess of Tianhai Third High School!
The eldest daughter of a Branch family of the Su family!
Although she was only from a Branch family, even a starving camel was still bigger than a horse!
Her background, resources, and connections...
If he could establish a connection through her, it would be nothing short of a carp leaping through the Dragon Gate!
This was not merely about satisfying a physical desire. It was a ladder for changing his social standing and obtaining resources and information!
A shield! A perfect shield with a noble identity!
With Su Qingxue in front of him, Zhao Hu and the forces behind him would have to weigh the power of the Su family before making a move against him!
He might even be able to use her to contact the Martial Artist Association or obtain information from even higher levels, learning how to safely acquire "Source Energy Points"!
Risk and opportunity coexisted!
Enormous temptation accompanied enormous risk!
At this moment, Lin Xiao's mind raced at an unprecedented speed!
Greed, vigilance, calculation, thirst for power, and desire for beauty...
Countless complicated emotions collided and merged violently in the depths of his eyes!
Time seemed to freeze.
Su Qingxue was so nervous that her palms were slick with cold sweat. She could clearly hear her heart pounding like a war drum.
Lin Xiao's silent gaze and the constantly shifting light in his eyes made her feel like a fish stripped bare and placed on a chopping block. The shame and immense pressure nearly crushed her.
She even began to regret it. Had she acted too impulsively?
Had she chosen the wrong person?
Would this dangerous man, whose gaze resembled that of a wild wolf, really help her?
Just as Su Qingxue was nearly unable to bear the suffocating silence and was preparing to turn and flee this place that made her feel so humiliated,
all the coldness, wariness, and calculation on Lin Xiao's face vanished without a trace in an instant, as if he had changed faces.
The corners of his mouth suddenly curled upward, revealing an extremely practiced, brilliant smile—three parts roguish and seven parts carefree.
That smile was so natural, so sunny, as if the man whose gaze had been cold as a blade and who had radiated danger just moments ago had never been him.
"Oh?"
Lin Xiao drawled out the sound, his voice returning to its lazy tone, carrying undisguised teasing and keen interest.
He even used his uninjured left hand to casually, somewhat roguishly, stroke the nonexistent stubble on his chin.
His gaze made no attempt to hide itself as it wantonly swept over Su Qingxue's chest, heaving violently from nervousness and embarrassment, and her beautiful face flushed bright red.
That gaze was full of aggression and undisguised appreciation, as if he were appraising a treasure within easy reach.
"Any one condition I name?"
Lin Xiao's smile deepened, carrying the delight of a hunter watching his prey step into a trap. "Miss Su, the campus belle, do you really mean that?"
He leaned forward slightly and moved closer, lowering his voice. It was magnetic enough to beguile the heart, yet mixed with undisguised roguishness.
"Then it's a deal!"
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