Ye Family Intelligence

The medical room had returned to its icy silence, with only the monotonous beeping of the instruments and Lin Xiao's heavy, restrained breathing remaining. Qin Bing's thunderous interrogation, Su Qingxue's complicated visit, and Ye Qingyan's cold warning had receded like a tide, leaving behind deeper undercurrents and omnipresent shackles.

Ye Qingyan's final words—"Your 'value' needs to be demonstrated as soon as possible"—were like an invisible whip lashing against Lin Xiao's taut nerves. He lay on the soft medical bed, yet felt even more tormented than when he had lain atop the rubble and garbage in the back alley. Waiting passively had never been his style.

He had to do something! He had to recover even a sliver of strength as soon as possible and break free from this situation of being completely at someone else's mercy!

He tried gathering his thoughts again, like a drowning man desperately reaching upward, trying to touch the silent, dusky screen in his mind that represented -1.5. The feeling of depletion clung tightly to every inch of his soul like cold rust. Each attempt brought needle-like pain and even deeper dizziness. The "Viper's Kiss" core deep in his right leg lay dead under the suppressant's pressure, but that cold, dormant sensation felt even more like the calm before a storm.

Energy Stones! He desperately needed Energy Stones! The three in the brocade box against his chest were within arm's reach, yet as distant as the ends of the earth. Under the Ye family's tight surveillance, any abnormal energy fluctuation would be tantamount to exposing himself.

Just as he was trapped in this anxious impasse, the medical room door silently slid open again.

There were no footsteps. Only a cold current carrying the lingering note of expensive perfume flowed in first.

Ye Qingyan had returned.

She was still wearing the same dark-blue suit skirt, her posture straight, a super-thin transparent tablet in hand—the one that seemed never to leave her side. Her face bore no expression, as though the brief yet fierce clash outside the door had never happened. She walked straight to the bedside, her gaze sweeping over Lin Xiao's pale face and the various sensors attached to his body like a scanner.

"Looks like Captain Qin and Miss Su's concern didn't make you feel much better." Her voice was flat and emotionless, impossible to tell whether it was mockery or a statement.

Lin Xiao tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a weak smile laced with his usual roguishness. "I have you to thank for that, boss... I'm still holding on. It's just... I'm bored out of my mind." He deliberately made his tone sound somewhat plaintive, conveying his eagerness to "demonstrate his value."

Ye Qingyan neither approved nor disapproved of his performance. She extended her slender fingers and swiped across the tablet several times, then turned it toward Lin Xiao.

The screen displayed no complicated medical data. Instead, it showed seemingly disordered snippets of text, blurry corners of surveillance images, and fragments of several marked map coordinates.

"Since you feel bored," Ye Qingyan said in a cold, businesslike tone, "I have some 'odd jobs' here that might suit you... once you're able to get out of bed."

Her fingertip tapped one of the text passages. "After the Blood Wolf Gang lost Scorpion, there was a period of internal chaos, but now someone called 'Mad Dog' has emerged and is consolidating Scorpion's former subordinates, loudly proclaiming that he wants revenge. According to our intelligence, he often goes to the 'Obsidian' bar in the western district. It's one of their new bases. There are five capable fighters guarding the place, all at the Martial Disciple peak. Mad Dog himself... is suspected to have just broken through to one star."

She swiped the screen again and opened an extremely blurry photograph that appeared to have been secretly taken from a great distance. In it, a hooded figure was entering an abandoned factory. "Scorpion's death wasn't that simple. There seems to be something else behind him. We intercepted a fragment of a communication that mentioned 'Shadow Eater' and a 'delivery'... Coincidentally, in the week before Scorpion died, a large sum of money from an unknown source was deposited into his account. We suspect he was connected to some shadowy organization."

When she mentioned the "shadowy organization," Ye Qingyan's gaze seemed to sweep over Lin Xiao for an exceedingly brief yet meaningful instant.

Finally, her fingertip landed on an old industrial district circled in red marker at the edge of the city map. "The city hasn't been peaceful lately. Several small gangs have been inexplicably wiped out. The scenes were clean and efficient—not like ordinary vendettas, but more like they were... 'cleaned up.' Some vagrants saw people 'dressed in black and moving like ghosts' in that area. The Security Bureau has been vague, and the Ninth Division seems to have gotten involved too, but there's been no progress."

After she finished, she withdrew the tablet, and its screen went dark. She looked at Lin Xiao, her cold eyes utterly unruffled. "These scattered pieces of information might be useful for you to 'settle the score.' Of course, intelligence comes at a price."

Lin Xiao's heart pounded violently in his chest, and the blood throughout his body seemed to accelerate. Every one of the "fragments" Ye Qingyan had provided was like a key, fitting precisely into the fog that had been troubling him!

The Blood Wolf Gang's new base, the "Obsidian" bar! The strength and location of its leader, "Mad Dog"!

The clues linking Scorpion to "Shadow Eater"—most likely the Shadow Alliance! The money deposit! The abandoned factory!

Traces of a suspected Shadow Alliance "cleanup" operation! The old industrial district!

If he had investigated this information himself, he had no idea how much time and effort it would have taken. He might even have stepped into another deadly trap! Yet now, Ye Qingyan had casually laid it all before him, as if tossing several pieces of meat to a hungry dog!

The price? Of course he knew there was a price. Ye Qingyan wasn't helping him. She was investing in him, using this intelligence as bait and pressure to drive this starving wolf of hers to tear into her enemies and prove his "value"!

"How much...?" Lin Xiao's voice was hoarse, but his eyes had sharpened. They were the eyes of a lone wolf that had spotted its prey.

"That depends on what you want and what you're capable of." Ye Qingyan's tone remained flat. "You'll learn the specific targets and rewards once you prove that you're capable of taking on the 'job.' For now, consider these... advance treats, something to give you a reason to think, so you don't really become sick from boredom."

She paused, then added, "However, let me remind you of something. The version of the 'Viper's Kiss' toxin circulating on the black market is rarely this pure. Its formula... is said to be connected to an organization that likes to hide in the shadows. You know very well what trouble you brought upon yourself."

Those words were like a cold dagger, completely piercing through that thin veil of pretense! She really did know! She not only knew about the Shadow Alliance, she might even have guessed that his being hunted was connected to it! She was warning him, but also reminding him—your trouble is enormous. Apart from relying on me, you have no other choice!

Lin Xiao was silent for several seconds before slowly raising his head to meet Ye Qingyan's cold, scrutinizing gaze. A nearly feral grin tugged at his pale face. "I've received the treat... Don't worry, boss. Once this leg can move, I guarantee I'll handle the 'odd jobs'... beautifully."

He knew that from this moment onward, he would have to face not only the Blood Wolf Gang's pursuit, the Shadow Alliance's threat, the Ninth Division's investigation, and the Su family's scrutiny, but also Ye Qingyan's cold reins, woven from intelligence and resources.

The road ahead was even more perilous. But at least, it was no longer completely dark.

Ye Qingyan seemed fairly satisfied with his response and gave a slight nod. "Very good. I look forward to your performance." She said nothing more, turning to leave as abruptly as she had arrived.

The door closed.

Lin Xiao lay there alone, his chest rising and falling slightly. The fragments of intelligence Ye Qingyan had provided were etched into his mind like brands.

The Blood Wolf Gang... the Shadow Alliance... the abandoned factory... the old industrial district...

Every word represented danger, but also... opportunity! An opportunity for revenge! An opportunity to obtain Source Energy Points! An opportunity to uncover the truth!

And all of it required strength!

He subconsciously tried once more to sense the screen in his mind, to sense that despairing -1.5.

This time, besides depletion and excruciating pain, there seemed to be an additional trace of something... an exceedingly faint restlessness born from intense longing and a clearly defined goal?

Driven by intense intent... core instinct activity slightly increased... attempting to connect to the information stream... Source Energy Points consumed: 0.001...

Source Energy Points: -1.5 - 0.001 = -1.501!

A negligible yet utterly real consumption figure flashed past!

Lin Xiao froze at first, then a frightening brilliance suddenly erupted in his eyes!

Analyzing intelligence and making plans... could actually consume Source Energy Points too?! Although the amount was negligible, this meant... thinking itself was also a form of "modification"? Modifying the cognition and strategies of reality?

This method of replenishing Source Energy Points was difficult and demanding, but... it seemed to have been opened up!

In the depths of despair, a faint glimmer of light finally shone through once more.