Secret

"But he said not a single Mana Crystal could be missing, or he'd kill you immediately."

"What do we do, Hong? Can you get away??"

Zhao Jin's anxiety was practically spilling from between the lines.

He had known Lu Li was strong, but he had never imagined he was this strong.

Luo Hong had brought so many capable men, made thorough preparations, and seized the initiative. How had they still ended up under the other party's control?

Looking at the message that popped up on the panel, Luo Hong's heart sank to the bottom.

"I can't escape. Everyone else is dead. Lu Li only left me alive."

Zhao Jin immediately sent another message:

"I can see your coordinates are still showing at Yong City No.1 High School. Stall for as long as you can—I'm bringing people to rescue you!"

Before Luo Hong could reply, Lu Li, not far away, spoke indifferently:

"Delete and block Zhao Jin. Otherwise, die."

Elsewhere.

The frantic Zhao Jin tried to send Luo Hong another message, only to discover that her chat window had been locked.

Even the live location display had vanished, completely turning into an unknown status.

"What the hell?!"

For a moment, Zhao Jin failed to react.

Soon, Lu Li's reply popped up in the chat window:

"Friendly reminder: if I don't see the Mana Crystals I want before midnight, Luo Hong dies."

Suppressing the urge to curse, Zhao Jin rapidly typed:

"I really don't have that much in stock. At most, I can give you 30 Second-Order Mana Crystals..."

"Send Luo Hong over first, then I'll give you the Mana Crystals..."

"Cash in one hand, person in the other!"

"Lu Li?! Fucking say something..."

Zhao Jin sent a barrage of messages, but in the end, all he received was Lu Li's cold countdown.

"2 minutes 39 seconds until midnight."

"What if I give you the Mana Crystals and you don't hand her over?!"

"You don't get a choice."

Zhao Jin felt like he was about to go insane.

He had never been controlled so completely by anyone.

Seeing Zhao Jin in such a frenzy, the Deputy beside him could not help muttering softly:

"Brother Jin, we can't let that brat Lu Li lead us around by the nose. If we give him all the Mana Crystals, then our future leveling..."

Before he could finish, the Deputy received a vicious slap across the face.

"If we don't give them to him, what if Luo Hong dies?!"

Clutching his badly swollen cheek, the Deputy tried to persuade him through slurred speech:

"Brother Jin, they say women are like clothes. If sister-in-law's gone, the next one will be even more obedient. We need to think of the bigger picture..."

"Fuck you!"

Zhao Jin kicked the Deputy in the face. Still not satisfied, he grabbed the man by the collar and slapped him twice more.

"Do you know what Luo Hong's ability is? It's [Corpse-to-Crystal]!! If she dies, Clan Elder will expel my branch from the Zhao Family!"

"Go prepare the Mana Crystals! I'm trading them for Luo Hong!!"

Sitting in the car, Luo Hong watched the scenery outside race past.

After disabling location tracking, Lu Li had taken her on a winding drive through the city.

Clearly, this was to prevent Zhao Jin from pinpointing their location.

This high school student named Lu Li was frighteningly cautious.

Time passed second by second as they waited. Finally, just before midnight, Zhao Jin's trade request popped up on Lu Li's panel.

[Player Zhao Jin requests a trade, Trade contents: 86 Second-Order Mana Crystals, 28 Third-Order Mana Crystals.

Payment required: None]

Lu Li curled his lips into a smile and accepted the trade.

Orange and red mana crystals appeared out of thin air, piling into two small hills on the seat.

Seeing the scene before her, Luo Hong let out a slight sigh of relief.

"Now that the transaction is complete, you should let me go, right?"

Lu Li still looked as calm and unruffled as ever.

"Don't be in such a hurry. If I let you go now, can you guarantee that you'll make it safely back to the Zhao Family?"

Luo Hong froze, realizing that it was true.

Although her [Corpse Crystalization] was Jade Rank, it had no combat power whatsoever.

Without protection, any random monster could take her life.

But how did Lu Li know all that?!

Alarm bells immediately rang in Luo Hong's mind.

Details she had previously overlooked resurfaced one after another, linking together into a terrifying question—

How did Lu Li know so much about her, and even about the Zhao Family?!

As though he could hear Luo Hong's thoughts, Lu Li smiled faintly and continued.

"Didn't you want to know my Talent Abilities? Now that the deal is done, I'll tell you."

The moment he finished speaking, black mist rose from the passenger seat beside Lu Li and condensed into a human figure.

He looked very young, about the same age as Lu Li.

However, unlike Lu Li's cold expression, his face carried a miserable air, as though disaster might strike him at any moment.

"Hello, beautiful. My name is Xing Anlin."

The gloomy-looking figure extended his hand and shook hands with the dumbfounded Luo Hong.

Without waiting for her to say anything, Xing Anlin continued on his own.

"When your people attacked the Hummer earlier, they had actually already taken out the target. And they took him out twice."

"Except that target wasn't Boss Lu Li. It was me."

"You?" Luo Hong's eyes widened. "But the information I received clearly said that Lu Li never left the vehicle after getting in... Did they lie to me?"

Xing Anlin explained, "Brother Knife and the others didn't lie to you. The reason we could pull off such a switch was because of the Soul Guard's special nature."

As soon as he said that, Xing Anlin's face began to distort, transforming into Lu Li's appearance.

Meanwhile, the driver became Xing Anlin.

"I can swap positions with my Soul Guard."

As Lu Li spoke, he grabbed the mana crystals beside him and opened the Data Panel.

The [Global Trading Market] had already gone online. He needed to hurry and trade all the mana crystals to Xu Xiao.

After receiving the mana crystals, Xu Xiao was deeply worried about Lu Li's safety.

After all, she had heard the explosion when the Hummer was bombed.

Only after Lu Li repeatedly assured her that he was safe did Xu Xiao finally relax a little.

"I'll trade you another batch of high-order mana crystals. Help me exchange these for First-Order Mana Crystals as well."

Lu Li opened the friend trade window and traded all the mana crystals Zhao Jin had sent him to Xu Xiao.

Watching the mana crystals that should have belonged to the Zhao Family vanish into thin air one by one, Luo Hong asked painfully, "How did you know how many mana crystals the Zhao Family had in storage?"

"Oh, because of him."

Lu Li tilted his chin toward Xing Anlin. The latter chuckled, then directly turned into black mist and dispersed.

Just as the vehicle was about to lose control, a pair of large hands condensed out of thin air and firmly gripped the steering wheel.

A bald figure swiftly formed, taking Xing Anlin's place in the driver's seat.

When Luo Hong saw his face clearly, she could no longer suppress the terror in her heart.

She screamed, "C-Chen Hao!!"

"Uh, sister-in-law, it's me."

Chen Hao awkwardly scratched his bald head. He looked honest and simple, without a trace of his former ferocity.

"How could you..."

Before Luo Hong could finish her question, Chen Hao explained, "Because I died. The current me is Boss Lu Li's Soul Guard."

"Boss is merciful. He didn't erase my consciousness, so to repay him, I told Boss Lu Li everything I knew."

Luo Hong's mouth fell slightly open as she muttered dazedly, "No wonder he knew the exact number of Origin Crystals in storage, and even knew that my talent had no combat power at all..."

Then, as if she had thought of something, she turned to Chen Hao and demanded, "I never thought you would betray the Zhao Family! Have you forgotten who killed your nephew? After all these years of the Zhao Family nurturing you, how can you face them?!"

Chen Hao raised a brow, his face devoid of guilt.

"Of course I know. Tian Yuhao brought it on himself. With that unruly personality of his, even if Boss Lu Li hadn't killed him, he would've died at someone else's hands sooner or later."

"As for the Zhao Family..."

Chen Hao paused here.

"For the Zhao Family, I nearly gave up my life. Isn't that enough to repay them?"

Luo Hong was left speechless.

After a long silence, she spoke again.

"I truly didn't expect the Zhao Family to have provoked someone so formidable... Lu Li, your talent has great potential. Are you interested in joining the Zhao Family?"

Hearing this, Lu Li could not help but glance back at Luo Hong.

He had not expected this woman to extend an olive branch to him.

As expected of Zhao Jin's wife.

Seeing that Lu Li did not respond, Luo Hong continued to offer terms.

"As long as you're willing to join the Zhao Family, I guarantee that everything that happened before will be forgiven. Moreover, the Zhao Family will devote most of its resources to you and help you grow!"

Lu Li turned back around and suddenly laughed.

His laughter grew louder and louder, as though boundless killing intent churned within it.

"Forgiven? What a fine 'forgiven'!!"

"Luo Hong, Luo Hong—say my name again. Take a good look at what my surname is?!"