Terrifying Superpowers

Zhao Xin felt his plan was absolutely perfect.

Although it didn't match Zhao Liang's expectations, sometimes it was more important to follow your heart.

After all, people were selfish.

"Dad, forgive me," Zhao Xin murmured to himself.

At that moment, Zhao Xin was confident—confident enough to ask Zhao Liang for forgiveness, even though he knew full well Zhao Liang wouldn't forgive him.

However, he had made a mistake.

It was a mistake many clever people made.

They were so clever that they naturally took everyone else for fools, believing they could toy with anyone they pleased.

In reality, Lan Meng was by no means far behind him.

In fact, because of the differences in their childhood environments and upbringing, Lan Meng was better than him in many ways.

Even if there were things Lan Meng didn't understand, that didn't mean she couldn't make use of them.

"Wu Wei, did I put you in a difficult position today?"

"No. I have my own code of conduct. Things like this never put me in a difficult position."

Wu Wei was telling the truth.

That only hurt Lan Meng more.

"Do you dislike me doing this?"

"I do. You used me, and in my eyes, that was a complete waste of time."

As far as Wu Wei was concerned, Lan Meng had used both Zhao Xin and him.

It wasn't exactly a heinous crime, but Wu Wei really didn't like that kind of behavior.

Lan Meng explained herself.

"I was actually trying to help you."

Wu Wei smiled, but didn't stop heading for the library.

His favorite thing to do was read in the library.

As long as he immersed himself in a sea of knowledge, he could forget all the trivial matters outside.

Wu Wei had always felt that no matter how many trivial matters piled up, they shouldn't get in the way of what really mattered.

For students, studying would always come first.

Everything else could wait.

Faced with Wu Wei, Lan Meng wasn't discouraged. She caught up with him and offered a reasonable explanation. "Didn't you ask me about Zhao Xin yesterday? So I kept an eye on him and gave him a few hints."

Wu Wei stopped in his tracks.

He realized this might be true.

After all, Lan Meng was an Awakened.

"Did you enter his dream?"

"Yes. I gave him some guidance so we could observe him more effectively. But first, I need you to tell me why you're investigating Zhao Xin. What's strange about him? Has he been affected by the Heart Demon too?" Lan Meng fired off a string of questions.

They were both old foxes, and each assumed the other had never read Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

Zhao Xin thought all his actions came from his own heart, not realizing that his heart had long been riddled with holes.

First Zhao Liang, then Lan Meng: both had influenced his choices without him realizing it.

And each thought the other knew nothing about it.

Zhao Xin did too.

Wu Wei thought for a moment, then told Lan Meng what had happened. At the end, he added, "My guess is that it's most likely fake. I don't think Zhao Xin and I are related by blood."

Every cell in his body rejected the idea.

Besides, Wu Wei had always trusted his own judgment.

Lan Meng nodded thoughtfully. A moment later, she grabbed Wu Wei's hand and said seriously, "If what you've told me is true, your uncle may have been set up—or you may have been the target. Wu Wei, you need to analyze this more carefully."

"What I need more right now is to study. These are trivial matters. I'm in no rush." Wu Wei shook his head.

No matter how many urgent matters came rushing at him, choosing to improve himself first was never a mistake.

That was actually what Lan Meng admired most about Wu Wei.

But she had her own way of handling things. "There are many kinds of learning. Broadening your horizons and experiencing new things count too. Wu Wei, let me show you something that'll open your eyes."

"You're going to broaden my horizons?" Wu Wei smiled strangely.

Lan Meng pursed her lips and scoffed. "Wu Wei, I've told you before: poverty limits your imagination. Don't assume you're better than me just because you get better grades. I've seen more good things than you even know exist."

That one hit hard, bro.

"When you were discussing it with Qin Yunhai last time, didn't you say you wanted to develop an artificial intelligence, feed it all the known information about someone, and have it calculate the various possible paths their life might take?"

"That's right. Why?"

"I talked to my dad about it, and he said your mom had the same idea back then."

Damn, my mom really was amazing. Of course she was as smart as her son.

"She poured a tremendous amount of effort into researching it, but in the end, technology limited her and she failed. Still, she settled for the next best thing and developed a low-end version of the artificial intelligence."

"How well did it work?"

"It could scan a person and make basic judgments about them, including their potential, intelligence, values, and behavioral patterns. Aunt Lin's research was entirely funded by my dad, so naturally, the artificial intelligence ended up belonging to the Lan Family. It played a major role in the Lan Family's rapid transformation, its wealth of talent, and its immense fortune."

Wu Wei blinked.

"You don't believe me?"

"No, I believe you. I was just marveling at how my mom didn't let me down."

Lan Meng: "..."

Could you not be so shameless?

"I can help you apply to use it once, to analyze Zhao Xin."

The poor relied on mutation; the rich relied on technology.

Zhao Xin would never understand just how terrifying the resources Lan Meng could call upon were.

A person's strength came from many different things.

Wu Wei was becoming more and more aware of that.

"Money really can get you anything," Wu Wei sighed.

Lan Meng smiled. "It always has."

Wu Wei thought of something Lin Shen had once told him:

"Back when I was broke, I thought that once I had money, I'd find love, make my parents happy, and earn my friends' respect. Then I actually got rich and realized that was exactly how it worked.

"Son, never be like your dad and insist that happiness is what matters most. He'll never understand how happy rich people are."

Thinking about his monthly allowance of 2,000 Qin Coins, Wu Wei suddenly felt like crying.