Bonus Chapter for Cumulative Tips: Canard's Suspicion 3

Canard adjusted his breathing, making his voice sound as steady as possible. He decided not to probe any further. Roundabout tactics were probably useless against the man before him.

"I'll ask you directly." Canard's voice sounded somewhat hollow in the corridor, every word carrying a metallic echo. "You know, don't you?"

It was an extremely abstract question, with neither subject nor object.

For anyone else, even Mu, the first reaction to hearing such words would have been confusion. They would have asked, "Know what?"

However, Xia Ya did not.

He merely stood there quietly, the dim yellow light casting a long shadow behind him.

He looked at Canard, his eyes utterly still, as though he had been waiting a long time for this question.

Then he gave a slight nod, parted his lips, and spoke three words.

"Yes. I know."

His voice was so calm, without the slightest ripple, as natural as confirming the day's weather.

Boom—

Canard felt as if a string in his mind had been violently plucked, sending out a piercing hum.

Even though it was the answer he had expected, the instant he heard Xia Ya admit it so cleanly and decisively, every muscle in his body tightened.

The alert level in his heart soared straight to its highest point in that very second.

This man really did know.

He knew everything.

He knew Jiliang's origins, knew of Cagalli's existence, knew where he, this "failed product," had come from.

He knew of the invisible chain woven from genes and bloodline that linked them together.

He knew all the darkness and filth behind the project known as the "Super Coordinator."

Canard's breathing grew heavy. As he looked at Xia Ya's unnaturally calm face, a feeling mixed with fury and chill rose from deep within him.

That sense