Hao Jingye smiled and instinctively reached up to adjust his glasses, only to realize there was nothing on his nose. His hand paused briefly, then snapped back. With a gentle flick, a fragment spun at his fingertips.
"I thought I'd have to wait another month or two. I didn't expect you to make your decision so quickly. Very decisive, and very clever." Hao Jingye looked perfectly at ease, approval in his eyes.
As though he were still "Assistant Hao" from the Special Affairs Office, praising them for making the right decision.
Sheng An stared fixedly at the fragment he was toying with.
Song Linwei drew a deep breath.
Sure enough, Hao Jingye had been collecting fragments outside all along. Over the past month or so, he had probably gathered quite a few.
Jiang Yu clenched her hands into fists in fury.
Standing behind Sheng An, she gritted her teeth. "So you really did it on purpose! You brought the cold wave early and lowered the oxygen content in the air to force us to come looking for you!"
Hao Jingye glanced at Jiang Yu, then calmly turned his gaze back to Sheng An-
"I told you long ago that meteorite fragments would do you little good. They only bring disaster. You've come to me because you've decided to hand them over, haven't you?"
He slowly raised his hand and beckoned with his slender fingers.
A masked Otherkind walked toward Sheng An, reaching out to take the box.
But Sheng An lifted her hand, moving it out of reach.
Every Otherkind surrounding them instantly grew grim. Surges of energy stirred a whooshing sound around them, exceptionally clear in the stillness of daybreak.
Zhuang Fan, Qin Xuan, Old Qin, Jiang Yu, Wan Yuan, Jia Guangliang, Gu Qiansheng, and Ruan Zifeng-the members without