Chapter 26: Secrets

"But he said that not a single Origin Crystal can be missing, or he will kill you immediately."

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

Zhao Jin's anxiety was practically overflowing from his messages. He had considered Lu Li to be strong, but he never imagined Lu Li would be this powerful. Luo Hong had brought so many elite fighters, made full preparations, and held the initiative—how could she end up being controlled by him?

Looking at the message popping up on her 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 fired back another message:

"I see your coordinates still show you at Yongcheng No. 1 High School. Try to stall for time as much as possible; I’m bringing men to rescue you!"

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

"Delete and block Zhao Jin, or else, die."

...

On the other end.

A frantic Zhao Jin tried to send another message to Luo Hong, only to find the chat box locked. Even her real-time location had disappeared, turning into a completely unknown status.

"What the hell?!"

Zhao Jin couldn't process it for a moment. Soon, a reply from Lu Li appeared in the chat box:

"A friendly reminder: if I don't see the Origin Crystals I want by midnight, Luo Hong will die."

Suppressing the urge to curse, Zhao Jin typed rapidly:

"I really don't have that much stock on hand. At most, I have 30 Tier 2 Origin Crystals..."

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

"Payment upon delivery! One hand hands over the money, the other hands over the person!"

"Lu Li?! Damn you, answer me..."

Zhao Jin sent a flurry of messages, but all he received in return was Lu Li’s cold countdown.

"2 minutes and 39 seconds until midnight."

"What if I give you the crystals and you don't release her?!"

"You have no choice."

Zhao Jin felt like he was losing his mind. He had never been manipulated like this before.

Beside him, his lieutenant saw how unhinged Zhao Jin was becoming and couldn't help but mutter:

"Boss Zhao, we can't let that brat Lu Li lead us by the nose. If we give him all the Origin Crystals, what about our future upgrades..."

Before he could finish, the lieutenant received a brutal slap across the face.

"If I don't give them to him, what happens to Luo Hong?!"

The lieutenant clutched his swollen cheek and mumbled, "Boss, as the saying goes, women are like clothes—if you lose one, the next one will be more obedient. We must prioritize the big picture..."

"Screw your mother!"

Zhao Jin kicked the lieutenant in the face. Not feeling 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 Condensation]!! If she dies, the Patriarch will purge my branch from the Zhao family!"

"Go prepare the crystals! I have to trade for Luo Hong!!"

...

Sitting in the car, Luo Hong watched the scenery outside the window rushing backward.

After turning off the location tracking, Lu Li had been driving her around the city. Clearly, this was a precaution against Zhao Jin locking onto their position. The high school student named Lu Li was terrifyingly cautious.

Time ticked away, and finally, as it approached midnight, a trade request from Zhao Jin popped up on Lu Li's panel.

[Player Zhao Jin requests a trade.
Trade content: 86 Tier 2 Origin Crystals, 28 Tier 3 Origin Crystals.
Required payment: None]

Lu Li curled his lips and accepted the trade.

Orange and red crystals appeared out of thin air, piling up into two small hills on the seat. Luo Hong looked at the scene, feeling a slight sense of relief.

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

Lu Li remained as calm and composed as ever.

"Don't be so anxious. If I let you go now, can you guarantee you'll make it back to the Zhao family safely?"

Luo Hong was startled, realizing that was indeed true. Although her [Corpse-to-Crystal Condensation] was of Jade-grade, it had absolutely no combat ability. Without protection, any random monster could take her life.

But how did Lu Li know this?!

Alarm bells rang in Luo Hong's heart. Details she had previously ignored resurfaced, connecting into a terrifying question—how could Lu Li be so knowledgeable about her and the Zhao family's situation?!

As if he could hear her inner thoughts, Lu Li smiled faintly and continued:

"Don't you want to know my talent ability? Now that the trade is a success, I'll tell you."

As soon as he finished speaking, black mist rose from the passenger seat beside him, condensing into a human figure. It looked very young, the same age as Lu Li, but the expression between its brows wasn't as cold as Lu Li's; instead, it carried a pathetic aura of someone perpetually down on their luck.

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

The miserable-looking figure reached out and shook the hand of the stunned Luo Hong. Without waiting for her to speak, Xing Anlin continued on his own:

"Your men attacked the Humvee earlier. They actually hit the target—twice, in fact. But the target wasn't Boss Lu Li, it was me."

"It was you?" Luo Hong's eyes widened. "But the information I received was that Lu Li entered the car and never left... Were they lying to me?"

Xing Anlin explained, "Brother Dao and the others didn't lie to you. The reason they were able to swap the prince for a commoner was due to the unique nature of Soul Guards."

After saying this, Xing Anlin’s face began to distort, transforming into Lu Li’s likeness. Conversely, the person driving the car transformed into Xing Anlin.

"I can swap places with my Soul Guards."

As Lu Li spoke, he grabbed the Origin Crystals beside him and opened his data panel. The [Global Trading Market] was already online, and he needed to hurry and trade all the crystals to Xu Xiao.

After receiving the crystals, Xu Xiao was very worried about Lu Li's safety. After all, she had heard the blast when the Humvee was attacked. It was only after Lu Li repeatedly emphasized that he was safe that she finally relaxed a little.

"I'll trade you another batch of high-tier crystals; help me convert these into Tier 1 crystals as well."

Lu Li opened his friend trade and transferred all the crystals Zhao Jin had sent to Xu Xiao.

Watching the crystals that should have belonged to the Zhao family vanish into thin air, Luo Hong asked with a pained expression:

"How did you know the exact number of Origin Crystals in the Zhao family's inventory?"

"Oh, because of him."

Lu Li gestured with his chin toward Xing Anlin, who chuckled and dissipated into black mist.

Just as the vehicle was about to lose control, a pair of large hands condensed out of thin air and gripped the steering wheel firmly. A bald figure quickly materialized, replacing Xing Anlin in the driver's seat.

When Luo Hong saw the man's face, she could no longer suppress the terror in her heart.

She screamed:

"Ch-Chen Hao!!"

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

Chen Hao rubbed his bald head, looking sheepish and nowhere near as fierce as before.

"How could you..."

Before Luo Hong could finish, Chen Hao explained:

"Because I'm dead. The current me is Boss Lu Li's Soul Guard. The Boss is merciful and didn't erase my consciousness, so to repay him, I told Boss Lu Li all the intelligence I knew."

Luo Hong’s mouth hung slightly open, and she muttered like a fool:

"No wonder he knew the exact quantity of the crystal inventory and that my talent had no combat power..."

Suddenly, as if thinking of something, she questioned Chen Hao:

"I really didn't expect you to betray the Zhao family! Have you forgotten who killed your nephew? Do you have no conscience regarding all the years the Zhao family spent cultivating you?!"

Chen Hao raised an eyebrow, not a hint of guilt on his face:

"Of course I know. Tian Yuhao brought that upon himself. With his arrogant personality, if Boss Lu Li hadn't killed him, he would have died at someone else's hands eventually."

"As for the Zhao family..." Chen Hao paused. "I already gave my life for them. Doesn't that count as paying my debt?"

Luo Hong was rendered speechless. After a long silence, she spoke again:

"I really didn't expect the Zhao family to have provoked such a formidable character... Lu Li, your talent has real potential. Are you interested in joining the Zhao family?"

Hearing this, Lu Li couldn't help but look back at Luo Hong. He hadn't expected this woman to extend an olive branch to him. It was truly fitting that she was Zhao Jin's wife.

Seeing Lu Li didn't react, Luo Hong continued to offer conditions:

"As long as you are willing to join the Zhao family, I guarantee that everything that happened before can be forgotten. Moreover, the Zhao family will tilt most of its resources toward you to help you grow!"

Lu Li turned his head back and suddenly burst into laughter. His laughter grew louder and louder, as if churning with monstrous killing intent:

"Forgotten, what a wonderful 'forgotten'!! Luo Hong, oh Luo Hong, say my name again and look at my surname!!"