Chapter 28: Confession!

"Is this girl brain-damaged?"

Qi Zeyu pinched the orange-grade origin crystal in his hand and looked at the pile of first-tier origin crystals that had appeared on the ground. By buying low and selling high, he hadn't lost anything—instead, he had gained 70 first-tier crystals! Was Xu Xiao running a charity?

Qi Zeyu frowned, feeling that something wasn't quite right. To test his hypothesis, he opened the world chat channel again and selected a trade request for high-tier origin crystals. Another 250 crystals were added to his stash. Including the previous 70, Qi Zeyu now had a total of 330 origin crystals.

He followed the same procedure, editing a trade request to send to Xu Xiao:
[Player Qi Zeyu requests a trade.
Content: 320 first-tier origin crystals.
Payment required: 8 second-tier origin crystals.]

Within a second, the trade was successful! Qi Zeyu then used the second-tier crystals he had obtained to acquire even more first-tier crystals at a high ratio, then sent another trade request to Xu Xiao at a lower ratio. Repeating this cycle, the total number of origin crystals in Qi Zeyu's hands grew rapidly. Any lingering concerns were thrown to the back of his mind.

The corners of Qi Zeyu's mouth finally lifted, uncontrollable. "Hahahaha, I've run into a fool! Just watch me drain your entire fortune!"

Qi Zeyu sat cross-legged and edited a message in the world chat channel:
[Origin Crystal Exchange! Trading first-tier origin crystals for second and third-tier crystals. Exchange rates: 65:1 and 260:1.]

He was going to push the exchange rate for first-tier crystals as high as possible!

...

Meanwhile, at the Zhao family estate.

"This is bad, Brother Jin! Several more people have started buying up high-tier origin crystals, and the rate that had just stabilized is starting to climb again!"

"One of them is Qi Zeyu, the top-ranked player on the leaderboard. He’s raising the rates the most aggressively..."

Zhao Jin’s face turned grim, but he remained composed. "Just a few individual players; they can't buy much. Keep acquiring at the original rate!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone else in the conference room shouted, "It’s no good, Brother Jin! Other families have started raising their prices too. The Lin family is offering 300 first-tier crystals for one third-tier crystal!"

"At this rate, we won't be able to acquire a single high-tier crystal!"

"Brother Jin, should we raise our prices?!"

Zhao Jin’s face twitched, his brows knitting together. If it were just independent players competing for the high-tier crystals, it wouldn't matter. The Zhao family had deep pockets, and they had more than enough first-tier crystals to spare; independent players couldn't consume that many. He could simply outlast them. But other families were different. Like the Zhao family, they had substantial capital and a massive demand for high-tier crystals. If they gained the upper hand, the Zhao family really wouldn't be able to secure any more high-tier crystals.

Gritting his teeth, Zhao Jin said coldly, "Raise the rate! We must crush the other families!"

"Don't forget we have Luo Hong! If it comes down to it, we can issue IOUs! As long as we get a good head start now, the momentum will only grow!"

...

On the outskirts of Yong City.

Watching the high-rise buildings gradually disappear into the distance, Luo Hong began to panic. Since that one question, Lu Li hadn't said a single word, busy with his data panel the entire time. What exactly was Lu Li doing? Did he have no intention of letting her go at all?

Fear fermented in Luo Hong’s heart. To appear composed, she kept repeating the phrase, "Lu Li wouldn't dare provoke the Zhao family," over and over in her mind. But the more she repeated it, the more doubt crept in. Did Lu Li really not dare to provoke the Zhao family?

He was a Lu! If he truly was a survivor of that family... No, it couldn't be that coincidental! Even if he were, he couldn't possibly know the truth behind what happened. The Zhao family had handled things so cleanly back then. All the connections had been smoothed over; there wouldn't be any accidents!

Just as Luo Hong was consoling herself, the speeding vehicle slammed on the brakes. Due to inertia, her face slammed into the back of the front seat. The sharp pain brought tears to her eyes, and she reflexively wanted to curse out loud. However, when she saw where they were outside the window, the profanities died in her throat. Her body began to tremble.

They had stopped at a desolate villa. The grand architecture and spacious courtyard spoke of its former luxury, while the overgrown weeds and the sound of insects told of its current ruin. Luo Hong knew this place—she knew it all too well. Yet, she had to feign surprise and asked Lu Li, "Where is this? Why did you bring me here?"

Lu Li didn't answer. He opened the door and walked toward the villa in silence. Chen Hao got out from the other side and dragged Luo Hong out of the car. Luo Hong struggled, trying to break free, but her strength was no match for Chen Hao. Before long, she was dragged inside.

Because it had been abandoned for so long, the interior of the villa was a mess, covered in thick dust and dense spiderwebs. Lu Li fetched a broom and a dustpan and began to sweep the living room, lost in his own thoughts.

As the dust was swept away, the floor beneath was revealed. Seeing this, Luo Hong shook even more violently. If she had been able to deceive herself before, convincing herself that Lu Li wasn't that survivor, it was now impossible. Because the spot Lu Li was clearing was exactly where that couple had been tortured!

Even after all these years, the traces remained on the floor. The wood was stained a dark, reddish-black—the result of being soaked in blood. The holes in the boards were marks left by steel nails driven through flesh. As for the scratches, they were gouged out unconsciously by fingernails in moments of extreme agony!

Lu Li finished sweeping, set aside the tools, and looked at Luo Hong. "Kneel and repent."

Before Luo Hong could speak, Chen Hao kicked her behind the knees, forcing her to drop heavily to the floor. Lu Li sat cross-legged opposite her, opening his data panel with one hand and pulling a palm-sized vial of solvent from his pocket with the other. Ignoring Luo Hong, he sent a message to Xu Xiao: "How is the collection coming along?"

Xu Xiao responded quickly: "Almost done. I have 12 second-tier and 3 third-tier crystals left on hand; I can trade them off in a moment."

"Good. Send me the first-tier crystals for now."

Xu Xiao complied. A trade request immediately popped up on Lu Li’s data panel:
[Player Xu Xiao requests a trade.
Content: 98,978 first-tier origin crystals.
Payment: None.]

The moment Lu Li accepted, it was as if a hailstorm had broken out in the silent villa. Nearly one hundred thousand first-tier origin crystals piled up on the floor like a small mountain, a spectacular sight.

Luo Hong stared in disbelief. Her lips moved, and just as she was about to ask something, Chen Hao delivered a brutal kick to her back! The force was so great that she nearly lost her breath.

"The boss wants you to repent. Can you be sincere about it?!"

"...I, I don't know anything. What is this place? What do you want me to repent for?"

"Zhao Jin has already given you the crystals and met your demands, why won't you let me go..."

Luo Hong writhed on the ground in agony, like a leech in a bed of salt. Although she didn't know how Lu Li had discovered the truth, she had to insist that she had nothing to do with what had happened here before the facts were fully exposed. Otherwise, even if she had ten lives, it wouldn't be enough for Lu Li to kill!

Hearing Luo Hong’s groans, Lu Li raised his head from behind the mountain of crystals, his expression indifferent: "If you admit the sins you committed back then and repent properly now, I can let you go immediately."