Chapter 135
Yu Zhi lowered his lashes, hiding all emotion, and asked, “The wax seal on the letter you received—did it have an eye on it?”
Qu Xiaonan was stunned. Though she didn’t understand why he was suddenly asking this, she answered honestly, “It seemed like some kind of stamped pattern. I didn’t look closely at the envelope.”
Yu Zhi asked again, “You said you asked the system about the item. How did it respond?”
Qu Xiaonan took a sip of water. “It didn’t respond. It didn’t say anything.”
[User “momo” is curious about your intention and tips 20 coins.]
[User “Simi Malou” is curious about your plan and tips 30 coins.]
[User “National Special-Grade Humanoid Weapon” believes you harbor ill intentions and presses you about your plan.]
Yu Zhi ignored the barrage and recalled the times he had asked the system about items.
Even if the system didn’t give detailed explanations, it would at least brush him off with a few perfunctory words—it would never stay completely silent.
He pressed his lips together and immediately called out in his mind: [Xiao Liu, item users have the right to consult about item-related questions, right?]
H0516 was in a good mood at the moment, and since Yu Zhi’s question seemed trivial, it replied: [Of course.]
Yu Zhi’s heart slowly sank.
If the system hadn’t even bothered to give Qu Xiaonan a perfunctory reply, that meant she definitely wasn’t the item’s user.
If she wasn’t the user, yet was closely tied to the item…
—Then she was the target of the item.
Yu Zhi frowned and looked at Qu Xiaonan.
She sat in the chair, shoulders slumped as if boneless, eyes hollow and lifeless. There was no expression on her face. She looked utterly dispirited and dejected.
Gone was the righteous indignation she had shown on the rooftop, and gone was the vitality she had when targeting Fu Suxi earlier.
Her life seemed to be draining away bit by bit, like a flower slowly withering.
Yu Zhi stared a little too long. Sensing his gaze, she turned her head. “Anything else you want to ask?”
Yu Zhi shook his head. “No.”
He withdrew his gaze, a guess forming in his mind.
This wasn’t Fu Suxi directing and acting in his own play. It was orchestrated entirely by Meteorite.
And the item’s effect definitely wasn’t as described in the letter. It couldn’t be that it would only become invalid after Qu Xiaonan died.
On the contrary, this item… was meant to make Qu Xiaonan die.
Yu Zhi slowly exhaled. The scene on the rooftop suddenly surfaced in his mind—
After Qu Xiaonan said, “As long as I’m alive for one more minute, this video will keep playing in the safe zone,” Fu Suxi hadn’t said anything, hadn’t asked anything—he had simply destroyed her laptop and the USB drive together.
Did Fu Suxi know this was Meteorite’s design? Had he guessed the item’s true effect? Was he trying to save Qu Xiaonan?
Most importantly—had he succeeded?
As he pondered, he glanced at the television screen. The chaotic thoughts in his mind abruptly froze, dropping to ice-cold clarity.
The video was still playing.
The item was still in effect.
If his guess was right, then Qu Xiaonan could die at any moment.
Yu Zhi’s heart sank to the bottom. His mind raced, searching for a countermeasure.
After a moment, he lowered his voice and tried using “Whatever I Say Goes”:
“You won’t die because of this item.”
As soon as the words fell, a line appeared on the translucent panel:
[Item “Whatever I Say Goes” failed to activate.]
Yu Zhi continued, “You’re no longer connected to this item.”
[Item “Whatever I Say Goes” failed to activate.]
Just like in the Yanyang instance, “Whatever I Say Goes” had no way to control life and death.
And this item… was meant to kill.
After a brief pause, Yu Zhi changed his wording: “The item’s effect on you will rebound onto its user.”
This time, the result didn’t pop up instantly. It seemed to lag for two seconds before displaying the familiar line:
[Item “Whatever I Say Goes” failed to activate.]
His voice had been so low it was barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz. Qu Xiaonan could only tell he was speaking, not what he was saying.
After listening for a while, she couldn’t help asking, “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking to myself,” Yu Zhi replied, lifting his eyelids and looking past her toward the window.
There were still people shouting in the residential complex: “Release her—!”
Perhaps because the video was still playing and they knew Qu Xiaonan was still alive, the shouting had grown much weaker than at the beginning.
Fu Suxi and Song Guanyu stood under a nearby tree. Lush branches blocked their upper bodies, so Yu Zhi couldn’t see their expressions. He could only sense that one of them was watching him.
After a moment, he raised his hand and flipped that person off.
“……”
Fu Suxi exhaled a ring of smoke and flicked away the ash.
Song Guanyu said in a low voice, “Although intensifying the conflict between the safe-zone residents and the Bureau benefits your plan, this time Yu You has gone too far.”
“Everyone in S-City’s safe zone now remembers your face. On the other hand, Yu You telling Qu Xiaonan his real identity is also strange. Perhaps the next step of the plan is—”
Fu Suxi wasn’t listening at all. He looked casually toward the management office.
He watched as Yu Zhi escalated from flipping him off with one hand to using both hands.
He smiled silently, then shifted his gaze to Qu Xiaonan.
[Checking personal information…]
[Gender: Female]
[Age: 32]
[Mental Strength: 10/80]
[Physical Condition: E-rank (deteriorating)]
[Ability Talent: None]
[Overall Evaluation: An ordinary person near death]
[Mental Strength: 9/80]
[Mental Strength: 8/80]
[Mental Strength: 7/80]
In a pollution zone, mental strength gradually dropping to the critical point meant ongoing mental contamination.
Without external pollution, declining mental strength and worsening physical condition meant approaching death.
Fu Suxi paused, then stepped toward the management office.
Seeing that he not only ignored him but was about to leave, Song Guanyu frowned and spoke again, “When I greeted Yu You last night, I used my ability.”
“I saw him interfering with your plan.”
At that, Fu Suxi turned to look at him. His gaze was icy and piercing, his voice devoid of emotion.
“Song Guanyu.”
“Stay away from me. Don’t meddle.”
Song Guanyu froze.
At that moment, voices sounded behind him—Shang Yu and He Hanhai.
“Minister Yu.”
Those returning weren’t just Shang Yu, He Hanhai, and Lin Xiangyuan—there was also an unfamiliar female ability user.
He Hanhai stepped quickly to Fu Suxi and said softly, “Minister Ji is in a meeting. Assistant Lin says the headquarters doesn’t have an identical item—only a broadcast item that can temporarily notify the entire zone.”
After he finished, Shang Yu continued, “The branch doesn’t have a corresponding system item either.”
“However,” she added, introducing the female ability user behind Lin Xiangyuan, “this is Team Leader Shi. Her ability allows her to imitate and disguise herself as someone else.”
As she spoke, Team Leader Shi demonstrated her ability in front of everyone. She transformed into Qu Xiaonan—identical in appearance and clothing.
“Minister Yu, Minister Song,” she called out. Even her voice matched perfectly.
Shang Yu glanced toward the management office, her expression serious. “I suggest we kill Qu Xiaonan immediately to stop the video, then have the mimic ability user take her place and calm the others.”
Fu Suxi neither nodded nor shook his head. Seeing Qu Xiaonan’s mental strength dropping rapidly, he walked straight toward the management office.
…………
Inside the management office.
Yu Zhi kept glancing between Qu Xiaonan and the group outside.
As Fu Suxi and the others approached, he immediately noticed the unfamiliar woman in black combat gear—clearly an ability user.
Yu Zhi’s eyelid twitched. A bad premonition rose in his heart.
Before Fu Suxi entered, Yu Zhi strode out, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to a secluded corner.
“Let’s talk.”
Fu Suxi glanced at the hand gripping his arm, then at Qu Xiaonan.
[Checking personal information…]
[Mental Strength: 2/80]
After weighing things briefly, he followed Yu Zhi.
Once they were far enough, Yu Zhi released him and spoke quickly, getting straight to the point.
“I didn’t do this. And I know this wasn’t you staging it either—it was Meteorite. You—”
Before he could finish, Fu Suxi cut him off. “Why do you think I did it?”
Yu Zhi’s eyelid twitched. This mad dog still didn’t know Yu Zhi had guessed his intentions.
Yu Zhi looked up to see Fu Suxi slowly narrowing his eyes, a meaningful glint flashing through them.
Yu Zhi casually made up an excuse. “Besides you and Meteorite, who else would want to screw me over?”
Without letting Fu Suxi pursue it, he said bluntly, “Meteorite did this. Qu Xiaonan is doomed.”
“Do you have a way to save her?”
“Save her?” The man’s narrow eyes were half-lidded, his expression cold and cruel. “Why would I save her?”
Yu Zhi froze. For a moment, he couldn’t tell whether Fu Suxi truly didn’t want to save her—or simply couldn’t.
The next second, Lin Xiangyuan’s startled cry rang out.
Yu Zhi’s expression changed. He used Flash Step to return instantly to the management office.
Qu Xiaonan’s skin was shriveling and collapsing at a visible speed, as if some invisible monster were draining her life.
She suddenly seemed to realize something. Her eyes rolled, bewildered and helpless, toward Yu Zhi.
Her lips trembled. She tried to speak—but not a single syllable came out.
In the next instant, the light in her eyes went out completely. Her well-proportioned body was reduced to cracked, desiccated human skin. Her shoulder-length curls turned into brittle straw.
There was no time to do anything.
Qu Xiaonan died.
Yu Zhi stared blankly at the shriveled body in the chair.
A gust of wind blew in through the window. The fragile corpse instantly crumbled to pieces, dissolving into fine dust that drifted silently through the air.
“Clang—”
The handcuffs fell heavily to the ground.
The television video cut off abruptly, replaced by black-and-white static.
“They killed her—!”
A deafening shout pierced through the residential complex and echoed into the sky.
Then, the once-restless complex fell into eerie silence.
Shang Yu took a deep breath. “I’ll take Team Leader Shi out first.”
She quickly pulled the woman away.
Song Guanyu’s voice broke the dead silence in the management office.
“Vice Minister Shang, please take Team Leader Shi out and proceed as you suggested.”
He took out a handkerchief and calmly wiped the ash from Qu Xiaonan off the back of his hand.
“Additionally, have headquarters immediately arrest Yu You and detain him for questioning until the matter is fully clarified.”
Hearing his alias, Yu Zhi blinked slowly and came back to himself.
The livestream barrage refreshed wildly.
[User “Cyber Bodhisattva” is shocked you’re not the mastermind and looks forward to your counterattack.]
[User “Scarecrow’s Straw” insists this is your self-directed play and believes you are the mastermind.]
[User “momo” is curious about what happens next and tips 30 coins.]
The sound of handcuffs clinking rang out. Yu Zhi turned his head to see Song Guanyu taking out a pair and walking toward him.
Before he could get close, a tall, straight figure blocked the way. A faint scent of tobacco filled the air.
“I’ll interrogate him personally,” Fu Suxi said coldly.
Song Guanyu reminded him evenly, “Minister Yu, you should avoid suspicion.”
Yu Zhi slowly lifted his eyelids, looked at Song Guanyu, then at Fu Suxi, and said, “No need to interrogate me.”
“I did it.”
Fu Suxi frowned and turned to look at him.
Yu Zhi slowly curled his lips into a smile—there wasn’t the slightest hint of amusement in his eyes.
“However…”
“The system item and the surveillance video were given to me by someone else.”
The barrage exploded again.
[User “Electronic Wooden Fish” wonders why you confessed and taps the wooden fish for your temporary lover.]
[User “World’s Cutest Girl” looks forward to your move and tips 50 coins.]
[User “Pure Love Warrior” believes you’re about to stir up trouble and tips 50 coins.]
[User “Rich Young Master Tyrant” eagerly awaits your counterattack and tips 0.1 coin.]
“There’s someone from Meteorite inside your Bureau.”
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