Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu chuckled lightly, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. He said no more, but leapt onto the back of the Four-winged Strange Bird and said to Su Jinyu, "Get on, weâre leaving."
Su Jinyuâs face lit up with surprise and joy. She thanked him repeatedly and clambered onto the back of the Strange Bird in a small run.
Then, under the watchful gaze of the crowd, the Strange Bird soared into the sky and soon disappeared in the distance.
Seeing Chu Xiu leave so easily, Liu Feng breathed a sigh of relief. He still had some apprehension towards Chu Xiu, after all, that Demon Legion was not easy to deal with.
Huang Guohua smiled smugly and turned to Xue Li, saying, "Young master, didnât I tell you not to worry? The Abyss is full of people who bluff like this. As long as you donât get bluffed by him, heâll naturally leave with his tail between his legs."
At these words, Xue Li laughed, "Uncle Huang, your experience is still the best."
The expressions of the people in the Fang Team were not so pleasant. After all, according to the elderâs theory, they were the ones who had been "bluffed".
However, it would be disgraceful to blatantly go back on a promised reward, so after saying this, everyone tacitly agreed not to mention it again.
Subsequently, without delay, they headed toward their stronghold.
Because the insect they rode on earlier had been killed in the prior battle, they had no choice but to walk.
Fortunately, as High Tier Awakened, their speed was extremely fast, and despite the rugged mountain path, they could reach the destination in at most two hours.
...
At the same time, high above the clouds, Chu Xiu was observing the girl opposite him.
Her clean and neat ponytail and simply rolled-up sleeves gave her a clean and crisp demeanor that was uncommon among ordinary girls. However, sitting on the back of the Strange Bird, her body was somewhat huddled, seemingly afraid of Chu Xiu.
But from the occasional covert glances directed at him, Chu Xiu could sense that she was far from simple.
To have reached Fierce Tier Level 9, she certainly wasnât just a bookworm who only knew researchâthis demeanor was most likely just a disguise to protect herself.
The girl was very smart, completely concealing her sharpness, always presenting a gentle side to others, making people unconsciously lower their guard.
But Chu Xiu didnât mind, because this was just a normal means of self-preservation for smart people when facing strong individuals.
"Whatâs your goal?" he asked directly.
"What?" Su Jinyu was slightly stunned.
"I said, your real goal," Chu Xiu said calmly, "Since weâre going to cooperate, we naturally have to know the ins and outs. Donât use research to brush me off. Iâll only give you one chance. If your answer doesnât satisfy me, Iâll throw you off immediately."
Chu Xiuâs words left Su Jinyu with a look of astonishment, seemingly not expecting her disguise to be so easily seen through, followed by a long silence.
"Three." Chu Xiu began counting down.
"Resurrection Wine," Su Jinyu responded decisively, not even waiting for the count of two before speaking, "My Talent is [Mirror Analysis (SS)]. I can replicate the item I need to analyze into my brain, so I can directly absorb the information contained within, even replicating part of its Ability."
"For instance, I only need to [Mirror Copy] a book into my brain, and even if Iâve never read it, I can recite its content word-for-word."
"Relying on this Talent, I became the youngest and most promising researcher at the Third Research Institute, and was even noticed by one of the four major families in Kyoto, who wanted to marry me to one of their direct descendants."
"Even though his Talent isnât as good as mine, nor is he wholeheartedly devoted to me, I donât care. His familyâs resources are enough to help me reach the pinnacle of the research institute, and thatâs enough."
"I was supposed to have a promising future."
At this point, Su Jinyuâs eyes flashed with a hint of hatred: "But some bitch was jealous of my talent, secretly hiding an [Ancient God Relic] in a reference book, which polluted my brain when I copied it."
"You have no idea what Iâm enduring now! Murmurs, hallucinations, dull pain are just the basic routineâthe [Pollution] is consuming every nerve of mine, like thousands of insects gnawing at my brain at every moment!"
"And those sycophantic scumbags, they discarded me like garbage!"
"Is it really that heartless?" Chu Xiu was surprised.
"Thatâs nothing," Su Jinyu sneered, "They even want to strip me of my Talent. Big families are that mercenary and ruthless."
As she spoke, Su Jinyuâs beautiful face suddenly contorted with rage, with a torrent of hatred in her eyes: "In at most three months, I will be completely polluted, but I refuse to yield. I want revenge; I want to kill that bitch, that contemptible man, and everyone who kicked me while I was down, as long as I can merge... ah!!!"
She suddenly clutched her head and screamed, black lines appeared under her skin as if countless worms were crawling!
Chu Xiu was dumbfounded, watching Su Jinyu scream in agony, clutching at him. The scene made him feel uneasy, even making him quietly distance himself from her.
Although he saw that she was hiding something, he didnât expect it to be this significant!
He initially thought at most she had some special opportunity, or some unavoidable family hardship.
But who would have thought it would be connected to the Ancient God!
After a long while, the black lines under Su Jinyuâs skin retracted completely, and her face regained its calmness.
"In any case, removing the [Pollution] is nearly impossible, but slowing its spread is still feasible. Resurrection Wine is the most hopeful item Iâve found after combing through all the data."