Besides, he was now genuinely curious about her.
Jia Yuanās expression stiffened for a fleeting moment, but he quickly composed himselfāso quickly that you would have missed it if you werenāt watching closely. He nodded. "Miss Ye currently holds a civilian post at our base."
"Mr. Jia, could you please take me to her? Iād like to pay Miss Ye a visit."
"Well... I happen to be busy with something right now. Iāll have someone else take you." With that, he immediately summoned a tall, thin young soldier and ordered him to take Su Ze to Ye Jin.
The tall, thin soldierās expression changed, but under Jia Yuanās stern gaze, he dutifully complied.
Su Ze and the tall, thin soldier left the reception room. As they walked, Su Ze couldnāt help but ask curiously, "Why does it seem like none of you want to see Ye Jin? Is she scary?"
The tall, thin soldier seemed to recall something, and a strange look crossed his face. "Miss Ye has a nickname around here," he said. "We call her the āTime Devourerā."
āTime Devourer,ā Su Ze mused. āThat sounds impressive. Could Miss Ye have mastered some high-level, time-related skill? Probably not...ā He asked the soldier about the nicknameās origin.
"Youāll understand once you meet her," the soldier replied.
Su Ze followed the soldier to an office door. The tall, thin soldier pointed inside and said, "Miss Ye is in there. You can go in by yourself. Iām heading back now."
With that, he turned and walked away, as if terrified Su Ze would ask him to come along.
Su Ze frowned. He didnāt rush in, instead taking a moment to survey his surroundings.
He was on the first floor of an office building, which was partitioned into several offices. Only Ye Jinās door was wide open; the others were all tightly shut. However, judging by the light seeping from under the door cracks and the faint sounds of chatter and laughter, Su Ze guessed the other offices werenāt vacant.
Su Ze took a deep breath and stepped into Ye Jinās office.
There was only one person in the spacious officeāunquestionably Ye Jin. Su Ze took a good look at his senior from Dongli. She was dressed in a crisp, practical style: a white shirt and jeans.
She was bent over her desk, her head slightly bowed. Her high ponytail swayed with her every movement, each strand of hair practically radiating vitality.
From his angle, Su Ze could only see her lovely profile.
The sound of his footsteps must have startled her, because Ye Jin looked up at him, breaking into a radiant smile. "Hello! Can I help you with something?"
"Hello, Miss Ye. Iām Su Ze." Su Ze removed the Hundred-Change Mask from his face.
"Oh, Su Ze." Ye Jin looked slightly surprised for a moment before her expression returned to normal. "I know who you are. My grandmother told me youād be stopping by."
Ye Jin stood up, brought a chair over for Su Ze, and then busied herself pouring him some water. She even took out her favorite snacks for him to try.
"Here, try this," she urged. "Itās a tentacle from a Hundred-Claw Octopus. Itās delicious!"
Su Ze tried it. It was actually quite good. Playing dumb, he asked, "Miss Ye, do you know why Mr. Ning asked me to come here?"
Ye Jin smiled, a little embarrassed. "Actually, itās about me..."
āSo it really is a setup,ā Su Ze thought. āAre they trying to get us together?ā
"You see," Ye Jin said apologetically, "I was planning to absorb a Deep Sea Electric Eel Extract, but youāre the one who redeemed the vial from the national treasury. Because of that, my grandmother went to the sea to hunt a Deep-Sea Electric Eel for me."
"But that kind of S-rank beast is very rare; finding one is a matter of luck. My grandmother searched for several days and even risked going deep into the Central Sea. In the end, she managed to hunt a Mutated Deep-Sea Electric Eel."
"A Mutated Deep-Sea Electric Eel?" Su Zeās interest was instantly piqued. He was quite familiar with mutated beasts.
A mutation could make a beast stronger or weaker, but the Deep-Sea Electric Eel was already a Tier-3 S-rank beast. If it had mutated to become stronger, it would be an S+-rank beast, on par with the likes of the Mutated Giant Crocodile.
Ye Jin nodded. "That Mutated Electric Eel is far more powerful than a typical Deep-Sea Electric Eel. This makes the energy in its extract extremely volatile, and my grandmother is worried I wonāt be able to absorb it. Then, she heard from Mr. Gu that you have experience absorbing a Mutated Upright Ape Extract. Thatās why she wants to trade the extract from the mutated eel for the Deep Sea Electric Eel Extract you have."
"But donāt worry," she added. "If youāre not confident you can absorb the Mutated Electric Eel Extract, please donāt force yourself. I can just have my grandmother hunt another Deep-Sea Electric Eel for me later. Iām not in a huge rush."
Su Ze adopted a serious tone. "Mr. Ning is Dongliās Guardian God. He defends our nation and guards its borders. Iāve always held him in the highest esteem. And you, Miss Ye, are a fellow student from my university. How could I possibly refuse such a small request!"
With that, he took out the Deep Sea Electric Eel Extract and pressed it into Ye Jinās hand. "Here, Miss Ye, take it. Why donāt you absorb it right now?"
He was clearly afraid sheād go back on the deal!
Su Ze wasnāt worried about her taking his extract and not honoring the deal. As long as Ye Jin accepted his Deep Sea Electric Eel Extract, a person with Ning Yushenās status and reputation would never go back on their word. That meant the Mutated Electric Eel Extract was as good as his.
Unable to refuse any longer, Ye Jin accepted the Deep Sea Electric Eel Extract. She now had a very favorable impression of Su Zeās frankness and sincerity.
"Su Ze, Iāll have my grandmother give you the Mutated Electric Eel Extract when she gets back."
"Thereās no rush. By the way, whatās Mr. Ning busy with today? It seems like almost everyone is out of the base," Su Ze asked, taking the opportunity to fish for information.
"The seas have been restless lately. There are frequent invasions by Marine Beasts, so most of the soldiers are out patrolling the coast." Ye Jin paused for a moment. "Then, this morning, a large number of Marine Beasts suddenly made landfall. The soldiers all rushed over, and a little while later, news came back that an island had suddenly appeared out of the sea!"
"Are they sure itās an island? Not some kind of beast or a Spiritual Plant?" Su Ze asked in surprise.
The first thing that came to his mind was something out of a cultivation novel, like a giant tortoise carrying an island on its back.
Ye Jin shook her head. "Iām not sure either. My grandmother felt something was off, so she rushed over immediately."
They didnāt dwell on the topic for long; it wasnāt something they could worry about anyway. Su Ze changed the subject.
"Miss Ye, with your strength, you should have been able to get into the Master Class. Why did you graduate so soon?"
Ye Jin was twenty-three or twenty-four and already at the Cocoon Stage. With her family background, the quality of her skills was certainly high. She was more than qualified to enter Dongli Universityās Master Class.
Ye Jin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I wasnāt in the Combat specialization. I was in the Research specialization, majoring in Evolutionary Studies. We canāt get into the Master Class, and besides, I never wanted to."
Su Ze was surprised. "You majored in Evolutionary Studies, Miss Ye? What a coincidence. Iām a new freshman in that program this year."
Her pretty eyes widened. "Youāre so powerful! Why didnāt you go into the Combat specialization?"
Su Ze laughed. "Arenāt you the same, Miss Ye? Iāve never heard of a researcher from the Evolutionary Studies program absorbing a Deep Sea Electric Eel Extract."
Ye Jin tilted her head up slightly, a hint of smug pride in her voice. "Iām different. I didnāt study evolutionary science to become a researcher, but to find my own path to power. And... Iāve already found it!
"Iāve created an entirely new school of thought!"
"Oh?" Su Ze looked intrigued. "What is it? Let me see."
āWhat could make a recent college graduate like Ye Jin so confident that sheād shamelessly boast about creating a new school of thought?ā
"Come on." Ye Jin stood up. "Iāll show you."
She then added with a hint of regret, "Itās a shame. If youād met me earlier, you could have walked this untrodden path with me. But with all the skills youāve absorbed, your development is already set in stone."
Ye Jin led Su Ze out of the office and over to a windowless building. She swiped a card to gain entry.
"There are a lot of beasts locked up in here," she explained. "The navy captured them to use as live combat training for the new recruits."
As she spoke, Ye Jin opened the door to one of the containment cells.