Chapter 67 – He's Different from You All

Currently, there was still about one day left until the Spirit Demon Abyss entrance opened.

After daybreak and the passing of this day, it would be nearly time for the Spirit Demon Abyss entrance to activate.

At that point, the mysterious Phantom Demon Cub would seize the opportunity to escape back into the Spirit Demon Abyss, disappearing from the surface world.

In other words, the cub would only remain here for this single day.

“With just one day, even if the higher-ups want to take action, at most they’ll send people to investigate around and try to locate the cub’s whereabouts.”

Xu Qianqian’s voice clearly reached Su Ming’s ears.

“But right now coincides with the critical period of the Huaming District battle. The Base City Executives simply can’t abandon important combat preparations to dedicate manpower to tracking a single Phantom Demon Cub.”

If they did so, their official positions would likely become unstable.

Neglecting tens of millions of lives in Longyao City to pursue personal interests by privately withdrawing from combat preparations—such an act, even if committed by Longyao City’s mayor, would invite impeachment from numerous political opponents and honest officials.

“Additionally, once I report tonight’s events, many more Base City Executives will learn about the Phantom Demon Cub. They’re bound to restrain each other, even to the point of disputing with the executive who hired the underground criminal organization. Trying to accomplish anything under these circumstances will definitely be difficult.”

Xu Qianqian’s analysis was thoroughly reasoned, earning Su Ming’s agreement.

Upon careful consideration, he also didn’t believe these so-called Base City Executives could accomplish any major moves within a single day.

They each had their own positions, considerations, political opponents, and objectives. Once entangled with each other, it would inevitably become endless.

The Bloodline of a Nightmare Species—this was enough to transform any Hunter Family into a Super Family among humanity. For the Base City Executives, if they couldn’t obtain it themselves, they would certainly never let others acquire it either.

Otherwise, Longyao City would gain a Super Family that would dominate all other factions.

From the perspective of the Base City’s overall interests, this would undoubtedly be a great benefit.

But from the viewpoint of those important figures with their respective positions, factions, and Families, this might not necessarily be a good thing.

Longyao City was only so large, with limited territory and only a certain amount of generated benefits. If one faction rose to dominate all others, it would inevitably cause massive changes to the power structure and even the distribution model of benefits.

Especially when this dominating faction happened to be their political opponent or an ambitious character—it was easy to imagine how many people would be unwilling to see them rise.

Based on the above, even if the Base City Executives learned about the Phantom Demon Cub and were tempted by it, they likely couldn’t take any major actions.

They would need to restrain others from making moves, while others would similarly restrain them. With such limited time and Longyao City facing the major event of the Spirit Demon Abyss entrance opening, accomplishing anything significant in a short period would be extremely difficult.

This was what constituted so-called politics and factional conflicts.

Xu Qianqian even put it this way.”Even if I don’t report it to the authorities and only report it to our family, it would still be difficult to achieve anything, right?” Xu Qianqian’s tone was rather cold as she spoke: “Even within just the Xu Family, we’re not united internally. In the end, it would just end up like the Base City Executives – mutually restraining, interfering, and undermining each other, resulting in nothing accomplished.”

At this point, Xu Qianqian’s tone carried a hint of weariness.

“Is that so?” Su Ming said with some sympathy: “You’ve had it tough too.”

With just that one sentence, Su Ming understood that Xu Qianqian’s life in the Xu Family wasn’t as glamorous as others might imagine.

“That’s just how this world is – nothing ever goes perfectly as desired anywhere.” Xu Qianqian suddenly said this in a tone that seemed to have seen through everything: “Rather than wasting this life on scheming against those people, perhaps I’d prefer to die like today – protecting someone I care about.”

Hearing this, Su Ming was stunned.

“Someone you care about?”

Su Ming stared blankly at Xu Qianqian.

But Xu Qianqian didn’t look back at Su Ming, having turned her back to him at some point.

“It’s late, go back and sleep. We still have missions tomorrow.”

That was all Xu Qianqian said.

“Alright.” Su Ming stopped questioning and nodded slowly: “Then your commission – I consider it completed?”

“Correct.” Xu Qianqian replied: “From now on, you don’t need to concern yourself with matters regarding any Suspicious Group.”

The Phantom Demon Cub had escaped.

The Underground Mercenary Group “Sin” had also been annihilated tonight through the joint efforts of Su Ming and Xu Qianqian.

This mission that had troubled Su Ming and Xu Qianqian for some time could now be declared complete.

From now on, Su Ming wouldn’t need to conduct any more investigations, nor would he need to call Xu Qianqian late at night to report anything, exchange information with her, or arrange secret meetings.

Of course, this didn’t mean there would be no contact between them.

At the very least, Su Ming still had long-term business he wanted to discuss with Xu Qianqian.

Xu Qianqian felt the same way.

Recalling everything that happened tonight, this Young Miss had to admit that without Su Ming’s exceptional performance, she alone could never have annihilated that group.

The true strength of Su Ming, which she had always suspected, was finally revealed tonight.

Xu Qianqian stared fixedly at Su Ming.

“Wh-what’s wrong?”

Su Ming felt somewhat uncomfortable under Xu Qianqian’s gaze.

Xu Qianqian’s expression was unreadable.

“I was thinking – why have you been hiding such strength all this time?”

Xu Qianqian voiced the question in her heart.

Su Ming fell silent.

This… how should he answer?

Should he say he chose to lay low to develop steadily?

If this were before, he might have said exactly that, without caring whether Xu Qianqian could understand.

But now, with the aftereffects of the “beauty saves the hero” scenario, Su Ming suddenly didn’t want to appear so… cowardly in front of Xu Qianqian!

So Su Ming simply said this:

“That’s a secret.”

He was putting on airs.

Xu Qianqian’s eyes unconsciously narrowed slightly as she looked at Su Ming, eventually becoming half-squinted.

This always gave Su Ming the feeling that she was looking down on him.

But as the saying goes, isn’t it the man with secrets who most arouses a girl’s curiosity?Today, I was saved by a beauty—is it too much to claim a small victory?

It was unclear whether Xu Qianqian knew what Su Ming was thinking, but she didn’t press further.

Instead, this goddess-like Academy Beauty reached out, took Su Ming’s hand, and bit it.

“Hiss”

Su Ming felt a sharp, tingling sensation and quickly pulled his hand back, glaring at Xu Qianqian.

“Are you drinking my blood again?”

This female vampire—wasn’t she satisfied with how much she’d already taken?

“Just a little bit.”

Xu Qianqian swallowed the drop of blood on her tongue, and almost immediately, her condition seemed to improve, her energy visibly restored.

“With this, even if I don’t sleep tonight, I shouldn’t feel tired during tomorrow’s mission.”

She offered this excuse, making Su Ming grit his teeth in frustration.

Yet, Su Ming’s resentful expression seemed to lift Xu Qianqian’s spirits.

“I’m heading back,” Xu Qianqian said, turning to Su Ming. “Do your best in this battle.”

With those words, she turned and left.

Su Ming watched her go, then sighed helplessly and made his way back to his own residence.

Neither of them noticed that, in a room on the top floor of the Dormitory Building, a pair of eyes watched them from a window.

……

Dormitory Building, Top Floor.

When Xu Qianqian returned to her room, she found someone waiting in the living area.

“You’re back, Qianqian!”

Li Wei, who had been waiting for who knows how long, stood up as soon as he saw her.

“Were you waiting for me?”

Xu Qianqian’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

“I couldn’t help it,” Li Wei replied with a helpless smile. “It’s so late, and you went out. I was genuinely worried.”

His considerate words didn’t please her; instead, her frown deepened.

“There’s no need for that in the future.”

Her tone was cold and detached as she brushed past him, heading toward her room.

But just as she passed by, Li Wei suddenly spoke.

“I saw you with Su Ming from the window earlier.”

His words made her pause.

“You seem quite close with that junior,” Li Wei continued, his tone ambiguous. “Are the two of you together now?”

Xu Qianqian didn’t answer.

Or rather, she didn’t feel obligated to.

“What does that have to do with you?”

Her voice turned icy.

“Nothing to do with me?” Li Wei’s voice tightened, as if suppressing some emotion. “You know how I feel about you, and you still say it has nothing to do with me?”

“Your feelings are your own business, not mine,” Xu Qianqian retorted mercilessly. “Besides, who knows if your so-called feelings are for me or for the Xu Family Bloodline?”

“Qianqian, you…” Li Wei stared at her in disbelief.

He was met only with her cold gaze.

“Don’t take me for a fool, Senior,” Xu Qianqian said coldly. “I may not always know the exact motives of those who approach me.”

“But I have my own ways of telling whether someone has ulterior motives.””I hope you won’t force me to tear off all pretenses, Senior. That wouldn’t be good for anyone.”

These cold words made Li Wei immediately clench his fists.

“What about Su Ming then?” Li Wei said in a deep voice. “Does he approach you without any ulterior motives?”

“Him?” Xu Qianqian glanced at Li Wei. “He’s different from all of you.”

Having said this, Xu Qianqian spoke no more and directly returned to her room.

Li Wei stood watching quietly for a long time before suddenly letting out a low laugh.

“I’d like to see exactly how he’s different from me.”

(End of Chapter)