"Ouch! Ouch! Mercy!" Guo Sheng wailed piteously.
"God... I only stole a phone prototype! Why did You send these monsters to catch me?!"
Guo Sheng had completely given up.
Although his [Cockroach Physique] prevented him from passing out, the pain from his broken leg and the repeated electric shocks were pure torture.
At this point, he didn't want to run anymore. Instead, he prayed for the authorities to arrive and throw him into prison, as far away as possible from these two young "demons."
"Ask anything, I'll answer! And please, give me that cloth, I'll tie myself up!"
Shen Xiao looked at him with curiosity. "What exactly is your power?"
"Cockroach body... my physical endurance and defense are drastically increased. I only awakened it when I saw that phone shop owner's video insulting me as a 'social pest.' I was so angry that my power awakened, and it turned out to be the power of an actual pest! That's why I shaved their heads..."
"Okay, okay, that's enough. I don't need your tragic backstory," Shen Xiao interrupted, bored. He then pointed to the suitcase on the table. "Where did you get these potions?"
"I stole them! A few days ago, I ran out of food money, and I met a man in black in a narrow alley. He wore the gold necklace and watch I'm wearing now. He looked injured, so I robbed him. I took this suitcase too. I didn't know what was inside, but it looked expensive."
Shen Xiao fell silent.
A man in black?
Injured?
He remembered the group from the Ability Association he had met at the boba shop earlier.
Was this the box they were looking for?
While Shen Xiao was deep in thought, Lu Qingyue remained vigilant. She no longer trusted Guo Sheng's words.
She continued tearing the bedsheets and wrapping the criminal's body until he resembled a giant dumpling.
Not satisfied with just tying his hands and feet, she wrapped his eyes and almost his entire face, leaving only a tiny hole to breathe.
"Use this to clean your hands," Shen Xiao said, handing her a wet towel and medical gloves.
He noticed bloodstains on the sleeve of Qingyue's shirt.
"Thank you, Shen Xiao," Qingyue whispered. She accepted the "bonus" portion of the gold jewelry that would be sold later.
"Will... will the Association mind us taking this jewelry?"
"This is considered extra income, Qingyue. If we only rely on the 2,000 yuan reward, we'll starve. The Association usually turns a blind eye to small things like this, as long as we hand over the target and the primary evidence."
Shen Xiao provided some practical education to the "future empress" before him.
He wanted Qingyue to understand that in this world, they had to be shrewd. However, he also warned her about the suitcase of potions.
"But as for items like these potions, we must hand them over. We don't know their value, and if the original owners track us down, our lives are at stake. It's safer to exchange them for an official reward from the Association."
About an hour later, two agents from the Ability Association arrived.
They were the man and woman in black trench coats Shen Xiao had encountered at the boba shop.
Lian Mao, the male agent, immediately checked the contents of the suitcase.
As soon as he caught the scent, his expression changed drastically.
"This is... Life-Burning Potion," Yuqiang whispered tensely.
Lao Shi, his female partner, inspected it as well.
"Correct. This is both bad news and good news. At least we found the lead that went missing during the raid a few days ago."
Yuqiang looked at Shen Xiao and Qingyue with newfound respect.
"You two did an incredible job. We will verify this and send an additional reward to your accounts."
"Thank you, Senior," Shen Xiao replied calmly.
"May I ask, what exactly is this Life-Burning Potion?"
"It's a new potion we've been investigating. Its function is similar to an extreme stimulant. For one hour after consuming it, the user can use spiritual energy without limits and without obstacles, but..." Yuqiang trailed off with a grim expression.
"The price is permanently burning the user's lifespan or life potential. It is a forbidden item."
Shen Xiao nodded in understanding.
No wonder the energy fluctuations felt so unstable.
Limitless energy for an hour?
If used by the wrong person, this could create a temporary monster, he thought.
...
Qingyue was stunned.
In the world of practitioners, spiritual energy was everything.
Without it, even the most formidable ability was just for show.
Qingyue knew all too well how slowly she gathered spiritual energy every day because her poverty prevented her from buying spirit stones.
"Limitless? Doesn't that mean the user of this potion becomes invincible?" Qingyue asked innocently.
"Nothing is free in this world," Lao Shi replied while focusing on driving.
"This potion doesn't give power from the heavens, it forces the body to burn its lifespan and potential as fuel. This is the last resort for desperate fugitives."
"Anyway, don't think about it too much. Your mission is over," Lian Mao added from the passenger seat.
"Senior, one more thing," Shen Xiao interjected from the back seat.
"Could you give us a ride? This village is very remote, it will be hard for us to find a taxi at this hour. If you leave us here, we'll have to walk for miles."
Lao Shi didn't mind.
They were heading back to the city anyway.
However, as the car began to leave the village, a pair of eyes watched them from a dark alleyway.
"Damn it, the Association people got there first and took the potions!" a man whispered into his communicator. "There's only one car, four people inside."
"Good. Finish them off on the mountain road. Don't let a single one escape," a cold voice answered from the other end.
...
On the silent mountain road, Shen Xiao realized something was wrong.
A black car continued to tail them.
Lao Shi tried to speed up and switch lanes, but the car stuck to them like a shadow.
"We're being followed! It seems they're after the potions!" Lao Shi shouted while flooring the gas.
Qingyue, who had been leaning on Shen Xiao's shoulder, sat up straight.
"They're chasing us?"
Guo Sheng, whose eyes were still covered by the bedsheet, started to panic.
"What? Someone is chasing me? I only stole a phone!"
"No," Shen Xiao teased in a terrifying tone.
"They are the original owners of that suitcase. There are tens of thousands of people coming for revenge!"
"Tens of thousands?! Mercy! Hero, please protect me!" Guo Sheng wailed hysterically.
Ding!
[Gained Guo Sheng's favorability, Fate Ticket +0.05]
"So little..." Shen Xiao muttered, disappointed.
THUD!
Lian Mao struck Guo Sheng's neck, knocking him unconscious to shut him up.
"Brat, you've been dragged into big trouble!"
Suddenly, a fireball hit the car's front tire.
BOOM!
The tire blew out instantly.
Lao Shi struggled to control the wheel until the car came to a stop, skidding sideways across the road.
Seven people stepped out of the chasing car. Six rank-two practitioners, and one rank-three whose aura was incredibly strong.
"Damn it... a rank-three practitioner," Lao Shi whispered, pale.
Rank-three practitioners had enough spiritual energy to withstand bullets, making their firearms almost useless.
"Listen, kid!" Lian Mao prepared to get out.
"We'll hold them off outside. You and your girlfriend find a chance to run toward the forest. Don't run via the highway-that's suicide!"
As the two Association agents stepped out to fight, the atmosphere inside the car became extremely tense.
Qingyue looked at Shen Xiao with teary eyes, feeling guilty for dragging him into danger.
"I'll stay to hold them back, Shen Xiao. You run..."
"Don't talk nonsense," Shen Xiao cut her off. For him, this was a great opportunity to test the equipment from yesterday's 1,000-draw. Although he was technically still "rank-one," with the system's gear, his defense was equivalent to rank-four!
"Quick, take off your clothes," Shen Xiao commanded suddenly.
"Huh? Take off... my clothes?"
Qingyue's eyes bugged out, thinking she had misheard.
In the middle of being surrounded by enemies, why was Shen Xiao asking her to do that?
But Shen Xiao had already started taking off his own jacket. "Hurry up! Don't ask questions if you want to survive!"
Qingyue, panicked and trusting Shen Xiao implicitly, finally complied.
She took off her thick coat, then her sweater, and even her trousers until she was left in her underwear.
Shen Xiao, who had just pulled a leather armor vest out of his storage space, turned to his side.
"..."
Shen Xiao froze.
His eyes didn't blink as he took in the figure before him.
Who would have thought that beneath those thick coats, the future Empress possessed such captivating curves?
And even more surprising...
Blue and white stripes?
Her taste is truly unique... Shen Xiao thought, his nose nearly bleeding.
"I just meant take off your coat and outer clothes so you could wear this leather armor, Qingyue! Why did you go all the way to... your underwear?" Shen Xiao asked, his voice husky.
Lu Qingyue's face instantly turned redder than the ripest tomato.
She hugged her own body, looking at Shen Xiao with a gaze that flickered between wanting to cry and wanting to kill him.
"D-do I have to take these off too?!" Qingyue asked with a trembling voice, referring to her last remaining pieces of clothing.
I Said Take Off Your Coat, Not Your Everything-!