Su Ling gradually woke up from her sleep.

Light blue.

As her eyes fluttered open, she found herself staring at the familiar ceiling once again. 

Lying still on the comfortable bed, she found herself in a dreamy state, the world around her a blur as she tried to piece together the fragments of her consciousness. It took her a while to register her surroundings, the realization slowly dawning on her – she was in Mr. Shen’s room.  

Her mind wandered back to the last memory she had – confronting a summoning creature with all her strength and struck it with a knife. 

However, what happened next was unclear. 

Despite uncertain she remained at ease on the bed without any worries.

Because Shen Yi must have resolved the matter.

Somehow, she had been able to firmly believe this.

Comfortable, cozy…Su Ling, who had already let go of her heart, closed her eyes.

Time seemed to slip away unnoticed as she lay still on the bed, lost in a moment of peaceful contemplation. 

She lay on the bed without moving for a long time.

After what felt like an eternity, a slight pang of hunger nudged her back to awareness, prompting her to reluctantly open her eyes. 

The vague feeling of hunger reminded her of the previous curse again, which alone would have killed her if it was not for Shen’s help.

After a short nap, her fatigue was almost gone. This was for the benefit of having an extraordinary physique.

She lazily rolled over, not wanting to get up at all. She couldn’t help but want to be a little willful.

Just like a little girl who never grows up.

“Su Ling.”

Shen Yi’s voice came from the door.

Following the voice, she saw Shen Yi standing at the door, with a smile on his face that was gentler than usual

“Let’s have breakfast together.”

Su Ling, who was lying on the bed, immediately sat up, her face looking a little embarrassed.

She smoothed out her messy hair and nodded immediately.

“Um.”

Speaking of which, does Mr. Shen really need to eat breakfast?

Her thoughts diverged and she came up with such a question.

Su Ling walked out of the house and came to the cafe.

The rain outside had finally come to a halt, casting a calm ambiance over the early hours of the morning, the sun had not really risen yet.

There was some simple food on a table in the cafe, accompanied by a steaming cup of coffee and a glass of warm milk.

Su Ling without a word, directly crossed over and sat on the side where the hot milk was placed.

Shen Yi sat across from her, deftly reached for his coffee, taking a leisurely sip as his gaze rested on the slightly bewildered girl sitting across him. 

Breaking the comfortable silence, he softly encouraged, “Eat.”

As if receiving an order, Su Ling started eating immediately.

With each bite, Su Ling found the flavors to be even more delightful than before, noting how his culinary skills had noticeably improved since integrating him in human society.

Despite her hearty appetite, her dining etiquette remained lacking in refinement.

Maybe it was a habit brought about by life in the slums, Shen Yi thought so, and took a bite of his sandwich, and felt that the taste was just so-so. 

His mind drifted to memories of Aina’s exceptional culinary skills. The contrast between his and Aina’s cooking prowess was stark, she’s more professional in this aspect. 

Meanwhile, Su Ling, engrossed in her own meal, noticed Shen Yi deep in thought, so she asked curiously.

“What are you thinking about?”

Shen Yi coming to the sense, smiled and answered without hesitation: “A girl.”

“……”

The corner of Su Ling’s mouth twitched slightly, feeling that something was wrong, but couldn’t say where.

If Mr. Shen was a human, she would probably think that he was teasing her on purpose.

However, she dismissed the idea, attributing her thoughts to mere overthinking, convinced she was reading too much into the situation. 

After a brief moment of contemplation, she couldn’t help asking: “Yesterday, how did it end up?”

Shen Yi did not answer immediately, but took another sip of coffee.

Yesterday he successfully killed a prominent member of the Dust of No Light, Henry, the patriarch of the ancient and secretive Salian family, who was considered a top wizard even in the Second Continent.

As well as a legendary figure in the inner world.

If this matter spread out, it would definitely shock the people in the inner world, and Shen Yi also re-evaluated his own strength.

It was definitely at the upper end of the disaster scale.

Shen Yi’s demeanor remained composed and said flatly. “He’s dead.”

Although Su Ling had anticipated the outcome long ago, a flicker of surprise still lit up her eyes upon hearing the confirmation from Shen Yi.

Shen Yi smiled faintly and said nothing… Look, she’s surprised.

As if thought of something, he asked, “The damage you’ve done by destroying an apartment building is huge.”

Su Ling shook her head and said, “It doesn’t matter. The Anti-Magic Bureau will rebuild it with invisible technique, and then erase their memories of the incident… The national treasury will directly reimburse any incurred losses.”

Acknowledging this, Shen Yi nodded understandingly, but couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy as Su Ling explained. If his cafe was to suffer a similar fate, he have no place to get reimbursed.

In spite of this, he recognized how valuable the Anti-Magic Bureau could be to Nolan and how it might help to reduce the losses. That was worth Nolan’s money.

He couldn’t help, looking towards the upcoming auction, which Chris said would officially start in the next few days.

He wonder if she could sell the spiritual water for a good price. 

He hoped fervently that a buyer would show interest, recognize its worth, given the stringent requirements for its usage, it would be too easy for it to be sold to the masses. 

Chris, if I want to get rich and improve my life, it depend on you as my channel. 

“What are you thinking about?”

Su Ling asked curiously again.

Shen Yi thought for a moment and replied, “A girl.”

Su Ling fell into a silence then continued to ask: “Is it the same one as before?”

Shen Yi managed to hold back his laughter with great difficulty.

“No.”

“……”

Su Ling opened and closed her mouth for a long time, but no words left her mouth.

In order not to embarrass her, Shen Yi took the initiative to change the subject.

“The man left some relics behind. You can choose some of them as trophies.”

Su Ling was a little surprised, because she was the one who was rescued.

“‘Trophies’?”

Shen Yi nodded gently and said, “Yes, I won’t let you participate in this battle in vain.”

Su Ling shook her head and refused without hesitation: “But it was you who saved me.  I’m even thinking about how to thank you, how can I still be qualified to choose any trophies?”

Shen Yi thought for a moment and said, “Consider me bribing you off.”

“Bribing……”

Su Ling shook her head. Deep down, she was fully aware that Mr. Shen reached a point where he no longer needed to resort to bribing. The weight of the favors she already owed him was far exceeded, creating an unspoken but undeniable debt.

He took out three mysterious relics he had found from the corpse, a white feather pen, a rusty bronze ring, and a dark green striped cloth.

In fact, after killing Henry he did not leave handsomely, he lingered at the entrance of the alley for a while and then walked back.

Rummaging through the corpse he found three mysterious relics, took them all back, and also stumbled upon an unexpected surprise …… a wallet made of crocodile skin.

There was a total of 173 euros in the wallet, a financial windfall, which was not a small amount and could cover a lot of turnover.

The dark green cloth was a disorder level relic, its effect was only to make ordinary people unconscious after being tied on it.

He found the cloth strips and quills on one side, and the bronze rings on the other side, and just like that he placed them separately.

Su Ling could tell that Mr. Shen meant for her to pick one of the sides.

“Thank you for your kindness, but I’m about to lose track of how to repay you.”

Su Ling really felt overwhelmed by his favour. Unlike previous time she wasn’t chewing tongue or afraid of being used by him, instead, she genuinely felt she owed him and could not bring herself to accept it lightly.

“Well, find a way to become stronger and work hard to become an A-rank investigator. That way you can be a better ‘chess piece’ for me.”

Shen Yi’s “trophy” was not given to Su Ling for free, it was also a kind of investment and bribe, just like he taught Chris the high-level invisible technique.

If Su Ling could become an A-level investigator, her authority would be upgraded to a higher level, and would be more useful to him.

After all, Yare was only a B-level investigator. In his memory, he had never touched many of the deepest secrets, and the core mists of the Anti-Magic Bureau had never been uncovered.

“Yes, I see.”

She nodded in acceptance, taking that this was Mr. Shen’s request to her.

She could also guess that all the favors so far were “investments.”

But even if she guessed it, so what?

She couldn’t help but be grateful to such a powerful existence.

She could even feel a little admiration deep in her heart.

Peering down at the table, her eyes fell upon a cloth strip, a feather pen, with a bronze ring on the other side. She naturally knew that the value of one disaster relic was far greater than the other two, so she took the cloth strip and feather pen without hesitation. 

Shen Yi continued, “I have information about the Pseudo-Gods that is very important.”

What he wanted to say was exactly the part of the information Henry had told him in the “Honest” mode, but unfortunately, he did not reveal the entire plan of the “pseudo-God.”

“The plan to ascend to godhood is not over yet. He still has a backup plan.” Saying here he locked eyes with Su Ling and said seriously: “And once the Ascension Plan succeeds, Beland will be devastated.”

Su Ling’s mouth gaped and looked at Shen Yi in disbelief.

“The pseudo-god, he has already been locked up by us.”

Shen Yi did not pick up Su Ling’s words because he had no idea how the imprisoned pseudo-god could turn the tables.

The only way for him to see through the pseudo-god’s entire plan was to “let the corpse speak.”

He leaned back and continued calmly, “I will inform you of the follow-up information.”

“Now you need to go back to the Anti-Magic Bureau and prepare for the upcoming battle.”

Su Ling nodded, took two more bites, and stood up, still chewing the food in her mouth.

Contrary to leaving immediately, she remained, her gaze fixed on Shen Yi, silently wrestling with her inner thoughts and emotions.

There were some things that she didn’t dare to say before, and she didn’t know how to say them.

Now, she felt compelled to say it, otherwise she might regret it later.

Shen Yi, sensing Su Ling’s intense gaze upon him, met her eyes calmly, unsure of what was going on.

Su Ling’s eyes struggled a bit, “I don’t know, what exactly is your position ……”

“But I appreciate everything you’ve done so far.”

“Mr. Shen, I really hope that there will not come a day you will become an enemy of humanity. This is my personal plea.”

Hearing this, Shen Yi was silent for a long time, before saying, “There is no need for me to be hostile to you for now.”

For the time being…Su Ling remained silent for a long time. This might be the best guarantee.

She didn’t want to see the day when Mr. Shen became an enemy of humanity. Just like in her childhood, how she didn’t want to see her father, who was once hailed as a hero, forsake his humanity.

However, the two were actually different.

Her father, a figure revered for his heroic deeds, fell from grace and abandoned not only his humanity but also betrayed the very race he once protected.  In stark contrast, Mr. Shen’s origins were never truly human to begin with. Therefore, the concept of betrayal did not apply to him in the same way.

Su Ling actually knew very well that her plea would not be able to sway the other party at all, but he still made the plea.

Because she really cared about this “bond”.

With a heavy heart, she made her way out of the café.

Shen Yi silent for a long time, suddenly sighed, a touch of sadness appeared on his face. 

Staring across the table, Shen Yi maintained a ponderous silence for what seemed like an eternity before eventually exhaling a deep sigh. A trace of sorrow crept onto his usually composed features, as if thought of something.

“I accidentally…let her have a free meal.”