"Current group points: 5,999. Feature permission threshold successfully breached. Level 2 group mall is now unlocked."
The chat group notification sounded in his ear.
"Changing the destiny of important figures grants group points too?"
Lin Mai felt as though he had discovered a new world.
He had already reverted to the form of the Maybach, parked in his original spot. The bloodstains on the steel blade had been completely evaporated, leaving not even a trace of the bloody scent.
If that was the case, this was practically a path to getting rich.
Lin Mai quietly collected his thoughts. It seemed he would need to interact more with the original characters in the future.
After all, this wasn't even part of the main plot, yet he had managed to score 5,000 free points. That was obviously far more lucrative than earning points through regular daily check-ins.
And the biggest points harvest he could foresee right now was the Elevated Bridge night a few months down the line.
...
Two hours later.
As the art festival came to an end, Chu Tianjiao leisurely returned from the old neighborhood outside Shilan Middle School.
Seeing that his beloved car was completely undisturbed, he immediately pulled out his car keys. After unlocking the door and starting the voice engine, he sped toward the school gates.
"Zihang, get in."
Spotting Chu Zihang among the crowd at a glance, Chu Tianjiao immediately waved loudly through the window.
"Mm."
Chu Zihang gave a slight nod in the distance, then walked toward the high-end Maybach, opened the half-ajar door, and drove away dashingly amid the gasps of the onlookers.
Once inside the cabin, the temperature dropped.
"There's even a small refrigerator in the back seat. Didn't expect that, did you?"
Chu Tianjiao adjusted the air conditioning temperature, looking at the road ahead with an expression of pure enjoyment. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't get to experience such a comfortable environment."
"You have to hand it to the nine-million-yuan tier—this car is totally worth it. Even King Zhou of Shang didn't get treatment like this!"
Chu Zihang remained silent.
Actually, he wanted to point out that King Zhou was an ancient historical figure and couldn't possibly experience modern air conditioning no matter how hard he tried, but seeing Chu Tianjiao's glowing, exuberant expression, he decided not to rain on his parade.
Once upon a time, while this man was still acting as his biological father, he had always lived through happy days.
"Right, Zihang, what was your performance?"
Chu Tianjiao turned his head to ask.
"..."
"Me? I performed sword dancing, but later the organizers saw how intense the audience's response was, so they had me use a bamboo sword to spar and practice with students from the kendo club."
Chu Zihang pondered for a moment, his tone calm.
"Sparring? Then you must have won every match."
"Mm, they weren't as strong as me. I just put a tiny bit more force into my sword, and they fell over."
Hearing Chu Zihang's reply, the corners of Chu Tianjiao's mouth curled up into a smile. "That's my boy, strong as an ox! You're going to become the all-around campus idol!"
"Oh."
Chu Zihang looked away. In fact, he already was.
Even though he was only in the third year of junior high this year, his delicate features and tall, slender figure made him a magnet for a bunch of infatuated girls on campus, both in terms of appearance and talent.
There were dozens of identical posts about him on the confession wall.
However, for someone who had always kept his inner world locked away, these messages could never affect his mood. He simply buried them deep in his heart, hoarding them away like a little hamster without ever letting them slip out.
"Remember, study hard and get into a good university. And you have to protect your mother, understand?"
"Mm, I know."
Chu Zihang nodded.
"Good boy."
Chu Tianjiao looked at Chu Zihang in the rearview mirror, a flash of gentleness in his eyes that quickly faded away.
A man like him no longer had the qualification to protect Chu Zihang's mother.
...
At this very moment, in the underground parking garage.
"Potato Chips, are you sure Lu Mingfei is still here?"
Jiu De Mai was wrapped in a long coat, looking at the woman standing opposite her with a slightly doubtful expression.
"No problem at all. Didn't we install a tracking device just a few days ago? Besides, his mind is easy to read—he wouldn't be participating in any performance activities at the art festival."
Su Enxi said indifferently.
"You placed a Grade B Dead Servant here, but are you certain it'll awaken the kid's bloodline instead of tearing him to shreds?"
Jiu De Mai was skeptical.
Ever since before this operation started, Potato Chips—Su Enxi—had been quite reckless, stubbornly demanding a Dead Servant from the Boss and insisting on leaving the creature alone in a room with Lu Mingfei.
Leaving them alone was one thing; she herself could use Spiritual Word: Nether Reflection for optical invisibility to observe from the side and handle any emergencies, but even that plan had been vetoed by the Boss.
As things stood now, the two of them had hurried all the way back to this underground garage.
Jiu De Mai was starting to wonder whether she was here to witness the mission's progress or to collect Lu Mingfei's corpse.
"Don't worry, big sis here has never failed a mission. Besides, I make millions a minute—do you know how hard it was for me to come here and run this op? Let's just go find him together and be done with it."
Su Enxi's tone was as breezy as ever.
"Fine, I can't win against you."
Jiu De Mai sighed helplessly, pulled an electronic map out of her clothes, and began searching for the red dot on it.
Sure enough, Lu Mingfei was still on the premises.
Whether he was still in human form inside the garage or already inside the Dead Servant's belly remained to be seen, however.
"Let's move."
Jiu De Mai murmured an obscure Draconic Script.
Immediately, their bodies began to transform into pitch black. Within a few short seconds, they were as dark as ink.
Then the dark color suddenly dissipated, melting away invisibly like a drop of ink in a vat of water.
The sixty-ninth entry of the Spiritual Word table: Nether Reflection.
After releasing Nether Reflection, the two women stopped speaking; even their breathing grew faint, trained through deliberate ninja techniques.
This was a covert operation.
Not only did they need to find Lu Mingfei, but they also had to get him onto the bus home, so keeping a low profile was the absolute bottom line of this mission.
Before long, the two of them discovered the unconscious Lu Mingfei.
"He's actually still alive..."
Jiu De Mai was shocked. She reached out her hand toward his nose, and upon sensing his faint breathing, she muttered to herself.
"The Boss said he wouldn't die."
Su Enxi put her hands on her hips, looking immensely proud.
"Yes, yes, you're always right, happy now?"
Having confirmed Lu Mingfei's vital signs, Jiu De Mai quickly noticed the dissolved and rotting Dead Servant nearby—or rather, its torso, which had been sliced clean into two halves.
Furthermore, the cut surface was extraordinarily smooth, resembling the surface of a clear, tranquil lake.
"Potato Chips... tell me, aren't the muscles and skeletal hardness of a Grade B Dead Servant supposed to be on par with hard metal?"
"Seems so."
Su Enxi nodded, swallowing hard.
"Then to create a cut that smooth... could it be that Lu Mingfei was holding a diamond sword, and his Spiritual Word ability can inflict destruction at a level of hardness exceeding diamond?"
Jiu De Mai felt her scalp tingle.
Looking at Lu Mingfei lying flat on the ground, it was the first time she truly felt how absurd an S-class bloodline holder could be.