Chapter 16: The Mystical Method of Discerning Loyalty

This time, contrary to her usual behavior, Xu Qianqian didn’t disclose information to Su Ming as if she were naive and inexperienced.

“This matter is unrelated to our current mission. It’s my personal affair, and I’ll handle it myself.”

After saying these words with an icy expression, Xu Qianqian stopped mentioning the ambush she had suffered.

Although Su Ming wasn’t entirely unconcerned, he could tell from Xu Qianqian’s cold demeanor that this wasn’t something to be casually discussed.

So, Su Ming decided not to press further.

“Anyway, you’re the one who got ambushed, not me. I don’t really care.”

Su Ming’s response was even more blunt than that of a typical straightforward man.

Xu Qianqian didn’t seem to mind either, apparently genuinely unwilling to involve Su Ming in this matter.

She only wanted Su Ming’s involvement in her mission.

“Because of the ambush, I probably can’t move around freely anymore. Otherwise, I’ll definitely be targeted by the hidden assailant and could lose my life at any moment,” Xu Qianqian explained to Su Ming. “That’s why I can only entrust this mission to someone trustworthy.”

This was the reason Xu Qianqian needed help.

“Wait,” Su Ming interrupted Xu Qianqian, looking at her with astonishment and confusion. “Are you saying I’m the trustworthy person you’ve chosen?”

“Why?” Xu Qianqian tilted her head, appearing puzzled. “Is there a problem?”

“A huge problem!” Su Ming stated bluntly. “I mean, Senior, aren’t we barely acquainted?”

If Xu Qianqian’s words had been heard by those rough guys from the Demon Hunter Academy, they would probably have been ecstatic to the point of losing their minds, willing to risk their lives for her.

But Su Ming wasn’t one of Xu Qianqian’s admirers, nor was he her friend. They hadn’t even exchanged a single word before this, let alone had any established relationship.

Under these circumstances, Xu Qianqian actually called him a trustworthy person and even entrusted him with an important mission personally assigned by the Base City Executives?

It made no sense!

Not to mention…

“Haven’t you ever wondered why I appeared here that night, or why I was dressed similarly to those suspicious figures?”

Su Ming pointed this out directly.

In his view, it wouldn’t be strange if Xu Qianqian suspected him of being involved with that suspicious group—let alone considering him trustworthy.

Just based on his inexplicable appearance there that night alone, anyone would have sufficient reason to doubt his identity.

Plus, Su Ming had concealed his true strength, something Xu Qianqian already knew about. For this Young Miss of the Xu Family not to suspect him was one thing, but to call him trustworthy?

Wasn’t that just nonsense?

Just as Su Ming was thinking this, Xu Qianqian’s next response left him utterly dumbfounded.

“I told you, you might fool others, but you can’t fool me,” Xu Qianqian said, looking straight at Su Ming. “If you were truly evil, your scent wouldn’t be so rich and pure.”

It took Su Ming a long moment to realize that the “scent” Xu Qianqian was referring to was his blood.

“My blood is rich and pure, so I’m not evil?”

Su Ming simply couldn’t grasp the logic behind this statement.Xu Qianqian didn’t seem inclined to explain further, merely whispering, “I don’t know who I can trust anymore, because I keep feeling like everyone around me could be the one who attacked me that night. Only you—I’m absolutely certain you couldn’t be that sneak attacker.”

Now Su Ming understood.

So this female vampire had no one else to trust or entrust with this matter, which was why she’d come to him, right?

Su Ming was speechless.

Of course, the main reason Xu Qianqian had sought out Su Ming was because his actual strength severely contradicted the rumors.

This mission was quite challenging. Even if it was just an investigation, facing a formidable Suspicious Group and its backers required considerable capability.

Though Xu Qianqian didn’t know Su Ming’s true strength, she already acknowledged him, believing his abilities were no less than her own.

Combined with her state of having no one to trust and her almost mystical method of distinguishing friend from foe, this Academy Beauty had ultimately chosen Su Ming.

“That’s roughly the situation,” Xu Qianqian finished explaining and said, “Can you help me?”

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but cast an expectant look at Su Ming.

Honestly, no man could remain unmoved by such a gaze.

Su Ming was no exception, feeling somewhat elated under her stare, filled with a sense of “if not me, then who?” and that he simply had to do it.

For no other reason than because the one looking at him was the famously unattainable flower of the Demon Hunter Academy, the goddess in every student’s heart.

Fortunately, Su Ming didn’t lose his rationality over it.

“Are you sure it’s just an investigation?”

Su Ming stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, then asked Xu Qianqian this question.

“I’m sure.” Xu Qianqian seemed to detect Su Ming’s inclination to help and felt an involuntary surge of joy, nodding repeatedly. “If it were more than just investigation, this mission’s difficulty would be beyond what someone at our level could handle.”

This matter involved power struggles among the Base City’s upper echelons. If the mission went beyond mere investigation, there was no way it would be delegated to an academy student.

Even if such a task absolutely had to be given to a student, Xu Qianqian would never entrust such an important mission to someone else.

The only reason this was possible was because the power struggles among the Base City’s upper echelons had just begun, and this investigation was merely an appetizer before the real conflict arrived.

“If that’s the case, then it might be manageable.”

Su Ming’s eyes flickered slightly.

Yes.

He was indeed somewhat tempted.

“You agree?”

Xu Qianqian hurriedly sought confirmation.

“Don’t celebrate too soon.” Su Ming poured cold water on her enthusiasm. “It’s not that I won’t help you, but I have conditions.”

“Name them.” Xu Qianqian spoke concisely, with an air of lavish generosity, as if any condition would be acceptable.

Su Ming didn’t mind this and presented his conditions to Xu Qianqian.

“First, I can help you investigate that Suspicious Group, but you must not reveal this to anyone, including those in the Base City’s upper echelons who delegated the mission to you.”

This was Su Ming’s first condition.

“Why?”

Xu Qianqian didn’t quite understand.She had no other thoughts, only feeling that if Su Ming had truly helped her so greatly, she absolutely needed to advocate for his merits before the Base City Executives, ensuring they would grant him generous rewards and attention.

This way, Su Ming’s future path could very well become smooth and unobstructed because of it.

This was something others couldn’t even hope to obtain.

Yet, Su Ming instead requested to keep it concealed—how could Xu Qianqian not find it strange?

But Su Ming offered no explanation to Xu Qianqian.

“Anyway, I have my reasons. Just tell me if you can do it or not.”

Su Ming’s attitude was extremely firm.

Xu Qianqian frowned deeply. Though she found it somewhat unacceptable, she didn’t voice any objections.

Since the person himself didn’t want credit or fame, anything more she said or did would just be superfluous.

Seeing Xu Qianqian fall silent, Su Ming paid no mind and spoke again.

“Second, regarding matters about me, I hope you similarly won’t disclose them to anyone—whether it’s about me hiding my strength or our interaction during this incident.”

The second condition Su Ming proposed still concerned his own concealment.

Xu Qianqian very much wanted to ask why he was doing this.

However, in the end, she didn’t ask.

Just as Su Ming said, he had his reasons.

And if he didn’t want to say, even if she asked, he wouldn’t answer.

Hadn’t she also not told him about the ambush?

Perhaps he, too, had some difficulties he couldn’t speak of?

Only…

(He really is quite different from others.)

Such thoughts quietly arose in Xu Qianqian’s heart.

In the past, which of those who appeared and approached her didn’t want to use her influence to become famous? Which didn’t want to leverage her status to gain more attention and benefits?

Especially those men—they were probably not only attracted by Xu Qianqian’s appearance but also by her family background.

These people were all eager to show off, to display their strength and value in front of Xu Qianqian. Who would be like Su Ming, both avoiding her as much as possible and desperately trying to reduce his exposure?

The problem was, if that were the case, what benefit did he gain from helping her investigate that Suspicious Group?

Just as Xu Qianqian had this thought, the next moment, Su Ming personally told her what he wanted to gain from this matter.

“Third, I need you to help me handle some goods.”

Su Ming suddenly said this.

“What goods?”

Xu Qianqian was stunned.

“Some Extraordinary Items.” Su Ming explained to Xu Qianqian, “I have some things that need handling—meaning I want to sell them. But I don’t want too many interested parties to notice, so I want to use you to regularly handle the goods in my possession and exchange them for equivalent items, whether they’re materials from Phantom Demons or other Extraordinary Items.”

This was the condition that truly benefited Su Ming.

All along, Su Ming had been troubled about how to handle the various items he obtained from the packages.

Some of those things were useful to him, while others were of little use and could only accumulate in his backpack.

Su Ming very much wanted to sell these items and exchange them for equivalent things, so he could convert them into chips to open more packages.Although items obtained from packages could be sold in the shop for chips, the shop would only offer half the original value when recycling them.

In contrast, selling these items on the market could yield additional value beyond their base worth, depending on factors such as rarity, circulation rate, demand, and condition.

This way, Su Ming’s goods would become significantly more valuable.

If he then used the proceeds from these sales to purchase other Extraordinary Items, Su Ming could exchange them for a large number of chips.

Undoubtedly, this would be a highly advantageous transaction for Su Ming.

However, given Su Ming’s character, selling large quantities of valuable Extraordinary Items would inevitably attract unwanted attention from certain individuals.

Therefore, he had never been able to realize this idea.

Until today, when an opportunity might have finally arrived.

(End of Chapter)