Otherworldly Affairs Office

Even though his abilities had greatly improved, Pei Yan still felt immense pressure walking through that corridor. When he pushed open the big door and officially stepped out, Pei Yan breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against the outer wall and gasping for air.

Beside him, Gu Shenghui said a few words to Director Wei, who was guarding the door. After casting a glance at the two of them, Director Wei opened the door and walked into the corridor.

"Feeling better?" Gu Shenghui took out a cigarette, handing it to Pei Yan as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, smiling as he asked.

Pei Yan declined the cigarette offered by Gu Shenghui, and with a flick of his storage ring, took out a cigar box and quietly lit a cigar for himself.

Gu Shenghui watched Pei Yan's cigar-handling actions for a while, smiled, and stuck the cigarette in his mouth, jokingly saying, "You're pretty skilled! Did the Star Ascension Sect teach you that?"

"Yeah, didn't you give it to him so he could teach me? Somehow it just became a habit since then." With the cigar he had just prepared in his mouth, Pei Yan put the cigar box back into his storage ring, turned his head to Gu Shenghui, gestured toward the corridor, and asked, "How will he be dealt with?"

"He'll be kept locked up. There are many tests to monitor his body's reactions after this, and he'll spend the rest of his life in prison."

"Oh!" Pei Yan replied thoughtfully, exhaling a long plume of smoke and casually asked, "Gu Chu, will he affect me in any way from now on? For instance, if he suddenly dies one day, my absorbed abilities won't just disappear, right?"

Failing to catch the hidden meaning, Gu Shenghui leaned against the wall and casually replied, "No, the abilities you absorbed are yours. Whatever happens to him has nothing to do with you."

"Oh!" Hearing that, Pei Yan sniffed, gently nudged his fingers, smiled, then squatted beside Gu Shenghui, continuing to smoke his cigar, as he gazed up at the ceiling of the prison with interest.

Meanwhile, inside the prison cell, Song Mingyuan, with a face devoid of hope for life, also looked up at the ceiling, cursing Pei Yan with hatred while contemplating his impending fate.

At that moment, he suddenly felt his ear itch, and a mechanical voice abruptly appeared in his left ear: "Hello, Song Mingyuan, I'm here to send you on your way."

Hearing this voice, Song Mingyuan shivered all over, jumped up from his chair, reaching to scratch his ear, but Wenlin pushed him back with a stern shout, "Sit still!"

Looking around nervously, Song Mingyuan realized no one else seemed to hear the voice, questioning if it was his illusion. Yet the next second, the voice rang out again: "Four lives to pay back what you owe."

"You can't kill me! We had an agreement! I gave up my abilities honestly, and you promised to let me live!" Losing his reason, Song Mingyuan desperately pushed Wenlin away, covering his ears and shouting.

"But you did not keep your promise, and now I must honor mine."

Just as the words fell, Song Mingyuan felt a sharp pain in his chest, which was immediately followed by difficulty breathing, his vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.

Outside the corridor, Gu Shenghui looked at Pei Yan with his cigar and calm demeanor, suddenly realizing something, and growled, "What did you do to him?"

"What? Gu Chu, what are you talking about?" Pei Yan turned around with innocent wide eyes, feigning ignorance as he looked at Gu Shenghui.

Gu Shenghui threw the half-smoked cigarette in his hand to the ground, pointed at Pei Yan, and shouted, "Stay here and don't move!"

"Oh! Got it," Pei Yan replied sullenly with a shrug, watching Gu Shenghui hurriedly run into the corridor as he opened the door. He extended his right hand, watching the electric arcs jump in his palm, revealing a satisfied smile.

Just now, he had activated the Nanomechanical Insect he had left in Song Mingyuan's body when capturing him. He had already planned this when he agreed with Lei Yunzhu—a timed order for the Nanomechanical Insect to act on its own after a year, which wouldn't draw any suspicion to him. It was this very order that ensured he didn't miss out on acquiring these abilities. Perhaps it was what they say about good deeds being rewarded, Pei Yan thought proudly, looking at his hand.

On the other side, Gu Shenghui, rushing back into the prison, bumped right into Yao Xuefang, who was coming out. They collided hard, and Gu Shenghui, in a hurry, grabbed her shoulders and asked, "What happened to Song Mingyuan?"

"He's dead. Not long after you left, he collapsed and couldn't stop convulsing. An initial check indicated sudden death due to a myocardial infarction! Maybe the shock was too much, and his spirit couldn't handle it." Yao Xuefang, whose shoulders ached from Gu Shenghui shaking her, explained honestly, not sure why he was so concerned about Song Mingyuan's life and death.

Gu Shenghui sighed at her words, pushed Yao Xuefang aside, and strode in, looking at the collapsed Song Mingyuan, then at Elder Lin who cast an inquiring glance. He nodded helplessly back at him.

Elder Lin, who had anticipated something since the incident, also sighed, raising his hand to indicate Gu Shenghui to leave. Though the others didn't initially understand, upon seeing this, they more or less guessed the truth, yet no one exposed the elephant in the room. An insignificant criminal died; Song Mingyuan's life confirmed his own words.

Exiting the corridor, Gu Shenghui approached Pei Yan with a stern face and asked coldly, "So the Star Ascension Sect really taught you bad habits, huh? Killing someone and then enjoying a cigar?"

"Gu Chu, what are you saying? I don't understand. Who did I kill?" Pei Yan, still squatting, continued to blow smoke with a blank expression.

"Song Mingyuan is dead, and you can't say it has nothing to do with you, can you?"

Pei Yan looked up at Gu Shenghui in surprise and exclaimed, "He's dead! How did he die?"

"I told you to stop playing games in front of the mature. Your little tricks have been seen through! Do you really think you've done this flawlessly?" After saying this, Gu Shenghui kicked out at Pei Yan, who nimbly dodged it.

"Gu Chu, when you accuse someone, you need evidence. You say it has something to do with me, what does it have to do with me? Oh! Because absorbing his abilities led to his death? Then yes, it has something to do with me, but this thing was hosted by you guys! You can't just blame it on me! But if you say I deliberately killed him, where's your proof? Bring out the evidence that once I left the prison, I haven't even touched him!" Pei Yan jumped aside, spreading his hands, looking rather aggrieved, though he silently sneered inside. After all the things he's been through in the past year, he was no longer that naive young lad who could be intimidated by a few charts and some photos.

"Good, very good, you've grown in just a bit over a year!"

"No, it's just good teaching from the department!"

'Good, knowing it's the department's teaching is important. Yes, Song Mingyuan died from his abilities being absorbed and his body unable to withstand it, causing a myocardial infarction.' Gu Shenghui smirked bitterly as he leaned into Pei Yan's ear, "Next time you run into this kind of situation, choose the right environment and people. You must stay calm. Either don't do it, or do it so no one can catch a hint; those petty tricks may fool others, but they can't escape Elder Ming's eyes. This is your first time challenging the department's limits, and I hope there won't be a second time, even if there is, please be more sophisticated."

Elder Ming? One of those unfamiliar elderly individuals? Petty tricks? Trying to bluff him again, Pei Yan, determined long ago to never admit it, smiled and said, "Gu Chu, I don't quite understand what limits, didn't you say Song Mingyuan died of a myocardial infarction?"

The old fox nodded at the young fox he had raised: "That's right, stick to it without letting go; he must have died from a myocardial infarction!"

"Understood."