Through his perception, Xu Mu sensed the woman standing outside the car window.
She had long black hair and wore a blue-and-white tracksuit. Her face was a delicate oval shape, but the sharpness in her eyes made her seem dangerous to provoke.
She looked to be in her early twenties. What stood out the most were her ears—not adorned with earrings or studs, but with two small red sword tassels, their ends drooping against her shoulders.
"Relax! I'll handle this!"
Xu Mu waved his hand boldly and stepped out of the car. The woman was beautiful—surely one of Chen Xuan's future harem members, naturally fated to be drawn toward the protagonist.
A few well-chosen words from him, and she would surely back off.
Chen Xuan, practically glowing with admiration, exclaimed,
"That's my brother—so domineering!"
He quickly followed Xu Mu out of the car.
As Xu Mu faced the woman, he activated the Divine Eye to scan her.
Name: Liang Yi
Affiliation: Disciplinary Division, Immortality Research Institute — Third Squad Captain
Favorability: –1
Fate Level: 4 (Max: 10)
"Damn…"
Xu Mu froze. His hunch had been wrong—she wasn't a harem candidate. She was here to kill.
The Immortality Research Institute—he knew that name all too well.
Even in the mid to late stages of the story, the institute was never destroyed.
It was made up of lunatics who pursued a path completely unlike martial artists.
Normal cultivators sought immortality through continued refinement and strength.
But these people? They combined cultivation with biotechnology—and to that end, they captured countless humans for experimentation.
The Immortality Research Institute was a notorious, evil organization.
The Cleaners, an elite global enforcement force, had tried many times to exterminate them—but no matter how many times they were wiped out, they always resurfaced.
Later, they moved operations overseas, making it impossible for the Cleaners to intervene.
Xu Mu remembered the plot clearly. The Institute was formidable, surviving each assault because even among high-ranking Cleaners, there were traitors in league with them.
One of the Institute's founding elders had once been a top-tier cultivator.
And what does a top expert fear most?
Death.
Once you reach the peak and can go no further, all that awaits you is decay and oblivion.
So the Institute had been born out of that terror—its goal was to achieve immortality through science.
"Uh…"
Xu Mu, who had been ready to play matchmaker, now found himself face-to-face with a genuine killer from a death cult.
Thinking fast, he slipped his hands into his pockets and said evenly,
"You must be Third Squad Captain, Liang Yi?"
Liang Yi froze just as she was about to attack Chen Xuan.
Her pupils contracted; she turned sharply toward Xu Mu.
"Who are you?"
"I'm a researcher from the Science Division. I believe I've seen you before."
Xu Mu spoke calmly.
Liang Yi gave a small nod.
Anyone who could identify her by name and position must indeed be from the Institute.
"Why are you chasing him?" Xu Mu asked, pointing to Chen Xuan.
"He overheard my conversation. He has to die."
Liang Yi's voice was icy.
"Big sis, I didn't hear anything! I just saw you kill someone, that's all!"
Chen Xuan panicked.
"Captain Liang," Xu Mu cut in, "this man is the researcher Mr. Soul assigned me to find. If something happens to him, you'll answer for it."
"If you doubt me, have him take your pulse—test his skill."
Liang Yi's gaze shifted from Chen Xuan to Xu Mu.
"What's your name? Who's your superior?"
"My name is Fang Chu," Xu Mu replied coolly, hands behind his back. "And my superior… is Mr. Soul himself."
Liang Yi's eyes narrowed.
"If that's true, may I take a photo of you two?"
"No!" Xu Mu said sharply. "We're on confidential business."
"And if I insist?"
Liang Yi's expression turned cold as she raised her phone.
Xu Mu's aura flared, Gang Qi surging.
Boom!
Her phone exploded into pieces.
Liang Yi's stare turned deathly—she looked at him as if memorizing the face of a dead man.
"Fang Chu… I'll remember you."
With that, she turned and walked away.
Chen Xuan gave a shaky thumbs-up.
"Brother Mu, since when did you change your name?"
"When you're out in the world," Xu Mu said, clapping his shoulder, "identities are made, not given. Now get in the car."
After driving ten minutes, Xu Mu finally parked in an open hotel lot and exhaled deeply.
"Brother Mu, you knew her?" Chen Xuan asked.
"Heard of her. That woman's ruthless. Now it's not just you—she's marked me too."
"You mean she's from—?"
"The Immortality Research Institute," Xu Mu finished.
Chen Xuan's face went pale.
"I've heard of them. My master said they're a wicked group strong enough to crush ninety percent of all sects."
"Exactly. And now she's got me on her blacklist."
"Brother Mu, with your charm, can't you just… win her over?"
"Win her—my ass!" Xu Mu snapped. "A squad captain from that organization? She'd kill me before flirting with me!"
Unlike Dai Xingluo, Liang Yi wasn't a twisted romantic—she was pure evil.
And while yandere types could be tamed with affection, evil women repaid kindness with blood.
"Brother Mu, I'm sorry! This is all my fault!"
Chen Xuan bowed his head in guilt.
The woman's last words had made it clear—she'd remember Xu Mu's face.
"Forget it," Xu Mu said, shrugging. "When soldiers come, block them; when water floods, dam it."
He wasn't too worried. The Institute was strong, yes—but given time, he'd outgrow and destroy them eventually.
After chatting a bit longer, Chen Xuan left with his sack, still guilt-ridden.
Xu Mu watched him go, nodding slightly.
"The kid's got heart. Someone worth befriending."
Just as he was about to drive off, a Bentley pulled up in front of the hotel entrance.
A man with a cigar and a woman beside him hurried inside.
Xu Mu's eyes narrowed into a smile.
"Chai Wang?"
He hesitated, then decided to follow.
Finally, his new stealth technique could be put to use.