Why… why did it turn out like this?
Xiao Lin sat stiffly in the security room, his mind trapped in a hollow, numb state.
Regret gnawed at him endlessly.
That punch…
After hitting her, he hadn't dared to imagine how the beautiful sister was doing now.
Damn it.
His fingers slowly clenched.
It was all that man's fault.
If Gu Yan hadn't deliberately acted in front of her, if he hadn't pretended to be gentle and harmless, Xiao Lin would never have lost control.
A faint murderous intent flickered in his eyes.
But—
This wasn't the deep mountains.
This was the city.
He couldn't just rush out and kill Gu Yan.
Worse still, the beautiful sister didn't know Gu Yan's true face. If he acted recklessly now, it would only make her hate him even more.
No…
I have to make her see the truth.
I have to expose Gu Yan's real face.
"Idiot!"
Zhang Qing stared at Xiao Lin's lifeless expression and stomped her foot in frustration.
"I'll let President Shen deal with you herself!"
After throwing out those words, she stormed toward the office building.
As she walked, she cursed inwardly.
What an unreliable man!
Outside Tianye Pharmaceutical Technology, the crowd grew louder and more chaotic.
At the edge of the crowd, several people with strange expressions quietly blended in.
In the shadow beneath a large tree, Mei Xue stood silently.
Though her eyes were covered, it was as if she could clearly see everything happening at the company entrance.
"Sending these people should be enough…"
She murmured softly.
But the next instant—
"Hmm? You're planning to use this trash to test Xiao Lin's background?"
A mocking voice suddenly sounded beside her.
!!!
Mei Xue's pupils shrank beneath the blindfold.
She reacted instantly, drawing her dagger and stabbing toward the source of the voice.
But—
Just before the blade touched flesh, she froze.
Because she sensed it.
The familiar presence.
"…Gu Yan?"
"Yes. It's me."
Gu Yan smiled calmly, looking at the dagger that stopped less than a centimeter from his throat.
According to the original plot, the first direct clash between Leng Qingqiu and Xiao Lin happened right here—when Xiao Lin worked as a security guard at Tianye Pharmaceutical.
So of course, Gu Yan had come to watch.
Mei Xue slowly withdrew her dagger and said coldly,
"Don't approach me like that again. Next time, I might not stop myself from killing you."
Gu Yan shrugged, amused.
"Sorry, sorry. I just didn't expect Miss Mei to be unable to sense an ordinary person like me approaching."
There was a subtle meaning hidden in his words.
Mei Xue snorted.
"You'd better really be ordinary."
At that moment, commotion erupted at the main entrance.
Several people who had blended into the crowd suddenly began shouting.
"Everyone, just standing here is useless!"
"If we want our money back, we have to storm Shen Wan'er's office and demand it face to face!"
"Rush in with me if you've got guts!"
A man with a knife scar on his face raised his protest sign and roared.
Another man immediately echoed,
"I agree! We can't just wait!"
A woman with lip piercings stepped forward, shouting sharply,
"I want my money! If you're brave, rush in! If not, don't expect us to help you!"
The hesitation in the crowd instantly shattered.
"Let's go!"
"They won't see us unless we force them to!"
The mob surged forward.
Crack! Crack!
The railing shattered under the impact of bodies.
Like ants pouring through a breach, the crowd rushed into the company grounds.
"Hey! Stop right there!"
"You're committing a crime!"
The security guards were caught completely off guard, scrambling to block the wave of people.
Outside, Gu Yan watched calmly, unsurprised.
In the original story, Shen Wan'er's company didn't truly go bankrupt. This chaos was merely bait.
Leng Qingqiu had once used a similar method—to force Xiao Lin to reveal his strength.
But—
"You're using garbage to test the young master of the Dragon King Palace?"
Gu Yan chuckled softly, shaking his head.
"That's really looking down on him."
"This won't expose anything meaningful at all."
The moment those words fell—
Mei Xue's expression changed drastically beneath her blindfold.
Her fists clenched.
Cold sweat slid down her spine.
What?
He knew?
He knew she was controlling this?
He even knew Xiao Lin was from the Dragon King Palace?!
If before this, Mei Xue had merely suspected Gu Yan wasn't simple—
Now, she was certain.
Gu Yan was dangerous.
And very likely—
Stronger than her.
Because there were only two reasons she couldn't sense someone.
Either they were an ordinary person…
Or their strength far exceeded hers.
Stronger than her meant—
At least… that level.
Her heart pounded violently.
No wonder he knew so many secrets.
Then his purpose in approaching her master—
Could it really be as simple as "liking her"?
No.
Mei Xue forced herself to calm down.
"…Then according to you," she asked coldly, "what should I do?"
Gu Yan smiled.
Simple. Clean.
"You take action."
He pointed at her.
"Use your full strength."
Mei Xue frowned.
"I do it myself?"
A mere heir of the Dragon King Palace… required her personal involvement?
And full strength?
Under normal circumstances, they would send weaker subordinates first.
If those failed, stronger ones.
Only when all of them failed would someone like her step in.
Otherwise, it would be a waste.
"That's right," Gu Yan said calmly.
"I'm not joking."
Then his tone turned serious.
"Xiao Lin's strength…"
"He's already a master."
Boom.
Mei Xue's mind went blank.
A master?
Impossible.
In this world, warriors were divided as follows:
Third-rate.
Second-rate.
First-rate.
Acquired.
Innate.
Master.
Grandmaster.
Masters were nearly mythical.
There were fewer than ten masters in the entire country.
And grandmasters hadn't appeared for tens of thousands of years.
A master was already the ceiling of this world.
And Xiao Lin—
Twenty-four years old.
A master?
Her breathing quickened.
"No wonder…"
No wonder she had only sensed first-rate aura from him.
She had wondered how someone like that could be the next heir of the Dragon King Palace.
So he'd been hiding his cultivation.
Slowly, Mei Xue nodded, her expression solemn.
"Understood."
"If he's truly a master… then I'll go all out."
Seeing this, Gu Yan's eyes gleamed faintly.
Of course, he never expected Mei Xue—an early-stage innate—to kill Xiao Lin.
That was never the point.
His real goal lay elsewhere.
Gu Yan smiled slightly.
This plan had a name.
[A Large-Scale Battle to Cripple Xiao Lin's Cheat-Level Growth Speed]