Chapter 56: Following One's True Heart

Seemingly noticing Lin Xiao's slight embarrassment, Su Wan offered a sincere smile:

"It's nothing. People have different strengths. You're already amazing!"

As if feeling that was not enough, she earnestly added, "Actually, men being a little weak is quite cute too!"

Lin Xiao: "..."

You really shouldn't have said that...

But at the moment, he truly had no other choice. It was impossible to pull a motorized tricycle or a forklift out of his memories right in front of Su Wan, right?

So, Lin Xiao could only step aside with a helpless expression, leaving the spot to her.

Su Wan stopped beside Zhang Kui and raised her right hand.

"Hum!"

A brilliant golden light bloomed from her palm, rapidly enveloping her entire body.

Su Wan gripped the spiritual energy handcuffs with her slender fingers and gave a gentle tug—

"Swish, swish~"

Zhang Kui's heavy body was effortlessly dragged by her, plowing a shallow trench across the gravel ground.

Lin Xiao's eyes widened. Wasn't this strength a bit too excessive?

Zhang Kui weighed at least 190 kilograms!

The golden light wrapping around Su Wan seemed to grant her extraordinarily formidable power.

What kind of powerful blessing-type ability was this?

Lin Xiao searched his memory of the ability manuals he had read, but clearly, there was no record of anything similar.

This indicated that Su Wan's ability was either exceptionally rare or immensely precious.

Dragging Zhang Kui, Su Wan walked ahead with Lin Xiao following closely behind, and the two returned to the entrance of the mine.

Su Wan released her grip, and Zhang Kui's charred body hit the ground with a loud thud beside the corpses of the cross-eyed man and the others.

Lin Xiao expressed his gratitude sincerely: "Thank you so much! Things would have been really difficult tonight without you."

Su Wan smiled faintly: "It was just a small effort. Come to me anytime you need help in the future."

Pausing for a moment, she continued, "I'll be able to advance to a Tier 2 Esper next month. By then, I'll be able to apply my 'Empowerment' to you."

Hearing this, Lin Xiao thought to himself: *"Empowerment?"*

Is this her ability?

An ability that, to some extent, can grant super-strong capabilities to herself and others?

Lin Xiao was somewhat tempted. Isn't this basically a priest who can cast "Blessing" spells to boost attack, defense, power, and speed...?

Who wouldn't want such a powerful support?

Lin Xiao's tempted look was not missed by Su Wan.

As a self-proclaimed top-tier sidekick, she knew very well that she needed to make Lin Xiao need her, accept her, and trust her.

However, her aunt had told her that even if you want to give someone a benefit for free, you cannot just hand it over directly.

Because the other party would become suspicious and question whether there really was such a thing as a free lunch, resulting in the gift being rejected altogether.

You must create a demand, making the other person feel that they are the one who needs you.

Make him come to you for help of his own accord. Only then, when you offer the help, will he gladly accept it and be grateful for your kindness.

Su Wan had great confidence in herself; she refused to believe that Lin Xiao wouldn't need a top-tier support like her.

*"Sigh~ It's really hard these days. Even being a good little sidekick requires studying the art of war,"* Su Wan sighed inwardly.

Knowing when to stop, she decided not to dwell on the topic any longer and instead asked proactively, "What should we do next? Should I use connections through the Heavenly Dao Divine Palace to handle the cleanup?"

The current situation was indeed tricky to handle.

As everyone knew, killing was easy, but disposing of bodies was hard.

Disposing of bodies was easy, but erasing social ties was hard.

Both Zhang Kui and the corpses of the cross-eyed man and his associates needed to be dealt with.

Lin Xiao smiled and said, "I've already called someone. He should be arriving soon."

Actually, it wasn't just a guess; through the drone still hovering atop the mine, Lin Xiao had already spotted Yue Chongguang arriving at the mine entrance.

Before Zhang Kui entered the cave, Lin Xiao had already used the phantom left behind in the "Time Amber House" to dial the number on Yue Chongguang's business card and summoned him here.

After all, leaving the aftermath of such matters to officer friendly was the most appropriate choice.

Besides, this entire affair had been intertwined with Yue Chongguang from the very beginning.

At that moment, steady footsteps echoed from outside the mine, and Yue Chongguang walked in.

His sharp gaze swept across the scene, pausing briefly upon seeing Su Wan's priestess robe, but he asked no questions, looking instead at Lin Xiao as he spoke:

"Mr. Lin, I'm here."

"You guys talk, I'll keep watch outside." Su Wan turned smartly and walked away.

At that moment, Su Wan felt that her retreating figure must look exceptionally cool.

As a top-tier sidekick, one must understand proper boundaries and know when to advance or retreat.

Mr. Lin must be looking at me with eyes full of admiration right now, right?

The reality of the situation, however...

Lin Xiao: (▔皿▔)

Why did she just leave?

Nobody asked you to go outside!

I still have some questions to consult you about. If you don't listen now, I'm going to have to repeat myself later (一`´一;)

But it was already too late to call Su Wan back.

Because Su Wan had already strode away with a proud and confident gait...

After Su Wan left, Yue Chongguang's gaze fell upon the corpses covered by the waterproof tarp on the ground.

He squatted down and lifted a corner to inspect them, his movements alarmingly practiced.

"Looks like Zhang Kui's work! Is he here?" Yue Chongguang asked in surprise.

A subtle change flickered in Lin Xiao's gaze: This veteran detective was indeed quite familiar with the espers under Jin Baolai's command.

"It was indeed done by Zhang Kui," Lin Xiao nodded and said.

"Where is he?" Yue Chongguang stood up instantly from the ground, his eyes filled with vigilance.

"Don't worry, he's no longer capable of committing violence," Lin Xiao pointed at the charred remains on the ground and said.

Yue Chongguang: "!!!"

After a long while, he asked doubtfully, "You're telling me this lump is Zhang Kui?"

He simply couldn't believe his eyes. This unrecognizable lump of charred carbon was the notorious and fearsome Zhang Kui?

"Did you turn him into this?" Yue Chongguang asked with a face full of disbelief.

"Don't talk nonsense, I'm not into men," Lin Xiao immediately denied.

Yue Chongguang: "..."

"I mean, did you beat him into this state?"

Lin Xiao nodded: "I used a few minor tricks."

Yue Chongguang instinctively took half a step back.

What kind of minor trick was this brutal?

You look like such a gentle and refined young man, yet your methods are so savage?

One truly cannot judge a book by its cover!

Gathering his composure, Yue Chongguang looked at Lin Xiao and said, "You should head back first. Leave the cleanup here to me. I'll come to your shop tomorrow morning to ask for the specific details."

With that, he waved his hand, signaling that Lin Xiao could leave.

However, Lin Xiao remained firmly rooted in place: "I want to investigate this matter together with you."

Yue Chongguang's brow furrowed into a tight knot: "Do you not realize that this matter involves Jin Baolai?"

"Of course I know," Lin Xiao met his gaze head-on.

Feeling Lin Xiao's firm resolve, Yue Chongguang let out a sigh: "Mr. Lin, you probably don't know how deep these waters run. Jin Baolai is by no means just a simple upstart; the forces entangled behind him are intricate, and to be honest, even I... might not be able to protect myself. It's better for you to stay away from this."

Stay away?

Is it still possible to choose to stay away now?

Having perused so many memories, Lin Xiao knew all too well how ruthless Jin Baolai could be.

Whether it was the cross-eyed man or those researchers, they were all Jin Baolai's people, yet he hadn't shown the slightest bit of mercy toward them.

Let alone an enemy like him?

Zhang Kui had gone missing while attempting to capture him; could Jin Baolai possibly let him off without trying to kill him?

Furthermore, as a memory-type esper, wouldn't Jin Baolai worry that he had uncovered some deep secrets?

Yue Chongguang was entirely right; Jin Baolai was dangerous.

But would refusing to get involved mean there was no danger?

At that moment, the words Su Huaijin had relayed echoed unbidden in Lin Xiao's ears:

"Please remember these words: Follow your inner voice and march toward the golden goal within your memories."