Su Wan sat in the chair, her back already drenched in cold sweat.
In those brief moments just now, she felt as if she were only a paper-thin distance away from death.
It was as if the owner of that power could have erased her from this world in an instant if they so desired!
Su Wan lowered her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
She could feel her heart pounding violently, her blood thrumming against her temples.
On the hospital bed, Gu Mingshan’s body suddenly arched.
His mouth hung wide open as he let out a silent roar. His bloodshot eyes bulged, and the muscles on his face twitched violently.
The IV tube was torn from his arm, trailing a line of blood.
The waveform on the heart monitor began to spike frantically!
One hundred eighty, two hundred, two hundred twenty...
The beeping grew increasingly rapid, sounding like a countdown to doomsday.
His fingers spasmed as he clawed at the bedsheets, his nails making a harsh, scraping sound.
On that face, which had already wasted away into a skeletal mask, every muscle convulsed simultaneously. The pain he was enduring was far beyond the normal suffering of a late-stage brain cancer patient.
It was a tearing sensation from the depths of his soul—the secondary destruction caused to his brain by the seal’s backlash!
The monitor’s alarm grew sharper and more piercing.
But in the sickroom, no one heard it.
Su Wan’s mental power acted like an invisible barrier, completely isolating the entire room from the outside world.
The alarms, the electronic beeping, and the raspy gasps from Gu Mingshan’s throat were all sealed within this barrier; not a single sound could escape.
At the door, Gu Huaiyu stood quietly.
His gaze rested on Su Wan’s back, his face filled with a look of touched relief.
What he saw was Su Wan holding his father’s hand, her head bowed as she whispered softly.
He thought she was speaking words of forgiveness, that she was making her final farewell.
He even felt that Su Wan looked beautiful in this moment.
That beauty wasn’t the innocent charm she’d shown when she used to follow him around; it was a quiet, compassionate beauty that came from having endured hardship.
He didn’t see Gu Mingshan’s contorted face, nor the frantically jumping numbers, nor the bloody marks his father’s fingers left on the sheets.
He knew nothing.
Watching Gu Mingshan’s wretched state, Su Wan had no reaction.
She was reviewing the encounter from that instant.
The energy existing within Gu Mingshan, though mysterious, did not belong to the organization behind Liu Junnan.
The texture, aura, and mechanism of that power were unlike anything she had encountered before!
Furthermore, the owner of that power seemed to harbor no malice toward her.
No, to be more precise, they were completely indifferent to her!
Su Wan leaned back against the chair, her fingers finally ceasing their trembling.
She mentally replayed the sensation of those moments over and over, confirming her judgment was correct. Only then did she sink into the depths of her consciousness to touch the System interface.
“System, what was that... just now?”
The System remained silent.
Su Wan waited for three seconds, five seconds, ten seconds.
A line of text appeared on the System panel and then vanished, as if it were hesitating.
【Analyzing...】
Another few seconds of silence followed.
【Analysis failed.】
【Calling higher-level analysis module...】
【Call failed.】
【Insufficient Authority. Unable to identify target energy form.】
【Recommendation: Cease all detection activities toward this target. Continued tracking of any information related to this target is not advised.】
【Error Code: 0xFFFFFFFF — Unknown Error.】
Su Wan stared at the words “Insufficient Authority” for a long time.
The System had never said those words to her before.
It turned out there were things that, at her current level, were simply impossible to know.
That project...
Su Wan’s gaze darkened.
What kind of secret could involve a secret guarded by the power of an existence of that caliber?
She had originally thought the Su family’s downfall was merely the result of infighting between elite families, a conflict of interest sparked by the greed of the Gu and Bai families.
Later, she discovered there was a mysterious organization behind it—an organization with Ability Users like Liu Junnan, one that wouldn't hesitate to destroy a family for the sake of a certain “project.”
She had thought that was the end of the truth.
But now she knew it wasn’t.
Su Wan looked down at Gu Mingshan.
He was no longer struggling.
He lay slumped on the bed like a hollowed-out husk, his eyes vacant and saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth.
His consciousness had been severely damaged by the recoil of that seal. Even without the tumor, he would never have another moment of clarity.
She stood up and gave Gu Mingshan one last look.
“Uncle Gu, please get some rest,” she said softly, her voice carrying just the right amount of concern. “I’m leaving now. I’ll come to see you another day.”
In Gu Huaiyu’s eyes, Su Wan said this with reddened eyes.
He stepped forward quickly, wanting to comfort her, but he didn't know what to say.
Su Wan didn't look at him and walked straight out of the sickroom.
Gu Huaiyu glanced back at his father on the bed.
The heart monitor’s waveform had returned to a steady rhythm, the beeping slow and methodical.
Gu Mingshan’s eyes were closed and his breathing was even; he looked as though he were merely asleep.
He withdrew his gaze and followed Su Wan out of the room.
In the hallway, the bodyguards stood up and nodded respectfully.
Gu Huaiyu gave them a few instructions to take good care of his father before quickly catching up with Su Wan.
“Wanwan,” he called out as he reached her by the elevator, speaking cautiously. “Are you alright?”
Su Wan pressed the elevator button and watched the numbers above the door, giving no response.
Gu Huaiyu stood beside her, looking at her profile, wanting to say something but fearing he might say the wrong thing.
The elevator reached the first floor. The doors opened, and Su Wan walked toward the parking garage.
Behind her, Gu Huaiyu followed closely, fully believing that everything tonight was the beginning of his relationship with Su Wan warming up.
Su Wan got into the car, leaned against the passenger seat, and closed her eyes.
Gu Huaiyu started the car and glanced at Su Wan. Seeing her leaning back with her eyes closed, he assumed she was emotionally overwhelmed by seeing his father.
“Wanwan,” he spoke softly, his voice very gentle. “If you’re tired, sleep for a bit. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”
Su Wan did not respond.
Her consciousness had already sunk to a deeper place.
The System panel unfolded before her eyes, and the words “Insufficient Authority” were still displayed there.
Su Wan realized clearly that she was not yet strong enough.
She had to continue getting stronger.
She had to grow until she could unlock higher authority, until she could discover where that powerful and mysterious force came from, and until she knew exactly why the Su family had been destroyed!
Only in the Apocalyptic Plane could she grow stronger at the fastest possible rate.
She had to gain a firm foothold in the Apocalyptic Plane, turn the shelter into a true stronghold, and push her strength past its bottleneck in the shortest time possible.
On the side of the Apocalyptic Plane, the shelter was already on the right track.
For Star Coins and referral rewards, the tenants were frantically bringing back gold and various supplies from all over the ruins.
Before she left last time, she had already arranged the next phase of the expansion plan.
As long as she returned and continued to push forward, everything would move faster.
Rate on N.U.
