Chapter 52: An Li's Sense of Superiority

Cao Yu was not particularly surprised to find that An Li had beaten him to the punch.

After all, the superhuman path only required one to continuously evolve their superpowers, whereas he was walking three paths simultaneously, meaning he had a lot more factors to consider... Cao Yu asked, "When are you planning to queue for the D-tier instance?"

"Next week, I suppose. I need to make some preparations regarding materials."

While answering, An Li glanced once more at Yang Chan, who was eavesdropping, and then turned to Cao Yu. "You should speed things up. Once we both reach the D-tier, we can run instances together."

Advancing from E-tier to D-tier required meeting three conditions: completing three E-tier instances; increasing one's evolution progress to 11%; and successfully clearing a D-tier instance through the matching system.

Only after fulfilling these requirements would the permission to increase evolution progress in the D-tier range be fully unlocked.

As for which specific instance one would be matched with, that was determined by the Evolution Game.

It might match players all of whom were transitioning from E to D, or it might throw them in with regular D-tier players who were running instances normally. Whether one would bump into acquaintances was entirely up to fate... A trace of regret flashed through An Li's heart. Actually, she was somewhat curious to see whether this fellow enthusiast of hers could pull off something major in an E-to-D transition instance.

It was a pity that matched instances could not be entered as a duo.

On the other side.

The moment An Li's words reached Yang Chan's ears, their flavor changed entirely.

*‘This woman is provoking me. She's showing off how close she is to Sixth Brother, boasting that they can run instances together... What an arrogant woman.’*

At this thought, the silent Yang Chan finally spoke up.

"Sixth Brother, if you want to find teammates to run instances with, why look for outsiders? There are plenty of options right at home. Actually..."

She added, "Actually, I'm capable of advancing from E to D as well, and you can freely choose whether or not to accept a matched instance. If you choose not to, you can keep running E-tier instances indefinitely. Sixth Brother, you know... I've been quite free lately."

Her words carried two subtle ulterior motives: she was explicitly signaling that she was available to run instances with Cao Yu, while implicitly casting An Li as a utilitarian outsider who could never be as close as family.

A pretty woman's green tea art skills could be said to be entirely innate.

Of course, unpretty women actually possessed this skill too; it was just that when they used it, not only was it hard to make it effective, but it was also easily dismissed as making a fool of oneself despite lacking the looks.

At that moment, An Li suddenly stood up and said, "Thank you for the hospitality."

"..." Yang Chan blinked, stunned. "Is Miss An leaving already?"

*Ah? Leaving just like that?*

*Why isn't she taking up the challenge?*

"Mhm." An Li glanced at Cao Yu. "I need to go back and cook dinner. It would be wonderful if someone could help me chop the vegetables."

"..." Cao Yu pretended not to understand the subtext and merely said, "Let me see you out."

Yang Chan wanted to tag along to say goodbye as well, but she was dissuaded by Cao Yu. "Little sis, brew me a cup of tea, will you? I'm a bit thirsty."

Yang Chan had no choice but to comply.

...

By the street outside the martial arts gym.

As she walked down the stairs, An Li had already taken out the sun-protection jacket from her bag and put it on, shielding her face with a hoodie and a sun-protection mask.

Rather surprised by her secretive behavior, Cao Yu asked, "Are you in trouble?"

"No. The sun is a bit harsh this season; it's easy to get tanned." An Li looked back at Cao Yu and asked rhetorically, "You don't seem to view me as a girl at all, do you?"

Subconsciously, Cao Yu glanced down at An Li's legs.

Instinctively, An Li brought her legs together, though she quickly returned to normal. "Apologies, I asked a redundant question."

"..." Changing the subject, Cao Yu said, "I thought that hiring me as an assassin was a rather clandestine affair, which is why interacting with me required you to remain tightly concealed."

"The greatest concealment is hidden in plain sight; trying too hard to hide will only cause problems," An Li replied. "Besides, logically speaking, the other party would never suspect that I came to hire an assassin to take him down. I haven't even entered his radar. After all... he is very strong. Anyone I can afford to hire cannot kill him, and anyone capable of killing him is someone I cannot afford to hire."

"I heard there is a C-tier superhuman player in the Federation whose superpower is Sequence 123: Bifurcated World," Cao Yu remarked casually, as if making conversation. "I also heard that their evolution progress is rapidly approaching the Federation's strongest player tier."

***

"It seems you guessed it." An Li was not surprised.

Having previously sent Cao Yu the hyper-detailed data of "Bifurcated World," she knew that just from this single detail, one could deduce a great deal.

"Rest assured, my commitment to contracts is exceptionally strong," Cao Yu smiled. "You pay the money, I do the work for you. It's only natural."

"Mhm." An Li did not doubt this point.

She admitted that there had been an element of gambling on her part earlier. Her certainty regarding whether Cao Yu would honor his promise to kill someone for her was not particularly high, which was why she had never forgotten to improve her own strength.

This was also the reason why her frequency of running instances was so high.

As for now... ever since the "Communal Graves" instance had concluded, she no longer harbored any doubts in her heart.

Once Cao Yu's evolution progress touched the C-tier threshold, taking down a "Bifurcated World" would simply be a matter of convenience.

If a task required taking risks, one might hesitate over whether to do it or not.

As for something where she could just casually slash a target and earn a bunch of evolution points on the side—why hesitate?

An Li felt a touch of emotion regarding her own good fortune.

A player like Cao Yu was truly a one-in-a-million find that could not be sought after deliberately.

Especially encountering him when he was still weak and offering him assistance.

Suddenly! An Li sensed a faint wave of crisis—her superpower wasn't just puppet-crafting; it was tied to spirits, which endowed her with extremely sharp spiritual perception... Subconsciously, she looked around her surroundings, yet found nothing.

"What's wrong?" Cao Yu asked with a puzzled expression.

Naturally, this puzzlement was completely feigned.

Within Cao Yu's field of vision, Xiao Qi was floating right beside An Li, her cute eyes filled with desire as she stared intently at An Li.

While looking, she even said to Cao Yu:

"Grass Carp, Grass Carp, this big sister looks so pretty, I like her so much."

Ah, well, being obsessed with good looks was human nature.

"I want to tear her to pieces so badly."

Uh... that part didn't seem quite so normal.

Cao Yu directly recalled the mischievous Xiao Qi back into his spiritual space and temporarily restricted her activity permissions.

"It's nothing." Realizing that the sense of crisis had vanished, An Li replied to Cao Yu, "I felt something was slightly off just a moment ago. It might have just been my imagin—"

At this point, she suddenly paused, and a flicker of suspicion crept into her eyes as she looked at Cao Yu. "Did you just do something?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Cao Yu wore an expression of pure innocence.

"..." An Li fell silent.

She had gained some understanding of Cao Yu by now... Whenever this guy put on a deadpan, serious expression to display emotions, he was basically just acting.

She always felt that Cao Yu's abilities were growing increasingly bizarre.

However... this was a good thing.

An Li suddenly turned her head and looked toward the entrance of the martial arts gym—Yang Chan abruptly jerked her head back, hiding herself behind the door.

Withdrawing her gaze, An Li said to Cao Yu, "Your sister is quite cute."

Back in the living room earlier, she had caught the subtle undercurrents in Yang Chan's words.

A mere foster sister, nothing more than a common childhood sweetheart trying to show off in front of her, mocking her as an outsider with strong utilitarian motives... She didn't care about such girlish, naive little thoughts.

Deep in her heart, An Li possessed her own sense of superiority—Cao Yu and she shared a bond as fellow enthusiasts; how could a mere childhood sweetheart compare?

She merely added one final sentence:

"She feels like the type who is very easy to bully."

"You shouldn't say things like that casually," Cao Yu warned solemnly. "Careful or she might whip out her main account and suppress you."

An Li: "?"

...

An Li departed.

Cao Yu returned home.

Yang Chan followed right behind Cao Yu, staring at him unblinkingly as he returned to the second floor, as he drank the freshly brewed black tea, and as he set down his teacup... acting just like a stress-inducing gremlin.

With no other choice, Cao Yu said, "Little sis, if you have something to say, just spit it out."

"Sixth Brother, what kind of relationship do you have with that Miss An?" Yang Chan asked, feigning casualness.

Cao Yu replied, "Just friends."

"Friends... does true friendship really exist between men and women?" Yang Chan asked, pretending to be curious.

"If pure familial affection can exist between men and women, why can't pure friendship?" Cao Yu countered.

After a few seconds of silence, Yang Chan cut straight to the chase:

"Sixth Brother, are you being kept by her? That kind of relationship is wrong."

Cao Yu: "..."

"Sixth Brother, if you're short on evolution points, you can tell me. Although... although I don't have many either, you can use mine first."

Yang Chan reminded him.

Then she added:

"If Sixth Brother is short on money, that's even easier to solve. Third Sister contacted me earlier, saying that if I'm bored during the summer vacation, I can go work a summer job at her place, and she'll pay me a high salary..."

"Hold on," Cao Yu interrupted. "Little sis, calm down, don't get excited."

"...Am I excited?" Yang Chan stubbornly tried to save face.

"Relax, my stomach is in great shape, and I love eating heavy meals. There's no such thing as being kept or anything like that. Miss An and I merely share a transaction at the player level. As for the specifics, out of professional ethics, I can't disclose them."

While consoling Yang Chan, Cao Yu offered a suggestion:

"As for Third Sister's offer... well, if you're bored, you can go hang out at her place. I've joined the Special Affairs Bureau, and I'll probably be quite busy from now on."

"Sixth Brother, I always feel like you're getting busier and busier," Yang Chan sighed softly.

Noticing the suppressed mood in her tone, Cao Yu said, "Once I'm done with this busy spell, let's run an instance together. If you're bored in your free time, you can also come find me at the Special Affairs Bureau's Eastern District Office."

"Really?" Yang Chan maintained a calm surface, but her heart immediately perked up. "Umm... will I be causing trouble for Sixth Brother? After all, it's a workplace..."

"It's no trouble," Cao Yu smiled. "My supervisor is a modest, courteous, and hospitable person; they're not all that rigid."

"That's good then." Yang Chan breathed a sigh of relief. "Sixth Brother, you have no idea, I've been scrolling through videos these past few days and saw quite a few workplace bullying incidents. Fortunately, Sixth Brother, you ran into a good boss."

As for why she had been browsing such videos... the moment she learned Cao Yu was going to work at the Special Affairs Bureau, she had started worrying incessantly.

Naturally, she had no idea that Cao Yu had already experienced workplace bullying—from the perspective of the bully.

...

9:00 PM.

Expecting today to pass by quite ordinarily, Cao Yu received a notification from Zhao Ling.

Zhao Ling informed him that the investigation team had once again observed distorted phenomena of instance intrusion at the site of the incident... In other words, it was time for him to get to work.

Cao Yu had no complaints about working overtime at night.

It wasn't because he was naturally endowed with the mindset of an overworked corporate drone, but rather because resolving an instance intrusion crisis might just present an opportunity to "slack off on the job."