Chapter 34: Zheng Cha, Drained by Li Xiao

“Tell me, what are you trying to do with all this?”

“No, wait—with my current state, I think I can figure it out myself!”

“Chu Xuan’s intelligence is almost monstrous, yet you’re actually able to exploit his schemes?”

“Let me think... in *Alien I*, when he was discussing gene locks, he mentioned that the state once excavated artifacts from a previous civilization.”

“And Chu Xuan said those things can only be used with internal energy, spiritual power, or immortal essence.”

“So, your target is those ancient mythical weapons?”

“No, it’s more than that. You didn't just exchange for those compressed capsules to store massive amounts of items; you want modern weaponry?”

“And not just any weaponry, but weapons for large-scale warfare?”

“Wait, there’s more...”

Zheng Zha, who had been speculating so much, suddenly paused.

He suddenly lowered his head, his body hunching over as he began to tremble.

The medicine, which was supposed to last for an hour, had been forced to end after only a few minutes.

However, Li Xiao wasn't surprised.

After all, how could such heaven-defying medicinal effects exist without any limitations?

As physical fitness increases, the duration of the "Super Intelligence" state would become shorter and shorter.

The same applied as one drew closer to the third level of the gene lock.

Li Xiao watched Zheng Zha, whose entire body was covered in bulging veins, as he continued to deduce.

If he hadn't even lasted ten minutes, he had likely already touched the threshold of the second stage of the gene lock.

Li Xiao could only think: *As expected of a protagonist. Truly terrifying!*

By this time, Zheng Zha had recovered significantly.

“What a terrible feeling. Compared to the dimness of this world, that feeling of omniscience and omnipotence just now was like an addiction!”

“What a pity.”

Li Xiao asked in confusion, “What’s a pity?”

Zheng Zha gave a bitter smile.

“My body is telling me that this stuff won't work on me a second time. It’s probably because I violated the rules by exchanging for two different bloodlines.”

Zheng Zha assumed his body had developed an antibody due to a mutation.

But Li Xiao thought differently. His thought was that this might be a restriction left behind by the Main God or Pangu.

While waiting for Zheng Zha to recover, Li Xiao had the young lady at the door—the one with cat ears—bring up two cups of coffee.

Looking at the anime-style maid waitress who blew a kiss at Li Xiao, Zheng Zha couldn't help but ask out of curiosity

“I can understand why they were enthusiastic toward me just now, but why are they like this toward you?”

Li Xiao strongly suspected that Zheng Zha was indirectly calling him ugly.

Nevertheless, he couldn't help but boast

“Can't help it. Sometimes, the charm of money is quite significant.”

Zheng Zha was momentarily speechless as he watched Li Xiao pull a large gold brick from his coat.

“Fine. But regarding this dagger, how long will they...”

Li Xiao gave a kind warning

“Regardless, I advise you not to go home. That way, they won't go too far.”

After exiting the Super Intelligence state, Zheng Zha’s face filled with worry

“But I’m afraid they’ll use my family to...”

“After all, one must always be wary of others.”

Li Xiao had already planned ahead.

“Here, this should ease your concerns.”

With that, he took a capsule from a metal box and cracked it open.

With a *bang*, a pale blue, spiral-shaped liquid was tossed toward them amidst a cloud of white smoke.

Seeing it clearly mid-air, Zheng Zha nearly triggered his gene lock once again.

His internal energy surged forward as if it cost nothing, firmly enveloping him before he could finally settle down.

Zheng Zha stared at the cold glass vial in his hand.

His mouth hung wide open. “You... you this...”

“Is it real?”

Li Xiao said calmly, “Our country produces many talented people. If you knew, you wouldn't be able to hide it in your current state. So, it's best not to ask any more questions.”

Staring at the "Source of Sin" in his hand—something capable of destroying a world—Zheng Zha fell into deep thought.

His right hand gripped it tightly, not daring to let go for even a second.

“So, are we just going to wait like this?”

Li Xiao shook his head, his eyes burning with intensity as he looked at Zheng Zha.

“Of course not. We can, hehehe!!!”

***

One hour later.

Li Xiao sat quietly in his chair with his eyes closed, feeling the subtle flow of internal energy within his dantian.

Only after circulating it through a full cycle did he open his eyes, feeling refreshed.

In contrast to Li Xiao, the Zheng Zha beside him was pale, exhausted, and looked as if he might faint from overexertion.

Despite this, Zheng Zha kept his right hand clenched tight. If anything happened, he would either smash it or hide it in his storage ring.

But such a thing was only most threatening when it remained unbroken.

Li Xiao’s ears twitched.

“Master, would you like more coffee?”

A soft, seductive female voice drifted in from outside the door, followed by the sound of the door opening.

The person who entered was a beautiful woman, 1.78 meters tall, wearing high heels and a black-and-white maid outfit.

She carried a tray with a steaming coffee pot and various snacks.

After the exquisite beauty scanned the room from the doorway, she walked toward Li Xiao on straight, slender legs encased in black-and-white stockings.

Seeing no response, she spoke again

“Masters, these are complimentary snacks from our shop. Please let us know if you have any requests.”

After pouring the coffee, the maid happened to meet Li Xiao’s smiling gaze.

He said indifferently

“That’s enough. We’ve been waiting for an hour and a half. Don't bother with such a plain tactic as the 'honey trap.' Tell your leader to come here personally. We want to negotiate.”

The beautiful maid froze, looking puzzled.

“Our manager?”

“Masters, is the environment unsatisfactory? Or is our service lacking in some way?”

Li Xiao looked up and down at the woman, who was nearly as tall as him in her high heels, and spoke slowly

“This shop was registered on May 18th of this year and opened for business on June 25th. It covers a total area of 245 square meters. The manager is also a maid, so there are eight servers in total in this shop.”

“Furthermore, this shop never hires temporary staff.”

“If you need to, I can provide you with the names, heights, weights, and even the measurements of all eight servers.”

“So, can you call your leader now? Our time is very precious, after all.”

The maid was stunned, but she didn't seem surprised. She simply stood up straighter and bowed slightly.

She showed no concern for the cleavage exposed by her posture.

Her voice shifted to a cool, detached tone

“Very well, masters. Please wait a moment.”

Meanwhile, Zheng Zha, whose legs were trembling from weakness, was completely bewildered.

Part of it was because his internal energy depletion was so great that his brain wasn't functioning properly.

He only possessed ordinary (C-rank) internal energy.

This time, if it hadn't been for the boost from Li Xiao's Super Intelligence state, there was no way he could have comprehended the sensation of *Qi* and reached the entry level in a single attempt.

Fortunately, his luck was good.

With a dry throat, Zheng Zha looked at the coffee on the table.

“Is... is that drinkable?”