Gao Wu: I became the minor villain that the protagonist was about to destroy.

No one seemed to pay special attention to him, the newcomer, and the atmosphere continued as before. Ji Wubai tried to pick up his chopsticks, but found that his arm was trembling violently and uncontrollably. He struggled to pick up a piece of meat, but it fell back onto the plate with a "thud" halfway through.

("Damn it! Even eating has become a test?!") He cursed inwardly, a sense of frustration welling up inside him, but even more so, a spirit of defiance. He concentrated, struggling against the pervasive mental pressure, and tried again.

Just then, Ye Ming, sitting at the head of the table, wiped his mouth with a napkin and spoke casually, yet his voice clearly reached everyone's ears: "Baki, Ruoxue, has something been going on at your school lately?"

Baki, who was wolfing down his food, continued his work without speaking and mumbled, "Ah, it seems that's true. Yesterday, the class advisor posted a notice in the group chat saying that the students who went to the secret realm for training recently suffered heavy casualties, with thirty-seven dying. Our class alone took up ten spots."

Leng Ruoxue gently touched the corner of her mouth with a napkin, took a deep breath, and forced her voice to remain steady, but upon closer listening, there was still a slight, almost imperceptible fluctuation: "My class... has also confirmed six deaths. In my memory, these six people... all had awakened meridian levels of C-grade expansion type or below."

Yoru's gaze shifted to Baki, a hint of inquiry in his eyes: "And what about the ten in your class? What do they have in common?"

Baki finally put down his cutlery and said calmly, "I don't know much about them, nor am I very interested in them."

Guo Haihuang, who was standing to the side, put down his soup bowl and asked in a deep voice, "President, this matter seems a bit strange. Should I send someone to investigate further?"

Ye Ming tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, pondered for a moment, and shook his head: "There's no need for a major operation for now. Sea Emperor, your primary task right now is to keep a close eye on the movements of that 'man in black'."

"Understood, Chairman," Guo Haihuang replied respectfully.

This breakfast felt exceptionally long under the suffocating mental pressure. Ji Wubai practically counted the grains of rice as he ate, feeling more exhausted than if he had just survived a major battle.

When he finally put down his chopsticks, he realized that only he and Leng Ruoxue, who had also just finished eating, were left in the cafeteria. The terrifying mental pressure had quietly dissipated at some point.

Looking at the girl's pale profile, Ji Wubai couldn't help but ask, "Do you... have to endure this kind of... pressure about 'eating' every day?"

Leng Ruoxue raised her eyes, her icy blue pupils glancing at him. She nodded slightly, fine beads of sweat still clinging to her forehead. Her voice carried a hint of weariness, yet remained exceptionally firm: "To stay, to avoid being eliminated, to gain power... to keep up with them, we must adapt to their environment."

After saying that, Leng Ruoxue didn't linger. She turned and left the cafeteria, heading towards her front desk. However, the girl at the front desk was not there. Instead, she was being led by Hongye towards the door.

Meanwhile, a white bread truck was already parked at the company entrance.

Inside the car, Ye Ming sat in his seat with his eyes closed, resting. Yun Sisi sat quietly by the window, her small face pressed against the cool car window, watching the blurry street scene rushing past outside. Her big eyes were empty and unfocused, and no one could guess what this little girl with a complicated past was thinking at this moment.

Hongye sat opposite her, a thin, portable optical computer on her lap, her fingers flying across the virtual keyboard, the screen displaying complex data and gene chain models.

Ye Ming didn't open his eyes, yet he seemed to know everything, and spoke calmly, "Hongye, what were the assessment results? Can the essence of the subspecies of phoenix blood that Yujiro brought back solve this little guy's problem?"

Hongye adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses, the lenses reflecting the cold light of the screen. Her tone was professional and calm: "The preliminary analysis report is complete. Chairman, the life energy activity of the blood essence brought back by Mr. Yujiro is indeed beyond imagination, theoretically enough to stimulate Miss Sisi's failing heart to regenerate. However..."

He paused, his expression turning serious: "The problem is that this essence blood contains a blood curse. I suspect that when Mr. Yujiro killed the monster, he wanted to eat it, so it cast a curse on its own flesh and blood, wanting to kill Mr. Yujiro."

Ye Ming's lips twitched; this was indeed something Yujiro would do.

"If this blood curse power is directly injected into Miss Sisi's body, before her abundant life force can even take effect, that insidious curse will be enough to instantly erode her fragile vitality, and the result... will inevitably be instant death."

"Therefore, I need to use the separation device at the Chu Group headquarters to separate the essence blood of the subspecies phoenix from its blood, and then remove the power of this blood curse."

"If all goes well, with the powerful stimulation of this life energy, there is a high probability that her heart's self-repair mechanism will be activated, and she may even undergo a phoenix-like rebirth. At that time, her vitality will be restored, and she will live like a healthy child."

Yun Sisi listened quietly to the conversation about her life, death, and future, her delicate face remaining expressionless, as if they were discussing someone else's affairs.

During this time, in this strange place called "the company", she was no longer bound by chains, no longer beaten or scolded, and even her food, clothing and daily necessities were extremely well taken care of. Hongye would also give her some strange but not unpalatable "nutritional supplements".

However, deep within her young heart, already frozen by cruel reality, she stubbornly believed that beneath this gentle facade lay nothing more than a more sophisticated form of exploitation. They were simply after her special abilities.

After all, in the hands of the previous beast who treated her as a tool and an experimental subject, she was even deprived of the right to end her own life—although she did not know that the mental restraint that controlled her like a nightmare had been completely and silently dismantled by Hongye with her unpredictable medical skills on her very first night at the company.

She was just... not used to it, or rather, dared not believe that a "normal" life would come to her. For her, hope was a luxury more precious than despair.

The vehicle traveled smoothly and arrived at the entrance of the Chu Group in half an hour.

The guards at the gate showed no disdain for the cheap bread and stood up straight with utmost respect.

After Ye Ming got out of the car, Hong Ye led Yun Sisi into the company.

The lobby manager greeted us very warmly.

"Mr. Ye, what brings you to the company today?"

"Okay, tell Lao Chu that I need to borrow their lab."

"Okay, this way please. Mr. Chu is currently receiving a distinguished guest. I will report to him shortly."