Chapter 260: Strength

A new day, warm sunlight fell upon Ye Qingfeng as he slowly opened his hazy eyes, gaze blank, instinctively pushing himself up.

Sleep still clung to his eyes; he was about to lie back down for a few more minutes when a sudden urge to urinate shot straight to the crown of his head, his pupils snapping into focus.

He yanked off the covers and sprinted for the bathroom.

“Wuhu—what relief!”

He shook himself, then pulled on his pants...

Wait! Where are my pants?!

Ye Qingfeng stared into the mirror, reflecting a figure as elegant as a jade tree—his face delicate, unmistakably the handsomest young man in the neighborhood.

“Another day I’m stunned by my own beauty.”

He ruffled his already messy hair, turning it into a full-blown bird’s nest.

Since I’m up anyway, might as well take a shower~

The bathroom echoed with the rush of water; he wasn’t worried about having nothing to wear afterward—after all, the miraculous space backpack exists.

He washed his hair first, then his face, then used body wash; after rinsing clean, he dressed and paused to admire himself in the mirror.

He rushed downstairs to wake Zhe, then ran out to pick up three bowls of ramen, and finally returned to wake up the sleepy Ling.

After breakfast, Ling went to the bathroom to freshen up; Zhe contacted Victoria Household, then explained the plan to Ye Qingfeng.

In short, meet them at Barai Tower before heading in, find out the armed group’s true objective—his duty is only to transport Ies.

After all, we’re cooperating with Victoria Household: they help find Renn’s whereabouts, and we just provide escort.

Since there’s no payment involved, Ye Qingfeng doesn’t need to get involved.

Ye Qingfeng smiled: “True, but Renn helped Rabbit’s Den plenty before, and Victoria Household are my friends—just to be safe, I’d better go.”

“That makes sense.” Zhe smirked, “Just friends with Victoria Household?”

“Learn to see but not speak, okay?!”

“Pfft~”

As they chatted, Ling finished her makeup, grabbed Ye Qingfeng’s arm, and headed out—before leaving, she reminded him: “Brother—clean up the bottles before I get back!”

“Hey! I’m not the only one who drank!”

Zhe protested strongly.

“Fine, you handle transporting Ies in and out of the Hollow. Leikarn and the others will protect you—I trust you!”

Ling stopped, narrowed her eyes, a cunning little devil through and through.

“You want me to die faster, is that it?” Zhe’s lip twitched, “You don’t want your brother turning into a Wraith, do you?”

Zhe’s protest failed...

Sister~ You’ve changed, become so unfamiliar!

Heartbroken...

“Who knows~”

Ling linked arms with Ye Qingfeng and turned away.

They took the subway toward the agreed location, meeting Victoria Household at Barai Tower.

Coincidentally, the armed group began to confess.

“Here’s how it went: our patron gave us a task—to do something on the roof of Building B of Barai Tower.”

“Can you be more specific?” Leikarn asked.

“Our job was perimeter security—if anyone entered Barai Tower, we had to stop them from approaching Building B...”

“So you’re the ones who cut the power!” Ling’s voice turned sharp.

“Yes... Our captain said you had that kind of power—you’re definitely not ordinary. He figured you came to rescue that girl, so he ordered us to lure away that strange Wraith.”

“Wait—you just said ‘that girl’?!” Ling demanded. “Where is Renn? What did you do to her?!”

Ye Qingfeng stifled a laugh.

Ling is just too adorable—no one asks like that! To an outsider, it’d sound like pouting!

“The lady is currently with the captain on the roof of Building B—she’s not in immediate danger!”

The rebel spoke rapidly—clearly desperate to survive.

“May I interpret your statement as admitting your unit kidnapped Miss Renn?” Leikarn asked.

He then signaled Ling to step aside, handing the rebels over to Lina to extract more details.

Ye Qingfeng didn’t follow—he analyzed the information gathered so far.

In short, with the location known, he preferred to go alone—his Rosetta data versus Ling’s HDD system.

She could execute finer, more precise operations—like mapping detailed routes—but this time, the target lacked precision.

Ye Qingfeng had a detailed map—he could bulldoze straight through, rescue Renn, then find the nearest exit.

He personally judged this plan’s success rate nearly 100%—if a Wraith could defeat him, Leikarn’s team wouldn’t stand a chance either.

Besides, given the Hollow’s size, a Level Four Wraith is the absolute maximum.

“Qingfeng~ What are you thinking about? So serious?”

Ai Lian leaned in to ask.

Ye Qingfeng looked up at the voice—before him appeared a face, cool and exquisitely carved; likely because she still had work ahead, her expression was impatient, yet her eyes held deep affection.

“If nothing goes wrong, Ai Lian can clock out early!”

Ye Qingfeng said, pinching Ai Lian’s cheek, then turned to find Ling and Leikarn still talking.

“What does that mean?”

Ai Lian watched Ye Qingfeng’s retreating back, blinking in confusion.

“I don’t know the exact reason, but being able to leave early is great—”

She dropped her professional demeanor, sat on the nearest chair, lazily stretched and yawned, then frowned slightly as something occurred to her.

If I leave early... will Leikarn dock my pay?

Whatever—forget it. If he cuts my pay, I’ll just ask Qingfeng to make it up later.

Hehe~ I’m such a clever little thing!

“What’s up, Qingfeng?”

Ling noticed Ye Qingfeng approaching and asked first.

“Hmm, I have a proposal.”

“Oh—do tell.”

Leikarn narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Give me half an... an hour. I guarantee I’ll bring Miss Renn out safely.”

Ye Qingfeng patted his chest, speaking with absolute conviction.

Ling frowned tightly, instinctively rejecting his proposal: “No! Absolutely not!!”

“Indeed, I also think this is not a good idea.”

Leikarn agreed—but after observing, he realized Ye Qingfeng wasn’t joking; he radiated complete confidence in his ability.

Instantly, a different emotion stirred within him.

Unbelievable curiosity—and deep intrigue!

Even he—no, perhaps only one person in all of Yanus District possesses such confidence: Star Seer Ya of the Star Seer Family.

On what grounds does Ye Qingfeng say this?

From observation, he’s no reckless fool—he speaks of entering the Hollow alone to complete a rescue as casually as eating a meal.

“I do not doubt your abilities, sir—but do you truly possess such strength?”

Leikarn’s tone toward Ye Qingfeng had subtly grown more respectful.