The Gu family ancestral home was situated at the foot of Phoenix Mountain in the northern suburbs of Jiangcheng, spanning a vast area.
High, grey walls separated the entire estate from the outside world, their surfaces covered in thick ivy. From a distance, it looked like a sleeping castle.
Su Wan was taken to a wing room in the East Wing.
The room was not large, but the furnishings were exquisite, and a neatly trimmed orchid sat on the windowsill.
Outside the window, a small garden was visible. Several osmanthus trees were in bloom, their cloyingly sweet fragrance drifting in through the cracks in the window.
Two servants took turns guarding the door; one was responsible for delivering meals, while the other was tasked with watching her.
Su Wan sat on a chair by the window, her eyes slightly downcast, maintaining the appearance of a disgraced socialite under house arrest.
Gu Huaian left after settling her in.
Before leaving, he said, “Rest well, Miss Su,” his tone as gentle as if he were hosting a prestigious guest from afar.
Su Wan watched him leave with an expressionless face. Only after he was far away did she breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Her mental power spread out like an invisible net, silently enveloping the entire Gu residence.
The East Wing, the Main Wing, the West Wing, and the back garden—every room and every person emerged clearly in her perception.
Gu Huaiyu had been taken back to his bedroom in the Main Wing, where he lay on his bed with someone guarding him.
Gu Huaian crossed the Main Wing and entered the small building where Gu Mingshan had lived. He stayed in the second-floor study for a long time and did not come out again.
Su Wan withdrew her perception. After confirming there were no surveillance devices nearby, her consciousness sank into the system space.
“System, what is the situation on the apocalyptic side?”
【Apocalyptic Plane communication established...】
【Terminal Station base operational status: Normal. Cold wave continuing; no signs of easing expected within the next seventy-two hours.】
【Base energy reserves are sufficient, resource consumption rate is within expectations, and no tenant abnormalities reported.】
【Core Room 102 status: Stable.】
Su Wan nodded slightly as she read the information.
The continuation of the cold wave on the apocalyptic side was expected.
Terminal Station was well-prepared, with no shortage of energy or resources. The tenants' emotions were stable, so there was nothing for her to worry about.
Su Wan withdrew her consciousness from the system space and tilted her head slightly, her gaze falling on the small garden outside.
Since she was here, she might as well make the most of it. If Gu Huaian wanted to keep her here, she would take the opportunity to thoroughly investigate the Gu family's secrets.
The next day at noon.
Su Wan was sitting by the window eating lunch when a ripple suddenly rose in the depths of her consciousness.
“Master.”
It was Liu Junnan.
“I’ve been caught by the Special Abnormal Affairs Bureau.”
His voice was steady, without a hint of panic.
Su Wan’s hand holding a rib paused for a moment before she nonchalantly put it in her mouth and began to chew slowly.
“Explain in detail.”
Liu Junnan’s voice continued to echo in her mind, his pace deliberate and his logic clear:
“As you instructed, after leaving Jiangcheng, I led the Special Abnormal Affairs Bureau people all the way toward the southwest.”
“Early this morning, I was intercepted within the borders of Anlin County. There were two of them. One is an Augmentation-type, B+ Rank, with very strong close-combat capabilities. The other is a Sensory-type, C+ Rank, who possessed a device capable of locking onto energy waves.”
“My mental power hadn’t fully recovered, so I couldn’t escape. I didn’t want to put up a pointless resistance, so I surrendered.”
Su Wan swallowed the rib and took a sip of water from her glass.
“What did they do to you?”
“They’ve only restricted my movements, injected me with an Ability-Suppressing Serum, and locked me in the back of a special-purpose vehicle. We are currently heading back.”
“Judging by the route, they are likely taking me to the East China Branch of the Special Abnormal Affairs Bureau.”
“Did you expose me?”
“No. Following your orders, I haven't disclosed anything.”
“They interrogated me twice. I only told them I am a member of Yuansou’s Hunter Nest sent to Jiangcheng to search for Ability Users. Beyond that, I claimed to know nothing.”
Su Wan fell silent for a moment, quickly weighing the pros and cons in her mind.
It was only a matter of time before Liu Junnan was caught. The mission instructions he received from Yuansou were to find the mysterious Ability User who might exist in Jiangcheng; this identity was sufficient to explain all his recent activities.
Even if the Special Abnormal Affairs Bureau turned him inside out, they wouldn't get anything of value.
“You did well.”
“Next, cooperate with them. Don't be too resistant, but don't be too cooperative either. Play the part of a despondent captive who has been abandoned by their organization.”
“Understood, Master.”
The communication cut off.
Liu Junnan was caught earlier than she had anticipated, but overall, it was still within the plan.
With the Special Abnormal Affairs Bureau’s attention diverted, Yuansou would likely make a move soon.
That night.
The night was as thick as ink, and the Gu family ancestral home was immersed in a silence so heavy it felt solidified.
Su Wan lay on her bed with her eyes closed, her breathing even as if she were fast asleep.
However, her mental power remained on high alert, shrouding the entire estate.
Around one in the morning, an abnormality appeared in her perception.
It was Gu Huaian.
He walked out of the study in the Main Wing, crossed the corridor, and entered a seemingly ordinary utility room in the West Wing.
Su Wan’s perception followed him closely. She saw him press a spot on the innermost wall of the utility room; the wall slid open soundlessly, revealing a downward passage.
There was actually a tunnel beneath the Gu family ancestral home.
As the passage opened, a person walked out.
This person had a face identical to Gu Huaian’s. Whether it was his physique or his mannerisms, he was exactly like Gu Huaian!
Su Wan’s gaze narrowed slightly.
Gu Huaian actually had a body double!
The two Gu Huaians brushed past each other, with the double bowing to make way for the real one.
The real Gu Huaian walked down into the passage, his figure disappearing into the depths as the wall slowly closed behind him, returning to its appearance as an ordinary wall.
The body double, meanwhile, left the utility room and walked back to Gu Huaian’s bedroom.
He sat at the desk with his head lowered, holding a book in his hands with a relaxed posture, seemingly reading late into the night.
If Su Wan’s mental power hadn’t been locked onto the real Gu Huaian’s movements, she would never have discovered with her naked eye that the “Gu Huaian” in the bedroom was a fake.
It seemed this second young master of the Gu family was far more cautious than she had imagined.
With a thought, the Host Puppet was retrieved from the system space, landing soundlessly on the floor beside the bed.
The puppet opened its eyes and looked at her calmly.
“Master.”
“Stay here and deal with the Gu family for me.”
The puppet nodded. “Understood, Master.”
Su Wan took out a set of dark grey clothes from the system space and changed into them, then put on a black peaked cap and a black mask.
She walked to the window, gently pushed it open, and flipped out, landing without a sound.
The walls of the Gu family ancestral home were high, but they were nothing to Su Wan.
She activated Shadow Stealth and left the estate.
Su Wan channeled her mental power, extending it in the direction the tunnel ran.
The tunnel was quite long, roughly two to three hundred meters. The exit was in a small grove to the northwest of the estate, where a black sedan was parked. It had no license plate, and the windows were covered with dark explosion-proof film.
Gu Huaian was already sitting inside the car.
Su Wan withdrew her perception and silently pursued the car as it drove away.
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