Chapter 224 My Brain’s Exhausted to the Point of Foolishness

An Xiao gave them her response the next afternoon.

Despite finding it quite risky, she agreed to their request; after all, getting a favor from the daughter of a major power wasn’t an easy feat, and she had to seize this opportunity.

However, the specific action plan still needed further consideration—unexpectedly losing a capable ability user was a significant blow to any force nowadays. Canglong had already narrowed its scope of operations, and their public actions had become even more discreet. Even An Xiao found it somewhat challenging to track their movements.

Xia Xinyan understood the principle that ‘haste makes waste’ and didn’t pressure An Xiao to provide an immediate answer. Instead, she let her assess the situation first. Once she picked up on Canglong’s whereabouts, they could reconnect.

In the following days, things seemed to settle down.

The death of Shamate didn’t stir up a single ripple on the surface—aside from the unfortunate kid who first discovered the body, it seemed not many were impacted.

Xia Jincang halted the investigations but arranged for more resources to protect Xia Xinyan. Meanwhile, due to the emerging activity of ability users in various regions, he, as one of the leaders in the Xia family’s underbelly, had become quite busy—at least he wasn’t bothering Xia Xinyan and Ling Mo as frequently.

Ling Mo, on the other hand, entered a frenzied training period, striving to elevate his abilities even further—in truth, he was aiming to awaken his abilities in reality. Even Xia Xinyan thought his intensity was over the top, but this time, Ling Mo rarely heeded her advice.

So, Xia Xinyan let him be.

After all, he couldn’t train to death, and if he was willing to suffer, let him suffer—since this guy getting stronger wouldn’t harm her in any way.

Probably.

As for Xia Xinyan… other than occasionally slacking off, she was also plotting her future moves for reality.

Given the current situation, she estimated that the significant shifts happening in the undercurrents of reality would outpace and outclass the overt transformations she was familiar with from her previous life. This time, unlike last time when she was a peripheral observer completely clueless about what was happening, since she was already caught up in it, she needed to plan earlier.

The Xia family might provide some support, but she was still more accustomed to having her own power, so she wouldn’t feel too constrained. The school club she established previously was just a seed she had planted, but it hadn’t sprouted yet, so this time… the Canglong organization made her consider some ideas.

Tsk, since they met her, they could only blame their misfortune.

As for what was on her mind, that depended on when An Xiao would contact them.

However, before she heard from An Xiao, she encountered another unexpected person—

Monica.

No, it wasn’t that she waited for her first.

It was Ling Mo who encountered her first.

At ten in the morning, Ling Mo had just returned from grocery shopping when he ran into Monica in the hallway.

This girl was still dressed as she had been during their game encounter, all in red, particularly eye-catching.

Seeing Ling Mo like this, Monica appeared somewhat surprised: “Oh, you’re still the one responsible for grocery shopping, huh?”

Ling Mo halted slightly: “It’s you?”

“Who else could it be? If it’s not me, then who?” Monica walked up to Ling Mo and scrutinized him for a moment, clicking her tongue, “Your current ability is way weaker than that soul projection I saw back then…”

Before Ling Mo could respond, the door beside them suddenly swung open, revealing Xia Jincang, who scrutinized the two with a disapproving look, landing his gaze on Ling Mo: “Who is she?”

There were too close together with such obvious chemistry; something was definitely amiss.

Ling Mo was momentarily speechless.

Because he genuinely didn’t know how to answer that—he didn’t even know who Monica really was. Initially, he thought she was a game administrator, but as he interacted with her, he dismissed that idea. Now, the most likely speculation was that she wasn’t human—not a human from Earth, at least.

It was quite a shock to his worldview.

Seeing Ling Mo silent, Xia Jincang’s expression turned dangerous: “Ling, you already have my sister but are still getting tangled up with other women? What do you take my sister for?”

Ling Mo’s expression froze: “No, I…”

“It’s not ‘no,’ so let me ask you again: Who is she?”

To be honest, Xia Jincang’s mood was quite complex.

Ling Mo was strong; just based on that alone, recruiting him into the Xia family would undoubtedly be a benefit—but if it meant including his only sister in the equation, Xia Jincang certainly wasn’t happy about it.

The stronger the man, the greater the desires; this saying, while not 100% accurate, was at least 99% true. He, too, was a man and understood this principle better than anyone. Ling Mo was destined for great accomplishments, so even if he seemed very fond of Xinyan now, Xia Jincang couldn’t be sure he’d maintain that affection.

Most importantly, given Ling Mo’s current strength and growth rate, Xia Jincang genuinely lacked confidence about being able to rein him in later.

What if, at that time, he bullied Xinyan?

So he would rather his sister find someone a bit less capable—someone easier to handle—than have her entangled with Ling Mo. For this reason, he sought various methods to keep Ling Mo and Xia Xinyan apart.

But if Ling Mo really did break off ties with Xia Xinyan, it wouldn’t just mean losing a capable ally for the Xia family; it would also probably leave his sister heartbroken.

That left him quite conflicted—couldn’t this Ling guy be a bit self-aware? Even if it was just to prove his worth in front of him, shouldn’t he at least keep up the act?

What did it mean to be acting all close with another woman in front of him now?

“Hey…” Finally unable to endure being ignored any longer, Monica spoke up, “You’re overthinking, my friend; I like women.”

Xia Jincang was taken aback: “What?! Ling Mo is a woman?!”

Ling Mo: “…”

Monica: “…”

Xia Xinyan, who had just stepped out: “?!”

Seeing his sister come out, Xia Jincang straightened up: “Sister, do you know…”

“Ahem,” Ling Mo couldn’t stand it, “Xinyan knows I’m not a woman, so you don’t need to worry about that, Jincang.”

Xia Xinyan quickly caught on, noticing Monica in the hallway. She paused for a moment and waved to them, “Let’s go in and talk.”

Monica chuckled: “Your people are quite interesting.”

Saying that, she walked into the house, with Ling Mo following suit.

Seeing this, Xia Jincang intended to head over but was stopped in his tracks by Xia Xinyan.

She looked at him with concern and gently said, “Brother, why don’t you go rest for a bit?”

Xia Jincang felt warm inside—his sister was actually caring…

“Look at you now; you look exhausted and dazed.”

“…”