"One hundred million," Ling Yun uttered softly.
"What?!" Zhou Ping's expression changed instantly. "Ling Yun, are you trying to rob me or treat me like a bank? No matter how rich I am, how could I possibly have 100 million yuan?"
Chen Jiaxuan turned her head in surprise and looked at Ling Yun, wondering what this young man was up to.
"I'm not asking you to pay me right away, it's just an IOU," Ling Yun said casually.
"An IOU is legally recognized, you know. What am I supposed to do if you sue me for not paying back the money?" Zhou Ping said angrily. He hadn't expected this poor guy to have such a big appetite, asking for 100 million yuan right off the bat. Not to mention he didn't have that kind of money, even for his father, the president of a bank, coming up with 100 million yuan in a short time wouldn't be an easy task.
"You have no choice. Either die, or write me an IOU for one hundred million." Ling Yun sneered, his palm flashing like a knife, suddenly disappearing in front of Zhou Ping and embedding itself deep into the solid city wall like a sharp sword. The wind from his palm brushed across Zhou Ping's face, causing him a dull ache.
Zhou Ping was horrified and involuntarily took a few steps back: "You want me to hand over a hundred million, but I'm still going to die. You're just trying to force me to my death."
"I just don't want you to provoke me anymore," Ling Yun sneered. "As long as you behave yourself and don't cause me any more trouble, I won't sue you."
Chen Jiaxuan's phoenix eyes lit up: "Well done, Ling Yun, yes, that's how you threaten this villain."
Zhou Ping glared angrily at Chen Jiaxuan, but Chen Jiaxuan glared at him with her phoenix eyes, and Zhou Ping immediately looked away: "How can I trust you?"
“I told you, you had no choice. This is the price you pay for your mistakes,” Ling Yun said. “You can only choose to trust me. Of course, my credibility is much higher than yours. At least I keep my word.”
“Alright.” Zhou Ping gritted his teeth, picked up a pen, wrote a number on the IOU, and handed it to Ling Yun. “I hope you will keep your word.”
Ling Yun took the IOU, extended his index finger, and lightly scratched Zhou Ping's hand with his fingernail. A line of blood immediately appeared on Zhou Ping's hand, and Zhou Ping recoiled in pain: "What are you doing?"
"We're out of ink, so I'll have to trouble you to leave your handprint," Ling Yun said with a cold smile.
Zhou Ping glared resentfully at Ling Yun, then silently dipped his finger in the blood on the back of his hand and pressed a clear fingerprint onto the IOU.
Ling Yun took the IOU, carefully read its contents, folded it up with satisfaction, and carefully stuffed it into his pocket: "Thank you for your cooperation, Brother Zhou. You can go now. Remember, don't come looking for trouble again, or I'll make you pay back the money."
Chen Jiaxuan laughed heartily: "Lingyun, you've become a millionaire this time. Although it's just an IOU, it's worth 100 million. If we ever don't like him, we'll sue him and make him pay back the money. You can also lend us some money to spend then, haha."
Zhou Ping, his face ashen with rage, led his subordinates away in a huff. This time, he had really lost big time. Not only had he failed to retaliate against Ling Yun, but he had also lost a large sum of money. Although it was just an IOU and Ling Yun hadn't demanded immediate repayment, who knew when that kid might go crazy with greed and sue him? In that case, he might have no choice but to fight to the death.
"Now you can speak, right?" Ling Yun asked Chen Jiaxuan after Zhou Ping and the others disappeared into the distance.
"I can't say it." Chen Jiaxuan's expression suddenly became a little awkward. "How could you let a girl say such a thing in public? You're so mean."
"What is it that you can't say?" Ling Yun was completely baffled. "I'm asking you who sent you to protect me."
"Is that what you're asking about?!" Chen Jiaxuan exclaimed as if she had just realized something. "I thought you were going to force me to admit that I like you!" She then secretly glanced at Ling Yun and said, "Although you're not very good-looking and don't have much of an aura, you're actually quite my type. I've taken a liking to you."
Ling Yun rubbed his forehead and said, "Miss, can you be serious? I'm asking you something important."
"Guess who it is?" Chen Jiaxuan asked mysteriously.
"I can't guess, just tell me." Ling Yun was too lazy to beat around the bush with her.
"Being with you is so boring." Chen Jiaxuan pouted her pink lips. "I won't tell you who it is. You'll have to find out for yourself. Sorry, I have to go pick up some handsome guys. Bye-bye!"
The girl spoke quickly, and moved quickly too. She disappeared in a flash before her eyes. Ling Yun wanted to ask a few more questions, but Chen Jiaxuan had already vanished from his sight, leaving him both annoyed and amused.
Ling Yun stood quietly for a moment, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Suddenly, he walked to the ancient city wall and punched it with a swift blow. The wall was a dilapidated imitation of an ancient building, constructed entirely of massive kiln-fired blue bricks, incredibly sturdy. But even a brick wall made of steel would likely have a hole punched through it by Ling Yun's iron fist.
However, Ling Yun's fist stopped just one centimeter from the city wall. An invisible force field, seemingly gentle yet incredibly resilient, blocked his invincible punch. That was the most basic ability of a superhuman: a mental force field.
Ling Yun raised an eyebrow, but the force in his fist suddenly increased several times. Countless tiny air vortices burst out from the tip of his fist, and the violently rubbing air hissed.
Then, the gentle yet resilient mental energy field stood firm, resisting the incredibly fierce punch head-on. Seemingly at a stalemate, Ling Yun's fist force had already penetrated the mental energy field and covered the brick wall.
After a few soft cracking sounds, hair-like cracks spread outwards from Ling Yun's fist like a spider web across the city wall. A few seconds later, a section of the brick wall, about the height of a person, collapsed with a loud crash, revealing a huge hole.
A girl with an expressionless face stood on the other side of the city wall, her clear, autumn-water-like eyes coldly looking at Ling Yun.
Even the composed Ling Yun felt a chill run down his spine after being met with those two cold, indifferent gazes, and involuntarily took two steps back: "Who are you?" Suddenly, a familiar figure flashed through his mind, as if he had seen this girl somewhere before. Aside from her cold expression, the girl's appearance was extremely ordinary, even more so than Ling Yun's. She would almost be lost in a crowd.
Ling Yun shook his head. He suddenly felt his memory was a bit blurry. He seemed to have seen this girl before, but it was as if a thin mist or veil had been shrouded in it. No matter how hard he tried to recall, he could never see her clearly. This was very strange, because since he gained his superpower, his memory had been permanent. Once he experienced something, Ling Yun would remember it perfectly and it was impossible for him to forget it.
The ordinary-looking girl took a small step forward. Ling Yun's vision blurred, and his eyes suddenly became blurry, as if the girl had never moved. But for some reason, the girl seemed to be standing face to face with him again. Ling Yun could even smell her faint, cool fragrance, and he was instantly intoxicated by the rich aroma of wine.
The girl slowly closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again. The instant she opened her eyes, Ling Yun suddenly fell into absolute silence. The sounds of the wind, the noise, the cars—all the sounds of the city—became silent as if they had been muted. Only the girl's dreamlike, magical voice slowly echoed in his ears: "Do you remember me?"
Each word was like a gentle anesthetic, quickly numbing Ling Yun's brain. Ling Yun's consciousness had become a blank, endlessly replaying the same question: Where have I seen her before? Where have I seen her before? Where have I seen her before?
The questions came faster and more frequently, soon escalating into a noisy, meaningless jumble of sounds. The sonic boom rose higher and higher, like a sharp awl piercing the deepest recesses of Ling Yun's consciousness, from which a warm liquid began to flow…
What's going on? Ling Yun blinked slowly, numbly thinking. He wanted to leave, to avoid this girl who had suddenly become terrifying, but his body seemed to no longer belong to him, but had become another person, completely out of his control.
Gradually, a growing drowsiness crept into Ling Yun's mind, so strong that he was about to lie down and fall asleep. "You're sleepy, okay, okay, go to sleep." The dreamy voice rang in his ears again.
Ling Yun suddenly felt that the voice was so gentle and pleasant, like the warmest and most comforting embrace of a lover when one is extremely tired.
He involuntarily closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes were vacant, and the bright pupils reflected the girl's ordinary face.
Chapter Thirty-Three: The Coffee Shop
The girl stared motionlessly into Ling Yun's empty, lifeless eyes. After a long while, two beams of green light, like electric currents, suddenly shot from her clear pupils. The green light flashed into Ling Yun's eyes and disappeared. Ling Yun's body swayed mechanically, as if all his energy had suddenly vanished, leaving only a lifeless shell.
The girl then extended her slender, jade-like left hand and gently picked up the silver ball pendant hanging from her delicate neck, looking down at the silver ball box lid on the pendant. In her flawless jade palm, the silver ball pulsed rhythmically, and even through the lid, one could still feel a faint light constantly changing.
This girl was none other than the mysterious girl who had destroyed the psychic's corpse in the desolate mountains on the outskirts of Tongjiang City. After glancing at Ling Yun again, a hint of confusion finally appeared in the mysterious girl's eyes. She put down the still-pulsating pendant and muttered to herself, "Why is this happening?"
She slowly turned around. "Ling Yun, what secret do you have? Tell me," the girl asked calmly.
There was no answer; behind him was a deathly silence.
The girl turned abruptly, staring at Ling Yun's empty eyes with utter astonishment. She slowly gazed at Ling Yun, her pupils shooting out two beams of green lightning once more. However, the lightning disappeared into Ling Yun's eyes as if it had vanished into thin air; after the initial calm, Ling Yun's empty gaze returned.