You had to admit, the night view of Newark City had a certain extravagant air, one built on piles of cash.

Kaleidoscopic neon lights bathed the city that never sleeps, making it as bright as day.

The Hilton Hotel, 20th floor.

Gu Yuexi had already grown accustomed to Chu Sheng slipping from her control...

She gave up her search and entered a state of deep meditation.

So, what about Chu Sheng?

The "damned mosquito" was currently perched in the gap of a windowpane, gazing down upon the unfamiliar city with the air of a monarch surveying his domain.

’Sleep? Hell no!’

’As an ambitious young man with a system... oh, wait, an ambitious mosquito, how could I waste a precious night on sleep?’

Especially since he was really poor right now.

He only had a little over twenty thousand Evolution Points left.

Although his Qi Blood and Mental Power had skyrocketed, Evolution Points were the system’s core "currency."

This White Eagle Empire claimed to be the number one powerhouse on Blue Star, and it was overflowing with resources. To return empty-handed would be an absolute betrayal of his trip here!

He had to hit them hard and make a huge score!

"BZZZ—"

Chu Sheng vibrated his wings, turning into a streak of light barely visible to the naked eye. He slipped through the window’s gap and hovered in the night sky.

His two compound eyes scanned left and right, and he activated his Nether Vision!

He was searching for a target.

More precisely, he was searching for a specific "aura."

Just then, an irritating buzzing sound came from nearby.

A slightly bloated, dusty-grey Culex mosquito emerged from some unknown corner.

It had clearly noticed Chu Sheng.

Even though Chu Sheng was in his Primitive Form and only the size of a fingernail, the noble aura he exuded was, to his own kind, like walking pheromones—the brightest beacon in the night!

The female Culex excitedly buzzed over, circled around Chu Sheng, and occasionally twitched its abdomen.

"Bzz bzz bzz~"

"Bzz bzz~"

Mosquitoes don’t have a language system!

They can only use buzzing to express general meanings. This was especially true for a common, low-intelligence mosquito like this one, which could only convey instinctive thoughts.

And what she was expressing now was basically:

Wanna mate?

Chu Sheng: "..."

Though his mosquito face couldn’t show any expression, it was currently etched with utter speechlessness.

’Damn it, what bad luck!’

Without hesitation, he shot out his foreleg, striking as fast as lightning!

SPLAT!

A crisp smack rang out.

The female Culex, still dreaming her sweet dreams of procreation, was instantly flattened into a meat patty. She plummeted stiffly downwards, unable to even let out a cry.

’In your next life, try to be a better mosquito. Don’t freeze up every time you see a handsome guy.’

Chu Sheng flicked his leg in disgust.

With that little interruption handled, he reoriented himself and locked his gaze upwards.

The 21st floor.

The exclusive floor for the White Eagle Empire’s team.

Powerful waves of Qi Blood were faintly emanating from that direction.

’This is the place.’

With a beat of his wings, Chu Sheng flew silently upwards.

...

21st floor, deluxe conference room.

The decor here was even more extravagant than on the Great Xia Team’s floor, exuding a strange aesthetic that combined high-tech and retro-palace styles.

At this moment, the enormous conference room was completely enveloped by a faint blue curtain of light.

This was a High-Tier Sound Insulation Barrier that even came with a Mental Power shielding function. It was nearly impossible for even a King Realm expert to probe it by force without alerting those inside.

But to Chu Sheng, it was nothing more than a slightly springy soap bubble.

He hovered outside the light curtain and lifted his right foreleg.

A strange black glimmer flashed across the tip of his claw.

Skill—Realm-Breaking Claw!

SSSHLICK.

Like a hot knife through butter, a tiny slit was silently sliced open in the Barrier that was strong enough to block Grandmaster Level Perception.

Chu Sheng shrank his body and instantly slipped through.

As he entered, the slit swiftly healed behind him, as if it had never been there.

Inside the conference room.

Ten members of the White Eagle Empire’s team sat in various poses on the leather sofas.

Some were playing on their phones, some were fiddling with daggers, and one had even propped his feet up on the table, a look of complete nonchalance on his face.

They weren’t seriously and nervously discussing tactics like the Great Xia Team.

In their eyes, so-called tactics were something only the weak needed to consider.

The strong just had to crush their way through.

"Is it really necessary to make such a big deal about tomorrow’s competition?"

A skinny, blond young man with a sinister gaze fiddled with a deck of cards, his tone dismissive,

"Besides the few old powerhouses, the rest are just small fry. Especially that Nanzhou Empire. They’ve only got two cripples left. I could take them all out by myself."

"Don’t underestimate them, Jack."

A big guy next to him said in a gruff voice,

"Those polar bears from the Rose Kingdom are tough and hard to deal with. And those knights from Europe have some pretty hard turtle shells too."

"Tch, so what if they’re hard? In front of the captain’s ’Celestial Fire,’ they’ll all melt into molten iron."

Jack shrugged, his gaze shifting to the red-haired young man sitting at the head of the table.

The White Eagle captain, William Smith.

He was resting with his eyes closed, faint heat waves rolling off him. He didn’t even lift an eyelid at the comment, clearly long accustomed to such compliments.

Perched on a crystal chandelier on the ceiling, Chu Sheng felt like rolling his eyes as he listened.

He hadn’t come here to listen to this useless drivel.

His gaze swept across the group, and he quickly locked onto a familiar figure.

Adam!

The same guy he had seen before in the Three Kingdoms Grand Competition—the Ancient Sunken Star Secret Realm.

This guy was actually one of the White Eagle Empire’s contestants. Chu Sheng had seen him in the square last night, which is why he knew he would be here.

At that moment, Adam was sitting to William’s left, his brow slightly furrowed as if he were deep in thought.

"I think we should still pay attention to the Great Xia Team."

Adam suddenly spoke up, interrupting everyone’s bragging.

"Great Xia?"

Jack sneered,

"You mean the team that came out of the Spiritless Sea Region? They just got lucky. Besides, their captain looks soft, like a sissy."

"No, not the captain."

Adam shook his head, a grave look flashing in his eyes,

"A woman. Named Gu Yuexi."

"I had a brief encounter with her once during a ruin exploration."

Adam said grimly, as if recalling an unpleasant experience,

"That woman... she’s uncanny. And most importantly, she should possess a set of Battle Armor similar to mine."

At these words, the previously nonchalant William finally opened his eyes.

In that instant, the temperature in the conference room seemed to rise by several degrees.

"Battle Armor like yours?"

"Heh, interesting."

A cruel smirk played on William’s lips, an excited flame burning in his eyes, 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"I noticed her. The woman in white who’s always standing at the back, right?"

"If she also has equipment of that level... then I’m looking forward to it even more."

"I hope she fights tomorrow. Otherwise, this game would be far too boring."

The others all let out savage, knowing grins.

Meanwhile, Chu Sheng had already silently arrived behind Adam.

That’s right.

He hadn’t come here to eavesdrop on any tactics; there was no need.

His target was Adam!

...

「Half an hour earlier.」

Before Great Xia’s meeting, Chu Sheng had been in his room, using Gu Yuexi’s phone to look up some information on Newark City.

And among all of it, what interested him most was a certain clan—

The Brown Clan: The biggest giant in Spiritual Plant cultivation in Newark City, and even the entire White Eagle Empire. A super-conglomerate that controlled countless rare Spirit Medicine resources.

What were Spiritual Plants?

In Chu Sheng’s eyes, Spiritual Plants were huge amounts of Evolution Points! The very thing he was currently lacking most.

And,

This Adam’s full name was—Adam Brown.

This guy was one of the heirs to the Brown Clan.

Chu Sheng had come here this time to get a drop of this Adam’s blood!

Why?

Heh heh, don’t ask. If you have to ask, the answer is: it’s useful!

...

Now, perched on Adam’s back, Chu Sheng rubbed his little legs together.

’Time to draw some blood!’

Because he wasn’t sucking blood, just taking a single drop, Chu Sheng didn’t use his large proboscis. Instead, he used the tip of his leg to quickly jab Adam’s butt...

Fast, accurate, and ruthless!

Instantly, a drop of dark red blood welled up.

With quick eyes and even quicker legs, Chu Sheng instantly snatched the drop of blood and stored it in his Lifebound Space.

At the same time...

"Ouch!"

Adam shot up from his chair, clutching his butt with a look of mingled shock and anger.

"Damn! What the fxxk?!"

He’d felt a prick on his butt, like a needle. It didn’t really hurt, but the location was just too damn embarrassing!

"What’s wrong, Adam?"

"It’s... nothing."

Adam checked himself over and, finding nothing, sat back down.

...