The horrifying sight left Zhang Xulin stunned.

"T-This is too exaggerated..."

Yang Qingxi crossed her arms while forcing herself to remain calm despite the discomfort crawling across her skin.

"Exaggerated?" she said lightly. "Not really. This is simply the power of a special technique."

Leng Shuang’s eyes sparkled while staring at Su Mo.

"Amazing..."

Her voice carried obvious admiration.

"It’s like Master became the king of ants."

Yang Qingxi immediately noticed the longing in Leng Shuang’s gaze.

"You want a special technique too?" she asked.

Leng Shuang nodded honestly.

"Miss Yang... can I learn one?"

Yang Qingxi smiled faintly.

"I don’t know. Special techniques aren’t things people can learn whenever they want."

"Some people are born with them. Others awaken them through talent, opportunity, or hard work."

"That sounds very vague," Leng Shuang muttered.

"It is vague," Yang Qingxi admitted calmly. "That’s why special techniques are so rare."

Zhang Xulin suddenly became curious.

"Miss, do you also have a special technique?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Yang Qingxi nodded with a smile. "Yes."

"What is it?"

"You want to know?"

"Yes..."

Yang Qingxi’s smile deepened slightly.

"It’s a secret."

"Hehe~"

Zhang Xulin’s face stiffened.

"Miss... are you teasing me again?"

"I am," Yang Qingxi replied shamelessly. "What about it?"

"...Nothing."

Su Mo watched the interaction speechlessly.

"Sister Xulin, you should have some backbone."

Zhang Xulin immediately snorted.

Unlike Su Mo, who has already made her young miss succumb to his pomegranate jeans, she was merely an employee.

How could she dare rebel against her young miss openly?

For Su Mo, Yang Qingxi always acted gently and indulgent.

But for Zhang Xulin—

Miss Yang was absolutely a terrifying demonic boss, holding a thorny whip behind her back.

***

Time slowly passed.

Eventually, the agonising screams coming from the underground chamber completely disappeared.

Silence returned once more.

On the monitors, the criminals no longer moved. The ant swarm still covered the floor like a black ocean, continuously devouring the remaining flesh left on the corpses.

The earlier cries, begging, and desperate struggles had all vanished.

Only the rustling sound of countless ants feeding remained.

Inside the monitoring room, no one spoke for a while.

The atmosphere felt heavy.

Gao Xufan quietly stared at the screen for several seconds before finally lowering his head.

Then he turned toward Su Mo and Yang Qingxi.

His expression looked calmer than before.

At least on the surface.

"Thank you, Mr Su. Miss Yang."

His voice was hoarse but sincere.

"Because of you two... I was able to avenge my wife and daughter."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Although I still don’t understand why you helped me this much... I’m sorry that I have no way to repay this favour."

A trace of exhaustion appeared in his eyes.

"I think... It’s time for me to leave, too."

His gaze unconsciously drifted downward slightly.

"I can’t let them wait too long."

Silence filled the room again.

Everyone understood what he meant.

After a moment, Yang Qingxi finally spoke softly. "...Are you really determined to commit suicide?"

Gao Xufan nodded slowly.

"Yes."

Then he looked directly at her and Su Mo.

"Please don’t try to stop me."

"I’ve already made up my mind."

While speaking, he especially glanced toward Su Mo.

After witnessing Su Mo’s abilities today, he knew clearly that if Su Mo truly wanted to stop him, even death itself might become difficult.

That was why he needed to make his determination clear first.

Yang Qingxi frowned slightly.

She genuinely didn’t know how to persuade someone who had already lost all desire to live.

However, before she could speak again, Su Mo suddenly spoke in a calm tone.

"I’m not planning to stop you, Mayor Gao."

The moment those words fell, everyone in the room became stunned.

Even Yang Qingxi immediately turned toward him sharply.

For a second, she almost thought Su Mo genuinely intended to let Gao Xufan die.

But after spending enough time with him, she quickly calmed down again.

She knew Su Mo too well by now.

This guy definitely had something more to say.

Sure enough, Su Mo continued calmly.

"We don’t understand your pain. So we have no right to force you to keep living."

Hearing those words, Gao Xufan’s tense expression relaxed slightly. At least Su Mo wasn’t trying to give him meaningless comforting words.

Then Su Mo looked at him directly in the eye and spoke. "However, I just want to remind you of one thing first."

Gao Xufan became slightly curious. "What is it, Mr Su?"

Su Mo’s expression remained calm as he uttered. "Your revenge still isn’t complete."

The moment those words entered his ears, Gao Xufan froze.

Su Mo continued slowly. "The people below were only subordinates. The real culprit is still alive."

A cold glint appeared in his eyes.

"Ye Chen is still out there."

"Don’t you want to kill him personally first to complete the revenge?"

"!!!" Gao Xufan’s pupils suddenly contracted. Then hatred rapidly surfaced inside his bloodshot eyes again.

That’s right.

Ye Chen.

How could he forget that name?

The mastermind behind everything.

The one who destroyed his family.

The one who pushed his wife and daughter into hell.

The murderous intent inside Gao Xufan instantly became unstable again.

Meanwhile, the others in the room also fell silent.

Even Du Wuchen frowned deeply after hearing Ye Chen’s name.

Yang Qingxi quietly glanced at Su Mo before inwardly giving him a thumbs up.

’Well done.’

Mayor Gao’s suicidal thoughts had once again been delayed successfully.

At this moment, she even felt that maybe Ye Chen’s earlier escape wasn’t so annoying anymore.

If he had been caught already, Gao Xufan would probably have chosen death immediately after today.

Now, however, hatred toward Ye Chen had become a new chain, forcing him to continue living a little longer.

"You are right, Mr Su. I almost made such a big blunder. How could I die before taking revenge on the biggest culprit behind the destruction of my happy family?"

Gao Xufan’s gaze burned with the desire for revenge as he bowed sincerely to Su Mo.

"I thank you again."