Chapter 99: The Engineer

Regarding the experiences Xu Haishui had recounted, Su Li chose to believe only half until he could fully verify them. Although the current situation suggested his story was likely true, Su Li still wouldn’t fully trust him.

He felt that maintaining a degree of distrust was the fundamental requirement for survival in this world. Take Chen Xiangyu, for example: his death was partly due to his extreme arrogance and over-reliance on his “Steel Skin,” but also because he chose to trust Xu Haishui, turning his back on him, not realizing Xu Haishui had secretly discovered his fatal weakness.

Su Li did not want to meet a similar fate. However, Xu Haishui had personally killed Chen Xiangyu and was now an enemy of the Purple Wind Building. He had no choice but to rely on Su Li and the others; otherwise, his chances of survival were slim.

Furthermore, in that desperate moment, Xu Haishui could have simply jumped into the water to flee. He had no need to suddenly kill Chen Xiangyu unless everything he said was true, and he genuinely hated Chen Xiangyu.

“If everything he says is true, he certainly wants to use us to save Zhang Ying. But I also need to use him to understand the Purple Wind Building,” Su Li thought silently. However, until he could definitively confirm whether Zhang Ying truly existed, he would choose not to fully trust Xu Haishui.

Of course, if everything he said was an elaborate lie, then his acting was too flawless; even an Oscar winner couldn’t compare.

“Are you suggesting we should try to win this Yan Fang over?” Su Li asked Xu Haishui directly.

“Yes. I’ve interacted with Yan Fang. Even though he’s deaf and mute, he’s a genius engineer. I simply couldn’t believe it. Things that look like a pile of scrap metal to me are transformed into magic in his hands. His hands possess incredible power. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it myself.”

The fact that this engineer, Yan Fang, was deaf and mute but an extremely gifted genius surprised Su Li and Gong Xiao.

Seeing how much Xu Haishui admired Yan Fang, Su Li also grew curious and wanted to meet this impressive engineer soon.

“And it’s not just Yan Fang. Not everyone in the Purple Wind Building is completely inhuman. Some, like me, are just forced into submission for now. I believe good and evil coexist. It’s just that for the moment, no one is a match for Tao Bingjun and the other leaders. They endure for survival. We just lack an opportunity, or rather, a true leader.”

As Xu Haishui spoke, his eyes lit up. He stared at Su Li and said, “As long as we can figure out a way to eliminate Tao Bingjun and the others, we can completely take control of the Purple Wind Building. We can change the current atmosphere of tyranny and violence. Rule by pure force won’t last long. We can establish a new order…”

At this point, Su Li waved his hand. “Hold on, you’re planning too far ahead. We should be focused on what to do if people from the Purple Wind Building really come tomorrow. Five people, including Chen Xiangyu, vanished without a trace. I think if they send people again, it won’t be an easy fight.”

Xu Haishui’s face immediately clouded with worry. “I can’t think of a better solution either. The safest thing would be to leave here, move away from the direction of the Purple Wind Building, find a new place to stay, and diligently become stronger. Then we can try to contact the internal opposition within the Purple Wind Building. Once we are strong enough, we can attack from both inside and out, kill Tao Bingjun and the others, and take over the Purple Wind Building.”

“Your proposal is the safer route, but while we are getting stronger, Tao Bingjun and Li Wei won’t stand still waiting for us. They will also be getting stronger. Who knows how long it will take to reach the level of strength you’re talking about…”

Su Li shook his head, rejecting Xu Haishui’s suggestion.

Gong Xiao looked at Su Li, her phoenix eyes shining. “Su Li, you have a plan, don’t you?”

Su Li smiled faintly, his eyes glowing with restrained light. He said, “Instead of passively waiting for them to come to us, why don’t we take the initiative and attack?”

His statement startled the others. They all looked at Su Li.

Ding Longyun laughed heartily. “Su Li, you’ve got guts! That idea is right up my alley.”

Gong Xiao slightly knitted her eyebrows. “Su Li, courage doesn’t equal recklessness. Should we just rush off to the Purple Wind Building? Xu Haishui just said the four leaders there are all at least Level 5 Spiritual Source Wielders. And that was yesterday’s news; another half-day has passed. No one knows the latest situation.”

Gong Xiao looked at Xu Haishui as she spoke.

Xu Haishui grew nervous under her gaze. He had a natural shyness around beautiful women and avoided looking at her directly. He lowered his head slightly and said, “Yes, all my information is from yesterday. I don’t know the current situation.”

Ding Longyun said, “The higher the level, the harder it is to advance. We need fifty Spiritual Sources to reach Level 5. I estimate it takes even more Spiritual Sources to advance from Level 5. They surely haven’t reached Level 6 by today. But even if there are only four Level 5s, we still can’t fight them. However, I trust Su Li’s judgment. If he says we can go, then we can go.”

After spending a few days together, Ding Longyun had slowly begun to unconditionally trust Su Li’s decisions.

Su Li looked at the group and said in a low voice, “I didn’t say we should go right now. We can spend today leveling up to Level 5 in the shortest possible time, and then we’ll launch a preemptive attack on the Purple Wind Building.”

Gong Xiao’s eyes lit up. “If we can actually find enough monsters to reach Level 5 today, then heading to the Purple Wind Building and taking the initiative could catch them off guard. We might even be able to defeat them one by one. That truly is a good option; it’s certainly better than passively waiting here.”

“Alright, that’s decided. We’ll go down, grab some food, rest up, and then immediately start looking for monsters. But there’s a problem: the monsters in this area seem to be getting scarcer. Finding a large number of suitable monsters won’t be easy,” Ding Longyun pointed out.

Su Li replied, “I have an idea about that. Let’s go downstairs first.”

After the recent battle, he was also exhausted and decided to rest and restore his energy first.

The others nodded in agreement. They then headed down from the roof. Su Li and the others had tentatively accepted Xu Haishui. However, they hadn’t completely dropped their guard toward him and would continue to observe him.

Ding Longyun was naturally open and trusting, but Su Li and Gong Xiao were much more cautious. Though they didn’t show it overtly, they were constantly watching Xu Haishui in secret.

(End of Chapter)