Chapter 326: Slow Poison
Xiao Yu didn’t want to cause trouble for his grandmother, so even though he felt a little annoyed, he still stood up and moved back a few steps.
As he took a couple of steps back, he spotted Su Tao walking out from the auction hall. His eyes lit up, and he called out loudly:
“Miss Su!”
Su Tao was talking with Qian Lin and the others. Hearing the call, she turned her head and saw Xiao Yu waving at her.
Qian Lin also recognized him and said in surprise, “Hey, isn’t that Xiao Yu?”
Su Tao told the others, “I’ll go check it out. You guys go ahead and get in the car.”
Jiang Yu, feeling uneasy, naturally followed her.
Su Tao jogged over and asked, “Xiao Yu, why are you here? Is something wrong?”
Xiao Yu looked a little embarrassed. “I came to return the things you gave us. Please, Miss Su, don’t make things difficult for me. My grandma repeatedly told me I had to find you and give these back. She even contacted Uncle Xu—Minister Xu Chang—to ask about you. He said you were at the auction house, so I left early this morning and have been waiting for you for three or four hours.”
Hearing his explanation, Su Tao couldn’t bring herself to refuse him. Insisting that he keep the supplies would only hurt their relationship.
Since the “Energy Borrowing Bracelet” had fetched a sky-high price of over 80 million, Su Tao felt reassured knowing that Grandma Yu and Xiao Yu would be financially secure for the foreseeable future.
Xiao Yu took off his backpack, unzipped it, and showed her the contents while whispering:
“Look, everything is still here. This bag has hidden storage capabilities. With it, I’m basically like a space-type ability user. It may look small, but it can hold an entire small car. Your two bags of supplies barely take up any space.”
Peeking inside, Su Tao indeed saw a vast interior where the two bags of supplies appeared almost insignificant.
Suddenly, she asked, “Did Grandma Yu make this using ability-user crystals?”
A thought struck her—”No trade, no killing.”
If the items Grandma Yu crafted required ability-user crystals, they might indirectly lead to the deaths of ability users.
This was especially true for the Energy Borrowing Bracelet—anyone rich enough to buy it would likely belong to a powerful family or organization. Such people would surely exploit ability users to strengthen themselves.
Xiao Yu quickly shook his head. “No, no! Grandma would never do that. She asked a space-type ability user to share a few square meters of storage space. She’s always thought it’s cruel to kill ability users for their crystals. She avoids using them whenever she can.”
Just as Su Tao was about to ask about the Energy Borrowing Bracelet, Xiao Yu’s expression turned serious. He pulled her aside, lowered his voice even more, and said:
“Miss Su, I see you as a friend. We’ve only met once, but I believe you’re a good person. Let me tell you a secret—any item my grandma makes using ability-user crystals will have side effects. She does it on purpose.”
With that, he took out an ordinary-looking cup and added:
“Grandma asked me to give you this—to pay you back for the ice cream I ate.”
He briefly explained the cup’s functions and then continued:
“Originally, this cup could use water, fire, or ice ability crystals to instantly boil or chill the water inside. It’s really convenient—but if you use ability crystals in it and drink from it over a long period, you’ll become infected.”
Su Tao was shocked. “In…infected?”
Infected and turned into a zombie?!
Xiao Yu nodded. “Yes. Actually, as long as it’s a crystal core—whether from a human or a zombie—the energy inside carries the virus. However, under normal circumstances, it’s sealed away, so regular use won’t cause infection unless the toxicity is somehow activated.”
“But don’t worry about this water cup. Before giving it to you, my grandma destroyed the crystal core slot. Now, it’s just a regular water cup, except it can store water for longer than usual.”
Su Tao’s mouth felt dry, and she struggled to speak.
Then what about the person who bought the ‘Energy Borrowing Bracelet’? Wouldn’t they have just bought themselves a slow-acting poison?
But there was something she couldn’t understand.
Since Granny Yu despised those who abused ability users’ crystal cores so much that she was willing to punish them with infection and zombification…
Why did she still make these items?
If they weren’t created, there wouldn’t be more killings and tragedies.
Seeing Su Tao’s strange expression, Xiao Yu asked, “Did I scare you? I’m sorry.”
Su Tao shook her head. “I’m fine. By the way, how did you get here?”
Xiao Yu replied, “I got a ride from a friend.”
“Then after you meet with President Zhuo, I’ll have someone take you back.”
Xiao Yu was stunned. “Meet who? I only came to see you. I’m not looking for anyone else.”
Su Tao was also confused. “Granny Yu’s Energy Borrowing Bracelet was auctioned off. Aren’t you going to President Zhuo to collect the payment?”
Eighty million!
Xiao Yu felt like he had been struck by lightning, his lips trembling. “…What did you say?”
Not far away, Bai Jiayan sneered when she saw a beggar-like bottom-feeder actually knowing Su Tao.
A beggar and a money-seeker—birds of a feather.
She shouldn’t have competed with Su Tao for the private box earlier. It really lowered her class.
She clung to Xiao Wenting’s arm. “Let’s go, Wenting.”
Xiao Wenting frowned and glanced back at Xiao Yu several times. The more he looked, the more familiar the person seemed.
No, he had to figure out who this was.
He let go of Bai Jiayan’s hand. “Wait here for me.”
Then, he walked straight toward Xiao Yu and Su Tao.
Bai Jiayan thought he was going to Su Tao, and she was so furious she nearly ground her teeth to dust. How could that little girl be so good at seducing men?
When Xiao Yu saw Xiao Wenting approaching, he suppressed his anger and tried to appear calm.
Xiao Wenting looked at Su Tao before his gaze settled on Xiao Yu. “Have we met before?”
Xiao Yu shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t know you. You must be mistaken.”
He actually did know Xiao Wenting. They had met years ago at a banquet hosted by the Chu family.
Back then, his grandmother was at the height of her fame, and the Chu family had thrown the banquet in her honor. Many people had attended—so many that the threshold was almost worn out.
Because of his grandmother, Xiao Yu had also received a lot of attention and goodwill. Xiao Wenting had even taken the initiative to speak with him at the time.
Now, although his facial features remained the same, he was much thinner than before, almost unrecognizably so. It was no surprise that Xiao Wenting couldn’t recognize him right away.
Hearing Xiao Yu’s denial, Xiao Wenting frowned and insisted, “I’m sure I’ve seen you before. What’s your name? Where are you from?”
Xiao Yu replied coldly, “I’m not at liberty to say. Miss Su, please take me to the car.”
Su Tao didn’t care about Xiao Wenting’s sour expression. She simply grabbed Xiao Yu and left.
Xiao Wenting watched them walk away with a dark expression. Bai Jiayan, confused, followed him and wanted to ask why he was talking to those lowlifes. But seeing his grim face, she swallowed her words and instead changed the topic, thinking she was being clever.
“Wenting, I think I just saw your third sister.”
