Knowing he wouldn't get an answer, Xin Hao stopped pressing the matter. Everyone had their own privacy, and sometimes knowing too much wasn't necessarily a good thing.

But...

His suspicious gaze lingered on the man across from him.

Why did Bo Jingmo seem different from their last meeting?

Noticing Xin Hao's stare, the man sitting upright on the sofa lazily lifted his eyelids, his long legs crossed casually as he intertwined his fingers.

A faint smile played on his lips, not reaching his dark, fathomless eyes that resembled a turbulent sea. His tone remained calm yet carried an undercurrent of pressure: "What? Don't believe me?"

Xin Hao's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly realized this wasn't just a simple explanation - the other party was asserting dominance!

"I..."

Before he could respond, a lazy voice interrupted from the side.

"My boyfriend was just joking, Uncle Xin. Don't take it seriously."

The woman sat beside Bo Jingmo, propping her chin lazily with a careless smile.

"Weren't we supposed to renegotiate? I think we can start now, but I'd like you to hear my conditions first."

In the spacious private room, the couple appeared completely relaxed, making their own group seem overly restrained in comparison.

Xin Hao: "..."

Did he even have a choice?

After exchanging glances with Qi Cheng'an and Zhang Can, he nodded reluctantly. "Go ahead."

Seeing Xin Hao's tense expression, Yu Li couldn't help but chuckle softly. "No need to be so nervous, Uncle Xin. My conditions are actually quite simple. Like I told you before about joining forces to eliminate Deva - that still stands. Except..."

She pointed at Zhang Can beside them. "Bo Jingmo and I want to join your team as members, just like him."

Qi Cheng'an couldn't contain his surprise: "You just want to be team members?"

Given their demeanor, he'd initially thought they wanted their leadership positions.

But Xin Hao's expression remained grave. His eyes darkened as he spoke slowly: "Team members? More like you want a shield to divert attention."

Once they became members, any Deva members Yu Li killed in instances could be blamed on X - or at least appear to be under X's orders to outsiders.

Yu Li curved her eyes without refuting the claim.

"Is it too much to ask the team leader to draw some fire when members cause trouble? Besides, we're all working toward eliminating Deva. You'll have to oppose them eventually - I'm just speeding up the process."

Xin Hao snorted. "Speeding up? While you and your boyfriend stay safely hidden, I take all the heat?"

Yu Li smiled. "Not all the heat - just buying time."

Qi Cheng'an stroked his chin. "If I recall correctly, Zhang Can mentioned you also killed a Peace member in an instance. Are you targeting more than just Deva?"

Bo Jingmo paused slightly at this and looked up.

Yu Li pinched his fingertips subtly, her expression unchanged as she raised an eyebrow at Qi Cheng'an. "What? One more organization makes a difference?"

"Not exactly. But Peace rarely makes enemies in instances. Aren't you worried about backlash from Peace and the audience if you kill their members recklessly?" Qi Cheng'an's concern sounded genuine.

Bo Jingmo handed Yu Li a coffee from the table, speaking calmly: "Avoiding conflict doesn't grant immunity. If the audience objects, we'll just give them a compelling reason for the death."

Qi Cheng'an stiffened. "A compelling reason?"

Yu Li accepted the cup, her smile inscrutable. "And why would Peace object? Qi Mai injured me first. Bo Jingmo killed him to save me - if anything, Peace owes me an apology, don't they?"

Qi Cheng'an: "..."

What an absurd reversal.

He finally understood - these two kept topping each other with increasingly ridiculous claims.

Exchanging a helpless look with Xin Hao, who remained deep in thought, Xin Hao eventually sighed slowly.

"I agree to your terms."

He looked up to say more, but seeing Yu Li leisurely sipping tea while he'd talked himself hoarse, he paused to take a sip from his own cup, glancing subtly at Bo Jingmo.

"But... do you know Deva's founder has returned?"

At this, Yu Li paused slightly before responding calmly: "I know."

"Huh?" Xin Hao startled. "You know?"

This girl's intelligence network was impressively fast.

"Then do you know who Deva's founder is?"

The woman propped her head up with a smirk:

"Shao Dong Bai, right?"

—Also nominally Bo Jingmo's father.

After regaining his memories, Bo Jingmo had told her everything about Deva.

If his father was behind Deva, everything made sense - including why Deva showed such interest in Bo Jingmo.

...

Meanwhile, at Deva headquarters.

In the office, Yu Jiao handed over a document. "Here's the compiled records on Bo Jingmo from the past year for your review."

Hearing her voice, the middle-aged man by the window turned. His slicked-back hair and cold, authoritative eyes gave him an intimidating presence despite his fifty years - time had only left faint wrinkles at his eyes.

His gaze barely touched the documents before looking away, his voice deep: "What about Limu?"

Yu Jiao hesitated, glancing at Rong Fan behind her. "We've only encountered Limu once so far."

"Can we bind him?"

Bai Shaodong turned to Rong Fan. "Weren't you in that instance with Limu? Any chance of binding?"

Rong Fan looked uncomfortable. "Limu...is just an NPC. Binding isn't possible yet."

Hearing this, Bai Shaodong said nothing, only giving a cold smile.

"If she's back, she'll appear. Keep people watching for her."

Only then did he take the documents from Yu Jiao. "I ordered Bo Jingmo's elimination. Progress report?"

Yu Jiao adjusted her glasses hesitantly.

"In the last instance...all four operatives we sent died. We heard Peace also lost one member."