"Aurora..."

Facing Aurora who had "willingly walked into the trap," Yun You's feelings were quite complicated.

She originally wanted to say something, but it was Xie Kang, who was tightly bound by iron chains, who spoke first.

"Aurora! Aurora Miles! How dare you lay hands on me?!"

Xie Kang's eyes were firmly sealed with tape by Aurora, so he didn't notice Yun You at all and just cursed on his own.

"You scoundrel! How dare you poison the wine? Weren't you going to pledge your loyalty to Lord Yang? Why do something so foolish?"

"Damn you... I knew it, people like you, from poor backgrounds, can't be trusted!"

With these words, Yun You's expression froze, finally understanding why Yang Lie got so drunk and his thinking became sluggish.

It turned out... Aurora was the one causing trouble.

Although she appeared to submit to Yang Lie on the surface, secretly, she poisoned him, causing his power to plummet, thereby giving Yun You a greater advantage.

Even though this advantage wasn't particularly significant, the outcome of tonight wouldn't change either way...

But at least this proved that Aurora hadn't truly betrayed them.

"Loyalty? Not trustworthy?"

Listening to Xie Kang's curses, Aurora shook her head expressionlessly.

"You're mistaken, I never intended to submit to you."

"I will pledge my loyalty to some, but clearly not to you. Because you are too foolish, too weak."

"From the beginning, I never intended to join you, I was just toying with you with words... I never promised my loyalty to you, so how could there even be talk of betrayal?"

With that, Aurora directly tore off the tape covering Xie Kang's eyes.

The old doctor was about to curse more, but suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he saw Yun You standing there.

And a conference hall littered with bodies.

"...!"

Xie Kang was stunned.

He was a smart person, and of course, knew what Yun You's presence there meant.

Yang Lie had already been defeated.

Perhaps there were many factors in his defeat, like the poisoning, or maybe letting his guard down...

But a loss was a loss, and no amount of excuses would make a difference.

To be fair, Xie Kang and Yang Lie had a decent relationship, and their collaboration was quite pleasant... but that didn't mean Xie Kang was blindly loyal to Yang Lie.

On the contrary, upon realizing his master's defeat, Xie Kang's first thought was how to disassociate himself and thus save his own life.

His eyes darted around as he thought hard, then suddenly knelt down, lowering his proud head to Yun You.

"Your Excellency, I think... there is no fundamental conflict between us."

"I am a researcher, not an Apprentice Death God. I hold no hatred towards you, and I believe you will not have any hatred towards me, because I have never personally harmed your friends and companions."

"Researchers have simple minds; I have always just wanted to advance further in science, so I can't say I'm one of Yang Lie's core followers, just a collaborative partner bound by contract."

"Now that you have emerged victorious, it's only right for me to pledge my loyalty to you... as long as you grant me a chance to live, I, Xie Kang, am willing to dedicate all my research findings to you, and will continue to conduct research to create greater value for you."

Xie Kang tried his best to lower himself, repeatedly emphasizing: "This head of mine is very valuable, it would be a pity just to kill it like that!"

"I think, the young lady should be wise enough not to do anything that would harm her own interests..."

Xie Kang wasn't exaggerating.

A researcher like him was indeed worth a fortune and would be highly valued by any company he joined.

But Xie Kang misunderstood one thing.

Compared to other Apprentice Death Gods, Yun You didn't actually care much about so-called "interests."

The ones she wanted to kill, even if they were worth a fortune, she would still kill them.

The ones she didn't want to kill, even if there was a million-dollar bounty, the young girl wouldn't lift a finger.

And Xie Kang? He belonged to the first category.

"You think you're worth a fortune?"

Yun You grabbed Xie Kang by the throat, lifting him along with the iron chains.

"You think your life is more valuable than others, so you can kill at will, trample on other people's lives?"

"No, no, no, you're worth nothing in my eyes."

After saying this, Yun You casually threw Xie Kang, who wore a startled expression, along with the chains, against the wall.

Squish—!

Xie Kang's body, like a mosquito bloated with blood, shattered into pieces, spilling his insides all over the wall.

This former senior researcher of Biotechnology didn't even get to utter any last words before his life ended in an unknown corridor.

His life had been spent chasing fame and fortune, all to stand higher.

And now, Yun You ended his life in an utterly ordinary way, denying his entire existence.

Now, only Aurora remained to be "dealt with."

The young girl turned her head, once again scrutinizing Aurora.

But at that moment, Aurora suddenly spewed a mouthful of dark blood, her body curling up like a cooked shrimp, breaking into a cold sweat from the pain.

"This is..."

Yun You was slightly startled but quickly understood.

Since Aurora had poisoned Yang Lie, it must have been through food or drink.

And to allay the suspicions of an Apprentice Death God, she had to take the poison herself.

Her constitution was far inferior to Yang Lie's, so even a small amount of poison was enough to damage her fundamentally.

Yet she still risked herself to give Yun You a better chance of winning.

Realizing this, the young girl felt no hostility towards Aurora.

"You..."

Yun You instinctively reached out, trying to help Aurora up.

But the latter waved her hand, refusing the aid.

"I'm fine, just a bit of strong poison, it won't kill me."

She clutched her stomach, kneeling and taking deep breaths.

"Do what you need to do."

She urged.

But Yun You neither attacked nor questioned her; she just slightly furrowed her brows and asked, "Who are you now?"

"Are you still that blue, two-headed monster bird?"

"No."

Aurora shook her head.

"It has left—after I recognized the truth, it returned the body to me."

"So, standing before you is the genuine Aurora, a truly transformed Aurora Miles."

"Whether it was poisoning or 'surrendering' before you, or capturing Xie Kang, it was all my own decision."

"This is the real me."

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