Chapter 130: A Scheme Within a Scheme, a Plot Within a Plot

Level 136. That was truly astonishing. Even in the Main City, there were very few individuals who had surpassed level 100; only those truly formidable "monsters" had reached such heights. Yet, this woman, who appeared so frail and delicate before them, was actually level 136? It was simply terrifying.

Seeing everyone staring at her in shock, Zhuo felt a sudden wave of embarrassment. "Why... why are you all looking at me like that?"

"It's... it's nothing. We just didn't expect that you were actually..." Lin Ye left the second half of his sentence hanging, but everyone present knew exactly what he meant.

Noticing the awkward atmosphere, Celine immediately spoke up to ease the tension. "Anyway... let's eat. We have things to do after this, heh heh..."

The group picked up their bowls and chopsticks to continue eating, but everyone was inwardly stunned. Xi Yan was the first to finish. He set down his utensils, feeling a profound reluctance to let Celine leave, yet he knew he could not force his sister to stay by his side. Besides, she now had someone as powerful as Zhuo protecting her.

Right! At the mention of Zhuo, Xi Yan suddenly thought of a question. He turned his gaze toward Celine and asked, "Little sister, how did you and Zhuo meet?"

At the mention of this, Celine grew excited and recounted the story of how they had first crossed paths. Back when Celine had been captured by people from the Main City, she had encountered Zhuo at the teleportation point upon her arrival. The men who had captured Celine had bumped into Zhuo, and in a fit of rage, Zhuo had dealt with them all. After learning of Celine's situation, he felt a deep sense of pity for her. Since then, they had remained together. Because Zhuo had nothing else to do and was bored every day, he simply stayed by Celine's side, accompanying her wherever she wished to go.

...

"Alright, brother, it's about time. I have to leave, or I'll be late."

Xi Yan nodded. Watching Celine and Zhuo stand up and leave the house, he still felt an ache of reluctance and followed them for a distance. Celine knew Xi Yan was behind her, yet she never once turned back. And so, Celine took a step, and Xi Yan took a step, until they finally arrived at the teleportation zone of the Eighth Survival Territory.

Even at the moment of departure, Celine did not look back at Xi Yan once. But the instant the portal closed, she could no longer hold it in; she collapsed into Zhuo’s arms and began to sob.

"Zhuo, brother... do you think I shouldn't have been so heartless? Now that I'm gone, I don't know if I'll ever see my brother again."

Zhuo, who had appeared as a woman, slowly transformed into a man after entering the portal. He wore a black suit, his hair falling in soft, messy bangs; in a normal, orderly society, he would have possessed the face of a celebrated star. However, Zhuo’s nature was not lively—on the contrary, he was quite cold and aloof, yet his gaze toward Celine was filled with tenderness.

Zhuo held Celine, gently patting her back to comfort her. "I will protect you. You will certainly be able to see each other again in the future."

Celine pulled away from his embrace, wiped the tears from her eyes, and asked with confusion, "Zhuo, brother, why do you hide your true gender?"

Zhuo pinched her cheek dotingly and replied with a smile, "Because to protect you, I cannot let others know my true identity."

"Alright then~" Celine smiled, burying her longing for Xi Yan deep in her heart, and set off toward the Main City.

...

Xi Yan watched as Celine entered the portal, and once that missed figure was no longer visible, he felt a sudden, hollow emptiness in his heart. Lin Ye, who had been by his side the whole time, walked up and patted him on the shoulder. "Let's go back."

Xi Yan glanced at Lin Ye, sighed, and nodded, following him back to the service area of the Eighth Survival Territory. After dropping Xi Yan off at his residence, Lin Ye departed, though he did not leave the service area; instead, he went to find Kela.

Kela was sitting in his courtyard, gazing at the sky. He did not shift his eyes from the moon even when he heard Lin Ye’s footsteps.

"What brings you here?"

Lin Ye pulled up a chair beside Kela and sat down without invitation. "Is the moon beautiful?"

"Yes."

The two exchanged words of no real substance, and once finished, they both fell into silence. A moment later, one of Kela’s subordinates approached and whispered something in his ear. Kela broke into a smile, waved his hand, and dismissed the subordinate. Watching the smile, Lin Ye observed him quietly, still not asking a single question.

Once the subordinate was gone, Kela sat up from his rocking chair and looked at Lin Ye with a smirk. "The matter you wanted to know about—I can tell you now."

Lin Ye finally turned his head, looking at Kela coldly. "The Eighth Lord certainly has a temper. This wasn't even the matter I intended to ask about, yet you dragged it out until now."

"You went to persuade Xi Yan, didn't you? To convince him to go to the Main City." Kela asked suddenly.

"That has nothing to do with you."

"Judging by that answer, I suppose you did."

With that, Kela stood up, pulled a rolled-up piece of paper from his pocket, and handed it to Lin Ye. Lin Ye took it with a look of confusion, opened it, and froze in place, looking up at Kela and then back at the paper. Seeing Lin Ye's reaction, Kela chuckled. "No need to be so surprised. Is the content on this so strange?"

"You... this isn't a fake? Was this really written by the City Lord?" Lin Ye asked.

Kela nodded. "Of course. Do you think I have the gall to impersonate the City Lord? Besides, this serves me no purpose."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye regained his composure, returned the paper to Kela, and said, "In that case, I shall leave. I leave Xi Yan in your care."

"That goes without saying." Kela nodded with a smile.

Lin Ye wanted to say something more, but in the end, he remained silent. He sighed, turned, and disappeared into the night. Once Lin Ye was gone, Kela opened the paper and glanced at it. It read: *Xi Yan must remain in the Eighth Survival Territory; he is not to go to the Main City for the time being.* The date was the latest one.

"You did well."

A man’s voice suddenly echoed from the darkness behind Kela. Upon hearing it, Kela, who had been acting carefree, suddenly became solemn. He bowed respectfully toward the shadows and said, "Lady Isabelle, there was no need for you to come in person. A trivial matter like this does not require your concern."

Isabelle stepped out from the darkness, walked over to Kela, picked up the teacup from the table, and began to fiddle with it. "You needn't be so nervous. I don't distrust you; I simply had nothing to do, so I came to take a look."