Volume One, Chapter 13: Are You Telling Me This Dam Is Mint?

Page (1/3)

Su Yixue and Xia Yang followed Liu Huaide down to the underground parking garage. When she saw the seven or eight blazing fireballs burning fiercely in the basement, her vision momentarily darkened. At the very center of the explosion, the ground was blackened and cracked, spiderweb-like fissures radiating outward. There, Su Yixue’s brand-new, jet-black Maybach—bought less than a month ago—was engulfed in flames, its model unrecognizable beneath the inferno.

Employees arrived one after another, holding fire extinguishers ready to spray, but Su Yixue raised her hand to stop them.

“Don’t go! It’s too dangerous! Call the fire department and let the professionals handle this!”

Though shaken, this was not a moment for rash actions.

“Manager Liu, was anyone injured in the explosion?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Su. No one was hurt.”

“Thank goodness...” Su Yixue exhaled in relief. Cars could be replaced, but if anyone had been injured or lost their life, she would feel deeply guilty, not to mention the damage to the company’s reputation.

“Why did it explode?” Xia Yang stepped forward, asking the critical question. “A car catching fire on its own shouldn’t cause such a massive blast.”

“We don’t know yet, but we can check the surveillance footage—if the cameras weren’t damaged...”

That remark alerted Su Yixue. She immediately said, “Manager Liu, please maintain order here and wait for the firefighters.”

“Xia Yang, come back to the office with me. I have access to the company’s surveillance system on my computer.”

Xia Yang hesitated, sensing something was amiss, but with the urgency of the situation, he had no time to dwell on it and quickly followed Su Yixue toward the office.

...

Inside the office, Su Yixue deftly controlled the mouse and quickly found the parking garage footage from the time of the explosion. The screen showed a figure entering: a person wearing a black hoodie with the hood up, a mask and sunglasses concealing their face, wrapped tightly in layers.

The figure surveyed the cars before locking eyes on Su Yixue’s Maybach and walking straight toward it.

“So it was targeted at you,” Xia Yang remarked.

The figure stopped not far from the Maybach, suddenly spreading one palm as if releasing something with a gentle push, then swiftly left the underground garage.

About thirty seconds later, a flash of white appeared on the screen—and the surveillance footage abruptly cut off.

“Something’s not right...” Su Yixue rewound the footage, freezing the frame on the moment the figure opened their palm and zoomed in.

“There’s nothing there.”

Page (2/3)

Despite watching every frame meticulously, Su Yixue and Xia Yang could not discern what was in that person’s palm or what had been released.

“This is strange. Should we report it to the police?” Xia Yang asked.

Su Yixue shook her head. “This doesn’t seem like the work of an ordinary person.”

“Are you implying...?” Xia Yang’s expression changed as he glanced toward the seats where Yatina and Shirley sat.

“I’ll report this to the family. Xia Yang, you need to assess the exact damages and inform those whose vehicles were affected. I’ll take responsibility for their losses.”

The cold resolve in Su Yixue’s eyes seemed almost tangible. As the eldest daughter of the Su family, she had endured many terrifying attacks growing up, but this time it seemed the threat came from within her own circle.

If that was the case, those involved should prepare to face Su Yixue’s reckoning in full.

Hearing this, Xia Yang gave her a thumbs-up. “Boss, you’re so magnanimous. Call me if you need anything—I’m the best fighter there is!”

“Mm, I will,” Su Yixue said, the coldness in her gaze softening as she smiled faintly and stood to leave the office.

...

In the days that followed, Xia Yang diligently carried out the tasks Su Yixue had left him. Meanwhile, she herself did not return to the company for several days.

One evening, after work hours, Xia Yang was lying on the sofa, idly passing time. Yatina sat nearby, her bright eyes fixed unblinkingly on the television, where Ultraman was playing.

When Ultraman struggled against the monster, she held her breath in suspense. When the tide turned, she cheered excitedly, fully engrossed and unable to pull away.

Watching this, Xia Yang suddenly had an idea and reached into his pocket to pull out a small, dice-sized cube.

After days of busyness and immediately falling asleep when home, he had yet to study the magical mint he had recently acquired.

The magical mint was pale purple all over and felt like a sugar cube. The system’s brief description said only this:

It could help contract demons relax, release emotions, and slightly replenish their magic power.

With “mint” in the name, Xia Yang guessed its effect was probably similar to catnip.

But Yatina wouldn’t react too dramatically, right? After all, her intelligence was way beyond a cat’s.

He had hoped she could casually nibble on it like a lollipop while watching TV.

Yet the moment Xia Yang placed the magical mint before her, Yatina’s body trembled violently.

“What is this?”

Page (3/3)

“It’s supposed to help you relax,” Xia Yang replied.

The mysterious little cube emitted a curious fragrance that immediately made Yatina’s eyes sparkle with hearts. Her thin, whip-like tail wagged incessantly.

Her limbs seemed uncontrollable as she wrapped them tightly around the magical mint and stuck out her tongue to lick it.

One lick.

Two licks.

Three licks...

Yatina’s licking grew faster and faster, her tail wagging quicker and quicker.

As for the Ultraman on TV? Long forgotten, lost from her mind entirely.

Xia Yang couldn’t help but twitch his mouth at the scene. How was this any different from a cat?

Could Yatina’s intelligence really be... like this?

Perhaps tired from licking, Yatina finally laid her cheek on the magical mint so she could lick it with just a flick of her tongue.

Xia Yang: ...

This was getting stranger by the minute.

Fearing any uncontrollable effects, Xia Yang decided to confiscate it immediately.

He reached out to grab the magical mint—but ended up grabbing Yatina along with it.

“Stop licking it! If you keep going, you’ll get addicted!”

But Yatina was already hooked. No matter how much Xia Yang tried to shake it away, she clung tightly to the mint, never ceasing her licking.

Finally, with one vigorous shake, Xia Yang dislodged Yatina, who was flung through the air.

Normally, she would have stabilized mid-air immediately, but today she didn’t react at all. She spun several times on the parabola before landing on the sofa.

“Just one more lick, just one...” Yatina’s limbs were a bit uncooperative as she struggled to wobbly walk back to Xia Yang’s arm.

“Isn’t this system? Are you seriously telling me this is just mint?”

“Isn’t this basically a drug?”