Chapter 204 Retreat and Seeking Refuge

This heart-wrenching shout was like a thunderclap, exploding violently under the silent night sky.

The entire Jinghai University square instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone was stunned.

Leaders like Wang Meng and Xu Feng, who were just a moment ago murderous and ready to face the enemy, were now as if frozen by a spell, their mouths agape in utter disbelief.

The forty thousand plus players on the square were collectively petrified, their minds unable to process what was happening.

Defection?

The players from the Global Financial Center... kneeling and begging to join?

This isn't how the script was supposed to go!

They thought what would follow would be a tragic, grand battle; they were all geared up, and this was the result?

Jiang Yuwan and An Lan exchanged a glance, both seeing the same bewilderment in each other's eyes.

Meanwhile, in the crowd, the smile on Li Xinran's face completely froze.

Her mind went blank, completely unable to comprehend the scene unfolding before her.

What's the situation?

How did Zheng Siyuan... how did he just kneel?

And he said I was the one who told him to defect?

My plan was for you to bring your boss, Lu Jiaming, over so Su Ze could kill you all off, allowing me to take over a major power and claim a massive credit in front of Su Ze!

How did he suddenly betray Lu Jiaming and bring the scientific research personnel to surrender on his own?

Su Ze raised an eyebrow, his face expressionless, but a hint of amusement flickered in his deep eyes.

He didn't look at the kneeling Zheng Siyuan, but instead cast his gaze into the distance.

At the main entrance of the Global Financial Center.

Lu Jiaming, leading a group of core subordinates, was just about to rush out when he saw this scene that made his blood run cold.

His footsteps came to a dead stop at the building's entrance, not daring to take another step forward.

Lu Jiaming's face instantly turned ashen, his chest heaving violently, as fury and horror intertwined in his eyes, nearly erupting.

Traitor!

Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that one of his ostensible confidants, that Zheng Siyuan who had always appeared foolish and loyal, would actually betray him!

This guy had been playing the pig to eat the tiger all along!

He had hidden his strength and always acted as if he were incompetent...

Lu Jiaming's gaze passed over the kneeling Zheng Siyuan to meet Su Ze's eyes on the high platform across the square.

Su Ze's expression was indifferent, without the ecstasy of a victor or the gravity of facing a strong enemy; it was as if he were watching a farce that had nothing to do with him.

It was precisely this nonchalance that caused Lu Jiaming's heart to sink bit by bit.

He couldn't see through Su Ze.

He didn't even know how the traitor Zheng Siyuan had managed to hook up with Su Ze...

Could it really be because of that so-called fiancée?

Zheng Siyuan knelt on the cold ground, catching a glimpse of Lu Jiaming and the others not daring to chase him out, and his heart filled with wild joy.

He had bet correctly!

No matter what happened later, at least today, he wouldn't die at Lu Jiaming's hands!

As for his life in the future...

He stole a glance at the woman in the crowd wearing black-rimmed glasses, then thought of Su Ze on the high platform, and his heart felt bitter.

Whether it was that monster disguised as Professor Qin or the unfathomable Su Ze before him, either one could easily take his life.

He was now like meat on a cutting board, only able to take things one step at a time.

The desire for survival overrode everything, and he kowtowed heavily once more.

"Boss Su Ze! I, Zheng Siyuan, a confidant under the command of Lu Jiaming, the leader of the largest faction in the Global Financial Center, have been awakened by Miss Li Xinran today. I have come to my senses and am no longer willing to aid a tyrant!"

"I have 'persuaded' all the scientific research personnel in the center to come with me and abandon the darkness for the light! I am willing to serve Boss Su Ze with total devotion, even unto death!"

His voice was loud and full of "sincerity," every word clearly reaching the ears of everyone present.

Li Xinran was completely dumbfounded.

She felt as if she were being roasted over a fire, as countless gazes shot toward her—some questioning, some probing, some envious.

She clearly hadn't done anything!

But...

This credit... it seemed... she didn't have to refuse it?

Just as she was having an internal struggle, Su Ze's half-smiling gaze drifted over.

Li Xinran felt a jolt in her heart, and meeting Su Ze's gaze, she almost subconsciously lifted her chin and nodded.

Whatever!

Although things had developed somewhat unexpectedly, the outcome was close enough!

It's credit delivered to her door; she might as well take it.

Seeing Li Xinran nod, the heart that had been hanging in Zheng Siyuan's throat finally settled halfway.

He knew that his life was most likely saved.

The reason he said that was merely to get Li Xinran to endorse him, increasing his credibility with Su Ze while also giving her a share of the credit.

So he had gambled that Li Xinran would go along with him!

"In that case..." Su Ze withdrew his gaze and finally spoke slowly.

"Chen Xueming."

"Here! Boss!"

Chen Xueming ran out excitedly.

His subordinates were mainly high-intelligence or technical talents.

Now, if they added a batch of scientific researchers, it would definitely be a huge boon for him!

"Check their Attribute Panels, confirm their intelligence, and at the same time, check their identities and abilities," Su Ze instructed calmly.

"You got it!" Chen Xueming's face was flushed with excitement as he rubbed his hands together, his eyes shining as he looked at the group of trembling researchers behind Zheng Siyuan.

...

On the other side.

At the entrance of the Global Financial Center.

Lu Jiaming's face was ugly to the extreme as he watched Su Ze begin to take in his people.

He turned abruptly and led everyone back inside the building.

The heavy alloy doors slowly closed, cutting off everything from the outside.

"Boss Lu! Are we just going to let this go?!"

A burly confidant, full of resentment, growled through gritted teeth.

"That son of a bitch traitor Zheng Siyuan! And those researchers! We're just going to let the Jinghai University lot have them that easily?"

"Otherwise, what?!"

Lu Jiaming's eyes were bloodshot, and for the first time, he showed a look of near-despair in front of his subordinates.

"You want to lead people out to fight them?!"

"Didn't you see the strength of that traitor Zheng Siyuan? He's been hiding it all along! Although he's quite a bit weaker than us, he's not someone ordinary players can handle!"

"And then there's that Su Ze! Since that traitor was playing the pig to eat the tiger from the start and defected to Su Ze today, do you think anything he says could be true? Could that Su Ze really have some bullshit Weakened State like Zheng Siyuan said before?!"

Lu Jiaming's voice was hoarse with agitation; he pointed outside, his body trembling slightly.

"I'm afraid that if we had left even a step later, once he realized what was happening, none of us would have come back alive today!"

The entire hall was silent.

Everyone was stunned by Lu Jiaming's words, a chill of lingering fear rising in their hearts.

Indeed, many of them had witnessed the battle between Su Ze and that Taoyuan Residential Area Commander yesterday...