Chapter 223 A sneak attack? Two bonds foreshadowed?!

Ye Qingqing froze in place, feeling as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

Su Ze's casual question was like a merciless slap across her face, leaving a burning sting.

How could it be...

How could he be so fast!?

From the moment Shen Jie lunged to grab him, to her turning and rushing back through the door, to the energy shield rising—it had all happened in the blink of an eye.

Yet this man had entered the room as if taking a stroll, even carrying the struggling Shen Jie in his hand!

This wasn't just strength anymore; this was a monster!

A bone-chilling cold rose from the soles of her feet, instantly spreading through her entire body.

How could one resist such an enemy?

"It's over..." Despair filled Ye Qingqing's heart.

Gai Qian's voice continued to echo in her mind, her shock and disbelief evident: "He's too vigilant... and that speed... it's just ridiculous."

"But... but we have no way out now!"

Gai Qian's voice went silent for a moment, soon replaced by a ruthless determination to burn her bridges.

"Since we've made our move, there's no turning back! We gamble! We have to take this chance!"

Hearing Gai Qian's resolute voice, a flicker of struggle crossed Ye Qingqing's pale face, but it was soon replaced by resolve.

She took a deep breath and walked toward Su Ze, stopping about three meters away.

Before Su Ze, her knees buckled, and she knelt straight down!

"Boss Su Ze, it's my fault. I... I was just scared for a moment and did something foolish."

Her voice carried a sob, her body trembled slightly, and her shoulders heaved. She looked pitiful and fragile, enough to evoke sympathy in anyone.

"I beg you, considering I didn't cause any actual harm, please forgive me this once..."

Su Ze raised an eyebrow, looking at the woman kneeling in a humble posture. The smile on his face became increasingly inscrutable.

He casually tossed Shen Jie onto the floor with a dull thud.

"Was it really just fear?"

Su Ze slowly crouched down to eye level with Ye Qingqing, a playful smile on his face.

"From where I'm sitting, something doesn't seem quite right..."

Before his voice could fade!

A sudden change occurred!

A figure suddenly lunged out from the kneeling Ye Qingqing!

It was a woman!

A stunningly beautiful woman whose face was bloodless, her skin eerily like fine porcelain, and her eyes devoid of pupils—only pure black—yet she was incredibly seductive!

The moment the figure appeared, a green flame ignited out of thin air, enveloping her.

The white dress she wore was instantly transformed into a shocking blood-red within the flames!

An aura of coldness and malice, a hundred times more terrifying than all the previous Wandering Ghost combined, swept across the entire 18th floor like a physical wave!

"I knew something was fishy!"

A cold light flashed in Su Ze's eyes, and his body suddenly retreated!

He had felt something was wrong for a long time!

Ever since Ye Qingqing appeared, he had faintly sensed a subtle fluctuation of spirit surrounding her, though it was well hidden.

If his intelligence and spirit attributes weren't far beyond ordinary people, he wouldn't have noticed at all!

"Spirit Guarding Incantation!"

Su Ze shouted inwardly, and an invisible spiritual shield instantly formed around him!

At the same moment the shield lit up, the blood-red ghost figure launched her attack!

She looked at the shield Su Ze had raised, a hint of disdain flashing in her pure black eyes. Her cherry lips parted slightly as she spat out three cold words.

"Ghost Howl, Break!!!"

An extremely sharp sound wave erupted, far beyond the range of human hearing!

In an instant, ghostly sounds shook the heavens and a dark wind howled!

Crack!

Su Ze's proud [Spirit Guarding Incantation] shield couldn't even last a second under the impact of that terrifying sound wave; it shattered instantly!

But Su Ze's reaction was incredibly fast!

The moment the shield broke, he opened his mouth as well!

"Soul-Shaking Roar!"

Boom!!!

Two distinct yet equally powerful invisible forces acting on the spiritual level collided violently in mid-air!

A massive shockwave exploded outward from the two of them!

Crash—!

Every window pane on the 18th floor, as well as the floors above and below, shattered at that moment!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Su Ze's body shook violently, and he retreated three steps before barely stabilizing himself.

The blood-red ghost figure opposite him also became slightly more translucent. Clearly, she hadn't come out of that clash unscathed either.

But she gave Su Ze no chance to breathe. Her illusory figure flashed as she pressed her advantage!

"Soul-Bewitching Ghostly Sound!!"

Eerie syllables spilled from her mouth, turning into invisible magic sounds that rang directly in Su Ze's mind!

In that instant, a trace of daze and confusion appeared in Su Ze's eyes.

Now!

Seeing this, the woman's face lit up with wild joy, and her illusory figure lunged toward the space between Su Ze's eyebrows!

As long as she possessed him, everything this man had would be hers!

However, just as she was about to succeed!

An ornament hanging inside Su Ze's clothes at his neck suddenly flashed with white light!

[Spirit-Protecting Jade Pendant]!

The eerie power invading his mind was instantly dispelled, and Su Ze's dazed expression immediately cleared!

"You're courting death!"

Killing intent exploded in his eyes. Instead of retreating, he lunged forward, his right hand reaching into the player inventory as fast as lightning!

A peach wood sword, charred black all over but with faint arcs of electricity flowing through it, appeared out of thin air and was gripped tightly in his hand!

It was none other than the rare quality [Lightning-Struck Peach Wood Sword]!

Ssh—!

The long sword made no fancy movements; it simply and brutally pierced forward!

Ah—!!!

A shrill scream that didn't sound human echoed through the entire floor!

The blood-red ghost figure twisted her body at the last second to dodge, but she was still grazed on her right arm by the Lightning-Struck Peach Wood Sword.

Bursts of black smoke rose from her body. Her already illusory form became even more faint, as if it might dissipate at any moment.

She fell back onto the ground, her aura weakened to the extreme.

Su Ze didn't pause for a second after his successful strike.

His left hand reached out again, and a talisman flickering with faint purple lightning was held between his fingers!

It was the one and only [thunder control talisman]!

He was afraid she might have another trump card and brought it out just in case.

However, just as he was prepared to strike and finish her off completely.

A series of urgent system prompts rang out in his mind without warning!

[Ding! Goddess meeting binding conditions detected!]

[Goddess Name: Gai Qian]

[Bond Effect Preview: If successfully bound and a Bond is established, you will obtain the exclusive Bond effect—[Ghost Body]!]

[[Ghost Body]: Active skill. Allows your body to completely transform into a Supernatural Entity. During the transformation, Strength and Stamina attributes will temporarily drop to zero and be converted into temporary intelligence and spirit attributes at a 1:1 ratio, stacking on top of your original attributes. Duration: 1 hour. Can be used once per day.]

Su Ze's motion to throw the talisman froze abruptly.

This Bond effect...

Holy crap?!

Strength and Stamina directly converted into intelligence and spirit?!

If he used this on himself and combined it with [Burst]... wouldn't he just fricking take off?!

However, before he could recover from this massive surprise.

Another prompt followed immediately after!

[Ding! Goddess meeting binding conditions detected!]

[Goddess Name: Ye Qingqing]

[Bond Effect Preview: If successfully bound and a Bond is established, you will obtain the exclusive Bond effect—[Assistance]: ...]