257: Chapter 258 Top-Tier Sixth Brother, Turns the Tables and Raids Your Lair

"Are you crazy?!" Instructor Su Qing's voice exploded from the other end of the terminal, sharp and piercing—completely different from her usual cold demeanor.

Lin Qi was not surprised.

For any normal person, hearing someone say, "I'm going to break into the S-Level Restricted Area of Longya Academy," the reaction would only be more intense than hers.

"I know this is outrageous."

Lin Qi's tone was incredibly calm. "But you have to understand, the person on the other side isn't stupid. Since he could calculate that I would go to seize the 'skull of the old god,' he must also be able to calculate that I would have my eyes on that final 'Main Control Core'."

He paused, leaving time for Instructor Su Qing to process this.

"The press conference of the Kyoto Li Family is a grand show, meant to pin the eyes of the entire Federation there, while the real lethal move is hidden behind the scenes."

"He will take advantage of the time when everyone is focused on the press conference to send people to retrieve the 'Main Control Core' of Longya Academy."

"I don't have time to wait."

"Public opinion warfare is the Fatty's job. My battlefield isn't there; I'm going to flip his table before he can make a move."

On the other end of the line, Instructor Su Qing's breathing grew heavy.

Helping him meant betraying Longya Academy, betraying her mentor, and gambling her entire future and life.

The stakes were too high.

"You said before that the hope lies with me."

Lin Qi's voice was very soft, yet every word struck the vital point. "Now I need you to honor that trust. If I die, your curse will never be lifted in this lifetime."

These words were blunt and cruel.

Yet they were an unavoidable fact.

The silence stretched long.

Lin Qi could hear the breathing on her end go from rapid to chaotic, then slowly settle down, until finally, there was no sound at all.

"Fine."

Just one word, crisp and decisive.

"I can take you to the deepest part of the restricted area. I have a way to temporarily bypass part of the academy's defense System."

"But the secret chamber of the 'Main Control Core' has the academy's final defense System, and my mentor, 'Sword Saint' Ye Qingtian, is personally guarding it."

"I can only take you to the door."

"Whether you can get the item or get out alive depends entirely on you."

"That's enough."

Lin Qi hung up the phone, his face void of any extra expression.

He looked at Zhang Wei beside him.

The fatty was operating three terminals simultaneously, his ten fingers dancing rapidly across the screens, muttering to himself.

"Yes, yes, yes, this title! 'Kyoto Li Family on the Verge of Bankruptcy, Patriarch Li Qingcang Actually Did This'"

"Where are the internet trolls? Get them on it! Expose everything about the Li Family colluding with overseas organizations to steal national treasures for sacrificial rituals to extend their lives! Pictures? Photoshop them! Whatever you need to Photoshop, do it! The more shocking, the better!"

"What? Evidence? Who the hell needs evidence! He, Li Qingcang, doesn't need evidence to cry 'thief' while being the thief, so why would I need it to spread rumors? Muddy the waters for me! When he holds his press conference, make sure every reporter's question is about whether his family is going bankrupt!"

"Fatty." Lin Qi suddenly spoke.

"Yes! Brother Qi! You say the word!" Zhang Wei looked up in the middle of his busy work.

"The plan has changed."

"Huh?"

Lin Qi gestured with his chin toward the push notification of the Li Family's press conference on the terminal. "I'm not going to this show."

Zhang Wei's chubby face fell. "Not going? Brother Qi, this is the stage you talked about! The rumors are already out; if you don't go to dismantle the show, won't all this work be for nothing?"

"Who said it was for nothing?"

Lin Qi looked at him. "He sets the stage, you sing the play, and I'm going to tear down his backstage."

"What do you mean?"

"Keep spreading rumors. The bigger the commotion, the better. It's best if everyone believes that I will personally storm the press conference site tomorrow and seize the 'skull of the old god' in front of the entire Federation."

Lin Qi's gaze darkened slightly. "As for me, I'm going to another place tonight to get something even more important."

Zhang Wei finally realized, his small eyes widening round. "A feint to the east to attack in the west?!"

"Smart."

"Holy crap, Brother Qi!" The fatty slapped his thigh, his face flushed red. "He thought he was on the fifth layer, but you went straight to the atmosphere! He thought you were fighting a public opinion war with him, but you went straight for the bottom of the pot!"

"Alright, enough with the flattery."

Lin Qi leaned back into his seat and closed his eyes. The massive consumption of willpower meant he had to seize every second to rest. "Drive to the vicinity of Longya Academy, find a hidden spot to stop, and don't worry about the rest."

"Understood!"

Zhang Wei slammed on the gas pedal; the heavy truck let out a low roar and plunged back into the night of Tianhai City.

Meanwhile.

At Longya Academy, in Instructor Su Qing's office.

She put down the terminal, her face pale, and walked to the window, looking down at the brightly lit campus below, where patrols moved as regularly as chess pieces.

Her heart was beating fast.

She knew clearly what she had just done—the craziest and most irreversible decision, personally bringing an outsider to break into the place she had once sworn to protect with her life.

Is it worth it?

The image of that young man flashed through her mind.

At the auction, a forbidden spell capable of annihilating a Third-Turn powerhouse slammed in front of him, yet he didn't even blink, and that attack simply vanished into thin air.

When he said, "Who approves, who opposes," that attitude of viewing the heroes of the world as mere grass—that kind of power and posture completely exceeded her understanding of a "powerhouse."

Perhaps only this "anomaly" that does not belong to this world can break the Law curse that also does not belong to this world.

Her only hope.

Instructor Su Qing took a deep breath, her gaze becoming firm again. She took a palm-sized black metal box from the bottom drawer of her desk.

The box opened, and inside lay a silver badge quietly, engraved with the Longya totem and a string of exclusive codes.

This was the highest-authority pass that the Dean personally awarded her when she graduated from Longya Academy and advanced to a Third-Turn "Shadow Dancer," allowing her to ignore 90% of the academy's defense Systems.

She had never used it since graduation.

She didn't expect that the first day she would enable it would be to do something like this.

Instructor Su Qing's mouth twitched, she tucked the badge into her pocket, turned around, and left the office.

In the night, her figure leapt a few times and silently vanished into the shadows of the buildings.

Half an hour later, behind the mountain of Longya Academy, outside a secluded wall.

Zhang Wei stuffed the heavy truck into an abandoned construction site, killed the engine, and said in a hushed voice, "Brother Qi, we're here. Any further is the academy's security perimeter. Are you really going in alone?"

"You staying here is the best support."

Lin Qi pushed the door open and jumped out. "Don't contact me before dawn, and don't leave here. If I don't come back, leave on your own."

"Phooey, phooey, phooey! Brother Qi, don't say that! You'll definitely be able to turn them upside down and come back out!"

Lin Qi didn't answer, just waved his hand. His body leapt a few times and disappeared into the pitch-black woods.

Just as he approached the academy wall, a dark shadow slid from the darkness on top of the wall and stood steadily in front of him.

Instructor Su Qing.

She had changed into a tight black combat suit, which accentuated her hot figure to the fullest. Her face still wore that frosty, cold expression, but her eyes held a few more undefinable meanings than usual.

"You actually dared to come." She looked at him, her tone emotionless.

"And you're here, too," Lin Qi replied.

Instructor Su Qing didn't respond to that and went straight to the point.

"The academy's defense is divided into three layers. The outer layer is an energy sensing network plus infrared ghost drones; the middle layer is rune arrays and alchemy traps; the core area, the S-Level Restricted Area, is an independent space blockade plus a Law barrier."

She held up the silver badge.

"My authority can take you silently through the outer and middle layers, but at the entrance of the S-Level Restricted Area, the badge becomes ineffective. That place only recognizes the authority of the Dean and Teacher Ye."

"After getting in, I need about three minutes to hack into the restricted area's subsystem to tear open a temporary passage that can last for ten seconds. During this time, we cannot be discovered by anyone."

"On the other side of the passage is Teacher Ye's secret chamber."

Instructor Su Qing stared into Lin Qi's eyes, slowing her speech.

"My mentor, Sword Saint Ye Qingtian, titled 'Sword Saint,' is at the Peak of the Fourth-Turn and is recognized by the Federation as one of the few people closest to the Fifth-Turn. When he draws his sword, he can sever space."

"Don't hold any lucky expectations regarding him."

"Understood."

Lin Qi's reply was so concise it was only two words.

"Let's go."

Instructor Su Qing didn't say anything more, turned, and leapt. Her body nimbly vaulted over the dozen-meter-high wall, landing without a sound.

Lin Qi tapped his toes lightly and followed closely behind.

A raid aimed directly at the heart of Longya Academy had thus begun.