Gu Xi had never truly let go of what happened all those years ago.

She had always wanted to uncover the truth of what happened, but she never imagined... this was it.

Gu Xi abruptly released the thumb that had been pressing hard against the knuckle of her left index finger.

She continued to stare intently at him. "Last time, you told me that drugged drink had nothing to do with you. You said the base’s top brass were afraid my achievements were a threat to their authority, so they decided to cast me aside. And that you were the one who saved me at the last minute."

The man remained silent. His gaze on Gu Xi grew more sinister, yet for some unknown reason, that malevolence was tinged with a secret, unsettling excitement.

The little green sprout circled her fingertip rapidly as she went on, "But I’m guessing the reason the top brass decided to move against me so quickly was because you were fanning the flames behind the scenes. You played a significant part in it, didn’t you?"

There were things she could never figure out before because too many key pieces of the puzzle were missing. Now that she knew more, Gu Xi could step back and see the whole picture, and many things naturally fell into place.

So, with that drugged drink, Yun Ye couldn’t have just been watching from the sidelines. He must have been stoking the fire from behind the scenes.

As for his motive...

"Because you were getting impatient." Gu Xi looked him in the eye. "You spent years trying to get a single clue about the Superpower Seed from me, but you came up with nothing. So, you decided to change your approach."

"And as for the thirty years I was gone..." At this, Gu Xi lowered her gaze, her tone turning complex for a moment. "I used to wonder if you really did it because you... liked me. Was that why you did everything in your power to turn me into one of your kind?"

Whether it was experimenting on her with technology, trying every way imaginable to sever her ties with humanity, or even crafting a revenge plot and handing it right to her.

Gu Xi had originally thought everything Yun Ye did was to sever her bonds with humanity and make her one of his kind, through and through.

But now she knew better. It wasn’t like that at all.

She had been so wrong about him back then.

Gu Xi looked up at the man across from her again. "You took me, locked me away for thirty years, subjected me to countless procedures, and even took my Crystal Core for experiments. None of it was because of affection or possessiveness. It was because..."

She looked at him, her expression calm, and spoke with slow, deliberate certainty. "...you wanted to find clues about the Superpower Seed on my person. That’s why you stopped at nothing to crack my superpower, to even try and recreate my spatial ability!"

But in the end, he failed.

Around that same time, Li Ming and his group, after years of relentless effort, had finally uncovered some things. They worked in the shadows, fanning the flames and causing the situation to spiral out of control. This forced the top brass to consider releasing Gu Xi to clean up the mess.

And Yun Ye... after demanding plenty of concessions, he decided to play along. He orchestrated a plot, intentionally allowing her to ’escape.’ But before he did, he used some unknown method to blur her memories of her thirty years in captivity.

That’s why when Gu Xi first woke up, she just felt like she had inexplicably lost thirty years of her life. Later, thinking about what happened to Ye Junhan, she began to suspect she had simply been frozen in a Hibernation Chamber for too long, causing her memory loss.

But now, it seemed the truth was an entirely different story.

’All of it was deliberately orchestrated by the man standing right in front of her.’

"I’m guessing that two years ago, when you deliberately let me leave but muddled my memories of that time... it was all so you could use me again." Gu Xi looked at the man across from her and concluded:

"Yun Ye, from the very beginning, you approached me, grew close to me, depended on me, imprisoned me, and finally, set me free. You spared no effort to make me see you as one of my own, and then you lured me to this swamp. Everything you did... it was all for one single purpose."

"You want the Superpower Seed." Gu Xi looked up at him. "Yun Ye... that’s the real truth, isn’t it?"

Yun Ye stared at her, his gaze profound. He didn’t deny it.

After a long moment, he sighed. "Xiaoxi, sometimes it’s better not to know so much."

The man’s voice was as deep and pleasant as ever, but for some reason, it sent a chill down her spine.

Gu Xi closed her eyes. The little green sprout vanished from her fingertip.

’In this apocalyptic world, it was hardly surprising that possessing a great treasure would attract covetous eyes and endless scheming.’

’She had taken such a massive fall, but she didn’t blame fate or anyone else.’