I am the Clone of a Death Row Inmate-Chapter 141 - 135: Senior Ye Jin (2)

Besides, he was now genuinely curious about her.

Jia Yuan’s expression stiffened for a fleeting moment, but he quickly composed himself—so quickly that you would have missed it if you weren’t watching closely. He nodded. "Miss Ye currently holds a civilian post at our base."

"Mr. Jia, could you please take me to her? I’d like to pay Miss Ye a visit."

"Well... I happen to be busy with something right now. I’ll have someone else take you." With that, he immediately summoned a tall, thin young soldier and ordered him to take Su Ze to Ye Jin.

The tall, thin soldier’s expression changed, but under Jia Yuan’s stern gaze, he dutifully complied.

Su Ze and the tall, thin soldier left the reception room. As they walked, Su Ze couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Why does it seem like none of you want to see Ye Jin? Is she scary?"

The tall, thin soldier seemed to recall something, and a strange look crossed his face. "Miss Ye has a nickname around here," he said. "We call her the ’Time Devourer’."

’Time Devourer,’ Su Ze mused. ’That sounds impressive. Could Miss Ye have mastered some high-level, time-related skill? Probably not...’ He asked the soldier about the nickname’s origin.

"You’ll understand once you meet her," the soldier replied.

Su Ze followed the soldier to an office door. The tall, thin soldier pointed inside and said, "Miss Ye is in there. You can go in by yourself. I’m heading back now."

With that, he turned and walked away, as if terrified Su Ze would ask him to come along.

Su Ze frowned. He didn’t rush in, instead taking a moment to survey his surroundings.

He was on the first floor of an office building, which was partitioned into several offices. Only Ye Jin’s door was wide open; the others were all tightly shut. However, judging by the light seeping from under the door cracks and the faint sounds of chatter and laughter, Su Ze guessed the other offices weren’t vacant.

Su Ze took a deep breath and stepped into Ye Jin’s office.

There was only one person in the spacious office—unquestionably Ye Jin. Su Ze took a good look at his senior from Dongli. She was dressed in a crisp, practical style: a white shirt and jeans.

She was bent over her desk, her head slightly bowed. Her high ponytail swayed with her every movement, each strand of hair practically radiating vitality.

From his angle, Su Ze could only see her lovely profile.

The sound of his footsteps must have startled her, because Ye Jin looked up at him, breaking into a radiant smile. "Hello! Can I help you with something?"

"Hello, Miss Ye. I’m Su Ze." Su Ze removed the Hundred-Change Mask from his face.

"Oh, Su Ze." Ye Jin looked slightly surprised for a moment before her expression returned to normal. "I know who you are. My grandmother told me you’d be stopping by."

Ye Jin stood up, brought a chair over for Su Ze, and then busied herself pouring him some water. She even took out her favorite snacks for him to try.

"Here, try this," she urged. "It’s a tentacle from a Hundred-Claw Octopus. It’s delicious!"

Su Ze tried it. It was actually quite good. Playing dumb, he asked, "Miss Ye, do you know why Mr. Ning asked me to come here?"

Ye Jin smiled, a little embarrassed. "Actually, it’s about me..."

’So it really is a setup,’ Su Ze thought. ’Are they trying to get us together?’

"You see," Ye Jin said apologetically, "I was planning to absorb a Deep Sea Electric Eel Extract, but you’re the one who redeemed the vial from the national treasury. Because of that, my grandmother went to the sea to hunt a Deep-Sea Electric Eel for me."

"But that kind of S-rank beast is very rare; finding one is a matter of luck. My grandmother searched for several days and even risked going deep into the Central Sea. In the end, she managed to hunt a Mutated Deep-Sea Electric Eel."

"A Mutated Deep-Sea Electric Eel?" Su Ze’s interest was instantly piqued. He was quite familiar with mutated beasts.

A mutation could make a beast stronger or weaker, but the Deep-Sea Electric Eel was already a Tier-3 S-rank beast. If it had mutated to become stronger, it would be an S+-rank beast, on par with the likes of the Mutated Giant Crocodile.

Ye Jin nodded. "That Mutated Electric Eel is far more powerful than a typical Deep-Sea Electric Eel. This makes the energy in its extract extremely volatile, and my grandmother is worried I won’t be able to absorb it. Then, she heard from Mr. Gu that you have experience absorbing a Mutated Upright Ape Extract. That’s why she wants to trade the extract from the mutated eel for the Deep Sea Electric Eel Extract you have."

"But don’t worry," she added. "If you’re not confident you can absorb the Mutated Electric Eel Extract, please don’t force yourself. I can just have my grandmother hunt another Deep-Sea Electric Eel for me later. I’m not in a huge rush."

Su Ze adopted a serious tone. "Mr. Ning is Dongli’s Guardian God. He defends our nation and guards its borders. I’ve always held him in the highest esteem. And you, Miss Ye, are a fellow student from my university. How could I possibly refuse such a small request!"

With that, he took out the Deep Sea Electric Eel Extract and pressed it into Ye Jin’s hand. "Here, Miss Ye, take it. Why don’t you absorb it right now?"

He was clearly afraid she’d go back on the deal!

Su Ze wasn’t worried about her taking his extract and not honoring the deal. As long as Ye Jin accepted his Deep Sea Electric Eel Extract, a person with Ning Yushen’s status and reputation would never go back on their word. That meant the Mutated Electric Eel Extract was as good as his.

Unable to refuse any longer, Ye Jin accepted the Deep Sea Electric Eel Extract. She now had a very favorable impression of Su Ze’s frankness and sincerity.

"Su Ze, I’ll have my grandmother give you the Mutated Electric Eel Extract when she gets back."

"There’s no rush. By the way, what’s Mr. Ning busy with today? It seems like almost everyone is out of the base," Su Ze asked, taking the opportunity to fish for information.

"The seas have been restless lately. There are frequent invasions by Marine Beasts, so most of the soldiers are out patrolling the coast." Ye Jin paused for a moment. "Then, this morning, a large number of Marine Beasts suddenly made landfall. The soldiers all rushed over, and a little while later, news came back that an island had suddenly appeared out of the sea!"

"Are they sure it’s an island? Not some kind of beast or a Spiritual Plant?" Su Ze asked in surprise.

The first thing that came to his mind was something out of a cultivation novel, like a giant tortoise carrying an island on its back.

Ye Jin shook her head. "I’m not sure either. My grandmother felt something was off, so she rushed over immediately."

They didn’t dwell on the topic for long; it wasn’t something they could worry about anyway. Su Ze changed the subject.

"Miss Ye, with your strength, you should have been able to get into the Master Class. Why did you graduate so soon?"

Ye Jin was twenty-three or twenty-four and already at the Cocoon Stage. With her family background, the quality of her skills was certainly high. She was more than qualified to enter Dongli University’s Master Class.

Ye Jin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I wasn’t in the Combat specialization. I was in the Research specialization, majoring in Evolutionary Studies. We can’t get into the Master Class, and besides, I never wanted to."

Su Ze was surprised. "You majored in Evolutionary Studies, Miss Ye? What a coincidence. I’m a new freshman in that program this year."

Her pretty eyes widened. "You’re so powerful! Why didn’t you go into the Combat specialization?"

Su Ze laughed. "Aren’t you the same, Miss Ye? I’ve never heard of a researcher from the Evolutionary Studies program absorbing a Deep Sea Electric Eel Extract."

Ye Jin tilted her head up slightly, a hint of smug pride in her voice. "I’m different. I didn’t study evolutionary science to become a researcher, but to find my own path to power. And... I’ve already found it! 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"I’ve created an entirely new school of thought!"

"Oh?" Su Ze looked intrigued. "What is it? Let me see."

’What could make a recent college graduate like Ye Jin so confident that she’d shamelessly boast about creating a new school of thought?’

"Come on." Ye Jin stood up. "I’ll show you."

She then added with a hint of regret, "It’s a shame. If you’d met me earlier, you could have walked this untrodden path with me. But with all the skills you’ve absorbed, your development is already set in stone."

Ye Jin led Su Ze out of the office and over to a windowless building. She swiped a card to gain entry.

"There are a lot of beasts locked up in here," she explained. "The navy captured them to use as live combat training for the new recruits."

As she spoke, Ye Jin opened the door to one of the containment cells.