Su Mo finally looked toward Leng Shuang again. A faint smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Alright."

"Let’s leave those matters aside for now."

"I actually came here for something more important."

Leng Shuang immediately straightened her posture seriously.

"Please speak, Master."

Su Mo calmly asked:

"Do you still remember the reward I promised earlier?"

The moment those words fell, Leng Shuang’s eyes instantly brightened.

Even though she tried suppressing it, the excitement in her gaze remained impossible to hide.

"I-is it now, Master?"

Seeing Su Mo nod, a beautiful smile immediately bloomed across her face.

Although she still didn’t know what the reward actually was... Based on Master’s earlier description—

Something capable of substantially increasing her strength definitely wouldn’t be ordinary.

Even Qian Lian became curious. "A reward?"

Unfortunately, nobody answered her.

Su Mo simply spoke calmly toward Leng Shuang:

"Close your eyes and stand still."

Leng Shuang obediently followed his instructions immediately.

Closing her eyes quietly, she waited in anticipation.

Qian Lian looked toward her with obvious envy.

Still, she understood something clearly.

Leng Shuang had earned this through merit.

She followed Master Su first.

Worked for him. Trained under him.

Naturally, she deserved rewards first.

At this moment, Qian Lian secretly clenched her fists inwardly.

She would work hard too.

One day, she would also receive such rewards from the Master.

Meanwhile, Li Mei quietly looked at Leng Shuang happily. She felt genuinely happy for Sister Shuang.

The office gradually quieted down.

Everyone watched silently.

Su Mo activated the prepared system template within his own System interface.

A subsystem he specially customised for Leng Shuang.

Unlike ordinary reward systems, this one carried an extremely grand name.

The Ultimate Ascension System.

A system created specifically for his subordinates.

Through it, Leng Shuang would continuously receive tasks issued directly by the system.

Completing tasks would grant her System Points.

These points could then be exchanged for treasures within the System Store.

The store itself possessed five authority levels.

Currently, Leng Shuang only has access to the first-level products.

To unlock higher-level treasures, techniques, medicines and abilities—

She needed to continuously complete missions and gather enough contribution points.

Naturally, Leng Shuang herself did not know one thing.

Every single point she earned... Would generate tenfold feedback directly to Su Mo.

Even the so-called System Store itself was merely a modified version of Su Mo’s own system shop.

All prices were doubled secretly.

Meaning, whenever Leng Shuang purchased something...

One portion was paid to the system. The other portion went directly back into Su Mo’s pocket.

Still, compared to outsiders, Su Mo genuinely possessed enough conscience toward his own subordinates.

Thus, the rewards and pricing remained reasonable enough.

At this moment, Su Mo completed the binding silently. Then softly spoke:

"I hope you make good use of it."

Inside Leng Shuang’s mind—

A cold electronic voice suddenly echoed grandly.

[Ding! Loading in progress...]

[Ding! Task Module is being loaded...]

[Ding! Shop Module is being loaded...]

[Ding! Ultimate Ascension System has successfully bound!]

Leng Shuang opened her eyes wide in shock.

Her usually cold and composed face was completely frozen as she stared at Su Mo with disbelief and horror mixed in her gaze.

"M-master... t-this..." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Even her voice became incoherent.

Inside her vision, the golden interface still floated quietly.

Everything looked absurdly unreal.

Yet at the same time, her instincts clearly told her this was no illusion. Su Mo looked quite satisfied seeing her reaction.

"Have you read those novels where the protagonist obtains a system?" he asked casually.

Leng Shuang nodded dumbly. Her mind was still in complete chaos.

Upon seeing this, Su Mo continued calmly.

"Just think of it as something similar."

"T-this is too precious, Master..." Leng Shuang subconsciously clenched her fists slightly.

The way she looked at Su Mo now was no longer simply respect toward a superior.

Instead, it resembled looking at some higher existence beyond understanding.

Almost god-like.

After all, creating a "System"...

Wasn’t this already the authority of gods from fiction?

Meanwhile, Su Mo sighed softly and shook his head.

"Indeed, this is precious."

"It took me a lot of effort to prepare."

While speaking, his expression became emotional.

Naturally, he recalled everything he went through to obtain this subsystem function.

Especially, friend Lin Fan.

Thinking about the amount of effort he spent tormenting, misleading, suppressing and even psychologically counselling that poor protagonist...

Su Mo felt that this reward truly wasn’t easy to acquire.

Then he looked toward Leng Shuang seriously.

"So I hope you’ll make this worth it."

"Remember... The gift I gave you will open a path for you to become a powerhouse with limitless potential in the future."

His tone gradually became heavier.

"However, you’ll still need to put in the required effort."

"You won’t receive things for free."

Leng Shuang slowly lowered her gaze.

Then, without hesitation, she directly kneeled before him.

"I understand this very clearly, Master."

Her voice was calm and firm.

"All my life... I have fought for everything I desired."

"Never once did I obtain something for free."

"If I did..."

"There was always another motive behind it."

Her eyes became slightly complicated.

Growing up as an assassin, she understood this truth more deeply than most people.

Nothing in this world comes without cost.

Especially kindness.

Those things were often the most expensive.

Meanwhile, Su Mo quietly looked at her.

He naturally understood the meaning behind her words.

However, unlike the people from Leng Shuang’s past...

He genuinely did not intend to exploit her through dirty schemes.

Well... At least not emotionally.

As for earning points through her hard work, that was just a perfectly reasonable compensation.

Leng Shuang continued seriously:

"Even so..."

"What you gave me today is still far more valuable than any treasure I can imagine."

"Master... trust me. I won’t disappoint you."

Seeing her so clear-headed, Su Mo smiled slightly.

Then he casually used spiritual energy to lift her back onto her feet.

"In that case... work hard. I’m looking forward to it."