When Lu Chen's forefinger—shaking slightly with nerves and excitement—slammed down on the left mouse button, he felt as if his very soul was being hurled into a vast ocean of unknown storms and endless possibilities along with that "blasphemous" email. Success—or… a more dreadful demise! There was simply no third option.
He leaned back slowly against the cold, unyielding chair, his chest heaving violently from the near-suicidal gamble he had just taken. Cold beads of sweat formed uncontrollably on his brow. He could even hear his heart pounding like a drum—thump… thump… thump—and feel the dull ache returning to his temples, a painful reminder of the sudden drain on his mental energy.
Outside the window, what had been a fairly clear sky moments before was now completely swallowed by inky-black clouds, pressing down heavily over the city. The air was thick with an oppressive tension, as if a cataclysmic storm—one capable of upending all of Star City—was poised to break at any second.
Within the office space, the end-of-day bell had long since sounded, and most of his colleagues had scattered like startled birds. Only a handful of unlucky souls remained, drained of energy, staring blankly at their screens or furtively scrolling on their phones, praying for even one more minute of escape from this stifling "cage."
No one noticed the figure in the corner who usually went unseen—Lu Chen—whose eyes now shone with a manic brilliance.
Only Xu Tingxia did.
This sweet, innocent girl—her mind awhirl and cheeks burning—fumbled as she packed up her things, preparing to leave with the last few female colleagues. Yet she couldn't tear her gaze away from that solitary silhouette at the computer—motionless, almost meditating—her eyes filled with worry, curiosity, and an unrecognized stir of emotion.
He… did he just… invite me to dinner?
Her heart felt like a live rabbit pounding inside her chest, threatening to burst free. Her ivory face flushed an almost alarming shade of pink, like a peach blooming too soon in spring. Even the slim, crystal-sheer stockings encasing her legs seemed to tremble beneath the desk, betraying her nervousness.
Lu Chen… today, he's… different. Though his cheap, ill-fitting suit still hung on him awkwardly, and the fatigue etched on his face remained evident, and though his situation was as perilous as ever, there was something… magnetic about him now.
His gaze had been so… focused. So… fervent. So brimming with a primal aggression and a hunger for control—like a lone wolf emerging from darkness, baring its razor-sharp fangs after endless nights of waiting.
Especially when he extended that invitation to dinner—his lips curved in a confident, almost mischievous smile, his voice deliberately lowered to a husky, seductive timbre. Each word struck her like an electric current, jolting her from head to toe with an intoxicating thrill.
She dared not dwell on what she had "heard" in that bold invitation—her face aflame, her thoughts dizzy with sympathy for this "fallen prince" and disdain for the likes of Wang Hai and Zhao Yuhang—yet even more so with a shock of curiosity and a fatal attraction to this ordinarily inconspicuous man's sudden aura of power and mystery.
All these tangled, bashful thoughts were like the sweetest poison—or the most potent wine—sending her pure, untested heart into a state of blissful torment, longing, and fear.
"Xia Xia, hurry up! The canteen's closing!" urged a familiar colleague from the doorway.
"Oh… okay, I'm coming!" Xu Tingxia snapped back to reality, her face still burning. She stole one final, deep glance at his solitary form before fleeing like a startled rabbit from the tense scene.
Lu Chen did not look back. Yet his "Mind-Hunter Spectrum," sharpened by intense focus, had caught the complex mix of emotions in her departing gaze—the flutter of her racing heart, the real, turbulent feelings of a young girl. His lips curved into that same confident, commanding smile.
Xu Tingxia—this innocent, tender girl with her own deadly allure—was like a pure lotus blossoming quietly in a murky swamp, offering him a whiff of long-forgotten serenity amid his despair.
He knew that his invitation—though perhaps ill-timed or even reckless—had struck a powerful chord. For a girl like Xu Tingxia, sheltered and craving security, this display of unwavering confidence and a hint of controlled aggression stirred a primal worship of strength—and a fatal attraction.
Perhaps this was but a glimpse of the terrifying potential the "Mind-Hunter Spectrum" could unleash in the realm of "Peach Blossom" attraction. If he could master and harness this power—and find a way to mitigate its dreadful cost—conquering "prey" like Xu Tingxia might be only a matter of time. Even the ice-queen Director Shen or the ruthless temptress Jiang Wanxing, who toyed with men's hearts, would find their deepest yearnings—and their fatal weaknesses—laid bare by his all-seeing "demonic gaze."
At that thought, Lu Chen felt his blood burn as if set aflame. An unprecedented craving—for power, for control, for a better life (and even finer "resources")—raged within him like a ferocious beast.
Of course, all of this hinged on his ability to truly master the Mind-Hunter Spectrum and discover a way to dodge—or at least lessen—its terrible price. Otherwise, such dreams would vanish like mirages, and he might collapse from mental exhaustion before he could succeed.
Moreover, two death sentences loomed over him like ticking time bombs: Mrs. Liu's demand for two more days' rent, and Wang Hai's three-day deadline for the Jiang Wanxing mission. He had to find money—quickly—to survive.
And the only lifeline, however perilous, was the very "queen" Jiang Wanxing he had dared to provoke with that defiant email—and the empire of Wanxing International she commanded.
Lu Chen closed his laptop, rose, and stood before the dust-coated window, staring out at Star City's glittering nightscape—its ceaseless flow of lights and lives, filled with desire and infinite possibility. He knew that the moment he hit "send," he had staked everything on this high-stakes gamble that would decide his fate.
All that remained was to wait: to await the final verdict from the "queen" Jiang Wanxing—and to see whether he would rise from the ashes like a phoenix or fall into irredeemable ruin.
That night, Lu Chen slept unusually soundly. Perhaps it was sheer exhaustion, perhaps the resolute determination after burning his bridges, or perhaps a newly awakened anticipation for the coming storm deep within his heart—an anticipation even he did not fully grasp. His lips curved in a faint, confident smile as he drifted into sleep.
His journey as an Urban Mind-Hunter had only just begun—and Star City's denizens had no idea that their destinies were about to be rewritten by this quietly awakened force.