Esper X Family – Chapter 321 – You’d Better Not Need It

Fu Qi ran away under pressure.

In Ye Yao’s eyes, he was completely defeated.

It was just a pity that the phone call had come at an inconvenient time.

Otherwise, she could’ve tormented him a bit more and see if any attribute points would drop.

The result was rather disappointing.

Her ‘uncle’ hadn’t dropped any attribute points, only providing a bit of entertainment value.

It seems that he wasn’t as good as her ‘aunt’.

Outside.

Fu Qi’s figure reappeared in the sky.

Standing beside a certain man who had been hovering in the air all along.

That call just now was from Lou Wei.

Fu Qi had resumed his calm expression, as if the inner turmoil from moments ago had been completely fake.

“Considering that you made that call, I can help you share the pressure next time.”

Saying something so embarrassing in such a calm tone.

If someone unaware of the truth found out that the Director of the Countermeasures Bureau had been stressed to this point, they would probably be shocked speechless.

Fu Qi naturally cared about his face too.

There was no way he would embarrass himself in front of his brothers.

Lou Wei’s response to this was only four plain words.

“I don’t need it.”

His tone and attitude seemed to imply that if it had been him just now, he wouldn’t have been so flustered.

The corner of Fu Qi’s mouth twitched slightly.

A long-dormant desire to challenge Lou Wei welled up within him.

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What if, he meant what if…

If he set aside martial virtue, could he take Lou Wei down before the other party could activate his ability?

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since they last sparred.

The last time they fought was before they were promoted to S-rank.

Having not shown his formidable strength for so long, could it be that Lou Wei already saw him as beneath notice?

“You’d better not need it.”

Fu Qi could only swallow his pride, seemingly gritting his teeth as he spoke.

Lou Wei got to act cool this time.

Once his mental power broke through ten thousand and he learned the Celestial Form, he would reclaim the title of ‘strongest’ sooner or later.

That wasn’t impossible.

At least recently, Fu Qi could sense his long-stagnant mental power slowly creeping upwards.

Perhaps in his lifetime, he really could break through the ten thousand mental power ceiling.

He wasn’t the only one who could transcend humanity.

Then, Fu Qi changed the subject.

He prepared to turn the conversation back to Ye Yao.

This time, he didn’t hide his emotions.

After all, the situation was special. Any concealment would reduce the accuracy of the shared intelligence.

A mature director wouldn’t try to save face at a time like this.

Fu Qi took a deep breath of the cold air.

As if trying to expel the heavy pressure weighing on his chest.

“Lou Wei, will you believe me if I say that the ‘conversation’ just now was more exhausting than all the battles I’ve experienced in the past combined?”

Lou Wei’s gaze was still fixed on the living room.

He could vaguely see Ye Yao taking a controller from Wu Mi, as if she was about to join the game.

Her beautiful silver hair danced in the natural light.

He didn’t shift his gaze, only humming lightly in response.

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Fu Qi smiled bitterly, unconsciously rubbing his fingers together, as if he could still feel the sweat on his palms.

“An ‘uncle’ working at headquarters? It sounds like it can build a closer relationship, with plenty of chances to communicate in the future, maybe even directly influence her decisions through conversation…”

He paused, the helplessness in his tone deepening.

“But the pressure… it’s like a tailor-made shackle.

Playing a regular logistics personnel actually tests your acting skills and nerve more than wearing the halo of the Countermeasures Bureau Director.

It feels like walking a tightrope every moment.

I’m terrified that one wrong word might trigger that sensitive heart of hers…

Or make her see through even more.”

He recalled Ye Yao’s fragile, tearful appearance just now, afraid of losing her parents’ love.

Fu Qi felt that he had figured it out.

Ye Yao was also a master of invisible pressure.

Except Ye Tong’s pressure was an active skill.

While Ye Yao’s pressure was a passive one.

This kind of pressure was completely different from the direct, oppressive feeling Ye Tong projected.

If Ye Tong’s pressure was like a blade, something you could block or parry.

Then the pressure Ye Yao brought was like water, silent and capable of drowning a person in guilt.

Grown men like them could handle it.

But if it were someone like Xiao Jing, they would probably have a hard time enduring it.

Speaking of Ye Tong.

“What made my heart race the most was her obsession with Ye Tong, and…”

Fu Qi’s gaze turned sharp and grave.

“The possible influence Ye Tong might have on her.”

He recounted Ye Yao’s comment about “feeling like she has met quite a few S-rank Espers”.

Every word struck their already taut nerves.

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“‘Feels like’ she has met them? That’s just too bizarre, Lou Wei.”

Lou Wei’s gaze was equally serious.

It had to be said that it was indeed strange.

Back when Ye Yao, Luo Jianhua, and Mo Qiuli went out, they had indeed met people from Sequence Zero.

They had even eaten at a night market stall together.

But at that time, Mu Luo and Gu Wenxin hadn’t reached S-rank yet.

Let alone giving Ye Yao the feeling of meeting S-ranks.

And Ye Yao’s words just now couldn’t be dismissed as a joke.

Something was definitely fishy.

Fu Qi was even more adamant.

“There’s no way she could’ve ‘met’ them!

Fang Ze, Mu Xue, including you and me, our identities in front of her are all tightly concealed.

Unless…”

Fu Qi’s throat felt a little dry.

“Unless something from Ye Tong’s side has ‘flowed’ over.”

This speculation coiled around Fu Qi’s heart like a cold, poisonous snake.

“A sense of familiarity in cognition, a strange ‘feeling’ about the existence of S-ranks…

This doesn’t seem like a delusion born from nothing.

I suspect that the connection between them might be far deeper than we initially imagined.

It’s not just that Ye Tong can unilaterally hear Ye Yao’s call.

What if… I’m saying what if……”

Fu Qi’s tone dropped, laden with immense worry.

“If Ye Tong’s memories, or rather, the scenes she’s experienced, her emotions, or even fragments of key information, could be transmitted to Ye Yao under certain conditions……”

He paused, imagining that terrifying picture.

“If that happens, and memories she ‘shouldn’t have’ flood in……

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Our plans, the true identities of her ‘relatives’, the truth about the adoption, and even our speculations about the ‘world-destroying ability avatar’…

All these information barriers and protective shields we’ve so carefully constructed would collapse in an instant.”

An unnoticed tremor crept into Fu Qi’s voice.

“The consequences… would be unthinkable.

Could Ye Yao’s current mental state withstand it?

How would she see us if she knew the truth?

How would she see the whole world? I dare not think about it.”

He exhaled heavily, as if trying to expel that suffocating weight.

“Right now, I just hope that Ye Yao’s ‘feeling’ is just an illusion.

A projection of her inner longing for the image of a powerful Ye Tong.

Or even if it was actually Ye Tong’s doing.”

Fu Qi covered his face and sighed softly.

“Hopefully it’s just a momentary prank by Ye Tong, not some phenomenon we completely can’t understand, let alone control.”

It was only someone with a strong mentality like Fu Qi who could understand and endure all this pressure.

The more one knew, the more one could feel how grave the situation was.

If it were some inexperienced rookie, Fu Qi wouldn’t even bother to let them share the pressure.

He was afraid that they would break down on the spot.

But since it was Lou Wei, he had to drag him into it.

He had already endured so much pressure, what was a little more?

“What do you think, Lou Wei?”

Author Note

I’m back from break. I ate so much big fish and big meat at my relatives’ house that I almost threw up. I heard that they’re even going to butcher a chicken next! No way, I don’t wanna eat anymore!

Text: Piggy is piggy