Chapter 7: Siren's Song

Deep beneath the Su Family estate,

As the elevator doors slid open silently, the three young people instinctively held their breath.

What lay before them was no mere basement, but a dazzling, technologically advanced "underground city."

The towering, seemingly endless vaulted ceiling stretched into the distance, while countless corridors and chambers branched out like the veins and organs of a colossal steel beast, meticulously engineered and coldly precise.

The air carried a faint metallic tang mingled with the aroma of energy fluids.

Only within this specially shielded space could they evade the prying eyes of the Martial Grandmasters.

"This... this is really beneath our house?" Su Rou murmured, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Even she had never imagined that such a vast and awe-inspiring subterranean complex lay hidden beneath her family's estate.

Ke Lu gazed at the colossal structure, her heart surging with ambition.

If the System has issued a mission to "establish my own faction," then one day, I will build a base just like this.

Turning to Father Su, she asked with solemn earnestness, "Uncle Su, constructing a base like this... what resources and planning are truly required?"

Father Su stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his voice as calm as if he were discussing a trivial household matter:

"The Su Family's core cultivation techniques are related to construction and forging. I personally built this place after reaching the Martial Grandmaster realm. It took about three minutes."

Three minutes!

The impact of those two words was more overwhelming than the sight of this colossal steel city before them.

It completely shattered her past notions about the power of Martial Artists.

Moving mountains and filling seas?

The descriptions in novels now seemed pale in comparison to this stark reality.

Is this the world of true powerhouses?

The group exited the elevator and stepped into the underground city.

Uniformly dressed personnel and smoothly operating intelligent robots moved about efficiently. Upon seeing Father Su, they immediately stopped their work and bowed respectfully.

A supervisor-like figure hurried forward, whispering a report on the current situation.

According to his briefing, this underground city covered nearly one-third of A City's surface area. It was divided into multiple functional zones, including living quarters, research labs, energy production facilities, and manufacturing areas, forming a completely self-sufficient closed-loop ecosystem.

This was the Su Family's true foundation, the cutting-edge core of their technological research and development, and their ultimate secret—never to be revealed to outsiders.

Their destination was the detention area.

There were few cells, as ordinary troublemakers were never brought here. This place was only activated when absolute isolation from the outside world was required; otherwise, the Clan Leaders would have discovered these detainees long ago.

The butler stopped before a massive alloy door and verified his authorization.

With a soft hiss of airtight seals, the door slid open.

"Clan Leader, they're inside."

The conditions within the cells weren't harsh—in fact, they were remarkably clean—but an invisible sense of oppression permeated the air.

Several detainees sat calmly inside, knowing their captors were powerless against them, showing no signs of panic.

The Interrogation Captain frowned deeply. Trying to extract secrets from individuals with no memories was clearly a fool's errand.

Hysilens' figure vanished without warning. In the next instant, she materialized inside the cell, her pale hand gently pressing against the forehead of one of the detainees as she closed her eyes.

"Clan Leader, who is this...?" The Interrogation Captain turned to Father Su.

Father Su simply waved his hand, his gaze fixed on Hysilens. "Let her try."

A few minutes later,

Hysilens opened her eyes, her tone resolute. "Their memories can be restored. But it will require your Spirit Power, Clan Leader."

The Interrogation Captain almost blurted out, "That's impossible!"—the seals had been set by a Martial Grandmaster!

Yet he also knew that the person the Clan Leader had brought wouldn't likely lie about such a thing.

Hysilens' voice remained calm and steady as she explained, "The essence of hypnosis lies in interfering with the brain's information processing. If my hypnotic skill surpasses the caster's, dismantling the seal becomes relatively straightforward."

"By borrowing Mr. Su's power, we can forcibly shatter the residual Martial Grandmaster Spirit Power left by Ke Zhan, which forms the foundation of the seal."

Ke Lu wasn't surprised at all. After all, Hysilens' true strength was at the True God level—a dimensional strike compared to a Martial Grandmaster.

But to the others, this claim was utterly terrifying.

The gap in power wasn't merely about accumulated Spirit Power; it represented a profound difference in their understanding of power itself.

How could a Master Realm Martial Artist dare claim that their "skill" in hypnosis surpassed that of a Martial Grandmaster, a specialist in the field?

A brilliant light flashed in Father Su's eyes, which quickly dissolved into a hearty laugh. "Hahaha! Miss Hysilens, you truly possess extraordinary Talent!"

His heart swelled with joy. To forge an alliance with such a prodigy was an immense stroke of good fortune for the Su Family. His daughter was truly blessed—first, her best friend awakened an SSS-Rank Talent, and now this extraordinary figure had been drawn to them... This overwhelming wealth was simply unstoppable!

"I'm ready," Father Su declared mentally. A vast, boundless surge of Spirit Power, as immense as the sea, instantly filled the space, yet exerted no oppressive force. It enveloped Hysilens.

Hysilens tilted her head slightly and addressed the group in a soft voice: "Shortly, you may hear my song and fall into a dreamscape, stirring deep-seated memories from the depths of your hearts."

"If you prefer not to experience this, you are free to leave."

Ke Lu's interest was piqued. "I want to see what the dreamscape is like."

Seeing her remain, Su Rou and Ke Yang also decided to stay.

With those words, an ethereal, distant melody flowed from Hysilens's throat, sometimes as serene as a calm sea, sometimes as tumultuous as raging waves, and sometimes as deep and tranquil as the abyss.

A pale blue, water-like barrier rippled outward from beneath her feet, faintly revealing schools of swimming fish.

The Siren's Song, a melody so captivating, drowned the mind in its harmonies, erasing all awareness of the world.

Ke Lu's consciousness swiftly sank into the indescribable music.

Fragments of memories from both her past and present lives flashed before her eyes like a whirling carousel, finally settling on a sun-drenched courtyard on a serene afternoon.

"Sister, stop sleeping in!" a cheerful, youthful voice rang in her ears.

Ke Lu's eyes snapped open, and Ke Yang's handsome face loomed close. Behind him, a graceful woman with an elegant demeanor approached, carrying tea and pastries. Her eyes radiated tender affection—Mother... In all her lives, she had never seen her mother's face in person. Yet here, in this extraordinary way, her wish had been granted.

What a beautiful dream, she murmured.

The golden rays of the setting sun bathed the trio in the courtyard in a warm, unreal glow, too perfect to be real.

Ke Lu closed her eyes, exhaled deeply, and bit her tongue sharply.

No matter how beautiful, a dream is still a lie. I am Imperator, the future ruler. I will not succumb to this. I will press forward with unwavering resolve.

The idyllic scene before her dissolved like foam, until the harsh glare of reality pierced her eyes.

In reality, only Father Su and Hysilens remained clear-headed.

Even the butler and the Interrogation Captain remained deeply immersed in the illusion.

When Father Su saw Ke Lu awaken, the admiration in his eyes intensified. "A resilient spirit. A promising future."

Soon after, the butler, the Interrogation Captain, and Ke Yang also regained consciousness.

Only Su Rou remained entranced until the final note of Hysilens's song faded into silence. She gasped for air, snapping out of her trance as if waking from a dream, her face still carrying lingering traces of longing.

Father Su shook his head with a soft sigh as he regarded his daughter. "Compared to you and your brother, my daughter's experience seems lacking."

Su Rou's cheeks flushed crimson. She stamped her foot indignantly. "Dad! I just let my guard down for a moment! Next time... next time it definitely won't happen again!"

Turning to Ke Yang and Ke Lu, she asked, her tone a mix of annoyance and curiosity, "How did you two wake up so quickly?"

Ke Yang paused, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes, before murmuring, "Perhaps it's because we still have too many unfinished tasks in the real world."

Meanwhile,

Inside the prison cells, the inmates shuddered violently as their vacant eyes began to focus.

Seeing this, the Interrogation Captain,

suppressing his astonishment at Hysilens's power, immediately cleared his mind of all distractions. His face instantly hardened with focus and solemnity.