Chapter 22: Follow-Up Investment

After dropping Luo Yan off at her residence, Lu Xiao Na returned to her mansion near the municipal center.

The moment she shrugged off her coat and handed it to Atlanta, it was as if the childish, bubbly schoolgirl vanished with it.

She walked inside and asked casually, “So? How was today? What books did Big Sister Luo Yan check out?”

Atlanta gave a slight nod. “Mostly books on world history, Odegaard ore, and ability research. Nothing particularly special stood out.”

The library, like much of Neo Aonan’s infrastructure, incorporated Odegaard tech—even its books had data-tracking embedded in them. Reading habits were logged in detail. As long as someone had the clearance, retrieving that data was child’s play.

Lu Xiao Na’s eyes flicked slightly. “What’s your take?”

Atlanta answered softly, “Hard to say for now. Maybe, as you suspected, she left her hometown under some serious pressure and came to Neo Aonan because she had nowhere else to go.”

Lu Xiao Na sighed. “Either way, she saved my life. Even if she’s got some hidden agenda, as long as there’s no malice behind it, I can accept that. My father’s just concerned she has ulterior motives. No one likes trouble falling into their lap for no reason.”

Atlanta nodded. “She also interacted with Xu Chen in the library.”

“Wait, Xu Chen? The Xu Chen? The one who won the Odegaard Theory Competition three years in a row?”

Lu Xiao Na’s eyes widened. “Does Big Sister Luo Yan know him?”

Atlanta shook her head. “Probably just a coincidence. Anyone paying attention would notice Xu Chen’s expertise in that field.”

“That’s true… and Big Sister Luo Yan really does seem obsessed with Odegaard ore,” Lu Xiao Na mused. “Uncle Chen also said she mentioned wanting to pursue something in that direction.”

“In that case, her claim about coming from a region with no local Odegaard veins likely holds water. Judging by her questions, the Odegaard tech level where she’s from is still pretty primitive. So it’s plausible she came here not just to escape a marriage but to pursue something bigger.”

“Hmm?” Lu Xiao Na blinked. “You think it’s more than just running away from a wedding?”

Atlanta wasn’t interested in arguing over the obvious. “Miss Luo Yan is young, already possesses an Awakening-level ability, and her combat instincts are on par with seasoned Defense Department officers. In your opinion, how would someone like that be received here in Neo Aonan, Young Lady?”

“She’d be everyone’s favorite! Not to mention… Big Sister Luo Yan is super gorgeous!”

Her eyes sparkled with open admiration.

Atlanta’s expression twitched slightly. “Yes… And with that kind of talent, she’d definitely attract attention from the local authorities. She’d receive resource allocations, research support, you name it. That kind of cultivation would make her shine even brighter. But even with support, there’s always a bottleneck.”

She folded her arms. “The biggest obstacle would be a lack of advanced tech infrastructure. At some point, she’ll hit a ceiling. When that happens, crossing boundaries is the only path forward.”

“But wouldn’t they be reluctant to let her go?”

“An Awakening-level user isn’t rare enough to shake the city. But if she has the potential to break into the Luminous—or even Transcendent—tier, that changes everything. That’s strategic value. Plus, if she can return from more developed areas with better Odegaard technology, that’s a hell of a return on investment.”

Lu Xiao Na tapped her chin. “In that case… maybe we should invest early.”

Atlanta raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Lu Xiao Na smiled faintly, lacing her hands behind her back as she stepped forward. “You’ll find out soon enough. But first, I’ll need to test the waters with my father… and Big Sister Luo Yan. I don’t want to piss off both sides by being too proactive.”

“Wait… this photon count—can it really increase on its own?”

Luo Yan sat cross-legged on the bed, checking her system panel.

Fresh from a shower, her damp hair tumbled loosely down her shoulders, half-drying in a soft, wild mess. A couple of droplets still clung to her slender neck, glimmering in the light.

Her posture was relaxed, but paired with her natural beauty, the casual scene carried an unexpectedly dangerous kind of allure.

Her brows knit slightly. “If I remember right, yesterday after moving in, the photon count was 54. But today it’s 56. I didn’t do anything in particular… So where did the +2 come from?”

She thought back carefully.

Then a possibility hit her. Natural recovery?

It was a classic feature in most games, especially mobile ones—passive stamina regeneration over time.

And sure, this was the real world. But given everything else she’d seen since the Millennium Anomaly, the idea didn’t seem that far-fetched anymore.

Theoretically, she could back it up too.

Ever since the anomaly, the Blue Star had been saturated with a strange substance capable of causing gene mutations. Maybe just being immersed in this environment led to slow, passive evolution in ability users.

The system, then, might just be quantifying that passive mutation—transforming a subtle process into clean, digestible numbers called “photons.”

Or maybe this synthetic body she now inhabited had its own mechanism for absorbing ambient energy. The system could be nothing more than a visual interface tracking it.

But I didn’t do nothing today, she realized.

She’d spent most of the day in the library—absorbing a metric ton of information. Could it be that gaining knowledge increases photon count too?

It sounded ridiculous at first. But considering the photons were also used to upgrade skill levels… it made a weird sort of sense.

She leaned back.

Forget it. Too little data to confirm anything right now.

She’d need to track her daily activity more rigorously, record everything, and narrow it down through variable control.

It was crucial.

Her cultivation method wasn’t like most other ability users in this world. She was running blind. Trial and error would be her map.

Right now, life was peaceful.

But peace was never permanent.

The world was still a mess, and disaster could strike at any moment.

Better to be prepared now—than regret it later when the ground starts shaking.