“You… you are Metal Storm in the flesh?”
Su Yu looked extremely surprised, pointing at Lin Mo and gesturing up and down.
“What? Are you surprised?”
Now that he was face-to-face with her, Lin Mo no longer continued his cold, threatening approach.
Instead, he adopted a mild attitude.
After all, he had already lured her here, so there was no need to keep intimidating her.
“No… I just…”
Su Yu was at a loss for words, unsure how to explain.
In her mind, she had always thought that a mad scientist type would be a middle-aged, balding guy.
This one seemed… way too young.
“I understand your surprise. Most people have the same reaction when they see my true appearance.”
“As for me, I prefer to convince others with facts—the fact that I am an S-Class Hero.”
Lin Mo’s voice was calm.
He didn’t choose to explain further, simply gesturing for Su Yu to follow him.
As they walked, he began to explain.
“This is just one of my secret bases. It’s not large, but it’s more than enough for daily research.”
The two entered the core area of the laboratory.
The space here was noticeably more spacious than the entrance, filled with various unknown mechanical instruments—imposing yet tasteful.
For Su Yu, the sight rivaled the shock Granny Liu felt upon first entering the Grand View Garden.
Like a curious baby, she kept letting out exclamations of wonder—though not because she was awed by the technology.
“How much money did it take to build a base this big…”
Just thinking about it made Su Yu’s heart ache.
It had to be several million, right?
This damn guy must be a despicable capitalist—where else would he get so much money?
Lin Mo immediately showed contempt for such shallow behavior and noted this trait.
Only after they reached the living area and sat down on the sofa did he adopt the attitude of a host.
“Alright, we’ve talked all the way here, but I haven’t introduced myself yet.”
“My name is Lin Mo. I’m a scientist. ‘Metal Storm’ is the identity you know on the outside.”
Su Yu was taken aback by his frankness.
She never expected that this guy would reveal his name right off the bat.
“Wait… Lin Mo… is that your real name?”
Lin Mo gave a knowing smile, fully understanding why she asked, but he didn’t explain right away.
Instead, he pretended to be serious and played coy.
“What? Is there any reason for me to lie to you?”
“No… I just…”
Su Yu didn’t know how to answer.
She couldn’t just bluntly say that this would leave him vulnerable, right?
After all, once she escaped, she was definitely going to get back at him.
Blatantly revealing his real name like this—was he not afraid she’d deliver a ‘family reunion’ to him later?
“Just what?”
Although Lin Mo already knew what she was thinking, for some reason, seeing the girl’s increasingly flustered expression made him want to keep teasing her.
“I…”
Su Yu’s eyes darted to the side, avoiding his gaze, afraid he might see through her evil plan.
After thinking for a moment, a light bulb went off in her head, and she began to spout nonsense with a straight face.
“I’m just… a bit surprised… I’ve never heard the real name of the famous ‘Metal Storm’ on the internet. As the first person to know this secret, I’m a little overwhelmed.”
Her words were sincere, her acting superb.
Unfortunately, if it weren’t for the red text flashing on Lin Mo’s glasses, he might have actually believed her.
“Is that so?”
Lin Mo leaned back into the sofa cushion, replying perfunctorily, while discreetly sizing up the white-haired girl once more.
He had to admit, this girl looked much better in person than on camera.
Even though she was still a bit immature, her appearance was already outstanding.
Unfortunately, although she had some cunning, she clearly lacked real scheming and didn’t know how to leverage her strengths.
From their few exchanges and micro-expressions, he had already grasped most of her personality and cognitive level.
That way, he could minimize any potential accidents.
“Building mutual trust is key to the success of the experiment. I’m glad you have that kind of awareness.”
Lin Mo stood up slowly.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to reveal a somewhat cruel truth to her.
“Actually, you aren’t the first person to know my name. Everyone else who has seen my true face… they have all had…”
He paused, as if anticipating an interesting scene that was about to unfold, and flashed a meaningful smile.
“…their memories erased.”
When Su Yu heard this, she felt like she had taken a million points of damage.
She instantly froze.
The moment she saw Lin Mo’s creepy smile, she realized something, but it was already too late.
When she came back to her senses, her nose had turned red, and she could hear a ridiculous BGM in her mind.
“You… you bastard…”
Su Yu felt like she could barely breathe.
Her redness rivaled that of Guan Yu.
She had been fooled by this jerk again!
It was infuriating!
“Pfft…”
Seeing the girl’s defeated expression, Lin Mo found it incredibly amusing and almost burst out laughing.
The gloom from the past few days of being mocked and criticized by various fan edits had mostly dissipated.
Now, all that was left was to study what interested him.
“Alright, since you’re here, stop thinking about pointless things. Follow my arrangements.”
“After all, I didn’t bring you here just to be a vase.”
Lin Mo said, not waiting for Su Yu to calm down, and pulled a rolled-up document from his pocket, placing it gently in front of her.
“While you were on your way, I already drafted the agreement. As long as you fulfill your obligations according to the terms, our grudges will be wiped clean. How about it?”
Su Yu ignored him.
She took a deep breath, forcefully suppressed her urge to slap him to death, and unrolled the document with both hands.
The dense text immediately assaulted her brain.
Her brows instantly furrowed, her face clearly reading ‘not good with words.’
“Um… do we really need to make it this complicated?”
“Of course we do. In our line of work, we must have a sense of contract.”
Lin Mo said unhurriedly.
Somehow, a white cup full of steaming coffee had appeared in his hand.
“Want some coffee?”
Su Yu shot him a deadpan look and refused outright.
“No, thanks.”
“Heh…”
Lin Mo didn’t comment.
He simply sipped his coffee quietly, patiently waiting for the girl to read the agreement.
As expected, it wasn’t long before Su Yu’s expression turned sour, and her eyelids began to droop.
“This is way too long…”
She bemoaned internally.
At this rate, she wouldn’t finish reading it until the cows came home.
But she couldn’t skip it—what if he purposely set a trap knowing she’d give up?
She’d be done for.
Patience, Su Yu, patience…
You have to read it all… read it all… just once…
…
“Ah, I give up!”
Su Yu felt her mind on the verge of collapse.
She decisively ran her hands through her hair in frustration, completely giving up.
Without further hesitation, she slammed her palm onto the agreement.
I’m just a worthless life.
Do whatever you want with me…
I’m tired…
Just as she thought that, the agreement suddenly burst into purple light—a sign that the contract was signed.
“I didn’t expect you to be so decisive…”
Even though Lin Mo had guessed this outcome was likely, he still showed rare surprise.
“Good. Since the agreement is signed, there’s no need for more talk.”
“When we met last time, I had already drafted some terms. The rest are additions. Since you couldn’t be bothered to read them, I’ll summarize for you—there are some things you still need to know.”
“First, from today onward, you may freely enter this laboratory, but you must have my personal permission to use any of the facilities, since I’m not here every day.”
“Second, during the experiment period, you are not to cause trouble in the outside world, do anything illegal, or mention the specifics of this experiment, including my name.”
“Third… I will pay you a monthly stipend based on your level of cooperation and work results. Besides that, I’ve already sent you a welcome gift. Check your phone…”
Upon hearing this, Su Yu’s face first showed disbelief.
But soon, her thoughts were seized by the sudden ring of a text message notification.
“Your Alipay has received a transfer of 100,000 yuan!”
She instantly froze.
Lin Mo adjusted his square-rimmed glasses and asked seriously.
“Any more questions?”
Su Yu instinctively shook her head.
“Not anymore.”
Lin Mo smiled.
It seemed his analysis was accurate, and he didn’t feel any resentment.
“In that case, let’s begin preparations for the first experiment.”