Inside the room, Zane frowned slightly, his fingers pinching a chess piece suspended above the board, hesitating to place it. His sapphire eyes held a thoughtful expression.
Shin walked over to the pair, her boots making a soft tapping sound on the floor. She glanced over with curiosity, then let out a light chuckle.
"Why are you still struggling? In this situation, even a god couldn't save you."
Shin looked at Zane, shaking her head with a hint of teasing. As her words fell, Zane let out a soft sigh.
"Seriously, Senior. Not even once will you let me win?"
Although she had insisted on playing seriously at the beginning, after all this time, her master still didn't know how to cut her some slack. Really...
Seeing Zane's lazy pout, Qingyi couldn't help but smile. Whenever she was with her, Zane always displayed a childlike temperament.
Qingyi picked up the teapot beside her, straightened up, then took an empty cup and poured Shin a cup of tea.
Seeing this, Shin leisurely knelt down on one side of the chessboard.
After pushing the tea toward Shin, Qingyi was about to refill her own cup. But after weighing the teapot, she realized it was time for fresh tea and lifted her gaze to look at Zane.
Zane didn't rise, merely extending his hand toward the side. Following his gesture, Shin noticed the tea tree by the wall, standing nearly half a person's height.
She couldn't recall when such a tree had been transplanted here. Bringing an entire tea tree just for tea? That seemed rather troublesome.
A hint of curiosity flickered in Shin's eyes as she watched a faint glow emanate from the tea tree. Its branches began to grow and extend, the once sparse foliage rapidly filling out. Then, over a dozen premium tea leaves drifted down along the luminous stream. As they flew toward Zane's palm, they visibly dehydrated and transformed at a remarkable speed.
By the time Zane handed the leaves to Qingyi, they were already ready for use.
Noticing Shin's curiosity, Zane smiled faintly and explained,
"Yesterday, it was just a seed."
Shin naturally understood that Zane was referring to the tea tree. After a moment's thought, she grasped the meaning.
"Is this... another method?"
"Your power... grows ever more extraordinary and formidable."
A smile spread across Shin's face as well, a sense of delight washing over her. After all, this was precisely what Zane had mentioned to her earlier.
Following the incident on the river, Zane had hidden here not only to evade the enemy's gaze but also to devote himself entirely to studying this power. This tea tree was not nurtured by the force of life.
Qingyi lifted the teapot lid. Zane flickered his fingers, and tea leaves and flowing water poured in smoothly, quickly reaching the desired amount. A strand of fire-attribute energy left Zane's fingertips. Within seconds, steam rose from the teapot beside Qingyi. By the time the energy dissipated, Qingyi had already poured herself a fresh cup of hot tea.
"Would you like more?"
Qingyi asked softly. Despite the long wait, she felt no boredom—or rather, whatever she did with Zane brought her joy.
"Let's hear what Miss Shin has to say first."
Zane turned to look at Shin, tilting his head slightly as he spoke with a light chuckle.
At his prompting, Shin began sharing the news she wished to convey.
"The preparations outside are now complete. Though our plans differ, there are still many connections between them."
"And how are things on your end?"
Shin always informed Zane first whenever she made progress, facilitating their collaboration. Zane's approach, however, was different.
After all, Zane's decisions depended solely on himself. And... though nominally under Shin's command, with Shin directing operations here, he remained the true supreme leader within the entire Hollow Zero. Combat strength, after all, was an undeniable reality.
"Nothing major."
Zane held a chess piece, his tone calm. Strands of inexplicable fluctuations swirled around the piece, rapidly corroding its surface. Layer after layer peeled away, stripping it of its original color.
Within mere breaths, the once-hard piece crumbled like a small clump of earth, shattering into dust that dispersed into the air.
"Be careful."
Qingyi raised her hand to fan the teapot. She had just seen some of that dust drifting this way.