Chapter 631: Two Top-Tier Queens!
Just as Shen Anyu was happily shopping with Zhong Lingyin. At the same time, outside Xihe Shopping Mall.
The surrounding tourists, a vibrant river of humanity flowing back and forth, all found their gazes irresistibly drawn to a single spot, their eyes wide with unconcealed amazement. There, standing apart from the crowd, were two stunningly beautiful women, seemingly in their twenties, deep in conversation.
One of them was a vision of captivating grace. Her long, raven-black hair cascaded down to her waist, a silken waterfall framing features of exquisite delicacy. A lazy, intoxicating charm radiated from her, a magnetic pull that was both elegant and dangerous. She wore a simple purple knit dress that clung to her form, outlining a perfect figure that flowed with the gentle, undulating lines of distant mountains. Even through the soft, forgiving fabric, the sheer perfection of her graceful curves was impossible to miss, a silent proof of her abundant assets. Her beautiful, bare feet were slipped into a pair of high heels, and though she wore no stockings, her calves glowed with a radiant, pearlescent sheen. Every subtle movement, every glance, exuded an astonishing charm that seemed to saturate the very air around her. She was, without a shadow of a doubt, a top-tier mature woman at the peak of her allure.
The other woman was her equal in every way, another top-tier queen, but of a completely different mold. Her hair was cut short and neat, framing a face that was just as pretty but carried an entirely different energy. She was tall, her posture ramrod straight, and a heroic, valiant air emanated from between her brows. Dressed in a sharply tailored black business suit and flat shoes, she looked like a stylish and formidable urbanite, a woman who commanded respect with her mere presence. She wore little makeup, allowing her natural, striking beauty to shine through.
At this moment, however, her eyebrows were knitted into a tight, severe line. Her expression was grave, and her aura was an overwhelming force, a evident pressure that pushed back against the curious crowd. Her sharp, phoenix-like eyes swept across the onlookers, a silent warning that was as effective as a physical barrier. No one dared to approach.
Together, these two stunning women were the most dazzling and intimidating sight at Xihe Shopping Mall. The ambient noise of the plaza seemed to dip in their immediate vicinity. From time to time, a bold man would puff out his chest, intending to stride forward and strike up a conversation, perhaps to ask for their contact information. But before they could take more than a step, a single, piercing glance from the short-haired woman's phoenix eyes would strike them like a bolt of lightning, sending them scurrying away with their tails between their legs.
The spectacle forced many to watch from a safe distance, their whispers a low hum of admiration and speculation.
"They're too beautiful… my god. I've never seen women who look this good. Two top-tier queens, right here in the open."
"Even the biggest stars on television… very few of them could compare to this. This is a whole different level of presence."
"Speaking of which, doesn't that long-haired one look about eighty percent like the Heavenly Queen Zhong Lingyin? It's just… her aura is more mature, more… intoxicatingly charming. Heavenly Queen Zhong is more pure and lively. If it weren't for that, I'd swear it was her."
"Definitely not. If Heavenly Queen Zhong actually came out shopping in public, Xihe Shopping Mall would be completely paralyzed by the mob. Besides, I remember hearing she's still filming at Hangzhou Film and Television City. How could she possibly have time to be here?"
"But the resemblance is uncanny! I always thought Heavenly Queen Zhong was my ultimate dream girl, that no woman on earth could match her. But today… today I found one. No, two! Both of them could be my dream girl."
"Get lost, you're just a horndog! Despicable!"
"Aren't you staring just as hard? Pot, meet kettle."
"Cough, cough… fine, I'm despicable too. I'm honest about it, though. I'm greedy. If I could be with either of these two magnificent women, I'd willingly shorten my life by ten years."
"I'd do twenty!"
"Don't compete! Damn it, you guys are making a competition out of daydreaming, have you no shame?!"
"By the way, that short-haired woman's aura is just too much. One look from her and my legs started trembling. I was actually going to go up and ask for her number, but that glare… it almost made my knees buckle from pure fear."
"You're right, no argument there. Her presence is terrifyingly strong. Our own CEO, Ling Qingcheng, is a famous beauty and has a very powerful aura too, but… I feel like while their beauty might be comparable, her aura definitely can't match this."
"Hehe, Ling Qingcheng is one of Hangzhou's top ten richest people, the CEO of Ling Group, worth tens of billions. She's beautiful and loaded. I'd still pick Ling Qingcheng."
"I don't want to work hard anymore either. Ling Qingcheng for me. I'm willing to suffer the pain of eating steel wool for the rest of my life."
"Then I'll take the short-haired one. Challenge accepted."
"I'll choose that long-haired beauty. She's like Daji reincarnated. One glance from those long, seductive fox eyes and my entire body just goes soft."
"Are you idiots still picking and choosing? Who's got some yellow pee? Go wake these dreamers up."
"…"
If Shen Anyu had been present, he would have instantly recognized these two top-tier queens. Both were women with whom he shared an exceptionally close relationship: the short-haired one was his Aunt, An Zhiyue, and the long-haired one was his woman, Liu Ruyan.
"Oh, my dearest Zhiyue, you really lead a difficult life. And I'm just as unlucky. I ask you to go shopping for a day of fun, and now you've dragged me along to be your glorified backup," Liu Ruyan lamented, casting a charming, resentful gaze at her good friend, An Zhiyue.
An Zhiyue shot Liu Ruyan an annoyed glare. "Show some respect. You're supposed to call me 'Aunt'."
Liu Ruyan rolled her beautiful eyes in exasperation. Ever since she had gotten together with Shen Anyu, her seniority in their social circle had plummeted disastrously. She, Liu Ruyan, now had to call her former best friend, An Zhiyue, 'Aunt'? Where was the reason in that?
After An Zhiyue had broken through to the Heavenly Human level, her position and responsibilities had skyrocketed. She now led the Fire Phoenix Special Forces, tasked with guarding the Demon Capital, Yanxia's second most important megacity. Her purview included all matters related to the Special Department; if any powerful individuals from the transcendent world dared to commit crimes within her jurisdiction, she was the one to handle them.
A few days ago, An Zhiyue had finally been granted a rare vacation, and Liu Ruyan had promptly invited her out for a day of shopping. Unlike her two Junior Sisters, Ye Liyou and Yang Luoluo, who cultivated with obsessive diligence every day back at Jiangjing Manor, Liu Ruyan had always been blissfully lazy.
However, she never could have expected that a simple shopping trip with An Zhiyue would result in her being roped into a high-stakes manhunt.
Yao Qi, a major wanted criminal with countless bloody crimes to his name and the strength of a Half-Step Heavenly Human, had gone on a rampage. The Hangzhou branch of the Special Department had suffered heavy casualties and, left with no other choice, had been forced to request assistance from the Demon Capital.
An Zhiyue, accompanied by her good friend Liu Ruyan, had led the Fire Phoenix Special Forces to provide support. They had meticulously set up a dragnet, a tightening noose that had gradually cornered the fugitive, shrinking his escape routes.
But Yao Qi, knowing that the infamous An Zhiyue had arrived, fought back with the desperation of a cornered beast. In a bloody frenzy, he killed a Grandmaster and several Master-level experts, tearing open a hole in the encirclement despite sustaining heavy injuries.
The desperate chase had led him directly into Xihe Shopping Mall.
Xihe Shopping Mall, an investment of the Shen Corporation, was Hangzhou's largest and most comprehensive shopping center. It was a city within a city, boasting an amusement park, a cinema, a swimming pool, a sprawling food street, and thousands of businesses. At any given time, tens of thousands of visitors milled about within its walls.
This was the very reason An Zhiyue's eyebrows were locked in such a tight frown, her face a mask of grim seriousness. She couldn't advance. Her hands were tied. If Yao Qi was provoked into complete madness, a single spellcaster of his level could unleash a shocking bloodbath of unimaginable proportions.
To make matters worse, Yao Qi had issued a threat: if they attempted to evacuate the crowd, he would immediately detonate his power, destroying everything and everyone around him in a final, suicidal blaze of glory.
The situation had devolved into a terrifying standstill.
An Zhiyue's mood was as heavy as lead. She was in no state of mind to continue joking with Liu Ruyan. Her voice was low and solemn as she spoke.
"That bastard Yao Qi is far too cunning, and his senses are preternaturally keen. He doesn't dare to face me in a direct fight, keeping his distance and avoiding me at all costs. Because of that, he found an opening to slip into Xihe Shopping Mall. The situation is… troublesome."
"Of course! Who in the international Dark World doesn't know the name of the Yanxia Female War God, An Zhiyue? Why would a cornered rat like Yao Qi dare to fight you head-on?" Liu Ruyan rolled her eyes, but her own pretty face slowly hardened, the playful charm replaced by cold seriousness. "Zhiyue, what's the plan? We have the mall surrounded, but if we go in, it'll definitely provoke him into harming innocent people."
"But if we don't go in, it's only a matter of time before he goes berserk anyway. A cornered dog will always bite. He'll start killing people just to sow chaos."
"And with tens of thousands of hostages, we can't even evacuate them. We're stuck between a rock and a hard place, completely unable to act."
Listening to Liu Ruyan's grim assessment, An Zhiyue knew it all too well. The lives of every single tourist and merchant in Xihe Shopping Mall were the source of her distressed expression, a crushing weight on her shoulders. If she didn't have to consider their lives, An Zhiyue, who had already ascended to the Heavenly Human level, would have stormed in long ago and suppressed Yao Qi on the spot, grinding him into dust. But it was impossible. She couldn't not consider them.
"Unless we find someone who is good at concealing their aura and is very strong, who can get close to Yao Qi and suppress him in one fell swoop." An Zhiyue pondered...
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