At that moment, the first thought that popped into her head wasn't of danger, but of her own vanity: 'Am I getting old? Losing my charm?'
However, that thought vanished the moment she met the man's icy gaze, and she sobered up instantly.
'Clearly, this man's target is Lu Shi.'
'Is it for money, or revenge?'
If it was the former, it would be manageable. If it was the latter, things could get troublesome.
'But as long as I cooperate, I should be fine.'
The only real fear was that he might be a desperate fugitive with nothing to lose.
A flurry of thoughts flashed through her mind.
"Okay, okay, don't get agitated. I'll send him a message and ask right now."
Jiang Yuyan pointed to the phone charging on the table, indicating that she was going to get it.
However, she had barely finished speaking and hadn't taken two steps.
BAM!
A knife-hand strike hit her neck. Her body went limp, and she collapsed to the floor.
"Hiss..."
Jiang Yuyan rubbed her shoulder. A cry of pain had just escaped her lips before she clamped a hand over her own mouth.
She was terrified of provoking the man's displeasure.
Besides, she didn't understand why he would hit her when she was being so cooperative.
'So it doesn't work after all?'
The man looked at the still-conscious Jiang Yuyan, a hint of frustration on his face.
'As expected, knocking someone out with a karate chop isn't that simple.'
That kind of move required extremely high precision in terms of force and placement.
At this thought,
he pulled a taser from his pants and flicked the switch.
An electric arc crackled.
Jiang Yuyan's whole body convulsed.
Her eyes rolled back, and she passed out.
A murky yellow liquid trickled out from under her.
A few minutes later, the man found some rope in a cabinet.
He tossed the bound Jiang Yuyan aside.
Then he used her fingerprint to unlock her phone and found Lu Shi's contact.
He began to scroll through her chat history with Lu Shi, his expression growing darker the more he read.
In the end, he simply stopped looking.
He started typing directly into the input box.
...
The night deepened.
「No. 1 Mansion.」
The boom gate rose and, under the smiling gaze of a security guard,
a red supercar drove into No. 1 Mansion.
Lu Shi parked the car.
Holding a bouquet of vibrant red roses, he opened the door and stepped out.
Recalling the suggestive hints from their earlier chat,
Lu Shi couldn't help but feel a flush of heat rise in his lower abdomen.
When it came to women,
he, Young Master Lu, had lost count of how many he'd toyed with since he was a boy.
But they would all bore him—some in a week or two, others in a month at most.
But Jiang Yuyan was different. While her looks weren't the absolute best among his women,
she was like a fatal poppy, her entire being exuding an irresistible allure.
She always left him wanting more.
He had even cut ties with all his other women for her.
Today, he'd heard she had a surprise waiting for him at home.
So he had hastily wrapped up his affairs and rushed back.
CLICK!
The fingerprint lock disengaged with a sound.
The door opened.
The lights inside were bright.
But there was no sign of Jiang Yuyan.
"Yuyan?"
he called out.
When there was no response,
THUD!
The sound of something falling came from a half-open door ahead.
"Heh, so you're hiding in there."
Lu Shi locked the front door behind him, placed the flowers on a nearby table, loosened the silver tie around his neck, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
He walked briskly to the room.
He reached out and pushed the door right open.
The room was dimly lit.
The first thing he saw...
was Jiang Yuyan on the bed, her hands and feet bound by ropes, her mouth sealed with black tape.
Seeing Lu Shi enter, she began to struggle and whimper ceaselessly.
As she squirmed, the friction between the ropes and her thighs intensified.
Faint red rope burns appeared, looking as if they might tear her tender skin.
Tiny beads of sweat seeped from her forehead.
Her hair and collar were slightly disheveled, which, combined with her delicate face, created a visual impact full of tension and allure.
"Hmm? This is a nice surprise. I like it!"
Lu Shi laughed aloud at the scene.
Unbuttoning his shirt, he prepared to pounce.
He completely failed to notice the terror in Jiang Yuyan's eyes.
SWOOSH!
Just then,
from beside the wardrobe,
a thick arm shot out and grabbed Lu Shi by the neck.
The immense force slammed Lu Shi directly into the wall beside him.
A searing pain shot through his back.
But Lu Shi had no time to worry about it,
because the grip of that large hand was tightening.
"Guh..."
An intense feeling of suffocation made his face flush red. He tried to speak but couldn't get a single word out.
He tried to pry the hand from his throat, but it was completely useless.
He could only stare at the tall figure before him with terror and pleading in his eyes.
The scar-faced man didn't waste a single word.
With one hand choking him and the other grabbing Jiang Yuyan,
the combined weight of the two, nearly three hundred pounds, felt like nothing in his grasp.
Soon, he had dragged them both to the balcony.
"This is twenty-five floors from the ground. I estimate each floor is about four meters high. Based on the speed of a free fall, hmm, you'll land in about 4.52 seconds.
Good night, you two!"
The man wore a smile.
But to the pair, his words were like the whispers of a Demon, bone-chillingly terrifying.
Then,
before their horrified and despairing eyes,
they were thrown out.
A violent sensation of weightlessness washed over them. Jiang Yuyan couldn't even scream because her mouth was taped shut.
Lu Shi's face twisted as he let out a bloodcurdling shriek.
About four or five seconds later,
two consecutive, dull thuds echoed from below.
After a glance around,
the man went back into the room and cleaned up any traces he had left.
Then, he opened the door and quickly left the premises without a moment's hesitation.
His expression was normal as he walked into the elevator.
Seemingly noticing the security camera above him, he tilted his head up for a look.
Then, he reached up and pressed down on the brim of his hat, concealing his face.
No. 1 Mansion, being a high-end residential complex, consisted of only three buildings, with just two units per floor.
As a result, there weren't many residents.
The complex's landscaping was excellent, and it was very quiet.
There were only streetlights casting a white glow at regular intervals.
This was why by the time the man had taken the elevator down and was nearing the complex entrance,
he finally heard shouts of "Someone fell!" and "Someone's dead!" from behind him.
The man paused.
He turned and ran toward the source of the commotion.
Soon, a small crowd had gathered.
Most of them were the complex's security guards and staff.
By now, he had already changed out of the delivery uniform he was wearing earlier. In its place was a simple T-shirt and shorts.
Blending into the crowd, he glanced toward the center.
He saw two mangled, bloody figures lying motionless on the concrete path near the greenery.
Blood seeped out from their bodies.
In this state, they were clearly dead.
After confirming this,
the man turned and left.
He ducked into an alley.
Once he was sure no one was around, the man reached for his face, dug his fingers in, and peeled off a layer of material resembling modeling clay.
Revealing the calm face of a Young Man.