"Uh—hello there!" After a brief moment of shock, Rainie Cheng awkwardly greeted the Pink Panther Twins, Fiona Feng and Selena Xue.
"—Who, who are you? How did you end up here!?" Fiona Feng asked, her face full of confusion.
"Oh, I'm a woman! Can't you tell? Hehe—" Rainie Cheng said as she stood up and walked toward Fiona and Selena.
Fiona and Selena were even more confused by her words, but seeing Rainie Cheng smiling as she approached—her smile oddly sinister—the sisters exchanged a nervous glance, then shouted in unison, "Run!"
Before the twins could escape, Rainie Cheng let out a cold laugh, her figure flashing behind them. With hands swift as lightning—"Smack! Smack!"—she chopped both their necks cleanly. Fiona and Selena groaned, their bodies going limp as they instantly fainted.
Rainie quickly caught the sisters and dragged them onto the waterbed in the Leopard House, laying them beside the already unconscious Lilian Grace. After making sure they were settled, she headed for the door, but just as she reached it—a sudden gust of wind! A dark shadow flashed toward her. Startled, Rainie reacted instantly, retreating several steps to press her back against the door. She steadied herself, one arm across her chest and the other grabbing a fruit knife from a nearby platter, channeling her energy and assuming a classic Hong Family 'Triangle Horse' stance, ready to strike at any moment.
"Pfft—Rainie, don't pull out the knife yet! I didn't expect you to be so alert!" A sweet, playful female voice laughed from outside the door.
Rainie Cheng relaxed as soon as she heard the voice. She turned to see who it was, let out a sigh, and playfully scolded, "You little rascal, always messing with me! Seriously—did you come alone? Where's everyone else?"
"Hehe—the others have cleared out! I haven't seen you in so long, Rainie, I've missed you like crazy, so I took the chance to come over!" the sweet voice replied.
"Well, since you're here, help me out. Take care of this place—destroy all the surveillance equipment," Rainie Cheng said, glancing at the Leopard House and the corridor's cameras.
"Oh—making me do all the heavy lifting again! Rainie, you really don't know how to treat a lady gently—" The sweet voice suddenly sounded full of playful complaint.
"Heh, who would dare treat you gently? Besides, this is your specialty! Go on—" Rainie Cheng said with a smile.
Meanwhile, Yara Zen and Shawn Young were driving into the western outskirts of Nanming City, dozens of kilometers away. The area was surrounded by green hills and clear streams, dotted with famous countryside resorts. The fertile land stretched for miles, shaded by lush trees; thousands of acres of willow groves swayed in the wind, and the air was incredibly fresh.
A red Porsche sped down the road for about half an hour. Up ahead, a towering peak appeared. Shawn recognized it as the famous 'Dragoncrest Mountain' on the outskirts of Nanming City. At the base of the mountain flowed a wide, rushing river. The road wound up a long slope along the mountain, and as they turned onto it, a deep bamboo forest appeared on the left. Yara turned the car onto a concrete road leading into the bamboo grove.
Soon, at the foot of the mountain, a luxurious estate built against the hillside came into view. Styled after ancient gardens, Ninebends Estate sat at the base of the lush Dragoncrest Mountain, framed by blue skies and white clouds. Its grand, old sandalwood gates bore a lavish plaque inscribed with five flowing characters—"Ninebends Estate"—giving the place an air of transcendent serenity.
Shawn looked up and saw steam rising from the estate's red-tiled roofs and white walls, clouds swirling around it. The whole place was shrouded in a misty haze, like a paradise on earth.
"Wow—this place is really something!" Shawn couldn't help but exclaim.
"Mhm—Master, this estate used to be run by Grace Gu. Her taste is impeccable, so of course she'd live somewhere like this! But this year's meeting is hosted by the Second Boss. Not sure why, but he chose Grace's estate for the event," Yara Zen explained.
They soon arrived at the estate's main gate. Yara was about to park, but as she entered the lot, she saw several black Lincoln limos, one with a striking golden tiger painted on its hood. Yara frowned and backed the car out, driving to the other side of the estate instead.
"Uh—Yara, what's wrong? Why didn't you park there?" Shawn asked, puzzled.
"I don't like hanging around with Wild Tiger Wan Chongyun. That guy is always showing off his body, flexing his muscles like he's the hottest thing alive. It's so gross!" Yara Zen said, her cheeks flushed.
"Oh—oh! Haha, so Yara's not into muscle men!" Shawn Young grinned mischievously.
Yara Zen blushed and shook her head, saying, "I—I don't dislike muscle men, but Tiger Cloud, aside from his scary muscles, there's something else... Well, let's just say, compared to you, Master, he's really lacking—like night and day!"
"Haha—" Shawn burst out laughing, proudly straightening his waist. Who would've thought his 'elephant' would be so popular!
As they spoke, the car pulled up beside a side gate of Ninebends Estate. Yara parked and said to Shawn, "Master, I'll go park the car over there. You go in on your own!"
"Oh—you’re not coming in?" Shawn asked.
"Master, I'll come to the guest room after I park. The meeting's about to start, and I can't go in there, so you’ll have to go in alone," Yara Zen explained.
"Oh—all right!" Shawn had no choice but to get out of the car and walk toward the side gate of Ninebends Estate by himself, his heart filled with nervous anticipation.