The inside of the car was very quiet. The roar of the engine was blocked out by high-quality soundproofing materials, leaving only a faint sense of vibration.
Jiang Lijin leaned back against the leather seat, her gaze shifting between the back of Tianyan's head in the front row and the side of Tianque's face next to her.
"Pavilion Master?" She raised an eyebrow, her tone carrying obvious sarcasm. "That's quite a retro title. I thought you two were just high-level thugs from the black market, but it turns out you're both big shots."
Tianyan, sitting in the passenger seat, turned his head upon hearing this. His green eyes were full of smiles. "You flatter me, boss. We're just trying to make a living. It's just nonsense the subordinates call us, don't take it seriously."
Jiang Lijin scoffed, turning her head to look out the window at the speeding blue tiles and white walls.
"This place is built quite nicely. Beautiful scenery, fresh air—a veritable utopia." She withdrew her gaze and looked straight at Tianyan. "I just wonder how much dirty money from selling contraband drugs and weapons is buried under these bluestone slabs. Can such a glamorous shell cover up those shady, hidden accounts?"
The smile on Tianyan's face didn't change; even the curve at the corners of his eyes remained exactly the same.
Instead, Tianque, sitting at the edge of the back seat, lifted his eyelids to glance at her before silently lowering his gaze again.
Seeing that Tianyan wasn't taking the bait, Jiang Lijin turned to look at Chiron beside her.
Chiron sat bolt upright, hands folded over his knees, staring blankly out the car window.
Something wasn't right. Jiang Lijin frowned.
She remembered clearly that Chiron had mentioned to her before that, because of his mother, he abhorred the black market. He had even personally led teams to destroy several large underground contraband drug manufacturing plants.
The catalyst potion that Felwin used back then also originated from the black market.
Now, the highest authorities of the black market were sitting in the same car. Given Chiron's temperament, even if he didn't draw his gun on the spot, he should at least offer a few sarcastic remarks.
Why was he so calm now, acting as if nothing was wrong?
"Hey." Jiang Lijin nudged Chiron with her elbow. "Fell asleep?"
Chiron turned his head, his gray eyes clear and bright behind his glasses. "No."
"Then why are you so unresponsive?" Jiang Lijin leaned closer to him and lowered her voice. "The guy in front, and the one next to me, are the heads of the black market. Those manufacturing plants you led teams to take down were all their properties. For enemies meeting face-to-face, your emotions are way too stable."
Chiron glanced at Tianyan in the passenger seat, his tone flat. "No need to lower your voice. He can hear you."
Tianyan cooperatively raised a hand and waved it. "Loud and clear, boss."
Jiang Lijin rolled her eyes. "Stop trying to act chummy. Let's talk business."
Chiron pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, his voice remaining unhurried. "I know them."
"What?" Jiang Lijin froze.
"To be exact, we've been in contact before, but we've never met in person," Chiron explained. "I have an exclusive intelligence channel on the dark web, and the contact's code name is 'Guide'. The intel I used to destroy that underground manufacturing plant was bought from 'Guide'."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Tianyan. "It was only just now, when I heard the title 'Pavilion Master,' that I matched the person to the code name."
Jiang Lijin's mind raced. A few seconds later, she looked at Tianyan in disbelief. "You sold the intel on your own underground manufacturing plant to the Director of the Imperial Central Hospital? What are you after? Trying to hit your year-end KPI by killing your own people?"
Tianyan chuckled softly and shifted into a more comfortable sitting position. "Boss, the black market has its own rules."
The smile on his face faded slightly, revealing a hint of the ruthlessness that belonged to someone in power. "Selling some recreational drugs and moving a few batches of conventional weapons is just business, meeting market demand. But some people at the bottom got too greedy. They went behind my back and colluded with Holman and his gang to conduct some live genetic fusion experiments."
At this point, Tianyan's tone carried obvious disgust. "Creating those half-human, half-ghost Zerg monsters destroyed the ecological balance and broke the rules of the Senluo Pavilion. That's called smashing the rice bowl."
Tianque, who had been silent in the corner, coldly spat out a single word: "Filthy."
"Yes, too filthy," Tianyan nodded in agreement. "We run a black market business, not a garbage dump. Since they didn't follow the rules, I borrowed Director Chiron's hand to clean house, and conveniently earned a sky-high intelligence fee in the process. Killing two birds with one stone, why not?"
After hearing this speech, Jiang Lijin didn't speak for a long time.
She looked at the gentle and refined Chiron, and then at Tianyan, who was like a smiling tiger.
"You old foxes, your hearts are truly dirtier than the last," she gave a fair assessment.
Chiron remained noncommittal, only saying, "We each got what we needed. Besides, at the time, I didn't know that 'Guide' was the Pavilion Master of the black market. I just thought it was infighting caused by an uneven distribution of profits within the black market."
"So, you two have actually been secretly colluding for a long time?" Jiang Lijin summarized.
"Collaborating," Chiron corrected.
"Fine, collaborating." Jiang Lijin leaned back, too lazy to fuss over these convoluted matters anymore.
Anyway, they were all on the same boat now. Graven was dead, and the capital planet must already be in chaos. She needed the black market's intelligence network right now, and she also needed Chiron's brains.
The car drove along the bluestone road into a sprawling estate.
The gates of the estate were wide open with no guards in sight. Only two mechanical bionic dogs with shiny coats were lying on the stone steps, basking in the sun. Hearing the sound of the car, they merely lifted their eyelids lazily before going back to sleep.
After the car came to a steady stop, the driver opened the door.
Jiang Lijin stepped out of the car and examined the architecture before her.
From the outside, it looked antique. The wooden corridors and carved window frames exuded a quiet aesthetic. But upon walking inside, one would discover a whole different world.
Holographic security systems were hidden beneath the eaves, temperature-control devices were installed under the wooden floorboards of the corridors, and even the decorative pool in the courtyard was equipped with an automatic purification and energy circulation system.
Perfectly integrating cutting-edge technology into retro architecture—this was definitely not something an ordinary person could pull off.
"Boss, Director Chiron, this way please," Tianyan led the way in front. "The guest rooms have been prepared. You two can rest for a bit. There is no internet here, and the signal shielding is extremely strong. Later, I'll have someone send over the latest intelligence."
Jiang Lijin followed him through the corridor to an independent courtyard.
A giant tree resembling a ginkgo was planted in the courtyard. Its leaves were golden yellow, and when the wind blew, they scattered all over the ground.
"You take the left, I'll take the right." Chiron pointed to the two adjacent wing rooms and naturally took the coat from Jiang Lijin's hands.
Jiang Lijin didn't refuse, pushing open the door to the room on the left.
The room was elegantly furnished, and an unknown incense burned in the air, faint and very pleasant.
She walked to the table, poured a glass of water, and drank it all in one gulp, finally feeling her constantly tense nerves relax a little.
Chiron didn't return to his own room but followed her in, hanging the coat on a rack.
The two stood across a table from each other, at a distance neither too far nor too close.
"What's the plan now?" Chiron asked.
Jiang Lijin rested her chin on one hand, her fingers tapping aimlessly on the tabletop.
"Tinia should have already published the evidence of Graven's crimes all over the net. In order to save face, the Imperial Royal Family will definitely issue a wanted poster and push all the blame onto me. They might even pin a charge of 'brainwashed by the black market, betraying the Empire' on me."
She sneered, "The more they do this, the more it shows their guilty conscience. Graven conducting live experiments is definitely not something he could accomplish alone. There must be a massive interest group behind him. Holman is just one of them."
Chiron nodded, analyzing objectively, "Graven's death will temporarily throw them into disarray. But once they react, they will definitely try every possible means to erase all evidence, and even destroy all those failed experimental subjects."
"That's why I came to the black market." Jiang Lijin straightened her back, her eyes clear. "Tianyan's intelligence network covers the entire interstellar space. As long as those people make a move, they will definitely leave traces. I want to uproot this chain of interests."
She looked at Chiron, her tone uncharacteristically serious. "What about you? You ran off to this lawless place with me; don't you want the position of the director of the Imperial Central Hospital anymore? How are you going to explain this to the Academy of Sciences?"
Chiron pushed his glasses, the lenses reflecting a flash of white light.
"I am a victim 'kidnapped' by the black market." His tone was steady, making even a lie sound so righteous. "As for the position of director, whoever is capable can take it. As for the Academy of Sciences, my uncle will handle it."
He looked at Jiang Lijin, his gray eyes reflecting her image.
"I said before that your spiritual power is a treasure of the entire interstellar space. But I've changed my mind now."
Chiron leaned in slightly, closing the distance between them.
"You yourself are more valuable than your spiritual power."
Jiang Lijin met his gaze.
This man usually put on the airs of a refined scumbag, restrained and ascetic. But now, the ambition and possessiveness hidden beneath those gray eyes couldn't be concealed at all.
She had long known that Chiron was a smart man, and smart men never made losing deals.
His willingness to give up everything in the Empire to follow her was not only due to his obsession with her but also because he saw her ability to break the deadlock.
"Alright." Jiang Lijin smiled and extended her hand. "Happy cooperating, Director Chiron."
Chiron grasped her hand, but didn't let go immediately.
