Jiang Lijin walked in front, with Tinia sticking to her from behind like a tail.
"Sister, there is a restaurant ahead that specializes in deep-sea mutant crabs. I had them reserve the best seats." Tinia quickened his pace, naturally walking shoulder-to-shoulder with her. His azure eyes were full of a desire to please.
When Jiang Lijin heard about the good food, a faint glimmer quickly flashed across her eyes. But her face maintained an unreadable, indifferent expression as she casually replied, "Just arrange it as you see fit."
Tinia, however, accurately caught that fleeting gleam in her eyes, and the corners of his lips instantly curled up uncontrollably.
The Valoran galaxy's consumption level ranked in the top three across the entire interstellar region, and Tinia's arrangements maxed out every luxury.
For travel, they used the Yunlan Consortium's exclusive hover supercar. The moment its license plate was shown, all traffic controls automatically let it pass.
The dining spot was built within a transparent dome ten thousand meters deep in the ocean, surrounded by glowing giant jellyfish. Throughout the meal, Tinia didn't let Jiang Lijin lift a finger, nor did he allow the waiters to approach. He did everything himself—cracking crab legs, picking out fish bones, and even cutting the fruit into bite-sized pieces.
The shopping spree after the meal was even more outrageously extravagant.
Jiang Lijin merely took a second glance at the latest optical computer displayed in a window while passing through the high-end luxury commercial street. Just five minutes later, the sweating store manager personally and respectfully delivered the highest-spec model of that exact computer to their hovercar.
"Why buy so much?" Jiang Lijin asked, looking at the shopping bags piled high in the backseat.
"Sister looked at them, which means they have value," Tinia smiled harmlessly. "I don't have much else, but I do have a lot of money. Sister helping me spend some is actually helping me lighten my burden."
The remark was punchable yet flawlessly argued.
In the evening, the two returned to the seaside hotel.
Tinia's exclusive suite was on the top floor. The entire floor had been cleared out to create just this one presidential suite.
The alloy doors slid open from both sides, revealing an interior space so massive it was staggering. It was even more spacious than Jiang Lijin's villa with a courtyard on the main planet. No wonder Tinia had openly complained about her place being too small the first time he visited.
There were three oversized bedrooms and seven or eight distinctly divided functional areas. The master bedroom was especially extravagant, with panoramic glass windows on three sides. Lying on the bed, one could overlook the entire night view and coastline of Valoran.
Jiang Lijin took a shower, changed into the high-quality pajamas Chiron had bought for her previously, and yawned.
Turning her head, she saw Tinia still sprawling lazily on the leather sofa in the master bedroom, hugging a throw pillow tightly to his chest, looking as if he planned to take root there.
"What time is it? Aren't you going back to sleep?" Jiang Lijin walked over and kicked the leg of the sofa.
"Sister, I'm scared to sleep alone." Tinia blinked his blue eyes, trying to bluff his way through. "This room is so big, I can even sleep on the floor. I promise I won't disturb you."
"The door is over there." Jiang Lijin wasn't buying it at all. "Three, two..."
Tinia pouted aggrievedly and dawdled as he stood up. As he walked to the door, he kept looking back at her. "Goodnight, Sister. Call me anytime if you need anything, I'm just next door."
The door closed, and the room fell quiet.
Jiang Lijin walked to the bed, and just as she was about to lie down, her optical computer vibrated.
It was a star-message from Baal: [You went to Valoran?]
Jiang Lijin: [The Supreme Commander's intelligence network updates rather slowly.]
The reply came quickly, carrying a hint of explanation: [Sorry. The edge of the Sirius galaxy has suffered a large-scale Zerg attack. I can't get away for now.]
Jiang Lijin had seen it on the forums; the Sirius galaxy was constantly engulfed in war and was the most crucial part of the Federation's defense line. As the Supreme Commander personally overseeing the battle, the fact that Baal could find time to send a message was already quite rare.
Immediately after, another message popped up: [Valoran is a good place, but it's a mixed bag with frequent black market transactions. Stay safe. Tinia is young and not steady enough in emergencies; he can't protect you well. If anything happens, contact me and Chiron immediately.]
Jiang Lijin looked at this sentence, her gaze lingering on the words "can't protect you well" for a moment. After thinking about it, she replied with a few words: [You stay safe too.]
Regardless, this man was nominally her legal beast-husband assigned by the Main Brain. Although his temper was cold and hard, he was quite generous with his money, so she didn't mind offering a little verbal concern.
Baal didn't reply again; he had probably thrown himself back into the battlefield to slaughter the Zerg.
...
In the dead of night.
Jiang Lijin was sleeping soundly when a piercing alarm sounded in her mind.
[Host! Wake up! We have a situation!] Xiao Yi's voice was sharp and urgent.
Jiang Lijin jolted awake instantly, sitting up almost as a conditioned reflex, and opened her eyes.
The lights in the room were off, leaving it pitch black. But the floor-to-ceiling window in the master bedroom, which should have been securely locked by the smart system, was now wide open.
The high-altitude night wind poured in brazenly, blowing the curtains into a frantic flutter.
And amidst those fluttering curtains stood a quiet figure.
He stood with his back to the light of the artificial moon, silhouetted against the glow, making it impossible to see his face. But judging from the tall, straight outline of his broad shoulders and narrow waist, it was a male.
Jiang Lijin's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
This was the Yunlan Consortium's top-tier hotel, in the presidential suite on the very top floor. The security system wouldn't even let a fly in, let alone allow someone to bypass all surveillance and defense networks to open a deadlocked window.
This person was a top-tier expert! Could it be a professional assassin from the black market? Had they used some kind of spatial folding or stealth technology?
Jiang Lijin's mind raced. Was it because she and Tinia had destroyed Felwin's medicine during the day, exposing Felwin and Arden's plan, and they had hired a killer out of humiliated rage?
"How much did Felwin pay you?" Jiang Lijin sat on the bed, her heart panicking, but her voice remaining steady. "I'll pay double."
In her understanding, people who mixed in the black market only recognized money, not people. As long as the price was right, turning coat on the spot was commonplace.
In the darkness, the man let out an extremely soft chuckle.
Tianyan originally just wanted to use the cover of night to sneak a look at Jiang Lijin.
He hadn't expected Jiang Lijin to wake up. The stealth techniques of the Senluo Pavilion Master might not even be detected by the 3S-ranked Baal. Was this female naturally alert, or did she have some other methods?
Hearing her words, Tianyan realized she had misunderstood. A desire to tease arose in him, and he played along with her assumption.
"We all have our professional ethics," he spoke, his tone unhurried. His voice was deep, with a slightly husky, magnetic texture that was extremely pleasant to the ear. But in this eerie environment, it only made one's back turn cold.
"Ethics?" Jiang Lijin scoffed. "Your ethics involves skipping the front door in the middle of the night to climb through a window into a female's room? That's called being a pervert, not ethics."
Tianyan choked on his words for a moment.
"Doing business is all about maximizing profit," Jiang Lijin continued her barrage of logic, her thoughts clear and organized. "What can Felwin give you? She doesn't have much of a fortune left, does she? You should know who I am. Killing me won't bring you any benefits, except for drawing the wrath of the Yunlan Consortium, the Federal Military, and the Empire. Take double the bounty from me, go kill your employer, and we call it a win-win!"
Tianyan leaned against the window frame, one leg crossed over the other, his posture relaxed and casual. Possessing top-tier night vision, he could see the little female sitting on the bed with crystal clarity. Although she was trying her best to maintain her composure, her hands tightly gripping the edge of the blanket betrayed her nervousness.
Sharp-tongued. That was Tianyan's first impression of her.
"A win-win sounds pretty good," Tianyan said, a smile in his voice. "But I'm a rather picky eater. I'm not short on money; I want something else."
"If you want my life, the answer is no." Jiang Lijin interrupted him unceremoniously. "And if you're looking for a fling, turn left out the door. Tinia is in the next room. He's young and has great stamina; you can toss him around however you like."
Tianyan let out a low chuckle, the sound echoing in the spacious room.
"Young Master Tinia has quite the temper. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to serve him well." Tianyan took a step forward.
Jiang Lijin's palms began to sweat. She knew very well that all she had to do was shout "lights on," and the smart butler would illuminate the entire room in a tenth of a second.
But she didn't shout.
She had heard that assassins had a rule: any prey that saw their face had to die. By pretending she couldn't see clearly, she could still buy time. Once the lights were on and all pretenses were dropped, even with Tinia right next door, he wouldn't make it in time to save her.
"Stop right there," Jiang Lijin's voice turned cold. "Take one more step, and I'll scream."
Tianyan halted, just a few paces away from the bed.
He could clearly see Jiang Lijin's defensive posture. She was highly tense, but she hadn't lost her wits.
"Scream, then," Tianyan said, his tone wicked.
Jiang Lijin took a deep breath. "What exactly do you want?"
"Just came to see you." Tianyan was telling the truth.
"Done looking? Then go back the way you came!" Jiang Lijin pointed at the wide-open French windows.
"What a terrible temper," Tianyan commented. He didn't move any closer, merely giving her a deep, lingering look.
The night wind grew stronger. Tianyan turned around, supporting himself on the windowsill with one hand in a graceful, airy motion.
"Jiang Lijin," he called her name, his tone intimate and lingering. "I will come find you again."
As soon as the words left his mouth, his silhouette flipped out the window.
But this was the top floor!
Jiang Lijin waited for two minutes, and only after confirming the man was truly gone did she let out a long breath.
"Xiao Yi, has he left?"
[Reporting to host: within the range of this floor, apart from Tinia next door, there are no other life forms.]
Jiang Lijin leaned back against the headboard and touched the back of her neck. It was covered in cold sweat.
Who was that man? From the looks of it, he was definitely no ordinary assassin hired by Felwin...
