The next day, the Visconti family's collection appeared on winter list of the Shen auction house.
The list was clearly detailed: seventeen oil paintings, nine pieces of silverware, sculptures, and several pieces of jewelry.
By the time the news spread, the news of the Visconti family's misfortune hadn't fully circulated yet.
The Shen family's move was essentially handing everyone a postcard: We did this.
"Are all the direct descendants of the Visconti family wiped out? Didn't they only arrive here a month ago? Did they forget to pay protection money to that family?"
That was a bit of a dark joke.
"Who knows, but when the Shen family starts auctioning off their belongings, what do you think? Probably not good."
"That estate is sealed off—no news allowed out. But inside..." Someone swallowed nervously. "Inside, they say there are no survivors."
"All those guards were just dead weight?"
"What good are guards? They should have hired some special organizations. Besides, it's not like the Viscontis offended the Shen family. There was no conflict between them. In fact, word has it the Viscontis had been seeking a partnership and gave the Shens plenty of benefits. They even hired hundreds of guards when they came here to ensure their safety."
"All dead in just one night? Which member of the Shen family did this? So brutal."
Shen Yi had no interest in the upheaval within the circle.
She was crouched in her room, using a red pen to mark up a map.
Shen Yi's next step: She needed to sneak onto the ship ahead of time.
The Visconti family's maritime banquet had been postponed. Their patriarch was dead, and governments were still scrambling to find a new scapegoat.
The ship remained docked, with security tripled compared to the original plan. A cordon was set up around the port, and guards patrolled day and night.
Shen Yi wasn't going to wait until the plot started to take action.
She planned to board the ship early and take out the assassins and infiltrators one by one.
Shen Yi was sure not all those gunmen entered with invitations in hand. There would always be a batch who snuck onto the ship two or three days in advance, hiding in cargo holds, engine rooms, or even crew quarters, lying in wait to strike.
So then—
She could bring some helpers along before the plot began, form a team, and eliminate a group in advance.
As for the rest, she could deal with them herself on the day of the party.
Shen Yi bit down on the cap of her pen, sitting cross-legged on the floor.
According to the system, before the plot began, she could ask anyone for help.
So, the question was: who to ask?
Shen Yi thought it over, then blurted out, "System, is it really impossible for me to lock Shen Wenta away? That way he wouldn't have to go through that part of the story on the ship."
Locking him up would make things so much simpler.
System: [I've told you many times, Xiao Yi, the ending can be changed, but the process cannot. If you lock him away, the world will instinctively correct itself, and you'll end up repeating everything over again.]
[Once this part is over, there will be no more plot. Xiao Yi, let's work hard together, okay?]
In other words.
He had to board that ship.
Shen Yi whimpered a couple of times, then replied, "Okay."
She was dejected only briefly before she pulled herself together again.
Her moods came and went quickly.
If she had to go through this part of the plot, asking her parents for help was definitely out of the question.
If Shen Sixing and Wen Ya knew there were so many gunmen on the ship, their first reaction would be to forbid Shen Wenta from ever boarding it. That would reset everything, and all her plans would be wasted.
So her parents were out of the picture.
The only people she could turn to were her three brothers and her friends.
Her friends wouldn't need a long explanation. Wisteria and Iris didn't know the full story and wouldn't overthink things—they'd be willing to help.
As for her eldest brother and fourth brother, they had already guessed her secret.
They wouldn't question her decisions and would follow Shen Yi's plans and arrangements.
As for her second brother...
He was actually the easiest to handle.
Her other brothers had their own strong opinions and assertiveness, but Shen Ruxu was different.
He never asked too many questions and always unconditionally agreed with her words.
Even if he was worried sick, he stayed obedient, never asking anything that might trouble her. Shen Ruxu never brought up or did anything to make things difficult for her.
Shen Ruxu always acted oddly and strangely, saying he was actually a sunflower.
"I will always face my sun," he would say.
