After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

early morning.

The flat ground at the entrance to the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons.

All the powerful elders of the thirty-six villages stood in neat rows.

Zhu Xunchuan stood on the high platform. His dark gray trench coat billowed in the morning breeze.

Xia Wanying stood to his right. Her burgundy business suit exuded the absolute dominance of the conglomerate.

"There is only one rule." Zhu Xun Chuan looked down at everyone, "What Pei Yanrou and Qu Feiyan said is the rule I set. Anyone who dares to have disloyal intentions will have Dinghe's funds cut off from the livelihood of the Thirty-Six Villages without me even lifting a finger."

The elders responded in unison. Not one of them dared to look him in the eye.

Qu Feiyan changed back into her Black Miao tactical leather jacket, a silver bell hanging from her waist. She walked through the crowd to Zhu Xun Chuan. Without bothering to hide from others, she directly reached out and hugged his waist.

"Remember to come see me when you have time." Qu Feiyan looked up, her eyes red-rimmed. "Otherwise, I'll bring my Gu worms to Kyoto to settle accounts with you."

Zhu Xun Chuan ruffled her hair. "It's completely settled here now. You can hand over the duties and then come to Kyoto to find me."

Qu Feiyan nodded reluctantly.

Pei Yanrou walked over. She was wearing a white dress and tugged at Zhu Xunchuan's trench coat sleeve. Tears streamed down her face.

Zhu Xun Chuan stepped forward and hugged her. He patted her back. "Take care of yourself. If you're tired, come to Kyoto and rest."

Pei Yanrou nodded, not daring to say anything more, for fear that she would be reluctant to part with him.

He turned and walked toward the bulletproof SUV parked there. Pei Yanyu followed behind him, striding forward without looking back.

Airport in the southwestern border town.

Dinghe Group's Gulfstream private jet is parked on its private helipad.

The group walked up the gangway.

Xia Wanying and Pei Yanyu walked ahead.

Little White, carrying a black violin case, walked at the back.

Xiaobai stopped before stepping into the cabin.

She turned around and looked at the distant, endless mountains. She bent down and pulled out the ceramic dagger that had been with her for many years from the side of her tactical boot.

She took out a black cloth and carefully wiped the blade.

Yesterday, while clearing out the mercenaries on the outskirts, the black raven totem on the leader's body stung her nerves. The memory of the fire at the Qingcheng Orphanage resurfaced.

She knew that the real bloodbath would begin after she returned to Kyoto.

After wiping the knife, she put it back in her boot. Her eyes held no emotion, only a pure will to die.

She entered the cabin. The cabin door closed.

The plane taxied and soared into the sky.

10,000 meters above the ground.

The temperature inside the first-class cabin was comfortable.

Zhu Xunchuan leaned back in the leather seat and closed his eyes to rest.

Xia Wanying sat next to him, her long legs crossed. She peeled a purple grape and fed it to Zhu Xunchuan.

"I've cleaned up all the mess in the capital market. I put all 1.5 billion into Dinghe's overseas accounts." Xia Wanying said casually.

Pei Yanyu sat opposite her, flipping through several newly accepted scripts and beginning to plan her comeback.

Everything was quiet.

"drop--"

The reading light above my head suddenly went out.

All the communication indicator lights in the cabin turned a glaring blood red at the same time.

The cockpit's internal broadcast system blared, accompanied by a loud static interference sound.

"Mr. Zhu! Mr. Xia!" the captain cried out hoarsely, his voice filled with extreme panic, "The plane has been..."

The sound stopped abruptly.

The aircraft shook violently. Red warning lights flashed wildly inside the cabin, illuminating the drastically changed expressions on everyone's faces.

The alarm blared loudly inside the cabin.

The red light flashed rapidly. The fuselage tilted sharply to the left, and the coffee cup on the table smashed against the cabin wall, sending shards of porcelain flying.

Zhu Xun Chuan used his left hand to protect Xia Wan Ying and his right hand to hold Pei Yan Yu firmly in place on the leather seat.

"boom!"

A strong gust of air shattered the tranquility inside the cabin. Xia Wanying turned her head and peered through the porthole, her pupils contracting sharply.

Two heavy, dark gray fighter jets, without any national markings, were closely following the left and right wings of the Gulfstream airliner in a tail-to-tail escort posture.

The air-to-air missile launchers under the wings were already activated, and the locking red light was extremely dazzling.

The curtain in first class was violently ripped open.

Four flight attendants who were originally serving tea and water walked out expressionlessly.

They gripped silenced submachine guns, skillfully cocking them. The dark muzzles were locked onto Xia Wanying and Pei Yanyu's foreheads, respectively.

"Relax."

The flight attendant supervisor ripped off the silicone mask from his face, revealing a angular, scarred Asian face. He spoke in broken Chinese, his eyes revealing a callous indifference that regarded human life as worthless.

Xia Wanying took a deep breath. She straightened her disheveled white shirt, her composure as a chaebol queen keeping her calm.

"How much money do you want?" Xia Wanying looked directly at the other party, speaking calmly. "Dinghe Group's assets can be liquidated at any time. Name your price, and I'll buy the lives of everyone on this plane."

The foreman sneered.

He completely ignored Xia Wanying, instead looking past Zhu Xunchuan and onto the petite figure in the back row carrying a black violin case and wearing a tactical mask.

"Shiro".

The foreman switched to fluent Japanese, his tone filled with a fanatical reverence, even bowing slightly. "The leader sent us to take you home. The number one assassin in the world's number one assassin organization, 'Dark River,' shouldn't be serving as a bodyguard for a man in China."

Xiao Bai remained silent. She gripped the ceramic dagger beneath her sleeve, her eyes as calm as still water.

Pei Yanyu and Xia Wanying's expressions changed drastically upon hearing this. They had always known that Xiaobai was a skilled fighter, but they had only ever considered her as a bodyguard hired by Zhu Xunchuan at a high salary.

They never imagined that this quiet, reserved girl who served Zhu Xun Chuan tea and water and even watched them fight over him at the dinner table was actually the top assassin of the world's top assassin organization.

Zhu Xun Chuan remained seated. A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes.

His muscles tensed instantly; he was about to unleash the system's maximum reaction speed to kill someone.

[WARNING! Deadly threat detected!]

[Eighteen high explosive charges detected inside the aircraft cabin! The detonation method involved a multi-layered locking mechanism combining sound control and pneumatic pressure linkage!]

The system's red text flashed across Zhu Xun Chuan's retina.

The foreman raised his left hand, holding a specially made black remote control, his thumb hovering over the red button.

"Mr. Zhu, don't be impulsive." The foreman stared into Zhu Xun Chuan's eyes, clearly knowing his information by heart. "I know you're very skilled, even beyond human limits. But if you leave your seat or kill me, once my pulse stops beating, the detonator will automatically activate. At 10,000 meters altitude, this plane, along with the two fighter jets outside, will turn into spectacular fireworks. Of course, your two beautiful confidantes beside you won't even have a complete corpse left."

Dead end.

With absolute physical isolation and the threat of mutual destruction from firearms, individual combat capabilities are completely suppressed.

Zhu Xun Chuan clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking. He didn't move.

Gambling with his woman's life on probability has never been his style.

"I'll go with you."

Xiao Bai stood up.

"Xiao Bai, sit down." Zhu Xun Chuan didn't turn around, and commanded sternly, "You have no right to speak here."

Xiao Bai stopped in place. She looked at Zhu Xun Chuan's broad back.

She had always been absolutely obedient to Zhu Xun Chuan's orders. If he told her to eat, she would eat; if he told her to kill, she would kill; if he told her to hide, she would never show herself.

But this time, she disobeyed.

Her eyes reddened.