The Twisted Pleasures of the Rich

Coming up the stairs, Stephen glanced at Tu Ran, who stood guard with her back to him, before entering the lounge.

Before long, a waiter delivered a spare formal suit.

Tu Ran could hear the commotion behind her but paid it no mind, until the sound of a door opening came—the waiter who had spilled wine on Stephen crept over and stopped before her. "Mr. Wells would like you to come in."

Tu Ran had a rough idea of what Stephen wanted. She reported the situation to Ye Qingcai over her earpiece, asking him to arrange a temporary replacement for her post, then pushed open the door and stepped into the lounge where Stephen waited.

Stephen was seated on the sofa, already changed. His mantis-like legs were crossed, one hand resting on the back of the couch, posture relaxed.

"What have you seen so far?" he asked bluntly.

Tu Ran glanced down at her communicator—just as suspected, the signal had been jammed.

Lifting her head, she replied unhurriedly, "I've seen a portion of the people. Because this ability has an energy limit, there are still others I haven't gotten to."

"Energy limit?" Stephen frowned, eyeing her with suspicion. "You never mentioned an energy limit before."

"That's because I'd never seen this many ability users at once before. I didn't even realize the limit existed myself." Tu Ran's tone was earnest, her eyes radiating sincerity.

Stephen mulled it over and found the reasoning sound. There was no benefit to her lying—she couldn't obtain these people's inner cores anyway.

"Then tell me," he said, switching on a projector beside him. "Who has abilities, and what are they?"

"A woman with curly blonde hair, looks around thirty, wearing a red form-fitting gown."

As Tu Ran described her, the projector displayed portraits matching the description. Four people appeared, all fitting the criteria.

Tu Ran pointed to the one in the lower right corner. "Her. Her ability is called 'Eternal Youth'—she can live twice as long as a normal human."

Stephen stared at the image for over a minute, his expression unreadable.

Tu Ran privately speculated about the relationship between the Song family and the Wells family. Why did Stephen Wells look like a man betrayed?

"Next." Stephen's voice had dropped low.

"Male, about one meter ninety, black hair with a slight wave, a mole on his chin, darker skin, early twenties. His companion is wearing a pink chiffon dress."

The projected image showed a man who matched her description closely.

"Mm, that's him. His ability is limb regeneration—lost limbs can grow back within a short time."

"Next." Stephen barely gave it two glances.

One by one, Tu Ran pointed them out and explained.

She omitted nearly half, presenting seven abilities in total.

"That's all?" Stephen wasn't satisfied with the result.

Among the abilities Tu Ran had introduced, none stood out as particularly impressive.

"Mm." Tu Ran nodded, touching her nose. "Just seeing these few already made my nose bleed. Using abilities comes at a heavy cost."

Stephen's brow furrowed deeply as he thought it over. Finally he said, "I still need to bring you to my side."

Banquets like this only happened once or twice a year. If Tu Ran could only see a handful each time, there was no point keeping her at large events—he'd just take her along when he went to negotiate deals on a daily basis.

Tu Ran showed no objection, looking entirely compliant and ready to be deployed as ordered.

"Go back to your post," Stephen said.

Tu Ran nodded and withdrew.

Back in position, Qi Tongda's voice came through her earpiece. "What did Stephen want with you?"

"He suspected there were cameras in the room and had me check." Tu Ran's expression didn't flicker.

"Oh." Young Master Qi bought it.

The banquet below was already halfway through when Pang Shixi, head of the Pang family, suddenly strode onto the raised platform directly beneath the God figure and picked up a microphone.

The other guests promptly fell silent, turning to look at him.

"Every banquet takes the same form. Don't you all find it dull?"

Someone played along. "What surprise does Patriarch Pang have for us this time?"

"Haha, Brother Zhao knows me well." Pang Shixi raised his arm and beckoned. "Today, I'm going to present you all with a truly beautiful performance."

As he gestured, the side doors of Wanle Temple swung open, and a massive box draped in black cloth was pushed in by seven or eight men working together.

The box was positioned beside Pang Shixi, its height rivaling the God lamp.

"What is that?" many asked curiously. A young boy, barely old enough, had already run over and reached out to lift the black cloth.

The instant his hand touched it, the sound of clashing chains and a warning hiss came from within. The black cloth billowed outward, revealing a corner.

A broad, thick paw rested on a wrist-thick chain, the links stained with blood.

"Ah!" The boy yelped, stumbled backward onto the ground, and burst into tears.

Pang Shixi kindly helped the boy up, ruffled his hair, and smiled, the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes even larger than his eyes themselves. "Don't be scared, Xiaoyou. In a bit, Uncle will have it dealt with and get you your revenge."

With that, he handed the child back to his parents, who had hurried over.

"Patriarch Pang, isn't it too dangerous to bring a mutant in here? There are so many people present—all unarmed." Xie Xieao spoke up, his tone genial, like two middle-aged friends making small talk.

Pang Shixi shook his head with a laugh. "I knew you'd say that." He stepped back onto the platform. "Besides us unarmed folk, aren't there plenty of fully armed Executive Department guards here?"

Tu Ran, singled out, suddenly had a bad feeling.

Pang Shixi addressed the crowd below. "These mutants have been causing us trouble for years. Many of us here have never truly seen one up close. A few days ago, I had a live mutant shipped in from Regaken State—just to give everyone a look."

As he spoke, he made a gesture, and the black cloth covering the massive cage was yanked away, fully exposing the creature within to the crowd.

Tu Ran recognized the species with a single glance.

The first time she'd fled from the Threshold, just before she ran into Xu Xu and crashed through a wall, she'd turned back and seen this very kind of creature.

Long-haired, built as sturdy as a tiger, with the lower half of its head shaped like a wild boar, tusks fierce, while the upper half looked nearly human—pupils clear in white eyes, even with eyelashes.

Back then, she'd estimated those mutants were over ten meters tall. This one in the cage was only about six meters—likely a juvenile.