"Huanhuan, where—where am I?" Before they lost consciousness, they had all been at the Li family mansion. Besides Ning Yunhuan and Li Panpan, there were about six or seven other girls playing together. Ning Yunhuan shook her head heavily; she located Li Panpan amidst the crowd. Fate truly had brought them together again; it seemed they had been kidnapped together once more. This time, however, Gu Yingxi was missing, replaced by several other girls who had been visiting the Li mansion.

After waking everyone up, several of the girls were quite flustered, but Li Panpan and Ning Yunhuan remained relatively calm. They exchanged a look and couldn't help but offer wry smiles—this could only be called damned fate!

Li Panpan felt a heavy weight in her heart. It was she who had invited Ning Yunhuan and the others to the gathering at the Li mansion. The Li family held a significant position in the military, yet here, at their very stronghold, so many young ladies had been rounded up in one swoop. Li Panpan could vividly imagine that even if she returned safely, she would certainly face the censure and resentment of her family. Furthermore, the Li family itself might be implicated, facing a crisis besieged by the furious parents of the missing girls. The thought of those consequences made Li Panpan shudder, and her face grew even paler.

"We're on an airplane right now," Du He stated with certainty. Although the cabin was sealed on all sides, judging by the interior décor and the gentle rocking of their bodies, everyone could guess as much.

"What do we do now?" Zhou Yuanyuan subconsciously glanced at Ning Yunhuan. As soon as she spoke, the gazes of the other girls instinctively drifted toward Ning Yunhuan. Perhaps it was because several of them had signed contracts with Ning Yunhuan's company that they often jokingly called her 'boss.' Now that trouble had struck, and Ning Yunhuan was the first to wake up, their instinct was to look to her for direction.

"Let's wait until we land," Ning Yunhuan said, searching around until she confirmed there were no parachutes. Especially since the cabin door was tightly locked, she felt a sense of helplessness. She couldn't even see any windows, nor were there any parachutes. If she tried any rash ideas now, she would only be hastening her own death. The main cabin was separated from the cockpit by a metal door, and without any weapons, the women might not be able to force their way out.

For now, this was the only option. Everyone felt somewhat dejected. After an indeterminate amount of time, just as the girls' stomachs began to rumble with hunger, the plane finally started its descent.

After a sharp tilt, the fuselage quickly began to slow down on the runway. Ning Yunhuan and the others straightened their bodies. Just as they managed to stand upright, the plane stopped. They seemed to hear the sound of the aircraft door being opened, and the once-locked metal door slowly slid ajar. A strapping man in camouflage, holding a rifle, aimed the barrel at them and gestured for them to disembark.

"Welcome, ladies." On the tarmac stood a man in a tight combat uniform, his hair slicked back to reveal a broad forehead, his sharp eyes and striking features marred by a sinister expression. He bowed courteously with one hand over his chest. Upon seeing him, Li Panpan and the others' pupils contracted involuntarily. Li Panpan could barely restrain herself, letting out an exclamation:

"Mu Jinzhi?"

"Impossible? How could it be Mu Jinzhi?" Du He covered her mouth, barely able to believe that this man, who now radiated such palpable danger, could be the notorious fool from the Mu family in the Capital. None of them could quite accept it, but Ning Yunhuan, however, calmed down. It was better to know who the adversary was. Now that she knew Mu Jinzhi was behind the kidnapping, she felt a strange sense of composure.

"Ladies, welcome to my... secret base!" Mu Jinzhi had dropped all pretense of foolishness. A calm smile rested on his face, his eyes gleaming with undisguised ambition and ferocity. His peripheral gaze swept over Ning Yunhuan almost casually, then across the group of women, before settling firmly back on Ning Yunhuan:

"I knew you wouldn't be so docile. Indeed, you managed to struggle free from your bonds. You disappoint me." Mu Jinzhi then offered Ning Yunhuan a smile: "Miss Ning, or perhaps, I should call you cousin-in-law? You must have untied everyone, haven't you?"

Ning Yunhuan remained silent, watching Mu Jinzhi with guarded vigilance. Even her wristwatch had been taken, and every loose diamond stud on her dress had been ripped off. She possessed no means of striking back, which was deeply frustrating. Facing Mu Jinzhi, she felt like a lamb with no power to resist, and tension knotted her heart.

"I find it quite strange, cousin-in-law. Can you tell me, how did you know I was feigning idiocy? Even my own foolish brother didn't guess it. Why did you know, cousin-in-law?" As Mu Jinzhi spoke, he furrowed his brow in confusion. He seemed about to step toward Tang Wan, but two steps in, a series of 'thudding' impacts sounded from the car he had been leaning against. Mu Jinzhi frowned in annoyance, turned back, rapped twice on the vehicle, and snarled with a dark expression:

"Shut up! Stop moving, or I fear I won't be able to keep my dear elder brother conscious."

As soon as he finished speaking, he yanked the car door open. Mu Jinyan, bound tightly like a zongzi inside, tumbled out, rolling awkwardly on the ground before lying there, glaring daggers at Mu Jinzhi. Mu Jinyan had long lost any trace of his usual elegance and composure. His hair was a mess, covered in dust, and his face was distorted from the tight bindings. Unlike the others whose mouths were merely taped, several thick strands of tough, rubbery cord were cinched across his mouth, deforming his otherwise handsome face and causing saliva to drool uncontrollably. He looked utterly pathetic.

Seeing Mu Jinyan in such a state, Ning Yunhuan couldn't help but suppress a smile. Was this the legendary outcome of ignoring wise counsel? She had given Mu Jinyan a warning early on, but such a fool had dismissed it. Now, harming others had led to his own ruin, mirroring his fate in her past life. She surmised that even if given multiple chances, a person like him was destined never to succeed.

"Elder brother, why are you so restless? Why must you force my hand?" Mu Jinzhi smiled, but the expression didn't reach his eyes. This strangeness lent him an unsettling aura. Mu Jinyan clearly sensed it too and struggled more violently, emitting muffled 'ooh-ooh' sounds through his nose, his body twisting like a caterpillar. But it was useless; the harder he struggled, the tighter the ropes constricted, nearly cutting into his flesh. His impeccably tailored suit now hung on him like wilted kimchi, accentuating his misery.

Mu Jinzhi was about to speak again when Tian Yuxin’s trembling voice drifted from the car: "JinZhi, JinZhi, he is your elder brother! What are you going to do to him? Why did you bring Mother here? What do you want?"

The situation was turning quite lively. Ning Yunhuan kept deliberately quiet, hoping this family drama would last long enough to buy them some time. Mu Jinzhi's expression was deeply troubled. When he heard Tian Yuxin’s voice, his eyes turned crimson—not the natural look of impending tears, but a strange, terrifying tranquility before madness. Veins bulged on the back of his hand as he reached into the car and, in moments, dragged out Tian Yuxin, who had been screaming nonstop. He threw her onto Mu Jinyan. Tian Yuxin groaned in pain from the impact, but Mu Jinzhi only sneered:

"What elder brother? Just because I was born a few years after him, I wasn't qualified to inherit anything from the Mu family. Mother, do you know how resentful I was as a child? He is so dull; how could he ever compare to me? Why did Father only intend to hand everything over to him? Why?" By the time he finished yelling, his face was contorted in a terrifying grimace, scaring Tian Yuxin into shrieks so severe she couldn't speak.

"This useless fool could make me have nothing! I am so clever and ambitious, yet I gain nothing. The eldest son? Hmph, ridiculous. Isn't he kneeling before me now, following my every command?" Mu Jinzhi laughed, "Too bad, I don't even want the Mu family anymore. I have something better now. What I seek is not just the Mu family. Don't worry, Mother, I won't kill you. I want you to wish you were dead, to regret birthing such an idiot as Mu Jinyan. Look, look who I've brought here!"

As Mu Jinzhi spoke, he pointed his fingers toward Ning Yunhuan and the others. He watched as Tian Yuxin’s face first showed surprise, then terror as if remembering something, until her teeth began to chatter audibly. Mu Jinzhi laughed even more maniacally: "Figured it out? I brought all these women here, using your name, Mother. What if I sell all of them overseas? The Li family's, the Du family's, the Zhou family's..." He named each family as he pointed, and Tian Yuxin trembled more violently. Finally, Mu Jinzhi pointed at Ning Yunhuan:

"And the wife of my grand-uncle's most prized grandson, Lanling Yan's woman—all of them sold off to be ridden by a thousand men. Mother, guess what these people will do to you when you return to Huaxia this time?"

Tian Yuxin’s body shook uncontrollably. Seeing her fear seemed to give Mu Jinzhi immense satisfaction, and he trembled with excitement.