Ning Yunhuan’s eyelids drooped; her limbs felt icy even as she stood there, but fear was useless. She knew panic would only cloud her reason and composure, so she forced herself to remain still, pretending she hadn't heard Mu Jinzhi’s words.

"You—are you insane?" Tian Yuxin shivered violently, struggling to form coherent words. Tears were welling up, and a trickle of mucus escaped her nose, though she seemed oblivious. This notorious socialite of the Huaxia Imperial Capital had completely abandoned all pretense of decorum at this moment. "Are you out of your mind? Jinzhi, I am your mother! What has happened to you? What have I ever done to you that you would treat me like this?"

A faint smile played on Mu Jinzhi’s lips as he watched Tian Yuxin’s frantic outburst, as if observing some highly amusing scene. He remained silent.

"Why? Why? Why?" Tian Yuxin demanded the question several times. Mu Jinzhi reacted as if he’d heard the funniest joke imaginable, his shoulders shaking with a near-hysterical laugh. "Why? My own mother, you ask me why?" He threw his hands out with exaggerated drama, his shoulders hunching, then his expression instantly contorted into one of impatience, becoming menacingly fierce. "There aren't so many whys! I just like it, I’m happy. At least I’ve spared your life. Mother, you should be grateful. I won't kill Big Brother either. Aren't you both overjoyed?"

With that, Mu Jinzhi threw his head back and laughed again.

In the past, Ning Yunhuan had seen his aura as overwhelmingly arrogant and captivating, but now, perhaps because his state of mind had shifted after his rebirth, or perhaps due to her new understanding of him, she no longer perceived Mu Jinzhi as merely feigning madness. It was now plausible that the real Mu Jinzhi had been masking his true self for years. Even if he believed he was merely pretending, having done so for nearly two decades likely left his psyche profoundly damaged. He seemed less like a calculating, patient schemer and more like someone who had genuinely gone mad from years of pretense.

"Get away from me. Speak one more word, and I'll have your limbs broken. I only want you alive to witness my success. As for how you and Big Brother manage to live, I truly don't care." Having delivered this ultimatum, Mu Jinzhi finally turned his gaze toward Ning Yunhuan and the others. His eyes, dark and shadowed with a degree of mania, appeared profoundly dangerous. Just as everyone felt the hair stand up on their arms, a phone inside Mu Jinzhi’s car suddenly began to ring.

Since Mu Jinzhi had dragged Mu Jinyan and Tian Yuxin out, the car door had been left ajar, and the sound carried clearly. Mu Jinzhi’s gaze sharpened. He leaned in, retrieved the phone, answered it, and held it to his ear.

"They’ve arrived. Just arrived..." After a pause, he continued, "She’s inside too. Sending her over now? No need to be polite. A successful collaboration—it’s just a matter of getting what we both need."

As tension tightened around Ning Yunhuan and the others’ hearts, Mu Jinzhi abruptly ended the call. He smiled at Ning Yunhuan and the group, his eyes sweeping over each girl in turn, sending involuntary shivers across their skin.

"Let’s go, girls. The main feast awaits us." With a wave of his hand, the hulking men holding guns herded them forward, driving the group of young women like cattle toward a large truck.

"Huanhuan, are we going to be alright?" Once the reality of being sold sank in, fear became inescapable. The more noble their family origins, the more they valued female chastity. For these established clans, a daughter’s virginity was the most precious dowry for any marital alliance; no one dismissed the value of that membrane, especially considering that being sold into involuntary captivity and subjected to abuse was perhaps the most devastating violation a woman could endure.

"We'll be fine," Ning Yunhuan said, though uncertainty gnawed at her. The truck rumbled along the island road. Beautiful scenery flashed past, and beyond the iron railings, one could glimpse the surrounding sea, but the island itself was crisscrossed with heavy chain-link fences—it looked less like a resort and more like a munitions depot.

The vehicle soon stopped before a villa. Surveillance cameras were mounted everywhere. Ning Yunhuan noticed that the flowers being cultivated around the property were all poppies. Her heart sank. Several men in neat black suits were already waiting in front of the villa. The leader, clad in a silk shirt and tailored trousers that emphasized the sharp lines of his long legs and defined hips, stood prominently.

The moment Ning Yunhuan saw this man, her face instantly changed color. Beside her, Li Panpan’s eyes widened in terror, and she whispered in a small voice, "Dongfang Aoshi? What is he doing here?" Li Panpan nearly screamed. After her previous kidnapping by Dongfang Aoshi, she had suffered night terrors for months, only managing a fragile recovery through therapy after half a year. She could not believe she was now facing that nightmare figure again.

Recalling what she had done to this man last time, Ning Yunhuan felt an overwhelming urge to tear at her own hair. If she fell into Dongfang Aoshi's hands now, he would surely never let her go. Despite her usual composure, Ning Yunhuan began to tremble uncontrollably. Dongfang Aoshi seemed to have a petite figure leaning intimately against him; this person was currently turning to speak to someone behind them, long hair cascading down to conceal half of their profile. Ning Yunhuan couldn't see clearly, but she had no time to dwell on it.

The lead car suddenly braked. Mu Jinzhi jumped out and gestured toward the back, "The merchandise is here. You can inspect it, but we agreed beforehand—you would deliver a shipment of military arms to me."

Dongfang Aoshi ignored Mu Jinzhi’s words. He narrowed his long, slender peach-blossom eyes, and his gaze quickly settled on Ning Yunhuan. His eyes narrowed further, revealing a vicious smile. Mu Jinzhi’s expression darkened, just as someone behind Dongfang Aoshi drew a pistol and pressed the muzzle against Mu Jinzhi’s forehead. Mu Jinzhi’s face turned ashen. "You mean to renege on the deal?" He himself was no saint, and though he possessed cunning and patience, his foundation was shallow. After years of pretending ignorance, he had managed to amass some hidden forces, but during the abduction of Ning Yunhuan, he had already lost several key confidants. Furthermore, he had failed to smoothly incorporate the Mu family assets as planned. Consequently, the resources currently available to him were scarce. Even knowing Dongfang Aoshi was not a reliable partner, he couldn't resist taking the slim chance offered.

Although, as the novel's protagonist, Mu Jinzhi possessed every advantage in terms of timing and opportunity, he was still a man, not a god. At best, things could proceed smoothly, but wealth and power wouldn't simply materialize by him exuding kingly charisma. His weak foundation meant that even if Mu Jinzhi believed he was in no way inferior to Dongfang Aoshi, they were not starting from the same line. He knew then that he had been trapped by Dongfang Aoshi.

"Negotiate with me? What gives you the right? If I want to give it, I will; if I don't, then shut your mouth!" Dongfang Aoshi took the pistol passed to him by his subordinate and tapped it lightly against Mu Jinzhi’s head. Seeing the barely contained rage flicker in Mu Jinzhi’s eyes, he let out a cold laugh. "Stare at me? I’ve claimed this island. I’m taking over."

"Young Master Dongfang, our initial agreement was not supposed to be this way," Mu Jinzhi hadn't expected Dongfang Aoshi to turn on him and resort to double-crossing so swiftly. Rage flooded him, causing his eyes to become bloodshot, his expression terrifyingly strained. "I have completed the task you required. Young Master Dongfang surely wouldn't want to tarnish the reputation of your Dragon Alliance, would you?"

Dongfang Aoshi couldn't help but laugh at this. "Mu Jinzhi, are you joking with me? Do you truly believe you will walk off this island? The reputation of our Dragon Alliance will remain pristine. You, Mu Jinzhi, should worry about yourself more. After kidnapping so many women, even if I let you go—without the protection of the Mu family and without your pathetic ragtag bunch of thugs—what do you think you’ll have left?"

"What have you done to the people on this island?" Mu Jinzhi had planned for years, aiming one day to stand openly at the pinnacle of Huaxia's power. Seeing his entire setup dismantled so easily by Dongfang Aoshi enraged and shocked him. "Dongfang Aoshi, what is the meaning of this?"

"Mu Jinzhi, if you were still the Second Young Master of the Mu family, I might consider the ramifications of taking such action. But now, you are nothing. You have alienated so many people in Huaxia. After I deal with this batch of women, I will naturally deliver your corpse back to Huaxia. I trust the majority of people will thank me profusely. I must thank you for your cooperation." Dongfang Aoshi finished speaking, laughed, lightly kissed his right index and middle fingers together, and then blew a small kiss toward Mu Jinzhi. As he did so, the gun pressed against Mu Jinzhi’s head vibrated, followed by a faint, soft thwack. Mu Jinzhi stared with wide, unwilling eyes as he crumpled down.

"A cast-off from the Mu family dares to negotiate terms with me? Overestimating yourself. That old man of yours was smart this time; he dug a different pit to plant his carrot. A failure like you isn't even worth dirtying my hands on, what a waste of my decent clothes." Dongfang Aoshi shook his trousers, which now bore a faint smear of blood, and clapped his hands. "Alright, it’s your turn now." He beckoned to the armed men. "Get them closer."

Mu Jinzhi had always assumed these thugs were his own men, believing Dongfang Aoshi couldn't possibly act so decisively against him. He never expected that the men he thought were loyal would betray him so easily. As Dongfang Aoshi gave the order, the thugs nodded respectfully. Ning Yunhuan realized evasion was impossible. She looked at Dongfang Aoshi, whose demeanor had shifted from the long-haired figure of before, and a chilling sweat broke out down her spine.