The exquisite stage was set; the performance by ** had just begun. The female magician earned enthusiastic applause from Li Mingxu and the others with a humorous opening bit. She first displayed her empty hands, then lifted the left side of her low-cut gown to reveal a cute pasty, only to lift the right side and show nothing there.

She gasped and quickly covered herself, but then laughed, spreading her hands to show a pasty suddenly appearing in her palm. Everyone knew this was the most common type of misdirection. She had simply been wearing one on one side and not the other, discreetly applying the second one while making the demonstration movements, somehow producing a sticker and hiding it in her hand.

This was the most basic trick in magic, but paired with 's stage presence, it instantly became captivating. Wang Zhuo merely smiled and nodded. The difficulty of this trick was too low; even without his X-ray vision, he could easily see through it.

It was just like a card magician theatrically showing off their left hand to the audience while their right hand was already behind their back selecting a few cards. The audience’s attention was drawn to the magician's left hand, allowing the right hand to execute subtle maneuvers secretly. This female magician had seized the moment when the lechers were intensely staring at the glimpse of her décolletage, pulling the pasty from a fold in her gown and hiding it in her hand.

The performance continued, but Wang Zhuo’s gaze drifted, landing on a private box at one end of the corridor. Erin Thorpe and her friends were preparing to leave. What intrigued Wang Zhuo was that her presence at this ** club didn't seem to be for titillation.

Among the six people accompanying her, two were bodyguards, while the other three consisted of an assistant-like woman and two men who were frequently communicating with Erin Thorpe, occasionally jotting things down in notebooks. After taxing himself analyzing their conversation, Wang Zhuo was surprised to learn that the two men were, respectively, an assistant director and a screenwriter. Erin Thorpe was there to personally experience the atmosphere because she had landed a role in a film—a ** girl!

Having a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl play a ** girl? Wang Zhuo was speechless for a moment until Erin Thorpe and her entourage finally left ** before he came back to his senses. This was unbelievable!

If the brightest child star of the previous generation was Emma Watson, then the current one was Erin Thorpe. Both possessing deep blonde hair, standing at 1.68 meters, and born in Britain, Thorpe was more than ten years younger than Watson. Their paths to fame were almost carved from the same mold: one the protagonist of Harry Potter, the other the little princess in Magic Academy.

Both were equally beautiful, equally adorable, and equally adored worldwide. When Thorpe first debuted, the media often compared her to Watson, but Thorpe quickly proved her capability as the inheritor of "Hermione," surpassing her predecessor and earning unanimous praise from audiences, media, and industry insiders alike. Wang Zhuo wasn't entirely sure just how famous this girl was.

Hollywood’s influence spanned the globe. When a fantasy film series dominated global box offices for nearly a decade, raking in billions, it was truly a case of "Who among the populace doesn't know your name?" Because of a sudden change in his family circumstances, Wang Zhuo had altered his lifestyle and held little interest in those fairy-tale movies, so his recognition of Erin Thorpe was limited to "very famous," and he didn't understand why Zhao Yu had suddenly lost composure due to excitement. However, the immensely popular Thorpe was not having an easy time lately.

She faced an awkwardness Watson never did. Harry Potter ran for ten years, and Hermione matured gradually into adulthood, but Magic Academy had only been popular for seven years, and Thorpe had undergone a dramatic transformation; her figure was now suitable for playing a Bond girl, creating a severe disconnect with her on-screen image! Modern makeup and post-production effects could keep Watson looking youthful and young, but Thorpe was unlike Watson in that she wasn't flat-chested.

The problem was that the male lead chosen when Magic Academy began filming was a late bloomer. As a result, in the later two installments, he and Thorpe often had to avoid full-body shots during scenes together, otherwise, scenes meant to portray a delicate dependency would turn into an older-sister/younger-brother dynamic. This was why, when Thorpe first entered Wang Zhuo’s box, no one, including Wang Zhuo, expected the woman entering to be a minor girl; he had misjudged her appearance as well.

This new film was her transitional work after the marathon-like cinematic epic of Magic Academy. Furthermore, according to commercial norms, this film would not be released anytime soon so as not to affect the ongoing box office returns of Magic Academy, which explained her cautious demeanor. X-ray vision could penetrate all things and perceive the human heart, but it could not see the past or the future.

Thus, Wang Zhuo was unaware of all the stories that had unfolded around Erin Thorpe. All he knew now was that the girl was famous, looked very cute in person, and was secretly preparing a transformative work that would stun her fans. There was one more detail: she had just written a note for him.

The note was brief. Erin Thorpe described Wang Zhuo as a man "lacking grace but humorous and witty," and left behind her contact number, frankly stating she hoped to become friends. However, this number wasn't her mobile number, but for an instant messaging tool called “.” Wang Zhuo only had a QQ number and had genuinely never used such a thing before.

The magic show concluded, and the female magician unexpectedly invited her Chinese audience members to take photos with her. Zhao Yu and the others were instantly flattered. They took turns posing with the magician and later snapped a group photo.

And so, the female magician gained four new Chinese fans, and Zhao Yu and his group gained something new to brag about once they returned home. Zhao Yu was already planning to upload the photos to his blog and photo album as soon as he got back to the hotel that night, complete with a link to the magician's performance video, to flaunt his decadent lifestyle and inspire envy! The final segment was attending the song and dance revue in the main hall.

This performance resembled France’s Moulin Rouge, Lido, or Crazy Horse; the production was spectacular and vibrantly sensual, pushing the limits of sound, light, color, and nudity to the highest degree. It possessed artistry as well as eroticism, but was absolutely devoid of vulgarity, pornography, or obscenity. Even the well-traveled Wang Zhuo felt his horizons broadened by the immersive experience.

Li Mingxu and the others were utterly mesmerized, applauding until their hands ached without realizing it. This night was destined to be unforgettable for Li Mingxu and the others. The visit to ** alone was enough to make their trip to Britain worthwhile.

Li Mingxu was deeply grateful to the colleague who had advised him to get a new pair of glasses before leaving. A good craftsman must first sharpen his tools; if he hadn't grit his teeth and paid for those expensive glasses, how could he have enjoyed the decadence and surreal glamour of capitalism? Upon returning to the hotel, the group’s excitement hadn't subsided.

Zhou Jiyuan couldn't help but ask Wang Zhuo, "Wang Zhuo, you’ve been to the Red House in Jiangzhou, haven't you? How does it compare to this place?" Wang Zhuo grinned, held up his right hand showing the number six, then pointed his left index finger upward toward his right thumb, and finally pointed to his flat left pinky finger: "This one is **, and this one is the Red House." A world of difference! This assessment was powerful and fair.

The Red House catered to pornography, which was already top-tier domestically, but in developed countries, pornography had evolved into erotica, transformed into art—pleasing to the eye without generating sordid thoughts. The gap in artistic elevation was a chasm! Thus, the critique of capitalism commenced.

Whether these men were just arguing for the sake of it or were genuinely bitter, Wang Zhuo couldn't tell. Judging by their fervor, the discussion session was likely to last a long time. Wang Zhuo bade them a cheerful farewell and headed back to his room alone.

Midnight in Britain was still afternoon in China. After returning to his room, Wang Zhuo connected his phone to the hotel’s Wi-Fi and used QQ to inquire about safe usage precautions for ** from Siyuan, who was currently online. With his current computer skills, downloading and using ** from the internet presented no obstacle, but he needed to consult Siyuan, the little expert, on how to ensure information security while using it.

"Already made foreign friends over there so quickly? Male or female?" Siyuan asked while sending a small plug-in program: "Install this on your phone. Your QQ can then be used for **—but only the most common functions.

Related applications can’t be added." "That’s enough," Wang Zhuo replied cheerfully. "I'm not stealing crops, let alone trading friends or stealing parking spots." He closed QQ, installed the plug-in, and upon reopening, indeed, a PSN option had appeared under the Friends, Groups, and Weibo tabs. Wang Zhuo began registering for a ** account following the prompts.

Seeing Siyuan send a cute emoticon to act cute, Wang Zhuo chuckled and casually sent her the snapshot he had taken of Erin Thorpe. "She looks a bit familiar; is she a celebrity? What about the guy next to her in the black suit?

He looks pretty cool," Siyuan replied, clearly sitting at her computer, typing rapidly. While chatting with her, Wang Zhuo secured his ** account. In the verification step for adding Erin Thorpe as a friend, he wrote "Mr.

Lacking Grace," but there was no response for a long time. It seemed she wasn't online. Wang Zhuo didn't pay it much mind.

He kept Siyuan in suspense by not telling her who the person in the photo was. When he got sleepy from chatting, he said goodnight and logged off to sleep. The next day, a thick fog enveloped London, allowing Wang Zhuo’s group of five tourists to experience the city’s famed mist.

The spire-topped churches along the banks of the Thames were shrouded, leaving only some phantom structures; the occasional blast of a ship's horn sounded across the vast river surface, yet the vessel’s outline remained obscured. That day, everyone sampled typical British cuisine and visited St. Paul's Cathedral and the Houses of Parliament, finally engaging in a more conventional tourist itinerary.

However, it was rumored that a significant portion of tourists from China visited **, and among them, a considerable number requested receipts for reimbursement upon returning home. In that light, Wang Zhuo’s group watching the adult performance right after arriving in London wasn't particularly unusual; it wasn't illegal, after all. Early on the third morning, Major Haidiger paid a visit.

Today was the day to view the ship, and the level of hospitality was elevated once more. Commander Churchill—oh wait, Lieutenant Colonel Churchill—invited the guests from China to join him for breakfast and travel together to the open sea to behold the majesty of the Royal Princess!