Chapter 209

Chapter 209

The cage was spacious, not restricting Chen Zui's movement at all. He lay there elegantly, studying it from the inside—this was his first time seeing a cage from such a perspective.

This cage isn't half bad.

He could get one to lock Kuang Ye inside.

Some imprisonment play.

The door swung open, and two staff members walked in. They jumped when they met Chen Zui's gaze, hesitating and not daring to approach immediately. They muttered among themselves, "How come it's awake?"

"Who cares? It can't escape anyway."

Emboldened by this, they stepped closer and began decorating the base of Chen Zui's cage. One of them even added, "It wasn't us who caught you. If you want to bite someone, don't bite us."

Chen Zui lazily blinked his eyes. Watching them place roses, crystals, and shiny gold decorations all around, it suddenly occurred to him that he had now become a "gilded leopard."

The corner of his mouth quirked up slightly.

He observed the bright roses being inserted into the green foam base, thinking that roses didn't belong there. Such beautiful roses should be stuck in the wolf cub's—

Now that would be a sight.

"Achoo—"

Kuang Ye sneezed. Ao Tian, tucked in his pocket, peeked out with two eyes and glanced up at him. "You getting sick?"

Kuang Ye shook his head. "Once means someone's missing you. If someone's thinking of me, it must be Chen Zui."

Ao Tian's sharp critique: Lovesick idiot.

He ducked back down into the pocket to avoid being spotted.

As the lights dimmed, the night's auction officially began. Having been wealthy in several small worlds, Kuang Ye had been to plenty of auctions. He watched as the items were brought up on stage, though he couldn't help but feel that the auction items in these worlds didn't compare to those in the cultivation world. Back when he was Wang Qianjiao, the treasures auctioned off were the real deal.

It really was more interesting to wrap things up and head back to the cultivation world after all this.

I wonder how things are going with Chen Zui?

Chen Zui, meanwhile, was getting fed.

The black leopard looked down at the piece of raw meat. Even when he was a leopard in the beastman world, he had never eaten anything this rough.

Actually, he had eaten raw meat before—back when he was a child. Starving, desperate, and out of his mind with hunger, he had snatched a piece of meat from a stall and fled, shoving it into his mouth as he ran, with the stall owner chasing after him with a knife.

He bit into the raw meat, chewing as hard as he could, but in the end, he couldn't swallow it. He collapsed to the ground, crying while he spit out the rotten flesh.

The stall owner caught up to him and gave him a beating.

The taste of raw meat, for him—wasn't that it tasted bad; it was about hardship.

He closed his eyes.

"It doesn't seem to want to eat."

"If it won't eat, it won't eat. It's tough enough to miss one meal without starving. Once it's sold, it's not our problem anymore."

The plate of raw meat was taken away.

—

Yue Jingcheng raised the wine glass to his lips, swallowing the blood-red wine. He had already chosen the gift for Ji Yun from what the staff described earlier.

The last item up for auction.

The main event tonight.

A heart-shaped gemstone necklace.

His finger traced the crimson gem on the catalog. This represented his heart—he would give his heart to Ji Yun, to lie with him in death, to accompany him forever and always.

"Don't worry."

"No one will ever replace you by my side again."

He whispered softly, his tone filled with endless regret.

Meanwhile, in another world where he was observing his mission target, Ji Yun received a message from 007: "Your mission in the previous world has been ruled half-successful."

Ji Yun was surprised. "What does that mean?"

007: "Yue Jingcheng has fallen in love with you, but since you never slept together, it only counts as half-success."

Ji Yun wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him or if he had lost his mind. "Who fell in love with whom?"

007: "Yue Jingcheng fell in love with you."

Ji Yun: "He's crazy."

007 remained silent.

Ji Yun found it absurd. He'd kissed up to Yue Jingcheng for so long, yet the man had never given him a kind word. Even his last words to Ji Yun before his death were insults, calling him useless. Now, in that world, he was stone cold dead.

And Yue Jingcheng had fallen in love with him?

What?

Did he have a necrophilia fetish? Or some kind of aversion to living people?

Unbelievable.

007: "The mission in this world hasn't officially started yet. We can still go back and complete the remaining tasks. It'll go smoothly this time."

"I'm not going back!"

Ji Yun refused without a second thought. Just looking at that face made him uncomfortable. He wouldn't go back. Besides, Chen Zui and the others were still in that world. That guy was too cunning—who would have thought there were traps in the house?

With him around, Ji Yun wouldn't even see it coming.

His eyes gradually lit up. "That's right, I won't go back. He's in love with me, but I'm dead now. He must be suffering, full of regret. I won't go back. I want him to suffer forever!"

Just the thought of it made him grin.

Seeing this, 007 didn't push further. Perhaps it was for the best if he didn't return. That way, he wouldn't have to interact with Chen Zui again, avoiding the risk of Ji Yun defecting from the Transmigration Bureau after a few more encounters.

Otherwise, 007 would have to bear significant responsibility.

Chen Zui watched the group of people coming in. Many of them were seeing him for the first time and exclaimed, "Wow, this big panther is so majestic!"

"Whoa, you know, if I had money, I’d want to keep one too. How badass would that be to have one by my side!"

"Stop daydreaming, hurry up and get it onto the stage."

They maneuvered a cart with a platform, pushing Chen Zui toward the auction stage. The stage was currently covered by a red curtain, and the auctioneer filled the time with witty remarks, briefly introducing the next lot to pique everyone’s interest.

Chen Zui was set down on the platform, and the staff fussed with the decorations before leaving.

Before stepping off the stage, one of them exchanged a meaningful look with the auctioneer.

The auctioneer said, "No description can do it justice compared to seeing it with your own eyes. Let’s now pull back the curtain and see the real deal."

He raised his hand.

The curtain slowly opened, the surrounding lights dimmed, and the only light source, a spotlight, shone from the front onto the lot behind the curtain. Amidst the vibrant roses and lavish decorations, inside a golden cage was a jet-black panther. It lay there like a sovereign, its ice-blue eyes reflecting the purity and ruthlessness of a wild beast.

Kuang Ye’s eyes lit up. His Chen Zui was so damn handsome!

This was the first time he had seen Chen Zui caged. Honestly, they had never tried real "confinement play" before.

He was totally into it.

Kuang Ye took a deep breath to suppress his distracting thoughts and looked up at the VIP room upstairs.

Yue Jingcheng glanced at Chen Zui, a flash of awe in his eyes. This panther truly looked like a panther, through and through. The black panther, seemingly disturbed by the environment, slowly stood up, its massive frame and fierce aura becoming even more pronounced.

Yue Jingcheng withdrew his gaze. He preferred taming dogs, not dealing with real wild beasts.

The auction officially began, and the enthusiasm was high. The bidding price soared. Ao Tian peeked out again, showing half its head, looking at Chen Zui on the stage, and asked curiously, "If I were on that stage, how much do you think I’d sell for?"

Kuang Ye glanced at Ao Tian’s baby octopus body. Probably like a buck?

But of course, he wouldn’t say that. After all these days, he had learned a thing or two from Chen Zui: "You’re priceless, of course."

Ao Tian’s little mouth curled upward, totally eating it up.

So far, Yue Jingcheng had not made a bid. Although Kuang Ye didn’t know which VIP room he was in, thanks to Ao Tian, they knew that VIP Room 01 was Yue Jingcheng's.

Just as Chen Zui was about to be sold for 3.5 million, and the auctioneer had already rapped the gavel twice—

Chen Zui spoke. He said just two words: "Ji Yun."

These two words clearly reached everyone’s ears, making the auctioneer freeze mid-swing, forgetting to strike the gavel a third time. The crowd in front of the auction stage stared in disbelief, wondering if they'd heard right.

"Did that panther just speak?"

"Hey! Is Jiuding pulling some stunt? This is fraud!"

"What did it say? Ji who?"

Everyone chattered among themselves. In the VIP room, Yue Jingcheng shot to his feet, knocking over a glass of wine, which spilled everywhere. He hurried to the floor-to-ceiling window and stared at the panther on the stage.

Ji Yun.

It had just said Ji Yun!

"Ten million!"

The auctioneer looked toward Yue Jingcheng’s VIP room, pulled himself together, and proceeded with the normal process. Once a lot was up for auction, it couldn’t be withdrawn—that would be reputation suicide.

As for what had just happened, he chose not to address it. After all, few would believe a panther could talk. Most would assume it was a trick by Jiuding. But he couldn’t be sure the panther wouldn’t speak again, so he couldn’t write it off as a gag either, lest it backfire.

His priority now was to finalize the bid quickly and move on to the next lot, letting the incident fade.

If it were an ordinary panther, ten million would already be a sky-high price. But since it had spoken, some believed it truly had and were eager to bid.

Chen Zui's group stayed cool. According to the setup, Yue Jingcheng was the richest guy in the place, and now that Chen Zui had mentioned Ji Yun—whose defensive abilities could protect Yue Jingcheng from bullets and explosions unscathed—they felt sure.

Yue Jingcheng was often a target for hits, and it was known that a group was out to kill him.

Chen Zui and the others believed Yue Jingcheng would be tempted. Even if not for practical reasons, his curiosity alone would drive him to buy the panther that had uttered Ji Yun’s name.

The panther was finally sold to VIP 01 for 13 million.

As the curtain slowly closed, Chen Zui shot a look at Kuang Ye, who stood in the shadows of the aisle, before leaving the stage.

He gave a wink.

Kuang Ye felt as if he'd been hit by Cupid's arrow.

He turned and slipped off without a sound.

—

Yue Jingcheng hurried backstage, looking worked up as he stared at the panther in the cage.

He opened his mouth to speak but bit back his questions.

Too many ears around, and there were surveillance cameras.

The panther quietly watched him, less like a beast and more like a person.

In that moment, Yue Jingcheng’s eyes got red. He wondered if it could be him.

Could Ji Yun’s soul have entered this panther?

It wasn't crazy to think so, given Ji Yun’s weird defensive powers.

Yue Jingcheng ordered, "Get it loaded up."

Turning to the door, he added, "Be careful. Don't let a scratch on it."

Then he left.

Chen Zui looked away, amused. Did Yue Jingcheng mistake him for Ji Yun’s return?

Judging by Yue Jingcheng’s reaction, had he only realized his love for Ji Yun too late?

Chen Zui scoffed at the idea. What adult is that clueless about his own feelings? Especially since Ji Yun had been by his side for so long.

It wasn’t a lack of understanding but indifference—a belief that the other would never leave, no matter what.

In his opinion, those who only realize their feelings after the other is gone are merely just being dramatic.

He tapped a big paw.

Don’t worry, we'll end your misery soon.