Chapter 73

Chapter 73

The heavy fighter didn't linger near the Pandora's Night auction site. Instead, it set down in a relatively flat, hidden valley on the far side of the wasteland—Obsidian's temporary command center.

The hatch hissed open, and a chill night wind rushed in.

Wen Yanxu stepped out first, then reached a hand back toward the cabin. It was the same gesture—and for a moment, Wen Jueqian almost saw the old Wen Yanxu. He hesitated for a few seconds before placing his hand in Wen Yanxu's palm and letting himself be helped down.

An Obsidian squad leader had been waiting outside even before the fighter touched down, clearly with urgent news. The moment they landed, he hurried over.

He stopped a few paces away and reported in a low voice: "Commander, the preliminary battle report is in. Our side: twenty-seven minor injuries, eight serious, zero fatalities. Enemy combatants: sixty-three confirmed dead, thirty-nine captured. We've detained eighty-seven auction guests and staff total, fifty-six of whom have been identified. Fifteen victims in all—all sedated and under the medical team's care."

He paused, then asked for instructions: "How should we handle the guests? Some are getting restless—especially the ones with powerful connections. They're protesting, claiming we have no right to hold them, and demanding immediate contact with the federal courts or their families."

These people all had serious pull behind the scenes. If they got into the federal system, they could probably use their connections to post bail or even get the charges dropped entirely.

They might even turn around and sue Obsidian for unlawful detention.

But now they were in the hands of this mysterious, formidable private army, with no idea what came next—so of course they were terrified and desperate to get back to a system where they had the upper hand.

Wen Yanxu didn't answer right away. After a moment, he said, "No transfer for now."

"Move them outside federal territory. Under the pretext of a cross-federation human trafficking crackdown, put all captives in isolation, interrogate them, and squeeze out every last piece of information they have."

"Yes, sir." The Obsidian squad leader didn't question the order and left at once.

By the time all the loose ends were tied up, the two of them returned to Yinmian City on the exact day Wen Jueqian's fake business trip was supposed to end.

Over those two days, Wen Yanxu had only asked him once—on the fighter that day—why he'd shown up at the auction and how he'd known the Creator's location.

When Wen Jueqian gave him a vague, evasive answer, Wen Yanxu didn't push further—contrary to what Wen Jueqian had expected.

That uncharacteristic silence only made Wen Jueqian more uneasy.

He couldn't help glancing sideways at Wen Yanxu, who was staring at his optical device with a blank expression, absorbed in something.

As if sensing his gaze, Wen Yanxu suddenly looked over at him.

Wen Jueqian's heart lurched. He instinctively looked away, then realized that only made him look guiltier. He forced himself to turn back and meet Wen Yanxu's gaze, trying to look natural.

The other man didn't seem to notice his inner turmoil. He just asked, "What's wrong? Does your wound hurt?"

Wen Jueqian shook his head. His injuries had been superficial to begin with, and Wen Yanxu had given him the best medicine available—they'd healed long ago, leaving only faint marks.

Silence fell over the airship again. The two sat facing each other, and it was Wen Jueqian who cracked first.

He spoke up on his own: "That day, I said I'd explain later how I knew about Pandora's Night and the Creator's location."

Wen Yanxu waited in silence for him to go on.

Wen Jueqian's fingers curled unconsciously. "Can that 'later' wait a little longer?" He tried to sound sincere. "I promise I'll tell you. Just... not right now."

Wen Jueqian couldn't tell the truth outright, and any lie he came up with would probably fall apart in front of Wen Yanxu. The only solution he could think of was to stall—to buy time until they found a safe way to be completely honest with each other.

Wen Yanxu looked at him for a long moment without saying a word.

Wen Jueqian's heart clenched. Given how controlling Wen Yanxu was, would he really agree not to push, knowing Wen Jueqian was hiding something—especially something dangerous—and just wait for him to confess?

Just as Wen Jueqian was about to crack under the silence and say something else, Wen Yanxu finally spoke.

Wen Yanxu said, "Fine."

Wen Jueqian froze, sure he'd misheard. "Huh?"

"I can wait for you to tell me on your own," Wen Yanxu repeated, his tone unreadable. Then he added, "But there's one condition: whatever you're hiding can't put you in danger. If I find out that what you're hiding is putting you at risk, I'll get to the bottom of it my own way."

He paused, his gaze locking onto Wen Jueqian. "Whether you like it or not, I'll make sure you're safe."

Even after they got back to Jing'an Residence, Wen Jueqian was still in a daze—Wen Yanxu had actually let it go that easily.

The Resonance Young Entrepreneurs Annual Summit was one of the Nova Federation's flagship innovation events, and its influence reached far beyond the tech world.

The guest list was stacked: young entrepreneurs, industry heavyweights, cultural celebrities, and scions of major families. This year's theme was "Reconstructing Real-World Connections," shining a spotlight on the increasingly blurry line between the virtual and the real in the holographic age.

Wen Jueqian was one of the invited young entrepreneurs.

Since the venue was several states away from Yinsong Prefecture, Wen Yanxu offered to send his private airship to take him there.

Wen Jueqian tried to decline, making excuses like "the company has its own arrangements" and "I don't want to be special."

Wen Yanxu said flatly, "Go on your own? Are you sure you're actually going to the summit?"

His tone was calm, but it made Wen Jueqian's words die in his throat. He remembered the last time he'd used a business trip as an excuse—and ended up at Pandora's Night instead.

Wen Yanxu's words were clearly loaded with meaning.

With nothing to say for himself, Wen Jueqian could only obediently accept.

The first day of the summit was packed.

Wen Jueqian attended on behalf of Lingjing Era, joining CEO Qi Yi for several discussions.

The venue was the New Bay International Convention Center in Cangguo City.

Qi Yi nudged Wen Jueqian's arm and tilted his chin toward someone nearby.

"See that guy with the glasses over there?" Qi Yi lowered his voice, letting his gaze drift over casually. "He's the head of strategic investments at Huanying—Luo Hanfeng. Also one of our potential investors."

Wen Jueqian followed Qi Yi's gaze. The man was in his early thirties, slender, with gold-rimmed glasses and eyes lowered as if lost in thought.

His quiet, composed demeanor gave off a trustworthy steadiness—the kind of calm authority that came purely from ability, the mark of a Beta who didn't rely on any pheromone advantage.

As if sensing Wen Jueqian's gaze, Luo Hanfeng looked up, his eyes cutting through the crowd to land on him.

He gave Wen Jueqian a slight, easy nod, then walked straight over.

Luo Hanfeng stopped in front of them and held out a minimalist business card. "Huanying. Luo Hanfeng."

Wen Jueqian took the card, his gaze settling on the name.

Luo Hanfeng.

A Beta with a fate just as unfortunate as his own.

In the "future" storyline System 99 had fed him, Luo Hanfeng wasn't even a real villain—more of a plot device who suppressed the protagonist out of love for his younger brother.

In that storyline, Qiao Yuexun's career took off after landing the Aegis 7th-Gen Inhibitor endorsement, and he gained a huge following with *Postcards from Afar*. Soon after, he got an offer for the male lead in an S+-tier holographic series. But that role had originally been earmarked internally for Luo Hanyu—the Luo family's beloved youngest son, an Omega actor.

With the role snatched from him, the proud Luo Hanyu naturally came to see Qiao Yuexun as a thorn in his side.

After that, open and covert harassment never stopped, yet Qiao Yuexun kept enduring it, even smiling in front of the cameras and calling her "a senior worth learning from."

As the elder brother, Luo Hanfeng naturally sided with his younger brother.

He used his family's resources and connections to suppress Qiao Yuexun again and again.

However, after several rounds of confrontation, Luo Hanyu's scandals were gradually dug up, the public mocked his acting, and the backlash eventually made it impossible for him to stay in the entertainment industry. His family arranged a marriage alliance for him, and he slowly disappeared from the public eye.

Luo Hanfeng, too, was stripped of his core duties and shuffled off to a marginal business by the family for abusing his power and making one bad decision after another.

In that "future," Luo Hanyu fell from the top while Qiao Yuexun climbed from the bottom—they were complete opposites.

Luo Hanfeng's downfall was a classic example of what happens when you go against Qiao Yuexun.

They seemed to exist only to highlight Qiao Yuexun's kindness and resilience, as well as Wen Yanxu's protection and affection for Qiao Yuexun.

Wen Jueqian pulled his thoughts back, tucked the business card away, and kept his face neutral.

"President Luo, I've heard a lot about you." Qi Yi, standing nearby, stepped forward with a smile and offered his hand. "I'm Qi Yi, CEO of Lingjing Era. This is our founder and chief producer, Wen Jueqian. President Luo, are you into holographic gaming too?"

"President Qi, President Wen, nice to meet you." Luo Hanfeng shook Qi Yi's hand, then nodded at Wen Jueqian. "Huanying has been keeping tabs on the latest tech. Lingjing Era's *Floating Life Realm* is one of the most phenomenal products we've seen in years—the tech and the concepts are way ahead of the curve."

Wen Jueqian spoke up: "President Luo, you flatter us. *Floating Life Realm* is still being iterated on; we've got a long way to go."

"We should talk more when we get the chance." Luo Hanfeng's tone was sincere. "I'm very interested in the content of *Floating Life Realm*. In today's holographic gaming scene, it's a breath of fresh air."

The three chatted briefly about things like where holographic tech is headed.

Luo Hanfeng didn't say much, but when he did, he hit the nail on the head.

This was nothing like the "future" Luo Hanfeng, who seemed clueless and always jumped to defend his brother.

Wen Jueqian made a mental note of this.

Lunch was a buffet, held at the panoramic restaurant on the top floor of the convention center.

Qi Yi was pulled aside by an acquaintance to talk business, gesturing to Wen Jueqian before leaving that he'd be back soon.

Wen Jueqian grabbed some food and found a quiet spot by the window.

He'd barely sat down when Meng Linwan walked over with his tray and plopped down across from him uninvited.

"Jueqian, dining alone?" Meng Linwan said with a smile, feigning friendliness.

Wen Jueqian looked up at him, his gaze cold. "Young Master Meng, is there something?"

"Can't I just chat with you if there's nothing?" Meng Linwan's eyes lingered on Wen Jueqian's face with a hint of amusement. "Brother Yanxu is really at ease, letting such a handsome fiancé come to an occasion like this alone?"

The comment was almost flirty, dripping with the condescension an Alpha has for a Beta.

Wen Jueqian set down his fork, the small clatter giving away his annoyance.

He looked Meng Linwan dead in the eye and said flatly, "Young Master Meng, if all you've got is boring crap like this, then help yourself and leave me to my meal."

A flash of malice flickered in Meng Linwan's eyes, but it was quickly masked by a smile.

"Just joking—don't get upset, Jueqian." He shrugged and switched topics. "Speaking of which, you're joining the roundtable discussion this afternoon, right? I can't wait to hear what you have to say, Jueqian. Back in school, you always had so much to say in group discussions."

Wen Jueqian didn't answer, just picked up his fork again to make it clear the conversation was over.

Meng Linwan didn't care at all. He took his sweet time finishing his plate, stared at Wen Jueqian a bit longer, then got up and left.

In the end, Wen Jueqian didn't even get to enjoy his lunch.

==========Author's Note:==========

The domineering dragon heir is back.

Who's the one who's whipped?