Inside the cramped bathroom, white mist rose.
Jiang Luo quickly finished his shower, but still hadn’t touched that area. When he finally had no choice, he took a deep breath and bent down with one hand on the wall.
It was an incredibly shameful act.
Jiang Luo figured he was at least an adult who had slept with someone before—he shouldn’t be damaging his body over something this humiliating. He tried to keep calm, expressionless, as he cleaned himself.
In the thick fog, steam swirled, half concealing, half revealing.
The cold wind dispersed a bit of the white mist, revealing the youth’s slightly bent back.
The young man’s figure was slender and beautiful, his lines smooth and powerful—like a big cat ready to pounce. His black hair was wet and clinging to his shoulders in strands, like wild, mysterious vines climbing through the forest.
Then, the youth let out a low muffled groan, cheeks flushed red—yet he was doing something utterly embarrassing.
Jiang Luo just wanted to get it over with quickly, but suddenly his movement paused.
He slowly turned his head, his gaze sweeping the bathroom from the corner of his eyes.
He seemed to sense that same uncomfortable gaze again. But through the foggy air, he couldn’t spot anything unusual. Narrowing his eyes, he wondered if something had snuck in—but remembering the Yin Tiger at the door, he relaxed again.
With the tiger there, it was safe.
Jiang Luo turned around and adjusted the hot water to a higher temperature. The steam instantly thickened. Just in case, he braced himself against the wall again and deliberately chuckled, casually saying: “An enemy wouldn’t peep at another enemy taking a shower, right?”
“Or has someone turned into a dog, following me everywhere just because we shared a bed once?”
The black-haired youth laughed lazily.
After that, he paused, waiting.
But nothing unusual happened.
Satisfied, Jiang Luo nodded and continued his shower.
***
On the ship, a certain room was under tight security.
Outside the door stood well-armed police. Inside, there were only four walls. The walls had been reinforced, and there were no windows—not even a single fly could get in.
Inside the room, Lisa sat on a chair, swinging her legs in boredom.
Suddenly, her swinging stopped, and she shouted loudly at the iron door, “Hey! Someone just came in!”
Despite her shouting, the people outside seemed not to hear. Lisa jumped up from her chair in frustration. “These humans are really useless.”
From the gap between the wall and floor, black mist began to seep in. It crawled from the corner up the walls and quickly spread to the ceiling, snuffing out the last bit of light—forming a cage of darkness.
Realizing she couldn’t get help in time, Lisa let out a heavy sigh and obediently returned to her seat.
A man emerged from the black mist.
The sound of leather shoes struck the floor—footsteps laced with something eerie. His suit pants were impeccably tailored, the fabric of obvious high quality.
Ruby-red cufflinks sparkled. This man—clearly not human—came fully into view, a relaxed, almost cheerful smile playing at his lips, as if attending some grand and splendid invitation.
The instant he appeared, every hair on Lisa’s body stood on end. Her sense of danger surged to an all-time high. She darted from the chair to a cabinet in the corner, peeked her head out, and asked, “Who are you?”
The man strolled slowly to the chair and sat down. His long legs crossed, arms resting on the armrests, fingers interlaced. The oversized chair looked pitifully plain beneath him. He said, “Me? Haven’t you already figured it out?”
Lisa frowned and stepped out from behind the cabinet. “So the one targeting me on the ship… was you.”
Back on the Angonise, Lisa had already sensed someone watching her. The presence was too powerful, too well-hidden, and clearly harbored ill intent. That was why she’d rushed to disembark and executed her plan early.
While arranging for someone to protect her off the ship, she noticed something wrong with the first mate. Lisa was certain—the person inside the first mate’s body was the one after her. And the reason she’d later set her sights on Jiang Luo was because she saw him suppress that same first mate during the ball.
If this human could subdue such a terrifying unknown entity, surely he could also protect her from being found.
She just hadn’t expected Jiang Luo to be so hard to manipulate.
Thinking of all this frustrated her. Lisa mustered her courage and asked, “What do you want?”
The man’s smile lifted slightly. Shadows played along the bridge of his nose; in the dim light, his face was perfect—mysterious and enchanting.
But though he smiled, Lisa had the distinct impression he wasn’t in a good mood. She felt like one wrong move and she’d be killed.
The tension in her chest tightened.
“I came here to offer Miss Lisa a choice.”
His long, interwoven fingers tapped rhythmically against the back of one hand. The man chuckled and said, “It’s a very simple multiple-choice question. With Miss Lisa’s cleverness, I’m sure you’ll pick the correct answer.”
Lisa remained wary. “Then let’s hear it.”
The man said, “Option one: Stay obediently on this ship and wait for death. Option two: Become my subordinate.”
As the leader of the blood eels, Lisa could control all of them. Her pride would never allow her to serve someone else.
She caught a flaw in his words. “Why would I die just by staying on this ship? Even if they want to kill me, they’d at least wait till we reach shore and get the list of rich people I’ve controlled before making a move.”
“I mean,” the man smiled, “I’ll kill you.”
Lisa: “…”
She didn’t even hesitate this time. “I choose the second option, boss.”
“Good girl.”
Chi You let out a sigh. “Come here.”
Lisa ran up to him. Chi You waved his hand backward, and a mass of black mist suddenly spit out more than twenty unconscious, ghost-pale humans.
They were divided into two groups on either side. Leading the left side were Chi Laoda and Chi Old Two, their faces twisted in pain.
Chi You stood up and brought Lisa to the group. His tone rose playfully, “Lisa, remember them. These are members of the Chi and Qi families. They’re the reason you caught my attention. If you want revenge, don’t hold back.”
Lisa glared coldly at them, committing each face to memory. “Boss, I understand.”
The malicious ghost chuckled lowly. “Let the Qi family members eat your female eel spawn.”
Lisa followed his command. After feeding it to the Qi family, she looked at the Chi family, a little too eager. “Do they want some too? I’ve got lots of spawn.”
“No need for them,” Chi You said gently, his gaze soft as he looked at the Chi family. “Every single one of the Chi family must stay alive.”
Lisa didn’t press further. Instead, she asked eagerly, “Boss, what do you want the female eels to make them do?”
Maybe because she was so cute, her new boss gave her a sidelong glance, half smiling, and actually answered her.
“To let them put on a fine little show of dogs biting dogs… and to draw out someone I’ve been looking for, for a very, very long time.”
Then, the man smiled faintly. “Now I’m going to take you with me.”
The black mist slowly wrapped around them. Just before they left, Lisa glanced at his face carefully and asked in a small voice, “Boss… can I go say goodbye to my older brothers and sisters?”
Before Chi You could reply, she quickly added, “They’re the ones who brought me on board. You know them too—one of them’s that handsome long-haired brother you even performed on stage with.”
But that last sentence seemed to have been a misstep. The false mask of a smile on the malicious ghost’s face faded noticeably. He recalled the fogged-up scene he’d just witnessed and irritably tugged at his collar, loosening it slightly. Yet he quickly tucked away all his emotions and replied flatly: “You don’t have any time to spare.”
Lisa swallowed hard, a bit scared—but even more curious. “You don’t like that brother?”
“Like?” The malicious ghost seemed distracted, his gaze lifting into the mist. “He did spark a bit of interest in me. But that’s only because I want to watch him become someone like me.”
Whether he was speaking to himself or to Lisa, he added one more line: “A weak, easily killable human isn’t worth any deeper attention. In the future, he’ll be just another one of your many teammates.”
Lisa opened her mouth but said nothing.
Ordinary? Weak?
She thought of Jiang Luo’s sharp mind, his outstanding combat skills, and that ferocious tiger of his—and couldn’t help but shiver.
The malicious ghost didn’t notice Lisa’s behavior and stepped into the black mist with the rest of the people in the room.
Author’s Note:
Lisa: Boss, you really didn’t need to explain that much.
