"Things aren't going well out there lately, so come back early after you've finished shopping. Don't keep Chuanliu waiting too long."
Standing outside the gate of Chuanliu Villa, Xiong Ajiao, like a meticulous butler, whispered instructions to two people dressed as waiters.
Two waiters, carrying cloth bags for shopping, nodded respectfully to Xiong Ajiao before turning and leaving.
Watching them walk away into the distance, Xiong Ajiao slowly closed the heavy door of the villa.
He turned to the bodyguards Wu Fangming had sent there and smiled, saying, "Thank you all for your hard work today."
He then turned and walked into the villa.
For some time now, Xiong Ajiao has found a balance in her life. She lives in Chuanliu's villa and keeps it in perfect order when Chuanliu is away. Her former accounting skills have also come in handy in various daily tasks.
Having been on Paradise Island for so long, his life has finally become much more comfortable.
In a dark corner not far from the villa, two pairs of eyes, like night hawks, were intently watching the villa owner's movements.
One of the men, his face grim and covered with a black cloth, asked in a low, almost breathless voice, "Are you sure she hasn't left the villa since she came back yesterday?"
The other man nodded and replied confidently, “I followed your instructions and stayed here all night. Not even a mosquito escaped my notice. I can assure you that she did not go out.”
As he spoke, he handed the former a notebook, which recorded the comings and goings of the villa's residents since Chuanliu's arrival yesterday.
Upon hearing this, the masked man nodded in satisfaction, took out a chip from his pocket, and tossed it aside.
“Well done, here’s your pay,” the thin man said calmly. “You’re done here now, go.”
The latter gripped the black coin tightly, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes, and quickly thanked him, "Thank you, sir, I'll be going now."
After saying that, he carefully looked around to make sure he hadn't attracted anyone's attention before leaving quietly.
The masked man glanced at the entry and exit records, and after confirming that there was nothing suspicious, he destroyed the records.
He stared intently at the villa's gate, licking his dry, chapped lips, and chuckled sinisterly, "Three hundred thousand, it's mine..."
Meanwhile, the two waiters sent by Xiong Ajiao to make purchases were moving around in the City of Cubes.
Strangely, they did not go to the market shops, but instead wandered around the bustling area for a while before heading towards the road leading out of the city.
One of them casually glanced around, then suddenly asked in a low voice, "When we just left, did you see anything?"
The slightly taller companion replied, "You mean those two? Of course, the masked one concealed his aura very well, but the henchmen next to him were really too amateurish."
The former slowly lifted the loose brim of his coat, revealing a face half-covered by a black mask.
Her eyes gleamed through the gaps in her mask, and though her laughter was soft, it carried a hint of unspoken seriousness.
Immediately afterwards, she smoothly lowered her trousers, which had been rolled up to her thighs, down to her ankles; she turned her coat inside out and tied it around her waist; the black short-sleeved top with straight shoulders accentuated her beautiful figure, and these few subtle changes instantly transformed her entire outfit.
Finally, she took a black baseball cap from the bag, put it on her head, and covered the rest of her face completely.
His attire was understated and mysterious, making it impossible for anyone to see his true face.
The other person walked at a leisurely pace, taking off his short-sleeved shirt as he went, revealing his well-defined muscles, which exuded power without being overly ostentatious.
He pulled a shirt out of the bag. This shirt was completely different in style from the short-sleeved shirt he had worn before, but it was just as simple and neat.
The man's striking "scenery" was instantly obscured; he was also wearing a black shirt, which matched the person next to him quite well.
After changing his clothes, he lowered his head slightly and adjusted the black mask on his face with both hands.
Then, he turned to the person next to him and said, "You clearly have such a good resource as the '10 of Spades,' why didn't you ask Brother Wu to escort it?"
The former shook his head slightly, his voice tinged with a hint of mockery, "You assassins all take the sneaky route. Bringing too many people will only make me, your target, more conspicuous, and won't do you any good."
These two people were none other than Chuanliu and Zhuiming, who had just escaped the assassin's surveillance.
Upon hearing this, Zhuiming raised an eyebrow, a smile flickering in his deep eyes. He turned slightly to face Chuanliu and said, "That's a bit prejudiced of you. Who said we're all sneaking around?"
Chuanliu chuckled and shrugged casually, saying, "To assassinate Jia Zuowei, you have to pretend to be one of my men; to assassinate Susan, you have to infiltrate her ranks. If you have to sell yourself for every job you take, then I must say, your employer is getting a good deal."
Throughout his career, Zhui Ming had rarely encountered orders that required him to "sell himself for personal gain and sacrifice his virtue," yet Chuan Liu was the one who always landed those jobs.
Like an idol issuing a denial, he quickly raised his hand and said, "Heaven is my witness! Neither I nor they are innocent!"
Then, his expression changed, and he winked and said, "But it's a different story with you."
Chuanliu pressed his fingers against the man's chest, then gently pushed him away, giving the man a forced, insincere smile.
She then changed the subject, saying, "When do you think the assassin will find out I'm gone?"
“It won’t be long,” Zhui Ming said. “Although we have already made two preparations for A Jiao and kept sending people out, according to that assassin’s intuition, as long as we review the personnel coming and going a few more times, we will find out the clues.”
As Chuanliu and Zhuiming discussed, they quickened their pace.
However, the sky at this moment was like a painting splashed with ink, gradually becoming stained with a deep, dark color. Dark clouds gathered like a pack of wolves, swallowing up the once gentle blue sky. The wind seemed to howl out from the abyss of hell, carrying a violent force, mercilessly sweeping up dust and fallen leaves from the road.
The two had to squint their eyes tightly to prevent the sand and dust from getting in.
Just then, not far away, a dilapidated inn stood like an isolated island in the wind.
In front of the inn, the thatched hut that was originally used for travelers to rest was now swaying precariously in the fierce wind, as if it would fall apart at any moment, with the straw mats overturned on the ground.
The innkeeper, a dark-skinned middle-aged man, walked out of the inn with a worried look on his face.
He shook his head helplessly, picked up the scattered straw mats one by one, and put them into the shop.
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