Chapter 157: The Dragon Mask

“Boss, why did you call me over?” Su Muchen looked at Feng Yuxuan. “Also, where’s our research base? We need to start experiments and sync data immediately. Even one day of delay is unacceptable.”

Su Muchen knew that once her team completed this project, the contract binding them to Haoyu would be lifted. They’d regain their freedom and even receive substantial dividends. That was why she was in such a hurry—she didn’t want to waste a single moment.

This hotel was only an office. It wasn’t a research base.

A real base required massive equipment—supercomputers, laboratories, and heavy machinery.

“No rush. We’re arranging it.” Feng Yuxuan paused, flicked the small knife in his hand, and with a flash of steel, it flew out and stuck squarely into the dartboard on the wall. Then he walked toward Su Muchen, a meaningful smile spreading across his face. “That’s not what I called you here for today. I want to talk about us.”

“Us?” Su Muchen frowned. “What is there between us? We signed a contract. Once this project is done, we’re even. And you know how important this AI project is to Haoyu. Once it’s operational, not only will it drastically cut labor costs, its precision will improve by orders of magnitude. The system can self-learn, collect data, and even evolve—”

“Enough. I know how important it is,” Feng Yuxuan said, stepping closer, his intentions far from pure. “That’s why I brought you here in the first place.”

Su Muchen retreated, trying to keep distance, but it was useless. Her back hit the door. It was locked—she couldn’t open it.

Seeing her like this, Feng Yuxuan looked even more pleased. “Are you scared of me? Let me tell you something. Haoyu has invested heavily here and has deep ties with the local government. We’ve obtained certain… criminal exemptions. In other words, what I do to you here isn’t illegal—even if it would be back home.”

“Feng Yuxuan, what exactly do you want?” Su Muchen shouted.

“I’ll ask you one thing. Why are you in such a hurry to leave Haoyu?” He stopped advancing, like a cat toying with a mouse before the kill.

“Then I’ll ask you this,” Su Muchen shot back. “Why did you destroy my company in the first place and then conduct a hostile acquisition?”

“Oh?” Feng Yuxuan raised his brows. “I saved you. Otherwise, your company would’ve gone to prison for fraud. Haoyu paid off your debts and gave you another chance to do research. And now you accuse me? Do you know what evidence means? I could sue you for defamation at any time.”

“Evidence?” Su Muchen sneered. “You underestimate our tech. To be honest, Haoyu’s entire data network—emails, internal systems—has no secrets from us. You may dominate the business world, but online, we’re gods.

“You set this up very carefully. First, an unrelated subsidiary invested in us. Then another subsidiary fed us contracts. Meanwhile, you arranged for someone to frame our finance officer’s family, forcing her to pay compensation. She had no choice but to falsify accounts. You seized that opportunity, went all in, bankrupted us, buried us in debt, and pushed us into legal trouble.

“After joining Haoyu, I dug through your email archives and built a small capture program. I now have a complete evidence chain of your dealings. If I release it, what do you think will happen?”

“Nothing will happen.” Feng Yuxuan waved his hand, utterly unfazed. “I’ve known about your little tricks all along. They don’t even count as an ant bite to me. But now that I understand your mindset… well…”

Seeing the malicious grin on his face, Su Muchen tensed up. “What are you trying to do?”

“Nothing much.” Feng Yuxuan reached out to pinch her face. “I want to make you my woman. Once we’re family, you won’t betray me.”

“You dare!” Su Muchen tried to flee, panic flooding her face. She hadn’t expected him to be this deranged. “If you touch me, Haoyu’s entire project is basically finished. I left backdoors in the system.”

“Is that so?” Feng Yuxuan looked even more relaxed, clearly enjoying her fear. “Do you really think your tech is the best in the world? Even if there are backdoors, it just means a bit more work for us. You know the Typhon Training Camp, don’t you? Their AI tech is far beyond yours. You seriously think this can threaten Haoyu?”

“Feng Yuxuan, you already have so many women. Why are you this insane?” Su Muchen tried to escape again, but inside this room, she was a trapped fish.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Feng Yuxuan said, grabbing her like a hawk snatching a chick. “Our strategist, Master Mao, calculated something. Your brother, Su Jie, is destined to be Haoyu’s future calamity.

“There are two ways to resolve it. First: kill Su Jie. Second: one of the three Feng brothers marries you. That way, not only does your brother live, Haoyu’s calamity is completely neutralized—and we’ll rise even higher.

“I don’t believe this nonsense myself, but my old man made it a dead order. You know how ruthless he is. Your brother may be just some kid now, but my father prefers strangling danger in the cradle.

“One sentence: you can refuse me today. But what my father will do next—I can’t guarantee.”

Su Muchen froze.

After her company collapsed, she’d long lost her naïveté. Staying at Haoyu, she’d learned that the most terrifying people weren’t Feng Yuxuan, Feng Hengyi, or Feng Qianzhang—but the man behind them all: Feng Shoucheng.

That old man was unfathomable, with countless hidden cards. Whenever danger arose, he could always turn the tide.

Su Muchen had secretly breached many of Haoyu’s databases, yet found nothing on Feng Shoucheng himself.

If he truly decided to move against her brother, it was very possible he’d succeed.

She never imagined Feng Yuxuan’s obsession with her stemmed from this.

Worse, old men like that were deeply superstitious. They treated fate and destiny as gospel. Even today, there were elders in rural areas who committed crimes because a fortune-teller said their granddaughter “conflicted” with them.

Seeing Su Muchen fall silent, Feng Yuxuan’s lips curled into a victorious smile. For him, taking her—regardless of whether the prophecy was real—would earn his father’s approval.

“To remove force is calamity; to claim calamity as one’s own is to transform into a dragon, enjoying endless glory, rank, fortune, and long life. Success and failure both lie in removing force…”

He recalled Master Mao’s whispered words.

He crooked his finger at Su Muchen and stepped forward.

Bang!

The floor-to-ceiling glass shattered.

A rope dropped from above, and a figure descended.

Clad in black.

Wearing a dragon mask—horned, ferocious, and majestic.

More agile than a cat, the figure slipped inside and struck Feng Yuxuan square in the chest.

Wham!

Feng Yuxuan was sent flying into his desk.

His physical conditioning was excellent, and his combat skills formidable—though not on par with Feng Hengyi.

In midair, he twisted, dissipated the impact, and rolled into the corner.

Swish—swish—swish.

As he tried to get up, two Japanese-style kunai suddenly appeared in the floor beside him.

His hair stood on end. If the Dragon Mask wanted him dead, those blades would already be in his body.

“Who are you?” Feng Yuxuan didn’t dare move.

The Dragon Mask figure was idly playing with a kunai.

“You should know the origin of this mask,” the young voice said calmly.

“Dragon Mask… you’re—” Feng Yuxuan froze. Haoyu had deep ties with global underground forces and knew many of their secrets.

Among them were monsters—people who could take lives without sound or trace. The strongest among them often wore masks, concealed their bodies, and altered their voices.

There had once been a Dragon Mask ranked first on the darknet leaderboard. He hadn’t appeared in over twenty years and had been replaced by newer figures—Panda Mask, Demon Mask, Angel Mask, painted masks, even a Golden Mask.

Feng Yuxuan even knew that Feng Hengyi owned a Yazi mask, named after an ancient ferocious beast.

Rankings didn’t equal absolute strength—but every one of them was lethally dangerous.

“I’m the new generation, the old generation’s successor,” the young man said from behind the mask. “Someone hired me to protect her. I don’t care about your relationship, but nothing is allowed to happen to her. If it does, I’ll kill you—even Yazi won’t save you.”

As he spoke, the figure shrank back through the window, grabbed the rope, climbed to the roof, and vanished in moments—nimble as a spider.

*****

Back in China.

Xu Ying lay in bed beside Su Shilin, unable to sleep. She nudged him awake.

“Our daughter’s gone abroad. Nothing will happen to her, right? Your contacts are reliable right?”

“It’s fine. I know what I’m doing,” Su Shilin mumbled, then fell back into deep sleep.