The Inner Circle.
A glass sky-do, like a private sky, perfectly enveloped the entire villa.
Under the climate-controlled do, a gentle breeze rustled through ticulously trimd trees, and sparrows chirped from their nests in the branches.
Amidst clusters of vibrant flowers, waves of fragrance drifted on the air. Luxury cars—a Sharp Light and a Feast—were parked along a courtyard wall. A hovercar descended slowly from an opening in the sky-do, and when its tal door slid open, a team of well-built security guards in suits, guns holstered at their waists, stepped out.
With practiced coordination, they relieved the villa’s other bodyguards, just as they always did.
Among them, a middle-aged man in a gray suit could be seen being escorted, stumbling as they pushed him toward an open-air swimming pool in the front courtyard.
SPLASH!
SPLASH!!
Amidst the splashing, a well-built, long-haired young man was swimming in the temperature-controlled pool.
He moved with incredible speed, like a rman in the sea, leaving a trail of white foam and waves in his wake.
Male and female attendants in uniform stood silently on either side of the pool. So held fruit and Nutrient Liquid, while others carried towels on trays of precious nanmu wood. A dedicated security advisor and a Martial Arts sparring partner also stood by, ready for his command.
When Guo Yun and his n saw this scene, they showed no surprise. Instead, they lowered their heads slightly and waited patiently off to the side.
SPLASH!!
Finally, after completing a several-thousand-ter training swim in one go, the water churned. The young man in the pool stopped, then launched himself out of the water and onto the edge in a single, powerful leap.
"Young Master."
The attendants hurried forward. One draped a bath towel over his shoulders while another offered him a Nutrient Liquid.
He quickly downed two glasses, completing his temporary nutritional intake.
Ruan Hui gradually steadied the rapid breathing from his training and walked over to a lounge chair under a sunshade.
Two professional physical therapists ca forward. One began massaging his muscles and kneading his tendons to relieve fatigue, while the other held an advanced ridian scanner, monitoring his heart rate and blood flow to check for hidden injuries.
"Speak."
His tone was flat. Lying face down on the chair, Ruan Hui finally turned his head to look at Guo Yun and the other three n waiting to the side.
These n, who were usually lawless and arrogant, now kept their heads bowed before him, daring not to make a sound.
"Ruan... Brother Hui."
After a mont’s hesitation, urged on by the other three, Guo Yun raised his head. With a troubled expression, he said, "We’ve taken care of that matter."
"But... Master Luo might be suspicious of us. About this..."
"Young Master."
Suddenly, before they could finish, the white-haired butler in a suit interrupted them in a low voice.
Looking past the butler, they saw the team of security guards from the shift change striding over, fully ard.
The middle-aged man in the gray suit was stumbling, his face pale. He was being pushed forward, looking utterly disheveled.
"Oh?"
Ruan Hui raised an eyebrow and turned his head to look at the newcor.
Guo Yun and his n were taken aback. With awkward expressions, they had no choice but to continue waiting.
"Young... Young Master Ruan!"
The man was shoved to the ground. His clothes were expensive; from his attire, it was clear he ca from a family of so ans.
But he imdiately scrambled into a kneeling position, his face ashen, and pleaded with a tremor in his voice, "Please, I beg you, be rciful!"
"The union mbers who caused trouble... I truly knew nothing about it! Dozens of people in my company depend on you for their livelihood. How could I dare to cause a disturbance?"
"We all have elders to support and children to feed! I’m begging you, show so rcy! Give us a chance to live! Please!"
He began to kowtow, his forehead hitting the ground with loud THUDS.
Seeing this, Ruan Hui rely took a sip of the nutrient juice an attendant handed him and smiled playfully. "What does your life or death have to do with ?"
The flat tone of his voice made the kowtowing man freeze. Before he could react, a guard to the side slamd the butt of a rifle down on him.
BAM!!
Blood gushed from his head as he collapsed to the ground.
Before the man could recover, Ruan Hui gave a slight nod. One of his n imdiately grabbed the man’s blood-soaked hair and brutally yanked his head back, forcing his terrified eyes open.
"Just a bunch of mud-caked peasants begging for scraps. So what if I crush you? What can you do about it?"
"If you want to make a living in Ring City, you should know who the master is."
Ruan Hui remained lying where he was, a smile on his face. Behind him, the physical therapist worked in unnerving silence, thodically soothing his ridians. A curvaceous female attendant knelt beside him, respectfully taking the empty nutrient juice glass.
The middle-aged man in the gray suit went stiff at his words. Then he saw a guard beside him hold out a black pistol.
"I rember you have a daughter, don’t you?"
Ruan Hui said, his playful smile widening as if he were looking at so rare toy.
The man in the gray suit turned deathly pale, and his body trembled.
"Young... Young Master Ruan..."
"Only twelve, I recall. Still in school, I think."
eting the man’s gaze with a smile, Ruan Hui asked curiously, "Tell , if we threw her into the Cloud Mist Immortal Palace, do you think she’d beco a star?"
"Young Master Ruan! Young Master Ruan!"
The middle-aged man in the gray suit begged again, kowtowing frantically, hoping the other would grant him a way out.
But the playful smile on Ruan Hui’s face slowly faded, replaced by a calm, steady gaze.
Finally, a shudder wracked his heart.
He actually took the pistol offered by the guard and, with a face full of despair, pointed it at his own head.
"That’s more like it."
Only then did Ruan Hui’s interested smile return. He nodded and said, "A man must take responsibility for his own actions. As long as you’re obedient..."
"I’ll kill you!"
The man in the suit suddenly whipped the gun around, veins bulging on his face as his trembling hands tried to pull the trigger.
Seeing this, Guo Yun and his n’s faces changed, and they moved to intervene.
CLICK!
But only the click of an empty chamber echoed out; not a single bullet was fired.
The pupils of the man in the gray suit contracted, his face turning as pale as joss paper.
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