Chapter 155

Chapter 155: The Boundless Dark Realm Part 10

When Kui Xin arrived at the hotel, he immediately sensed something amiss.

The underground parking lot of the hotel was filled with luxury cars. Adam mentioned that many of these vehicles belonged to the spoiled sons of the Popov Clan and several officials’ children in White Whale City.

“Why are they gathering here so late?” Kui Xin whispered.

“Popov Entertainment Company’s stars can all be their playthings. The luxurious hotel you see here is also part of the Popov family’s business. The company’s stars perform tours across various cities, and most stay at these luxurious chain hotels. The descendants of wealthy families come in and out of this hotel as if it were their own backyard,” Adam explained.

While Adam did not explicitly mention any sordid matters, Kui Xin understood them instinctively.

Kui Xin found a concealed corner to stand in and attempted to breach the hotel’s security system.

This hotel’s security system was much more stringent than Boris’s villa. After five minutes, sweat formed on Kui Xin’s forehead, and his brows furrowed deeply.

“Are any of those descendants of wealth Awakeningers?” Kui Xin asked.

“I don’t have investigative eyes like you do. Based on current records from the Federation, none of them possess them,” Adam responded. “But each family cultivates their own Awakeningers for protection, and some especially affluent families even establish private security companies to safeguard their members.”

Kui Xin pursed her lips. Under data manipulation, she navigated through the network, cracking one character after another and bypassing firewalls after firewalls, her path convoluted and intricate. She searched for a way out amidst this labyrinth.

As a newcomer to the data field, Kui Xin found it challenging to connect her powers to control the entire building’s security system without Adam’s guidance. So she settled for infiltrating the surveillance system, temporarily relinquishing other controls.

After two minutes, she finally breached the monitoring control hub, gaining access to the permissions of cameras throughout the building, large and small. With hundreds of these “eyes” spread across elevator lobbies, staircases, and corridors, her brain felt ready to explode.

She rapidly transferred the received data to her portable communicator, easing the strain on her brain’s information processing.

Kui Xin picked up the communicator and filtered through the surveillance images with her electronic eye. Not a single blink, her screens changing several times per second. If anyone were looking with the naked eye, distinguishing the contents would be nearly impossible. But with an electronic eye, every frame captured.

The visuals flickered chaotically across the screen. Soon, Kui Xin recognized a familiar figure.

It was Su Rong.

A group surrounded the entertainment room in the hotel restaurant, both men and women, all dressed elegantly and exuding an aura of wealth and status.

Su Rong was caught between two arrogant heirs, struggling to maintain a smile. Her grin looked so fake, so unlike the joyous and warm smiles she usually had.

Comparing Adam’s information, Kui Xin identified one of the heirs, Liu Yiteng, the son of the fiscal officer of White Whale City. The other was Dmitry Popov… His middle name was unusually long—translating to more than twenty words—it troubled Kui Xin who struggled to remember it every time.

“Tell me!” Liu Yiteng turned to Su Rong and asked, “Are you willing to go horse racing with me? Or do you prefer to go car racing with him?”

Su Rong struggled to smile, “It’s already late, and the weather’s so cold. Wouldn’t the horse race be over by now… And the car track…”

“Just say the word, and the race track can be re-activated. You can watch whichever horse competes,” said Liu Yiteng.

Dmitry Popov was equally determined, “Oh? Today, I drove my brand-new hovercar for the first time; its performance matches that of any vehicle from the Investigation Bureau. Doesn’t Miss Su want to check it out?”

A blonde girl spoke slowly, “Can you two show some manners? What are you doing? Are you drunk?”

Dmitry glared at the blonde-haired girl, “Since when did you think you could speak? What did you just say?”

“Alright, I won’t talk anymore.” The blonde girl looked at the onlookers, “Let’s have our fun. Let’s go play pool.”

She walked out of the room, followed by most of the other scions inside.

The scions were subtly aligning themselves.

Dmitry forcedly looked at Su Rong and asked again, “Are you going car racing with me, or watching the horse race?”

Su Rong lowered her head in thought and then looked up with a smile, “To race cars. But can we go back earlier? I have a meet-and-greet tomorrow morning.”

“Cancel it,” Dmitry replied unhappily, “I’ll talk to the company.”

Scared to refuse, Su Rong quietly clenched her hand in agreement.

Liu Yiteng glared furiously at Dmitry and sneered at the people beside him, “Let’s go watch the horse race.” His gaze lingered a moment longer on Su Rong, darkly.

With the upper hand, Dmitry smiled and said, “I specifically picked a black car because your eyes and hair are black…”

Liu Yiteng scoffed, “The star you were chasing last time had blue eyes. Did you say something like, ‘Your eyes are blue, so I specially brought a blue car…’ Ridiculous!”

Dmitry’s expression darkened, ready to face off against Liu Yiteng, but his bodyguards held him back.

“Fragile little Lord Popov and his bodyguards who treat him like glass,” Liu Yiteng mocked, walking away proudly.

Dismayed, Dmitry looked at his bodyguards, “I’m headed to the track, no one follows us.”

The bodyguards stopped, unsurprised.

Not bringing his personal guards was not only because they were obstructive but also because Dmitry disliked company hindering his moments with someone.

Su Rong had been frisked, so her status as a fragile, powerless female star became apparent to everyone. The race track was surrounded by surveillance, and within White Whale City’s Poleward District, there would be no issues.

Despite her outer calm, Su Rong walked with trepidation. She knew all the scions’ tendencies and that speaking out of turn would lead to repercussions. Refusing would result in coercion and suppression, possibly worse outcomes than what she faced now. She had witnessed many such incidents in entertainment companies, where talented individuals wither away silently.

Su Rong was aware of Dmitry’s capricious disposition. She couldn’t outright refuse and could only hold off for the moment. Fear gripped her heart about exposure and retaliation…

Once Dmitry gave the word, her future would be decided.

Dmitry happily unlocked the car door with fingerprint authentication and gentlemanly invited Su Rong to the passenger seat, entering himself afterward. He stepped on the gas pedal, the engine roaring fiercely. When Su Rong fastened her seatbelt, the car rushed forward like an arrow.

Terrified, Su Rong opened her eyes wide, gripping the top handle of the car tightly, her entire body pressed into her seat. Meanwhile, Dmitry occasionally performed a drift, making Su Rong tremble with fear.

“Slow down!” she pleaded in fear.

Dmitry, still exhilarated, glanced backward upon noticing Su Rong crying and slowed down.

“You cried because of that?” he remarked sarcastically.

Su Rong stiffly stated, “I’ve never ridden in such a fast car before.”

Her reddened eyes appeared vulnerable yet endearing, causing Dmitry to momentarily feel sympathetic. Then he floored the accelerator, pushing the car to breakneck speed until Su Rong screamed in terror.

But only moments later, Dmitry suddenly decelerated the car into a parking lot, undoing Su Rong’s seatbelt. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him, lowering his head simultaneously.

Desperate, Su Rong fought back, slapping Dmitry hard.

Dazed, Dmitry’s eyes flashed with dark fury.

“What are you pretending for?” he snarled, touching the red mark on his face.

Su Rong reached for the car door, but it was locked from the inside. Shaking, she tried to explain, “This… isn’t right. I don’t…”

“What is it that you don’t want?” Dmitry stared at her coldly. “That wasn’t your decision to make.”

He had a clear role for himself: however, he hadn’t expected the prey to resist. Knowing that they didn’t want him, he also knew they would comply, given his family’s power.

Su Rong anticipated the worst outcome and prepared for it. However, this day was too sudden for her to digest it mentally. She wasn’t as resilient as she imagined.

Crying breathlessly, her whole body trembling, Dmitry grew increasingly irritable. He reached out to grab Su Rong by the shoulder.

Su Rong frantically clutched her head, screaming desperately, “Stay away!”

Suddenly, a force surged from her core, a black viscous substance emerging abruptly from her shadow, forming a humanoid shape in less than a second, wrapping around her body, providing her with solid protection.

Dmitry was startled by the transformation and reflexively reached to exit the car. But—it was too late!

An indistinct black silhouette lunged at Dmitry. In the confined space of the car, there was no way to dodge; he was struck directly.

With a wet sound, the shadowy figure transformed into a sharp spike, slicing through Dmitry’s chest. Blood saturated the interior of the car, and the strong scent of blood filled the air.

Dmitry died instantly.

Su Rong lowered her hands, staring dumbfounded at the shadow turning into a pool of black slime and merging back into her shadow.

Shivering with fear, she felt engulfed by terror.

Just then, a huge noise erupted from the passenger side of the vehicle.

Su Rong suddenly turned her head, and the shadows beneath her writhed once more. A dark presence stirred.

Someone stood outside the car, and with two metallic clicking sounds, the passenger door ripped off completely.

It was a woman with blue eyes and a metal mask.

The moment Kui Xin saw Su Rong, a sense of foreboding hit her.

“Extraordinary abilities, Shadow Double?” Kui Xin watched the blood-spattered driver’s seat, her expression grave.