Three Seconds

Le Zhengyu flicked the tail of the car and backed precisely into the villa garage.

Tang Wulin felt as though he had been forcibly torn out of a high-speed nightmare. His legs went weak, and he could barely stay standing by bracing himself against the car door.

"We're back. We're safe." Le Zhengyu killed the engine and let out a long breath. Reaching beneath the passenger seat, he pulled out two bottles of chilled mineral water and tossed one to Tang Wulin. "Drink up and calm down. For the rest of your life, you'd better not have an experience like that again. Just thinking about the look in Gu Yue's eyes still gives me chills."

Tang Wulin unscrewed the cap and gulped down the icy water, slightly easing his racing heart. Leaning against the garage's concrete wall, he nodded. "Yeah... We almost lost our lives."

"When dealing with women—especially high-IQ, powerful women like Gu Yue—going head-to-head is suicide. You have to use your brain. See? A sincere apology, losing everything you own, and emotional comfort. All three steps are indispensable.

The two of them pushed open the villa door. Warm light and the inviting scent of comfortable sofas washed over them, a stark heaven-and-hell contrast to the highway they had just fled, with its burned-rubber stench and roaring engines.

Tang Wulin dropped onto the soft sofa, feeling as though every bone in his body had turned to mush.

"Home really is the best," he sighed. "Your villa is great too. It feels safe. No matter how fierce Gu Yue is, she can't chase us all the way home, right? This is my... uh, our temporary shelter."

"Not necessarily." Le Zhengyu poured himself a glass of water, speaking casually. "That woman Gu Yue holds grudges. But don't worry, my security system is first-rate. Let alone her, even ten Soul Emperors might not be able to break in."

Before his words had even faded, a sudden change erupted.

An incomparably biting chill swept in from the front door without warning. It was not the cold breeze of an air conditioner, but a tangible wave of soul power filled with sharp ice crystals. In an instant, it penetrated the heavy metal door and dropped the temperature of the entire living room by more than ten degrees.

The water in the glass on the coffee table visibly froze over with a thin layer of ice.

"Fuck!" Le Zhengyu's lollipop fell to the floor with a smack. He sprang from his chair like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, scrambling to the coffee table. He snatched up his latest-model tablet and, with trembling fingers, opened the door surveillance app.

The screen lit up, displaying a high-definition image.

Outside the villa gate stood a figure who had appeared at some unknown moment. A fitted silver-gray shirt fluttered slightly in the night wind, outlining a slender yet upright figure. It was Gu Yue. She had neither knocked nor rung the bell. She merely stood there, her cool eyes locking precisely onto Le Zhengyu behind the screen through the camera lens.

Their eyes met.

Le Zhengyu felt his blood freeze. Where was even a trace of the easing in her gaze from the car? There was only pure, undisguised coldness and fury, as though she were looking at two animals awaiting slaughter.

The next second, a blinding blue light erupted from the screen!

The surveillance image twisted violently. Then, with a deafening bang, the tablet in Le Zhengyu's hand exploded! Countless icy-blue fragments scattered everywhere, while a massive black hole with crystalline edges remained in the middle of the screen, as if it had been pierced through and shattered in an instant by some force of absolute zero.

"Aah—!"

Le Zhengyu let out a miserable scream, not because he regretted the tablet that had cost several thousand, but because that terrifying soul power fluctuation had followed the wireless network and nearly frozen him solid on the spot. He staggered back two steps, nearly throwing away the half-full glass of water in his hand.

"Gu... Gu Yue is here, what do we do?!" he cried in a quavering voice. "How... how did she find this place?! My surveillance! My security system! It's all useless!"

Tang Wulin was also scared out of his wits by the sudden turn of events. He shot up from the sofa, cold sweat pouring down his body. Gu Yue had actually come after them! And she had destroyed the surveillance system the moment she arrived, clearly intending to give them no chance to negotiate or run.

"Should we beg for mercy?" With his mind blank, Tang Wulin blurted it out instinctively.

"Beg for mercy? Would that work?" Le Zhengyu stared in despair at the shattered tablet still emitting frost on the floor. "That look in her eyes just now said she wanted to grind us to dust! I think there's only one way left!"

He suddenly grabbed Tang Wulin's arm, dragged him to the window, and pointed at the pitch-black backyard. "Break out! Climb over the wall through the backyard!

"There's a construction site beyond that wall. The terrain's complicated, so her car can't get in. It's two against one—we'll go for it! When enemies meet on a narrow road, the braver side wins! As long as we rush out, we win!"

"Are you insane?!" Tang Wulin shook off his hand, his face turning white. "Do you know how strong Gu Yue is? She alone can hang both of us up and beat us senseless! Those flashy moves of yours would just be feeding yourself to her! If we go out, we're finished! Forget the phones—we'll lose our lives too!"

"Then what do you suggest?! Wait here to die?!" Le Zhengyu panicked as well.

"Let's... let's try making peace first!" Tang Wulin forced himself to calm down, his mind racing. Gu Yue was angry, but she had not directly killed them, which meant she was still within control. Maybe... maybe there was still a sliver of hope?

He took a deep breath and shouted toward the empty entrance hall, "Gu Yue! Gu Yue, listen to me! We weren't intentionally hiding from you! We... we went back to prepare the compensation! Really! Look, I even gave you my bank card!"

There was no response outside. Only the suffocating pressure of soul power grew heavier, and the wall lamps flickered twice as though they might go out at any moment.

Still unwilling to give up, Tang Wulin continued shouting, "We know we were wrong! We really know! Please, be magnanimous and let us off this once! I promise I'll never dare provoke you again! You can hit or scold us however you want, just please don't make a move! We'll open the door right now!"

Creak—

The heavy villa doors slowly opened inward without anyone touching them. As the doors parted, Gu Yue's figure appeared in full beneath the living room lights.

She walked in step by step without making a sound, as if she were treading on empty air. With every step, the temperature indoors dropped another degree. Reaching the center of the living room, her gaze swept over the trembling Le Zhengyu and terrified Tang Wulin before finally settling on Tang Wulin.

"Tang Wulin." Her voice was not loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly, carrying an invisible vibration of soul power that made the speakers emit a buzzing static. "If you don't come out now, Le Zhengyu can forget about keeping this house too."

Those words were like a final verdict, and Le Zhengyu's face instantly fell. This villa was his only remaining hope. If Gu Yue destroyed it, he truly did not know how he would explain himself.

"I'll give you three seconds." Gu Yue's voice held no emotion. "Three..."

Tang Wulin felt his heart about to leap out of his throat. He knew this was no joke. Gu Yue's soul power level far surpassed theirs. Those so-called "three seconds" were more like a lofty act of charity, granting them one final chance to choose.

"Two..."

Tang Wulin closed his eyes in despair. He knew that any resistance would be futile. The only way out was to obediently accept judgment.

At the side, Le Zhengyu was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He wanted to say something, yet did not dare open his mouth. He knew that any unnecessary movement now might become the spark that ignited Gu Yue's fury.

"One..."

The final syllable fell like the tolling of a funeral bell. Tang Wulin's body began to tremble uncontrollably, not from the cold but from utter terror. He knew that what awaited him would be unimaginable "family discipline."

Yet the anticipated thunderous blow never came.

Gu Yue merely looked at him quietly. Within those cool eyes, beyond the fury, seemed to lurk an extremely complicated emotion that even she herself had not noticed. Disappointment? Helplessness? Or... something else?

"..."