Brother and sister
In the end, the woman slammed Shang-Chi into the ground seven or eight times like a sack, leaving his head buzzing as though a swarm of bees were crashing around inside it.
Only then did the woman step back twice in satisfaction. With a hint of vindication in her eyes, she looked at the disheveled Shang-Chi, whose legs were trembling slightly, and said through gritted teeth:
"That's for sneaking away from home for eight years, leaving me there alone, and making me wait so long for you. This is just a little interest. Just you wait. You'll have plenty more coming."
Hearing this, Shang-Chi felt a wave of dizziness. He hurriedly braced a hand against the wall and tried to steady himself, taking a moment to calm down and recover his strength.
The woman before him was his younger sister, Xu Xialing. After resolutely leaving his father's Ten Rings base back then, he had coldheartedly cut off contact with her. Now that he recognized Xu Xialing, he was filled with guilt and naturally could not truly fight back.
Faced with such a lesson from his sister, Shang-Chi was utterly helpless and could only silently swallow the bitter consequences. Only after resting for half a minute did he recover a little strength and speak again.
"Xialing, why are you here? Right, I need to tell you something serious. Dad has definitely found my trail, and he's taken my pendant. He'll definitely come for yours next."
Xu Xialing instinctively touched the dazzling, emerald-like pendant around her neck. Stubbornness showed in her eyes as she said fiercely to her brother, "Then let him come and take it. I'm not afraid of him."
Shang-Chi did not know much about his sister's current temperament. Seeing her take such a tough stance, he could not help worrying and hurriedly urged her to leave, live under an assumed name, and make sure the people chasing him never found her.
Xu Xialing frowned slightly, her delicate brows drawing together in thought. After carefully asking about what Shang-Chi had encountered that day, she rested her chin on her hand and slowly said as she considered it, "Those people you mentioned, whose bodies give off intense heat and who can regrow severed limbs-I don't think they're necessarily Dad's men. He has plenty of people, but none with abilities like that. Could you have misunderstood?"
Shang-Chi did not argue. Thinking back to his time at the base, he really had never heard of anyone like that under his father, and he too began to question whether that day's encounter truly had anything to do with the Ten Rings.
The siblings then returned to the room where Xu Xialing had been staying.
Only then, with a little curiosity and some embarrassment, did Shang-Chi ask his sister why she was here and whether she had been among the women keeping them company over drinks.
Back in the karaoke hall, two staff members had dragged him away before he could get a proper look at all thirteen women. Asking his sister this now, he felt his face grow a little hot.
Xu Xialing was sharp enough to guess what was on her brother's mind the instant she saw his hesitant manner. She spoke up first, saying crisply, "I came with those people, but I didn't join in any of your messy activities. I've been hiding in here the whole time."
Hearing this, Shang-Chi finally felt a weight lift from his heart and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
After that, the siblings talked about their respective experiences since leaving the base.
Shang-Chi had spent these years living an ordinary life under an assumed name in Los Angeles, while Xu Xialing had returned to the East and, through her own daring and intelligence, established an underground boxing arena and carved out a place of her own.
She was here because Shang-Chi had sent her a postcard, delivered electronically.
At the mention of the postcard, she hurriedly took out her phone and opened her inbox. The front of the postcard bore a hand-drawn divine dragon emblem, so lifelike it seemed ready to soar into the air at any moment, while the back showed the address of this villa.
Looking at what was on the phone, Shang-Chi was utterly baffled. He was certain he had never sent his sister an email.
Hearing him say this, Xu Xialing was also shocked, her eyes full of confusion.
Who exactly had sent the postcard? Just then, the steady voice of the artificial intelligence JARVIS rang out clearly in the room. "I was the one who sent Miss Xu the electronic postcard."
At JARVIS's voice, Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing froze as though struck by an immobilization spell. They had never imagined that an artificial intelligence resembling an apartment butler could do such a thing. Had Tony Stark ordered it?
JARVIS continued patiently explaining in their ears, "Here is what happened. Through my detailed analysis of big data over the past few days, I collected fragments of information about you siblings from several explosion sites across North America. After careful consideration, I surmised that these bombings were all connected to you, so I made this little arrangement."
After hearing this, Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing looked at each other, momentarily unsure how to react.
The other party was an artificial intelligence, and getting angry and arguing with it did not seem quite appropriate. The siblings could only set the matter aside for the time being.
Then Shang-Chi's mind turned, and something suddenly occurred to him. He asked JARVIS, "Did Mr. Stark or Mr. Li Qi approve this?"
Shang-Chi did not know that the puppet Tony now obeyed his master Li Qi completely. JARVIS's voice came from somewhere in the room. "About that-my master has countless matters to attend to every day. I thought there was no need to trouble him over something so minor."
Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing frowned slightly, clearly not having expected such a situation.
The two exchanged a glance. Shang-Chi had some misgivings, but he was too embarrassed to ask Tony Stark or Li Qi about it.
Xu Xialing did not care about any of that. Compared with Shang-Chi, she was more straightforward and decisive, daring to tackle anything without dragging her feet.
She sprang up from her chair, her gaze firm, and spoke loudly to Shang-Chi and toward the source of JARVIS's voice in the room.
"So that's how it is? Then I'll go ask Mr. Stark and Mr. Li Qi what exactly is going on. I must have an explanation from him."
Xu Xialing was a martial artist, straightforward and impulsive by nature. This was both a strength and a weakness. JARVIS's voice continued to sound in the room. "My master is currently busy in the basement. I don't think it would be appropriate for you to disturb him now, but I can tell you the movements of the person you are currently concerned about."
Xu Xialing paused. Her feet seemed nailed to the floor, and she did not move again, quietly waiting to hear what JARVIS would say next.
JARVIS continued, "Your father, Xu Wenwu, has left his base deep in the mountains and is flying here in an aircraft to find you both. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will arrive in Los Angeles in half a day. I hope you will prepare early."
Through big data, JARVIS had learned the movements of Xu Wenwu-the leader of the Ten Rings and their father.
At these words, the siblings' expressions shifted slightly, as though a shadow had fallen over them. Both felt some fear toward the domineering image of their father in their childhood memories, a fear that ran deep into their bones.
They exchanged a glance, each seeing the same thought in the other's eyes-leave immediately and go somewhere else.
Next, JARVIS told the siblings about the information he had collected through big data.
He said the bombings were actually acts of sabotage carried out by another organization using the Ten Rings' name. JARVIS therefore felt obliged to tell the siblings the truth, and also hoped they would explain it to their father and clear the Ten Rings of suspicion.