Chapter 152: “A Golden Cage for a Beauty”?

In Jiang Yan’s eyes, Ma Longbiao and that scar-faced man were already vicious enough.

But compared to Zhao Nianzu and Xue Dazheng, those two were nothing but small-time thugs who couldn’t make it to the big leagues.

As for that “Old Mo,” he sounded like some high-ranking official.

His speech was measured and precise, carrying an air of authority.

Jiang Yan’s nerves instinctively tensed up.

To be safe, she dared not crawl any further. Instead, she quietly released the man-eating flower in her palm. “Flower Baby, go take a look.”

“Jie jie jie!” Okay, Mommy!

Flower Baby couldn’t stray too far from her, but the distance from her current hiding spot to the air conditioning vent was less than three meters.

Turning into a transparent, gaseous form, Flower Baby slithered stealthily to the vent, flattened its grinning head into a thin sheet, and peeked through.

At the moment, it looked almost invisible, though Jiang Yan could still see it as usual.

Barely three seconds later, Flower Baby twisted its toothy face back toward her:

“Jie jie jie! Mommy, I smell the scent of gold bars! Lots of them! Right inside the room!!”

After speaking, Flower Baby hungrily licked its fangs with a scarlet tongue.

Jiang Yan was delighted. “Be patient, keep looking!”

“Jie jie jie!” Okay!

Flower Baby turned back and began describing the scene inside the room to Jiang Yan in detail.

The room looked like a conference room.

There were two oil heaters in the corners, radiating warmth.

The conference table was piled high with large boxes.

The scent of gold bars was coming from three inconspicuous metal boxes near the old man’s seat.

As for the other boxes, they looked like they were made of genuine leather.

No telling what was inside.

There was a faint, pungent smell of formalin in the air.

Only three people were present.

One was an elderly man, thin and sharp-eyed, his hair half white.

The other two were burly men in their thirties.

One had a face full of scars and tattoos on his hands and body, with a worm-like scar on the upper right of his forehead.

His eyes were sinister, his features fierce—none other than Zhao Nianzu, the head of Golden Shield Security.

But at this moment, Zhao Nianzu had lost all his usual arrogance and ferocity, and was acting completely subservient.

The other man wore a large string of agarwood prayer beads and a washed-out white Zhongshan suit, looking kindly and benevolent. He was Xue Miaomiao’s uncle, the outwardly friendly but inwardly ruthless Xue Dazheng.

It was said that most of the Xue family’s underground businesses were run by him.

He had apparently emigrated years ago to a small country with no extradition treaty with China.

“Knock, knock, knock!” Someone rapped on the door, and a clear female voice called from outside, “Grandpa.”

Zhao Nianzu looked to the old man for instructions. “Old Mo?”

The old man nodded slightly.

With permission, Zhao Nianzu strode to the door, opened it, and bowed respectfully to the person outside. “Miss Mo.”

A striking young woman appeared in the doorway—poised, with rosy lips and white teeth, exuding an extraordinary aura.

She wore a black fitted outfit and knee-high boots, her figure curvy and well-proportioned.

A black tactical pouch was buckled at her waist, and from the look of it, she was probably carrying a handgun.

“Miss Mo.” Xue Dazheng also stood up with a broad smile.

The girl lifted her chin with a hint of arrogance, ignoring Zhao Nianzu and Xue Dazheng’s polite greetings as she walked straight toward the old man.

Flower Baby made a point of telling Jiang Yan that the woman had long, wavy hair and wore strong perfume.

Long waves, perfume...

Jiang Yan mused.

In this post-apocalyptic world, most women had cut their hair short.

It was easier to manage and safer.

Beauty meant little compared to survival and a full stomach.

Anyone who could still wear bright lipstick, keep long waves, and use perfume must be living a life of extreme privilege.

Her luck today was truly something else.

She’d only come to check out a few security guards’ hideouts.

Instead, she’d stumbled onto a group of big fish—and uncovered a shocking secret...

“Yaoyao, come here.” The old man smiled kindly and beckoned the girl over.

“Grandpa, the other helicopter has arrived too. Shouldn’t we head back? It’s getting late...” Mo Shiyao walked up to the old man, grabbed his hand, and gave it a gentle shake.

Jiang Yan’s heart skipped a beat.

Thank goodness.

The arrival of a second helicopter outside would probably delay Sun Jingtao and Ye Qing’s operation for quite a while.

Otherwise, if they’d charged in as originally planned, they might have been wiped out.

These people were far more dangerous than anyone had imagined.

The worst part was, there was no way to contact Ye Qing and the others.

Speaking of equipment—

Jiang Yan remembered that the guards outside had walkie-talkies clipped to their chests.

She frowned, then rummaged through her spatial inventory and pulled out an electromagnetic interference filter.

That device could disrupt the guards’ walkie-talkie communications at close range.

But for now, she’d better not use it.

Just in case.

Although she hadn’t noticed any surveillance equipment, she also took out a camera jammer—just in case.

“By the way, Old Mo, do you want to personally inspect this shipment?” Xue Dazheng asked, reaching for one of the leather boxes.

“No need. It’s late, and I don’t want to see anything bloody at this hour,” the old man said, patting his granddaughter’s hand as he stood up.

Jiang Yan: ...No wonder there was a smell of formalin.

What on earth were these people up to...

After speaking, the old man’s sharp gaze swept over the metal boxes.

“These gold bars were all taken from the official treasury, so the quality is guaranteed. But nowadays, gold has lost its value. Why are you still collecting it?”

“Ahem, family scandals shouldn’t be aired in public, but since you’re asking, Old Mo, I won’t hide it. Miaomiao insists on this ‘golden cage for a beauty’ nonsense—”

Xue Dazheng cleared his throat and fiddled with his prayer beads. “He’s hired some master craftsmen to make a batch of solid gold birdcages.”

He didn’t elaborate further.

Anyone could guess what it meant to put a beauty in a golden cage—especially if you needed a whole batch.

Talk about extravagant depravity.

“Hah, Xue Miaomiao’s twisted tastes haven’t changed a bit, have they?” Mo Shiyao sneered coldly.

Xue Dazheng looked a bit embarrassed, but said nothing.

As for Zhao Nianzu, he’d already tried to make himself invisible.

The old man chuckled. “Yaoyao, that’s just a little fun for young people. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Fun? More like perversion!” Mo Shiyao retorted mercilessly, then urged the old man again:

“Grandpa, let’s go! If we stay up any later, all my beauty sleep these past few days will be wasted.”

“Hehe, alright, alright.” The old man, once so imposing, now looked the picture of doting affection."