For a moment, Lin Chen was terrified. Aside from those pale golden eyes, he only saw a blurry black shadow.
This easily reminded him of a ghost.
But a ghost’s eyes shouldn’t be this beautiful, like two magnificent, sparkling gems.
Lin Chen shone his lamp over and saw a powerfully built, elegantly sculpted black panther perched on a branch, its upper body almost leaning forward.
Its strong forelimbs stretched downwards, and its thick claws were slightly open; presumably, it was this claw that had just been tugging at his hair.
The instant they were caught, the man and the panther locked eyes, and a sudden silence fell as if even the air itself had stopped.
The two of them…
The man was captivated by the great cat’s magnificent appearance and mysterious, dangerous aura, while the panther remained remarkably calm, nonchalantly licking its lips, exuding a languid yet alluring charm.
The black panther’s alluring posture looked familiar. Lin Chen suddenly realized, and looked at the panther in surprise, “It’s you?”
That night when he hitched a ride home, there was a tail constantly twitching under him; it was very likely this black panther.
Now that it was here, it most likely meant its owner was also there.
Recalling that fleeting glimpse that night, Lin Chen still remembered it vividly. He couldn’t help but look around, but the darkness limited his vision, and he quickly returned his gaze to the black panther.
The quiet, elegant creature was still watching him, its eyes incredibly gentle. Lin Chen was flattered. Although he knew he had a special attraction to animals, this was a solitary black panther; winning its heart was harder than winning a lion’s.
“Hi,” Lin Chen said, his voice dry, as he greeted it with a forced smile.
Seeing that the black panther was stable, he tentatively raised his hand. His fingertips touched the other’s paw, then slowly squeezed it. The feeling was quite nice. “My name is Lin Chen. Nice to meet you, handsome.”
He tiptoed and kissed the big cat’s paw, smelling a faint scent of sunshine mixed with wood.
“Where is your owner?” Lin Chen smiled gently. “If your owner knew you came to see me, they’d probably be unhappy.”
Measuring the size of the big cat’s paw, Lin Chen remembered the claw marks on his own bed and muttered to himself, “The culprit that’s been keeping me up these past few days, could it be you too?”
The black panther didn’t react, but as Lin Chen squeezed its front paw, it slowly beckoned.
“Lin Chen—”
Si Ang’s voice rang out nearby. The other person had seen his light and was walking towards him.
“What are you doing standing there? Are you alright?”
Lin Chen withdrew his hand and said in Si Ang’s direction, “I’m fine.”
When he turned back, the black panther on the branch had already vanished without a trace as if it had never been there. It was truly elusive.
Si Ang walked over with a gun in one hand. Seeing that Lin Chen was alright, he asked, “Where’s Parker?”
Lin Chen pointed in a direction: “He went to chase the sheep.”
Si Ang looked around at the surroundings: “You should stick with me. I’m a little worried about you.”
Lin Chen: “Okay.”
He followed Si Ang, then suddenly asked, “Brother Ang, are there many black panther companion animals?”
Si Ang paused: “Why are you suddenly asking this?”
There was movement ahead. He raised his gun, looked through the scope, and saw the prey—a wild goat with its calf. His finger hesitated for a moment before pulling the trigger, but ultimately chose to lower it.
“Are you trying to contract the black panther?” Si Ang turned to look at Lin Chen, continuing the previous topic.
Lin Chen was taken aback: “Of course not, I was just asking.”
If the amount of information was small, he might be able to deduce the identity of the black panther’s owner. Being a prominent figure himself, he intuitively felt that Si Ang should know him, or at least have heard of him.
“Very rare,” Si Ang said, assuming it was just curiosity, and patiently explained, “You know, panthers are very wary and don’t like humans. They’re difficult to bond with except for cheetahs, but you can try.”
His smile was full of encouragement and appreciation as if he were recalling their first meeting.
Lin Chen, however, lacked this confidence and stated realistically, “The key to bonding is still strong mental power, gaining the recognition and submission of the companion beast. But you also know that Parker’s closeness to me wasn’t because I’m strong… it even thought I was weak.” He was the one being protected.
Si Ang smiled, it seemed that was indeed the case.
Companion beasts might choose to submit to someone because they are powerful, but not because someone is cute or approachable.
Lin Chen asked again, “Who in the capital has a companion beast that’s a black panther?”
Si Ang narrowed his eyes. He followed Lin Chen’s question, and thought of someone whose companion beast was a black panther but he didn’t really want to talk about that person with Lin Chen.
“Why are you asking this?”
Lin Chen thought for a moment and said, “The day my car broke down, I hitched a ride, and there was a black panther in the car.”
“Impossible.” Si Ang denied it without hesitation.
In the entire capital, he only knew one person whose companion beast was a black panther but that person didn’t seem like the kind of person who would give someone a ride.
Si Ang’s decisive denial startled Lin Chen. Actually, he wasn’t entirely sure if it was a black panther, it was just a guess based on intuition.
Now what interested him more was why Si Ang was so certain it was impossible.
Was there a story behind this?
Just tell him there is.
“But, I really saw it.” For no reason, Si Ang’s reaction made Lin Chen hesitant to tell him what he had just seen.
Si Ang asked, “What did the owner of the black panther you saw look like?”
Lin Chen replied without hesitation, “Extremely outstanding, noble, and unlike an ordinary person.”
This answer made Si Ang fall into deep thought. After a moment of consideration, he said, “You may have encountered Wenzel.”
Who is that?
Lin Chen focused his mind, and searched through the original owner’s memories. He indeed found the answer: Duke Wenzel Don Howard, a household name and a legendary figure living at the center of power.
The story of this young duke is rather graphic.
Everyone says that Wenzel is a cruel and ruthless villain who rose to power by stepping on the blood of his own family.
Indeed, he wasn’t first in line to the throne; the title only fell to him, the youngest, because his brothers died under mysterious circumstances.
Since there was no concrete evidence against Wenzel, his reputation was actually quite good until he inexplicably exiled several family members, leaving them impoverished and plagued by illness. His reputation plummeted.
The difference is that no one dared to openly discuss it.
The Howard family is very influential on Earth, representing power and influence in the past. They were capable of turning the world upside down with a flick of their wrist. They are not benevolent. Even in this new era no longer ruled by nobles, their influence remains deeply entrenched.
People are extremely secretive about the Howard family, including the young Duke Wenzel.
After checking his memories, Lin Chen suddenly recalled the faint smell of blood from that time, and couldn’t help but shudder, wondering if he had seen the Duke after the crime.
But if Wenzel was truly that ruthless, why would he do a good deed by giving a homeless man a ride?
The main reason was that Lin Chen had a particular fondness for that mysterious and alluring black panther, and out of affection for it, he was leaning towards the possibility of hearsay.
After all, the private affairs of those in power are always exposed, and through repeated embellishment and dissemination, the truth becomes indistinguishable from the falsehood.
Of course, such a person was far removed from his own life, and Lin Chen didn’t need to think about it too much.
“Looks like you already know what’s going on.” Si Ang, gun in hand, continued searching for prey, incidentally explaining to his unusually inquisitive younger brother, “Howard has always been the head of the nobility, and the Si family’s resentment towards the nobility stems from him.”
In other words, the two sides had a long-standing feud, so how could the Si family gladly accept the noble title bestowed upon them by the royal family? They didn’t want to live like other nobles and be dependent on Howard’s whims.
On the contrary, they disdained it, and trampled the ‘nobility’ underfoot.
Lin Chen was stunned. These two families had a grudge?
That’s roughly equivalent to Si Ang and Wenzel having a grudge, and Parker and Black Panther having a grudge?
Looking at this intricate web of relationships, Lin Chen was speechless. He genuinely liked Black Panther, and also had a good impression of Duke Wenzel who had kindly given him a ride.
He asked, “Brother Ang, what’s your attitude towards Duke Wenzel himself?”
“Me?” Si Ang fired a shot, reloaded, and only after noticing the wild goat had fallen in the distance did he say, “We don’t have much interaction, so I can’t really say what my attitude is.”
Wenzel was older than him, and their families had no business dealings. Even if they unfortunately met in public, they never spoke to each other.
“However,” he stated calmly, “if you have the chance to contact Wenzel, you should probably avoid him.”
Lin Chen blinked: “Hmm, I probably won’t have the chance to contact him.”
Si Ang thought about it and agreed. It was unlikely that such a chance encounter on the road would happen a second time.
When they encountered prey again, Si Ang, fearing Lin Chen would be bored, offered to teach him how to shoot. Si Ang wrapped his arms around Lin Chen from behind and explained the hunting steps step by step.
“Aim for vital areas.”
In the shadows, another scope slowly swept across, paused, and then returned, looking at the overlapping figures in the scope.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out nearby, scaring away Si Ang and Lin Chen’s prey. Si Ang said with a mix of helplessness and displeasure, “Looks like we’re not the only ones night-hunting.”
Lin Chen also felt a little regretful and worried: “Speaking of which, what if we get targeted?”
As the highly regarded heir to a billionaire family, wasn’t Si Ang worried at all?
Lin Chen was certainly worried.
He was used to living in a society where gun ownership was illegal, and hearing that one could obtain a license to carry a gun here made him very uneasy.
“Not possible,” Si Ang reassured him, “I’ll sense if I’m being targeted, unless… the other person’s mental strength is stronger than mine.”
But such people are rare; why would someone want to kill him?
The higher one’s status, the more they value their reputation, and they don’t need to personally engage in fighting.
“I see,” Lin Chen nodded.
With Si Ang’s patient help, they found new prey, and successfully hunted a wild goat. They then left a sensor tag and waited for the staff to transport and process it.
They’re usually used as animal feed, making the most of everything.
After half a night, Lin Chen finally witnessed the extent of the wild goat infestation on the island. It was practically like Plants vs. Zombies—impossible to kill.
Finally, both of them were exhausted and returned to a hotel on the island to stay.
Besides the wild goats, this island had many tourist attractions. Even from Lin Chen’s perspective as a photographer outside the circle, he knew it was a place where you could take amazing photos. Unfortunately, they weren’t there for sightseeing and they should be heading back the next morning.
“Come and eat something,” Si Ang called out, still in his pajamas.
Lin Chen had just finished showering and glanced at the table: “Is it roasted lamb chops?”
“You want some? I’ll have someone bring it over,” Si Ang said seriously.
“No, no, no,” Lin Chen quickly waved his hand in refusal. He was just joking. When he placed the sensor, he had already had enough of that repulsive, gamey smell.
It was pork chops grilled to a perfect crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Lin Chen ate his fill with relish, and the two even drank a bottle of sparkling wine before heading back to sleep, burping contentedly.
The next morning, Si Ang woke Lin Chen first, his expression grave: “Lin Chen, get up quickly, we need to go to the police station.”
“What’s wrong?” Lin Chen was startled. Had they done something illegal?
Si Ang handed him his clothes, gently reassuring him: “It’s nothing, don’t panic. Someone was shot and killed in the woods last night, we need to question them.”
He assured him, “My bullets are custom-made, we can leave once the investigation is complete.”
Lin Chen groggily got up. This was the first time in his two lives he had been so close to a murder case: “Brother Ang, are these kinds of feuds common among nobles?”
Having personally examined the scope, he knew this was no accident.
“Not many. There are satellite cameras everywhere now. Shooting is the stupidest way to kill…” Si Ang trailed off, sensing Lin Chen’s fear. He turned and poured him a cup of hot water, patting his arm. “Relax, it’s okay.”
“Oh…” Lin Chen was alright, and regained his composure after drinking the water.
This was Lin Chen’s second time in a short period. The interrogation wasn’t as harsh as he’d expected; it seemed like routine questioning.
“Okay, two last questions,” the policeman said, “First, did you split up during this time? Second, did you encounter anyone else in the woods?”
Si Ang: “No, we stayed together the whole time. Aside from hearing gunshots nearby, we didn’t encounter anyone else.”
Lin Chen met the policeman’s sharp gaze and nodded: “Yes.”
The policeman nodded: “Okay, thank you for your cooperation.”
Leaving the police station, it was still early.
They went to a local breakfast shop. Lin Chen was starving and ate until he was about half full before asking the question that had been bothering him: “Brother Ang, the police have already ruled us out as the murderers, right?”
“Of course.” Si Ang chuckled. The question was a bit silly; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to give their statements so easily.
Lin Chen: “Oh.”
He lowered his head guiltily. He and Si Ang had both lied. First, they had actually separated for about twenty minutes. Second, he hadn’t been completely oblivious to the other people he’d encountered in the forest.
Admittedly, the black panther wasn’t human but it symbolized Duke Wenzel.
After his initial guilt subsided, Lin Chen began to absentmindedly wonder if he was guilty of harboring a criminal if this matter involved the black panther’s owner.