“What a romantic encounter! Just like in the movies!” Elisa sighed with envy, shaking her head.

Her marriage to Emir was purely political. Emir needed her family’s support for his power, while her father needed Emir’s financial backing. It was a straightforward exchange—sacred marriage, but devoid of love. Listening to Tang Mi speak about her “love” filled Elisa with a longing of her own.

“Yes, it’s unforgettable,” Tang Mi replied, looking at Elisa. A glint of happiness flashed in her deep, dark eyes.

Her acting was flawless—the lowered lashes and shy smile perfectly portrayed a girl deeply in love. Only Tang Mi herself knew that behind that smile lay a heart as frozen as stone, cold and hard, contracting almost to the point of cracking.

Elisa couldn’t help but smile back, caught up in Tang Mi’s radiant smile. “I believe you’ll be the happiest couple in the world.”

“Of course, who wouldn’t say so?” Tang Mi nodded, slowly loosening her fingers. The metal sphere in her hand dropped silently into the soil beneath the flame tree’s branches.

A faint blue glow shimmered across the sphere’s surface, then dimmed, blending seamlessly into the night.

“We must first map out the layout of Emile’s palace,” Yise had instructed Tang Mi before she left. “This sphere contains dozens of biomimetic flies, each implanted with nano-chips that can capture images as they fly through different areas. All you need to do is find a concealed spot in the palace, activate the unlocking key, and set it down. We’ll remotely guide the mechanical flies to explore all corners of the palace.”

At that time, Yise’s eyes had glinted with the same cold, emotionless light as the metal sphere, as though he were speaking to a mindless tool rather than a person.

To steal the weapons contract Emir was signing with Country A, Arthur and his team had spared no effort. The supposed deal between Arthur and Emir was just a cover; the key lay with Tang Mi, who would divert Emir’s attention and lower his guard, while secretly setting up various “foreshadowing” elements. That’s why MI6 in Country H named this mission “Operation Dark Blossom,” and she was the poppy hidden in the darkness.

Compared to the seductive yet deadly poppy flower, Tang Mi felt more like a tool—like the metal sphere in Yise’s hand, placed in the right spot at the right time. As for her fate after the mission’s completion, who knew?

“It seems you were having a great conversation,” Emir remarked, stepping outside with Arthur, followed by his secretary and aide.

Judging by the smiles on Emir’s and Arthur’s faces, their “business” must have gone smoothly.

“Miss Ann and I were just talking about her first meeting with Mr. Arthur—the jungle, the camera, and the elephants. It was so romantic!” Elisa turned back with a bright smile, linking her arm with Emir’s.

“Ann has always loved animals and photography. Recently, she’s been studying feline behavior. My trip here was partly for business and partly to accompany her on a wildlife tour of the savanna,” Arthur said, lightly holding Tang Mi.

“I also love animals. I keep quite a few interesting ones in the jungle behind my estate. Speaking of felines, someone recently gifted me a very rare white lion. Miss Ann, if you’re interested, would you like to come and see it?” Emir looked at Tang Mi, his pale face warmed slightly by his smile, with a soft but unfathomable light in his eyes, like a fine silver thread slowly, silently wrapping around her from head to toe.

“A white lion? How rare!” Tang Mi’s lips parted slightly in surprise, her face lit up with excitement and curiosity as if she had never seen a white lion before.

As everyone eagerly headed to the back garden to view the lion, Emir’s aide, walking at the rear, suddenly turned his head, a wary gleam in his eyes, having heard faint sounds coming from the flame tree behind him.

Turning to look, he saw nothing unusual. The dim streetlight cast tangled shadows over the flame tree, a few flies buzzing around the light with a faint hum. Two patrolling soldiers with guns were walking down a nearby path toward them.

Out of habit, the aide studied those noisy, ugly little creatures closely. After a few seconds, he instructed the approaching soldiers, “Hey, bring some insect repellent tomorrow. It’s rainy season, and the flies are getting worse.” Then he turned and rejoined Emir’s group, unaware that a black fly had quietly landed on his back, like a tiny eye watching the scene ahead.

Late at night, in a hotel suite.

“Are you sure that’s really Emma?” Arthur sat in the high-backed chair in the center of the room, quietly smoking.

JR sat on a nearby sofa, polishing his beloved Desert Eagle. His thick fingers tenderly caressed the cold surface of the gun, like he was stroking a beautiful woman’s body, a flicker of excitement lighting up the scars on his face.

Simon and Yise were seated at the far end of the room, surrounded by several laptops and a pile of coffee-stained cups, their eyes fixed intently on the screens displaying various scenes from Emir’s palace.

“Of course. You’ve seen her before, haven’t you?” Tang Mi was curled up on a chaise opposite Arthur, her legs drawn up as she gazed off to the side, lost in thought. The light from the chandelier filtered through frosted glass, casting a glow over her hunched shoulders. Her dark hair shimmered with a soft, golden hue, like a helpless little creature.

“It was night on the savanna, and all lions look the same. I can’t be certain the white lion Emir captured tonight is the same lioness that attacked me,” Arthur replied, exhaling a slow puff of smoke, his face cold and slightly obscured in the misty haze.

“I can understand animal language, and I’m one hundred percent sure that the lion in Emir’s cage is Emma.”

Tang Mi turned to look at Arthur through the smoke, her eyes clear and bright, sharply reflecting his face like the still surface of a lake. But beneath that calm was a suppressed anger and strength.

For a moment, Arthur was reminded of that silent standoff on the stormy savanna.

“Even if it is Emma, what can you do about it?” Arthur raised an eyebrow, his tone utterly devoid of emotion.

Yet a strange irritability surged within him. He stubbed out his cigarette in the crystal ashtray, pressing it down as if to extinguish the frustration gnawing at him.

“I’m going to save her! Emma can’t be tamed; she’s not an ordinary lion.” Tang Mi stood up, a sharp edge in her voice. Her hand accidentally knocked over the ashtray on the coffee table, and the thick glass hit the carpet with a muffled thud.

JR lowered his gun, looking at her, and Simon, who had been monitoring the screens, turned around in surprise. Only Yise remained focused on the screen, as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

Tang Mi took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She rarely lost control, even in dangerous situations, always maintaining her composure. But this time was different. Tonight, Emir had invited them to view his newly captured white lion (W//RS//HU), and the scarred, caged creature was none other than her friend Emma from the savanna.

Just thinking about Emma’s weakened state, tormented by whips and electric prods, made Tang Mi feel as if she’d been thrown into a massive blender, her heart shredded to pieces, bleeding and torn.

Arthur didn’t respond, only gazing at Tang Mi in silence. She stood across from him, her shoulders slightly heaving, and the light in her eyes dimmed, revealing a silent agony that made his heart ache. Her sorrowful gaze felt like countless fragments of stardust scattered across his eyes, cutting through his chest with a surprising, dull pain, choking back the words he’d been about to say.

---

Author’s Note: Sorry for the late update—went out to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and then had a family dinner, so I only just got a chance to write. It’s been ten years from the first Harry Potter to the last, and now it’s finally over; feels a bit nostalgic.

Still, I can’t quite accept Hermione ending up with Ron… sobs~~~ The actor who plays Ron just doesn’t look the part to me.

Off to get clean and fresh! See you all tomorrow, wave wave!