Chapter 4

The air in the room was so thin it was suffocating.

Julian's usual aloof, ascetic demeanor shattered completely. At this moment, he was even crazier than Ethan.

But his madness was a repressed explosion, carrying a destructive despair.

As he moved, he murmured to me, his voice deep and trembling, sending shivers down my spine.

This man was truly a pervert to the core.

I gritted my teeth and endured, silently counting the time in my head.

The system's fertility buff should have taken effect by now.

After an unknown period, Julian finally stopped.

He was utterly spent, collapsing beside me, his eyes vacant as he stared at the ceiling.

I was exhausted too, covered in sweat, and that white shirt was long since torn beyond repair.

I nudged him. "Mr. Thorne?"

Julian didn't move. After a long moment, he turned to look at me.

His eyes held an incredibly complex mix of emotions.

There was regret, disgust, and a trace of infatuation he himself was unwilling to admit.

"Get out," he rasped, his voice utterly hoarse.

I wasn't angry; instead, I smiled.

Telling me to get out at such a moment meant his heart was in turmoil.

"Alright," I scrambled off the floor, picking up my torn clothes and wrapping them around myself as best I could. "Then I won't disturb your 'purification' anymore, Mr. Thorne."

I stumbled out of the room.

The night wind outside hit me, and I suddenly felt disgustingly sticky.

Back in my hotel room, I took a shower and put on the clean clothes Julian had previously arranged for me.

This time, I didn't linger.

Julian's current state was dangerous; once he fully came to his senses, he might try to silence me to preserve his "moral compass."

I had to run.

But I couldn't just run without leaving a trace.

I pulled out my phone and sent Julian a SnapChat message.

"Mr. Thorne, what happened tonight will remain my secret. But I need hush money. Five hundred thousand. Transfer it to this card."

After sending the message, I immediately blocked him.

This was me testing his bottom line.

If he transferred the money, it meant he wanted to keep things quiet.

If he didn't, or even sent people to catch me, it meant he intended to eliminate me.

Ten minutes later, my phone vibrated.

A bank deposit notification: five hundred thousand dollars.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed he still cared about his reputation.

With this five hundred thousand, plus the previous hundred thousand, I was much more financially comfortable.

I left Julian's villa that very night.

For the next two days, I hid in an inconspicuous motel.

The system notified me that the second seed had been planted.

Only one left.

Leo.

This guy was a race car driver, a complete thrill-seeker.

But he was different from the first two; they had psychological issues, while Leo was purely chasing adrenaline.

To handle him, I had to be even crazier than he was.

I checked Leo's schedule.

This weekend, there was an underground race on the winding mountain road.

Leo was both the bookie and a racer.

I used fifty thousand of the money to buy a used, modified motorcycle and a tight-fitting leather racing suit.

On Saturday night, I rode my bike up the mountain.

The winding mountain road was brightly lit, filled with luxury cars and attractive women, the roar of engines deafening.

Leo leaned against his red Ferrari, a cigarette between his fingers, chatting and laughing with a few people.

He had silver hair and a row of earrings, looking rather unconventional, but his face was undeniably handsome and flamboyant.

Wearing my helmet, I rode straight towards him and performed an emergency stop.

The tires shrieked, and exhaust fumes billowed all over him.

Leo coughed a couple of times, his smile instantly gone.

"Who's the idiot? Trying to get yourself killed?" he cursed, stubbing out his cigarette on the ground.

I took off my helmet and shook my hair.

A chorus of whistles erupted from the crowd.

Leo saw my face, paused, then narrowed his eyes. "Never seen you before. New around here?"

I dismounted, walked up to him, and looked him straight in the eye. "I heard if you beat you, you can ask for anything?"

Leo laughed as if he'd heard a joke, and the crowd egged him on.

"Big talk, huh?" Leo took a step closer, looking down at me. "If you beat me, you can certainly make a demand, but can you afford the stakes if you lose?"

"If I lose, I'll give you my life," I said, my face devoid of emotion.

The entire crowd instantly fell silent.

The amusement in Leo's eyes faded, replaced by the madness of someone whose interest had been piqued.

"My life?" He reached out and tilted my chin up. "What's your life worth? But... if you want to play, I'll play."

"If you lose," his finger slid from my chin to my collarbone, "tonight, you belong to me."

My heart tightened, but I didn't show any fear. "Deal."

The race rules were simple: from the mountaintop to the bottom and back. First one to return wins.

This mountain road had countless twists and turns, with sheer cliffs on the side and no guardrails.

One mistake meant a fiery crash and certain death.

I straddled my motorcycle and put on my helmet.

Leo also slid into his Ferrari.

With a signal, both vehicles shot forward like arrows from a bow.

The wind roared in my ears, and the scenery blurred past.

Leo's driving skills were indeed impressive; his turns were terrifyingly precise.

But I wasn't bad either.

After all, to save my life, the system had temporarily loaded a "Racing God" skill pack for me. Though it only lasted an hour, it was enough.

On a series of hairpin turns, I leaned low, hugging the inside line, and overtook him.

In my rearview mirror, Leo's car clung to my tail.

I could sense his excitement, as he started honking wildly and even tried to cut me off several times.

This madman was truly playing with his life.

Just on the last bend, an accident occurred.

There was an oil slick on the road. My wheel spun, and I, along with the bike, skidded out.

I rolled several times on the ground, finally stopping at the edge of the cliff, half my body suspended in mid-air.

Below was a pitch-black abyss.

I was so scared my heart almost stopped.

Just then, a screech of brakes sounded.

Leo's car stopped a few meters away.

He leaped out, rushed over, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me back from the cliff edge.

We both fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

Leo was on top of me, his eyes shining with a terrifying intensity.

"Damn it, are you really trying to die?" he cursed, but his voice was full of excitement.

I looked at him, my heart still pounding wildly.

This was the "bridge effect."

In such a life-and-death moment, a person's defenses are at their weakest, and hormones are at their most active.

I grabbed his collar and kissed him.

"You wanted my life? Take it."

Leo froze for a second, then cupped the back of my head and deepened the kiss.

Right there, in the desolate wilderness, beside a cliff, two people who had just cheated death ignited a fire.

As Leo flattened the passenger seat, he was still muttering curses. "I've never met a woman as crazy as you in my life."

I thought to myself, you haven't seen anything yet.

To survive, I could be even crazier.