Lu Zihao didn't answer but gave a mysterious smile instead. With that, he leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and ignored Iris.
The car lapsed into silence.
She opened her mouth to ask him again, but then noticed the weary lines on his face. He looked exhausted! She immediately felt guilty. She had been too preoccupied with her own matters that she didn't notice his tired condition.
It was already way past midnight. She let her brother rest. He only told her that they were heading to one of his recently bought properties, but she didn't know where.
In the meantime, she took her laptop out of the backpack. She began looking up the latest news about Fan Luo.
The remnant within her flared up. This time, she didn't fight against it, letting the hatred and fury flood within her. There was no Jin Liwei that she needed to worry about hurting. Despite allowing the bloodthirst to fill her, she still retained some measure of control on her body. Her expression was cold and an intense murderous intent emanated from her.
Lu Zihao's two subordinates sitting at the front sensed it. They became alert, preparing themselves to face a lethal enemy. When they realized that the thick aura of danger was coming from her, they were shocked.
Lu Zihao's eyes opened and glanced at her. But he closed them again as if it didn't bother him.
About half an hour later, the car drove inside a gated compound. It was the only residence in an industrial area filled with old closed-down warehouses and factories. In fact, the residence was originally a warehouse but was converted into an impressive mansion.
"You did this, Big Brother?" she asked.
Iris could see a number of people patrolling around the property. Her eyes narrowed. She could sense that these people were all trained and dangerous. The scene reminded her so much of the Vetrov estate in the past.
He noticed her expression. He told her in Russian, "Like I said, don't compare these people to our people in the past. And little sister, you still suck at concealing your emotions from your face. Normal people might not be able to read you but to trained experts like me and my subordinates, we can read you like a book. Improve on it."
She pouted but still nodded. She really didn't care whether others could read her or not. What others thought about her was none of her business. They could think whatever they wanted about her for all she cared. But her big brother said to improve on it, so she would. It wasn't like she would lose anything from it.
The car stopped in front of the main entrance. One of Lu Zihao's subordinates opened the car door for them.
Lu Zihao carried her backpack and led her inside the mansion. The ones patrolling outside were all stone-faced, but the ones waiting inside greeted them good-naturedly. There were also some women among the group. Their eyes lit up when they recognized her.
"Holy sh*t! Iris Long?! You're Iris Long, right?"
"F*ck me! I'm a big fan! Can I get your autograph?"
"Sign my shirt, please! I also want a photo with you. Is it okay?"
"Boss Iris, I'm a member of the Black Stars! I'm with the Slippers Army! Uwah! Wait until my fellow Black Stars hear about this. They're gonna be so envious that I met you in the flesh."
"Boss Hao, is Iris your girlfriend?" one of them suddenly asked.
A deadly aura burst from Lu Zihao. Everyone froze and went silent. Their earlier exuberance was replaced by complete submission. Even Iris couldn't help but shiver a bit.
She cleared her throat. "No, Big Brother Zihao is my brother. I have my own boyfriend."
"Oh." They appeared curious at her revelation of having a boyfriend but nobody asked her for more information because of Lu Zihao's silent warning.
"Call my sister Miss Xiulan, not Iris," Lu Zihao ordered them.
All of them obeyed.
"Little sister, these are my subordinates. We call ourselves the Shadow Winds. It seems that the authorities are describing us as an anti-gang." He sneered. "It's like calling a shark a tadpole."
Iris looked at everyone and bit her lip. She could tell that her big brother was very much in his element right now. It was scaring her. "Big Brother, why did you form Shadow Winds? What is this group for?"
"Don't think too much about it, little sister," he said, rubbing the top of her head. "Don't you know that we stand on the side of justice? Those gangs bullied some of my subordinates before. We are just carrying out retribution. My people shall never cower or bow down to anyone!"
Lu Zihao nodded and then continued to tell her, "As the saying goes, 'Do not do unto others what you don't want others do unto you.' We won't touch anyone as long as they don't bother us. But if they do, well, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' That's all."
His words resonated with the remnant within her. It flared up with more force this time. Iris didn't fight against it. After all, her mission at the moment was to appease its need for revenge.
She hoped that once the remnant achieved revenge for the original Iris, it wouldn't bother her or fight for control with her body anymore. She wasn't expecting for the remnant to completely disappear but to at least co-exist with her without trying to overwhelm her with emotions that wasn't hers. If they managed to co-exist, perhaps her body would accept her more fully and stop trying to reject her.
"You want revenge?" Lu Zihao asked. He already sensed that the bloodthirsty woman beside him wasn't his sister.
She glared at him. "What? You're gonna stop me?"
"Who said I'm stopping you?" He raised an eyebrow and tucked his hands inside his jeans' pockets. "I don't give a f*ck about you but I care about my sister. You need revenge? I'll help you."
He swept his arms wide open. "I'll allow you to borrow my Shadow Winds. Their levels are still not up to my standards but dealing with a small cockroach like that psycho b*tch Fan Luo is child's play to them."
"Oh?" She looked delighted. Then she turned to his subordinates, lifting her chin in an arrogant manner. "You heard your boss. From this moment until I get my revenge, you must obey my orders!"
Lu Zihao crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his subordinates.
She giggled and clapped her hands. "How wonderful! I can get used to this."
Lu Zihao roughly grabbed her collar. His intense, cold eyes intimidated her, making her cower. "This is for my sister, not for you."
"Big Brother, let go…" Iris' sweet voice returned. The remnant ran back and hid deep within her, frightened by Lu Zihao.
He let go. His expression also softened and became gentle.
His subordinates were confused at what they were witnessing. Why did it feel like their boss was treating Miss Xiulan as two people? Some of them suspected that she might have a split personality. They were curious, but they didn't ask. For people like them, all they needed to do was follow orders.
Although reluctant, Iris took charge. It was the remnant that needed the revenge but it had no abilities or skills to achieve it. It was up to her, Lu Zihao and the Shadow Winds to give it to her.
She and Lu Zihao immediately made a quick but detailed plan for this revenge mission. There were many times that Iris wavered during the process, but the remnant would flood her with feelings of fury and hatred as a way of keeping her in check. She and the remnant reached an odd partnership this way.
After making the plan, everyone prepared to put it into action. Iris gathered the hackers from the group. Fortunately, Lu Zihao already equipped the place with high-performance computers. Of course, they couldn't compare to the ones inside her own computer room but they would suffice for this mission.
Two other groups left the compound to fulfill their assigned roles in the plan.
"Holy f*ck! You're Drakon?!"
"Am I dreaming? It's Drakon...it's really Drakon…"
"Master, please take me in as your disciple!"
Iris ignored them, focused on hacking. They needed to move fast. She discovered that the police already received a signed arrest warrant for Fan Luo. They could arrest her anytime. However, it seemed that the police planned to do it in the morning as a fanfare to the media and the public. In the meantime, the hospital was heavily guarded by the police to prevent her from escaping.
"I forgot to bring my black notebook," she muttered.
"Don't worry, little sister. I took it," Lu Zihao said with a devilish smirk. "Looks like we can finally cross out the names today."
She sighed, not feeling any excitement at all. She wanted this to be over as soon as possible.
"I miss Liwei."