Chapter 129: Victoria's Secret 2

"That punk, who is he? Why did Theresa stay behind to talk to him?" Qiu Hongwen couldn't help frowning deeply.

"I have no idea."

Mike Chen was baffled, though he sensed something was amiss. In any case, Theresa not leaving meant a volatile variable, and there was no telling what kind of chaos she might stir up.

At that moment, Qiu Tianjue happened to walk over to greet his older brother Qiu Hongwen, his gaze locking coldly onto Little Ma.

Qiu Hongwen blinked in surprise. "You know him?"

Qiu Tianjue sneered. "Know him? A freeloader who goes around meddling in everything, and somehow even crossed paths with me. He's one of Yu Chengmin's people."

Mike Chen asked in astonishment, "Who is Yu Chengmin?"

Zeng Xiaoxian chimed in with a laugh, "Yu Chengmin? I know her. She hooked up with Jiang Yaowen and works for him."

Hearing this, Qiu Hongwen sneered and dismissed the matter entirely.

However, the cunning Mike Chen shook his head slightly. "No, something feels off. You have no idea of the power of a troublemaker. For Theresa to be entangled with that punk, something must be happening. I don't want to guess; I want to confirm who he is. You two go over and test the waters, figure out what's going on."

This suited Qiu Tianjue just fine, as he was eager to humiliate Little Ma in public anyway. So, accompanied by his older brother Qiu Hongwen and Zeng Xiaoxian, he headed over...

*Wow!*

Upon stepping inside, Quan Zhiling was filled with awe at the sheer number of high-profile figures present. This truly was an eye-opener that broadened her horizons for half a lifetime.

Yet, a chill still lingered in her chest, making her feel as though she had walked straight into a tiger's den. Just this Theresa, who was currently pestering Little Ma—even the young master of the Yamaguchi syndicate treated her with absolute deference. Who knew what hidden agenda she might be harboring?

Theresa looked at Little Ma with malicious intent, scanning him from head to toe. The more she looked at this eccentric, naive fellow, the more suitable he seemed.

Her intuition told her that if she could recruit this man and put him through some "operative training," he would indeed be the ultimate secret weapon against certain women.

"Have you considered it? The matter I mentioned to you earlier?" Theresa raised her wrist to check her watch. "Make it quick. I really don't have much time to waste."

Little Ma shook his head slightly.

After glancing around the room, Theresa leaned in closer and lowered her voice. "Don't be in such a rush to refuse me. You are completely oblivious to the situation. Even with a modest amount of brainpower, you'd realize that Shinoda Kou has hostile intentions toward you. Moreover, the Qiu brothers practically look at you like a sworn enemy—look, they're walking over right now. Without my protection, you're about to face serious trouble."

Little Ma's demeanor had suddenly shifted, as if he were a completely different person. The sunny, carefree vibe vanished entirely, replaced by a cold, indifferent stare directed at Theresa.

This caught Theresa off guard.

Little Ma wasn't asleep; rather, he had abruptly transformed into a detached observer. Whether some primordial energy field had opened up or quantum entanglement had occurred was anybody's guess.

After gazing apathetically at Theresa for a moment, Ma Weimin said flatly, "Are you threatening me?"

"You... seem..." Theresa felt an abrupt change in him, though she couldn't quite pinpoint what was wrong. At the very least, his gaze carried a mesmerizing intensity.

It felt surreal, but Theresa held her ground for the moment, deciding to wait and see.

Ma Weimin retrieved the business card she had given him earlier from his pocket, lowered his gaze, and murmured, "Victoria..."

Theresa was startled once more. "You can read my family crest?"

Ma Weimin nodded, handed the card back to her, and said, "For the sake of your cousin Julia, leave."

Everything about this reeked of abnormality. Theresa hesitated briefly; regardless of the underlying mystery, something bizarre was definitely unfolding.

Theresa possessed a composed temperament. Ordinarily, this would be her cue to leave and avoid stirring the pot further. But the fact that he had casually mentioned her "cousin Julia" implied that this matter touched upon an entirely different level.

Without saying another word, Theresa took back the business card, pretended to make a phone call as she walked away, and discreetly snapped a photo of Little Ma.

Furthermore, she chose not to depart just yet, intending to observe how the situation developed. As someone who fancied herself all-knowing, she had suddenly stumbled upon something completely unexpected and was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Once Theresa had moved away, Qiu Tianjue, Qiu Hongwen, and Zeng Xiaoxian approached.

Noticing the murderous look in Qiu Tianjue's eyes—as if he wanted to chop Little Ma into mincemeat—the exceedingly timid Quan Zhiling began to panic again. She anxiously scanned her surroundings until she spotted the influential Jiang Yaowen and cast a pleading look toward him, since it was Jiang who had brought her here.

However, the portly Jiang averted his gaze with a sycophantic expression and made no move to intervene.

As the Qiu brothers approached with ill intentions, the surrounding guests consciously drifted apart, conversations dying down as all eyes turned to this focal point.

Being seasoned foxes, their intuition told them that this moment was the epicenter of the reception. Someone was about to face a reckoning.

Quan Zhiling tugged frantically at Little Ma's sleeve, whispering, "Let's leave. This place is too complicated. I'll accompany you somewhere else to clear your head."

"I don't need to clear my head," Ma Weimin replied, his tone bizarre.

Quan Zhiling lowered her voice further, trembling, "I—I'm a little scared."

"It's fine. Even if the sky falls down today, it won't crush us. Everything is under my control," Ma Weimin said with an eccentric expression.

By now, they had arrived. In truth, Qiu Tianjue possessed deeper city walls than his brother; despite his anger, he held his tongue for the moment.

Qiu Hongwen asked coldly, "What did that British woman just say to you?"

"What business is that of yours?" Ma Weimin asked, looking at him with genuine curiosity.

Zeng Xiaoxian blurted out in disbelief, "You know who he is, yet you talk to him like that? Did someone put you up to this? Do you really think Yu Chengmin is that formidable? Why don't you call her right now and ask her if she dares talk to me, Zeng Xiaoxian, like that?"

"She might be a loser, but does that mean you aren't poor?" Ma Weimin lapsed back into his erratic behavior.

Everyone was rendered speechless. It was genuinely the first time anyone had ever heard Zeng Xiaoxian called poor. As someone connected to major corporate magnates, a hidden shark in the real estate market, a multi-billionaire regular on ultra-luxury socialite lists, and one of Xie Jinyan's associates—she was poor?

Zeng Xiaoxian felt an urge to slap him across the face. Her eyes widened with fury as she snapped, "You... you called me poor? Say that again if you've got the guts, and see what happens to you!"

Ma Weimin retorted, "Nothing's going to happen. I don't even want to know you, yet you keep walking right into it. What, are you right just because you're broke? You're poor because you're lazy and lack a brain. It's not like I stepped on your tail."

"Pfft—"

Even Theresa, who was watching from a distance, spat out a mouthful of wine. Based on her seasoned experience traversing various high-stakes arenas over the years, this eccentric fellow was practically marching to his grave. Willfulness had its place, but it always came with a price. One could act recklessly in certain environments only because the law served as a safety net.

However, that applied to the middle class, who were completely ignorant of true power—the easiest group to bully in the world, relatively comfortable yet overly cautious about losing what they had. Yet there were two extremes one must never tread near: one should never put on airs in front of the ultra-poor or the ultra-rich.

As Theresa's thoughts drifted there, her phone rang again. She answered, and Julia's voice came through: "You haven't left yet?"

"Your Excellency, I encountered someone suitable, and some new developments arose, so I intend to observe a bit longer," Theresa reported.

"Who is it? Are they truly suitable and usable?" Julia inquired.

"I'll send you his photo." With that, Theresa forwarded the picture of Little Ma.

Elsewhere.

Holding a glass of wine, Julia pulled the phone away from her ear to check the incoming message.

The moment she looked closely, she spat out a mouthful of wine!

"Uh... Your Excellency, is there something wrong with the wine?" Her bodyguard asked awkwardly, simultaneously trying to glance at the photo on Julia's screen.

"No, my throat just suddenly felt itchy."

Julia casually tilted her phone screen away to keep the bodyguard from seeing.

Julia did not trust these bodyguards. They weren't her personal security detail; rather, they were seconded police officers from Scotland Yard's Diplomatic Protection Group. Simply put, Julia, as the Home Secretary, was their boss's boss's boss, but she was not their direct commander.

These "police officers" did not report to Julia; they merely maintained a cooperative working relationship, taking orders exclusively from the head of the Protection Command.

Many high-ranking officials ultimately fell because of their close protection details. For instance, when intense friction arose between political appointees and career civil servants, these bodyguards would sometimes leak confidential scandals about the politicians to the civil service side.

In virtually any country, high-ranking officials enjoyed a degree of immunity and rarely faced formal criminal charges. Yet once private scandals were exposed, forced resignation was inevitable. While it seemed as fair as a game of rock-paper-scissors, stripped of its facade, it could also serve as a mechanism for a true mastermind to control the world.

Before the era of the Grand Mastermind, the world had been a far more brutal and savage place. Just as J. Edgar Hoover was once said to have controlled the United States, the Home Secretary had similarly controlled the United Kingdom.

Because the Home Office had absolute jurisdiction over the entire police force, a former Home Secretary had ruled with an iron fist, completely subjugating Scotland Yard and thereby controlling the Diplomatic Protection Group. Thus, much like Hoover, he had essentially maintained a dossier containing the deepest secrets of every government official and the royal family.

That former Home Secretary was named Herbert Victoria—Julia's grandfather.