Chapter 133 What

Thump, thump, thump—
The roar of the helicopter's engine echoed continuously across the night sky of Haizhou.
Little Ma honestly had no idea where they were flying, nor if this stunning woman was leading him into a trap.
Even worse, he had no clue how his physical body would react to this woman, so Little Ma kept his mouth shut. Yet, that femme fatale’s fully ripened, intoxicating allure made Little Ma feel as though she were a celestial being.
From the moment they boarded the aircraft, Julia’s assistant stared fixedly at the ceiling, pretending to see nothing at all.
Against the backdrop of the night, Julia exuded an infinitely hazy aura, casting strange, inscrutable glances at Little Ma from start to finish, her intentions completely opaque.
This left Little Ma feeling both wildly imaginative and scalp-tinglingly nervous. The most agonizing part was that Jiang Yaowen was in no position to rescue him from this scenario, and at the time, Little Ma’s physical strength had somehow been inferior to hers, allowing her to drag him away with utter ease, like a total weakling.
Damn it, this felt precisely like Tang Monk being captured by a female demon...
Six years could be considered long, or it could be considered short.
These were six years during which Julia had not seen him—filled with a lingering yearning, a quiet anticipation, and occasionally, a gnashing of teeth. In short, meeting him again in the present, Julia’s emotions were overwhelmingly complex.
This man was an absolute enchanture, sparing with his words, yet capable of throwing countless people into utter disarray. To him, however, those matters were utterly insignificant.
He would watch indifferently as a group of people plunged into a chaotic mess, remaining a cold spectator to the myriad states of the world. Six years ago, Julia had once asked him, "Why are you so reluctant to speak?" To which this fellow had replied with Lu Xun-esque detachment, "I find the world a bit too noisy."
Such was "him."
Amidst Julia’s sentimental musings, the helicopter arrived at an isolated seaside villa. Several of Julia’s private bodyguards were stationed here on duty.
Once the engine died, Julia naturally took Little Ma by the hand and led him off the aircraft.
Little Ma initially offered some resistance.
With formidable force and a burst of strength, Julia dragged him away once more...
"I'm going to change."
By the French windows of the back patio, she instructed Little Ma to gaze out at the dark ocean view while she kicked off her high heels right beside him, brazenly peeled off her stockings, and changed into a fresh, silver-toned dress.
Finally, she walked out carrying a glass of wine and handed it to Little Ma.
How the Great Demon King would respond remained a mystery, but Little Ma would pass out the moment he drank, and getting high caused his true self to manifest, so he gave a slight shake of his head in refusal.
"Not like you."
Julia took a sip herself, then turned her face toward the sea breeze, looking out toward the ocean.
The sea breeze gently stirred her silver dress, creating a super sensual effect where her long, beautiful legs were faintly visible. Little Ma instantly let his imagination wander.
"Now it's like you."
Without looking at him, Julia acutely captured his emotional shift.
    
Julia's thoughts also drifted, recalling him from six years ago. At that time, lacking the mature aura he possessed now, he had been wildly passionate and extraordinarily talented.
Thus, it was hardly surprising that he had become the emotional anchor for Julia during a very particular period of her life.
That had been a wild, intoxicating restlessness brimming with flavor, vivid in her memory to this day.
Gradually, however, things had begun to change. It wasn't that his flavor had soured to the point where Julia stopped loving him, but rather that he had grown unfathomable. No one knew what he was thinking; it seemed as though he suddenly ceased caring about anything and shrouded himself in secrecy.
Rapidly reviewing these emotions, Julia retained her rationality, temporarily setting aside her lovesick sentiments as she recalled a rather aggravating matter.
"The blunder involving the Vanguard-class strategic nuclear submarine test-firing a Trident II—was that your doing?" The stunning beauty suddenly dropped this bombshell.
What!
Had Little Ma been drinking, he undoubtedly would have spat it right in her face. Damn it... What kind of mess had Young Master gotten himself tangled up in this time? What on earth had the Great Demon King done?
Leaving a shut-in to clean up his mess was truly beyond words.
Naturally, this was impossible to answer, so Little Ma continued his act, gazing at her with the melancholic eyes of Tony Leung.
"Even if you don't say it, I know it was you. No one else could possibly pull this off. Even when you stay in the shadows, you still love to show off, signaling that you know everything and control everything, making everyone mere pieces in your grand game. Is that right?" Julia took a sip of the hard liquor, meeting his gaze unflinchingly.
"..."
Little Ma had nothing to say. So the Great Demon King was actually this ridiculously overpowered; no wonder they feared him so much.
Drawing on quantum-entangled information from before, Little Ma didn't yet know whether the Trident had been designed by the Great Demon King. But even if he hadn't designed it, the Great Demon King certainly must have left behind a backdoor.
The Great Demon King's implication was also abundantly clear: the Brits didn't need that many nukes; whenever necessary, they could just launch a few at the Russkies to resolve all problems. After all, he himself wouldn't bother babysitting the Brits, but would ruthlessly pummel the Yankees instead.
Having finished his mental fan-fiction, Little Ma straightened his posture slightly and maintained his facade.
Julia was a bewitching creature with a wonderfully erratic train of thought. One second she was talking about submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and the next she transitioned to: "Out by the sea, there's always a special feeling. Remember six years ago when you and I collected seashells on the beach?"
What?
Little Ma felt that the Great Demon King was truly out of hand. Exactly what kind of shady scoundrel friends had he made? Nearly every single one of them managed to leave Little Ma feeling utterly chilled to the bone.
No answer was given.
Julia stepped a bit closer and took another sip of her drink.
Her physical invitations were already quite obvious, yet there was still no reaction from him.
Next, she acted on impulse, grabbing Little Ma’s hand and placing it directly onto her chest.
"!" Little Ma felt a surge of excitement mingled with hesitation, ultimately shrinking his hand back like a complete novice.
"Back to being like you again."
Julia smiled. "Don't revere me. Most of the time, I am simply a woman. I don't need to be worshipped; I have my own emotions and desires."
    
Well then... Everyone loves to hear words like that. Little Ma decided to give it a try, shifting his hand to wrap around her waist.
Sensing that he remained somewhat stiff and uncooperative, Julia pouted and turned back inside. "Actually, I shouldn't have brought up the Trident missile. That was originally the Ministry of Defense making a fool of themselves; it has nothing to do with me."
Little Ma didn't follow her in, choosing instead to watch her retreating back. Wrapped in a slightly tight, silver-toned dress, the ratio of her full, rounded hips to her waist was pure golden-section perfection. Impressive.
When Julia set down her wine glass and turned back around, Little Ma was so startled that he decisively resumed his stern, righteous facade, looking away.
"You actually know how to blush?"
As if discovering a new continent, Julia sat down on the bed with a smile and said, "Come over here and tell me, what have you been up to all these years?"
With the cunning demeanor of a sly merchant, she emanated a subtle air of craftiness. Little Ma had no intention of walking over there and continued his cautious observation.
Julia didn't force the issue. Striking a gorgeous pose with her legs crossed, she pulled out a women's cigarette and lit it.
Taking a deep drag, she exhaled a cloud of smoke, stood back up, and walked over, sticking the remaining cigarette directly into Little Ma's mouth.
"Cough, cough @#￥..."
Unaccustomed to this particular flavor of cigarette, Little Ma had no choice but to take a couple of puffs.
"You knew the taste wasn't to your liking, yet you still smoked it? That proves you've never forgotten me," Julia remarked.
Naturally. No man could ever forget you.
Little Ma answered thusly in his mind, while secretly finding it amusing.
She retrieved the cigarette from Little Ma’s hand, took one last puff herself, and stubbed it out.
Taking Little Ma by the hand, she led him to the edge of the bed to sit down, and continued, "Back then, when you designed the F119 aviation propulsion system and ultimately didn't give it to Rolls-Royce, I won't dwell on that. I know that at the time you were merely a child, and the internal situation in your family was rather complicated; it wasn't your call to make."
Pausing for a moment, Julia added with a trace of lingering resentment, "Subsequent events proved, of course, that handing the F119 over to them was a complete waste. They were simply a group of drunken, self-opinionated fools. The benefits generated by the few F119 systems that were produced are obvious to the blind. Had it been given to Rolls-Royce back then, it would have been an entirely different concept. When they subsequently upgraded the F35 project based on your concepts for the F135, it became an absolute joke in the aviation industry. Ma Jiaohong and the others colluded with the Ministry of Defense to fleece money off the F35 project, completely abandoning all integrity."
One second talking about submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and the next about aviation propulsion systems—this conversation left Little Ma thoroughly entranced and bewildered.
Wait a minute... Little Ma seemed to have dreamed—or rather, experienced information transfer caused by quantum entanglement with the Great Demon King—concerning this very sort of information.
An ominous premonition flashed through his mind: did Julia’s interests also intersect with all of this? The Great Demon King wouldn't transmit these messages for no reason; were there truly dark secrets lurking behind the scenes?
Julia rose once more, swaying with graceful curves to pour herself another large glass of wine, carried it back to sit on the bed, took a sip, and smiled. "In terms of aviation propulsion systems, Rolls-Royce possessed vast technological reserves, but a huge portion of them were leaked in advance. According to my intelligence and statistics, excluding the French and the Germans, Rolls-Royce alone had approximately fifty-three technologies stolen from them."
"..." Little Ma was utterly speechless.