The scenic elevator descended slowly.

Looking out through the transparent glass walls, Jiang Qingli saw a stunningly realistic azure sky, simulated by projectors.

Each floor housed different entertainment facilities: bars, dance floors, gambling tables, and even a Beast Fighting Arena...

On the floor with the Beast Fighting Arena, Yu Chenglan called for a stop. "It’s been a while since I’ve watched any Beast Fighting."

The attendant paused the elevator and said to them with a smile, "These two are both star attractions at the Beast Fighting Arena. It’s hard to say who will make it to the end."

In the center of the spotlight, a burly black bear lunged at a deer covered in blood, but the deer nimbly dodged aside.

The deer twisted around, goring its opponent’s heart with its antlers. The black bear let out a mournful howl as its gaze gradually went vacant. As its life faded, the electronic shackle on its ankle fell away.

The surrounding crowd erupted in cheers, and masked guests tossed chips toward the dying deer.

The deer shifted into its human form. Covered in blood, it propped itself up and bowed to the crowd, only to collapse heavily to the ground mid-bow. After struggling a few times, it passed out.

On the electronic screens, numbers jumped and flashed, announcing the victor of the bet.

The cheers were deafening. Jiang Qingli couldn’t bear to watch and turned her face away.

Ye Linyuan supported the girl’s back with one hand, pulling her closer into his embrace while shooting a cold glare at the attendant.

The attendant shivered under his gaze. "My apologies. I didn’t mean to startle you."

He pressed the continue button, and the elevator began to descend again.

Yu Chenglan hadn’t seen enough and clicked his tongue in disappointment.

A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he turned to the attendant. "I remember you used to have an undefeated rabbit here. What happened to it? Did it die?"

"Ah, you mean 520?" the attendant said. "I’m very sorry, but 520 passed away from an illness four years ago."

"What a shame. He’d be less than twenty if he were still alive." Yu Chenglan showed a condescending sort of pity. "The first show I ever saw was him fighting a tiger. It was spectacular." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Indeed. Although 520 was only with us for three years, his record was perfect." The attendant smiled. "To this day, no one has been able to break his record."

DING—

The elevator stopped on the twenty-seventh basement level.

Stepping out of the elevator, they were met with a scene of pure luxury.

The arched dome projected a brilliant galaxy of stars. Dozens of auction booths were arranged in tiers, forming a semicircle around the circular stage at the very center.

Guided by the attendant, Jiang Qingli and Ye Linyuan headed toward an auction booth on the top tier.

Yu Chenglan and Bai Yiyi’s booth was right next to theirs.

As they walked up the spiral staircase one after another, Jiang Qingli overheard Bai Yiyi asking the attendant a question.

It seemed she was confirming a certain auction item.

The auction booths were spacious and comfortable, with a good amount of distance between them. Touchscreens for placing bids were embedded in the armrests.

"Here is today’s list of auction items. Please take a look, honored guests."

The attendant tapped a point in the air, and a digital screen materialized in front of Jiang Qingli.

The auction items for the day were written on the screen in a beautiful, ornate script.

The variety of items was extensive, including not only art pieces, jewelry, and long-extinct animals, but also a certain celebrity’s first night... and even military secrets from the Central District.

On the last page, the "pets" were listed with their numbers.

Below their headshots were their physical stats.

There were five male Beastmen up for auction in total, and Gu Nian was the first.

Jiang Qingli saw his incredibly detailed stats, including height, weight, measurements, and body fat percentage. They’d listed everything short of the length of his... you know.

She didn’t know much about male physiques, so she didn’t look too closely.

On the final page was the finale item: a Beastman with dark green hair.

He was dashing and bewitching, with a beauty mark at the corner of his eye.

Jiang Qingli stared for a moment. Combined with what she’d heard from Bai Yiyi earlier, she finally recalled a related plot point from the original story.

Because the original book was an erotic novel, it was mostly filled with various kinds of indescribable ’play,’ with almost no actual plotline.

The only thing related to an auction was the female lead’s new Beast Husband, Su Jue.

Su Jue was a Peacock Beastman, a famous playboy from the Second District who had trifled with many females.

After he was caught two-timing, the females had him packaged up and sold to the Underground City.

But...

Bai Yiyi was supposed to meet Su Jue not at the auction, but after it had ended.

Back then, Su Jue had been drugged by a noble. He had frantically escaped and run into Bai Yiyi in a dark alley at night while she was out stargazing and moon-gazing.

As for how Su Jue managed to escape the heavily guarded auction house, and how he so accurately found Bai Yiyi... all of that was glossed over in a few lines, with the focus shifting to their explosive, passionate encounter.

In short, after that one night, Su Jue fell completely in love with Bai Yiyi.

Su Jue’s story was the classic "reformed playboy" script.

The first thing he said upon seeing Bai Yiyi was, "An interesting woman."

He called Bai Yiyi the most special female he had ever met, claiming that all the women he’d been with paled in comparison to her...

Jiang Qingli had no interest in this man-whore. What she found strange was how a plot point that was supposed to happen later had suddenly been moved up.

’Is it because my arrival triggered a butterfly effect?’

’But from the looks of it, Bai Yiyi doesn’t seem to be clueless. She came here with a clear purpose.’

’Could it be that Bai Yiyi was reincarnated? Or did she learn about the plot through some other means?’

Jiang Qingli pursed her lips, thinking for a moment. She then beckoned the attendant over and whispered a few words in his ear.

The attendant seemed troubled. "Well..."

"I’ll make it worth your while." Jiang Qingli casually grabbed a handful of chips from the table and stuffed them into the attendant’s hand.

The attendant’s eyes lit up. He bowed to her respectfully and left.

A low chuckle came from her side.

Jiang Qingli turned to see Ye Linyuan propping his chin on his hand, staring at her with a half-smile. "You certainly know the rules around here."

"Well, I have my sponsor to thank for that." Jiang Qingli sidled up to him with a grin, giving his arm a fawning squeeze.

Only after coming inside did she realize the money she had prepared was useless. They didn’t use currency here, but rather universal chips similar to those in a casino.

The chips had to be exchanged in advance, and to avoid being traced, the process was exceedingly complex.

Thankfully, Ye Linyuan had prepared them ahead of time.

’He’s my biggest patron right now; I have to keep him happy.’

Ye Linyuan clearly understood the reason for her sudden enthusiasm. He reached out, grabbed her wrist, and gave her a gentle tug in his direction.

Jiang Qingli thought he was about to give her some pointers, so she obediently leaned closer and asked in a hushed voice, "What is it?"

As she turned her head, she was still vigilantly scanning their surroundings, not noticing that a strand of her hair had fallen onto the young man’s arm, brushing against him with a soft tickle.

Ye Linyuan looked down at her and said with restraint, "I’m your date right now. Don’t call me ’sponsor’."

"You’re right. I should call you something more intimate." Jiang Qingli thought for a moment. "Darling? Baby?"

Seeing Ye Linyuan frown, she paused, then tentatively said, "Hub... hubby?"

Before the auction, there was a performance. The guests all around were discussing the auction items, their voices a noisy buzz.

But to Ye Linyuan, it felt as if the world around them had hit pause.

As if bewitched, his gaze swept over the exquisite lower half of her face, visible beneath the white rabbit mask.

Her pink hair made her skin look even paler. Below her delicate nose, her red lips glistened beautifully.

’Last night, she used this very mouth to bite his shoulder, whimpering and cursing him...’

’And now, she was using those same lips to call him ’hubby’.’

The fading teeth marks on his shoulder suddenly began to itch unbearably. Emotions surged in Ye Linyuan’s eyes.

He suddenly turned his head, his thin lips pressing against hers.

Jiang Qingli was still waiting for Ye Linyuan to share some auction tips and was caught completely off guard by the kiss.

Her eyes flew open, her heart suddenly racing.

’What is wrong with him! This is a public place!’

She instinctively wanted to push him away, but before she could even lift her fingers, Ye Linyuan had already let her go and settled back into his seat.

"There are no cameras here, and no one saw." The young man lifted his gaze to glance at her glistening lips, then added, "Your makeup isn’t smudged."

His low voice was slightly hoarse but perfectly calm, as if nothing had happened at all.

Jiang Qingli: "..."

’If it weren’t for the lingering cool sensation on her lips, she would have thought she’d hallucinated the whole thing...’

Speechless, she shifted a little to the side. As Jiang Qingli prepared to watch the upcoming performance below, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a tall, slender figure out of the corner of her eye.

She hadn’t paid it any mind at first, but the figure was very close and lingered for a while.

She looked up in confusion, and then her eyes widened.

’Wait, this man in the black suit... why does his back look so much like Baili Jing’s?!’