On April 17th, time quickly arrived.

At five fifty in the afternoon, impeccably dressed Shui He Linfan and Cao Cang Lian arrived at 3-2 Daiwacho in Higashiyama, at the renowned Michelin three-star restaurant, Kichisen Wahuishi Cuisine.

Shui He Linfan was wearing a sky blue dress, with a pale white round-brimmed hat on her head, and a pair of khaki low-heeled sandals on her feet. Despite her casual attire, she looked very formal due to her temperament, without a hint of casualness.

Cao Cang Lian wore a uniform skirt similar to a high school student's uniform, cute and lively, without any sense of inconsistency, appearing like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old high school girl.

As soon as they arrived, someone in the restaurant proactively came up to greet them.

"Hello, are you Miss Shui He and Miss Cao Cang?" (Waiter)

"Yes." (Shui He Linfan)

"That's right~" (Cao Cang Lian)

"All right, please follow me." (Waiter)

In high-class restaurants, the service is exceptional.

The two followed the waiter from the minimalist entrance into the restaurant.

Upon entering, they were captivated by the traditional Japanese decoration - the top-notch dining environment in Kyoto truly stood out as one of Japan's most famous Kaiseki cuisine teahouses.

Walking inside, it was all tatami and wooden decor. In the gaps between various private rooms, several elegant courtyards belonging to different rooms could be seen.

Led by the waiter into the private room, the environment was so quiet that one might think there were no other guests in the restaurant.

One could even faintly hear the sound of the Kamogawa River flowing at the foot of Arashiyama through the courtyard.

"Please have some tea first." (Waiter)

Before they knew it, the waiter had skillfully prepared tea and placed it on the table for the two of them. Then, without a sound, he knelt down and retreated out of the room.

Cao Cang Lian and Shui He Linfan exchanged glances, not picking up the teacups, just sitting quietly waiting.

They were not swayed by the upscale environment, very clear in their minds about the purpose of this visit.

Therefore, they remained highly vigilant, not daring to eat potentially unsafe food.

However, ten minutes later, the two of them lost consciousness.

And when they woke up again, their heads were covered with blindfolds, their hands and feet bound, secured to their seats.

Surprisingly, upon awakening, the two of them did not attempt to struggle or scream, but pretended to still be asleep, quietly trying to assess their situation.

Cao Cang Lian remained calm and believed that Shui He Linfan would also remain composed.

Before setting out for the appointment, the two of them had already considered all possible scenarios and prepared themselves mentally.

Given the clear time and location, the likelihood of Bai Yaxin coming to the appointment was almost zero.

This meant that Bai Yaxin's own safety was exposed in a public environment.

Thus, Kichisen Wahuishi Cuisine was evidently a transit point.

It's just that Cao Cang Lian really couldn't believe that Bai Yaxin would be so rough with her employees.

After waking up, Cao Cang Lian first calmed her mind to feel her body. Besides being uncomfortable from being restrained, she didn't seem to be injured in other aspects.

Then, based on her body's feeling, she could basically judge that she was currently in a car, there was no conversation around her, but she could sense someone's presence.

The smell of cigarettes, beer, the stench of an uncle, probably two to three middle-aged men.

There were barely any sounds outside the car, indicating it was probably in the suburbs.

How long had she been unconscious? There was no way to tell, and the reason for her unconsciousness was probably due to being exposed to some colorless and odorless hypnotizing gas in the private room of Kichisen Wahuishi Cuisine.

In any case, she decided to continue pretending to be asleep, perhaps to overhear valuable information.

However, in reality, Cao Cang Lian underestimated the professionalism of the other party.

Throughout the journey until they arrived at the destination, there was no conversation among the people in the car, not even a cough was heard.

- It seems they are a highly trained team.

Pretending to be asleep, Cao Cang Lian was carried off the car, placed in a wheelchair, and stopped after about ten minutes (estimated by Cao Cang Lian) of traveling.

Along the way, Cao Cang Lian heard the sounds of iron gates opening and locking, as well as the clanging of footsteps on steel plates.

She speculated that she had probably been transported to some workshop.

Then, the blindfold was removed.

Cao Cang Lian continued to pretend to be asleep and dared not open her eyes.

"Hey, wake them up." (Unknown female voice)

As the voice fell, Cao Cang Lian felt her body being shaken violently a few times, so she took the opportunity to pretend to be awoken by the shaking.

"Uh... huh...? Huh huh huh huh?" (Cao Cang Lian)

She sleepily opened her eyes, then looked around groggily, seeing Shui He Linfan next to her, who didn't react at all, and finally looked at herself before bursting into a scream.

Coordinated with the scream, Shui He Linfan was startled awake, with an incredulous expression on her face.

Pretending to panic and look around, they were actually gathering information.

They were now in a bare room with no windows, only cheap incandescent lights hanging from the ceiling.

In the room, besides the two of them, there were three men and a woman.

The men were muscular men in their thirties, while the woman appeared to be in her early teens.

Although the girl was sitting, it was still apparent that she was not very tall.

With a petite figure, big eyes, a doll-like face, short playful golden-brown hair, dressed in a slim-fit pink sports shirt, sports shorts, and boots, her eyes looked very innocent, like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl.

"Ladies, please don't panic." (Unknown female voice)

However, when she spoke, her voice unexpectedly sounded mature and mezzo-soprano.

This made Cao Cang Lian immediately raise her estimation of the woman's age to around twenty.

From the scene, it seemed that she was the highest-status person there.

Appearing here in this manner indicated she held a high position in Bai Yaxin's organization, but Cao Cang Lian had no impression of her at all.

"We 'arranged' for you two to come in this 'special way,' just to ensure Mr. Bai's safety." (Unknown female voice)

"Please understand." (Unknown female voice)

While apologizing verbally, there was no apologetic tone in her voice and expression, but rather a sense of condescension.

"Sister, can you please untie us first? The ropes are hurting a lot..." (Cao Cang Lian)

Cao Cang Lian followed her persona, complaining in a playful manner.

The unknown girl glanced at Cao Cang Lian, rolled her eyes, and said,

"Is it painful?" (Unknown female voice)

"Endure it." (Unknown female voice)