71: The undercurrents of a battleground

Lin Feng drove his aston martin, speeding along the empty California Highway 1.

Outside the car window was the deep, boundless night of the Pacific Ocean; the waves crashed against the shore, emitting a low roar.

Lin Feng's gaze, however, was firmer than the night and deeper than the sea.

He had just hung up the phone with Taylor.

That girl's kindness and comfort were like warm sunshine in winter, but he didn't need warmth right now.

What he needed was a sharp blade that could pierce through the darkness.

Images of the loss, Kobe's voice appointing him as captain, and his teammates' shocked or convinced gazes intertwined in his mind like a complex tapestry.

Responsibility.

Trust.

And the shame of defeat.

All of this transformed into a scorching motivation, driving him forward and making it impossible for him to stop.

He needed power.

He needed the Eye of the Heavenly Emperor.

Just then.

"Buzz..."

The phone on the center console suddenly lit up, vibrating slightly.

It wasn't a call, nor was it a text.

It was an automated entertainment news push.

Lin Feng's eyes inadvertently swept over it.

In the next second, his hand on the steering wheel couldn't help but tighten.

[K-POP Supergroup "Starlight Girls" Announces First North American Tour, First Stop Los Angeles!]

The news headline occupied the screen prominently in bold font.

Below the headline was a massive promotional poster.

On the poster, several youthful and beautiful girls were posing, and standing right in the center, in the most eye-catching position, was Yoona.

In the photo, she wore a glittering stage outfit, her makeup was exquisite, her gaze cool, radiating the powerful aura of a national goddess.

She was a completely different person from the soft girl who would blush over small things and cautiously seek protection in his arms.

Yoona... was coming to Los Angeles.

This thought immediately popped into Lin Feng's head.

Immediately after, he felt a slight headache.

A Taylor Swift was already enough to make his life full of uncertainties.

Now, Yoona was also about to descend upon this city.

One was as passionate as fire, the other as pure as water.

One saw him as an inspirational muse, the other relied on him for everything.

If these two met... Lin Feng's mind even began to preview a scene comparable to a nuclear blast site.

"Really... it's getting more and more chaotic."

He couldn't help but complain to himself.

His backyard was about to upgrade from a single-front operation to a double-front crossfire.

However, this irritable mood only lasted for a few seconds.

He quickly forced these stray thoughts out of his mind.

Romantic entanglements and Shura fields could wait.

Right now, nothing was more important than victory.

Nothing was more important than leading the Los Angeles Lakers out of the mire and responding to Kobe's trust.

And to achieve all of this, the Eye of the Heavenly Emperor was an indispensable piece.

The urgent priority was to handle Scarlett Johansson.

As long as he could unlock that skill, he was confident he could make all his opponents taste the bitterness of despair.

Lin Feng's gaze became focused again, and he pressed the accelerator a bit deeper.

The aston martin roared, turning into a silver bolt of lightning that disappeared at the end of the coastal highway... Half an hour later, the sports car left the main road and entered a heavily guarded private villa area in Malibu.

At the entrance guardhouse, a security guard in a black suit stopped the car.

Lin Feng rolled down the window.

The security guard leaned in, saw the divine Eastern face in the driver's seat, froze for a moment, and then whispered something into his walkie-talkie to confirm.

A moment later, he stood up straight and gave Lin Feng a standard gesture.

"Good evening, Mr. Lin. Ms. Johansson is waiting for you."

The automatic barrier slowly rose.

Lin Feng nodded and drove in.

Each villa here was spaced far apart, hidden within meticulously designed gardens, offering absolute privacy.

Following the address Scarlett had sent, Lin Feng parked the car in front of a villa built almost on the edge of a cliff.

The villa's style was full of modern artistic flair, with large areas of floor-to-ceiling glass and steel structural lines glowing with warm lights in the night, like a box of light suspended in mid-air.

From here, one could overlook the magnificent night view of the entire Pacific Ocean.

Lin Feng turned off the engine and pushed the door open to get out.

The sea breeze blew against him with a slightly salty scent, fluttering the hem of his clothes.

The villa door slid open silently before him.

A figure was standing gracefully at the doorway.

Scarlett Johansson.

She had changed out of her professional suit and was wearing a well-tailored black silk gown.

The gown outlined the perfect curves that drove men all over the world crazy, and her exposed skin glowed white under the lights.

A lazy and charming smile played on her face, and her emerald eyes seemed to sparkle with a different kind of light in the night.

Behind her was not the gallery Lin Feng had imagined.

Instead, it was a wide terrace.

Beyond the terrace was the boundless starry sky and the black sea bathed in moonlight.

"Welcome, my frustrated artist."

Scarlett Johansson's voice had a hint of magnetism and just the right amount of teasing.

"Where's the gallery?"

Lin Feng walked over, his gaze passing her to look at the magnificent scenery.

Scarlett smiled.

She stepped aside, clearing the path, and made an inviting gesture.

"The gallery is too small."

Her voice drifted away in the sea breeze.

"It can't hold tonight's nightscape, nor can it hold the stories you carry."

Lin Feng entered the villa.

Scarlett didn't take him to the living room but led him directly through the massive glass doors onto the terrace.

In the center of the terrace sat a small round table and two chairs.

On the table, a bottle of already breathed red wine and two crystal glasses reflected the brilliant light under the moon.

Scarlett picked up the bottle and poured a glass for Lin Feng.

The crimson liquid swirled gently in the glass, like flowing rubies.

She handed the glass to Lin Feng.

"Taste this."

Her fingertips, intentionally or not, lightly brushed the back of his hand as he took the glass.

The touch was like a feather, yet carried a hint of an electric current.

"1982 Lafite."

Scarlett looked into his eyes, the smile at the corners of her mouth deepening.

"They say one can taste the flavor of time in it."

Lin Feng took the glass; the coldness of the glass wall formed a sharp contrast with the warmth of her fingertips.

He looked at the tempting red in the glass.

He knew this glass of wine was the prelude to tonight's 'deep exchange.'

He knew even better that the woman before him was far more dangerous and more tempting than this famous wine.

He had come here with the mindset of a hunter, intending to capture the prey he wanted.

But at this moment, standing before this Hollywood queen and looking into her eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything.

Lin Feng suddenly felt that he was the one being scrutinized, the prey being led step by step into a trap.