"Hey, hey, hey, why the sudden fight?"
Seeing the two of them suddenly turn against each other, Cipher hurried over to mediate.
"It's nothing." Lin Mingyu had been about to curse back, but upon hearing Cipher's voice, he swallowed his insults. "This colleague of mine isn't very bright. He's been in a position where he lectures people for too long, and it's given him a superiority complex."
"You!" The middle-aged man snapped, momentarily choked with rage. "First class is soundproofed. How could she hear our conversation?! Besides, there are so many people here; how did she find us so accurately?! You actually believe such a clumsy excuse?!"
Hearing the middle-aged man's point, Lin Mingyu froze, momentarily unsure how to rebut him.
However, Cipher immediately stepped forward to smooth things over for him.
"Sir, you are able to see my cat ears, right?" she asked calmly, pointing to the ears atop her head.
"I can, but so what? Are you trying to say you're a feline genetically modified human?" The middle-aged man looked at her with utter disdain. "Let me tell you, I fly in this class of cabin frequently, and I've brought many people with me, including no small number of feline genetically modified humans."
"But not a single one of them could hear voices from another cabin through the partitions. What makes you think you can?!"
"Heh, a frog at the bottom of a well." Hearing the middle-aged man's claims, a look of distaste appeared on Cipher's face. "Do you dare to speak on the degree of modification of those feline genetically modified humans you've encountered? Were any of them at least B rank or higher in strength after modification?"
"This... well..."
Faced with Cipher's question, the confident expression on the middle-aged man's face began to crack. His mouth opened several times, but no words came out.
"What? Cat got your tongue?" Seeing this, the look of distaste on Cipher's face intensified. "Could it be that the feline genetically modified humans you've encountered were all just useless dolls created with looks but no strength, specifically to satisfy your fetishes?"
"They are all feline genetically modified humans, and they all have cat ears! Even without strength, shouldn't their hearing be roughly the same?! Besides, looking at you, aren't you just one of those useless toys who only underwent partial gene modification to seduce men!!!"
To save face, the middle-aged man's face flushed red as he began to defend his viewpoint. However, in the next instant, that viewpoint was shattered completely by Cipher.
"Pfft... no strength but hearing is the same? I'm a useless toy who underwent partial gene modification to seduce men?" Hearing the middle-aged man's words, Cipher couldn't hold it back and burst out laughing.
But in the next heartbeat, her face turned cold.
"I'll return the words you gave Mr. Lin earlier—'has water entered your brain'?"
As she finished speaking, Cipher appeared behind the middle-aged man in an instant, resting a dagger against his throat.
It all happened so fast that neither of them had time to react.
When the middle-aged man saw the Cipher before him vanish and felt the cold steel against his neck, his entire body stiffened. He lowered his head mechanically.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHH—"
A panicked scream erupted from the middle-aged man's throat, echoing through the VIP passage.
In the next moment, a squad of heavily armed security personnel rushed out from both sides of the passage, aiming their weapons nervously toward Cipher and the middle-aged man.
"Drop the weapon!"
"Don't panic."
Facing numerous muzzles, not a trace of nervousness appeared on Cipher's face. She moved the dagger away from the middle-aged man's neck and tossed it onto the ground, saying nonchalantly:
"There, it's unsharpened. It couldn't cut his throat."
As she spoke, she tossed an object that looked like a badge onto the ground as well.
"I was merely giving this gentleman a demonstration of my strength."
Although Cipher was being cooperative, the security personnel did not lower their guard. They sent one person to retrieve the items while the others kept their weapons trained on her.
Once Cipher finished speaking, the security captain asked her, "If it was a demonstration of strength, why did you hold a dagger to this gentleman's throat?"
"Because by doing so, I believe this gentleman will have a much deeper understanding of my strength."
At this point, she flipped her hand, and another dagger appeared out of thin air.
"Besides, I'm not exactly a front-line combatant. If I didn't do this, what was I supposed to do? Perform a thug's excited fist in front of him?"
"This..."
Hearing Cipher's reasoning, the security captain was momentarily at a loss for words. He turned to look at the security guard who had just picked up the badge and dagger.
"What's the status?"
"Reporting, Captain." The guard handed the dagger over. "It is indeed as this lady said; it is unsharpened."
Seeing this, the security captain looked back at Cipher, about to say something else, when the guard handed him the badge as well.
"Captain... this is a badge from the Genesis Tech Elite Feline Gene Modification Department..."
The guard paused, his voice trembling slightly.
"And the rank engraved on it is A rank..."
"A rank?!" The security captain's eyes widened in disbelief. "You mean this lady is an A rank powerhouse from Genesis Tech?!"
He snatched the badge from the guard's hand and inspected it personally.
After a moment...
"Our apologies, Ms. Cipher. Here are your dagger and badge. Please forgive us."
The security captain bowed with a flattering smile, handing back the items. The other security members had already lowered their guns and bowed slightly toward Cipher, remaining silent.
"There's nothing to forgive. I don't mind; you were just doing your jobs." Cipher took back the badge, her face showing no sign of dissatisfaction. "If there's nothing else, you may go. I still have things to discuss with this gentleman."
"Of course. Please continue your conversation, Ms. Cipher. We will withdraw now."
Seeing that Cipher wasn't going to press the matter, the security captain felt as if he had been granted a grand pardon and immediately organized the withdrawal of the security personnel.
Soon, only Lin Mingyu, the middle-aged man, and Cipher remained.
Lin Mingyu had watched the entire process in a daze, his brain seemingly fried. As for the middle-aged man, the sudden incident had turned his flushed face several shades paler from fright.
Cipher didn't pay any mind to Lin Mingyu, instead turning her playful gaze back onto the middle-aged man.
"So, how was the strength of this 'useless toy who only accepted partial gene modification to seduce men'?"