When the rescue ship reached the skies over the L100 Security Bureau, its AI snapped images of the brutal scene outside.

Mutant rats and human bodies were strewn everywhere. Seven or eight survivors darted through pools of blood with rats in pursuit—and an antique armored vehicle trundled alongside them.

“Damn it! Land now!”

The rescue captain felt his soul leave his body at the sight.

How had it come to this?! Were both teams wiped out?!

When they rumbled over in the gun-truck to take a closer look—

Oh. Not our boys. Then fine.

The antique armored car eased up beside the gun-truck, a window lowering to a narrow slit.

“I’m Rong Shi, intern with Team A8,” said the voice within. “Those are rebels who attacked us. The others are inspecting the atmospheric unit. It’s yours from here.”

The rescue captain recognized the face.

The kid who flattened several men the moment he boarded the warship—too feral to forget.

“All right. You two board the ship first.”

After a brief exchange, he watched Rong Shi roll the window up and steer the armored vehicle toward the transport.

“He even knows how to drive an armored car—he really does have reason to be cocky,” the captain muttered at the rear-feed.

As they entered the Bureau and saw limbs scattered everywhere, a wild thought flashed through his mind.

—Could they have done all this?

Rong Shi parked in a blind spot and had 01 revert.

“Who do you think sent them?” Song Yu asked as they headed for the ship.

He’d thought the first wave of killers was sent by Song Ke, the second by the Queen.

Now he wasn’t sure.

Besides those two, who else could mount an attack on this scale?

“Your enemies are the same handful, over and over,” said Rong Shi. “It’s not easy to move this many assassins without leaving traces.”

Thinking of Yang Peng’s expression, Rong Shi said thoughtfully, “I have an idea—but I can’t confirm it yet.”

At the ring-shaped building’s center, Teams A8 and A3 had finished checking the atmospheric unit and stood in the empty space, waiting for rescue.

Somehow, the air felt heavy.

“They actually drew them all off,” someone in A3 muttered under his breath.

Unbelievable.

Veterans covered by rookies on their first battlefield.

Even more unbelievable—Rong Shi did exactly what he said he would. Not only did he draw them away—he drew them away so completely not even their shadows remained.

At that, A3’s members felt their faces burn.

They shouldn’t have judged Rong Shi and Song Yu’s strength by normal standards.

“They’re here!”

Footsteps sounded from the corridor to the exit, and Old Lin was the first to sprint over.

“Where are those two kids?!” He grabbed the rescue captain, anxious. “You didn’t see them?”

“We did.”

Old Lin exhaled a fraction. “They’re not hurt? The killers and rats are handled?”

“They’re perfectly fine. All handled.” At that, the captain’s expression turned… complicated.

Once the others had gathered, Old Lin slung an arm over his shoulder and grinned. “Good efficiency this time.”

“They handled it,” the captain said blankly.

Old Lin: “?”

“Who handled what?”

“Rong Shi and Song Yu handled the killers and the rats you mentioned. By the time we got there, only a few were left.”

Silence for several seconds. Then a chorus of sharp inhales.

Old Lin’s mind blanked. “You messing with me?”

“Mess with you, big lunk? Why would I be that dumb?”

Old Lin stared dumbly for a full minute, then exploded, “Insanely badass!”

Half a month later, all atmospheric units had been inspected.

Privately, Rong Shi got a dataset from Old Lin.

Since returning from L100, Old Lin had become Rong Shi’s number-one fan—“slavishly obedient” was hardly an exaggeration.

Plenty teased him for it. Old Lin stiffened his neck and shot back, “So what if I’m holding someone’s thigh? If you’ve got the guts, come hold it too!”

“This is internal legion classified. Read it yourself—don’t hand it to anyone, got it?” he said, sending the file. “What do you need it for?”

“Research and study,” Rong Shi didn’t elaborate. “Any results on the killers?”

The commotion had been big enough that even Jin Dazhao knew about it. He’d immediately ordered a thorough investigation.

Old Lin shook his head. “Heard they’ve reported up to the military. I don’t know specifics.”

Reported to the military? Rong Shi’s gaze lowered.

Which basically meant it would go nowhere.

If the Qin family couldn’t dig anything up, he could only ask Qianli to investigate.

As he was leaving, a thought struck him. “Does Captain Yang Peng have a partner?”

“Yeah.” Old Lin didn’t know why he asked and was puzzled. “He’s been married almost five years, but they’re apart a lot—no kids yet.”

“They don’t get along?” Rong Shi asked.

“How could they not?” Old Lin said sourly. “When he’s not on a mission, he’s glued to his wife. You can’t get him for anything after hours.”

He eyed Rong Shi oddly. “In that sense—you two are quite alike.”

Rong Shi: “…”

Just when Old Lin thought he was going, he heard that cool voice add, “There’s a difference. My wife is prettier and cuter, can fight and clings. If we were apart too much, he might kill me.”

Old Lin: “…Damn.”

A good kid. Why did he have to have a mouth like that?

Back at the cabin, rich coffee aroma filled the air.

Rong Shi glanced at the busy figure in the little galley, eyes softening.

“You’re back?” Song Yu turned at the sound. “Did it come through?”

“Mm.”

They sat by the window and skimmed the inspection summary.

“Only three units show signs of sabotage—M80, Z70, and L100.” Song Yu, coffee in hand, swiped to pull up V99’s satellite map. “These three areas connect.”

On the map, Z70 was at the top; L100 bottom-left; M80 bottom-right, forming a triangle around a sea.

Rong Shi lifted a hand—long fingers tapping, wrist turning.

The virtual sea enlarged and slowly rotated.

They searched carefully for a long while and found nothing.

“01, scan for islands in and around these three areas,” Rong Shi said.

[Scanning—]

He’d later checked the medicine kit Jiang Huai had given them. The pills were fine. Only the white paper had conveyed the message of a folded paper boat.

There were tens of thousands of islands on V99—never mind the possibilities under the sea or riverbeds.

He didn’t think Jiang Huai would hand him such a vague clue.

[No islands within the areas.]

Frowning, Rong Shi stared at the map for a long time. “Query the database with keywords—time range: the last hundred years.”

[On it!]

“Nothing?” Song Yu asked.

Rong Shi nodded. “I asked 01 to dig through the archives. Maybe it turns up something.”

“If not, it might be hinting at the sea zone,” said Song Yu after a sip. “But that makes it much harder.”

A thorough sea-floor investigation without alerting the legion was basically impossible—even the equipment alone would require legion support.

There was that possibility—but Rong Shi’s gut said an island was more likely.

From the corner of his eye, he watched the little cat sip, sip—downing the cup quickly. When Song Yu lifted it again, Rong Shi caught his wrist and brought it to his own mouth for a sip.

The sweetness made his brow twitch—and his kidneys twinge.

“That’s mine.” Song Yu pulled his hand free and jerked his chin at the other cup. “Drink that one.”

Rong Shi reached for it. “How much sugar did you sneak in?”

“Just one cube,” Song Yu dodged easily.

“A cube the size of a fist?” Rong Shi arched a brow.

“Something like that,” Song Yu said without a shred of guilt.

Rong Shi: “…”

Would the little cat be a fat cat in fifteen years?

At the thought, his face clouded. “Sugar control starts today. Morning runs with me every day. No stashing snacks. Or I’ll confiscate your cuddle pillow.”

Song Yu: “…Damn.”

What got into the rabbit?

01 pinged in his mind. For convenience, Rong Shi had it project aloud.

“I scraped over three billion entries,” it chirped. “My little brother and I filtered for a few minutes and found this—an open report from 88 years ago.”

A window popped up with a brief and a labeled map.

In the sea between L100 and M80 was a sesame-sized island, marked “Rockheart Island.”

“Only this one?” Rong Shi asked.

“All relevant records only mention this one,” 01 replied.

Song Yu opened the satellite map. At the corresponding coordinates—nothing.

Two possibilities: one, sea levels rose or the island’s structure changed and it sank; two, someone cloaked it with anti-detection systems.

They’d have to take a look.

That night, after dinner, they ran into Yang Peng—whom they hadn’t seen for half a month.

Since being pulled from L100 Security Bureau, he’d been avoiding them.

“Captain Yang,” Rong Shi greeted.

Hidden beneath his sleeve, the decorative clasp on his terminal extruded a tiny probe that brushed his wrist.

Seeing no way to dodge, Yang Peng’s face stiffened. “It’s you.”

“I’ve been wanting to thank you for the Security Bureau,” Rong Shi said mildly. “I just never had the chance.”

“Thank me for what,” Yang Peng said sourly. “I didn’t help you.”

“If you hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have realized how reliable Old Lin is.”

That preternaturally calm handsome face was deceptively dangerous; it took Yang Peng a second to realize he’d been insulted.

“You little—!”

“Don’t get excited,” Rong Shi patted his shoulder. “You misunderstood me. I meant—you and Old Lin worked very well together.”

Grinding his teeth, Yang Peng shook the hand off and stalked away.

Watching his back, 01 chimed in Rong Shi’s mind.

[Pheromones sampled. Pulling database records for comparison—preliminary result: 80% curve disparity.]

The overlay showed comparison graphs.

No matter how much age changed, pheromone curves couldn’t diverge that much.

After the atmospheric inspections, Old Lin’s team was assigned to scan L100’s basic infrastructure.

Rong Shi and Song Yu followed the team to L100, then privately asked Old Lin to let them leave temporarily.

“What are you two up to?” Old Lin asked, puzzled.

Fingers interlaced, Song Yu smiled. “What do couples usually do when they go out alone?”

Old Lin’s gaze bounced between them; stroking his chin, his eyes turned suggestive. “Oho—top students really date different, huh? A date in a level‑4 danger zone? Not scared you’ll get ambushed in the middle of—”

“The more dangerous, the more exciting,” Song Yu said, smile deepening.

“Damn!” Old Lin gave a thumbs-up. “A real alpha doesn’t flinch. I’m impressed!”

Listening to the little cat run his mouth, Rong Shi kept a straight face and didn’t feel like playing along.

A white belt pretending to be an old hand—even his kisses learned by practice—was surprisingly convincing.

Once the squad departed, Rong Shi had 01 shift to a hovercar and flew toward Rockheart Island.

[Invisibility engaged,] 01 reported.

At 01’s speed, it took less than ten minutes to reach the coordinates where the island should be.

[00: AI presence coverage and anti-detection program detected. Cracked. Blocking all incoming scans.]

As the words fell, a small island slowly surfaced on the broad sea.

“As we suspected,” Song Yu said.

It hadn’t vanished from the map because it sank—it had been hidden on purpose.

01 picked a safe landing based on its scans.

The island was ringed by beach, with rocky cliffs and a small wood in the center.

Recalling 01, Rong Shi and Song Yu walked inland.

At the treeline, broken, intermittent cries for help drifted to their ears. They locked eyes and frowned.

Someone was here?

“H-help—help me!” A slim omega boy, face pale and lips dry and bleeding, stumbled through the trees in an oversized white shirt.

Four or five mutant rats squealed close behind.

“Ah—!” He tripped over vines and slammed to the ground.

Dizzy, he tried and failed to push himself up.

Hearing the rustling rush closer, he clawed forward and sobbed, voice shaking: “Help—help—sob—I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die—”

By the end, he was sobbing outright.

Rong Shi and Song Yu hid behind a nearby trunk.

“If we don’t help, he’ll be eaten in under three minutes,” Song Yu said, bored.

Anyone who made it here was no ordinary person. With the situation unclear, it wasn’t wise to expose themselves.

But leave him—and the omega would die.

A gunshot cracked. The boy flinched violently.

At the thump of a rat falling, his tearful eyes widened as he tried to look around.

Rong Shi kicked a carcass aside and stepped in front of the omega. “You all right?”

The boy jolted, trembling like a sieve.

Curling up, he looked up. “Th-thank you, brother—”

When he saw the boy’s face, Rong Shi’s pupils shrank.

On the boy’s chin was a sesame-sized mole—