“Muyan, why’re you here so early? You showed up like dawn slipping through the blinds, and I didn’t buy your breakfast—what now?”

Ye Yiyi set the breakfast down, the bag rustling like leaves in a morning breeze.

“It’s fine. I’m not hungry—last night left me full like a heavy moon.”

Li Muyan waved his hand, the gesture light as a sparrow’s wing.

“Oh… okay. So, did Uncle Li’s issue get handled, or is it still a pebble in the road?”

“Mhm. Dad called me back to deal with a small thing, just a ripple in the pond.”

“Enough about me, Yiyi. I was gone one night, and it feels like storms rolled through—look, you’ve left her wilting like a lily.”

Li Muyan chuckled, pointing at Tang Coco; her glare snapped like a spark.

“Ah! What are you even saying! She did this to herself—cheeks burning like peach blossoms.”

“Oh? So she did it to herself, hm? Tsk, tsk—herself.” He leaned on the word like a thumb pressing clay.

Tang Coco wasn’t dumb; the hint pricked like a thorn, and in her chest annoyance swelled like a hot tide.

Hey, Yiyi, spell it out, or this filthy girl will spin indecent scenes like smoke.

She didn’t have the strength to fuss; she lay back on the bed, eyes sliding shut like a tired cat in sun.

“Alright, enough teasing. Yiyi, eat your breakfast; I’ll feed her—keep things smooth like water.”

“Okay.” She nodded, hope stirring like a small flame for Coco and Li Muyan’s bond.

Yiyi had bought the classic patient breakfast—millet porridge steaming, the curl of heat like silk ribbons.

Li Muyan raised the bed a notch, half-sitting her up like a reed propped by wind, popped the lid, scooped, and blew, the spoon a tiny moon.

Coco watched, surprised this filthy girl could be careful, the care weaving soft as threads in rain.

“Hey! Little miss, open up.” His tone tapped like knuckles on wood, not gentle but steady.

Fine. Her mood sagged like damp paper, but she opened her mouth docile as a fledgling waiting rain.

“Mhm. People stay obedient when sick, like rivers narrowed by winter.”

Coco shot Li Muyan a white-eye, the look cold as frost on glass, and let the words drift away like mist.

“Yiyi, what if we take her home, lock her up, and keep her like art—see how quiet she is? Quiet and easy on the eyes, like moonlight on jade.”

“Mmm, I could see that. No one would know, right? We’d place her on the bed, keep her like a doll—soft and silent as cotton.”

“!!!!” The shock jolted her like thunder, and the porridge caught in her throat like a startled sparrow.

“Cough—cough.” She sputtered, breath tripping like feet on stones.

“Ha! Yiyi, look how we spooked her—laughs fluttering like silver bells.”

“Hehe, just teasing you. We could never bear to lock you up—our hearts would pinch like crabs.”

Yiyi patted Coco’s head, a touch warm as a sunbeam; Coco rolled her eyes again, awarding each of them one like a coin tossed in a bowl.

The room settled, harmony spreading like light over white sheets, the ward breathing easy as a quiet lake.

At the western coast of Ninghai City, sea wind sliced like knives while Captain Lielong’s team reached the sites where several American Abnormals had died.

“Yeah, something’s off. These stones look like they fell naturally, but Captain, check this piece.” No. 4 crouched, eyes sharp as hawks, and lifted a stone.

Lielong caught it, the weight solid as a heart in a fist.

“This face is smooth like glass, and the cut starts along a curve, a crescent nibbling granite.”

“Mhm. Do any Abnormals here have that Anomaly Power?” Lielong’s voice rolled steady as surf.

“I checked. Ninghai branch has no one like that. Our known Abnormals are mostly element-type or body enhancement.”

“This stone goes beyond what elements do—it’s like laser cut, a sun-razor through rock.”

“Mmm… light-type Anomaly Power?”

“Possible. If not, then it’s special-type—something rare, a knife in fog.”

“Note it in the file—ink it clean as a boundary line.”

“Yes.”

“Captain! Over here.” A female team member’s shout rose like a gull cry.

“What is it?” His steps pressed sand flat like stamps.

“Captain, the soil here’s loose, disturbed—soft as sponge where it shouldn’t be.” She pointed at the empty patch at her feet, boots sunk like anchors.

“Mhm? You sure?”

“Sure. Captain, I’m earth-type—my sense for soil runs deep as roots. It’s concealed well, but I feel the grains like a mole under ground.”

“I trust you. Probe it—anything buried below, or is it hollow as a drum?”

“Hm… nothing. Inside is empty. Just a pit more than three meters in radius, a bowl scooped by a giant.”

“A pit… If nothing was buried, then something was taken—teeth pulled from a jaw.”

“Alright. Sweep once more, careful as combing silk. If nothing else, we head back.”

“Yes!”

Inside the Imperial Walk Club, shadows lay soft as velvet while tension pricked like pins.

“Sister Ning, that group went to the shore. Will trouble roll in like tide?”

“Mmm… so they’ve noticed already? Maybe we should watch Coco. She’ll be found soon, like a lantern in fog. What do we do…”

Ningxin sat, her chin propped in both hands, thoughts churning like storm clouds; she didn’t want Tang Coco exposed, the organization’s ocean ran deep.

She feared Coco, in this state, might stumble into accidents like reefs; HQ won’t leave an SS-class and above Abnormal in Ninghai City.

“Right!” The idea sparked like flint in night.

“Xiao Qiao, you said Shadow Division people were coming to Ninghai City, yeah?”

“Yes, that’s the word—footsteps soft as cats, but real.”

“Who are they?” Ningxin’s eyes steadied like lanterns.

“Shadow Division’s message says Phantom and Princess,” Xiao Qiao replied, voice smooth as oil.

“Since Shadow Division members enter Huaguo, they’re no threat, but we still notify related orgs—avoid ripples becoming waves.”

“Phantom and Princess… so both are women?” Her tone brushed like silk over steel.

“Yes. Shadow Division gave ‘long-term vacation’ as the reason. HQ told us to watch quietly and keep clear—no clashes, no sparks.”

“Mmm… I have a plan.” Ningxin rose, resolve hardening like ice on river.

“You mean…” Xiao Qiao, years at her side, felt the notion click like a key turning in a lock.

“Don’t spread this yet. Right now, we slow Captain Lielong’s squad—feed them more info, delay like rain holding a caravan. The later, the better.”

“Got it. I’ll get moving—steps light as smoke.”

“Go.” She sent her off with a nod, calm settling like dust after wind.

After Xiao Qiao left, Ningxin sat back. Her expression eased, soft as dusk; she looked at the file in her hand, paper rustling like reeds.

“Shadow Division…” The words drifted like a phantom on water, a name rippling out into the dark.