No. 4 and No. 5 snapped into a guard stance, turning as if blades catching moonlight, nerves taut like bowstrings.

A woman in her late twenties walked toward them at a tide’s pace, heels dangling black as ink in one hand. Her bare white feet pressed the beach like petals on wet sand. A black dress fluttered in the sea wind like a raven’s wing, her smile the easy brightness of a tourist.

Beside her shadowed another figure, a woman in crisp office wear, her expression tight as a drawn line, following like a faithful tide.

“Who are you?” No. 4 asked, suspicion rising like heat off stone.

“Oh my, didn’t I say it already?” Su Xinhua’s tone turned playful, like a cat batting yarn. “The ones you’re taking are my daughter’s wives. Hmm… oops, how should I address you?”

She put on a sugary act, and Tiantian at her side rolled her eyes like waves breaking.

“Huh?”

No. 4 and No. 5 traded a look, confusion pooling like fog. She was this young—how could her daughter already have wives? Wives, plural? The whole thing smelled off, like fish at low tide.

“You go. I’ll hold them,” No. 4 snapped, cutting her thoughts like a knife through rope.

“No way! I’m not letting a girl cover me.” No. 5 stepped forward, pride flaring like a torch.

“Quit yapping! I’m faster, I can slip out, and I can carry both of them. Use your head.”

No. 4 shot back, her tone dry as sand.

“…Right.” No. 5 flushed, stubbornness crumbling like clay.

“Pfft—this is fun.” Su Xinhua laughed, the sound light as wind over water.

“Tiantian, bring them in. My daughter will be back soon,” she said, calm as dusk.

“Got it.”

Tiantian moved closer, and No. 4 and No. 5 set their stance, muscles coiled like springs.

“Give up,” Tiantian said with a curve of her lips, her voice silk over steel.

Panels of light bloomed from thin air around them, screens shimmering like stained glass, no paper talismans this time. You could tell she hadn’t been serious in the fight with Tang Coco.

“Thousand-Face Encirclement.”

Her words fell cool as rain. The light shields spun around No. 4 and No. 5, a whirl of luminous blades. Heat pressed in like an oven, roasting the air inside.

“This cheap trick, and you think it can cage me?” No. 5 barked, lifting his petrified right arm like a stone hammer, smashing at the light.

Thud!

Zzzzt!

The blow landed heavy, the feedback crackling like lightning biting skin.

“Ah!”

No. 5 screamed, yanking his arm back. His stone fist had fissured like dry riverbed, blood seeping bright as pomegranate.

“Tsk.” No. 4’s jaw tightened. She crouched to leap, hope flaring like a spark—then Tiantian flicked her arm, and a top panel flashed into place. From outside, two glowing white buckets stood on the beach, lanterns that swallowed people whole.

“Tiantian, don’t kill them,” Su Xinhua said, her voice steady like a hand on a shoulder.

“Understood.”

Tiantian dialed back her Anomalous Energy, peeling the inner bite off the walls. The space stayed sealed tight as a jar, the heat licking away oxygen like a hungry fire.

Minutes drifted by like slow waves. Tiantian checked the time, then dissolved the construct. No. 4 and No. 5 collapsed onto the sand, strength drained like water from a sieve. No. 5 was already out cold, bleeding and breathless; No. 4 lay there gasping, brain starved of air, limbs heavy as stone.

“Alright. Take them back to the villa and lock them up. I’ll send these two home,” Su Xinhua said.

She strode to Gu Xin and Meng Yuting, golden Armor flaring along her forearm like dawn on brass. She lifted them gently and headed for her car.

Over Ninghai’s airspace, Tang Coco’s trio cut through the sky like swallows racing home.

“Signal restored. Li Muyan reports the enemy repelled. Gu Xin and Meng Yuting are comatose, resting at your mother’s villa,” Marilyn intoned, voice smooth as a machine’s hum.

“Knew it,” Coco breathed, the worry in her chest ebbing like tide.

“Head for the villa. Optical camo on.”

With a shimmer, they turned invisible, and the three streaked toward the city’s northwest like ghosts in daylight.

Su Xinhua’s villa had gathered a constellation of faces—Li Muyan, Ningxin, Su Xinhua, Tiantian—and the still forms of Gu Xin and Meng Yuting.

“In the bedroom, any options?” Li Muyan asked, her voice tight, hope thin as thread. Ningxin knew a touch of medicine; she was scanning quietly, eyes calm as deep lake water.

“I’ve never seen this. Not poison, no wounds. It’s an internal shutdown—coma rising from within,” Ningxin said, brows knitting like storm clouds.

“It’s fine. Coco will fix it. Let’s talk in the living room,” Su Xinhua said, tone warm as a hearth.

They moved out, a quiet procession, and threads of the earlier fight began to weave between them.

“They’re back.”

Li Muyan glanced at the door. Right then, the bell rang like a silver chime. Tiantian went to open it, and Tang Coco stepped in with wind at her heels.

“Mom, Muyan—are you guys okay?” Coco asked, worry fluttering like a sparrow in her chest.

“We’re fine,” Su Xinhua answered with an easy smile.

“Thanks, Ningxin,” Coco added, catching her presence like a familiar scent.

“It’s been days, and now you’re getting formal with me?” Ningxin teased, mock-anger playful as spring rain.

“Xin and Yuting…”

“In the bedroom. We’ve got no way,” Li Muyan said, voice heavy as night. Guilt pressed her down like a wet cloak.

“It’s alright. Marilyn can heal them. Marilyn, go,” Coco said, wrapping Li Muyan in a quick hug, comfort given like a warm blanket.

“Mm.” Marilyn nodded and glided toward the bedroom, steady as a clock.

“Who’s this?” Ningxin asked, eyes sliding to the handsome young man behind Coco, curiosity flickering like candlelight.

“He’s Hawkeye,” Coco said.

“Hello, ladies,” Hawkeye grinned, bravado easy as a wink. In this villa, he was the lone wolf among a chorus of swans.

“Oh! The famed Hawkeye of the Shadow Division. You even hacked our system once,” Ningxin said, recognition snapping into place like a puzzle piece.

“Uh… hehe, job required it,” Hawkeye muttered, scratching his head like a schoolboy caught.

“How’s the Shadow Division?” Su Xinhua asked.

“Mom… Hong Wei…” Coco’s face tightened, sadness rising like a slow tide.

“I understand,” Su Xinhua said, the truth falling silent between them like snow. “He did a lot for our family.”

Her eyes dimmed with grief, but seeing Coco’s deeper sorrow, she pulled her daughter close, a sheltering embrace like a cliff against waves.

“Coco, don’t be sad. I know you did your best.”

“Mm.” Coco nodded, voice small as a breath.

“Did tonight draw attention?” Coco asked Ningxin, composure settling like dust after wind.

“Not too much. Only local groups noticed. We smothered the news; HQ’s still in the dark. Lucky the site was far from crowds. Gu Xin and the others did great—saved us a world of trouble,” Ningxin said, relief like sunlight through cloud.

“Good. There’s a lot to cover, but after Xin and Yuting wake,” Coco said.

“Alright. Everyone sit. Tiantian, grab some snacks,” Su Xinhua said, hospitality warm as tea.

“Okay, Ningxin.” Tiantian headed for the kitchen, steps quick as a breeze.

“How’s Ye Yiyi?” Coco asked Li Muyan.

“Should be fine. Let’s check,” Li Muyan said.

They slipped out of Su Xinhua’s villa, crossing to Ye Yiyi’s place like shadows hopping stones.

“Yiyi? What are you up to?” Li Muyan called toward the second floor, voice ringing like a bell.

“Muyan, you’re back? Oh—Coco’s back too?” Ye Yiyi appeared, smile bright as morning.

“Coco’s back?!” came Meng Xiaoxiao’s shriek from upstairs, excitement bursting like fireworks.

“Coco, I missed you so much!” Meng Xiaoxiao charged down, hugging Coco like a koala. Her head buried into Coco’s chest, and she bounced like a happy rabbit.

“Hey—stop! Behave. I taught you this morning,” Coco stammered, skin sensitive as a live wire, a blush rising like dawn.

“Hehe, don’t wanna leave you for a minute,” Meng Xiaoxiao chimed, sweetness thick as honey.

“So sappy,” Li Muyan sighed, helpless as a cat watching rain.

“Xin and Yuting?” Ye Yiyi tugged Li Muyan aside, whisper small as a thread.

“At Coco’s mom’s. They’re fine,” Li Muyan said, reassurance steady as a hand squeeze.

“Good.”

“Play with Xiaoxiao for a bit. We need to head back,” Li Muyan added.

“No problem.”

After a short hangout, a call from Su Xinhua drew them back. They slipped out with a flimsy excuse, moving quiet as night.

“Xin, Yuting—any discomfort?” Coco asked as she stepped into the living room. Gu Xin and Meng Yuting sat on the sofa, everyone orbiting them like stars around a moon.

“We’re good,” Gu Xin said, her smile gentle as warm light.

“Seriously, why the sudden dizziness,” Meng Yuting grumbled, rubbing her head like working out a knot.

“Alright. Sit. Coco’s got news,” Su Xinhua said.

Coco nodded and sat, resolve settling like a blade in its sheath.

“First—Ningxin—the situation’s getting rough. At the base I ran into mass-produced Mechs from an unknown faction. And there were a lot,” Coco said, the warning tolling like a distant bell.

“Mass-produced Mechs already seeing combat?” Ningxin asked, shock sharp as glass. Huaguo’s official Mech units were still in training.

“Hawkeye will explain. He piloted one,” Coco said.

“Yeah. Their Mech tech’s mature. A normal person can operate with light training. And the power source isn’t standard,” Hawkeye said, analysis crisp as a blueprint. “The Mechs themselves can’t be stored via particleization, but the ammo can be replenished by that special energy—even solid live rounds.”

Silence hung a beat, heavy as iron.

“That means those Mechs can fight long,” Coco said, the implication cutting clean as a knife.

“I also encountered two special Mechs, clearly tailored for Abnormals. And their Anomalous Energy… it’s tied to Dark Abnormals. I suspect someone’s orchestrating this,” she added, the shadow behind the curtain dark as a storm front.

“Dark Abnormals…” Ningxin whispered, memory surfacing like wreckage—what she’d seen on that freighter, the cruelty carved into steel.

“So we need to speed up training for Mech operators,” she said, resolve tightening like armor straps.

“Yes. If you need it, I can provide technical support,” Su Xinhua said, offering help like a lantern in night.

“Thank you, President Su.”

“You handle the rest. I only need the official slice,” Ningxin said, rising with grace like a crane taking wing. The others were tied to the Shadow Division’s web.

“Thanks, Ningxin.”

Tang Coco rose and spoke, her voice a cool breeze skimming the room, then saw Ningxin off.

Returning to the living room, she looked even more weighed down, like low storm clouds gathering...