Double River City, one of Atlantis’s three major cities, earned its name from the two rivers weaving through it.

Following Alice’s intel, Sherlock had tracked here—apparently, Mond and his crew frequented this spot. She’d already checked their dorm earlier; only their WDs remained, owners vanished. (Alice could trace every Atlantean citizen’s WD signal.)

“Took some finding,” Sherlock muttered, simmering quietly.

Noon sunlight blazed brilliantly, yet carried no warmth on skin. No one carried umbrellas—a triumph of science.

This was Fenghui Street, one of Double River City’s commercial arteries. Oddly deserted at midday. The FK Club Sherlock sought lay hidden beneath it.

Guided by Alice’s directions, Sherlock soon found the staircase descending behind an alleyway. The FK Club lurked there.

Atlantis was a nation of youth: citizens aged 14–26 comprised 60% of the population, while those over 50 made up merely 8%. To curb reckless behavior—especially among mages—the government strictly regulated venues deemed harmful to young people, permitting them only in concealed locations. Minors rarely encountered bars, nightclubs, casinos, or gambling arcades.

The underground mall revealed the FK Club’s neon sign, but its doors stood shut.

“Alice, open the door.”

“Understood.”

Instantly, the club doors slid apart. For Alice, master of Atlantis’s entire network, no internet-connected device escaped her control.

Pitch darkness greeted Sherlock inside, thick with the stench of stale alcohol.

“Lights on.”

Fluorescents blazed to life.

Sherlock stepped in, scanning the room. Her brow furrowed. Utter chaos. Peanut shells, food wrappers, unidentified powders, shattered bottles, and spilled liquor littered tables and floors—likely pre-opening neglect.

The sudden light and footsteps roused sleepers. Seeing a golden-haired beauty, they froze in confusion.

“Hey, gorgeous. What brings you here?” A buzz-cut man sidled up to Sherlock, leering. He reached out—but an invisible wall blocked his hand.

*Mage.* The realization flashed through the room. No surprise; mages were common in Atlantis, even among club regulars.

Sherlock’s expression stayed icy. She swept her gaze over everyone, finding no one she sought. Only then did she refocus on buzz-cut.

“Mond. Baqiang. Hann. Quincy. Kevin. Know them?” She pulled up their photos on her WD.

Daylight intrusions for missing persons—and such a frosty tone. Mage or not, cooperation wasn’t mandatory. His eyes narrowed at her uniform: indigo tie, white shirt with red trim, black-and-red pleated skirt. *Valhalla Academy.*

“Hmm… maybe I do. Maybe I don’t.” He shrugged after glancing at the photos.

Sherlock snorted. He was stalling.

“Fine. Anyone who tells me their whereabouts gets paid.” She displayed a figure on her WD.

Buzz-cut’s eyes bulged. Others in the club licked their lips greedily.

“Wait, sweetheart! Don’t rush off! We know Mond’s crew—they’re Tutankhamun Society regulars. They were here last night, and—”

A crash cut him off. An invisible force hurled buzz-cut backward. He smashed through a glass table, shards flying alongside his groans.

“Who told you to blab, Ronnie?” Three pale-skinned youths swaggered forward, chins tilted, smirks twisting their faces. Magical energy crackled around them. “Want Tutankhamun intel? Ask *us*.”

“Looking for fun, little girl? Big brothers’ll take good care of you.”

Sherlock’s lips curled in disdain.

***

The lunch bell rang, ending morning classes.

G-Class students chattered as they filed out. Yan Lingxuan lingered, chatting with Gavi and Harold, when a silver-haired figure appeared at the doorway—Bai Lingyue.

Classmates still glanced curiously at Lingyue waiting by the door, but no longer gawked like before. They’d grown used to her ritual: since Yan Lingxuan transferred in, she appeared here every noon to walk with him to the cafeteria.

Spotting Lingyue, Yan Lingxuan smiled warmly. He excused himself to Harold and Gavi, then headed for the door.

“Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

Lingyue’s eyes flicked to the group trailing her brother—Gavi, Yu Xiaozhuo, Su Fangwen, Harold—all wearing awkward “sorry to intrude” expressions. *Brother said I look too stern when I don’t smile. It makes his friends nervous.* She forced a bright grin.

Gavi and Harold stiffened as if startled.

*Do I look ugly when I smile?* Lingyue’s cheeks flushed. She snapped her smile shut.

(Truth was, Lingyue’s smile was lovely—like a spring breeze. But her friends rarely saw the “witch” smile. The contrast shocked them.)

“Did she just… smile?” Gavi whispered.

“Yeah,” Yu Xiaozhuo confirmed.

“Rare sight,” Harold muttered.

***

Catherine, tray in hand, spotted the siblings weaving through the cafeteria crowd.

“Honey! And Lingyue! Haroo~!” Her shout from ten meters away drew every eye. Heads turned toward her golden curls—then away from the girl beside her, who ducked her head as if embarrassed.

Ito Nanaka, fellow Student Council member, shared Catherine’s table. Two stunning seniors naturally commanded attention.

“Catherine and Ito Nanaka,” Yan Lingxuan observed calmly as they approached.

Harold blinked. *He just called them by name?* Harold preferred eating alone, but his elementary-school sister Nita had taken to lecturing him: *“You’ll lose out in modern society without social skills!” “Make more friends!” “Networking helps you climb later!”*

*Since when did my little sister become the adult?* Harold suspected Yan Lingxuan’s influence. Annoying, yet… being cared for felt oddly nice. Refusing constantly seemed rude. So he’d drifted into this group. Still—Yan Lingxuan remained a threat. *A guy who might target my sister Nita.*

Spotting two empty seats at Yan Lingxuan’s table, Catherine asked sweetly:

“Mind if we join?”

Bai Lingyue nodded. Yan Lingxuan smiled. Catherine slid in beside him, winking with a cryptic grin. Ito Nanaka took the other side.

Lunch began.

“So, honey,” Catherine chirped, “what task did the principal give you and Sherlock?”

Yan Lingxuan wasn’t surprised she knew. He summarized the assignment.

Bai Lingyue, Catherine, and Ito Nanaka all frowned deeply. They knew Principal Yuan Ye Misaki’s tricks. This “simple” task held hidden weight. Her silence meant they’d have to uncover it themselves.

“Don’t push yourself, brother,” Lingyue said, unusually serious. “Skip it if needed. I’ll handle it.”

*My sister’s so cool. So protective. I’m falling for her all over again,* Yan Lingxuan thought wryly.

“A truancy intervention task granting Alice’s authority—second only to the April Council? That’s near-total freedom in Atlantis,” Ito Nanaka noted.

*Near-total freedom?* Yan Lingxuan finally grasped the weight of “second only to the April Council.”

“This might tie into the recent mage crime wave,” Gavi mused, a faint smile playing on his lips. His casual remark held chilling logic.

“But if it involves mage crimes,” Yan Lingxuan countered, “why not send the Valkyries? Why dump high-risk work on regular students?”

*No thanks. Trouble’s not my style.*

“Because you’re not regular students?” Yu Xiaozhuo blinked innocently.

“Because Yan Lingxuan is Lingyue’s brother?”

“Or… is there a reason the Valkyries can’t move openly? Forced to treat it as routine?”

“Exactly,” Ito Nanaka affirmed, her eyes sharp. “But one thing bothers me. Even as Lingyue’s brother, Principal Misaki wouldn’t risk Yan Lingxuan on a dangerous task. She’d pick proven students—like us in the Student Council. She paired him with Sherlock: Sherlock as lead, Yan Lingxuan as backup? The full picture’s unclear. But if you need help—just ask.”

Yan Lingxuan barely cared about the task. Sherlock had vanished after first period—surely hunting Mond’s group. With Sherlock and Alice on it, the truants would be dragged back soon. *No reward, no reason to try hard.*

Hearing Sherlock was already searching, Catherine’s smile tightened with worry.

“Sherlock’s brilliant and strong, but too headstrong. She’ll overlook details. Don’t let her charge ahead alone.” Her gaze pinned Yan Lingxuan.

*So that’s my job?* He stayed silent.

Yu Xiaozhuo turned to the seniors: “Why don’t we see you in the cafeteria often?”

“Sherlock prepares lunch for us daily,” Catherine beamed. “We enjoy it together in the Student Council room.”

“The Princess Sherlock… cooks?” Yan Lingxuan pictured her imperious demeanor, chef’s knife in hand. *Impossible.* Then it hit him—*Sherlock in a wifely apron, bustling in a kitchen…* His mind short-circuited. *The appeal would be off the charts!*

Imagination was sweet, but would that princess really have wifely charms? Probably not…

"Honey, don’t you believe me?"

"It’s a bit hard to swallow."

Katherine flashed a suggestive smile. "Then next time, I’ll let you taste the princess’s cooking. It’ll scare the taste buds off you."

*Scare me off with how bad it is?* Yan Lingxuan was already brainstorming excuses to refuse.

"I wanna try Princess Sherlock’s cooking too!" Yu Xiaozhuo raised his hand. Instantly, the crowd erupted—everyone clamoring for a bite of the princess’s legendary dishes.

"No problem," Katherine declared as their proxy, sealing the deal.

…

After lunch, Yan Lingxuan slipped away from the group and murmured to his WD:

"Alice, can you report Sherlock’s movements since she left campus?" He doubted anything could trouble a Student Council member and Level 6 Mage like her, but checking her whereabouts wouldn’t hurt.

"Understood."

A dense panel of Chinese text flooded his WD screen—every detail of Sherlock’s off-campus activities. Yan Lingxuan scrolled swiftly, devouring the 10,000+ character report in thirty seconds. The final update placed her at FK Cabaret, Shop B2-47, Fenghui Street, Twin Rivers City—mid-fight.

"So cabarets still exist in this era?" he mused. By then, the data showed the brawl had ended. No sign of Mond’s group, but three wounded, unidentified mages lay defeated.

"Handling three opponents alone? No sweat. Total tomboy," he chuckled. Though Sherlock likely already knew, he asked Alice anyway:

"Can you locate Mond’s team?"

"Tracking all five is difficult without WDs. But city cameras and satellite feeds could narrow it down…"

Yan Lingxuan tapped his chin. *Such a hassle.* The headmistress’s grave expression flashed in his mind—this mission was tangled. Could he really wash his hands of it?

"Send me their three-day itinerary."

The panel exploded with text. Three days of data on five people? A staggering 300,000 characters. He barely skimmed it before a realization struck.

"Also compile recent mage-related crimes. Can you predict the next crime scene and time?"

"Processing…"

"Twenty-six potential crime sites identified. Locations and estimated times follow…"

Yan Lingxuan scanned the list, then grinned knowingly.

"Twenty-six spots? Too many. Guess I’ll need backup." He paused, mischief glinting in his eyes. "Oh, and Alice—start sending me Lingyue’s whereabouts every ten minutes. A brother’s curious about his sister’s daily routine. Like… how many bathroom breaks she takes. Heh heh…"

"Onii-chan, you’re *that* interested in my schedule?"

"Mm. Especially anything embarrassing. Seeing my little sister flustered-cute? Absolutely priceless!"

The fantasy shattered. Yan Lingxuan stiffened. Slowly, he turned his head.

Lingyue stood right behind him—when had she crept up? Her eyes, wide with wary suspicion, sized him up like a stranger catcalling on the street.

"I saw you leave the cafeteria looking serious," she said, voice icy sweet. "Thought it was mission-related. Wanted to help. But apparently…" A brittle *heh… heh* escaped her lips as she deliberately looked away. "…not so much."

*Why won’t she meet my eyes? Why does that ‘heh’ sound so forced?*