“That was totally you showing off! How dare you blame Brother Feng Ye?” Lin Tang strode over, shooting her brother a look of pure contempt.

“Hey, who’s your real brother here?” Lin Chuan grumbled. “You’re not even married yet, and you’re already taking sides with outsiders? I told Dad ages ago—a daughter’s heart wanders once she grows up. I never thought you’d start at twelve!” The next second, a flushed, furious punch from his sister sent him crashing to his knees again.

“Hmph. That’s for talking too much.” Lin Tang watched her brother kneel there with a utterly dejected expression, let out a tsundere huff, then beamed and latched onto Feng Ye’s arm. “Brother Feng Ye, can you teach me how to become as strong as you?”

Feng Ye shot Lin Chuan a sympathetic glance—still kneeling, clutching his stomach—then gently ruffled Lin Tang’s hair. “There’s no shortcut to strength. I earned mine through countless battles.”

“Then… would you be our combat instructor?” Lin Tang asked eagerly. “Brother and I know theory and have practiced combat techniques, but we’ve never had real field training.”

“I’ve never taught anyone before,” Feng Ye admitted. “Honestly, I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

Just as Lin Tang’s face fell, he added, “But I know someone who might.”

“Who? A friend of yours, Brother Feng Ye?” Her eyes lit up again. *If Brother Feng Ye is this strong, his friend must be amazing too*, she thought.

“Friend? Not really,” Feng Ye said with a strange expression. “But that guy’s busy on weekdays. Come find me on weekends—I’ll introduce *it* to you.” He glanced again at Lin Chuan, still kneeling and groaning, and muttered, “Come to think of it… didn’t Lin Chuan say he’d race *it* someday?”

While they talked, other Awakened gathered around, thanking Feng Ye profusely. He accepted their gratitude politely. But when they pressed for his identity, he stayed silent. Quick-witted, Lin Tang revealed her Lin family status—enough to make the opportunistic Awakened back off respectfully.

Once the monster was cleared, Awakened Association cleanup crews arrived to assess the scene and distribute merits by contribution. Finding the bureaucracy tedious, Feng Ye excused himself to Lin Tang and headed home alone.

Lin Tang offered to have Lin Chuan drive him, but Feng Ye declined. “Rush hour’s starting. Traffic’s packed like a sardine can. I’ll probably walk home before his car moves an inch.”

Alone, Feng Ye checked the time. Thankfully, he lacked his sister’s terrible sense of direction. Even if lost, his mental energy could map the entire area—like a wallhack revealing the full game map. Still, he rarely projected it carelessly; its sensitivity sometimes revealed… things he’d rather not see. So he never noticed the fly-shaped bio-mimetic drone tailing him after he left.

Placed by Doctor to track him—and neutralize future interference—the drone was meant to be undetectable. But at the street corner, in a blink, a long tongue shot out. *Gulp*. The frog swallowed it whole.

“…”

Sensing movement on her hat, a silver-haired girl in a frilly dress and oversized wizard hat tilted her head slightly. She plucked the bewildered frog—pawing its white belly, confused by the faint electric buzz in its stomach—and shook it gently upside down. The frog’s eyes instantly swirled into dizzy spirals.

Holding the utterly dejected amphibian, the girl spoke slowly, her voice sweet yet hollow: “Hua… Wallace. Don’t eat random things.” She carefully placed the fainting frog back on her hat’s wide brim.

Soon after she left, inside a black sedan, Doctor stared grimly at the dead monitor screen.

Liu Xing frowned. “Detected from that distance? But how? Feng Ye was over fifty meters away. I saw no turn, no movement—just a blur, then blackout.”

“We’re being watched,” Doctor murmured. “This drone fools even Haven City’s floating guards. Only a deliberate scan could spot it. Is he the Association’s undercover inspector?”

“Someone else removed it,” Liu Xing countered. “Others are hiding in the shadows.”

Doctor’s scowl melted into a cold smile. “Then let’s play. I have plenty of… interesting test subjects.”

Liu Xing smirked. “I’ll lead them. One hit took down a Chaos-type Grade A Beast? Impressive. The Association must’ve invested heavily. Watching him get torn apart… that’ll sting.” A flicker of envy crossed his face—he couldn’t have finished that Beast so cleanly. But imagining Feng Ye shredded by their creations sent a thrill of anticipation through him. “Lure every shadow-dweller out. Wipe them all out before they uncover the truth,” Doctor added, eyes narrowed with lethal intent.

Meanwhile, in a hospital room, Lu Xiaodao lay swaddled like a mummy, staring blankly at the ceiling. Beside him, Xiao Zhang wore a neck brace, torso bandaged, arm in a cast—utterly battered. He’d crashed mid-air, neck twisted, arm broken. Passersby found them half-dead on the pavement, utterly baffled.

“Poor souls,” someone declared indignantly. “Two parents escaped—*fled*—Professor Yang’s card-addiction center! Then Yang used inner energy and his ‘Baili Shenquan’ to badly injure them! Outrageous!” That very day, furious elders stormed Professor Yang’s Haven City clinic, accidentally freeing several trapped “patients.”

Unaware their beating by Rollroll had sparked a rescue, the two men seethed with shame. They’d cornered Rollroll fairly inside an electronic barrier—and lost to a dog. Together.

“Xiaodao-ge,” Xiao Zhang groaned, pain forgotten beside sheer dread. “If we fail… Doctor will kill us. Maybe dunk us in that tank next.”

Lu Xiaodao’s throat tightened. *Green solution… I’d turn green literally—and wear the ‘green hat’ of betrayal too.* After a long silence, he whispered: “What if… we just… talk to the dog?”

Xiao Zhang’s eyes widened. But options were gone. They couldn’t win. Calling for backup meant Doctor would dunk them without hesitation.

“Fine,” he choked out, tears of frustration welling. *Never thought I’d beg a dog.*