The armored personnel carrier heading for H City jolted along the highway.
Outside the windows, the sky had already brightened. The thin morning mist over the wasteland was rapidly burning away under the sunlight.
“Wake— up— already—!”
Fei Xia felt as if her body were a rattle drum being shaken by a mischievous kid—her brain was practically blended into mush.
She forced one eye open. Amber Flowing Light’s energetic, oversized face filled her vision like a flashlight beam.
“Now you can tell me, right? Tell me!”
Amber Flowing Light clung to Fei Xia’s arm, eyes shining like twin searchlights.
“What exactly did the codename of last night’s secret operation mean? What’s the follow-up plan?”
“I waited exactly two hours like you said! Not a single second off!”
Fei Xia glanced at her phone screen speechlessly.
Sure enough, exactly two hours had passed—not a minute more.
“…Wait another ten minutes.”
Fei Xia pulled her cloak over her head, trying to physically block out the noise.
“No way! No way! A person has to keep their word!”
Amber Flowing Light refused to accept it.
She grabbed Fei Xia’s shoulders and launched into another round of high-frequency shaking.
“Ahhh… Wake up! Wake up for me! Stop sleeping!!”
“Stop—! Stop stop stop!”
Fei Xia felt the acid in her stomach about to revolt.
She sat up abruptly, snatched the nearby wet towel, wiped her face roughly, and forced her nearly shut-down brain back online.
“Awake! I’m really awake!”
With her red hair a total mess, Fei Xia stared at Amber with resentful eyes.
This girl had volunteered the hardest last night and worked the most, yet now she was as energetic as if she had downed five cans of Red Bull.
Youth really was nice.
Fei Xia sighed and turned to look at Qinghai Starlight on the other side.
The senior seemed to have recovered quite a bit mentally, though her face was still a little pale and her eyes carried deep worry.
Noticing Fei Xia’s gaze, Qinghai scratched her cheek awkwardly, guilt flashing in her eyes.
“Um… Fei Xia, I’m really sorry about last night. I was so exhausted I slept like the dead and ended up making you handle everything alone…”
“It’s fine. Anyone would have collapsed in that situation.”
Fei Xia cut off her apology.
Buzz—
At that moment, space rippled inside the vehicle.
A miniature teleportation magic circle unfolded in mid-air, and two small figures—one pink, one white—dropped out.
It was Snowball, who had been gone all night scouting, and Peachfluff, who had just returned.
“Peachfluff! Long time no see!”
Amber Flowing Light’s attention instantly shifted. She pounced over excitedly.
“Long time no see! Amber dear! Qinghai dear!”
While the three of them excitedly caught up, Fei Xia closed her eyes and rested for a few more minutes.
Only after the surroundings finally quieted down did she slowly open her eyes again.
The dead-fish eyes now held less drowsiness and a bit more seriousness.
“Everyone’s here, right?”
She looked around.
Amber Flowing Light, Qinghai Starlight, and the two familiars floating in the air had all fallen silent and were watching her.
Fei Xia didn’t speak right away. Instead, she glanced meaningfully at the soldiers resting with their eyes closed at the far end of the vehicle.
“Leave it to me.”
Peachfluff understood immediately and flew upward.
Buzz—
A faint pink membrane expanded outward with them at the center, enveloping the group.
The soldiers outside remained unchanged, completely unaware of anything unusual.
“Basic cognitive-blocking barrier.”
Peachfluff puffed out her little chest proudly.
“Impressive, impressive.”
Snowball rolled its eyes and answered perfunctorily.
“Fine, fine, impressive.”
Once safety was confirmed, Fei Xia sat up straight, her gaze landing on Amber Flowing Light.
“So, let’s get our stories straight.”
Fei Xia’s tone was calm.
“Amber, those crates I took you to move last night… weren’t actually any secret mission assigned by the General Bureau.”
“Huh?”
Amber Flowing Light froze, still holding a bag of snacks.
“They weren’t? But last night you said it was Codename 096 Strategic Resource Transfer…”
“That was a lie.”
Fei Xia stated it plainly, without expression.
“It was an unauthorized operation. Qinghai Starlight and I worked together to steal one-third of the food and medical supplies and deliver them to the refugees in the underground shelter.”
“…Stole?”
Amber Flowing Light’s eyes widened. She covered her mouth, face full of disbelief.
A few seconds later, her expression shifted from shock to even greater excitement.
“So… we’re not secret agents, but righteous thieves?!”
“Wow!! That’s so cool!”
Amber Flowing Light almost jumped up in excitement, but the barrier kept her voice contained.
“I knew it! Why else would we have to hide from the soldiers while moving stuff! So we were robbing the rich to help the poor! This is a serious violation, right? If Chief Lei Yan finds out, we’re done for… blah blah blah.”
Though she said she was worried, the light in her eyes was brighter than the vehicle’s headlights.
“It was to save lives.”
Qinghai Starlight added softly, her expression dimming as she recalled the mother who had died last night.
“The refugees there had been out of food for a long time. If we hadn’t done it, they wouldn’t have made it through the winter.”
“So that’s how it was…”
Amber Flowing Light nodded. Her eyes filled with admiration as she looked at Qinghai, then at Fei Xia.
“Geez! Fei Xia, you could’ve just told me directly! If you said it was to save people, I would’ve carried even more enthusiastically! I wanted to be a co-conspirator too!”
Fei Xia looked at the innocent Amber, her eyes flickering slightly.
Why had she lied?
Because besides saving people, there was something deeper hidden in that supply truck—the monster cores.
And the fact that the monster Qinghai had killed last night was actually a man-made Chimera.
Snowball’s information about alchemy flashed through Fei Xia’s mind.
Half of these supplies were food to save lives; the other half… might be blades that devoured people.
These things were too heavy and too dark.
For a newcomer like Amber Flowing Light, who had just entered the field and was full of hot-blooded justice, knowing these things would only bring unnecessary pain and danger.
Even though Fei Xia herself had only been in the field for two weeks…
Sometimes, ignorance was a form of protection.
“All right.”
Fei Xia cut off her antics and took a deep breath. Her tone suddenly became more meaningful.
“Amber, and Senior Qinghai.”
Her gaze swept over the two before her, her voice low.
“The road ahead might get even more complicated. I might not be qualified to say this, but once we reach H City, no matter what you see or hear… keep your eyes open.”
“The General Bureau… might not be as clean and bright as you imagine. Some people will do things that are… hard to judge.”
A brief silence fell over the vehicle.
Qinghai Starlight pressed her lips tightly together. She thought of the “child” from last night again, her face turning even paler.
Amber Flowing Light, on the other hand, looked confused, as if she hadn’t fully understood Fei Xia’s implication, but instinctively sensed the oppressive atmosphere.
Fei Xia watched their reactions and suddenly shook her head with self-mockery.
What was she doing? She was just a working stiff trying to make money—why was she acting all profound?
She waved her hand and leaned back against her seat, looking out the window.
“Never mind. Just pretend I didn’t say anything.”
“Remember, our story is consistent: The supplies were lost in a monster attack.”
Fei Xia gazed at the massive steel fortress growing clearer outside the window, her pupils contracting slightly.
“We’ve arrived.”
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