Prand reacted with perfect composure.
"Activate Level‑One Alert. Notify all garrison units to deploy immediately and eliminate the rampaging hybrid at the fastest speed possible. My friends, I'm afraid tonight's exchange must end here. I promise there will be another occasion for us to gather."
He paused, surveying the crowd with calm authority. Then his eyes lingered on Ye Cheng—shaken, barely standing—and the faint curve of satisfaction appeared on his lips.
"I'll go take command at the scene myself. Please, don't worry."
A masterstroke. In one move, he became Ye Cheng's "savior." And to a savior, how else can one repay such a debt but with gratitude?
Ye Cheng's legs turned to water. She gripped Suo‑Luo's shoulders to steady herself, thoughts in chaos.
How could she have missed it? Prand didn't need to negotiate at all. He'd simply summon her and her Senluo family for display, then go be the hero who "rescued her father from disaster." After that, she would deliver Suo‑Luo and the children to his hands herself — in thanks.
Terror closed around her like ice. She saw again the blood‑splattered walls of that news footage—images she could never erase.
A light touch brushed her hand. She looked down—Suo‑Luo was holding her fingers gently.
Around them guests were in uproar. Prand had already boarded his command craft and taken off. Panicking now was pointless. Seeing Suo‑Luo's calm, Ye Cheng forced herself to breathe.
"Let's go home…"
Prand's butler stepped forward to apologize on his behalf, while some guests, unwilling to leave empty‑handed, turned their attention to trading slaves with each other. Ye Cheng only bowed slightly and headed for the exit.
"I'm sorry," she told the attendant at the door with a strained smile. "I won't stay any longer. Please let me go home."
Her driver was still waiting. Yang Yu walked ahead.
"Thank you. My mistress isn't feeling well. I'll take it from here."
The man hesitated until he caught Ye Cheng's red‑rimmed eyes. > "Of course. Please…"
Once inside, Yang Yu drove fast—so fast the streetlights became a continuous white line. Ye Cheng had no strength left to speak, let alone smile.
Too late. Kayrald must have been just a step behind.
When the car hit the seacoast road, waves crashed against the cliffs—normally a romantic sound, now only mocking. She pressed the children closer, desperate to fly to the hospital herself.
"Don't worry, Master," Yang Yu said gently, slowing the vehicle. "Mr. Ye will be fine."
She didn't answer immediately, eyes lost to the dark blue ocean. Finally she smiled faintly.
"I wasn't always this greedy."
Yang Yu glanced sideways at her.
"Before—I lived one day at a time. Too afraid to love anything too deeply. Life was short; losing what I loved would have hurt too much." Her voice was soft. "In my old life I never expected this — to be busy, to want things again."
Learning to pilot mecha, studying a new world from scratch—those had never been on her list. Back then she had avoided attachment; now everything had changed.
"Now I have a father. Health. Purpose. And you all. When I come home exhausted, someone asks if I'm hungry. Someone calls me 'sister.' Someone sits quietly to study beside me."
She looked down at the kids, eyes brimming.
"I've become greedy. I don't want to lose any of it."
"Master—"
"Say my name," she cut him off.
"Ye Cheng."
"Suo‑Luo, you too."
"Ye… Cheng."
"Ye Cheng sister!" the twins echoed brightly.
She bent and kissed each forehead, then suddenly asked,
"Potato‑Bean—money can make even ghosts work, right?"
Yang Yu opened his mouth, but she beat him to it.
"No matter what, I won't hand Suo‑Luo and the kids over!"
"That won't be necessary, Master." Yang Yu turned onto the main boulevard. Light from the street lamps cut clean lines through the car. > "Please—be patient."
She stared at him, confused. She had just resolved to cash in every root‑crystal savings she owned to smuggle the family off‑world—and he was telling her to relax?
Before she could speak, the car's radio clicked on automatically.
"Emergency Bulletin: Elan Star has entered Level‑One Security Lockdown! A curfew is now in effect. All residents currently outside must return to their nearest dwellings for inspection. Effective tomorrow, all schools closed, entertainment venues suspended, and Elan Aeroport sealed until further notice…"
Ye Cheng went rigid.
"Level One?! What on earth happened?!"
They raced home; the moment she stepped through the door, a schoolwide order flashed onto her ring: Special Class cadets are to remain on‑campus for one week. Do not leave the Academy. Personal‑location data will be accessible for instructor queries.
Her pulse jumped. She checked her father's status. The display read: Condition stable. Visitation prohibited.
What was going on now?
The Interrogation
Early next morning, she was summoned by the instructors.
Inside the office, two instructors and a uniformed military captain sat in a row. Ye Cheng stood at attention.
"Where were you last night?" the captain asked curtly.
"Governor Prand invited me and my slaves to attend a slave exchange. We all went."
He consulted quietly with the others, then held out a hand.
"Your invitation, please."
She had expected this, produced it immediately, and stepped back to stand at ease.
"According to our records," he continued, "you initiated a contact request with Governor Kayrald of Fountain Star earlier that evening. Why?"
"Because I'm a trainee in his Personal Guard Program," Ye Cheng answered evenly. "So I believed I should report any formal contact with Elan's governor."
"And what did you discuss?"
"The conversation included Governor Kayrald and his secretary. I cannot disclose details without their permission. If you authorize a request through their office and they approve, I'll release it through the communications department."
The captain paused—caught by law. Private citizen communications were protected unless there was cause for criminal investigation. They had no proof.
He changed tack.
"One more matter. Your slave Yang Yu contacted Instructor Su Tie last night. We request that communication."
They were within rights to ask — slaves had no privacy laws. Ye Cheng nodded, opened her ring, and played the recording.
Yang Yu: "Governor Prand invited my master and us to tonight's exchange. I'd like to confirm if any special training is scheduled."
Su Tie: "None."
Yang Yu: "And for the next three days? My master wishes to visit her father."
Su Tie: "None."
Yang Yu: "Thank you."
End of recording.
Everyone present understood the context: the Special Class sometimes issued sudden training orders during holidays. If instructors replied vaguely — "no notice yet" — cadets were expected to stand by. A firm "none" meant free time was genuine. Nothing in his call was out of order. In fact, four other slaves had asked similar questions that evening.
After a brief whispered discussion, the captain nodded.
"Thank you for your co‑operation. You may go."
Ye Cheng saluted, took two steps — then turned back.
"Sir, my father was in that hospital last night, but visits are still banned. Could you tell me what happened?"
One of the instructors recognized her file but couldn't divulge classified details.
"It's under investigation. Since his condition's stable, stay home and await orders."
"Yes, sir."
Aftermath
Back home, Ye Cheng sank into a week of quiet. With classes suspended, she took over the kitchen and experimented with the comfort foods of her memories. The children, entranced by the mystery of "snacks," camped by the door before every mealtime waiting for her to "perform magic." For once, she basked in their praise.
But neither Yang Yu nor Suo‑Luo were simple housemates. After tasting her creations, they quietly replicated them, Yang Yu even inventing new variations within days. Soon the kids were crowding his station instead, and her moment of glory was gone.
It was the most peaceful week since she'd entered the Academy.
Then class resumed — and the headline hit like a bomb:
Governor Prand — Deceased in Line of Duty.
According to officials, during the hybrid rampage he had rushed to the front. One of his own hybrid bodyguards was infected when his element seal shattered, went berserk, and turned on him. Prand was unable to evacuate in time—dying heroically, body almost unrecoverable.
The vice‑governor assumed temporary authority; a new administrator would be appointed after Union vote and Speaker's approval—business far above Ye Cheng's concern.
One lesson, however, burned hard into her mind: standing with the strong offered shade like no other tree.
From that day, she stopped hiding her status as a Kayrald Guard candidate. Publicly acknowledging it shifted Suo‑Luo's "ownership" from her civilian hands to a protected faction — Kayrald's sphere of influence — and she entrusted Yang Yu to oversee his continued training.
Suo‑Luo's potential deserved the sky, not a cage.
For no matter how brilliant a peacock looked behind a fence,
only an eagle born of the mountain could truly soar.