Chapter 90

Chapter 90

"Where are you taking us now?"

Xu Zhangying blinked his large eyes, watching as Xia Qing, who had covered his mouth, stared coldly into the rearview mirror, his calmness unusual for someone his age.

"A provisional safe house," Laura glanced at the rearview mirror, meeting those icy eyes.

The moment he heard "safe house," Xu Zhangying blinked again, slowly straightened up, then rested his head on Xia Qing's shoulder, his eyes flickering with confusion and excitement.

Xia Qing pondered for three seconds before lifting his gaze. "I don’t see why I’d be important enough for a safe house."

At this point, Xu Zhangying didn’t fully grasp Xia Qing’s words, but he vaguely sensed something. Meanwhile, Officer Xiao in the passenger seat also fell into thought, seemingly weighing how to respond.

"But this isn’t something your personal will can decide," Laura said calmly as she drove. "Other people think you’re valuable, so we must protect you."

Others? Wasn’t the subway poisoning case something he stumbled into by accident?

Xu Zhangying’s playful mood evaporated in an instant. Why would Xia Qing have any connection to such a major incident like the Tokyo poisoning?

The situation had taken a sharp turn. To 14-year-old Xu Zhangying, they were just unlucky bystanders suddenly caught up in a high-priority emergency after crossing the ocean. But now, a group of suited AGB Officers had appeared out of nowhere, telling the Chinese high schooler next to him, "You have ties to these terrorists!"

What the hell is going on? Xu Zhangying felt like everything had shifted from a modern cop movie to a surreal fantasy film in an instant. He immediately tightened his grip on Xia Qing’s sleeve, studying the two officers up front with heightened wariness.

"You’ve found Lewis, haven’t you?" The beta teen got straight to the point the next second, shifting the topic so abruptly that all four officers on the Bluetooth comms froze for a second.

"Lewis?" Laura frowned slightly.

Amber’s voice immediately came through the earpiece. "That’s Lawrence—his Swedish alias when he was active in North American business."

"36 years old, male, alpha, black hair, gray irises, about 6’1”. I don’t know what you call him, but I only know him as Lewis."

Before Amber could finish, Xia Qing’s voice rang out from the backseat. It was then that the AGB Officers truly realized how frighteningly sharp this beta kid was—he was even sharper and more perceptive than the other highly gifted alpha.

Running into two freakishly smart, difficult kids at once left Asia Team 01 feeling on edge and burdened.

After three seconds of silence, Xiao sighed and rubbed his temples. "Yes, it’s the Lewis you mentioned. You saw him yesterday, didn’t you? What did he say to you?"

As he spoke, he looked up into the rearview mirror, only to meet a pair of amber eyes—eyes just like the Emperor’s in the dossier—mysterious, clear, yet unreadable. Though bright, they seemed like an impenetrable door, shutting everyone out.

"I don’t know why he appeared at the subway station. He didn’t say anything—just stared at me and walked away," Xia Qing replied indifferently.

The surveillance footage had captured the entire interaction between Lawrence and Xia Qing. After bumping into Xia Qing, Lawrence had turned away, leaving the camera with only his back. There was no way to confirm whether he had spoken.

Xiao turned to look at Xia Qing, steering the conversation carefully. "When you saw him, what was the first thing that came to mind?"

"Nothing. I just figured it was a hassle," Xia Qing said coldly. "At the time, I didn’t consider that he might be involved in the terrorist attack."

Xiao quickly shook his head. "You’ve got it wrong, kid. The Lewis you mentioned wasn’t part of the terrorist attack. In fact, he was likely one of the intended targets. So we’re not questioning your stance."

Xia Qing fell silent. Over the earpiece, Lance muttered in confusion, "This kid has a negative impression of Lawrence, but logically, Lawrence should be on his father’s side."

Amber, though, didn’t bat an eye. "Before this year, this boy must’ve already endured hundreds of interrogations and interviews from the FBI and IGO. The ‘hassle’ he means is likely that."

"Hey, what are you talking about, old man?"

Suddenly, the confused alpha finally snapped. He glanced at Xia Qing, then at Xiao, and grumbled irritably, "I was with Xia Qing the whole time yesterday—how could he have met this Lewis dude? And who the hell is Lewis anyway?"

It dawned on Xiao and the others that when Lawrence had slipped into the crowd to approach Xia Qing, Xu Zhangying had been right there. In those couple of seconds, there was no way they could’ve exchanged anything important.

The officer looked at Xu Zhangying, who was tightly gripping Xia Qing's hand while glaring daggers at him. He could only rub his nose bridge wearily before offering a brief explanation:

"At around 19:00 last night, a man mixed into the crowd and bumped into Xia Qing and you. That man was actually an enemy of the terrorists, and unfortunately, he has some connection to Xia Qing's late father."

Xu Zhangying froze for a moment, recalling the rumors he had heard before. He hadn’t expected Xia Qing’s background to be so complicated—his life in Guangzhou had seemed so ordinary, so lonely.

He tightened his grip on Xia Qing’s hand, his hostility flaring as he shot back defensively: "That still has nothing to do with Xia Qing. I didn’t hear anyone speak to him yesterday. Even if the terrorists are connected to his father, why are you interrogating a minor?"

"This isn’t our intention," Xiao tried to soothe the prickly alpha before turning to the sullen beta teenager, speaking seriously: "I know you’ve probably been questioned many times before, but I still want to confirm—did your father ever tell you anything about an organization called LEBEN before he passed?"

Xu Zhangying was stunned. Due to Xu Yiyuan’s work, he had been following international news since he was ten. LEBEN, the world's largest extremist organization, was something he not only knew about but had specifically researched—but that far-off, boogeyman-like group had such a close connection to Xia Qing?

"He never mentioned anything about his work to me," Xia Qing said flatly. "Lewis attended our family’s Christmas gatherings every year. Other than that, I had no other opportunities to see him. Yesterday was the first time I’ve seen him since 2005."

Everyone knew that an eleven-year-old child should never have been dragged into such a deep vortex of crime back then. Yet no one could explain why this child was now entangled with LEBEN’s Tokyo terror attack again—or why Lawrence would go to such lengths, even risking exposure to both LEBEN remnants and AGB Officers, just to make contact with Xia Qing.

There was only one explanation: this young boy truly held something Lawrence deemed crucial.

But what?

Xiao studied Xia Qing’s pale face as Amber’s voice came through his earpiece: "Xia Qing has already passed three lie detector tests. You won’t get anything out of him like this—he probably doesn’t even know what he has."

Laura tightened her grip on the steering wheel. She couldn’t understand why that man with gray eyes had done this—nor what he planned to do next.

Just then, Xu Zhangying’s bullheaded reasoning cut in: "How can you be sure that guy deliberately approached Xia Qing? What if it was just an accident?"

Hearing Xu Zhangying’s stubborn argument, Xiao almost wanted to laugh. He looked at the two boys and said, "We saw on the surveillance footage that he intentionally bumped into you at the turnstile and even locked eyes with Xia Qing for several seconds."

"The turnstile..." Xu Zhangying’s memory was sharp. He suddenly recalled the apology spoken in Chinese and frowned at Xia Qing, whispering dismissively, "So that was the guy who spoke Chinese?"

Xia Qing met his gaze and nodded. Xu Zhangying thought for a moment before shrugging. "Still has nothing to do with you. If I hadn’t dragged you out to Akihabara, we wouldn’t have gotten caught up in this mess."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Xia Qing murmured softly.

Listening to the two boys whispering, Xiao suppressed a sigh. But Laura, still driving, suddenly spoke up: "Xu Zhangying, why did you want to go to Akihabara?"

"Seriously?" Xu Zhangying looked up from the backseat, exasperated. "Officer, do I really have to explain this? I wanted to buy Nintendo stuff. Can’t you understand the passion of an ACG fan?"

"No, that’s not what I meant," Laura said seriously, glancing at the rearview mirror. "You were staying in Odaiba. Why did you choose to go to Akihabara yesterday? Places like Skytree, Ginza, or Shibuya would’ve been just as appealing."

"Why—" Xu Zhangying tilted his head, thinking. "Because yesterday was the day before the competition. Training ended in the morning, and it was the Electric Street Festival. The hotel had promotional flyers in every room, so we wanted to go before leaving."

"You’re saying the hotel in Odaiba had Akihabara flyers?" The experienced AGB Officers immediately sensed something off. Xiao turned sharply to look at the blank-faced teens.

Xu Zhangying met his gaze, unfazed. "Yeah, every room had them. And it wasn’t just me—my two friends wanted to go too."

Xu Zhangying thought this was just another distrustful interrogation. He didn’t realize his words iced their blood, a creeping dread spreading through them.

—They didn’t dare imagine or dwell on how much of this seemingly ordinary situation had been carefully planned out by that man. It was like a web woven in the dark—prey never knew when or where the trap had been set until they were already caught in it.

"Xia Qing really didn’t talk to that guy yesterday," Xu Zhangying insisted, lifting his head again. "I’m not lying. That guy bumped into me too. All I heard was him say ‘sorry’—in Chinese—so I heard it clearly."

Xiao shook himself alert and nodded reassuringly. "Alright, I understand. Your safety is the priority now. We’ll discuss the rest later."

Seeing Xu Zhangying’s stubborn glare, Xiao handed him a photo. "Look, is this the man? We’re just following procedure. If Xia Qing really is being targeted, we need to protect him."

Xu Zhangying took the photo, leaning close to Xia Qing to examine it. The image showed blown-up, enhanced stills from surveillance footage—clearly depicting a man in a jacket and black cap pushing through the crowd to deliberately bump into them before turning away.

Finally seeing the two boys settle down, Xiao turned back and exchanged a glance with Laura. This was their first time handling a major case involving teenagers, and they couldn’t help but feel in over their heads.

"He was a good friend of my father and also a shareholder. I last saw him two years ago in the UK," Xiao heard Xia Qing, wary of him, quietly explaining to Xu Zhangying with surprising patience. Inside, Xiao was torn between amusement and exasperation—dragging teenagers into this mess, LEBEN and Lawrence had clearly lost their minds.

"Wow, this guy looks sketchy AF," Xu Zhangying remarked bluntly. "Maybe he was being chased and saw us, so he deliberately bumped into you to get noticed? You can’t ever figure out what a loser’s thinking."

As he spoke, Xu Zhangying seemed genuinely interested in studying the man's face, leaning closer to scrutinize the photo.

"I completely agree with that," Amber’s voice crackled through the earpiece, as if unaware the kid couldn’t hear her at all.

A vein pulsed in Laura’s temple. She was speeding across the Rainbow Bridge, and due to the typhoon and the terror attack, the roads were nearly empty. Her car was moving fast as she checked the time, about to tell Xiao to contact their informant again—when Xu Zhangying’s voice suddenly cut in, louder this time, clearly addressing both of them:

"Officer, are AGB Officers full-time?"

She glanced at the thoughtful kid in the rearview mirror, puzzled. "Of course."

Xu Zhangying stared at the man’s face in the photo, then looked up, blinking. "So how the hell is this Lewis guy both a venture capitalist and an AGB Officer?"

Almost instantly, not just Laura but even Amber in the other car felt their ears buzz.

A second later, Xiao whipped around to face the superior alpha sitting in the backseat, who was holding the beta’s hand and calmly meeting his gaze. The veteran alpha officer could barely control his trembling voice. "How do you know he’s an AGB Officer?"

"I’ve seen him wear an olive leaf pin, just like yours—except his was gold." Xu Zhangying pointed at Xiao’s chest, his voice flat.

Laura, normally unshakable, felt her mind go blank. Something was wrong—Xia Qing was supposed to be the unique one, so why had Xu Zhangying, with his ordinary background, met Lawrence? She immediately countered, "Impossible. Where and when did you see him?"

From the backseat, Xia Qing raised his head, for the first time seeing icy detachment on the superior alpha’s face. He heard Xu Zhangying reply icily, "Early October 2004. Near my school. He stood by the roadside and suddenly spoke to me—wearing sunglasses, smiling, telling me to hurry home."

A man in sunglasses leaned against a porch, the blazing sun blurring him and the road behind. Abruptly, the man waved under the sun, the golden leaf pin on his chest glinting.

-

"Go home, kid."

Xu Zhangying stood frozen behind a window, gripping his backpack straps, staring at him.

The man looked bored for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter for no reason before mocking,

"Congrats, kid—free wish granted."

"And when I got home, I found out my dad was dead." Xu Zhangying tilted his head, coolly eyeing the AGB Officers. "Do you know anything about that? He was your colleague, wasn’t he? Why go through all this trouble questioning me and Xia Qing?"

-

Xiao couldn’t answer. Staring at the two fourteen-year-olds, he was seized by raw terror, his pupils contracting—now he couldn’t even be sure whether Lawrence’s target was the Emperor’s child or this seemingly ordinary, tragic journalist’s son.

What was Lawrence doing? Did that beheaded war reporter carry other secrets? Was Xu Zhangying the real target, or were both children involved?

It was too cruel. Suppressing the tremor in his chest, Xiao numbly stared at the man in the photo Xu Zhangying held, finding the face he’d once admired now twisted. This man was like the hidden hand behind a puppet show, yanking people’s strings for kicks.

Xiao opened his mouth, watching the two kids’ clasped hands. "I—" His voice cracked as he lifted his head to explain, but in the next instant, his expression twisted into alarm before he barked, "Get down!"

Xu Zhangying clenched the photo, forcing calm as he waited for the AGB Officer to answer the question buried in his heart for so long. But before he could process why the man’s expression had changed so drastically, Xia Qing yanked him into a protective embrace—half a second before a blast erupted behind them.

Thankfully, everyone in the car was wearing seatbelts, and Laura reacted almost instantly, shifting gears and swerving into the fast lane while snapping in English, "Amber, what the hell are you doing?! Are you blind?!"

The side mirror showed an unfamiliar black SUV had appeared right behind them. The highway, for nearly a kilometer ahead and behind, was empty except for their three cars and this black SUV.

Xu Zhangying, forced into a crouch by Xia Qing, could only hear the frantic pounding of his heart against his ribs from the impact. Before he could recover, gunfire and squealing tires ripped through the silence.

A black sedan drew up alongside Laura’s, windows rolling down. Laura, one hand on the wheel and the other gripping a gun, turned coldly to face them.

"Guess Plan A was a bust after all," Xu Zhangying heard a man’s lazy drawl amid the chaos. He looked up—straight into a pair of blue eyes.

"Hello, kid detectives," the man glanced over and locked eyes with Xu Zhangying. He smiled through the car window and gave a quick salute. "It's an emergency, so I'll get going now. We'll meet again if there's a chance."

As soon as he finished speaking, the black car he was in suddenly slowed down and whipped into a U-turn. Xu Zhangying and Xia Qing craned their necks to see through the cracked rear windshield, only to find that the tires of the black SUV that had intentionally rear-ended them had just been shot out. At that moment, Blue Eyes and his team were turning back to pursue the criminals inside.

They had barely taken a look when police sirens wailed past them—the police car that had been ahead earlier was also turning around with its sirens blaring to support Blue Eyes.

"Damn it—" Laura, who was driving, suddenly erupted in fury, startling the two boys. They turned to see her flooring the gas pedal while swearing a blue streak in English, "That bitch Amber is hogging the glory again! She definitely won’t wait for us before taking action!"

"Well, there’s nothing we can do," Xiao whispered cautiously, trying to calm her. "The situation is urgent, after all."

Just then, intense gunfire echoed from far behind them. Xu Zhangying, holding onto Xia Qing, stared in shock at the jealous and resentful female alpha in the driver’s seat—was that assignment actually some plum job? Was the AGB workplace always this cutthroat?

"Ma’am," ever-observant Xu Zhangying quickly changed his tone, watching her expression respectfully as he asked, "What’s the B plan?"

"We switch safehouses," Laura grumbled.

And so, they switched—all the way clear to Haneda Airport.

Xu Zhangying had never gone through security so quickly in his life. Traveling light without even phones, they entered through a designated backchannel, unimpeded all the way, until they were led into a small room for boarding security just before departure.

Xu Zhangying and Xia Qing weren’t carrying even their phones, let alone passports or other identification. Xiao explained that they were using AGB’s special channel, where people usually didn’t carry ID either.

"What kind of person doesn’t bring identification?" Xu Zhangying tilted his head, still carrying the Gundam backpack Zhao Yang had forcefully shoved into his hands before leaving.

"Criminals, of course," Laura handed her AGB credentials to the airport staff and gave an exasperated pat on Xu Zhangying’s head.

The stunning woman, standing at six-foot-three, placed her hands on her hips, revealing the gun at her waist. Xu Zhangying looked up at her, his mind filled with only one thought—she was so goddamn badass.

"Think I’m badass?" Laura chuckled, seeing right through him.

Xu Zhangying nodded like a bobblehead.

Laura raised a finger, tempting him, "Want me to pencil you in for a trainee slot ten years from now? I’ll get you into the AGB Asia Branch."

Xu Zhangying blinked. Just as he was about to agree in a daze, his left hand was tightly grasped. A calm voice spoke up, "He might not be suited for investigative work. It’s too early to say."

Laura sighed and turned to the beta boy standing beside them, who was also looking up at her with a level, unreadable gaze.

"Playing keeper never ends well," Laura raised an eyebrow. "Especially with first loves—they don’t always last."

"I was just joking, don't take it seriously," Xu Zhangying quickly gave Xia Qing's hand an appeasing squeeze and rubbed his nose. "It’s still a long way off before college exams anyway."

Xiao, who had just finished checking the documents, shook his head with a smile and walked over. Addressing Laura’s exasperated expression, he said, "Don't be the bad guy in some teen romance. Emotions grow stronger through adversity."

Then, turning to the slightly embarrassed Xu Zhangying, he said, "Hand your bag to the security officer. We’re boarding soon."

"Okay," Xu Zhangying replied, running over to hand his bag to a man while two uniformed officers began the standard pat-down on him and Xia Qing.

The man inspecting the backpack wore white gloves and was carefully removing its contents. But barely five seconds into the check, his movements paused slightly. He spoke to Laura in Japanese, "Ma’am."

Laura and Xiao had been discussing the case, assuming security was just a formality. Surprised by the officer’s serious tone, they quickly walked over.

Xu Zhangying, standing nearby with his arms spread for the pat-down, was equally puzzled. "That was given to me by Zhao Yang. What could possibly be contraband inside—"

His words cut off abruptly the next second—the officer’s white gloves held a stack of bills, specifically 10,000-yen bills. Then he pulled out a second stack, a third, a fourth, a fifth… This continued until the pat-down on Xu Zhangying was complete.

Each stack of 10,000-yen bills was neatly folded and bound with rubber bands. And so, Laura, Xiao, three security officers, and two Chinese middle school students stood in silence before a table covered in cash.

Five adults turned their eyes in unison to the sweating Xu Zhangying at the table. He opened his mouth but hesitated, remembering Zhao Yang squeezing through the crowd an hour earlier to shove the backpack into his hands. "For expenses."

Ah, I’m a little touched.

But as soon as he looked up, the five scrutinizing gazes made him freeze again. Cautiously, he said in English, "I have a friend, uh, who's kind of rich."

The officer quickly tallied. Under Japanese customs law, the threshold for carrying cash or other monetary assets without declaration when entering or leaving Japan is 1 million yen. But this student’s backpack held exactly 1.05 million yen.

Xu Zhangying remembered very clearly that Zhao Yang hadn’t declared anything at customs—probably because Zhao didn’t even know about the 1 million yen rule, and the security officer never expected a high school student on a study trip to be carrying around wads of cash.

Is Zhao Yang insane? What was Uncle Zhao thinking, exchanging so much foreign currency for him? Was he planning to buy ten Nintendos to lug home?

But aside from the excess cash, there were no other prohibited items, and since they were still within Japan, the officer just stuffed the money back into the backpack and, with a peculiar expression, let the four of them board the plane.

Sitting in the business class cabin, Xu Zhangying hissed in a panic to Xia Qing as he rummaged through the backpack, "That lunatic Zhao Yang—I knew there was a reason he shoved this bag at me."

Xia Qing: "Honestly, this is the handiest resource. It can even serve as bail money in emergencies."

Xu Zhangying: "Xia Qing, your deadpan jokes always land at the worst time."

Xia Qing: "...That wasn’t a joke."

Xu Zhangying finally pulled out a Nokia N95 and exclaimed in delight, "Now we’re talking!"

"Seized." Before Xu Zhangying could even revel in his joy for two seconds, a hand mercilessly snatched away the brand-new phone.

Laura waved the phone tauntingly at the distraught teen. "Exile rules—no outside communication."

"I didn’t say a word when your AGB’s internal traitor dragged innocent civilians like us into this mess," Xu Zhangying snapped.

"We’re looking into it," Laura said from across the aisle, turning her head to meet his gaze, "and we’ll definitely inform you afterward."

She was referring to Lawrence, who had suddenly appeared in Guangzhou just before LEBEN’s collapse to deliver the news of Xu Yiyuan’s death to the 11-year-old Xu Zhangying.

The high-tier alpha kid studied the calm-faced female Officer and nodded. "Okay."

Slumping back, his voice gentled.

"It’s fine. I’m used to waiting," he murmured, his voice growing quieter.

But Xu Zhangying hadn’t thought 'exile' meant actual exile—only after disembarking, boarding a car, and then taking a high-speed ferry from Okinawa’s main island did he realize the AGB Officer hadn’t been lying.

On the deck packed with tourists snapping selfies, Xu Zhangying weakly asked Laura, who was leaning against the railing in sunglasses, "Officer, how long is this exile supposed to last?"

"Unclear. We’ll notify you once we reach a safe location," Laura replied nonchalantly, turning to gaze at the sea. "Look on the bright side—it’s tourist season, and island accommodations are expensive. Your exile costs are covered by our budget."

Hearing this unreliable answer, Xu Zhangying went boneless against Xia Qing.

Laura lifted her sunglasses and glanced at the composed beta boy. "What’s wrong with him?"

"Pheromone overload. He’s always like this after flying, and there are too many people on the boat now," Xia Qing explained flatly, propping up the miserable guy.

"Why?" Xiao, leaning against the opposite railing, asked curiously.

"Because he’s a superior alpha."

"Ah, I see," the two AGB Officers remarked, stroking their chins. "So even superior alphas have weaknesses."

After disembarking, Xu Zhangying and Xia Qing piled into Laura’s rented car and soon drove away from the tourist-swarmed areas.

"Officer," Xu Zhangying, partly revived as he leaned against Xia Qing’s shoulder, sat up straight and asked seriously, now just the four of them, "Were those terrorists after me and Xia Qing?"

"Kind of, but not really," Laura said, steering the wheel, her tone calm as she mentioned Amber without a hint of jealousy.

"That was our contingency plan. The terrorists don’t even know Lewis’s motives, like you said. So, since we’re under suspicion for ties to Lewis, if we abruptly took you away, there's a high chance they’d try to intercept."

"So, Xia Qing and I aren’t important," Xu Zhangying slowly realized. "It’s the fact that we were 'taken away by you' that matters—we’re the bait?"

"Exactly," Laura shamelessly admitted. "Since you were going to a safe house anyway, isn’t this killing two birds with one stone?"

"Come on, we’re just kids! What if we actually get targeted?" Xu Zhangying looked at the female AGB Officer in disbelief.

"First," Laura said dismissively, "you two are tougher than you look. Second, I’ve already applied for the international witness protection program. Japanese cops and media won’t get your real info, so you’re safe—probably."

"'Probably'? Can’t we just go back to China? I want to go home," Xu Zhangying groaned.

"Suck it up," Lewis turned to look at the kid. "This is a high-stakes case. You don’t want to drag your family and friends into this, do you? And look on the bright side—if it takes a while, you won’t have to go to school."

"Gee, thanks for the pep talk, old man," Xu Zhangying hugged his backpack and drooped back onto Xia Qing’s shoulder, sulking.

Though Tokashiki Island was the largest in the Kerama archipelago, you could walk the whole thing in a day. After just a few words, Laura drove them to their destination.

It was 3:30 PM, the sunniest time in the Northern Hemisphere. Laura led the two teenagers out of the car. Squinting under the harsh sunlight, Xu Zhangying saw a long, two-story white rectangular building ahead—like a cleaner, newer American motel.

They entered through the back door, which had a porch draped in flowers. Laura fished out a set of keys, unlocked the door, and let Xu Zhangying and Xia Qing in first. Only then did Xu Zhangying realize it was a youth hostel, with a cafeteria on the first floor lined with neatly arranged tables and chairs.

Most tourists were out exploring in the afternoon, so the hostel was quiet. Upstairs, Laura pushed open a room door and ushered the two middle schoolers inside.

It was a simple, narrow space that could barely be called a hotel room—smaller than Xu Zhangying’s bedroom. Two single beds were placed against opposite walls, less than two meters apart. Still, the beds were tidy, and basic amenities like air conditioning and a fan were provided.

"Alright, listen carefully, kids," Laura said sternly as she handed Xu Zhangying a key from her keychain. "These are the rules, and it’s a no do-overs game, so pay attention and follow them."

"First, no reaching out to family or friends via phone or internet—especially no revealing your location."

"Second, no leaving this island without notice. It’s summer, so there are three high-speed ferries and one slow ferry daily, but they're not for you. Most tourists only stay a day. You can go out, but not off the island."

"Third, personal safety first. Can you snorkel?" Laura asked.

Xu Zhangying shook his head, but Xia Qing nodded.

Laura chuckled. "Won't help. The beaches here require a snorkeling license. So, even though this island has great beaches, no straying from shore or attempting dangerous activities—the safe house is meant to keep you safe."

Hearing this, Xu Zhangying raised his hand. "Wait, Officer, you’re seriously leaving us alone here?"

"This youth hostel has a retired AGB Officer—my informant. But I won’t tell you who, so behave yourselves," Laura smirked. "Otherwise, I’ll find out immediately and consider separating you two."

That last threat worked well on the rebellious teenagers. Xu Zhangying immediately latched onto Xia Qing, eyeing the tall female Officer warily.

"There’s a cafeteria downstairs serving three meals a day, already covered in the lodging fee. But the computer and game rooms cost extra—though given the wad of cash you’ve got, I won’t elaborate."

"All in all, this is a tiny island with nothing but beaches—no buses, no supermarkets, not even a convenience store, just traditional shops and a few restaurants. Odds are, you won’t even spend a fraction of the cash you brought."

As Laura laid out the rules, Xu Zhangying’s initial excitement vanished, and her smirk grew downright devilish—no wonder she didn’t care how much money he had.

"Aharen Beach Resort sells official tourist T-shirts," Laura checked her watch. "You can buy some tomorrow for spare clothes. The hostel’s curfew is midnight, so no matter how crazy you go, be back by then—if there’s even anything fun to do here."

"Alright, I’ve got to go fight terrorists now," Laura finally gave a real grin.

"Don’t worry about your families—we’ll handle it. Enjoy your unique summer vacation. If I’m not mistaken, it hasn’t even been 24 hours since your relationship started."

"Consider this island honeymoon our gift—a thank-you for saving thousands of lives. Damn lovebird brats." She mussed up both kids’ hair before leaving.

Xiao stood to the side, his Chinese upbringing compelling him to remind them, "You're still a bit young for dating. Be patient and tolerant with each other. Since you only have each other on this small island, don’t argue, and maintain boundaries in daily life—"

"Let’s go, Xiao. They’re just alpha and beta kids—they can't get pregnant no matter what they do," Laura interrupted impatiently, already pushing the door open with one foot out, eager to rush back to Tokyo.

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?" Xu Zhangying, usually shameless, instantly flushed red. He practically leaped up, flustered and furious. "You're insane!"

"Kid," Laura scoffed, then lowered her voice in a threatening tone. "Behave, or I’ll separate you both. No more dating for either of you."

With that, the narrow door clicked shut.

Xu Zhangying collapsed onto the bed, burying his burning face in the single bed’s blanket. But then, Xia Qing gently patted his shoulder and whispered, "You can see the ocean from the window."

Xu Zhangying bolted upright and pressed his face against the window between the two beds, peering out like some desperate prisoner yearning for freedom.

There it was—the shimmering, radiant sea, merging with the sky, so close it seemed just beyond the concrete road.

It felt surreal. Just hours ago, they had been competing in a Tokyo science museum, and now they were stranded on an island thousands of kilometers away, completely cut off from the world.

"Xia Qing, it feels like we’re dreaming. These past two days—no, just this one day—has been too much, too strange," Xu Zhangying murmured, resting his chin on the windowsill, his mind wandering again.

"Yeah," Xia Qing agreed, also leaning on the sill. He turned his face toward Xu Zhangying, the sunlight casting the beta's eyes an unusual color. "It really does feel like that with you."

Xu Zhangying’s eyes widened instantly.

Outside, by the flower-lined back entrance, Laura paused as she pulled the car door open. She glanced up at the white inn, frowning. "Did I just hear a scream?"

"Did you?" Xiao sighed, opening the passenger door and adjusting his glasses resignedly. "Kids—everything’s new and exciting to them."

"Weirdest kids in the world," Laura muttered, starting the engine.

"Oh shit oh shit—" Xu Zhangying buried his scorching face back into the blanket, while Xia Qing, still at the windowsill, gazed up at the clouds drifting across the blue sky, his thoughts both far away and right here.

At this moment, as their escape began, Xia Qing felt something unfamiliar—for the first time in his life, he didn't want to think at all.