25: Chapter 25 CCTV told him not to go out, but he said he was going out for a stroll.

The sound of the alarm split through their eardrums.

Both phones lit up simultaneously—the Ala Country Civil Defense Bureau, red background with white text: Detected second wave of long-range strikes, highest level of air defense alert across the entire territory, all personnel must immediately enter indoor shelters and stay away from doors and windows!

Li Li swiped the notification away.

Immediately after, a line of blue text appeared beneath the skin of his wrist.

"Ding! New mission released!"

"Mission Name: Give Her an Unforgettable Night"

"Mission Requirements: After the candlelight dinner ends, arrange an activity for the female guest that she will remember for the rest of her life."

"Evaluation Criteria: The higher the livestream popularity during the activity, the higher the reward."

"System Remark: The system has given up on understanding the host's logic for executing tasks. Please feel free to improvise."

An activity she would remember for the rest of her life.

Li Li's gaze passed through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Outside the window, a straight white contrail tore through the night sky, plunging violently into the darkness above. Three seconds later, a cluster of orange-red light exploded silently in the high altitude, blindingly bright.

Interception successful.

Immediately after, a second one, then a third.

The white contrails and orange-red explosion points flickered alternately, reflecting onto the ink-blue sea surface as a field of shattered light spots.

A crazy idea instantly formed in Li Li's mind.

He stood up.

"I'm going out for a bit."

Jiang Rumu was watching the CNN battlefield footage on TV. Hearing this, she merely glanced at him without asking where he was going.

At the end of the hallway, an internal phone. Li Li dialed the front desk directly.

"Transfer me to the hotel general manager."

Fifteen seconds later, the call connected.

Li Li didn't mince words and cut straight to the point in Arabic: "I want to take my partner to the hotel's private beach. We have twenty million Chinese viewers in our livestream, and it's being broadcast globally on TikTok. Now, help me contact His Highness Fahd."

The person on the other end of the line stopped breathing for a moment.

"... Please wait a moment."

The wait time was no more than four minutes before someone else came on the line—it was Fahd, whose speaking speed was noticeably faster than it had been in the afternoon.

"Mr. Li, are you serious?"

"Of course."

"There is a war going on outside."

"That's exactly why I'm going," Li Li leaned against the wall, his voice lowering. "Your Highness, you agreed to keep the lights on to tell the world that Dubai hasn't fallen. Now, I'm taking a Chinese female celebrity with thirty million followers to watch your air defense system intercept missiles on the beach, in front of a global livestream. What do you think the whole world will see?"

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

"... They will see the determination and strength of Ala Country," Fahd's voice carried a hint of imperceptible excitement, "as well as the barbarism of Israel."

"So, since it can't be hidden, it's better to bring it out for the whole world to see."

"Good!" Fahd laughed. "A golf cart will take you there, and beach security will clear the area. But remember, once there is any anomaly with the air defense system, my men will drag you back immediately, whether you like it or not."

"Deal."

Li Li hung up the phone and returned to the suite.

Jiang Rumu had switched to the CCTV International channel, where a female anchor was reporting in standard Mandarin: "... The Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again reminds Chinese citizens in Ala Country and surrounding areas to pay attention to safety, try to stay indoors, and avoid unnecessary outings..."

Li Li walked over to her side.

"Want to go for a walk?"

Jiang Rumu's fingers, which were gripping the remote control, froze.

She turned her head to look at Li Li, then turned back to look at the scrolling subtitle on the TV that read "Avoid unnecessary outings."

She turned back to look at Li Li.

"What did you say?"

"Go to the beach."

Jiang Rumu blinked.

On TV, the female anchor was still reading: "... Pay attention to personal safety."

She blinked again.

"There are missiles outside."

"Yeah."

"CCTV told us to stay inside."

"Yeah."

"So you want to take me out."

"That's right."

Jiang Rumu stopped speaking and just looked at him, as if confirming whether he had been blasted into stupidity.

The livestream comments were already completely crazy, a white blur of text, all calling him a madman.

"[What a fucking lunatic! Not even listening to CCTV?]"

"[Li Li, if you dare to take Mumu out, I'll crawl out of the screen and kill you!]"

"[This isn't bravery, this is pure idiocy!]"

"[Mumu, don't go! I beg you! Don't follow him in his madness!]"

Li Li ignored the comments and just looked at Jiang Rumu, stating calmly: "The artificial island is twenty kilometers away from military targets, it's very safe. Fahd's security is on standby the whole time. Most importantly—"

He paused.

"A global livestream. No one dares to throw missiles in front of a lens with tens of millions of people."

Jiang Rumu's gaze lingered on his face for three seconds.

She put down the remote, stood up, and walked to the bedroom without a word.

Thirty seconds later, she came out.

She was still wearing the same silk shirt, but the hem was neatly tucked into her jeans. She had changed into a pair of white canvas shoes, and her long hair was tied into a refreshing low ponytail.

She walked up to him.

"Let's go."

In the lobby, a white golf cart was already waiting inside the revolving doors. The driver, wearing white gloves, gripped the steering wheel tightly, not daring to look at them the entire time.

The cart drove out of the main gate, and the night breeze, carrying the burnt smell of gunpowder and the salty tang of the sea, rushed towards them.

Three minutes later, the cart stopped beside the curved breakwater.

The empty private beach had nothing but white fine sand and ocean waves.

Li Li jumped off the cart, his soles sinking into the soft sand. Jiang Rumu followed, looked at her shoes, then simply bent over to take them off, stepping into the sand barefoot.

"The sand is warm," she said.

Li Li also took off his shoes. The heat from the day traveled from the soles of his feet all the way up to his calves.

The two walked side by side toward the seaside, sitting down just a few meters away from the waves.

The waves lapped rhythmically against the beach, one after another.

Overhead, a new white contrail rose from the ground, piercing straight into the deep blue night sky.

An orange-red light cluster exploded with a boom, like a silent flower of death.

In another direction, there was another one.

A white line, an explosion, flying shards of light.

Above the Persian Gulf, the light points of interceptor missiles rose and fell, reflecting in the sea like another starry sky.

The number of online viewers in Li Li's livestream was eleven million, thirteen million, fifteen million...

The TikTok global channel had five million, six million... and it was still skyrocketing.

The drift of the comments changed from verbal abuse to a kind of shock mixed with fear.

"[...I admit, I am stunned by this scene.]"

"[Sitting on the beach watching anti-aircraft missiles... what kind of doomsday-level romance is this, for fuck's sake.]"

"[I don't dare to move. I feel like I'm sitting there with them, my heart is about to stop.]"

"[Yes, let the whole world see! Let them see who the real terrorists are!]"

Jiang Rumu hugged her knees, resting her chin on them, and watched all of this quietly.

Another white contrail rose into the sky. She didn't dodge, nor did she flinch; she just watched it explode and scatter.

"Is it beautiful?" Li Li asked.

She didn't turn her head.

"No, it's not."

She paused, her voice very soft, yet very clear.

"But everyone should see what the evil happening right beside us looks like."

The waves surged up, washing over her toes, then slowly receded.

Li Li's hand was resting on the sand beside him, his fingertips less than five centimeters away from her little finger.

He didn't move.

On the skyline, another interceptor missile launched. This explosion was brighter than any before it. The orange-red light cluster lingered in the high altitude for a full two seconds, countless fragments trailing long flames as they tore through the night sky.

The entire bay was illuminated as bright as day by this momentary light.

And it was at this very moment that Jiang Rumu's little finger moved.

To the left, gently and firmly, it rested on his fingertips.

Li Li's body stiffened.

Two little fingers touched each other just like that in the warm white sand.

Total online viewers in the livestream: forty-one million.

On the skyline, the seventeenth white contrail shot up into the sky.