134: There are no surprises, only surprises.

In front of the window, light and shadow projected a majestic and luxurious throne.

This appeared to be just a routine Audience Hall; the entire space wasn't overly bright, and the Emperor sat in a relaxed posture.

"Dispense with the formalities." He raised his hand lazily.

Hain did not dare to be careless. He lowered his head slightly and waited quietly in place.

"I received your Travel Report. What, you've arrived at Xiuyin Star? Looking for Kong Jiamu?" The Emperor teased his beloved general, sounding in good spirits, his tone slightly amused. "Pity, I had something for him to handle, so you must have missed each other."

Hain maintained a respectful and proper demeanor. "Yes, I received his communication upon landing."

"Was he carrying out a mission? I suspect he ran into an accident, as he has been out of contact since then." He sounded worried. "Did he report anything to you?"

"Oh?" His Majesty the Emperor was slightly surprised. "I haven't received any information."

His strong yet pale fingers tapped lightly on the back of the chair, and his voice turned cold. "It seems there's been a mishap. Given Kong Jiamu's capabilities, he wouldn't be unable to even send a message back."

Hain confirmed His Majesty the Emperor's suspicion, "His signal suddenly cut off while he was communicating with me."

The Emperor was deep in thought.

"I thought it was just a Reconnaissance Mission, but it seems the water is deeper than expected." After a moment, he raised his hand and lightly pointed his fingertip toward Hain.

"Select a team and go provide backup." the Emperor ordered.

Hain struggled for a moment, then suddenly knelt on one knee, making a difficult request to the Emperor: "He... he entrusted me with something, asking me to remain on Xiuyin Star. May I ask Your Majesty..."

"Oh?" The Emperor uttered a single sound and looked carefully at the person kneeling before him.

Hain did not speak further. He lowered his head even deeper, gritting his teeth without offering an explanation.

The silent action, however, clearly showed the Emperor his persistence regarding this matter.

This was highly unusual. Hain would actually directly object to his arrangements.

The Emperor calmly scrutinized his beloved general.

Hain knelt beside a row of tall Window Panels, with light streaming in from the side and shining on his back.

This appeared to be in a certain living room. Due to the limitations of the Video Collection Device, the Emperor could only see a portion of the sofa area and a corner of the courtyard, not the entire living room.

Hain, who habitually favored symmetry and order, would usually unconsciously stand on the room's Axis.

So why... was he standing by the window this time?

A strange look appeared at the corner of the Emperor's mouth, and he tilted his head to cast his gaze into the living room.

Although Tu Nan clearly hadn't met his gaze, she still felt enveloped by the senses of a fierce beast. She cautiously reduced her presence, daring not to move, even slowing her breathing.

"In that case... you will remain on Xiuyin Star."

The Emperor approved Hain's request and ended the Video Call.

A moment later, Hain slowly rose to his feet.

After the light spot from the Video Call completely vanished, Tu Nan took two deep breaths, realizing only then that she had been holding her breath.

"Was it alright to refuse Your Majesty?" Tu Nan asked cautiously, worried for Hain.

She didn't want Hain to offend the Empire's Highest Authority because of her, even though, comparing His Majesty's attitude towards Hain and Kong Jiamu, he certainly seemed gentler toward Hain.

But... how could one take the superficial attitudes of those at the Top of the Pyramid seriously?

"I'll be fine. Why don't you still go?"

Tu Nan advised, especially since she was now eager for Hain to leave.

Hain shook his head slightly.

"It's fine. Your Majesty won't blame me; he is consistently lenient. Besides, if His Majesty agreed, he naturally has other arrangements."

Hain wasn't too worried; what he was contemplating was Kong Jiamu's loss of contact.

Through fragmented words, he learned from the soldiers that Kong Jiamu had only planned to be out for two days. This distance was essentially within the range of Capital Star, where communication dead zones simply didn't exist nearby.

He refused Your Majesty partly because he wanted to stay, and partly because he knew that although his martial strength was high, he wasn't a suitable Action Team Leader and had no advantage in frontline Reconnaissance Missions.

His advantage lay in overall coordination and mediating relationships among nobles.

Soon, he would apply to Your Majesty for mission authorization to follow up on this matter from the backend.

Thinking of this, Hain asked Tu Nan, "Are you coming with me to the Municipal Hall or going back to Kong Jiamu's place?"

He needed to set up a Temporary Office and deploy personnel.

"...Kong Jiamu's place, I guess." Tu Nan absolutely did not want to appear so conspicuously in public with Hain.

"What about the Children? Also, I haven't finished discussing company matters with Lance." Tu Nan braced herself and made a request, feeling they hadn't accomplished much by going out today.

"We'll all go back together. You can stay in the Guest Rooms." Hain set aside his personal feelings, acknowledging that the current Kong Jiamu would also make such arrangements.

So, on the way back, the car was full.

On the way, Hain arranged for his subordinates to wait for him. As soon as they returned to Kong Jiamu's house, everyone, including those soldiers, was quickly assigned tasks by Hain.

Everything immediately became orderly.

"If you need to go out, I'll accompany you tomorrow." Leaving that sentence, Hain took two Secretaries into the study, leaving Tu Nan, Lance, and the Two Children downstairs.

"...So why did I bother looking for my own place?"

Lance was granted the use of one Guest Room, and Tu Nan... she arranged another Guest Room next door for Amy and the Children.

It wasn't that she didn't want to be with the Children, but if Kong Jiamu returned, she still had a "mission" to complete.

***

But several days passed, and the owner of the house still hadn't returned.

When Tu Nan used the Test Kit again, deep down, she didn't know what result she wanted.

But when she saw the unmistakable Test Result, she instantly felt relieved, experiencing the solid feeling of a shoe dropping.

"It's positive?"

Lance noisily snatched the Test Kit from Tu Nan's hand and checked it against the Instructions repeatedly.

"You really did it, you actually managed it."

But Tu Nan paced anxiously around the room; compared to Lance's surprise, she seemed even more anxious.

It seemed she was one step closer to the 5% reward, but what if Kong Jiamu couldn't return soon? How would the Children's subsequent genes be enhanced?

Tu Nan really hadn't figured out what to do now, so she shelved that problem and intended to grab Lance to discuss another mess they had created themselves.

"Lance, I've found a big problem." She leaned against the window, watching the bustling courtyard. "Originally... I could sneak away before I started showing, right?"

Tu Nan had mentioned this before, and Lance nodded.

Tu Nan's eyes gradually lost focus.

"Now, look at their stance. Before the case is cleared up, if I'm not with Kong Jiamu, I'll be with Hain. With this kind of supervision," she looked at the innocent Lance, "can you still get me away now?"

"Are you giving us too much credit?" Lance was speechless.

"You haven't left Hain's thirty meters recently, have you? Rescuing someone right under the nose of an S-class? Impossible! We'd have to draw them away first."

That's right... Although Hain had been exceptionally busy these past few days, Tu Nan could only move around the courtyard with the Children at most. The moment she mentioned going out, Hain immediately planned to clear his schedule to accompany her.

Tu Nan... had no choice but to refuse. She hadn't forgotten that she was supposed to be avoiding Hain, so she just said she was fine staying at home.

So after all these days, it turned out that Hain had to take her with him whenever he needed to go out.

Tu Nan was ultimately forced to appear with Hain as a couple... in an unexpected way.

Lance pondered for a long time and came up with an unreliable idea. She asked Tu Nan, "If you're willing to sign a Massive IOU, we might be able to sell out Green Fox..."

She fiddled with her fingers and said innocently, "Anyway, he didn't actually seriously harm Kong Jiamu. We can just let him insist he's an Extreme Environmentalist. Once the culprit is caught, you'll be free to move around."

"How much money..."

Tu Nan swore she wasn't tempted; she was just genuinely curious.

Lance calculated for a moment and gave up, "I'll let him set his own price. It mainly depends on how much money he wants to 'rest' inside."

The 'rest' Lance referred to definitely meant going to jail. Tu Nan never expected there was a path like this?

People from the Base are indeed very unrestrained.

"Then ask him first... it's not urgent anyway..."

It's good to be prepared.