Isaac finally coaxed Lolita to sleep. With gentle care, he slipped out of her embrace, tucked her in, and left the dormitory of the former illegal gene research base, heading toward the main gates.
Every time Jin Ji finished delivering supplies, he locked the door from the outside. This time was no different.
Locking the door from the outside was a logical precaution; if someone on the outside investigated and found the door locked only from the inside, it would raise immediate red flags. Yet, not holding the key to their own exit bred doubt and unease. Neither Isaac nor Lolita believed their bond with the mysterious information broker ran that deep.
Really, what bond did they have?
What was the broker’s goal? Why help them? First, snatching them from Qiu Fa at great risk, then hiding them from the pursuers sent by the Kingdom of Pymeshire.
The message Jin Ji delivered today made Isaac even more suspicious.
That jerk Emperor Orpheus was offering Hualan a huge reward just to catch them. Could the information broker really stay indifferent? He could easily hand them over to Orpheus, skipping the Hualan government and grabbing the reward himself.
Perhaps that was his ultimate plan. Keeping them safe now was just a way to leverage a higher price from Orpheus. That was the natural logic of a gray-market broker.
Isaac could think of no other reason for this stranger to help them.
They had to secure a backup plan. Entrusting their lives to someone whose name and face they didn’t even know was stupid.
Instead of trying to force the locked door, Isaac stopped a short distance away and tapped his foot against the ground. Close inspection revealed the soil here had been recently disturbed.
During their long stay in this spatial bubble, they had explored every inch. They eventually found a hidden underground exit. If Lolita had not hacked at random spots with her machete out of sheer boredom, they might never have found it.
It was a unique passage containing a strange machine. Once activated, it tore a spatial rift leading to the cliff below the bubble.
This meant that even if they couldn’t open the main gates, they could flee through this hidden path. He just didn’t know if the information broker was aware of its existence.
If their worst fears were true, the broker likely knew nothing of this path.
Isaac shoveled the dirt aside, revealing the entrance. Jin Ji only visited once a week, meaning they had a few days before his next return. They had to be ready to run at a moment’s notice.
“I hope… we met a good person,” Isaac muttered. For Lolita’s sake, he still clung to a shred of hope that they wouldn’t have to flee this sanctuary.
Because the Wind Rider was among the pursuers. Once they stepped outside this bubble, the wind would carry their presence directly to her, locking onto their location instantly. They would be trapped between two fires, with survival odds even lower than when Qiu Fa was hunting them.
The organization’s coastal search yielded nothing. Meanwhile, the search of the spatial bubbles by Twelve Zodiac Academy and the escort squads was drawing to a close, with fewer than ten bubbles left to inspect.
Yet Jiang Qing had a strong premonition that they wouldn’t find Lolita and Isaac in any of the remaining sites.
Sitting in his study, he stared at the map of Yunjin Prefecture projected on the wall. Red dots marked every registered bubble in the area.
They had to be in one of them.
He ran through the exclusions again. Military bubbles were heavily guarded, so they were out.
Decaying bubbles nearing collapse were marked and locked by the government; no sane person would risk entering them. Excluded.
Bubbles with open entrances couldn’t block the Wind Rider’s sensory abilities. Excluded.
Excluding those and the ones already searched left very few.
Jiang Qing frowned. “No, something is off.”
His mind raced. He narrowed his eyes, tapped a few keys, and restored several excluded bubbles to the map.
Those were the bubbles currently managed by the Tribunal Division.
“The most dangerous place is actually the safest. We ruled it out because we figured fugitives wouldn’t run straight into the lion’s den. But that was a blind spot in our thinking…”
The Tribunal Division held very few bubbles, usually on a temporary basis to investigate crimes committed by Atavists. Once a case closed, management reverted to other authorities.
Moreover, the keys to these bubbles were held by powerful elites within the Tribunal Division. Who would choose to walk into their own prison?
“There are three. Who holds the keys?” Jiang Qing zoomed in on the locations. He froze. One of them was the base of the illegal subsidiary organization destroyed months ago.
Tiny threads of information connected in his mind. Months ago: Mei Yanlan, Long Jin, Miss Hong, the information broker, the international mercenaries…
Their paths had crossed, leading to the collapse of that organization. And the nexus of that crossing was this very bubble!
Jiang Qing grabbed his phone and dialed the Tribunal Division. “Hello, this is Jiang Qing. I would like to inquire about the bubble containing the former illegal Atavist gene research base. Who currently holds the key? …Yes, it’s for our official mission.”
The keyholder was no secret. He got his answer quickly.
Mei Yanlan.
“Could it be…” Jiang Qing’s pulse quickened. The answer was staring him in the face.
A sharp buzz from his drawer interrupted his thoughts.
He pulled out a hidden phone, displaying a familiar number.
He answered, keeping his voice low. “Sir.”
“What are your findings? Have you located the target?”
“Not yet, but we are close.”
“Keep us updated. We must secure them before the other side does. This concerns our grand endeavor. Lolita and Isaac—no, just Lolita. She must die!”
“Understood.”
The line remained silent for a few seconds. “As our mole within the Atavist families, you have failed to provide any useful intel during our recent operations. Your father is disappointed. He doubts your competence.”
Jiang Qing clenched the phone.
“Do not disappoint us again.”
Isaac returned to the room after clearing the passage. Lolita clung to his pillow, her pale face tight with stress, caught in a nightmare.
She was a Nightmare Atavist herself, the one who should bring terror to others, yet she was the one haunted.
Isaac hadn’t seen such anxiety on her face in years. Their carefree, quiet life was crumbling because of the arrivals from Pymeshire.
His dark green eyes turned cold, a trace of fury clouding his expression.
It was all that man’s fault. What was he doing now, after everything?
Isaac closed his eyes.
I gave you a chance!
Years ago, the queen’s visit to the southwest tower was quickly discovered by the Emperor’s captain of guards, who rushed to inform him. Emperor Orpheus merely frowned, looking annoyed at the interruption. “Leave.”
The captain hesitated. “The Queen just gave birth. Seeing you with Lady Noriana could hurt her health. You…”z
“She is an Atavist. She won’t break that easily. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
The captain bowed and withdrew.
The next day, Emperor Orpheus finally graced the queen’s chambers with his presence.
“I want a divorce,” Queen Cecilia said, her face expressionless.
Orpheus looked at her red, swollen eyes, smiling as he reached out to touch her cheek. “Why so naive, my love? The royal family cannot endure a divorce scandal.”
Cecilia slapped his hand away, staring at the stranger before her. “I will divorce you. What will you do, lock me up?”
“You are the Queen of Pymeshire, beloved by our people. My reign has just begun. A divorce would make us a global laughingstock. If you persist, the public will hear that Her Majesty is resting in isolation due to postpartum depression.”
Cecilia stared at his handsome, smiling face. The warmth in his amber eyes was gone, replaced by naked ambition and cold indifference. Her blood ran cold. He didn’t even bother to hide it anymore.
“Behave yourself. You’re my Queen, a title no one can take away. Don’t act like some common woman causing a scene.” His words made it clear—divorce wasn’t an option. To protect his reputation, he wouldn’t hesitate to lock her up.
Though she was an Atavist, the palace was crawling with experts, and Orpheus was surrounded by personal guards. Her nightmare ability was useless in a direct physical confrontation; fighting him head-on meant death.
Orpheus’s first love, Noriana, was a beautiful woman. Unlike the fierce, fiery Cecilia, Noriana was soft, clingy, and delicate—the type most men adored.
She moved into the palace as a piano tutor for the newborn prince, despite the child being an infant who had no need for music lessons.
She frequently paraded herself in front of Cecilia, smiling with mock innocence. “The prince looks so much like Orpheus, doesn’t he? Have you seen photos of Orpheus when he was little? Look.”
She opened a locket dangling from her neck, showing a picture of a young Orpheus.
“Get out,” Cecilia hissed, snatching the baby from the nanny to keep him far from her.
Noriana’s eyes would instantly redden, as if she were the victim. “Why must you take your anger out on me, Your Majesty? I cannot control who Orpheus loves. Besides, he and I were together long before you…”
She would retreat in tears.
That night, news always spread that Orpheus had visited the southwest tower to shower Noriana with gifts.
Orpheus was very generous with Noriana, maybe to make up for the six years they were apart. Gems, silks, and treasures filled her tower. Everyone in the palace knew she was his true love, and Cecilia was just a stepping stone he used to get to the throne.
Yet no one dared speak up for the Queen. The kingdom belonged to Orpheus now.
Despite Noriana’s constant provocations, Cecilia never paid her much mind. Her hatred was reserved solely for Orpheus. Noriana only dared act this way because he permitted it.
She endured, plotting how to escape. Perhaps if she waited until their passion burned bright enough, Orpheus would want Noriana as his Queen and their child as the heir. Then, she could finally leave with her son.
But she hadn’t anticipated that acting the part of a loving couple in public was only the beginning of her nightmare.
“What are you doing here?” She had just lain down when Orpheus entered her bedchamber, causing her to sit up in alarm.
Orpheus paused, studying her for a few seconds before walking closer. “We are husband and wife. What do you think I am doing? Your body should be fully recovered by now.”
“Have you no shame? Get out!” Cecilia hurled a pillow at his head. Her strength as an Atavist was immense, and her anger made her throw it with brutal force.
Orpheus’s face darkened. He stared at her, then called out, “Caspian.”
A figure materialized behind him. Clad in armor that obscured even his eyes, the man moved like a silent specter. He was the Emperor’s captain of guards.
“I am going to enjoy my marital rights with the Queen. Watch her. If she resists, restrain her immediately. Oh, and secure her parents as well.” The Emperor unbuttoned his shirt as he approached.
The captain stood in silence, an obedient phantom executing his master’s will.
Cecilia stared at them in utter disbelief, her teeth chattering with rage and fear. “Are you mad? What are you doing!”
She was pinned to the bed. She struggled, but feared hurting Orpheus and bringing harm to her parents. Staring up at the man above her, she realized he looked like an absolute beast.
“My sweet Cecilia,” Orpheus clamped his hand over her jaw like a vise, forcing her to look at him. “Do not test my patience. Why do you think I fought so hard to become Emperor?”
Cecilia glared at him, tears of humiliation and fear pooling in her eyes.
His burning gaze told her everything. Yes, he had seized the throne so he could do whatever he pleased. No one, not even his Queen, would defy him.
“And I hate the way you look at me right now,” he growled. “Look at me the way you used to. Do you hear me?”
“…Fine. I won’t fight you. Tell him to leave,” Cecilia whispered, her lips trembling as she yielded to save herself from further degradation.
“No. Caspian stays. Consider this your punishment. Next time, you will remember not to refuse your Emperor.”
It was the most painful, degrading night of her life. Her dignity, her body, and her spirit were crushed.
When she called her mother the next day, she forced her voice to remain steady, hiding her tears. Her mother was a non-Atavist whose health had been failing; she couldn’t bear the shock. If their calls were monitored, a single wrong word could doom her family.
When she next saw Noriana, Cecilia’s heart was a dead ember. She met the mistress’s subtle jabs with cold detachment.
“What is the point of all your talk? You are a shameful mistress. If you are so capable, why don’t you take my place as Queen?”
Her blunt words shattered Noriana’s composure. The mistress sobbed in earnest. Orpheus spent hours comforting her until she finally confessed, “The Queen mocked me today, calling me a shameful mistress who will never be your wife. I know that, but why must she humiliate me in front of the servants?”
She peeked at his expression.
Orpheus just laughed, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Don’t envy her, my sweet. Being Queen is a miserable job. I wouldn’t dream of putting you through that. Just stay my sweet little treasure.”
Noriana blushed and clung to him.
Yet after their tryst, Orpheus did not stay the night. He went straight to the Queen’s chambers instead.
The next day, Cecilia had to call for a doctor. She was covered in injuries her Atavist healing couldn’t keep pace with, leaving the doctor horrified and pitying.
But Cecilia was numb to the pain. She asked quietly, “Can you give me contraceptives?”
The doctor lowered her eyes. “I am sorry, Your Majesty.”
“Leave.”
The doctor left some ointments and hurried away.
To her surprise, a few days later, Cecilia found a bottle of vitamins on her nightstand. A small note inside explained they were actually contraceptives, with clear instructions on how and when to take them.
It was him! The mysterious helper who had originally revealed the truth to her. Who was he?
Cecilia couldn’t guess, but that tiny bottle and note were the only warmth she felt during that long, agonizing year.
Then, word arrived from her tribe that her mother was gravely ill and might not survive.
Cecilia boarded a private airship and rushed home, terrified of losing her mother.
“Mom!” She burst into the room and froze.
Her mother wasn’t dying. She and her father were standing, healthy and alert, cradling a baby in their arms. It was her child—the baby who should have been locked in the royal palace!
Her loyal guards locked the door. Her parents quickly led her toward a hidden passage, explaining everything as they walked.
Months ago, a letter had appeared on their table detailing Cecilia’s suffering in the palace. Her father had nearly fainted from rage, but her frail mother had found sudden strength, her health improving.
Love could indeed work miracles.
They had spent months planning her escape. Secret notes had continued to appear, offering guidance, suggesting escape routes, and urging them to flee the country entirely to avoid any loose ends.
Cecilia was stunned. The timeline of those secret notes matched exactly with the start of her ordeal.
“But… the baby?”
“The same helper sent him. He told us to leave a fishbowl in the room, and the baby suddenly appeared inside it. What kind of Atavist has such incredible power? He is a savior. If we ever get the chance, we must repay him.”
Indeed, if she ever had the chance, she would repay this savior.
