"Meng Qinghuan, is love more important than loyalty?"
The words struck Meng Qinghuan like a hammer blow, leaving him dazed. A cold sweat broke out on his back, as if a suffocating person had suddenly been pulled to the surface. He was filled with fear and panic.
"Xiang Nan! What nonsense are you talking about?" Meng Qinghuan shouted, but his lips were pale, and his chest heaved unnaturally.
"Meng Qinghuan, do you really think you're hiding it well? Only people with an emotional intelligence as dense as steel rebar, like Yun He and Lang Mo, wouldn't see through it," Xiang Nan stared intently at Meng Qinghuan, his gaze filled with mockery. "You've always appeared carefree and unrestrained, making those who don't know you think you're unreliable and frivolous. But those who do understand that you're wise and play the fool. In the beginning, you taught Yun He to be measured and to stop at the right moment. Later, you were practically inseparable from Yun He."
Meng Qinghuan had no rebuttal. He desperately wanted to say it was only because Yun He was his disciple.
However, Cang Liu was also a disciple assigned to him by Bai Cha. In comparison, he had never been so attentive to Cang Liu.
"You took care of everything meticulously, even guiding Bai Cha's hand in every kill. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, you practically carried her around, protecting her. If anyone said a single negative word about her, you'd retort. When has anyone ever been like this to you, someone you couldn't touch or speak ill of?" Xiang Nan, usually a man of few words, seemed to have held back for too long, spilling everything out at once.
"Even Miss Bai noticed and took Cang Liu aside to instruct her personally. What did you do?" Xiang Nan paused. "You protected Yun He even better than you protected Miss Bai. If Yun He hadn't intervened this time, would you have exerted your power to disperse the clouds?"
"You've overstepped your bounds, Meng Qinghuan. You betrayed her."
"I didn't!" Meng Qinghuan's voice was almost a roar, but he stopped himself mid-sentence. "I didn't betray her. I just..."
I just didn't want this country to fall into chaos.
But that wasn't his place to consider. He was just a subordinate. Bai Cha was the leader. He could offer suggestions, but he wasn't entitled to make decisions on his own. Thus, it all came back to the original topic.
He had overstepped his authority.
Or, as Xiang Nan put it, not only had he overstepped, but he had also acted out of personal bias.
"Knock, knock, knock."
A soft knock on the door.
"Mr. Meng."
A deep, clear voice, rich and magnetic, like the low notes of a cello. everyone was very familiar with this tone. Ever since Lucifer began following Bai Cha, Lucifer had been relaying many messages for her.
Meng Qinghuan and Xiang Nan's argument came to an abrupt halt. Their voices had been quite loud. They didn't know how long Lucifer had been standing at the door or how much he had overheard.
"Knock, knock, knock."
There was no response from inside. The knocking, along with Lucifer's voice, remained unhurried.
"Mr. Meng, Miss has a message. Please hand over your task for the underwater mission two months from now to Mr. Xiang as soon as possible." His tone was gentle and calm. Even through the door, they could sense the warm smile with which Lucifer spoke.
Meng Qinghuan took a long moment to collect himself before replying, "Are you canceling my mission and having me remain at headquarters?"
For the people of the Shadows, cold treatment, dismissal and confinement, and silent abandonment were the most terrifying punishments. Meng Qinghuan knew that if Xiang Nan had noticed his abnormality, Bai Cha must have detected it much earlier.
However, he hadn't expected the punishment to come so quickly.
"No, Mr. Meng. Miss means for you and Mr. Xiang to swap tasks. Miss suspects that there's a high probability of an ambush on the sea surface during this underwater mission, requiring someone with a wide attack range and absolute defense to be present for support." Lucifer calmly denied Meng Qinghuan's assumption.
Meng Qinghuan and Xiang Nan were both taken aback. They hadn't expected Bai Cha, in her anger, not to confine Meng Qinghuan for reflection, but instead to assign him an even more crucial task based on the situation.
"Also, Mr. Meng," Lucifer continued, "Miss said that if this happens again, Yun He will no longer be your disciple. Please separate rationality from emotion at least."
"...I understand." Meng Qinghuan's lips trembled. He quickly replied after a long pause, "Yes, I will hand over the tasks and submit the report as soon as possible."
The footsteps faded away, and the quiet returned outside. Meng Qinghuan and Xiang Nan finally breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't expected Lucifer to have been trained by Bai Cha to such an extent that they couldn't even detect him.
"Although it seems like a more important task, in reality, it's more of a warning, isn't it?" Meng Qinghuan rubbed his head. His forehead was as smooth as ever, but a chill ran down his spine, and his limbs felt weak.
He was indeed afraid, not only of Bai Cha's threat to separate him from Yun He if this happened again, but also of the initial fear that Bai Cha would abandon him.
"Hmph, you still don't understand her? She's just saying that," Xiang Nan said, crossing his arms and letting out a light scoff. "Even if you do this again, she won't truly separate you and Yun He."
Meng Qinghuan remained silent. He knew Bai Cha was soft-hearted, but he also knew her bottom line.
Protecting the world was predicated on protecting the country, and protecting the country was predicated on completing tasks perfectly. Completing tasks perfectly meant avoiding mistakes, and avoiding mistakes meant ensuring the precision and controllability of every branch and every person under her command.
And he had almost slipped out of that controllable scope.
The meeting that followed was exceptionally long. It wasn't until the morning of the third day that Bai Cha took off her glasses. Freya, in place of Lucifer, stepped forward like a little wife to give Bai Cha a massage.
"Where did you learn that?" Bai Cha's eyes were a bit dry, but her heart softened when she saw Freya.
"From your butler!" Freya pressed Bai Cha's shoulders with all her might, playfully seeking praise. "How is it? Am I super~ super skilled?"
"Yes, very skilled." Bai Cha raised an eyebrow and let out a soft laugh. "You missed one acupoint."
Freya: "..."
"Chacha! You're bullying me again!" Freya was displeased. She pounced into Bai Cha's arms and tickled her relentlessly. However, Bai Cha was not ticklish, and in the end, Freya, while tickling, was pinned to the bed by Bai Cha, unable to move.
Looking at Freya's pouting little face, Bai Cha always felt that Freya's puffed cheeks when she was angry resembled a hamster storing food, or a puffed-up pufferfish, making one want to poke her.
"Alright, alright, I won't bully you." Seeing Freya's resentful gaze, Bai Cha smiled and released Freya's arm, lying down on the bed with her. "I'll spar with you later."
"Then you have to lose to me at least twice!" Freya flipped over and landed on Bai Cha, holding up two fingers to bargain. "You can't let a cute and beautiful young girl lose too badly. You have to indulge and pamper the girl you love."
Bai Cha was speechless. She didn't know why, but her patience and tolerance for Freya were indeed greater than for many others. Freya held significant importance to her, but Bai Cha didn't understand this feeling.
A little bit of happiness, a bit of warmth, and a sense of tranquility.
Even though she was the one in control, the protector, and the relatively stronger party, Bai Cha felt that Freya was her harbor. After weathering storms, she could return to shore to find warmth and blooming flowers.
These feelings were very subtle, like a hazy mist making Bai Cha feel a little lost.
How did Freya feel about her? Would it be the same? Would her feelings be the same as Freya's, a feeling of liking?
Bai Cha didn't understand. Perhaps her prolonged training and constant struggle had allowed her to stand firm in the storms, but her emotions had become dull and numb. If possible, Bai Cha wanted to retire or move behind the scenes to do a leisurely job after the world competition. If Freya still liked her, she was willing to try to find the feeling of liking.
Even if she might always be slow to realize, Bai Cha didn't want to fail someone who devoted herself entirely to her. Even if she didn't like Freya, she would take good care of Freya for the rest of her life.
"Freya, after the world competition, do you want to..." Bai Cha looked down at Freya lying on her, only to find that Freya had fallen asleep in her arms.
She must have been exhausted too. Bai Cha had been in meetings for two days, and Freya had stayed by her side without sleep for those two days.
Her phone vibrated insistently. Bai Cha pushed aside all the miscellaneous tasks and sent a safety update to the Savior Squad group chat, explaining the basic situation.
Fante remained his usual active self, as if he lived in his phone twenty-four hours a day. However, he seemed to have become busy these past two days. But he was the one who complained the most. Even though they hadn't met yet, he had already started calling everyone his brother.
Bai Cha silenced her phone and covered Freya with a blanket. The room's air conditioning was at the perfect temperature. Lucifer, who always handled logistics with meticulous detail and perfection, happened to arrive as Bai Cha opened the door.
"How is it?" Bai Cha asked.
"Mr. Meng said he will hand over the tasks and submit the report as soon as possible," Lucifer replied. After a moment, he added, "Cang Liu said he wants to see you."
"Where is he?"
"The training grounds."
...
The training grounds were still bustling with activity. Zhi Yue and a few others were managing to keep up, though they were still exhausted. However, their relationships with others had eased considerably.
Gu Zitan and Gu Mingze would awkwardly greet each other when they met. Everyone pretended not to see Zhi Yue pursuing Cang Liu, as if their eyes were blind.
Zhi Yue used to have a fiery temper, constantly seeking trouble with the Shadows faction, to the point where even Lang Mo found her bothersome. Now that Zhi Yue had redirected her passion and energy towards Cang Liu, everyone was happy to enjoy the peace and simply pushed Cang Liu out to take the brunt of it.
Cang Liu was also overwhelmed. Zhi Yue was different from Freya. Zhi Yue was like Mo Ziye; when they became enthusiastic, they completely disregarded whether you could handle it. It was a kind of enthusiasm that didn't consider the consequences for others.
Seeing Bai Cha arrive, Cang Liu felt as if he had been granted amnesty and quickly walked out.
"When did your relationship become so good?" Bai Cha asked in surprise. "How did she fall for you?"
"Because I cut her with my sword." Cang Liu adjusted his cloak with a cold expression, a hint of annoyance in his voice. He suspected this woman had masochistic tendencies; otherwise, why would she fall for him after he nearly killed her?
"Is that so?" Bai Cha didn't understand. "Let's get to the point. Did you need something?"
At this, Cang Liu's expression turned serious. He leaned in and whispered a few words into Bai Cha's ear.
From just a few words, everyone, from a distance, could clearly see Bai Cha's expression turn extremely grim in an instant.
"Are you serious?" Bai Cha asked in a low voice. "I've long suspected this, but there wasn't enough evidence. Are you sure it was in the capital?"
Cang Liu nodded. "Around that time, you... I saw news reports about human-like strange creatures near the capital destroying the city."
Bai Cha frowned. "Was it about a month and a half ago?"
Cang Liu: "...How did you know?"
If Cang Liu hadn't known Bai Cha, he would have thought Bai Cha also had the ability to be reborn or to predict the future. A month and a half – the timing was incredibly precise.
"I've set a trap and plan to close the net a month from now. The budget is for five to eight days. Afterward, I intend to investigate the laboratory sites along the way. For the three major laboratories in the capital, I've allocated nine to ten days for my investigation."
"So, based on what you've said, it's possible those people have resorted to a desperate gamble."