Shen Akira and Lingmei headed toward Lingmei's house.
Along the way, Shen Akira tried to get a little closer to her.
"Lingmei… if you want to talk about your problems, just say it," he said softly.
"I can tell from your face—you're holding something in."
Lingmei suddenly stopped walking.
"You're pretty perceptive," she said. "Are you sure you want to hear my story?"
"Of course," Shen Akira replied with a gentle smile.
"Aren't we partners now? Don't hold back. I like listening to other people's stories."
Then Lingmei said a single word.
Just one word.
And Shen Akira froze.
For the first time in his life, his skin crawled just from hearing a story.
Before she could even finish her first sentence, Shen Akira raised his hand.
"Wait—what the hell was that?" he snapped.
"Are you lying to me? There's no way something like that could happen!"
Lingmei smiled faintly.
"Then that means you're not ready to hear my story. What a shame… come on, let's keep going to my house."
Shen Akira forced himself to calm down. He stayed silent and followed her.
Inside his head, one thought kept repeating—
This girl is insane.
And right now, he really didn't want to play around anymore.
---
When they arrived, Shen Akira noticed how crowded the house was inside.
After hearing Lingmei's story earlier, the place made him uncomfortable.
He didn't want to stay long and urged her to hurry.
Suddenly, a very tall man appeared.
His face was cold, expressionless.
The pressure from his presence alone made Shen Akira's spine chill—yet he still tried to act casual.
"Who are you?" the man asked.
Lingmei's father.
"I'm Shen Akira," he replied with a smile.
"I'm Lingmei's friend."
Her father burst out laughing loudly, drawing everyone's attention to Shen Akira.
Shen Akira froze, unsure of what he had done wrong.
"LINGMEI!!" her father shouted.
Lingmei walked over, carrying a bag filled with money.
"What is it?" she asked flatly.
"Hm? What's that you're carrying?" her father narrowed his eyes.
"Don't tell me that's money."
"It's nothing," Lingmei said casually.
"I'm heading out again. Come on, Shen."
She grabbed Shen Akira's arm.
"If you leave without showing what's inside that bag," her father said coldly,
"you'll see what happens when you come back."
Lingmei looked completely unfazed—but Shen Akira wasn't.
"Wait, Lingmei… maybe we shouldn't—" Shen Akira tried to stop her.
"Naive," Lingmei replied without slowing down.
"Why are you so naive? Let's go."
Shen Akira realized something was wrong with himself.
Normally, he didn't care about anyone.
No matter what happened to others, he was indifferent.
But now… he cared.
Damn it… what the hell is this feeling? Shen Akira cursed inwardly.
---
They left Lingmei's house and headed to a quiet place.
"Are you sure it's okay for me to take all this money?" Shen Akira said, opening the bag.
"This is insane—there's so much."
"I don't care about that money," Lingmei said calmly.
"Take it all. We're partners now, aren't we?
And once you're done… don't forget to play board games with me again."
She smiled innocently.
Shen Akira was momentarily captivated.
The disturbing story Lingmei had told him earlier faded from his mind.
Right now, she looked like an entirely different person.
Soon after, they parted ways.
---
Lingmei stopped smiling the moment she returned home.
A slap struck her face.
"What exactly are you thinking every single day, huh?" her father roared.
"Inviting friends over and giving them money—do you think our family's wealth is endless?!
At first, I let it slide because you only took a little. But THIS TIME—YOU TOOK EVERYTHING!
AND YOU DARE IGNORE MY WARNING?! I LET YOU LEAVE ON PURPOSE—BECAUSE I'M GOING TO TAKE THAT MONEY BACK!"
"SHUT UP, YOU DAMN BASTARD!!" Lingmei screamed.
"YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW WHAT I DO EVERY DAY!
YOUR MONEY IS MY MONEY TOO, RIGHT?! I DON'T CARE WHAT I USE IT FOR!
HAVE YOU EVER EVEN CARED ABOUT ME?!"
Another slap landed across her face.
"I see," her father said coldly.
"You should've stayed alone forever. Ever since you befriended that insane person, you've become insane yourself.
I'll warn you one last time—this isn't a joke.
If you don't listen… I'll throw you away, just like that friend of yours who was discarded."
Lingmei snapped.
She punched her father square in the face.
"You think I'm scared?!" she screamed.
"THEN JUST THROW ME AWAY, YOU BASTARD!
MOTHER DIED BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPIDITY, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!
WHAT'S THE POINT OF HAVING POWER IF YOU'RE THIS DUMB?!"
Her father finally lost all patience and ordered everyone out.
What happened to Lingmei after that… no one knew.
---
Shen Akira returned to his territory—Xinyin Akakawa, a place Noctis once described as an area where illegal deals happened openly.
Inside his private room, Shen Akira made a call.
People quickly gathered.
He distributed the money, ordering them to buy more materials—and to pay random people to spread accusations against the current suspect behind the dangerous forest:
The botanist of Qwelin Academy. Nic.
Just as Shen Akira was about to relax, his phone rang.
"Return the money. Or Lingmei will *****."
Shen Akira went pale.
It was Lingmei's father's voice.
He could hear Lingmei screaming in the background.
"Damn it—what the hell is going on?!" Shen Akira shouted.
"Hey! Investigate that rich family in the Meihei region. Now!"
His subordinate fell silent.
"Boss… do you seriously not know?" he said hesitantly.
"There's only one richest family in Meihei.
That family is… strange. Even disturbing to some people."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Shen Akira snapped.
"The money I just handed out came from that family's daughter!
And now her father is demanding it back while threatening his own child!"
The head subordinate rubbed his temples in frustration.
"I'll return all the money immediately."
Meanwhile, Shen Akira left to meet the cloaked figure—he had business with her, He is really dizzy and upset now.
---
The man tasked with returning the money was trembling as he entered the Meihei region.
It only got worse when he reached the massive estate belonging to Lingmei's family.
He knocked on the gate, which was immediately opened by a maid with a gentle smile.
"This… this is the money being returned," he said nervously.
"Could you please give it to them directly?"
The maid shook her head and gestured inside.
"You may hand it over yourself."
Damn it, he thought. Of all tasks…
But his luck held.
Just as he was about to knock, Lingmei came out.
Her condition was horrifying—her entire body was bruised and covered in blue and purple marks, especially her face.
Yet she looked calm.
She smiled, took the money, and thanked him for returning it.
The man panicked and fled immediately.
---
After that, Lingmei put on a fully covered outfit to hide herself and headed toward the dangerous forest.
Once inside, she removed the outfit and lay down casually on the ground, relaxed.
"So beautiful…" Lingmei murmured, gazing at the sky hidden by towering trees.
The tiger on patrol sensed her presence and approached.
"Who's there?" it growled.
Lingmei looked at the tiger and waved.
"Hey! Come here—come here! I want to hug you!"
The tiger hesitated when it saw her battered appearance, but eventually approached.
Lingmei instantly hugged and stroked it.
"You're so cute," she giggled.
"Want to play chess?"
To Lingmei, the tiger looked just like a big cat.
The tiger, however, realized something—
This girl isn't normal.
Suddenly, Lingmei's movement shifted.
The tiger reflexively jumped out of her arms.
"What was that just now?" the tiger asked, going on alert.
It saw Lingmei's fingers shaped as if holding a knife—yet there was nothing there.
"Huh? Why did the tiger suddenly get scared?" Lingmei said innocently.
"Come on, come on—I didn't do anything!"
She stepped closer.
The tiger backed away, confused.
Then—
"Hey, come with me instead. Not the tiger."
Nic's voice sounded from behind her.
Lingmei froze and turned around, pouting.
"You dare show up in front of me?" she said.
"I'll be honest—I'm working with Shen Akira to get rid of you.
So what? Are you planning to hunt him down and capture me as proof that you're innocent?"
Nic smiled faintly.
"You're really hard to understand," he said calmly.
"I already know everything. How many masks are you going to keep wearing?"
Lingmei fell silent.
"Masks? What masks?"
Nic reached out, touched her cheek, and activated Fusion Health.
In an instant, every physical injury vanished.
Her body returned to flawless condition.
Lingmei stared in shock.
"I don't even know which mask you're wearing right now," Nic said lightly.
"But I like your absurd one."
Lingmei suddenly punched Nic hard in the stomach.
"WHY?!" she shouted.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!
AREN'T YOU JUST PLAYING WITH ME?!
WHAT IS THIS—WHY ARE MY WOUNDS HEALED?!
EXPLAIN!!"
Her anger exploded.
"Tell me what you've been holding inside," Nic said bluntly.
"All of it. I'm curious why you came here."
Lingmei sat down… but stayed silent.
"You're thinking about which mask to wear next, aren't you?" Nic asked.
Suddenly—
[ Master Nic, your girlfriend is in danger. Love Sentinel will activate. ]
"Damn it… why now?" Nic muttered.
Nic vanished as Zeta instantly opened a portal to the location of the endangered girlfriend.
Lingmei, who had been sitting there thinking, stared at the empty space.
"Again?" she laughed quietly.
"Hahaha… I'm really going to lose my mind now.
But my body… it really likes him."
---
Nic teleported to the nearest secluded area indicated by Love Sentinel.
As he moved closer, he saw Chloe, Iroha, and Yao Lin facing Shen Akira—
And the cloaked girl.
The cloaked girl smiled.
"It's been so long since I last saw you…" she said sweetly.
"Iroha… Yao Lin… you're both still so beautiful~"
Shen Akira glanced at Chloe, thinking—
What kind of coincidence is this?
Meeting them in such a secluded place—right when he needed samples.
To be continued…