"There's only one hour left before the nightmare begins!"
The thrum of helicopter blades filled the air as the reporter's voice, heavy with deliberate gravity, rang out through the broadcast.
"Shocking news! The nation's goddess, the dream idol of countless fans—Yao Jiayin—has been kidnapped by a vicious gang of criminals!"
Across New Eridu, every plaza screen had been taken over by the live report. On streets and in alleyways, pedestrians lowered their heads to stare at their phones, all showing the same image—
their bound idol.
"The kidnappers are utterly insane. They are demanding that the entire nation crowdfund an astronomical ransom! At present, Miss Yao Jiayin's whereabouts remain unknown…"
Amid the crowd, a gray-haired man walked at an unhurried pace with headphones on, utterly out of place against the tension around him.
Inside his headset, a cool female voice issued an order:
"Mission objective: rescue Yao Jiayin."
"Will this nationwide nightmare end in tragedy?" the reporter asked.
The moment those words fell, a girl by the roadside stared at her idol's pale face on her phone screen, tears already beginning to well in her eyes.
Then suddenly, a warm hand reached out and gently clasped her trembling one.
Startled, the girl looked up and met a pair of smiling eyes. The next second, with a flick of his wrist, a clean handkerchief appeared in her palm as if by magic.
"Don't cry," the gray-haired man said in a gentle voice. "I'll take those tears from here."
At the same time, in an abandoned mansion in the distant suburbs—
Yao Jiayin was tightly bound to a pillar in the middle of the living room with rough ropes, surrounded by several kidnappers wearing vicious expressions.
"Time's up!" The leader shot to his feet, barely able to contain his delight. "Brothers, ten billion! Ten billion in just one week!"
His men exploded into deafening cheers, as if they could already see their future of luxury and excess.
"Look at that. Your fans really do love you," the leader said as he strolled up to Yao Jiayin, his voice suddenly turning cold. "But did you really think that meant you'd get to live?"
He had never intended to let her go.
He wanted the money.
And he wanted the life of this beloved national goddess too.
"What a perfect ending, hahahaha!" His face twisted with smug, savage satisfaction.
"You bastard… give everyone their money back!" Yao Jiayin glared at him. Though she was terrified, she was even angrier that her fans had been exploited.
"Noisy." The leader lost patience and waved his hand. "Finish her."
One of the henchmen, wearing a black hat and sunglasses, stepped forward. The dagger in his hand gleamed with a killing chill as he advanced one step at a time. Yao Jiayin shut her eyes in despair.
Everyone watching the live broadcast had their hearts in their throats.
A flash of steel—
Snap!
But what broke was not flesh.
It was the rope.
Yao Jiayin's body went limp and pitched forward, only to fall into a warm embrace carrying a crisp, clean scent.
"Huh?!"
She looked up in astonishment.
The leader froze for a second, then flew into a rage.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
That so-called henchman casually tore off the black hat and sunglasses, revealing unruly gray hair and a face so handsome it practically demanded attention. He wore a white shirt and black slacks, his tall frame sharp and clean-lined, with only the silly little ahoge sticking up from the top of his head to ruin the cool image.
"Good evening," he said, curling his lips into a roguish, careless smirk. "Code Agent, codename ZZZ, reporting in."
"Damn it! There's a mole!"
The kidnappers around them shouted in fury and shock, all raising their guns.
The gray-haired man—ZZZ—lifted his hands along with Yao Jiayin, but then lazily whistled. At once, the terminal at his waist emitted an electronic voice:
"OK, good luck."
In the next instant, the ahoge on top of his head gave a sharp twitch like a signal receiver locking on.
Then he moved like lightning.
With one arm wrapped around Jiayin, and a gun appearing in his other hand from who knew where, he slipped through the hail of bullets like a phantom. Firing, dodging, advancing—every motion flowed into the next, effortless and elegant, as though he were dancing a waltz of death.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The kidnappers dropped one after another.
"Looking to die?!" The leader spotted an opening and lunged, seizing Yao Jiayin before bolting for the rooftop.
ZZZ's eyes sharpened, and he gave chase at once.
When he reached the roof, the leader gave a cruel grin—and shoved Yao Jiayin straight off the building.
"Ahhh!"
Her scream tore through the sky.
ZZZ did not hesitate for even an instant. He crashed through the glass and leapt after her. The wind roared past his ears as he caught Jiayin midair with perfect precision. Tightening his core, he pulled her close, spun through several clean somersaults, and landed safely on the ground, kicking up a scatter of dust.
Still shaken, Yao Jiayin slowly opened her eyes. What she saw was his devastatingly handsome face only inches away—and, somehow, a vivid red rose now held between his lips.
"You're safe now," he said, his voice carrying a reassuring strength. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"N-no…" Jiayin's cheeks flushed faintly. "Thank you for saving me. May I ask… what's your name?"
"Code designation ZZZ."
Without even turning his head, he raised his hand and fired behind him.
Bang!
The leader, who had just come rushing out from the stairwell, fell to the ground on the spot, his face twisted with unwillingness.
ZZZ smoothly holstered his gun, removed the rose from his lips, and held it out to her, his smile lazy and charming.
"Just an unnamed agent."
"So… so amazing…"
Yao Jiayin gazed up at him, her eyes brimming with awe and fluttering emotion.
The distance between them quietly narrowed. The air grew thick with unspoken tension. Their lips were just about to meet—
Bang!
A burst of pain exploded across his head, instantly shredding the beautiful dream.
"Zhe!! How long are you planning to sleep?! I'm starving!"
ZZZ—no, Zhe—shot upright in bed, clutching his head and gasping for breath.
Beside the bed stood a blue-haired beauty with her hands on her hips. In her grip was a frying pan, still radiating the menace of a murder weapon.
"You idiot brother! It's your turn to make breakfast today! Are you trying to starve your adorable little sister to death?!"
"My Jiayin… my secret-agent dream… the mood was perfect too…" Zhe muttered bitterly, rubbing his aching head.
"I'm seriously done with you. Daydreaming every single day, and you still want to be a secret agent? Get up and cook already!" Rin snapped mercilessly.
"Sigh… if only real life could be as cool as my dreams…" Zhe grumbled as he climbed out of bed. "Rin, couldn't you be a little gentler with your big brother?"
"Hmph!" Rin tossed back her blue hair and lifted her chin with an utterly tsundere air. "My gentleness is reserved for pretty girls! As for an idiot brother like you? If I occasionally toss you a crumb of kindness, you should be kneeling in gratitude."
Her footsteps gradually faded down the wooden stairs. Zhe rubbed his still-throbbing forehead as the terrified face of the national idol Yao Jiayin from his dream overlapped in his mind with the ferocious image of his sister Rin wielding a frying pan.
The dream of becoming a secret agent had ended.
But the real fog had never once cleared.
My name is Zhe. On the surface, I'm the owner of an old video store on Sixth Street, and I live with my blue-haired "violent" little sister, Rin.
The reason we lie low here, guarding these outdated reels and tapes, is about far more than my fondness for spy movies.
Ten years ago, Carole Arna—the woman who raised us, teacher and mother all in one—vanished without a trace, as though she had evaporated from the world itself, leaving behind only an impenetrable cloud of mystery. In order to uncover the truth, after the fall of Old Eridu, Rin and I buried our names and came to this chaotic Sixth Street. Openly, we run a video store. Secretly, we move through the gray underworld of the Inter-Knot under the proxy name Phaethon.
Beneath the web of the Inter-Knot, clues appeared only in fragments, while the truth seemed buried under layer upon layer of darkness. The leads we had were pitifully few, and progress was painfully slow—like groping forward in the black. Still, I believed we would one day find the answer.
But for now, it was better to focus on living well.
After hastily wolfing down breakfast, I grabbed my coat and got ready to head out.
"I'm going to restock. I'm leaving the store to you."
"Yeah, yeah—" Rin replied lazily, not even looking up before adding, "Same as always—don't forget my milk tea!"
I pushed open the door, and the noisy morning light of Sixth Street came pouring in. With it came the crowds on the street—ordinary at a glance, but each perhaps hiding secrets of their own.
Every outing looked routine.
But who could say whether an ordinary trip outside might not be the beginning of a legendary adventure?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 172)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 116)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter119)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 66
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 52
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 55
The Way the Umamusume Look at 42
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 40
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 36
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 30
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 26
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