Bronya's first kiss, secured!

Carrying five heavy bags of supplies, Lin Hai and Sparkle passed through the snowstorm at Belobog's gates and arrived at the residence Bronya had arranged for them.

As they stopped, Bronya emerged from the temporary office across the way.

She had learned about the unbelievable sight in the wilderness outside the city.

Lin Hai had vanished into thin air and reappeared with supplies.

But Bronya said nothing. She brushed the snow from her shoulders, straightened her appearance, and calmly went to meet them.

"The supplies are here," Lin Hai said, pointing to the woven sacks at his feet. "This is the first batch."

Bronya's gaze swept over the bulging bags, and she nodded solemnly.

"...Thank you for everything you've done for Belobog."

Her voice carried sincere gratitude.

"I always keep my promises."

Lin Hai's reply was calm and assured.

"I understand."

Bronya took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart.

"Even though the way you did it is beyond my understanding... it really happened. You did it."

She then turned and efficiently summoned a squad of Silvermane Guards, giving them clear instructions.

"Distribute these supplies immediately to the residential areas that need them most. Give priority to the elderly and children."

The guards sprang into action.

Once everything was arranged, Bronya looked at Lin Hai again, her tone softening.

"Lin Hai, could I ask you... to come to my office for a moment? There are some things I'd like to discuss with you in private."

Lin Hai nodded in agreement.

The two entered the simply furnished temporary office, one following the other.

The door closed softly, briefly shutting out the wind and snow.

Bronya didn't beat around the bush. She turned and looked Lin Hai directly in the eyes, and the question that had troubled her for so long finally slipped out.

"Could you tell me... how exactly did you do it? Those supplies..."

"Please believe me, I'm not asking as the commander of the Silvermane Guards. This is only me... Bronya, asking as an individual. I give you my word of honor that I won't tell anyone!"

Her expression was utterly sincere, and she was even driven by an impulse she didn't fully understand herself.

A mysterious sense of trust and familiarity toward the mysterious man before her, rising from the depths of her heart.

It was as though he were a crossing point long predestined on the thread of her fate.

Lin Hai's answer, however, remained calm and distant. "I'm sorry, but the trust between us hasn't yet reached the point where I can reveal my secret to you."

Bronya didn't give up easily. She pressed him, "Then what point does it have to reach before you're willing to trust me?"

"At this stage, there is none."

A brief silence fell over the room.

Suddenly, as if she had made some decision, Bronya stepped forward and unexpectedly reached out with both arms, gently embracing Lin Hai.

Then she rose slightly on her toes and planted a quick kiss on his lips.

The kiss ended as soon as it began. She stepped back half a pace, a faint blush coloring her cheeks, but her gaze still met Lin Hai's bravely.

"Does this... prove to you that my curiosity is purely personal?"

Lin Hai felt the slight trembling in Bronya's arms and the unmistakable sincerity in that kiss.

He knew Bronya.

She was by no means someone who would readily become so intimate with another person as a matter of expediency.

For her to set aside all her defenses and her position and do this now could only mean one thing: deep down, it was what she truly wanted to do.

The air in the room seemed to freeze, leaving only the sound of their breathing.

Lin Hai didn't push her away. In a low voice, he asked, "Bronya, do you know what the gravest danger facing Belobog today really is?"

"No. What is it?"

"It's the Supreme Guardian Cocolia herself." Lin Hai's tone was calm.

"That's impossible!"

Bronya protested, instinctively trying to pull back a little, her face full of offended anger. "How can you say that?!"

Lin Hai didn't let her pull away. He wrapped his arms around her in turn, meeting her agitation with a steady gaze.

"That's the reality. The Eternal Freeze sweeping across Belobog isn't a natural disaster. It comes from the Stellaron, and Cocolia's will has been eroded all along... the crisis has already taken deep root!"

Bronya refused to accept that.

She held Cocolia in the highest regard.

Over the years, whenever faced with disasters and crises of all kinds, Cocolia had always done everything she could to overcome them.

Bronya had seen it all.

Besides that, Cocolia had raised Bronya.

An immense debt of gratitude!

A debt she could never repay!

"Calm down, Bronya." Lin Hai's voice softened. "It's precisely because this is a private meeting, with our positions set aside, that I'm telling you these truths."

Bronya's struggles weakened. She looked at him, her eyes full of confusion.

"You... are you serious about all of this? You didn't make it up for some purpose?"

"I understand it's hard for you to accept right away, but I mean Belobog no harm, and you... even less. I don't bear any hostility toward Cocolia, either. What I'm talking about is a threat that may arise in the future, one that needs to be faced."

After a long silence, Bronya spoke, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly:

"If... if what you're saying is true... then how do we break out of this situation?"

"At present, there's no perfect way out."

Lin Hai spoke frankly, his gaze firm. "The most important and practical step right now is to improve people's lives, so that everyone, whether in the Overworld or the Underworld, can first stay alive and live a little better."

The change of subject shifted attention away from the sharp conflict and touched on something Bronya cared about just as deeply.

She took a deep breath and regained some of her composure.

"Mr. Lin Hai, perhaps there are some matters on which we can't agree... but when it comes to improving people's lives, our goals are the same."

With their serious business concluded, the tense atmosphere eased slightly.

Lin Hai suddenly gave a quiet chuckle and tightened his arms slightly, drawing them even closer until their noses almost touched.

He changed the subject. "But, speaking of which... Miss Bronya, that proof you gave me just now... wasn't that kiss a little too quick?"

At his words, Bronya's cheeks flushed red in an instant, and she instinctively tried to turn her face away from Lin Hai's burning gaze.

Lin Hai gave her no more time to be shy. He lowered his head and captured her lips.

It was a deeper, more domineering kiss than the one before.

The kiss was gentle yet full of force, and continued until he felt Bronya's body gradually soften in his arms, as though melting into his breath.

Lin Hai smiled and asked, "Was that your first kiss?"

"Yes."

"No wonder you were so inexperienced, but it felt wonderful."

"It felt wonderful?"

"Yes." Lin Hai reached out and pinched Bronya's cheek. "Your face and your lips both feel wonderful."