Sleep came sweetly, and he had no idea how much time had passed.
Bai Zhou awoke on the several-dozen-square-meter... floor of the top floor of the huge villa.
What met his eyes was a... sky he wasn't quite familiar with.
And a strange, glaring sun.
--The "sunroom," with no ceiling and two walls missing, was like this.
In short, after rounding things up,
Thanks to Bai Zhou's efforts, he had begun living the storybook life of a successful person... though only halfway.
"Morning."
A familiar voice rang out on time, faint and steady like an alarm clock.
"Morning, Ya."
Bai Zhou rubbed his eyes and sat up,
"How long was I asleep?"
"Seven hours."
"That long?" Bai Zhou looked up at the blazing sun overhead.
"I was under the sun that whole time and didn't react?"
He instinctively rubbed his face, wondering whether he had already been roasted black.
"..."
Ya couldn't be bothered to answer, neither confirming nor denying Bai Zhou's question.
But the moment Bai Zhou turned his head, he saw a mass of Shadow Tentacles, clawing and writhing, swiftly retreat from the corner where he had just slept--
Eventually returning beneath Ya's feet.
"Could it be?"
Bai Zhou looked at Ya in surprise.
Had Ya used her shadows to shield him from the sunlight?
--No wonder he had slept so soundly.
"Now that you're awake, it's time to handle serious matters."
Ya merely turned her head away, still expressionless as she began discussing business.
"Tap, tap-tap!"
She raised her boot and forcefully stamped the platform beneath her twice with the heel:
"As a Stronghold, this place is lacking in far too many ways!"
"Especially its escape plans and fortifications."
"If the enemy fires a few rockets at this place or launches an Artillery Barrage, you'll be helpless. You'll only be able to wait for death."
Ya shook her head solemnly,
"--Unqualified!"
"However..."
Seeing Bai Zhou's expression turn stern, Ya's tone softened slightly,
"The internal traps are still acceptable..."
--They were more than acceptable.
Aside from their strength, just considering the traps themselves, their ingenious coordination and treacherous angles were enough to leave even Ya silent.
It was as though Bai Zhou had extensive experience in this area, having seen countless sinister trap arrangements and long since prepared mature contingency plans in his mind.
--But how could that be possible?
As Bai Zhou's only instructor, she didn't remember ever teaching him anything like this.
...Then, it could only be talent.
That made Ya recall the Lime Bai Zhou had thrown during his earlier battle, as well as the Powerful Flashlight tied to his spear...
Was Bai Zhou really the Destined One of [Chen]'s Destiny, renowned for its dignity and uprightness?
Of those four words, which one did Bai Zhou embody?
--Ya didn't understand.
...And so, the moment Bai Zhou got out of bed, he became busy.
The abandoned villa was transformed beyond recognition.
Red Brick Fragments were used to scribble and draw across the walls, depicting all kinds of Strange Patterns.
Mummified Mouse Powder, Bird Corpse Bones, and various Insect Corpses were placed at special positions in different Rituals.
As he practiced, Bai Zhou also grew more proficient at controlling miniature Rituals.
In truth, he had learned around ten miniature Rituals from Ya. None of them were particularly powerful, but together they covered all sorts of applications.
--It could only be considered an introductory course.
The most extraordinary among them, and also the most difficult to learn...
Was the Explosion Ritual that had shaken the entire Special Management Department.
--And even that required special chemical raw materials as an aid.
An hour passed quickly.
Under Bai Zhou's sweat and toil, this unoccupied "Haunted House" was finally transformed into...
Something even stranger and more terrifying than a Haunted House.
If a vagrant wandered inside, they would flee overnight in terror at the sights within, even without touching a single trap.
That was because every floor, ceiling, and wall in this Five-Story Villa had been covered in bizarre Ritual diagrams painted in red.
--It looked exactly like a gathering place for an Esoteric Cult. It was horrifying beyond words!
With a "slap"--
Bai Zhou discarded the small red stone that had nearly been ground away to nothing,
He dusted the red powder from his hands and stood on the stairs, gazing down at his masterpiece with satisfaction.
On the unfinished concrete walls, densely packed scarlet Rituals spread like spiderwebs, filling his entire field of vision.
Although they looked thoroughly horrifying, they gave Bai Zhou an entirely different feeling:
"--This is so reassuring."
Bai Zhou sighed aloud.
"Grrrr..."
Perhaps because his mind had finally relaxed, Bai Zhou's stomach began to protest.
A desperate hunger suddenly swept over him.
...Ah, it was time to eat.
Come to think of it, the last time he had eaten was yesterday at noon, in the base Cafeteria.
Before he knew it, the entire day was almost over.
"Bai Zhou."
Just as he was thinking about it, Ya's voice suddenly reached his ears.
Bai Zhou turned and saw Ya looking down at him from the bend in the stairs.
Still, perhaps it was only his imagination...
He felt that Ya seemed somewhat listless.
There were even faint dark circles beneath her eyes.
...So she could get sleepy too?
Thinking carefully, Bai Zhou realized he had never seen Ya eat or sleep.
She was astonishingly unlike a living person.
"If the Stronghold is ready, we should head into the city."
Ya seemed to have something important to tell Bai Zhou.
"Into the city?" Bai Zhou asked in confusion.
"A cat-and-mouse game has already begun."
Ya's voice remained cold, carrying its unique hoarseness as it echoed through the villa's unfinished, empty corridors.
"For now, they're the cats."
"Because their initial advantage is simply too great."
"Not only do they outnumber you; the surveillance systems spread throughout the city alone are enough to make it impossible for you to take a single step."
"Even evading the pursuit will be difficult, let alone investigating their chain of industries while facing all this..."
"--So you may need some external assistance."
"External assistance means..." Bai Zhou blinked twice.
He caught Ya's implication, and his heart gave two extra thumps.
With a "slap,"
Ya pulled a folded map from her clothes and tossed it across the gap to Bai Zhou.
"A crafty rabbit has three burrows. It's a life-saving instinct carved into the bones of every extraordinary person."
"In every seemingly insignificant corner of this city, in every patch of shadow, even in the sewers..."
"There may be supplies and weapons that some extraordinary person hid for themselves, things that can help them crawl back from the edge of hell."
"Usually, they call this a 'Safe House.'"
"--This is also an important lesson I want to teach you."
Her expression held a trace of familiarity and reminiscence.
She looked exactly like a veteran wanted criminal who had killed countless people, reminiscing about the glorious days when she had once been hunted by the Jianghu...
"I marked the coordinates on this map."
"A long time ago, I left some 'Pocket Money' there and then forgot to use it."
As she spoke,
Ya was filled with nostalgia and confidence regarding the private "Pocket Money" she had once hidden.
"It isn't the launch button for a nuclear bomb, but it's enough to arm you."
"It'll upgrade you from a 'lamb waiting for slaughter' into a wolf capable of biting through a hunter's throat..."
"--And it will conveniently solve the problem of being monitored by roadside cameras."
Safe House!
Pocket Money...
"Are we going now?" Bai Zhou asked.
"Of course."
The simple two-word answer sounded like an "Open Sesame" password, about to thunderously open a strange door before Bai Zhou.
Behind that door lay Ya's former legacy, an iceberg-tip glimpse of the blood and fire she had once experienced.
She wanted Bai Zhou to hurry and inherit everything from her past, arm himself to the teeth, and then...
Survive!
With a "rustle"...
Carrying a measure of anticipation and nervousness, Bai Zhou curiously unfolded the map.
He examined it carefully.
One location had been conspicuously marked with a red circle on the map.
It seemed to be located in the busiest, most prosperous part of the city center, and appeared to be anything but ordinary.
Even among the map's densely packed coordinates, it had its own eye-catching name--
[L'Ambroisie]
A completely unfamiliar scrawl, resembling both a Curse and a shop name, entered Bai Zhou's clear, bewildered eyes.
There was more below:
"Michelin Three-Star fine dining restaurant, established in 1988!"
"--Reservations required!"
Before you continue