Little Sister, You Don't Want To...

"I... I am!"

Nelly stammered before choosing to tell the truth.

She was afraid her lie would really be seen through. Fornia was right beside her, so she had no chance to try anything.

Besides, her perception of herself was somewhat skewed. She thought that, as a novice who had only just awakened her ability, she was no match for an S-Class Ability User.

What if she couldn't escape even by traversing space?

So she chose to tell the truth.

"Don't be afraid. You still have me." Fornia patted the back of Nelly's hand and comforted her softly.

How unlucky. How could they run into an S-Class Ability User just while out shopping?

"No Ability Certificate?" Gu Yan gave her an amused smile. Looks like the bluff had worked.

"No..."

"And you didn't register when you entered the country?"

"No..."

Hearing her answer, Gu Yan shook his head helplessly. He hadn't expected to create extra work for himself.

"Were you deliberately hiding it? Planning to do something dangerous, hmm?" His interrogative tone carried a hint of forcefulness. He put away the Ability Certificate, crossed his arms, and wore an expression that said he had already seen through the truth.

"No!!!" This time, however, Nelly was no longer timid. Her tone was firm.

She really hadn't planned to do anything bad! She only wanted to take Fornia away from the cage and live the life they wanted! She just didn't want to leave Fornia, and wanted to regain their freedom!

"Oh?" This time, it was Gu Yan's turn to be surprised. He kept his expression calm, though; otherwise, she would see through his earlier bluff.

Still, her reaction had been very strong, and she seemed to care deeply about the "Fornia" she had mentioned. Under these circumstances, it was unlikely that she was lying.

Combining that with her previous answers, a guess gradually took shape in Gu Yan's mind.

This little girl might not have entered the country illegally after all. If she had, bringing her best friend out shopping afterward would have been the purest form of suicide.

Perhaps she had awakened her ability by coincidence after entering Huaguo, without having time to register—or even knowing that registration was required.

What a stroke of bad luck that he had happened to run into her. This was ridiculous beyond belief.

Gu Yan sighed inwardly and took out his phone.

Since he had encountered her, he couldn't simply ignore her. Whether for the sake of Haishi's stability or the little girl's safety, he might as well call his sister and take her to the Ability User Bureau to register.

"Hello, Sis. There's something going on. Come over..."

"I'm telling the truth!" Nelly still thought Gu Yan didn't believe her and was about to call someone to arrest her. She panicked.

"I'm finding someone to help you register. Don't overthink it." Gu Yan spoke helplessly.

After receiving the call, Gu Li also understood what had happened. No wonder Gu Yan had been out so long without coming home.

"Why hasn't Xiao Yan come back yet?" Hearing that it was Gu Yan's voice, Mother Gu came over too, wanting to ask him about it. Then she heard...

"I'm doing this for your own good. Just cooperate obediently."

"Little sister, you don't want your good friend to get dragged into this, do you?"

Mother Gu froze.

She swore that she had only asked her son to buy some ingredients. She had never intended for him to endanger society.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Gu Li rose to leave, but Mother Gu hurriedly stopped her.

"Wait! Talk things out properly. Xiao Yan is your biological younger brother. You can't harm him!"

"Me? Harm him?" Gu Li was completely bewildered.

"...Tell Xiao Yan that his conditions aren't bad. He shouldn't be in such a hurry. A melon forced from the vine won't be sweet."

"..."

The people on both ends of the call fell silent.

Gu Yan put away his phone and sighed, shaking his head.

"You don't have to be afraid. As long as you haven't done anything harmful, we won't do anything to you either." He had wanted to pat Nelly on the head, but it seemed a little impolite, so he walked toward the snack street's exit and gestured for her to follow.

"I'll take you to register in a moment. Since you're an overseas Ability User, you need to be placed under supervision. You may not know this, but it's mandatory." Gu Yan earnestly tried to persuade her, barely short of saying, "I'm doing this for your own good."

"Which country are you from?"

"Bri... British Kingdom."

Gu Yan stopped in his tracks.

"I'm sorry..." A disaster had just occurred there. She must have been displaced as well.

His sudden apology left Nelly and Fornia puzzled, but they didn't dare ask more.

There were too many people here, and Gu Li had come by car, so they headed for the exit to save time. Gu Yan walked ahead, his gaze lowered to the ground as if deep in thought. Nelly's footsteps were light, while Fornia was in a wheelchair.

The world of the three of them seemed cut off from the surrounding noise. They traveled in silence.

"Don't be afraid, Nelly. We'll face it together. There's nothing to fear." As they neared the exit, Fornia comforted her.

"Yeah!" Nelly nodded with a smile. She was no longer as nervous. They had already overcome even more difficult things. This was nothing more than a minor interlude in their journey.

Gu Yan turned back when he heard her voice, but said nothing.

When they reached the exit, Gu Li was already waiting.

"Impressive. You managed to run into something like this while buying groceries." Gu Li chuckled and opened the car door.

"Oh, right." She turned around, her tone carrying a hint of mockery. "Mom said that a melon forced from the vine won't be sweet."

"..." Gu Yan was speechless.

Nelly and Fornia, meanwhile, were utterly confused.

"You two take the back seat. I'll sit in the passenger seat." Gu Yan spoke to them. He could drive, but he was lazy.

"Don't worry. I'm taking you to the Ability User Bureau to register. After that, you'll be able to move around Huaguo openly."

"...Thank you." Nelly thanked him softly.

"Fornia, I'll carry you up." She was rather petite, but her physical strength was no longer what it had been. She carefully lifted Fornia, afraid of pulling at her wounds.

"I'm fine, little Nelly." Fornia was afraid of pain, but being held in Nelly's arms was something she could accept.

Besides, her wounds were in good condition and hadn't worsened. The pain had also eased considerably.

On the other side, Gu Li's brows furrowed slightly.

"Is this really fine? Something is clearly wrong with her condition."

"But according to the regulations, there aren't any restrictions, are there?" Gu Yan had his back to Nelly, his head lowered. The streetlights were blocked by his hair, making his expression impossible to see.

"That's true. They haven't done anything wrong. We're just making wild assumptions." The two of them had not spoken at all. Instead, they used altered cognition to speak directly in each other's minds, so Nelly could not possibly hear them.

"She's from the British Kingdom." After leaving her with that sentence, Gu Yan turned and glanced at Gu Li.

Gu Li understood what he meant as well. She knew that Nelly and Fornia must have gone through some tragic experiences.

"Um, the wheelchair..."

Nelly had already settled Fornia in place. She got out of the car and wanted to fold up the wheelchair.

"I'll put it away for you temporarily."

Gu Yan was one step faster, storing the wheelchair inside Mustard Seed Space. But the instant the space opened, Nelly naturally became aware of everything inside.

A long blade made of some unknown material, a phone, identification documents, fresh water, food, a nuclear bomb...

Hm?

A nuclear bomb?