Mom

The purple-haired beauty in a fitted Professional Attire had changed into a new white fur coat, adorned with lavish gold lines that gave it a distinctly snowfield style.

It was said to be made from the hide on a Warp Trotter's back and was exceptionally precious.

In present-day Belobog, wildlife had become pitifully scarce thanks to the ravages of the Eternal Freeze. A fur coat cost an absolute fortune!

The woman's coat practically radiated wealth, leaving people unable to resist speculating about her identity.

The purple-haired beauty was the last to step off the Cable Car. She brushed the hair beside her right ear and said softly:

"Silver Wolf, I think I've spotted the target."

"That fast? Didn't you just get off the Cable Car?" The girl on the other end of the call sounded astonished. "I checked the map. Isn't the Orphanage in Rivet Town still some distance away?"

"But I saw him the moment I got off. My intuition tells me it's him," Kafka said evenly. "I trust my intuition. It won't be wrong."

"What intuition? Since when could you do that?" Silver Wolf asked in confusion.

"It's not really an ability." Kafka smiled faintly. "It's just that, on a planet this cut off from the outside world, don't you find it interesting to see a Xianzhou child whose features are so different from everyone else's?"

"What?" Silver Wolf suddenly raised her voice, seemingly startled. "Isn't this the Preservation's territory? Why would there be a child from the Xianzhou here? And how can you tell he's from the Xianzhou?"

"He has the bearing of a Xianzhou native," Kafka said with a soft laugh. "So I'm curious too. How did he end up here? There must be a story behind it."

Hearing that, Silver Wolf asked in confusion:

"Didn't Elio tell you beforehand? That you were supposed to adopt a child from the Xianzhou?"

"Elio didn't tell me much. He only said I'd know who the target was as soon as I arrived," Kafka said as she headed toward the Orphanage. "And that's exactly what happened. I spotted him at a glance. Is this what they call a fated connection?"

"It's destiny," Silver Wolf retorted. "Why are you picking up that stuff from Xianzhou natives, believing in fated connections and all?"

"Silver Wolf, you're starting to get boring." Kafka sighed. "They really do grow apart from their mothers as they get older."

"Oh, get lost! Go find your new kid!" Silver Wolf snapped, then realized she had fallen into a verbal trap. "Since when was I your kid? Kafka, is your maternal instinct awakening? Why are you suddenly overflowing with motherly love?"

"Hehe, this is called getting into character ahead of time." Kafka paid no mind to Silver Wolf's retort. "Little Silver Wolf, you still have a lot to learn."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You wicked woman, you really know how to fool people!" Silver Wolf clicked her tongue.

Kafka shrugged:

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Take it however you want." Silver Wolf sighed. "I just hope you won't make more work for me. You had me teleport that whole pile of clothes back to the starship earlier. My ability to alter reality's coordinates isn't yours to abuse like that. Thank you, please show me some respect. I'm begging you!"

"But it really is so convenient." The corners of Kafka's mouth rose slightly, though she feigned a wounded tone. "Besides, I didn't only buy things for myself. Didn't I bring you a present too?"

"Oh, thank you so much for that pair of socks. They came free with the coat, didn't they?" Silver Wolf's voice was full of weary resignation. "Anyway, stop bothering me. I'm going to play games."

"Oh dear, what do you do when your child gets addicted to online games? Such a headache," Kafka said mournfully, but Silver Wolf had already ended the call.

Kafka stood where she was, the smile fading from her face as she said:

"Come out!"

"Hand over your money, and we might let you live!"

"Hehe, boss, this chick's gorgeous!"

"Her clothes are expensive. Don't get them dirty, boys!"

Several vagrants emerged from the corners of the secluded alley.

Their leader looked at the purple-haired beauty, a greedy gleam rising in his eyes. He couldn't help swallowing before declaring loudly:

"You're surrounded!"

"Oh?" Kafka slipped both hands beneath the back of her coat and said slowly, "Looks like someone's walked right into the line of fire."

Her hands whipped out, now holding two oddly shaped guns.

Their barrels were short, but their magazines were long!

One pull of the trigger could unleash a full twenty bullets in a second!

Before the vagrants could even react, they were riddled with holes!

"How... so fast?" Their leader slumped on the ground, blood pouring from his body. "Didn't... even... get... a chance... to attack."

"Attack? Did you think this was a turn-based game, where every trash mob gets a turn just because it ambushed someone?" Kafka scoffed.

At her words, the light slowly faded from the vagrant leader's eyes.

Kafka blew the smoke from her gun barrels and left.

Plenty of eyes were still watching from the darkness, but no one dared leap out and provoke this deadly woman now!

By the time Guard Captain Oleg arrived, only ice-cold corpses remained on the ground.

Oleg picked up a spent casing with tweezers, a trace of puzzlement in his eyes:

What kind of ammunition is this?

The Underworld still had some old firearms, but he had never seen ammunition this finely made.

Who came down to the Underworld and went on a killing spree?

Oleg's expression grew grave.

The Underworld's already unstable situation had now been thrown into further turmoil.

There's a storm brewing!

Back at the Orphanage, Chu Mu ducked into the Library again after returning from his evening walk.

His eyesight was almost gone. Now he had to press his face close to a book to make out the words.

Even so, Chu Mu hadn't given up on reading.

Reading like this was arduous, but once he went completely blind, it would become an unattainable luxury.

Chu Mu knew there was no such thing as Braille education in present-day Belobog.

The entire city had only a small population. There was no way it would expend resources on the tiny minority who were blind.

Much less on blind people in the Underworld.

At that moment, Chu Mu sat beside the Heating System, reading his book by its faint orange-yellow glow.

Then a mature woman's voice rang out:

"Is this how you read?"

Chu Mu set down his book and looked toward the speaker.

Through his blurred vision, he couldn't make out the woman's face. He could only see the vague outline of her figure, her purple hair, her delicate chin, and her distinctive clothes.

Chu Mu was certain she had to be a very beautiful woman.

And a very suspicious one!

"Who are you? Why are you here?" Chu Mu glanced at the Library's door. It stood slightly ajar. The woman seemed to have walked openly through the front entrance and come straight to the Library.

"Oh, you're still such a wary child." The purple-haired beauty smiled with relief. "Don't I seem familiar to you?"

"Familiar?" Chu Mu narrowed his eyes, trying hard to see her clearly, but in the end he shook his head. "Sorry, I don't think I know you. Or maybe I've forgotten. Either way, could you introduce yourself again?"

At his words, the woman nodded slightly and smiled gently:

"Of course. Listen to me."

She looked at Chu Mu and said slowly:

"Child, I'm your mom!"