Hillside villa district.
Lu Fang had just switched off his bedside lamp, ready to force himself to sleep.
Knock, knock, knock.
A sudden knock came at the door.
Lu Fang opened his eyes.
"Come in."
The door opened, and the old butler, Uncle Jiang, stood outside with a somewhat grave expression.
"Young master, Captain Ji is here."
Lu Fang frowned slightly.
"Uncle Ji?"
This late?
The unease Lu Fang had just suppressed rose again.
He got up, draped a coat over his shoulders, and hurried downstairs.
Ji Xiuneng stood in the living room.
He was still wearing his Guard Team uniform, clearly having rushed straight over.
But he looked different from during the day.
Now, Ji Xiuneng was pale, his eyes red, as though he had aged ten years all at once.
Lu Fang's heart sank.
"Uncle Ji, what happened?"
Ji Xiuneng opened his mouth.
But the words seemed to catch in his throat.
He looked at the boy before him.
Just that afternoon, he had praised Lu Fang for surpassing his parents.
He had even said that if Lu Fang's parents knew about his achievements today, they would probably wake from their dreams laughing.
But now.
He had to personally deliver that unbearably cruel news to Lu Fang.
Ji Xiuneng swallowed, his voice hoarse.
"Xiao Fang."
"You have to stay strong."
Lu Fang froze for a moment, then asked directly, as though he knew what the man before him was about to say.
"What happened to my parents?"
Ji Xiuneng closed his eyes briefly.
"Word came from the front lines."
"The three Pillars..."
His voice noticeably trembled at this point.
"They fell in battle."
Boom!
In that instant, Lu Fang felt as though something had exploded in his mind.
Every sound around him faded into the distance.
The lights, the sofa, the coffee table, Ji Xiuneng's face, Uncle Jiang's suddenly deathly pale expression.
Everything turned blurred and unreal, as though behind a thick curtain of water.
Lu Fang stood rooted to the spot.
Utterly still.
Several long seconds passed before he slowly spoke.
"What did you say?"
Ji Xiuneng's eyes reddened further.
"Xiao Fang..."
"I'm asking you for the details."
Lu Fang's voice was very soft.
So soft it sent a chill through the heart.
Ji Xiuneng drew a deep breath, forcing down his grief.
"According to the battle report from the front lines, the three Pillars encountered a powerful member of another race while carrying out a suppression mission on the Abyssal Rift front."
"The three fought together against that opponent. During the battle, a spatial node at their location suddenly went out of control."
"The node triggered a spatial storm."
"The three Pillars and that other-race powerhouse were all swept into the spatial storm."
Lu Fang's head snapped up.
"Swept in?"
"Being swept in doesn't mean they're dead."
Ji Xiuneng fell silent.
Lu Fang stared at him.
"Am I right?"
The living room was terrifyingly quiet.
The old butler, Uncle Jiang, stood nearby, gripping his sleeves tightly with both hands, his eyes already red.
Ji Xiuneng spoke with difficulty.
"Xiao Fang, I know this news is hard for you to accept."
"A spatial storm is a destructive disaster formed when the laws of space fall into complete disorder."
"Inside, there are no stable coordinates, no sense of direction or time, and even the structure of matter is constantly torn apart by spatial turbulence."
"Once a class holder is swept inside, communications are instantly cut off, and their location vanishes completely."
"Throughout history..."
Ji Xiuneng paused.
Every word seemed to squeeze out through clenched teeth.
"Throughout history, not a single person swept into a spatial storm has ever returned alive."
"So under frontline regulations, anyone confirmed to have been swallowed by a spatial storm is presumed killed in action."
Presumed killed in action.
As those words fell, Lu Fang's expression finally changed.
He took half a step back.
His chest felt as though an invisible hand had seized it in a crushing grip, leaving him barely able to breathe.
Earlier that day, he had cleared the beginner secret realm.
He had earned an SSS rating.
He had killed three level-100 powerhouses from the Blood Wolf Association.
His achievements had been reported to the higher-ups by the Guard Team.
He had even decided that when his parents returned, he would tell them all of this himself.
He wanted to see his dad stunned speechless.
He wanted to hear his mom laugh and praise him for having grown up.
He wanted to make them proud.
But now.
What awaited him was not congratulations.
It was a cold declaration that they had fallen in battle.
"Impossible."
Lu Fang shook his head.
"Impossible."
His voice grew increasingly forceful.
"My parents couldn't have died like this."
"They were only swept inside! It's not as if their bodies are lying in front of me!"
"There are no bodies, no personal effects, no eyewitness confirmation! What gives you the right to say they're dead?!"
Ji Xiuneng's lips moved, but he did not know how to answer.
Rationally, he knew Lu Fang was right.
But in reality, there had never been a survivor of a spatial storm.
That was the cruelest fact of all.
Lu Fang's eyes were slightly red, his chest heaving.
"They must still be alive."
"They must."
"I believe they're still alive!"
He seemed to be saying those words to Ji Xiuneng.
And to himself.
Seeing Lu Fang like this, Ji Xiuneng felt as though a knife were cutting into his heart.
He stepped forward and patted Lu Fang's shoulder.
"Xiao Fang, don't think too much for now."
"The front lines are still searching for residual spatial fluctuations. If there's any news at all, I'll tell you immediately."
"The most important thing now is to keep yourself steady."
"If your parents knew what you accomplished today, they would be very proud."
At those words, Lu Fang's eyes finally turned completely red.
But he did not cry aloud.
He simply stood there, gritting his teeth, his body trembling slightly.
Ji Xiuneng continued comforting him for a long time.
But such comfort seemed especially hollow in the face of such terrible news.
In the end, he could only let out a heavy sigh.
"Xiao Fang, I still have to visit the Wang Family."
"Wang Yixing needs to hear this news too."
Lu Fang did not respond.
Ji Xiuneng looked at him, then finally turned and left.
The front door closed.
Silence returned to the living room.
Lu Fang stood there for a long time before slowly speaking.
"Uncle Jiang."
The old butler's voice trembled.
"Young master."
"I'm going to find them."
Uncle Jiang's heart clenched.
"Young master, the place where your father and mother disappeared is the Abyssal Rift front."
"That is the battlefield where the fighting between humanity and the other races is fiercest."
"Only powerhouses at least... at least over level 200 are qualified to set foot there."
Lu Fang raised his head.
His eyes were very red.
But there was no collapse in those eyes, only an almost stubborn resolve.
"Then I'll reach level 200."
"Soon. I'll be able to do it soon."
Uncle Jiang looked at Lu Fang, his heart aching so badly he could barely speak.
He had watched Lu Fang grow up.
To him, Lu Fang was less a young master than his own child.
Deep down, he knew too.
His master and mistress were most likely never coming back.
But he dared not say it.
Nor could he.
He could only go along with Lu Fang's words, speaking hoarsely.
"All right."
"You can definitely do it, young master."
Lu Fang nodded.
"I'm going upstairs."
With that, he turned and headed upstairs.