The kids were sent off to bed first but Song, Older Sister Xing and the Oak Kingdom Official, Luis stayed awake, talking about plans and the possibility of permanently staying in the Oak Kingdom after the civil unrest was put down.
They spoke in whispers downstairs and the upstairs doors were closed though Xiao Ji was sure that Envis was out of his room, listening to the conversation.
Since the nest was on the portion of the building that overlooked the first floor, rather than sleeping for the big day ahead, Xiao Ji and Pahara pretended to sleep while occasionally peering over the nest then staring at each other.
It seemed that there was a large beast army underwater and a bunch of perils that Anya had never mentioned to him. In the cover of the night, Chonobartes and his partner set their feet at the gates of the city.
For a moment, they both paused and looked up at the vastness and tranquility of the place. Since childhood, neither of them had ever been in a place so calm and inviting.
"This really is the place."
Chonobarte's partner didn't answer.
When he looked over, a single teardrop ran down his partner's face.
"Once this planet's situation gets better, I would love to bring Ana over here."
Chonobartes wanted to cry too, though he knew better than to lose authority in front of his subordinate.
A guard near the gate shone his lantern at them then embarrassedly moved it away.
"Hey,"
"Yeah, it's fine. Let's go."
The path to the supposed hideout wasn't as obvious as they thought and both of them ended up in the same street twice before finally advancing onto the correct block in which a single house had its lights on.
"This must be the one."
Chonobartes crouched while his partner kept a lookout.
Inside, an older man was seated, talking animatedly with another man who had handsome white hair though considerably younger.
A beautiful young lady leaned on the seat that the white haired boy sat on. Behind, warm lights were gleaming and Chonobartes was reminded of his childhood.
"Yes, this is the one."
His partner chuckled and came over though Chonobarte quickly regretted this decision. It wasn't right to have a father longing to be with his daughter gaze upon such a scene but it was too late.
"You know what, fuck this. We're here to fight crime, not to destroy a happy family. Fuck Chonobarte, fuck all of this. Let's find somewhere to stay for the night. I'm going to call it a cold case if you aren't. This is all wrong. There are much better targets if any."
It was early morning, even the boys hadn't gotten up yet but Song and Anya were all dressed in a traveling outfit.
Luis was up too, looking far more energetic than he had been the previous night. Older sister Xing seemed to be holding back tears. Her reunion with Song had been so short and she didn't know when the next time they would meet would be though she held onto the hope that they would find safety in the Oak Kingdom though the history of the nation implied otherwise.
"Everyone ready? Just stay low. Don't worry, keep calm."
Song squeezed Older Sister Xing in a tight bear hug and gave her one more kiss. Like before, Xiao Ji was put in Song's hoodie and up close, he could see the tears in Older Sister Xing's eyes.
The early morning air hit them hard and the mist was very refreshing though sadly, Xiao Ji couldn't enjoy it as much. The fear of getting caught had taken over his mind and Anya was trying to feed him some food though he wanted none of it.
They began walking and Older Sister Xing watched them the whole time until they turned the corner. The port was farther away than Xiao Ji had first thought and a few times, they passed a large group of people and even a small market.
Finally, the smell of seawater hit them and so did the noise of more people talking. Luis led them further, towards a larger platform that was moving around wildly in the water.
From Song's hood, Xiao Ji could see the faint outline of a submarine below, bobbing up and down. The top hatch was open and Luis haphazardly jumped on it; it was clear that he had done this before many years ago when he was younger.
He reached out a hand to Anya first who hesitantly hopped onto the submarine, nearly falling into the water.
Song was next and only when he had set foot on the rim did Xiao Ji realize how shaky it was though they made it down safely.
Inside, a wave of smoke hit them and it took some time to adjust to the red internal lights that made the inside of the submarine feel quite ominous.
It was obviously once very grand and once they had entered, they were greeted by three older men, all of whom still remained very physically intimidating.
"Cork."
"Captain Qi Yu"
"Moil, you mechanic, glad to be of service."