The large villa felt empty ever since the three little ones graduated and moved out. Now only the author Avdotya and Rafaela lived there. Sometimes Nine would stop by, bringing snacks or small toys. When Exusiai and Texas returned to Lungmen after missions, they stayed here as well.
Croissant envied them so much she joked her soul was splitting apart. She was just an ordinary bread-loving worker—how could she possibly afford a place in the city center or a villa? So she chose to live in the employee dormitories. Another member, Sora, was a popular idol who lived in the same apartment building as her manager, though in separate rooms. Sora usually handled logistics on her own, and the manager only showed up when performances required coordination.
Returning home, Felix finally relaxed. Texas took off her coat and went upstairs to change, while Exusiai lay sprawled on the sofa, letting out a blissful sigh.
Avdotya, knowing Felix would be coming home, came to greet him at the door. She wore gold-rimmed glasses and comfortable house clothes, looking calm and poised.
"Welcome back, Felix."
"It's been a while. You've grown even more composed," Felix said with a smile as he changed his shoes. "Your two new books sold well. With Tomorrow's Development handling the promotion, the sales were impressive."
"Yes, the editor is already rushing me for the next one, but I don't have any ideas yet."
Avdotya had written a collection of Ursus poetry and personal essays for her first book, then a travelogue of Terra for her second. The third was yet to be started.
"What genre do you want to write next?"
"Hm… maybe a story about traveling aboard a massive ship."
After a moment of thought, she smiled gently.
Felix realized she must have heard about the landship from Lemuen and Mostima when they visited home earlier. He nodded. "If you want to board the landship and travel across Terra with me and Tomorrow's Development, you're welcome to."
A faint smile appeared on her lips. She led Felix to his room. "Ella isn't home from school yet. Honestly, you really whisked away Snowsant and the others all at once. Now Ella's the only kid left here. It's a bit lonely."
"I've thought about bringing her along too… Let's do this: once she's in high school, we'll see whether she wants to go to university. If not, I can take her onto the landship."
Truthfully, university students on Terra were rare. Unless someone wanted specialized development in a certain field, most people didn't even finish nine years of schooling—if such a system could be said to exist at all. Some dropped out halfway through middle school; others finished elementary school only to start helping their families. Only a handful made it all the way to high school and then university.
Columbia and Leithanien had clusters of university students and even graduate students, but compared to the whole of Terra, they were still the minority.
Ella wanted to help Felix too. She dreamed of running a bar, inspired by her bartender father. Felix could easily open one for her on the dining deck of the Venus.
"I'm going to write the opening chapter now… Also… welcome home. I just wanted to say that. And… I missed you a little."
Avdotya stepped forward and hugged him lightly, giving him a soft kiss before returning to her room to write. Whether it was inspiration or motivation, her fingers flew across the keyboard.
Felix went back downstairs to the audiovisual room to relax with a movie. But barely ten minutes had passed when he heard the door quietly open.
Texas must have taken a shower. Her hair was damp, and she carried the faint scent of perfume. Wearing loose sleepwear, she slipped onto the sofa beside him.
"About Lappland… I want to thank you, Brother Felix."
Texas pressed herself closer, her breath warm and fragrant.
"Is Lappland still in Lungmen?"
"Yes. She often takes combat commissions… and she always comes back covered in injuries."
Texas pressed her lips together. "I'm worried her Oripathy will worsen, but she looks like she still knows her limits."
"I see."
"I missed you."
Like a child seeking warmth, Cellinia shifted her body and lay across Felix, her toes brushing against his calf, tapping lightly against his skin.
"Love me… will you?"
A movie with a runtime of ninety minutes ended up taking nearly three hours to finish.
The next day, Felix met with Wei Yenwu for a private conversation. He brought many specialties from Kazdel and recounted its development over the recent years.
Felix emphasized the land and the seeds in particular. Kazdel's soil had always been terrible, practically like a pile of dung. It only began to improve after Felix intentionally started purchasing land and seeds. But players still needed to build sun shelters for protection. Sometimes the sunlight was too harsh, and winters were bitterly cold. The temperature swung unpredictably.
Beyond farming, Felix shared the latest news from Ursus. He knew this intelligence came from his personal network. He could browse the forums directly, watching what the players had uncovered.
"Ursus is unstable… You mean the Ursus government?" Wei Yenwu frowned. This was not pleasant news. Yan and Ursus were not far apart. Without preparation, Ursus troops or mobile cities could easily cross the flat, unguarded border zone and strike any city in Yan.
Lungmen was even closer to Ursus, which made this a serious concern.
"No. It's an organization made entirely of the Infected. They call themselves the Reunion Movement."
Felix continued, "They are seizing cities. While rescuing the Infected, they also end up infecting innocent people. Their ranks grow by the day."
"Reunion Movement…" Wei Yenwu rested his chin on his hand.
"What is the name of their leader? Do you know?"
"Seems her name is Talulah."
Crack.
The teacup slipped from Wei Yenwu's hand and shattered on the floor, hot tea splashing everywhere, soaking into the carpet and staining his clothes.
"Governor Wei, what's wrong?"
Wei Yenwu coughed twice, shock flickering in his eyes. At that moment, Aunt Fumizuki came out after hearing the noise. She shot Wei a mild reproachful look and quietly began cleaning the mess.
She seemed not to have heard anything of the conversation.
Wei Yenwu forced down the turmoil in his eyes. He no longer looked like a composed statesman. His emotions were already written across his face.
"Governor Wei?"
"…Let's continue the topic."
Only after Fumizuki left did Wei Yenwu speak with a calm voice, as if Felix had imagined his earlier reaction.
Felix displayed the demeanor of a seasoned politician. He pretended to have seen nothing and resumed explaining the situation with Reunion.
In the players' past life, no one ever uncovered the truth about Talulah's family, her origins, or her background. Ursus was a poor region, and it felt unbelievable that such a natural-born commander had come from there. People might accept her being nobility, but a random girl from some rural village? No one was buying it.
Felix had good reason to suspect that Talulah was someone Wei Yenwu knew. Perhaps a younger relative, given the age difference. Both were of Dragon heritage. It was not impossible that they were directly related. Be it Western or Eastern, dragon is dragon.
He did not say any of this aloud, but that did not stop the thoughts from forming.
For now, Reunion did not appear too dangerous. It was mostly Ursus dealing with its own internal chaos. Felix had no desire to intervene. But once the 3.0 storyline began, that might change. Talulah's strength in this life was both weaker and stronger in different ways. In the previous timeline, thanks to the players' presence, she never conducted large-scale forced recruitment by infecting civilians.
In this timeline, because players had banded together to form the Brotherhood, Reunion had no access to them and had to rely on ordinary Terrans. Some players had even attempted to join Reunion out of curiosity. They discovered the faction had terrible logistics. The equipment they issued was worse than the mercenary gear from Kazdel's 1.0 battlefield. Food was unreliable, and supplies nonexistent. The only way to restock was by raiding and sacking towns like a group of Mongol raiders.
This playstyle immediately drove away most normal players. But it attracted the chaotic-evil crowd, who vented their real-world frustrations by wreaking havoc alongside Reunion's Infected. There were also a few jokester players who joined simply to watch the entire organization crash and burn.
Wei Yenwu's expression darkened. He shook his head and voiced the same opinion as Felix.
"An organization built on hatred cannot survive for long."
"But it can burn fiercely before it turns to ashes, can't it?"
After a brief silence, Wei Yenwu finished his tea in one slow sip. "This matter stays between us."
"Of course, Governor."
The unrest in Ursus would only make its government feel mildly irritated, not truly hurt. They could wipe out these small troublemakers with ease. Yet before that happened, Reunion would continue to stir chaos and cause problems for Ursus's nobility. That alone was beneficial for Yan Country, and more than welcome.
Seeing that both cups were empty, Felix reached over and refilled them. Wei Yenwu let out a low chuckle. "Am I the first person to drink tea poured by you?"
Felix thought about it. Good grief—he actually was.
"Hmph. Your landship has been under construction for years. Now it's finally nearing completion."
Wei Yenwu blew aside the tea leaves drifting on the surface. "It feels like watching a child grow, taking their first steps toward maturity, and then letting them go into the wide world. I didn't expect you'll reach this age."
"Isn't that a bit dramatic, Governor?"
"How long do you think I've known you?"
Wei Yenwu spoke calmly. "I'm not some long-lived species. How many sets of years do I get in one lifetime? You were just a stubborn kid back then pretending to act mature. I remember it clearly."
"This time, once you leave, you probably won't come back, will you?"
He phrased it as a question, but it sounded as if he already knew.
"Governor Wei, you're exaggerating. Lungmen is my second home. How could I never come back?"
Felix spoke honestly. "Because of what Tomorrow's Development is, some operations simply can't be performed within national borders. It's easier to work in the uninhabited zones. We also need to travel to different regions and carry out missions with different operators. In the end, instead of turning a city into our base, it's better to build a massive landship that can hold all our dreams and sail toward the future."
Wei Yenwu fell into an unusually long silence. He reflected for a moment, then spoke softly. "This is about Little Ch'en."
The Wei Yenwu standing before him felt unfamiliar—like an old man entrusting someone with his child, or a parent burdened by regret. The complex emotions he carried washed over like a tide, enough to make anyone's breath catch.
Faced with him, Felix found it difficult to refuse. Hard to say no. And honestly, if he had no feelings toward Ch'en Hui-chieh at all, he would have rejected Wei Yenwu outright the first time he joked about it. But he hadn't.
In their short time together, Felix had come to feel that Ch'en Hui-chieh was worth caring about. She was reliable, and a woman who carried justice and uncertainty in her heart.
"I'll look after her. Don't worry, Governor Wei. As long as I'm here, she won't be harmed."
That was what he said.
"Good."
Wei Yenwu stood up. His expression turned solemn, carrying a natural authority. He headed toward the elevator first. "Follow me."
Felix followed beside him.
They left the office together and took the elevator down to the lowest level. It was the training hall. Because they had come at the right time, no one else was around—everyone was out on assignments.
"Is Governor Wei trying to test whether I'm strong enough to protect Ch'en Hui-chieh?"
Felix looked at him in surprise. Wei Yenwu had already taken a practice longsword from the rack.
"Do you know how to use a sword?"
He didn't answer Felix's question.
With a doubtful tone, Felix replied, "If Lance and twin-bladed swords count, then…"
"That's not a sword."
Wei Yenwu tossed him a training longsword. Felix raised his hand and caught it. He did have some experience. When he trained with Kirill and the members of the Nearl family, he had learned a few techniques from uncle. But according to uncle, it was only the sort of wandering swordsman style that barely counted as proper swordsmanship.
"Come at me."
Wei Yenwu picked up another longsword of the same type. "If you want to walk further on the path of martial arts, then you need to know how to use a sword."
[Wei Yenwu: Lv ?]
(green name)
[Description: Lungmen Executive…]
[Danger Level: The difference is not in strength, but in understanding of martial arts] (purple)