The investigation of Kangheng Life Sciences and the guilty plea of its complicit Chief Security Officer marked a day destined for Lanslow's history books.
The Inspectorate withheld details of Kangheng's Source Crystal research, stating only that the company illegally produced and sold banned drugs for exorbitant profits, polluting Lanslow and causing strange ailments among residents. The Inspectorate would soon represent victims in a lawsuit against Kangheng, with compensation funding a dedicated foundation to support cures for these maladies.
Overnight, Kangheng's reputation collapsed, sending shockwaves through the Federation's medical sector. Worse, as a "model enterprise" endorsed by the Military, Kangheng's fall blindsided and embarrassed a cadre of Military officials, dealing them a silent blow.
Zhou Ying had played a bold hand. Inside and outside the Zhou family, countless eyes watched him, many now seething with resentment. Yet, as a direct Zhou heir backed by Ning Hongxue, none dared move against him.
They could only marvel: Zhou Ying had mastered the game of schemes, his cunning formidable. A new, ruthless Zhou now stood among Capital Star's elite families.
Unbeknownst to them, as Zhou Ying stepped onto Lanslow's soil after resolving the crisis, he felt no thrill of vengeance or satisfaction of a plan fulfilled.
Listless, he was escorted by guards to the Security Bureau, where crowds parted as if greeting Lanslow's new lord.
In the Bureau's office, Zhou Ying met the agent who arrested Shi Rongyuan, Lieutenant Elex Homan. The man sported reddish-brown hair Zhou Ying disliked—gaudy, unkempt, tied sloppily back, stray strands escaping his officer's cap. His collar clip hung askew, exuding a roguish air.
Fitting for an agent who'd wandered Lanslow's backwater for eight years.
"Been expecting you, Young Master Zhou," Homan grinned broadly. "Kangheng's Source Crystal sites on Lanslow are destroyed. Mission accomplished."
"Handle the details yourself," Zhou Ying said, uninterested. "I'm here to ask where my brother is."
"Didn't General Ning tell you?" Homan asked, surprised.
Zhou Ying's eyes flashed with faint menace.
Homan leaned back tactically, pulling up an address on his light-computer. "He's here. Captain Zhou Mi joined last night's raid on the Bureau's forces. Probably catching up on sleep."
Compared to Baisha's thrilling escapade, Zhou Mi's night was mundane.
Per Baisha's instructions, he stayed at Luqi House, guarding the "mutants." When Shi Rongyuan's soldiers arrived to eliminate them, Zhou Mi dispatched the patrol. Then the Luqi mutants rioted, forcing him to subdue them. After Shi's fall, a freed Parfen Luqi rushed from the pharma plant with star-beast gene neutralizers for her father and brother. Too late. Though their mutations subsided, neither survived. Parfen, distraught, lashed out at Zhou Mi and Baisha—a separate matter entirely.
Everyone endured a chaotic night. Jingyi and Yaning had it easiest, unscathed in the dungeon, losing only a few hairs. By their release, Shi was toppled, Kangheng sealed, and their Teacher Homan transformed into a Federation agent.
They weren't nobodies anymore—they had an officer for a teacher!
Perhaps too excited, when Baisha returned to the orphanage with them to rest, they refused sleep, demanding she recount the saga like a storyteller.
Baisha prepared to regale her friends at the orphanage, while Zhou Mi returned to his loft.
He shed his dusty clothes and gear, showered, and napped a few hours. By dusk, the sky glowed deep purple.
Rising, he opened his light-computer, intending to ask Baisha for dinner.
Then the shop door below swung open.
Ning Hongxue and Homan always gave notice—assuming it was Baisha, Zhou Mi descended, a faint smile forming. "Was about to ping you. Wanna grab dinner—" His words halted as his eyes met the visitor's face.
"Ying?" Surprise flickered in Zhou Mi's gaze.
"It's me," the long-haired youth at the door said, narrowing his sharp eyes. His face, a mirror of Zhou Mi's refined features, carried a starkly different aura. His voice held a thin chill, like relentless snow, cold and shadowed. "You seem shocked, Brother."
That "Brother" twisted Zhou Mi's insides.
He glanced away. "Why are you here?"
Zhou Ying's anger flared, pain and resentment spilling. "What, disappointed it's me?"
"Your own twin, abandoned in Capital Star for two years without a word!"
"You ask why I'm here?"
Since Zhou Mi "vanished," Zhou Ying hid his anger and fear from others. In the vast Zhou family, only Zhou Mi was true kin. Even with Uncle Ning's return, Zhou Ying's life on Capital Star remained solitary, friendless since his brother left.
Later, Ning Hongxue revealed Zhou Mi wasn't dead or missing—he was healing quietly, awaiting the right moment to return.
Relieved, Zhou Ying believed his brother was just weary and would soon come home.
He waited—a month, two, half a year, a year—until hope died.
He realized unless he confronted him, Zhou Mi would hide in that forsaken place forever.
"You sent word through Uncle but wouldn't see me. Said if you left, I'd be the rightful Zhou heir? You know what the Zhou family's like. Why would I want to lead that gilded hellhole? I've had enough of it!"
Zhou Ying unleashed his grievances.
Zhou Mi's eyes dropped, brows creasing with pain.
After a pause, he said softly, "I'm sorry."
"I didn't think you'd hurt so much."
Zhou Ying's ambition always outshone Zhou Mi's. Given circumstances, Zhou Mi thought him the better heir. Weary of the Zhou family, and with elders reluctant to replace the eldest grandson, Zhou Mi believed his absence would let them both find their paths.
But Zhou Ying now said that "perfect" vision never existed.
At Zhou Mi's subdued apology, Zhou Ying's fury paused, like a still frame.
In moments, he calmed, lips tight. "If you know you're wrong, come home."
Zhou Mi didn't answer immediately.
Head bowed, avoiding Zhou Ying's gaze, he missed the darkening storm in his brother's eyes.
"Come home, Brother," Zhou Ying said, voice shifting to a soft plea. "Things are different. I've ousted Zhou Zheng from the Central System. Kangheng will soon be ours again, with Uncle behind us. No one in Capital Star will dare look down on us. We can live as we choose."
"No more star-beast hunts if you don't want them. No frontlines. No forced experiments. Anyone who troubles you, I'll erase."
"Come home, Brother. To a home for just us…"
Zhou Mi's resolve wavered.
Zhou Ying suffered these two years, but hadn't Zhou Mi too?
Twins, inseparable from birth, they'd clung to each other after their parents' death, surviving the Zhou family's treacherous web.
Zhou Ying couldn't bear losing his brother; Zhou Mi, on Lanslow, felt adrift, haunted by guilt for failing as an elder sibling.
"Alright," Zhou Mi thought, the day had come. "I'll go back with you."
Zhou Ying froze, joy cut short as Zhou Mi added, "But I need to say goodbye to some people first."
Zhou Ying: "…"
He gave a soft, cold laugh. While he endured torment in Capital Star, his brother wasn't alone here.
"Who? Homan—or Baisha?"
"You know them?" Zhou Mi asked.
"Of course," Zhou Ying said lightly, though "care" dripped with gritted teeth. "They looked after you here."
For reasons unclear, the word "care" carried venom.
"Funny thing," Zhou Mi's tone lightened. "Homan and Baisha are heading to Capital Star too. We might meet again there."
Zhou Ying: "…"
"Homan's an Inspectorate agent, a Capital native. Baisha's group is studying there. We'll be close," Zhou Mi said, genuinely pleased. "I'm seeing them tonight to say goodbye. Ying, want to come?"
"No thanks," Zhou Ying thought, cursing Baisha's lingering presence. Having persuaded Zhou Mi, he hid his disdain. "I've got company matters. After your meetup, I'll fetch you for Capital Star."
Zhou Mi, unsuspecting, agreed.
Meanwhile, the orphanage was steeped in bittersweet farewells.
Dean Joan and Teacher Homan were leaving for Capital Star to resume work, taking Gwyneth. The orphanage needed a new operator. Fortunately, Homan's clout with Lanslow's government secured a deal for an official, well-equipped orphan relief center. Sick children would be cared for, and minors gained free schooling.
The orphanage faced dissolution, its ramshackle hilltop site slated for demolition and redevelopment.
That night, young adults raised there returned to bid Joan and Homan farewell, bearing humble but heartfelt gifts—tokens rich in memory.
"Thank you," they said. "Without your efforts, we can't imagine where we'd be. You saved us."
Even stern Joan smiled all night, gazing warmly at the children as if each were her star pupil.
Homan, in his agent uniform, shed his scruffy air. Resisting the urge to drink, he chatted, hugged, and parted with red-rimmed eyes, upholding his teacherly dignity.
"Wah, Teacher Homan, we can't let you go!" Young kids, once wary of him, now sobbed, clinging to his legs. Homan comforted them gently.
"Teacher, me too! I'll miss you!" Yaning burst from nowhere, tears and snot streaming, lunging for Homan. "I can't lose you!"
"Hold it!" Homan's veins pulsed. "You're going for Central Military Academy, right? It's in Capital Star."
Yaning: "Oh. Forgot."
"Also," Homan said, dodging Yaning's messy tears, "I've arranged with Lanslow's registry—your trio's records tie to me. I'll cover your academy fees. During breaks, stay with me in Capital Star. I've got property there."
Yaning: "…Huh?"
"Huh what, you goof," Homan shoved him. "Pack your bags—we're off to Capital Star tomorrow! No need for Loden Star's selection test; you'll test in Capital."
Federation law deemed citizens adult at fourteen, relieving parents of financial burdens. But in advanced systems, education was fierce—parents often supported kids through university. Ambitious students pursuing further studies might still need parental aid.
Homan's words meant he'd adopt them.
Yaning's nose stung, tears bursting. He wailed, diving for Homan, snot dangling. "Teacher!"
Homan recoiled. "I said stay back!"
Most reveled in the noisy farewell.
Jingyi and Baisha slipped to the orphanage roof for quiet. Each held an alcoholic drink, clinking cans under the black night sky.
Today, Jingyi turned fourteen, legally allowing their purchase.
"Finally drinking—happy now?" Jingyi teased Baisha.
"Low proof," Baisha peered into the dark can, picky. "No burn in the gut."
Jingyi: "Idiot, only cheap booze cuts like a knife."
Baisha: "Really? Doubt it."
Jingyi raised her can. "These are the Federation's top-selling trendy drinks this year. 350 star-coins each."
Baisha sighed. "Fine, I'll savor it."
Federation drinks were odd—either blandly astringent or cloyingly sweet. Baisha once tried a "retro beer-flavored" drink, claiming to mimic the ancient beverage that swept human culture. After a sample, she found it tasted like expired beer, possibly steeped in bitter animal guts.
She preferred Hanbo Star's "cheap booze"—raw, honest.
Her unique constitution meant she never got drunk. Good or bad, she wasn't sure.
"We're leaving Lanslow," Jingyi sighed, her usual resolve tinged with uncertainty. "Will we miss it? I used to dream of escaping, acing the best academy, becoming a top officer. Now, I feel we'll cherish these Lanslow days more."
Barren and remote, Lanslow's people weren't saints or sinners. They resisted darkness's grip, striding toward light.
They'd always recall this time, as they'd remember who they were.
"Missing it's normal. We can visit," Baisha said, legs crossed, relaxed.
Jingyi turned. "Will we always be together?"
Baisha waved. "Whoa, Jingyi, sounds like a love confession."
Jingyi: "…Want a smack?"
Baisha: "Haha, kidding. We'll stick together. To Central Military Academy!" She raised her can, ready to chug, then spotted Zhou Mi below.
His ink-dark features glowed in faint moonlight, eyes shimmering.
He scaled the wall's corner to the third floor, joining them.
"You're late," Baisha leaned back, wary. "Drinks are gone—"
Zhou Mi shook his head, smiling. "Not about that."
Two years had sharpened his boyish face, Lanslow's trials leaving him calmer, open—like a breeze through mountain mist.
"My brother's here. I'm going home," he said. "I'm here to say goodbye."
Before Baisha could react, he hugged her briefly.
"Glad we met," he said softly. "See you at Central Military Academy."
He released her, dropping down the wall in swift leaps.
Jingyi gaped, brows high, pointing at his retreating figure. "What was that?"
Baisha blinked. "Turns out he's at Central Military Academy too. Skipped two years—he hasn't graduated."
"Not that," Jingyi frowned, mimicking the hug. "That—what's it mean?"
Baisha, clueless: "Just a goodbye. What else?"
Jingyi: "?" Was she overthinking?
She noticed Baisha grab her can from behind her back. From Zhou Mi's appearance, Baisha had hidden it, as if fearing he'd snatch it.
"Even if it's empty, this special metal can's worth something," Baisha said firmly. "Recycle it at the shop for 40 star-coins."
Jingyi: "…"
Jingyi chuckled, realizing her worries were baseless.
They chatted idly—Lanslow's recycling, Capital Star's prices. Minutes later, Yaning bounded onto the roof, eyes red like he'd been punched, buzzing with excitement. "Why're you still here? Pack! We're off to Capital Star tomorrow!"
Jingyi raised a brow. "We're the ones drinking, yet you're slurring? We haven't passed Central Military Academy's exam."
Yaning spilled Homan's adoption plan.
Baisha: "Homan's our teacher for life, huh?"
Jingyi: "…Do we call him 'Father'?"
Yaning froze. The trio fell silent.
Late that night, Lieutenant Homan bid farewell to the orphanage, wiping a tear.
Men bled, not cried—Homan never wept before the kids. If he did, they'd think he hated leaving, crying harder.
Sighing, he headed to his room, memories of orphanage days flashing—bitter and sweet.
Three shadows burst from his doorway.
Lined up, they bellowed with heartfelt gusto, "Dad!"
Homan: "!!!"
His heart nearly stopped, thinking this a nightmare—three grown kids calling him Dad when he, in his forties, hadn't even a girlfriend!
Then he saw his three familiar rascals.
"What's this?" Homan clutched his chest. "Ambushing me?"
They shook their heads. "Just thanking you, Teacher Homan! Moved yet?"
"Get lost. Moved, my foot," Homan laughed, scolding. "Any of you flunk Central Military Academy, and you'll see what I do!"