Eyeline

Before his eyes was a smiling, little round face.

Behind her was the pitch-black opening of the hole that had just been uncovered.

And beside Fang Qi...

The silver-haired girl was staring blankly at the opening, acting as if her soul had been snatched away by something unholy.

His own brain felt like it had jammed for a moment.

He couldn't process this...!

This was Liguang's birthplace?

The secret research facility built by his parents?

And Liguang's core...

Was finalized, modified, and activated right here?

Right under this...

The small wooden cabin where he and Liguang had lived together?!

...What kind of messed-up situation was this?!

He was so bewildered he felt like he was floating!

All this information was like a jumbled pile of puzzle pieces... crashing down and pouring into his mind all at once!

No, wait, you...?!

He glared at Lin Xiaoyou.

He really wanted to put the "puzzle pieces" in his head together and make some sense of it all!

But the current situation simply didn't allow him to calm down and think slowly!

Lin Xiaoyou's expression right now was pure joy!

The kind of joy that said, "I've got you right where I want you!"

Her almond eyes were curved, the corners of her mouth turned up high, and her hands were clasped behind her back as she leaned forward slightly... Her whole being exuded a smug playfulness!

To put it bluntly, she was...

Gloating!

To the side, Xiaoqing was leaning against the window.

Her eyes were slightly narrowed, vigilantly observing the outside through the cracks of the wooden window, her gaze sharp.

She actually looked more reliable than before!

But...

Fang Qi turned his head slightly to look at the silver-haired girl beside him.

His Liguang was the unreliable one now!

Something was entirely wrong with her at the moment!

She had heard Lin Xiaoyou's words as well, but didn't react to her at all.

She just... stared fixedly at that pitch-black hole.

Her crimson eye was flashing rhythmically, alternating between fast and slow!

It was like she was tapping out Morse code, or resonating with something down below!

Wifey, don't be like this...

You're scaring me!

She tried to step toward the opening again.

One small step, then another.

Her footsteps were a bit floaty, as if she were sleepwalking!

Fang Qi quickly grabbed her hand tightly, leaning his whole body backward just to barely hold her back.

"Liguang! Calm down!"

He called out in a low voice.

The silver-haired girl's delicate body trembled slightly.

Her footsteps stopped, but...

She still didn't look at him.

Her gaze remained firmly locked on the opening!

Fortunately, her small hand gripped his in return.

Held it tight!

...Phew, the sense of security was back.

"My, oh my~!"

A crisp, drawn-out giggle.

Lin Xiaoyou tilted her head, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Fang Qi and Liguang.

She pointed a finger at Liguang, then at the hole, the smile on her little round face incredibly bright.

"See, Fang Qi!"

"Liguang really wants to go in too, doesn't she?"

She threw her hands up and said with a grin,

"Her big secret is down there, so of course she'd want to go in and take a look!"

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes at her.

His mind was indeed a mess right now, but that didn't mean he had lost his basic judgment!

Lin Xiaoyou...

What exactly are your intentions?!

Stared down by his gaze, Lin Xiaoyou's smile stiffened slightly.

"Hey, hey!"

She hurriedly waved her hands.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm not going to hurt you!"

Her tone was a bit aggrieved.

"I already told you, you'll definitely cooperate with me. Because this matter..."

Her almond eyes curved slightly, returning to a giggle.

"Will bring nothing but benefits to you and Liguang!"

...Huh?

Fang Qi stared intently at her, pondering slightly.

It seemed...

Reasonable?

Didn't Lin Xiaoyou just say something about her "condition for joining" being that he buys her a hover-bike?

That basically equated to saying—

"You're going to beg to cooperate with me, and I'll reluctantly agree, but you have to buy me something nice!"

It seemed...

He was overthinking it?

Yet Lin Xiaoyou blinked again and tapped her finger against her lips.

"However..."

She tilted her head in thought, scratched her head, and showed a slightly sheepish expression on her little round face.

"I guess I can't say there are absolutely no downsides..."

"There is just a little one!"

She held up a finger, gesturing in front of her!

Looking at Fang Qi, she said with a grin,

"You might become a prime target for the police—"

"Master, we have a situation!"

A low shout of warning.

It was Xiaoqing.

With one hand resting on the window frame, her eyes were locked onto a certain direction outside!

Fang Qi and Lin Xiaoyou turned to look at her simultaneously.

Lin Xiaoyou's grinning expression instantly froze!

"It's those 'informants'...!"

Xiaoqing's voice was kept very low.

"They followed us!"

Her tone was vigilant, laced with a hint of annoyance!

"They're on this mountain right now, and they're not far from us!"

Fang Qi's eyelids twitched slightly!

Informants?

The very people... who forced Lin Xiaoyou to pretend to be a "naive sweet girl" in front of him?

He looked at Lin Xiaoyou, and sure enough, the playfulness and sheepishness on her round face had vanished!

Her almond eyes narrowed!

"This fast?!"

Her voice dropped lower as well, carrying a trace of gravity.

Then she abruptly turned her head and reached out to push Fang Qi!

"Quick, quick, quick!"

"Get in there!"

Her tone was rushed, completely devoid of her previous composure.

"Stop dawdling! If they find us, we'll be in huge troub—"

But before her hand could even touch Fang Qi...

The silver-haired girl moved!

She was still in that "blank and absent-minded" state, her heterochromatic eyes still staring straight at the hole, her whole being still struggling with the contradiction of "wanting to go in but Master didn't give permission"...

But her body moved like a conditioned reflex!

A fair little hand shot out like lightning, accurately gripping the wrist Lin Xiaoyou had extended, and tossed it aside!

"Ah!"

Lin Xiaoyou was thrown backward two steps, her arm flung into the air, stumbling several times...

And almost landed on her butt!

"You...!"

Lin Xiaoyou widened her almond eyes, glaring at Liguang.

But the silver-haired girl didn't even glance at her.

...She didn't even look at Fang Qi.

She continued to stare blankly at the opening.

It was as if that action just now was purely muscle memory, and she herself didn't realize what she had done.

Fang Qi: "..."

Good, good, good...

Protecting her husband had become a conditioned reflex!

My wifey is so amazing!

"Ugh! Stop messing around!"

Lin Xiaoyou stomped her foot and shouted in a low voice directly at Liguang:

"Since you won't let me touch him, then you drag your master inside, Liguang!"

"If those people outside find us..."

"We'll be in huge trouble! And you'll be in the biggest trouble of all!"

She pointed at the pitch-black opening, speaking anxiously:

"Hurry!"

Liguang's delicate body trembled slightly once more.

Her absent-minded heterochromatic eyes finally shifted a little...

The scarlet in her crimson eye flashed violently again, and she took another half step forward!

But...

She forcefully stopped herself again, her small hand gripping Fang Qi's tightly, trembling slightly.

She turned her head back to look at Fang Qi, her crimson eye flashing at a rapid frequency!

Her lips were slightly pursed, and the expression on her small face was... eager yet aggrieved.

"Master..."

Her voice trembled slightly, and the watery gleam in her amber eyes quivered pitifully.

"Can Liguang... go in?"

Fang Qi blinked.

Tsk tsk.

His wife was truly so obedient and adorable!

If he didn't let her in now...

He would want to slap himself in the face!

Besides, he never intended to stay out!

This place might involve Liguang's secrets, so how could he not go in?

With the ability to rewind time as a safety net, what was he afraid of?

However...

He squeezed Liguang's small hand, turned his head, and looked at Lin Xiaoyou, who was frowning toward the window.

"You and Xiaoqing go in first."

He reached out and made a "please" gesture toward the pitch-black hole.

Even if he could rewind time, one could never be too careful.

What if he took Liguang inside, and Lin Xiaoyou and Xiaoqing just locked them in and used it to threaten them...

That would be way too stupid.

Even with the ability to rewind... he wanted to cherish every single loop he spent with Liguang!

Hearing this, Lin Xiaoyou turned to look at his gesture, then paused slightly...

She blinked... and giggled again!

Then she grabbed Xiaoqing's hand!

"Xiaoqing, let's go first!"

Pulling Xiaoqing along, she dashed straight toward the hole!

"You guys hurry up and come in too! I won't hurt you!"

Her voice echoed from inside the opening.

"And also...!"

She turned her head and giggled:

"That 'please' gesture you just did was actually pretty handsome!"

Fang Qi: "...?"

Still messing around at a time like this?

But... it seemed she really didn't intend to harm them?

He took another look at the wooden window that was cracked open...

Were there "eyes" watching them?

There were really so many things he wanted to figure out, but right now...

Lin Xiaoyou, I'll trust you this once!

Let's go down first!

He immediately turned his head and took a step toward the entrance by the bed...

"Liguang, let's...!"

Before he could even finish speaking, Liguang grabbed his hand!

She charged toward the hole, unable to wait a second longer!

Fang Qi was yanked forward, stumbling!

Sigh...!

His wife was really bursting with impatience!

Forced along, Fang Qi rushed to the hole in two steps and stepped onto the downward stone stairs!

Liguang's black maid leather shoes stepped onto the stone steps with a sharp clack!

Fang Qi was dragged around, stumbling unsteadily!

"Slow down, slow down...!"

They rushed into the entrance with frantic footsteps!

A faint, cold breeze blew against their faces; the stairwell was even darker than the wooden cabin!

Carried by momentum, they ran down another seven or eight steps...

Rumble...

A deep rumbling sound came from above their heads!

Fang Qi and Liguang froze at the same time!

He immediately pulled Liguang and looked back!

The entrance they had just rushed into...

Was now slowly closing!