Military District Alert "Peter Wanyi" logs in... A tall, dark shadow ghost

"Beep-beep-beep——"

Sharp, blaring alarm sirens echoed across the military region. All the soldiers who had just fallen asleep scrambled to their feet, got fully dressed in record time, and charged outside.

Their movements were lightning-fast. In less than two minutes, the massive formation of troops had lined up to take roll, with platoon leaders, company commanders, and battalion commanders reporting the headcount layer by layer up the chain of command.

The final order they received was just one line.

Find someone.

No, wait — it was more like find something.

An unidentified creature had broken into the military region from outside.

It moved far too fast, looking somewhat like a humanoid being, or perhaps some never-before-seen advanced robot... but it definitely wasn't human.

That level of speed was impossible for any normal person.

It leaped up and down, moving at a jaw-dropping pace, and showed extremely high intelligence with a clear, strong sense of purpose — it looked like it was searching for something.

Columns of fully armed, combat-ready soldiers began patrolling the entire military camp, with orders to immediately detain any suspicious person within a one-kilometer radius.

This was a top-security military zone!

Who would even dare pull a stunt like this?

Meanwhile, right on the edge of the military region, inside the sanatorium...

"What's happening? What's going on?!"

"Are we at war?!"

Xiaobao, the little boy who had stayed up late scrolling on his phone and only just put it down to rest, jolted awake the second he heard the blaring alarms from the military camp.

Due to the special nature of the military base, there was no separate residential area arranged for Tang Yuyao and Xiaobao. Strictly speaking, vulnerable groups like women and children were not supposed to be staying inside a military camp at all, as they could cause unnecessary disruptions.

As luck would have it, both Tang Yuyao and Xiaobao fell right into that category.

Luckily, Su Weiguo had anticipated this issue ahead of time, and arranged for them to stay in the sanatorium in a high-specification patient room, just a short distance away from Tang Jianjun's quarters.

Xiaobao scrambled out of bed in a hurry, slipped on his slippers, and headed out to find his second uncle to take shelter.

In an emergency like this, the best move was to latch onto the most reliable backer available — and who in the entire military region had a more powerful backer than his second uncle?

"Second uncle, second uncle, second uncle..."

Xiaobao mumbled the name over and over as he pushed open the door of his room and stepped out to look for his relative.

Whoosh.

A gust of wind swept past, and the world blurred for a split second in front of Xiaobao. He swore something had popped up right in front of him, so he rubbed his eyes. When he opened them again, he froze completely in terror.

A tall, pitch-black monster was standing right in front of him.

In the darkness, the creature's eyes glowed with a faint eerie green light.

Da Huang and Madam were both wrapped up so tightly that only their eyes were exposed, their voices were fully distorted with special processing, and their outfits were padded to bulk up their silhouettes — the two of them looked exactly like a towering, terrifying monster.

They moved like a pitch-black shadowy ghost wandering through the sanatorium, a thoroughly horrifying sight.

"Two heads!"

Xiaobao first caught sight of Da Huang's glowing eyes and thought that was where the creature's head was, but then by the faint moonlight, he noticed there was another pair of eyes above that first set.

The two pairs of eyes were staring straight right at him.

His eyes rolled back, his legs went limp, and Xiaobao fainted dead away with a thud on the floor, completely out cold.

Du Wanyi: "..."

There was no way this kid was that scared, was he? How could this little Tang family boy have such a weak nerve?

And wait — what was this little boy doing out here anyway?

There was no time to think it over. The blaring alarms outside, plus the low, quiet footsteps of soldiers creeping closer and closer, made it crystal clear that time was running out.

Du Wanyi only took three seconds to make a decision, then she continued moving stealthily, gliding forward like a ghost.

Back at the Shen family's old mansion, Madam had been climbing all over the walls and ceilings like a spider, those were just her basic, low-level skills. Now that the situation called for it, she had leveled up completely.

She was basically "Peter Wanyi" now — even Spider-Man at his peak would have a hard time keeping up with her.

As for how they ended up in this getup...

Let's rewind a few hours earlier, to the outside of the military region.

"Miss, you can't go in there, this is a military zone, you could get yourself killed," Old Li kept trying to talk Du Wanyi out of it.

Not to mention the several-meter-high barbed wire fence blocking the way, even if she managed to climb over it, a random stranger popping up inside a military camp would be caught for sure. Worst case, she might end up with "acute copper poisoning" — getting shot.

"A military zone? What military zone? I don't see any signs saying I can't come in," Du Wanyi said, completely calm.

The rest of the group: "..."

They were so naive, trying to reason with Madam?

Just when they were totally out of ideas, someone with sharp eyes spotted a warning sign hanging not far away, with the words "Military Restricted Area, No Unauthorized Entry" clearly printed on it.

Grabbing onto that last straw, the group pointed eagerly at the sign in the distance.

"Miss, look right there, it says you can't go in!"

"Oh, I can't read," Du Wanyi glanced at the sign, then dug at her ear with her pinky finger, acting completely unapologetic and impossible to dissuade.

The group: "???"

Absolute legend.

That was how the "plan" started — okay, fine, there was no plan at all.

The whole crew waited outside the military region in the dark, and Du Wanyi vanished into the night with Da Huang. When they came back, both the woman and the dog were dressed head to toe in black.

They made a towering, shadowy duo, Da Huang's eyes glowing that eerie green in the dark. The sight of them made the few people who saw them shiver in fright.

They nearly ran for their lives, thinking they had run into some kind of monster. Madam in that getup was way scarier than any grizzly bear. And then — the alarms inside the military region went off.

The group outside: "???"

Holy crap, she was actually doing it?

The second the sirens blared inside the base, the group outside came to their senses. They scattered immediately, not daring to linger for even a second, and ran as fast as they could.

That movement caught the attention of the soldiers posted on high ground scanning for suspicious activity. A searchlight snapped on, shining straight down on the whole group.

The group: "..."

That was how they all got rounded up. They were ordered to squat on the ground with their hands on their heads, while soldiers patrolled around them nonstop. The heavy thud of military boots hitting the ground felt like each step was stomping right on their chests, making them too intimidated to even think about resisting.

After a quick search that confirmed none of them were carrying dangerous items, the group was taken into custody, and locked up in separate rooms to make sure they couldn't collude on their stories.

Back inside the sanatorium, Tang Jianjun jolted awake the second the alarms went off, all traces of sleep vanishing instantly. He jumped to his feet and rushed out of his room as fast as he could.

When he pulled the door open, he saw Xiaobao lying motionless on the floor.

Tang Jianjun: "???"

"Xiaobao!!!" Tang Jianjun's eyes turned red, his face twisting with panic. His heart flooded with guilt, and he was already thinking that he would never be able to face his younger brother again, that he had no excuse, no way to make this right...

"Shhh, Uncle, keep your voice down. If you wake that monster back up, we're all screwed."

Xiaobao had been playing dead for ages, and at the sound of his uncle's excited voice, he scrambled right up, holding a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.

Tang Jianjun: "???"

"Xiaobao, you're not dead!" Tang Jianjun's eyes went wide, his face full of shock.

Xiaobao: "..."

Uncle, no wonder Grandpa says you're not the sharpest tool in the shed, you always got in trouble for silly stuff when you were little... Look at me, do I look dead right now?

Besides, Uncle, we're living in peacetime! Can't you think of something positive? Why jump straight to me kicking the bucket?

I'm only five, for crying out loud, almost turning six, about to start first grade and kick off my awesome new life! How could I bite it here? I'm this good-looking, I was basically born to be the main character, right?

"Uncle, you are really something... Wait a second, Uncle, hurry up and get people up there! My little aunt is still upstairs!" Xiaobao grumbled for a second, then suddenly remembered something, his eyes snapping wide open as he blurted that out urgently.

Tang Jianjun: "???"

Tang Jianjun's expression shifted rapidly, he immediately ran back to his room and hit the emergency button... Less than half a minute later, fully armed soldiers came charging up the stairs from downstairs!

Su Weiguo was leading the team!

"Second Brother, are you alright?"

"Hurry, hurry, go up the stairs, my little sister is still up there!" Tang Jianjun was so frantic he was about to lose his mind, and he was about to rush up the stairs with the team, dammit, if anything happened to his little sister, he'd never be able to face his family ever again...

Su Weiguo quickly grabbed Tang Jianjun by the arm, and whispered to him, "I'll go up alone. You stay down here, don't blow your cover. The more tense things get, the less we can afford to mess up. If everything's okay, I'll send you a message right away..."

Tang Jianjun's face changed a few times, but in the end he chose to trust his old friend. He turned and led the rest of the men downstairs.

Xiaobao followed close behind Tang Jianjun, instead of tagging along with Su Weiguo. He'd seen everything perfectly clear just now: that huge monster had headed straight upstairs.

Talk about top-tier survival instincts!

He'd even already thought it through: if his little aunt ended up dead, he'd make sure to burn tons of extra spirit money for her during the Lunar New Year holidays...

Auntie, this is the most I can do for you. Please stay safe...

"Wait for me, Uncle!"

After finishing that quiet little prayer in his head, Xiaobao darted to catch up, scared out of his wits about getting left behind. If he got separated and ran into that monster again, playing dead probably wouldn't work a second time.

Downstairs.

Under the front desk.

"Hey man, you don't think we're that unlucky, right? Our very first day on the job and we run into a full-on enemy attack?"

"Come on no, I haven't even gotten married yet..." Emperor Bro said, his voice full of utter despair.

But Ye Cheng was surprisingly calm and upbeat, patting him on the shoulder. "Cheer up, things aren't as bad as they look."

"Wait, so you've got a plan up your sleeve?" Emperor Bro's eyes lit up, staring at Ye Cheng with obvious excitement. He knew it, Ye Cheng was no ordinary guy!

After all... who else can crank out 200 bench presses without even huffing and puffing? There's no way he's just some regular schmuck.

"At the very least, if we die on the job, it counts as a work-related injury." Ye Cheng said with a perfectly straight face, his tone completely dead serious.

Emperor Bro: "???"

Dude, what the hell!

I get trying to stay positive... but isn't that taking it a little too far?

Ugh, I can't believe this. Even if they give me that compensation, I'm dead! I won't be around to spend it!

Emperor Bro's face twisted into a full-on pained grimace, when suddenly... the sound of footsteps came from nearby.

Emperor Bro's heart jumped right up into his throat. He clamped his mouth shut instantly, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks.

Tap tap tap...

The footsteps got closer and closer.

They stopped.

Right in front of where the two of them were hiding.