As the Wangu fired its tractor beam, the escort ship was pulled into the carrier’s hangar bay. Ziye hadn't quite registered the reality of stepping onto the mothership when Axbent was already tugging her away, "Let's go, let's go."

The twins showed no deference to their elders or the young; they certainly didn't yield the doorway to An Junlie and Ditar first. It was Ditar who had to step aside with a look of resigned helplessness to let them pass.

Just as Ziye was about to exit, a peripheral glance caught An Junlie watching them with a look of indulgent amusement. Her heart gave an unexpected lurch, and she failed to watch her footing, tripping over the threshold and pitching forward.

An Junlie’s reflexes were lightning-quick; he caught her arm and pulled her upright. She gasped, sucking in a sharp breath: "That hurts!"

"What is it?" An Junlie asked with concern.

Ziye grimaced, pointing at the arm he was holding. "You grabbed me too hard!"

An Junlie let go, clearly embarrassed. Ziye rubbed the spot where he’d gripped her, and with Axbent’s boisterous laughter ringing in her ears, she fled in mortified haste.

She had secretly hoped that An Junlie would become more sensible now that he was back with the Angel Legion. But no, he was still an utter blockhead, thick as two short planks whichever way you looked at it! Who uses that much force when grabbing a woman? Even without looking, she was certain she’d have five bruised fingerprints blooming across her arm!

An Junlie watched her fleeing back with utter bewilderment. "She seems awfully afraid of me?"

Ditar chuckled, clapping the Commander on the shoulder and shaking his head. "Commander, you just don't understand women…"

Finally clear of An Junlie's line of sight, Ziye stopped, patted her chest, and let out a long, audible sigh. Axqi asked, "You seem pretty tense?"

Ziye hadn't finished exhaling when the air was instantly pressed back into her diaphragm. She said gloomily, "I am not!"

Bent grinned mischievously, holding up a silver object in front of her. "Sprout, is this yours?"

It was—her Silver Comm!

Ziye gasped, scrambling to snatch it back. Bent deliberately held it high out of reach. "How did you get that?" she demanded urgently.

Bent giggled. "It flew out of your hand when you stumbled just now. Hehe, is this a Hyper-Comm? It feels so strange!"

Ziye glanced nervously around. Thankfully, An Junlie hadn't followed them; otherwise, her act would have been ruined. The more nervous she got, the more things went wrong. She calmed herself, hardening her expression. "S! P! E! N! T!"

Bent wasn't scared of her at all; instead, he pinched her cheek. "Tell me, tell me."

Ziye irritably slapped his hand away, muttering in frustration. "There's nothing to tell. It's just an ordinary bracelet."

Ax seized the opportunity, plucking the Silver Comm from Bent’s grasp. He circled it with his fingertips, shaking it gently, and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Ziye resigned herself to appeasement, softening her tone. "It really is just a bracelet."

Ax rubbed the metallic surface, marveling internally. He had never seen such peculiar metal. The gems embedded on it seemed like switches.

It definitely wasn't an ordinary bracelet.

He glanced from the Hyper-Comm on Ziye’s wrist to the Silver Comm, about to say something, when someone called from behind him, "Excuse me."

Axbent finally noticed he was standing in the middle of the thoroughfare, blocking the path of a crew member. He quickly stepped aside. Ziye seized the chance, precisely hooking the Silver Comm with two fingers, yanked it free, and turned to bolt.

The Wangu was enormous. She ran through room after room until she finally located the lavatories and darted inside. Looking back, she confirmed Axbent hadn't followed. She patted her chest, finally allowing the full breath to escape.

She opened her bag and placed the Silver Comm inside. Little Sprout immediately popped out, tumbling distressedly on her head. "Ziye, Ziye, you smothered me, sob."

Ziye scooped it into her arms, sighing. "I’m sorry, little one. This isn't a place for us."

"No!" Little Sprout bounced out of her embrace, excited. "This is exactly where we should be! If I scan the entire Wangu now, I can map the blueprints immediately."

Ziye touched her back, slick with sweat, and remained silent.

Sharing a roof with An Junlie—even an extra second felt like undue pressure.

"I found her! I found her here!" A childish voice rang out behind Ziye. She quickly stuffed Little Sprout back into the bag and turned to see a little girl, perhaps four or five years old.

The girl clutched a plush toy nearly half her size and shouted outward with undisguised excitement.

Ziye couldn't help but recall the little G-series girl robot on Planet Silver Crest. If that perverse man saw this child, he would undoubtedly use her as a template. She gently stroked the little girl's head and smiled sweetly. "Are you looking for me?"

The little girl jumped up excitedly. "Big Brother and Second Brother said you were playing hide-and-seek with us, and whoever finds you first wins!" She cupped her small, pale hands around her mouth and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Come quickly, she’s here! I found her—!"

Responding to her grand summons, more and more children streamed out of various rooms, running toward her location. In no time, ten or so children of varying heights stood before her—boys and girls, with every shade of skin and hair imaginable, all looking exquisitely carved and beautiful.

However, what Ziye didn't understand was why they were all staring at her with bright, curious eyes. Ziye blinked blankly. Seeing Axbent approaching, she was about to speak when all the children automatically parted, clearing a path for Axbent and the other one to walk through.

Axbent reached down and scooped up the little girl. The other children immediately and dutifully lined up in three rows by height, raising their hands and inclining their heads slightly. "The Ditar family welcomes you!"

Ziye’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. The Ditar family? So many of them?!

The little girl made a face at Ziye from Axbent's arms, clinging to his neck. "This is our family's Eldest Brother and Second Brother. I am Nineteenth Sister." Her plump, pale fingers pointed to the children lined up from tallest to shortest, counting them off in a clear, ringing voice. "Three, four, five, six…seventeen, eighteen. We have nineteen children in our family."

Ziye gazed at the group of smiling children and looked toward Spint for confirmation. Ditar alone couldn't possibly father so many children of different species and skin tones. Axbent was Ditar’s adopted son—were all these children adopted by Ditar?

Spint nodded slightly.

Watching the group of children beaming with happiness, Ziye’s eyes involuntarily welled up.

She remembered being the same age as Nineteenth Sister—clueless, utterly alone, and miserable. The only difference was that she was born on Planet Felry, whereas Nineteenth Sister lived happily within the embrace of the Angel Legion. Ziye had suffered terrible hardships in her youth, yet Nineteenth Sister lived blessed lives here.

She wasn't jealous.

She was simply moved by profound emotion.

Such blissful living conditions were things she dared not even dream of in the past, yet the Angel Legion had achieved it so easily. She admired An Junlie.

Axbent set Nineteenth Sister down and clapped his hands. "La la la, let’s continue hide-and-seek. Little Four and Little Six, you run and hide first! Everyone else waits two minutes before searching!"

Little Four and Little Six, both boys, immediately took off running upon hearing the instruction.

In a short while, all the children had dispersed.

Ziye watched their scattered figures running and smiled gently. The knots that had tied her heart for so long finally dissipated. The past was past; her future would be as happy as these children’s.

She could finally command her own life and freedom.

She believed in herself!

The Wangu wasn't just for conquest and territorial expansion; it could also be used for tourism and playing hide-and-seek. Ziye relaxed her heart and joined the throng of big and small children for a game.

Little Sprout certainly wasn't going to waste the prime opportunity to scan the Wangu. Wherever Ziye ran, it scanned, its optical sensors flashing with excited programmatic light. Thankfully, Ziye knew its personality and didn't let it leave the bag, or the boisterous children would surely have stomped it into a pulp.

Aside from the hyperactive Little Sprout, the next most excited were the two childlike leaders, Axbent. Ziye finally understood why the twins were so playful—living amongst a group of children made even them completely childlike.

Hearing the children’s commotion, An Junlie stepped out of his quarters. A fleeting glimpse of Ziye’s profile—so reminiscent of that troublesome kid from Planet Silver Crest—made him pause slightly.

Could such a strong resemblance between two people be mere coincidence?

He desperately wanted to treat the person before him as that brat, but the brat had once told him clearly that 'he' would not be leaving Silver Crest for the time being…

As he pondered this, his Hyper-Comm suddenly chimed. He looked up just in time to see the Wangu firing its tractor beam outside the viewport—Lan Li was back!

The mission to develop the interstellar corridor around Planet Silver Crest had proven extremely perilous and difficult, and since An Junlie had just returned to the Legion, he needed time to reconnect with his people. Lan Li had volunteered to take on this tough assignment.

Upon returning to the Wangu, Lan Li gave An Junlie a brief work report, adding, "All pirates near Si Ya Tu have been cleared. We'll take care of the nearby sentry towers and Space Police within the next three days. Construction starts in five days, and we estimate the channel will be open in three months."

An Junlie clapped Lan Li on the shoulder. "You’ve worked hard."

He remembered the pirates he’d encountered when he first broke out from Silver Crest. Those pirates had to be eliminated; otherwise, they posed a major threat. Their strength wasn't overwhelming, but their geographical location was expertly chosen—most travelers passing through were already exhausted from long journeys, and there was no settlement nearby, so a single misstep meant becoming space debris.

Now that they were eradicated, even if that brat suddenly felt the whim to leave Planet Silver Crest someday, he wouldn't encounter danger. Why was he thinking about that brat again? An Junlie rubbed his forehead in frustration.

Lan Li, seeing his distraction, was slightly surprised. Ever since An Junlie returned, he had been frequently caught staring blankly into space, and Lan Li couldn't figure out why.

He refused to tell Lan Li when asked.

This time, he was so eager to breach the territory of the Interstellar Federation and open the star channel to Silver Crest—perhaps he had fallen for some girl on Silver Crest?