Before the first cry had fully ended, Aix immediately launched the airship, while Spent activated his hypersignal, quickly scrolling through contacts until he found a number. “What’s happening? Why is the air defense alarm blaring?”

The border space stations of the Angel Domain often faced pirates or other disturbances; air defense alarms were normal. But this was the Military Capital, the headquarters of the Angel Legion! The twins had lived in the Military Capital for so many years, and they had never encountered anything like this before!

That was precisely why they were so horrified. Could it be a terrorist attack?

The reply came fast, urgent: “The Commander’s office just exploded. I’m rushing over now. Gotta go.”

(⊙o⊙) Huh?

The faces of the five individuals instantly went pale. An Junlie’s office had exploded? They actually attacked the Commander?! This was absolutely the Angel Legion’s greatest security failure, bar none!

Spent’s hands trembled. Before he could ask another question, the hypersignal was cut. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, pushed down the terror rising in his chest, and dialed Ditar’s number. “Old man, how could Commander Teacher’s office be attacked?”

At this moment, he didn't know who else to turn to but his father.

Ditar didn't answer immediately; instead, he asked a series of anxious questions. “Weren't you and the Commander on your way to the Water Cloud Galaxy? Why are you in the Military Capital? Has the Commander returned? Does he have protection nearby?”

Spent knew Ditar was worried about An Junlie’s safety. “He hasn't returned; people are protecting him over there. Tell me, what exactly happened?”

Ditar said, “It was a robot explosion.”

Ziye frowned. “How could a robot explode? Unless…”

Li Chunyu added, “Unless someone planted explosives inside it.”

At these words, the expressions of everyone present grew even more grave.

Ditar replied, “Don't jump to conclusions. The results will be out soon enough.”

Even as he spoke, the airship had already arrived at the landing platform atop the headquarters office building. On the platform, police officers in anti-explosion suits stood guard every ten steps, preventing unauthorized entry. As soon as the five disembarked, they were stopped.

“We are the Commander’s students; please let us inside.”

The police officer replied expressionlessly, “You may not.”

Chen Yin urgently said, “We are…”

The officer cut her off. “It doesn’t matter who you are. It’s dangerous inside; we don’t know if there will be another blast. Please leave immediately.”

Ziye fell silent for a moment, then pulled a card from her pocket and presented it to the officer. “Hello, I’m here to inspect the robots.”

The officer squinted at her suspiciously a couple of times. Without another word, Ziye slipped past him and went inside. The other four followed suit. The officer keyed a message into his internal communicator to report the matter to his superior. Thirty seconds later, two more officers trailed behind Ziye and the four others.

Entering the structure, the five, anxious as they were, hurried straight toward An Junlie’s office. A large contingent of police officers had gathered outside the office door. They could see a few people inside; the others looked anxious but were confined to the perimeter. This time, Ziye’s claim of being there for robot inspection wasn't enough to get her in.

All the robots had been taken outside, except for the one that exploded.

The moment Ziye saw that only one of the two robots she had gifted An Junlie was outside, her heart jumped, and she clutched Little Sprout tighter. However, she quickly reassured herself: impossible, robots from the Mengya Group couldn't possibly explode. She had faith in what she had made with her own hands!

The twins didn't see Ditar. Guessing he was inside, they decisively opened their hypersignals and dialed him. “Old Man, what’s the situation?”

Ditar paused, perhaps choosing his words carefully. “Uh… the situation inside is quite complicated.”

Ziye asked, “Which company’s robot exploded?”

Ditar replied, “It was one of the two robots gifted by the Commander’s friend. It wasn’t marked, but it seems the designer was Ziye.”

This statement stunned Ziye. Li Chunyu, the twins, and Chen Yin were equally shocked. Chen Yin became so distressed she nearly passed out. She blinked hard, reopened her eyes, grabbed Ziye, and demanded with red eyes, “Why would you harm the Commander?! Why?” Her irises, normally pale red, looked even brighter with anger and tears, conveying a fierce readiness to fight.

Li Chunyu, calmer, quickly pulled Chen Yin back and turned to Ziye. “Ziye, how could a robot you made explode?”

Their voices were not quiet; the nearby police officers immediately reacted, surrounding Ziye. Ziye was close to tears and shouted into the hypersignal, “Mr. Ditar, I am Ziye, the robot’s designer. Let me in; I need to see what happened at the scene!”

Ditar responded, “You are Ziye? Fine, you may enter.”

Under the surveillance of the police, Ziye stepped into An Junlie’s office. Most of the furniture inside was intact, suggesting the explosion hadn't been severe. The few people standing were high-ranking figures in the Angel Legion; they all shared one expression: their eyeballs nearly shot out like bullets!

Ziye looked toward the blast site, cordoned off by yellow police tape, and felt her own eyes nearly bulge out. Seeing the truth, she felt utterly undone.

Why did the robot’s stomach explode? And why did a strange, marvelous creature crawl out of the explosion site in its stomach? She must have entered the room the wrong way!

“You are the designer of this robot?” Ditar approached and asked. As the Legion’s Financial Director, this wasn't exactly his jurisdiction, but seeing the twins enter with her, he took the initiative to speak.

“Yes, I am.” Ziye, not grasping the full context, did not hide her identity. This concerned the reputation of the Mengya Group; if mishandled today, news of the robot explosion could plummet the group’s standing once again.

As soon as she spoke, various looks—some skeptical, some accusatory—met her. Ziye paid them no mind, donned gloves, and approached the exploded robot. The blast had torn open the stomach section, creating a hole, and many internal components were scattered. The robot possessed flesh and blood vessels to maintain body elasticity, but the ejected fragments were polished smooth, devoid of any organic matter, looking more like pieces of armor plating.

Ziye carefully righted the robot, which was leaning precariously. Its structural integrity remained, but the skin was slack, as if its flesh and blood had been sucked dry, revealing a network of metallic bone underneath to the touch. What on earth had happened?

Just then, the robotics expert requested by the police arrived. Ziye borrowed a scalpel from him, intending to dissect the robot for a closer look, when suddenly, that plump little white animal crawled out of the rupture in its abdominal cavity again…

Their eyes met. Ziye froze, but the small animal startled, immediately retracting its head. A collective gasp swept through the room. Not only had the robot exploded, but an unknown, magical creature had made its nest inside!

Ziye had begun to piece things together. No longer panicked, she signaled everyone to remain silent to avoid scaring the creature. Holding the knife near the robot’s abdomen, she threatened, “Come out, or I’ll dismantle your nest!”

Silence emanated from the robot. After a moment, the little animal cautiously poked its head out again, looked left and right, and then quietly withdrew it. Ziye stepped closer to the robot. As the little creature tentatively peeked out once more, Ziye reached out to grab it, but it retracted too fast, and she missed.

Ziye was running out of patience and was about to force the issue when Little Sprout suddenly flew over and darted into the hole in the robot’s abdomen. Immediately, metallic pieces from the rupture clinked and tumbled onto the floor, but the two occupants did not emerge.

Ziye stood there, listening to the rustling sounds from inside, unsure if they were plotting how to deal with her, the outsider, or if Little Sprout was negotiating a surrender. She stared intently at the opening when a crucial thought struck her. She hurriedly activated An Junlie’s hypersignal: “Wai Yi, An Junlie, I gifted you two robots before. Do you remember them?”

Everyone present flashed knowing looks. —This girl doesn't know how to handle this and is calling An Junlie for help?

At this moment, the Wolf’s Den founding assembly had just concluded, and An Junlie was chatting with Old Dog. Seeing her call, he excused himself, stepped aside, and answered. “Hmm, I remember. What’s wrong?”

Ziye asked urgently, “I placed a silkworm cocoon inside the robot’s abdominal storage compartment back then. Did you forget to take it out?”

An Junlie sounded surprised. “There was something like that inside? I don’t recall.”

Ziye twitched her eye and sighed. “I left you a note!”

An Junlie replied, “Was there a note? I don’t remember that either.”

Ziye’s expression was one of extreme exasperation. “Well, it hatched, broke open the robot, and ran out on its own!”

An Junlie: …

Ziye disconnected the call. “Little Sprout, stop messing around, come out quickly.”

With a soft poof, Little Sprout didn't emerge, but the small animal tumbled onto the floor. It tilted its head back, let out two soft whimpers toward Little Sprout, and scurried under the desk. Little Sprout flew out of the rupture, shouting, “Don’t you run!”

Everyone watched in stunned silence as Little Sprout chased the small animal all around the office, resembling a real-life game of cat and mouse. The little creature was plump but surprisingly fast and agile, darting into every corner. Little Sprout couldn't catch it and instead kept bumping into walls. The superior and subordinate positions were immediately clear.

Ziye’s face darkened. “Little Sprout, stop it.” Simultaneously, she projected a thought: Are you really trying to embarrass yourself in public like this?

Little Sprout responded mentally, Not really. Actually, I’m quite enjoying being the center of attention.

Ziye nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Seeing it couldn't catch the creature while flying, Little Sprout decisively dropped close to the ground and pursued it. Cornered, the small animal suddenly bolted, shooting out toward the exterior. It darted to someone’s feet, not seeming to care who it was, grabbed the hem of their clothing, and scrambled rapidly upward.

Ziye raised an eyebrow: Was it offering itself up?

_(To be continued.)