She was already raring to go. After being idle for so long, finally getting a mission had Luo Yao eager to stretch her legs.
“Father said that if you don’t use the Secret Art for too long, your skills get rusty. This is the perfect chance for me to practice.”
“Sis, don’t get ahead of yourself. What if this mission turns out to be something you can’t handle?” Luo Heng couldn’t resist dousing her enthusiasm.
“Impossible. Is there anything this Miss can’t do?” Luo Yao wagged her finger. “Think about it—they all admire me so much. Are you really going to doubt my abilities?”
Amid their bickering, Lu Zhenghao finally revealed the mission details.
“I’ve heard there’s been a haunting at an old, run-down theater.”
“A haunt… what?”
Luo Yao’s smug smile instantly froze.
“A haunting?”
“Yes.” Lu Zhenghao continued, “If it were just a haunting, the Execution Division wouldn’t need to get involved. But there are injured people from this incident, and the Police detected traces of Secret Art fluctuations nearby.”
Luo Yao was silent for a long time before noticing that everyone’s eyes were on her.
“What are you all looking at? I’m not even an adult yet—how could I possibly be afraid of ghosts?”
She spoke with such bravado, but the legs peeking out beneath her skirt were trembling uncontrollably.
“Um, how about Luo Yao goes home? Lu Yunze and I can—”
“No way!”
Luo Yao kicked Luo Heng aside.
“Why am I the only one who can’t go? I’m going too.”
She couldn’t let herself be looked down on. She was the Second Miss of the Luo Family, and being underestimated meant underestimating the family behind her. She couldn’t afford that shame.
Jiang Sui wore a subtle smile, as if she were watching a delightful show. But thanks to Luo Yao, Jiang Sui also had room to shine, and she eagerly stepped forward.
“I’ll go with the Miss as well. Maybe I can be of some assistance.”
“What are you going for?” Lu Yunze was the first to speak up.
“Exactly. Jiang Sui, you should head home right now. Once I return victorious, you can look forward to having dinner already prepared.”
“Miss, there’s no way I can cook that many dishes all by myself.”
“I don’t care. Even if you come along, it’s useless. Without any combat ability, wouldn’t you just be dead weight?”
At those words, Jiang Sui’s brow furrowed slightly. There were times she really wanted to tear off her disguise and show them her true self.
But for the sake of the long-term plan, she couldn’t reveal her identity yet.
Luo Yao refusing was one thing—but why were you siding with her, Lu Yunze?
That was what infuriated Jiang Sui the most. Every time Luo Yao said something, Lu Yunze nodded along from the sidelines, practically wishing she’d go home already.
Jiang Sui saw it all and simmered with anger. If there weren’t other people around, she would have demanded to know what Lu Yunze was thinking.
“Even if you won’t let me go, can’t I just sneak along? Even if I get caught, that’s the Hidden One’s business—what does it have to do with me, Jiang Sui? Hehehe~”
“I think this maid can come along.”
A man who had remained silent throughout the entire argument suddenly spoke up.
Everyone’s gaze turned to him—the short, middle-aged man who had come looking for Lu Zhenghao.
“This is the leader of my Execution Division’s Action Team. He’s a veteran with over a decade of experience. He—”
“Skip the lengthy introductions. My surname is Fu. Call me Uncle Fu or Leader Fu, whatever you like.”
From the moment Leader Fu appeared before them, he had drawn attention even without direct conversation. On his already plain-looking face was a scar, and one of his eyes had a murky grey-white tint, giving him a somewhat menacing appearance.
The Execution Division was divided into multiple teams, each responsible for different duties.
The War Readiness Group handled developing all sorts of useful gadgets.
The Action Team was responsible for deploying personnel to carry out missions.
The Internal Affairs Group managed the base’s operations and decision-making.
And then there was the Logistics Team—whichever of the other three groups needed them, they’d show up wherever required. They usually handled minor affairs around the base, as well as cleanup after missions concluded.
Lu Yunze remembered Dong Youer mentioning she was in the Action Team, then looked at Lu Zhenghao:
“Then Minister Lu, which team are you in?”
“As the Director, I’m naturally not part of any of the four teams. I stand above them.”
The moment Lu Zhenghao finished speaking, Leader Fu couldn’t resist calling him out:
“He doesn’t have the power to unilaterally decide everything in the base. His actual job is arguing with all nine of our teams.”
“Old Fu, whose side are you on?” Lu Zhenghao said, caught between laughter and tears.
Leader Fu let out a chuckle, then straightened his face:
“Anyway, if this young lady wants to come along, then decide quickly. Time waits for no one.”
Jiang Sui stared at his face, unable to tell what was going on inside his head.
But since he’d said that much, Jiang Sui naturally couldn’t pass up this good opportunity.
Go with them first, then adapt as the situation unfolds.
With the discussion settled, the group set out immediately for the mission location.
Jiang Sui braced herself for being assigned some troublesome task—maybe the team leader had called her along just to use her as bait or something.
But when he finally said it out loud, Jiang Sui was still a bit dumbfounded.
“My surname is Jiang.”
“Everyone else has gone inside, Miss Maid…”
“Alright, Miss Jiang, please take on the logistics position out here.”
“Just logistics?”
“Did you expect me to assign you something else?” The team leader gave a mysterious smile.
“…No need.”
Logistics it was. After all, maid work was a form of logistics anyway.
Jiang Sui found a cool spot to wait, ready to rush over and help whenever someone needed her. Either she was investigating and recording the surrounding conditions, or she was evacuating nearby residents.
Was she busy? Yes.
But it wasn’t the kind of busy she wanted.
If she didn’t go inside, how would she know what Lu Yunze was experiencing in there?
Luo Yao was still inside, and the thought of what the two of them might do in a place like that—Jiang Sui didn’t dare imagine.
Though she was a rival and reluctant to give Luo Yao any credit, Jiang Sui had to admit that Luo Yao was an attractive woman, and she already had a foundation of affection with Lu Yunze.
If any kind of crisis popped up, wouldn’t it just become the catalyst for their feelings?
The theater was nearly empty. If their desires burned like fire, they could find a corner and finish the deed anywhere.
An image surfaced in her mind of someone bracing against a wall, swaying her hips, shaking them at Lu Yunze—Jiang Sui gasped sharply.
Dangerous. Far too dangerous!
But she couldn’t just abandon her current work—how else would she explain her sudden disappearance, only for the Hidden One to appear at the theater?
Just as Jiang Sui irritably finished her last task and went to report to Leader Fu, the man didn’t even look at her.
“Mm. Go stand by. There’s no need for you right now.”
“Ah, okay.”
Jiang Sui’s heart leapt with joy, but then she immediately sensed something was off.
Even as she turned to leave, Jiang Sui was still mulling over the meaning behind Leader Fu’s expression.
“No, there isn’t.”
“What, feeling like it’s too easy?” Leader Fu turned his head to look at her.
“No, there isn’t.”
The man made no attempt to hide what he was thinking.
He let me go on purpose.
Recalling their earlier eye contact, Jiang Sui was now certain that Leader Fu had some kind of intention toward her, though she still couldn’t tell if he was friend or foe.
Did he let me go on purpose, waiting for me to walk into a trap so he could expose me in front of everyone?
Jiang Sui couldn’t help but dwell on that possibility, yet she also couldn’t bring herself to trust that Lu Yunze would be fine.
If her identity was suspected, Jiang Sui could still find a way to bluff her way through—it wasn’t like this was the first time.
But…
If Lu Yunze and Luo Yao cooked the rice during this window of time, wouldn’t he be stuck with the Luo Family for the rest of his life?
Jiang Sui couldn’t accept that outcome. She gritted her teeth and slipped quietly to a secluded spot.
She retrieved the Grey-White Robe from her bracelet and wrapped it tightly around herself. With practiced ease, her transformation was complete in no time.
Now it was time for the Hidden One’s performance.
“Lu Yunze, you’d better wait for me. If you dare sneak a bite behind my back…”
A blazing Flame burned in the girl’s eyes—but the very next second, it was doused.
“No, why am I even angry?”
The more she thought about it, the more her head ached and the more irritated she became.