When Yijinmo carried Vita back home, it was already past six in the morning the next day.
To avoid dragging Mrs. Celine into this, Yijinmo had already arranged for Chunfeng and Steel Thorn to stay at her own place beforehand.
As for Yae Sakura—
That girl had been set loose out in the wild.
After all, with her true form exposed as a lever of leverage, there was no fear that poor Yae Sakura-chan would betray them.
As soon as she stepped inside, she found that elegant, mature beauty already asleep on the sofa.
It seemed Mrs. Celine had been waiting for them in the living room all night…
The two girls instinctively tiptoed quietly and stealthily to the lady’s side, one after the other, planning to help her back to her room, when the beauty suddenly opened her eyes.
“Little Yi… Vita?”
“You’re back?”
“Yes, Mrs. Celine… Madam, you didn’t wait here the whole night, did you?”
“Sorry, I was just so worried about you both.”
Raising her hand, she gently rubbed the young girl’s head, then her gaze shifted to Vita.
“…Mom…”
“It’s alright, it’s alright.”
Setting Yijinmo down, Mrs. Celine turned and embraced her daughter, and Vita only struggled a little symbolically, then adjusted to a position that was less suffocating before remaining still.
As the closest family to Yijinmo and Vita, Mrs. Celine naturally knew their strange identities and was fully aware of the risks they faced every time they went out on a mission.
Yet, as a mother, she could do nothing but stay home quietly, praying for their safe return.
Blind and physically weak, simply asking her two daughters not to worry about her was already all the strength she could muster.
The complex emotions in her heart, only she truly understood.
“Mrs. Celine, I’ll head back now?”
Watching the mother and daughter embrace, Yijinmo happily squinted her eyes—she was glad Vita wasn’t being chased and spanked with a hanger by the madam.
Little Vita had once been a true little hellion; even someone as gentle and refined as Mrs. Celine had been driven to bring out the ultimate motherly weapon because of her.
In comparison, little Yijinmo had been much cuter—well-behaved and smart, especially not led astray by Vita, thus enjoying all the madam’s affection: kisses, hugs, and being lifted high.
“Aren’t you staying a bit longer?”
“No, I’ve got some things to do… but I should be able to come back for dinner tonight.”
…
After a brief farewell, Yijinmo left Vita’s house and returned to her own place.
“Boss Thunder!!”
No sooner had she stepped in than she was warmly greeted by that gray-haired big dog!
On the way to the Lower City, they had listened to Vita’s vivid storytelling, and after hearing how the Thunder Stranger casually wiped out all the enemies, their admiration for Yijinmo skyrocketed.
It naturally led to them acknowledging Yijinmo as their second boss for life.
“Alright, no need to be so enthusiastic.”
“Boss! Boss! Anything you want us to do?!”
“Hmm… You two should rest well today. You need full energy before the next mission!”
“Yes!!”
Compared to the ever-energetic Steel Thorn, Chunfeng also responded but was not as fervent.
Yijinmo’s rented room was small, but still had a half-sized living room and bedroom.
Since the girl usually kept things tidy, wasn’t messy, and had no money to buy random stuff, the three squeezing in wasn’t too much of a problem.
“Boss Thunder… do you have plans for today?”
“Of course. I’m off to ‘blow up someone’s money’… ahem, to earn some cash!”
The Ice Thorn Stranger’s situation still needed more investigation, and Yijinmo hoped to find some clues online.
Before, she could have boldly hacked into servers—any device generating electrical signals was under her control.
But now, her control over her abilities wasn’t so precise, so while that method still worked, it took a lot of effort.
After all, she wasn’t a bald engineer specializing in networks.
Instead of struggling herself, she’d let Miss Luo put in more effort on her behalf.
Her bar job wouldn’t start until around three in the afternoon, so Yijinmo could take this chance to get a good nap.
“So sleepy. I’m going to rest for a while. You guys can do whatever you want, but don’t run around outside too much. There are plenty of pervy women in the Lower City.”
“If they trick you and beat you up, it’ll be a real pain to rescue you.”
“Understood.”
After saying this, Yijinmo closed her eyes and collapsed onto her small bed.
Seeing the girl fall into a deep, quality sleep right away, only Chunfeng and Steel Thorn were left standing, exchanging glances.
They still hadn’t fully processed everything—it had all happened too fast… less than half a day since the former boss was defeated, and now the current boss was wiping the floor with everyone.
Originally, they had hoped to leave this city that didn’t belong to them together with their boss, to find a quiet and beautiful place where the three could live simply and happily.
But now…
The future was uncertain, and in the young girls’ eyes was confusion, like butterflies lost in a storm.
The only thing they could rely on now was this tree still willing to shield them from the wind and rain.
“Chunfeng…”
“I’m here.”
Raising a hand, she gently rubbed the gray-haired girl’s head, Chunfeng smiled softly.
In truth, Steel Thorn was just as lost inside, but she chose to numb herself with enthusiasm, pushing her anxieties far away without a care.
“You must be tired too, right? Let’s set up a bed and sleep together so we don’t disturb Boss Thunder.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll help too!”
“Shh, keep it down.”
Though there was no real need to whisper—after all, Yijinmo was the kind who never got up once she fell asleep.
Miss Luo had experienced this firsthand last night.
No matter what shape the white rabbit toy was tossed into, the girl was a peaceful sleeping beauty, even sometimes wrapping herself around others for warmth.
She almost lost control then!
The “bed” was actually just a simple floor mat; Yijinmo happened to have a spare set in her place.
These conditions were about the same as what the two had back when they lived in the factory…
Though back then, they had three mats, so they didn’t have to squeeze together.
As for a proper bed?
Since becoming strangers on the run, they hadn’t really used one again.
Their past life was like a dream, a world they had escaped from.
Not to mention that Boss Thunder was so tough, she herself only slept on a rudimentary iron spring bed.
Even if sold as scrap, the buyer would look at it with disdain.