Lin Mowei led Lin Yu to a small hillside. Beyond the slope lay a modest lake.
The two of them stood at the peak.
If the sun were out, the scenery would have been quite beautiful—a rare sight to behold within the Hive City.
Lin Yu noticed that since arriving here, his sister seemed a bit dazed.
“Sister, what’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing.” Lin Mowei turned and smiled at him. “Oh, right, Lin Yu. People from Star Ring Town will be here shortly for a routine inspection. Keep a close eye on things.”
“Oh.”
Lin Yu was familiar with that process, but since his sister’s purpose for bringing him here was to observe, he didn’t want to ruin her mood.
He found a rock nearby and wiped it down, preparing to invite his sister over.
When he turned his head, he caught a glimpse of a snowy white figure.
“Hey! Sister, what are you doing!” Lin Yu hurriedly squeezed his eyes shut and spun around.
He truly couldn’t understand what she was doing, suddenly stripping off her clothes.
Even though it was just a fleeting glance, he had seen everything.
‘And isn’t your movement a bit too fast? I only turned my head for a second and there’s not a stitch left.’
“I’m just changing my clothes. What? Are you shy? I’m your sister, so don’t get any wild ideas — “
This was also the first time Lin Mowei had been so exposed before her brother in such a situation. Even though her heart was racing and her cheeks were slightly flushed, she endured the embarrassment to tease him.
“I… you… if you wanted to change, you should have done it at the resort. Why are you changing here…”
He subconsciously swallowed, the rustling sound of fabric against skin reaching his ears.
“I just suddenly remembered I needed to.”
In his haste, Lin Yu forgot to ask why she was changing clothes in the first place.
In reality, Lin Mowei hadn’t come here on a whim.
In her past, she had been the one to lead the people of Star Ring Town to reclaim this area. Because of its special significance, she remembered the events of this period very clearly.
That included the tragedy that was about to occur here.
At some point, a pack of Rift Beasts had appeared in this lake.
In previous inspection missions, this had been classified as a low-risk area. When the squad arrived here just like any other day and began setting up their equipment, the Rift Beasts in the lake had lunged out.
Because it happened so suddenly, the squad only had enough time to send out a distress signal.
In the end, all five members of that squad died here.
She couldn’t stop every head-on clash on the battlefield, but she could certainly reduce unnecessary casualties here.
It was true that she wanted to keep her brother away from those other women. It was true that she wanted him to get used to academy life in advance. And it was also true that she wanted to save those people.
“Alright, Lin Yu, you can open your eyes now.”
The sound of his sister finishing her wardrobe change finally reached him. Lin Yu slowly turned his head, tentatively opening his eyes a crack.
Seeing that she was indeed wearing her combat suit, he let out a long breath and grumbled slightly, “My dear sister, I’ve told you so many times. Can you… at least be a bit more considerate of me? *Sigh*…”
Seeing him shaking his head and sighing, Lin Mowei walked over and playfully ruffled his hair.
“You’re just a kid. What’s there to be considerate about, hm? Besides, I let you look for free and you still act like you’re dissatisfied. Is your sister not beautiful? Well?”
Lin Yu couldn’t argue with her twisted logic, nor did he have the energy to try. He could only say dejectedly, “That’s a separate issue…”
“Humph, then tell me. Is your sister beautiful?”
“Uh…” Lin Yu turned his head to the side. “Beautiful, you’re beautiful, okay? Sister, I’m begging you, can you please give me a heads-up next time?”
He didn’t plan to dwell on the issue further. No matter what he said, she would just brush it off anyway.
The corners of Lin Mowei’s mouth curled up. “Depends on my mood. Move over a bit, I want to sit for a while too.”
Before Lin Yu could even move, she plopped down right next to him and threw an arm around his shoulders.
Feeling himself being hugged by her soft body, Lin Yu opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.
‘Fine, as long as you’re happy.’
Seeing that her brother didn’t react, Lin Mowei’s smile widened. This was exactly the effect she wanted.
Habit was a terrifying thing.
Once they both became accustomed to being exposed in front of each other, accustomed to this kind of intimate physical contact, and accustomed to their tacit understanding, then everything would eventually fall into place naturally.
And during this time, all those other women should stay far away from her Lin Yu!
The air inside the Hive City was always clean and odorless.
The air here, however, carried the scent of earth, grass, and a faint hint of decay. A breeze swept over the lake, blowing past the two of them and bringing with it a slightly damp mist from afar.
“Lin Yu,” Lin Mowei spoke softly. “If one day we drive out all the Rift Beasts and close the Space Rifts, what would you want to do?”
Feeling his sister’s warmth, Lin Yu looked out at the lake in the distance. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
‘But for now, I want to find a way to stay away from those women and just focus on surviving,’ he told himself internally.
“What about you, Sister?”
Lin Mowei gently stroked her brother’s soft hair, her gaze trembling slightly.
“Me? I want to find a place similar to this, build a small house, and… live there.”
“By yourself?” Lin Yu asked instinctively, not knowing why he worded it that way.
“With you.”
The wind brushed against the lake, sending ripples across the surface.
An indescribable, strange emotion filled Lin Yu’s heart. Just as he was about to turn his head, Lin Mowei pressed him down.
“You brat, did you forget what your sister just said? I said I’d take care of you for the rest of your life, and I meant it. I won’t leave you behind.”
With his head held down, Lin Yu let out a laugh. “Uh… so that’s what you meant. I think you’re planning to keep me on a leash for life.”
“Is that a problem? Were you planning on running away?”
He didn’t notice that her voice carried a slight, excited tremble.
“I’m not running, I’m not running.”
“Humph!”
Lin Mowei didn’t dare look at her brother’s face right now, nor did she want him to see hers. She knew her expression must look very strange. Moreover… she couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t do something impulsive if she saw his face at this moment.
After the playful banter, the atmosphere turned calm. The two of them waited silently for half an hour, neither speaking again.
“They’re here.”
Lin Mowei shifted her gaze in one direction. Lin Yu followed her line of sight and saw an off-road vehicle slowly driving toward them.
At that moment, Lin Mowei suddenly reached out her hand.
A pale blue glow flowed through her palm. In the blink of an eye, an illusory object resembling a clock face manifested on the ground.
“Sister, what is this?”
Lin Yu knew what it was. It was the Spacetime Beacon for the “Time Trace” ability. As long as it was activated, Lin Mowei could return to this specific point in space and time in perfect condition, no matter where or when she was.
Lin Mowei kept her eyes on the vehicle, speaking casually. “Just a precaution. I thought I saw some Rift Beasts in the lake earlier, but I might have been mistaken.”
“Huh?” Lin Yu peered intently at the surface of the lake, but he didn’t see anything.
However, since his physical stats were so much lower than his sister’s, it was entirely possible he had simply missed it.
The vehicle stopped by the lake. The doors opened, and five people stepped out—two men and three women.
One of the men was grumbling. “Man, I don’t know what that Acting Section Chief was thinking, making us do a scouting mission like this. Anyone with hands could do this. It’s a waste of combat power.”
Xin Yao frowned. “Keep it down. The commander’s orders are to be followed unconditionally. Stop complaining about irrelevant things.”
“Tsk…”
Xin Yao was also a bit dissatisfied, but she was a seasoned veteran. An order was an order; there was no room for bargaining.
Suddenly, she noticed the youngest member of the team looking up toward the top of the hillside. She asked in a soft tone, “What’s wrong, Liuli?”
Although she was the youngest, her strength was the greatest among them. She was a woman of few words who did more than her fair share of work; the kind of person everyone liked.
Mu Liuli looked at the large rock where the siblings had been sitting just moments ago. She said emotionlessly, “It’s nothing. Let’s begin.”
“Alright.”
On the other side of the hill, Lin Yu and Lin Mowei were hiding as if they had been caught doing something wrong.
It took a long moment for them to realize how they were behaving.
‘Wait,’ Lin Mowei thought. ‘Why am I hiding? Why would I be afraid of a little girl? I could kick her into the lake in a heartbeat.’
‘Wait,’ Lin Yu thought. ‘Why am I hiding? I have absolutely no connection to her right now. Why am I afraid of her?’
The siblings looked at each other simultaneously, both seeing a hint of embarrassment in the other’s eyes.
‘What do we do? What do we even say?’ they both thought at the same time.