As the long night passed, the early morning light peeked softly through the gaps of the underground laboratory door. Shin stretched, stood up, and tiptoed toward the room where Loona and Xie Xingchen had stayed up all night decrypting the data files.
On the computer desk covered in complex command-line windows, Loona—the group's little human sister—lay slumping over, asleep from sheer exhaustion. Shin gently approached, using his fingers to brush away a few strands of hair clinging to her forehead, then softly draped a warm blanket over her shoulders.
From behind, Roxy quietly approached, lowering her voice:
— "Looks like she stayed up all night..."
Shin turned around, raising a finger to his lips:
— "Shhh... Let her sleep. We should head outside."
Roxy nodded softly. The two gently stepped out of the room without making a single sound, leaving Loona to enjoy a peaceful rest after a hard night's work.
In the living room, everyone gathered around, their minds troubled after digesting the grim data from the previous night. Seijuro leaned against the wall, narrowing his eyes with a sigh:
— "It's quite hazy... All the information is shrouded in ambiguity. Could it be that..."
Before he could finish his sentence, a vibrant voice boomed directly from the gap of the shattered wall:
— "Hello, everyone!"
Ryuzaki Renji appeared with a bright, cheerful expression. Looking around, he scratched his head and asked:
— "Oh, the door hasn't been fixed yet?"
Xie Xingchen, who was drinking water, nearly choked and jumped up shouting:
— "YOU BLEW THE ENTIRE DOOR AWAY LAST NIGHT, HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FIX IT THAT FAST?!"
— "Oh, my bad! I completely forgot!" Renji waved his hands with a hearty chuckle.
He slowly stepped toward Shin, blinking in surprise.
Shin looked at him and clicked his tongue:
— "You sobered up amazingly fast!"
Renji puffed his chest up proudly:
— "That's just my level, after all, I am Renji! Ah, right, Brother Shin, why don't you swing by my family manor today? I really want you to see my place at least once. Are you free?"
Shin gave a subtle nod:
— "Sure, I actually have a few important matters I want to discuss with you as well."
— "Awesome, big brother! That's great then, let's head out right now! The shuttle is already waiting outside!"
Shin turned to ask further:
— "Can I bring Ling Mo, Kento, and Roxy along?"
— "Of course! The more, the merrier!"
Shin turned around to instruct Seijuro, Stolas, and Xingchen to stay behind at the base and report immediately if anything urgent came up. After that, the four—Shin, Kento, Ling Mo, and Roxy—followed Renji onto a high-tech starship.
After just a few minutes of travel to the Interspatial Transit Station, the starship passed through the teleportation gate designated E-Z231.
An overwhelmingly vast expanse of space opened up before Shin's group. The moment they stepped down onto the landing pad, hundreds of men in elegant black suits were lined up in two straight, seemingly endless rows. Simultaneously, all of them bowed at a 90-degree angle, shouting at the top of their lungs in Japanese, echoing through the sky:
— おかえりなさいませ、坊ちゃん！ (Welcome back, Young Master!)
The four members of Shin's group walked between the solemn guard formation of men in black suits. Passing through several reinforced hallways, they finally entered the main courtyard—a vast area comparable in size to an international airport.
Renji turned around, spreading his arms wide with a beaming smile:
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— "Welcome everyone to the Ryuzaki Family Manor!”
Roxy widened her eyes in shock at the absurd sheer size of the place. Meanwhile, Shin was so astonished he couldn't help but gasp:
— "Your family... bought an entire planet?!"
Renji replied nonchalantly:
— "That's right, Brother Shin. This entire planet designated E-Z231 is currently under the private ownership of my family!"
The group continued walking. Seeing many people working around the area, Kento took a puff from his cigarette and asked out of curiosity:
— "So who are all those people standing on standby around here?"
Renji shrugged:
— "They're all rigorously selected marksmen—to put it bluntly, subordinates belonging to my family!"
Every time the group passed by, nearby subordinates bowed respectfully:
— こんにちは、坊ちゃん！ (Hello, Young Master!)
In the distance, hundreds of combat starships and state-of-the-art tech vehicles were parked along the tarmac. Shin pointed and asked:
— "And what's with that pile of starships?"
— "Ah, those are just the family's daily
commuting vehicles!"
But what truly blew Shin's mind lay in the next display section. Lining both sides of the path leading into the main mansion was an endless mega-garage housing hundreds of classic internal combustion engine supercars—priceless heritage from the old era!
• Masterpiece Lamborghini Fleet: Veneno Roadster, SC20, Veneno Coupe, Sian Roadster, and Sian FKP 37 exuded angular, ferocious presence like land fighter jets.
• Aristocratic Rolls-Royce Fleet: La Rose Noire Droptail, Boat Tail, Sweptail, and Phantom Syntopia boasted mirror-like polish, exuding proud royal elegance.
• High-Speed McLaren Fleet: F1 LM, P1 LM, Solus GT, Sabre, and P1 GTR draped in ultralight monolithic carbon fiber.
• Legendary Bugatti Fleet: Type 57SC Atlantic, La Voiture Noire, Chiron Profilée, Centodieci, Vision Gran Turismo, and the most valuable classic in history, the Type 41 Royale.
Shin's eyes sparkled, his breathing growing rapid. He rushed forward and fell to his knees in front of a dazzling red Ferrari lineup featuring the 250 GTO, 250 Testa Rossa, 335 S Spider Scaglietti, LaFerrari Aperta, F80, and F50.
Meanwhile, Roxy, Kento, and Ling Mo stood stunned, gazing at the spellbinding Koenigsegg collection—Sadair's Spear, CCXR Trevita, Jesko Absolut, CC850, and Jesko Attack—parked alongside legendary classic Porsches including the 911 GT1 Strassenversion, 550 Spyder, 918 Spyder Weissach Package, 959 Komfort, and Mission X Concept.
Shin clutched his head, his eyes welling up with tears, overwhelmed by this mechanical paradise. He yelled at Renji:
— "Are you freaking kidding me?! What the hell is this, Renji?! Look at this Lamborghini and Bugatti collection... holy shit, it's so gorgeous it takes my breath away! In an era where everyone flies anti-gravity starships, where on earth did you dig up these vintage powerhouses with sky-shattering V12 and W16 roars?! And every single one is a one-off limited edition!"
Renji scratched his cheek, chuckling bashfully:
— "Brother Shin, I only bought these cars for display... To be honest, I only came back here because my family has way too much money and I have no idea how to spend it all!"
Shin turned around, his eyes twinkling like night stars, folding his hands together in a desperate pleading gesture:
— "Lord Renji! Can you let me test drive a few of these beauties later?!”
Renji laughed out loud, slapping Shin's shoulder:
— "Oh man, I thought it was a big deal! Of course, brother! Later, the two of us can head out to my private racetrack to test their speed! Leaving them sitting around here was running out of space anyway!"
Passing through the supercar mega-garage, the group entered the main reception room, extravagantly designed in a traditional Japanese style.
Here, over 50 beautiful women wearing Kimonos woven from the finest high-grade silk knelt in two neat rows. Seeing the group enter, they gently stood up, presenting platters of fresh fruit alongside steaming, fragrant cups of Matcha tea.
In the serene ambiance, melodic Koto music blended with the strumming of Shamisen to play rhythmic, solemn beats, punctuated by the tranquil notes of a Shakuhachi bamboo flute and the gentle pulse of Taiko drums—creating an ancient Yakuza clan atmosphere that was both majestic and artistic.
Shin, Kento, Ling Mo, and Roxy sat down on comfortable Tatami mats. Across from them, Renji sat relaxed, letting a woman carefully adjust the folds of his Haori coat.
Renji took a sip of hot tea, raising his head to look at Shin:
— "Now that you've taken a tour around my Manor, I'm really glad I invited you here today! So... what is the serious matter you wanted to discuss with me, Brother Shin?"
Sensing that the atmosphere had settled enough, Shin slowly set his Matcha cup on the table, his expression turning solemn:
— "Russo gave me a data chip yesterday. You know all about it, right, Renji?"
Renji took a small sip of tea, nodding casually:
— "I do. Truth be told, Russo acquired it by buying it off a top-tier hacker. That hacker collected those audio recordings and personnel files because a mysterious individual leaked them out. The locked files inside are extremely difficult to decrypt. You've looked through everything, right?"
Shin stroked his chin:
— "I have. Do you know any additional information about Lam Nhuoc Hy?"
Renji blinked, shaking his head pensively:
— "I did some digging, but strangely enough, every trace of this woman leads straight to her death caused by a foreign species. There are no other suspicious leads or paths left."
Saying this, Renji raised his hand and gave a gentle wave. Instantly, all 50-plus Kimono-clad women and the musicians bowed respectfully in unison and quietly filed out. The wooden sliding door snapped shut, leaving the space dead silent with only the five of them remaining.
Renji's usual playful demeanor vanished completely, replaced by the razor-sharp gaze of a Yakuza clan leader:
— "I suspect... the Federation is secretly launching a slaughter campaign to eradicate all half-bloods and foreign species under their jurisdiction!"
The sentence hit the room like a bomb. Shin, Kento, Roxy, and Ling Mo all showed flashes of surprise and shock. Shin immediately questioned:
— "Where did you get that shocking information?"
— "Of course, I gathered and connected the dots myself! I don't have the luxury of wasting money hiring spies to infiltrate the Federation apparatus!" Renji lowered his voice in warning. — "I'm telling you the truth, Shin—you'd better be careful. This period is extremely sensitive for Zero Horizon. Lu Quanlin is currently present at the Federation headquarters, and that old fox possesses countless ruthless tricks!"
Shin laced his fingers together, nodding:
— "I understand. As for the cooperation... I've thought it through thoroughly. You, Russo, and I will officially join hands. But I must ask, how long will this alliance last?"
Renji didn't even need to think, answering outright:
— "Indefinitely! Russo and I will cooperate with you forever!"
Shin frowned in surprise:
— "Why forever?"
Renji smiled, his eyes brimming with admiration as he looked directly at Shin:
— "Because only someone who dares to act, who dares to stand up against the corrupt order with realistic ideals like you, is worthy of our trust and allegiance! You're not some distant savior saving the world or showing pity to enemies, but you have the heart to help the oppressed rise up against tyranny. A hero doesn't necessarily have to be purely good... sometimes, timely ruthlessness is what decides everything!"
Shin scratched his cheek, chuckling
embarrassed:
— "It's nothing... Everything's pretty normal!"
Seeing Shin's modesty, Renji slapped his thigh with a sharp CLAP, reverting to his boisterous self:
— "Alright! Then it's settled! Now that I've shared the info, it's time to hit the track and test the speed of those roaring machines, Brother Shin!"
— "Agreed!" Shin jumped up excitedly.
While Shin and Renji rushed out to the mega-garage to enjoy the wind-ripping thrills of the V12 supercars, Kento, Ling Mo, and Roxy enjoyed a true luxury resort experience at the Ryuzaki Clan, complete with top-tier pampering services.
At the same time, inside the underground base of Zero Horizon.
The team was still hard at work with their respective tasks; Xie Xingchen and Loona were intently focused at the computer array, attempting to decrypt files YX-03 and YX-04.
However, in a secluded corner outside the hallway corridor, the Mikami brothers stood silently. Mikami Ren stealthily pulled out a micro secured communicator, pressing it to his ear and speaking in an exceptionally respectful tone:
— "Everything is still going very well, Sir..."
Static flickered intermittently from the other end. Ren continued whispering:
— "But there is a slight complication... They recently obtained a storage device containing extremely sensitive information..."
After listening to instructions for a few seconds, Ren nodded decisively:
— "Yes, Sir! I will find a way to destroy it immediately. Everything will be handled cleanly and smoothly, please rest assured... Yes, I will continue monitoring them. Have a good day!"
With that, Ren cut the transmission, slowly tucking the device back into his coat pocket, his eyes filled with cold calculation…
(To be continued)