A rigid silence filled the cabin of the mobat as it sped toward the border of South Nirwana City. Traffic had begun to thin, giving Cyan a clearer view of his rearview mirror. A silver mobat was tailing them, maintaining a steady distance of about twenty meters.

  “Brother, is Winn coming home?” Nara asked, trying to break the suffocating tension.

  Cyan did not answer immediately. He pressed the accelerator and overtook a tour bus with calculated precision. “Looks like he will,” he replied shortly. His eyes flicked to the mirror again; the silver mobat disappeared momentarily behind the bulk of the bus.

  “What about Sev?” Nara continued. “You can invite him too, right?”

  Cyan knew Nara’s enthusiasm was likely not for herself, but for her friend, Zhenya. “I don’t know,” he answered flatly.

  Zhenya’s presence usually made Sev reluctant to show himself.

  The silver mobat reappeared, overtaking the tour bus. The distance between them narrowed to fifteen meters.

  “Just try persuading Sev,” Nara insisted.

  Cyan remained silent. He pressed the accelerator harder. The speedometer needle climbed rapidly, causing Nara to jolt in surprise. Her brother did not usually drive this aggressively.

  “If he doesn’t want to, that’s fine,” Nara muttered, then suddenly remembered something.

  “But is there really a Cygnus member named Farezu?”

  The question made Cyan react instinctively. He overtook the car ahead at the exact moment a timber truck barreled toward them from the opposite direction. The truck’s horn blared—long and furious. Cyan jerked the steering wheel sharply to the left, the tires screeching violently.

  “What are you doing?!” Nara cried in panic. “I only asked about Farezu because he’s Sima’s friend!”

  Cyan did not slow down. “Farezu exists, but he cannot move around freely,” he answered coldly.

  “I—I understand that Cygnus rules might restrict him. Please don’t be angry…” Sima cut in, her voice trembling.

  Cyan stiffened. “How do you know Farezu is a Cygnus member?”

  “Nara already told you, Sima is Farezu’s friend. Farezu himself told her! Stop making us panic!” Zhenya snapped sharply while steadying herself in her seat.

  Cyan gave no response. Instead, he swerved off the main road at high speed. Another vehicle nearly slammed into them, its horn blaring. Sima and Zhenya were thrown toward the right side of the cabin. Behind them, Cyan saw the silver mobat recklessly sideswipe another car to stay on their tail.

  “Brother…” Nara whispered, gripping her seatbelt so tightly her knuckles turned white. Zhenya and Sima hurried to secure theirs properly. Zhenya kept complaining while rubbing her head, which had hit the window.

  “Don’t get too involved with Cygnus, and always be cautious around strangers,” Cyan ordered in an unquestionable tone.

  The three teenagers fell silent. Fear now truly gripped them. Nara was confused; she had never seen this darker side of her brother. Sima sat rigid, barely breathing.

  Cyan grabbed his phone and pressed speed dial. “Kafa, track my location now and send backup. Silver mobat N2009 B is tailing me.”

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  Hearing that, the three girls instantly turned to look behind them with wide eyes.

  Inside the silver mobat, Leoparo cursed loudly in a harsh foreign language after scraping another vehicle.

  “Leo! Don’t use that language! People will know we’re outsiders!” Alfa warned.

  “Why should I care?! This junk isn’t even faster than I am on foot! We should ditch this scrap heap and chase them ourselves!”

  Alfa did not respond. His phone rang—the device they had just received upon arriving on Nirwana Island. “Mr. Zuno?” Alfa answered quickly.

  “Good! Tell Mr. Zuno we’re going to kill them all right now!” Leoparo shouted wildly.

  “We’re currently chasing Cyan and his sister,” Alfa reported.

  “Stop immediately!” Zuno’s voice came coldly through the line. “It’s not time for them to know who you are. The police will identify you! This is not your role. Leave them. Now!”

  They were crossing a long bridge when Alfa’s eyes widened at the sight ahead. Cyan’s mobat suddenly shot off the side of the bridge, launching into the air toward the river below.

  Within seconds, the wheels folded into the chassis. Metal panels extended from underneath, expanding to cover the undercarriage and forming an aerodynamic hull. A propulsion motor emerged from the rear and began spinning rapidly. The vehicle slammed into the water with a massive splash, then stabilized and sped across the river’s surface.

  Alfa yanked the steering wheel with all his strength as Leoparo—blinded by rage—tried to follow the same maneuver. They wrestled over control until a horrific cracking sound rang out. The steering wheel came off.

  “Damn it! Turn this junk into a boat now!” Alfa shouted in panic as their vehicle soared uncontrollably through the air.

  “How would I know how?! This is my first time driving this thing!” Leoparo shot back.

  Seconds before crashing into the river, both men kicked their doors open and jumped out. Alfa agilely grabbed the edge of the bridge, while Leoparo landed on the riverbank. They vanished into the shadows just as police sirens wailed in the distance.

  From afar on the river, Cyan caught sight of the two figures leaping away. From the agility of their movements, he knew they were no ordinary fighters.

  The remainder of the journey passed in total silence until they arrived at Blue Village. Unlike Yellow Village, Blue Village was larger and more densely populated, yet it retained the warmth of an Anex settlement where everyone knew one another.

  Cyan parked in front of a medium-sized house with a striking blue roof. The wooden walls and floors were unpainted but clean and polished from careful maintenance.

  Rhea, Cyan’s mother, greeted them with a gentle smile. At forty-one, she still looked beautiful and fit; Cyan’s face was a perfect reflection of hers.

  As neighbors began arriving to greet Nara and her friends, Cyan quickly pulled his mother into the back room.

  “Cygnus is under attack, Mom…” he whispered.

  Rhea let out a long breath. The same expression she had once seen on her late husband’s face now appeared on her son’s. “I’m worried they’re targeting Nara as well.”

  Rhea stiffened. “What happened?”

  “We were followed all the way to the border.”

  “Don’t worry,” Rhea said, trying to reassure him. “We still have the hiding place beneath this house.”

  Cyan nodded. He remembered it well—it had been their small fortress when they were children. “I’ll come home more often to check on you.”

  Rhea glanced toward the front room, where Nara, Zhenya, and Sima were already chatting as if the terror on the bridge had never happened.

  “I have to go,” Cyan said.

  Rhea looked at him wistfully. Cyan rarely came home, and when he did, it was only briefly. She knew he felt a certain discomfort in this house, yet she appreciated his effort to visit.

  “Eat before you leave,” Rhea offered.

  Cyan shook his head gently and stepped into the living room. The chatter fell silent as soon as he appeared.

  “Are you leaving already?” Nara followed him to the yard.

  “Yes, Nara. I can’t stay long.”

  “Will you come back for the Harvest Festival next week?”

  Cyan turned and looked at his sister’s hopeful face. He reached out and gently stroked her head. “I’ll try. I’ll bring Winn with me.”

  Nara’s eyes lit up instantly. Her smile widened, and Cyan couldn’t resist ruffling her hair. He knew how much she adored Winn, who always spoiled her.

  “Remember, stay alert. Call me immediately if anything feels strange.”

  Nara nodded firmly and hugged him tightly. Since their father had died when she was ten, Cyan had been both her protector and her substitute father.

  After offering a few final reminders, Cyan got into his mobat and sped away, leaving a thin cloud of dust drifting across the yard of Blue Village.