The Ward

In a single-bed ward heavily guarded by soldiers at a certain hospital in Jidu, the capital of Dragon Country, the air was permeated with the scent of disinfectant.

Inside the ward were three people: one lying in the hospital bed, one sitting by the bedside talking, and one caring for the person in the bed.

"I wonder what his expression would be if he woke up and found out he's no longer the strongest in Dragon Country?"

The one lying on the bed, Qi Yunzheng, had a pale complexion and tightly shut eyes, oblivious to the outside world.

"It's fine, he doesn't care anyway. This way, he won't have to exhaust himself so much," said the woman, wiping Qi Yunzheng's face and casting a disdainful glance at Yu Anhe.

"More importantly, stop bouncing your leg. The bed keeps shaking."

"It's a habit, sorry," Yu Anhe stopped the motion, holding his phone in one hand while propping his elbows on his knees.

"If I had known earlier that your nephew had such potential, I would have insisted on bringing him to Jidu for proper training when he was young, instead of this guessing game we're playing now. Such a hassle."

The woman tucked Qi Yunzheng's blanket closer to him. "How could we have known? How did you find out?"

She let out a cold laugh. "Hah, he dared to help behind my back without my permission. I want him on tenterhooks."

"What's wrong with me venting a bit? Those two siblings are both so naive!"

Yu Anhe leaned in. "So, do you know what he's been helping with?"

She nonchalantly grabbed Qi Yunzheng's ear and rubbed it, causing Yu Anhe's eyelids to twitch.

"Just taking care of some documents, residency issues, and entrusting Yun Lan to you all to help look after her. Probably nothing else."

The woman seemed well-informed about these matters. Whenever Qi Yunzheng did something wrong, he would act extra nice, typical of a guilty conscience trying to make amends.

Her foolish husband didn't guard himself against her at all, spilling everything when she asked a couple of questions.

Yu Anhe believed her account.

Qi Yunzheng spent most of his time abroad fighting, with little spare time. His wife and daughter simply had better living conditions than average.

He trusted the country, and the country naturally took care of his family as well.

They had looked after Qi Yunlan and her family, dispatching personnel to check on their situation, and providing policy benefits such as priority for school admissions and home purchases.

In other words, apart from his friends and connections, Qi Yunzheng didn't have his own power base.

Before recruiting Qi Yuan into the Dark Nine Seats, he had specifically informed the woman, who had strongly opposed Qi Yuan's entry.

Initially, Yu Anhe thought it was a case of hating the nephew because of the uncle. But in a moment of panic, the woman let slip that she had been aware of Qi Yunzheng's actions all along.

She had thought they wanted Qi Yuan to use his uncle's title as a figurehead, fearing for Qi Yuan's safety, which was why she adamantly opposed it.

It was out of an elder's concern.

Qi Yunzheng, the fool, had been giving them the wrong information.

"Why don't you think harder if any of your friends' families were also helped by Qi Yunzheng?"

Midway through, Yu Anhe gave the woman a sidelong glance. "Hey, what's with that look? It's not like I'm trying to take advantage of him."

"To be honest, I want to fully win over your nephew. But I can't figure out why he's hiding his strength, how he got involved with the Gao family, and why his high school classmates all say he was picked up and dropped off by a fleet of luxury cars."

"You don't know? Remember Lao Chen's debt collector apprentice... what was his name... oh right, Lü Cheng!"

"Our people found him, and he said Qi Yuan already knew his identity the moment they met. All the local gangsters treat your little nephew with the utmost respect, and he's even got bodyguards protecting him."

"We've verified these things. They're true."

The woman frowned in contemplation after hearing Yu Anhe's serious tone.

After a few seconds, she shook her head.

"From what I know of him, he wouldn't have told outsiders before Yun Lan wanted to come back. He greatly respects everyone's wishes and puts his own feelings last."

In fact, if she hadn't noticed her husband's desire to serve the country and brought it up herself, Dragon Country might not even have this member of the Nine Seats.

If Yun Lan didn't want to return, her husband wouldn't have mentioned her to unrelated people, to avoid disrupting her life.

The woman had even sent Qi Yunlan their new address when they moved, hinting for her to visit.

But evidently, Qi Yunlan hadn't forgiven the disaster she had brought upon the family and only replied with her current address.

They had maintained this tacit understanding, exchanging addresses whenever one of them moved.

Yu Anhe casually picked up an apple, rubbed it, and took a bite. "That's strange then. It can't be your brother-in-law later on, right?"

The woman's gaze sharpened. "What brother-in-law? Are you here to dig up information on me?"

"Ugh, my big mouth," Yu Anhe smacked his own face, feigning a gesture of self-rebuke for his slip of the tongue.

The woman's expression softened slightly as she glared at him. "I don't know much about that kid, but I do know Yun Lan's situation."

Seeing Yu Anhe's troubled expression, the woman offered a suggestion.

"She's the type to scam people without realizing it, acting all smart when she's actually clueless. Being raised by a mother like me, there's no way she has no spine."

"Someone with a backbone hates it when others make decisions for them. You'd be better off just being upfront with her."

She glanced at Yu Anhe's crinkled, bun-like face. "If you don't want to hear it, fine. But don't let your own cleverness outsmart you."

"Do you know what your nephew was up to on Sakura Island?"

Recalling a few SS-level Superhumans who were traumatized from being scammed, Yu Anhe felt a pang of regret.

"If I get fooled by a younger generation, where do I put my face?"

Rarely did Yu Anhe get to see someone else's misfortune, putting the woman in a great mood.

"Well, look at whose nephew he is!"

Yu Anhe was speechless. You're so proud, but have you even met him?

...

On a Dragon Country helicopter,

One of the crew members peeked curiously at Qiao Bai, who had been grinning nonstop.

This group relied on Qiao Bai's translation skills during their stay on Sakura Island, so Qiao Bai's outgoing personality had allowed him to mix well with everyone.

Thus, the crew member felt comfortable asking him about it.

"What are you looking at?"

Qiao Bai, huddled in a corner, turned his head. His face was flushed from suppressed laughter, and to avoid drawing a certain person's attention, he bit down hard on his palm, letting out only muffled chuckles.

Seeing the crew member's curiosity, Qiao Bai glanced around to ensure Hong Feiheng wasn't watching, then beckoned the crew member over with a small wave of his bite-marked hand.

Qi Yuan, noticing Qiao Bai's furtive behavior, also leaned in out of curiosity.

After dealing with the Monsters, they had rested on Sakura Island for a few more days before returning.

We won't go into details about how the five major countries demanded compensation from Sakura Island.

In any case, asking for divine intervention is easy, but saying farewell is difficult.

The five major countries' military might was present on Sakura Island, forcing the island's leadership to grit their teeth and accept their demands for compensation.

This included allowing them access to special fusion field exploration records, selecting a certain amount of supernatural items, sharing Monster research data, and so on.

Each country's embassy on Sakura Island would be responsible for the follow-up work, with an increase in embassy staff.

Ultimately, while the five major countries made Sakura Island bleed significantly, they didn't sever any major arteries.

The other four countries argued vehemently that this was to ensure the success of future global cleanup operations and that demanding too much compensation would hinder the plans.

Dragon Country was well aware of their little schemes, but the real reasons and each country's ulterior motives no longer mattered.

After all, this was the first case, and they couldn't look too greedy.

Otherwise, some smaller countries might prefer annihilation over seeking help, which would defeat the purpose.

Until they had a way to deal with SSS-Level Monsters, the five major countries had to compromise.