Shalu spent another day sealing up the hole he had dug, then left the next day. He returned to his original residence, changed clothes, and prepared to visit the stone house again. After passing through layers of security at the entrance, he saw Daechir again, but despite calling out several times, she remained motionless. Disappointed, he turned to leave when a voice spoke behind him.
"If you really want to save me, help me find someone."
"Who? Tell me, and I'll definitely find them," Shalu asked, overjoyed as he turned back. Daechir whispered in his ear, finally saying, "You must never let anyone know about that place."
"Don't worry!" The two conversed through a fist-sized opening in the stone house's iron door. Daechir reached through with her slender finger, gently tracing Shalu's cheek, then said softly, "Go now. I'll be waiting for you."
After Shalu left, Daechir stared blankly in the direction he had gone, muttering, "I'm sorry! I'm truly sorry! I have no choice." Carrying his beloved's mission, Shalu embarked on his journey, taking a day to return to Eagle's Nest.
Ares and Hill hadn't left since returning two years ago. They had raised some small animals and created several simple robots. Ares had met Shalu when he was very young. When they encountered each other, both asked simultaneously, "How are you here too?"
Shalu explained, "Daechir was captured by Nine Stars United. I came here to find a way to rescue her."
"You don't expect me to help, do you? I won't go."
"How come you never grew taller? Still a shorty," Shalu asked an unrelated question.
"I don't know, but I think it's fine. My body hasn't aged at all."
Seeing Hill, who remained silent, Shalu asked, "Is she your girlfriend?"
"As if! I wouldn't want her. She's my servant," Ares replied, still bitter about being rejected a year ago and taking the opportunity to express his displeasure in front of a stranger.
"Woof! Woof!" Dopey barked incessantly at the three.
"Did you bring someone?" Ares asked.
Shalu shook his head, "No, why?"
"Someone seems to be approaching the tunnel entrance."
The three rushed to the surveillance room. "How is it her?" Shalu muttered, seeing the person on screen.
"You know this old woman?" Ares asked. The visitor was the elderly lady who had shared Shalu's bed for over two months.
"If she's not your friend, I'll have the spiders deal with her."
"No, she shouldn't mean any harm."
"Is she your mother?" Ares boldly guessed.
"Don't guess wildly. She's just a colleague."
Knowing the visitor posed no threat, they stopped paying attention.
After Ares left, Shalu secretly entered Tunnel Nine, approaching the large stone door with "Intruders Must Die" written on it. He removed the character for "die," revealing a red button underneath. Instead of pressing it, he shouted a series of passwords at it. After a moment, the stone door slowly opened a crack. Shalu slipped inside, and the door closed within five seconds.
Beyond the stone door lay a straight corridor, over two meters wide, with various patterns painted on both sides. He couldn't help but look closer, curious about who had created these drawings. At the corridor's end, he turned right to reach the stone door where Ares and others had previously searched for gold. However, he didn't enter but felt around the entrance, eventually finding a rusty chain in the door's crevice. He pulled hard, and with a rumbling sound, a wall beside the stone door sank down, revealing a secret chamber.
Overjoyed, Shalu hurried inside. The room was tiny—just over three meters long and two meters wide. The chamber contained almost nothing except an iron box resembling a coffin on the floor. He crouched down and opened the lid. By the light from the stone door, he saw a young girl lying naked inside.
Shalu carefully lifted the girl from the iron box and placed her in the light. Using his left hand to open her mouth as wide as possible, he inserted his right index finger into her oral cavity. After a moment, the girl slowly opened her eyes and asked, "Did you wake me?"
"Yes, miss!"
"Don't call me miss. Please call me Yurina." After a pause, Yurina asked, "Has something happened to Daechir? Tell me about her situation."
Shalu recounted everything about Daechir's circumstances. Yurina asked several other questions, and Shalu told her everything he knew.
"You've done well. I must thank you," Yurina praised after listening.
Shalu didn't understand what deserved praise, only saying, "Please hurry and save Daechir!"
"I will, but first I need to do something."
"What?"
Yurina stood up, smiling as she beckoned with her index finger, "Come here. I'm a bit dizzy and need your support."
Though knowing the girl was a robot, Shalu didn't dare look too much. Her skin was perfect—smooth as jade without a single flaw. He feared doing something embarrassing. Yurina smiled coquettishly, "What? Don't dare come over?"
Shalu quickly closed his eyes. The moment he did, the girl lunged forward with a dagger that had appeared in her hand, plunging it into Shalu's chest. After a scream that cut off abruptly, he died without understanding why he had been killed.
Yurina removed his clothes and put them on herself. "This will have to do for now. I'll buy new clothes once I get out." She first entered the small stone chamber to take some gold, then exited Tunnel Nine.
When Ares saw her, he shouted, "Who are you? How did you get in?"
Yurina looked at him, "So you're my husband's vessel?"
"Your husband? Who is your husband? What's a vessel?" Ares was completely confused. But he received no answer as Yurina vanished like a ghost before his eyes.
Following Shalu's address, Yurina arrived in Thailand that same day. Illuminati's original headquarters had been in North America, but after Ethan's family took power, it moved to Asia. She disguised herself as a flower-selling girl, waiting for Ethan family members to appear.
Three days passed with no results. "Don't these people ever leave?" she wondered.
After waiting another two days, a car finally appeared at the entrance. Half an hour later, a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl emerged with three bodyguards.
Yurina quickly approached, "Little friend, would you like to buy flowers?"
Seeing a strange woman approaching, a bodyguard stepped forward to stop her, "Miss, please don't come any closer!"
"I just wanted to—" Before finishing her sentence, gunshots rang out. "Bang! Bang! Bang!" The three bodyguards fell. The little girl screamed and tried to run back, but Yurina flashed forward and grabbed her around the waist. By the time the guards at the entrance reacted, they had retreated twenty meters away.