The trio walked and explored for three days before reaching Zi City. Yurina was named after Ronnie's wife, Amandine's mother, and their resemblance was striking. De Silva, having seen his grandmother's photograph, recognized this Yurina immediately. However, he couldn't bring himself to call her "Grandma." "She's not your real grandmother, you don't have to call her that!" Daechir said.
The robot Yurina protested, "I possess most of Yurina's memories. Why wouldn't I be his grandmother?" De Silva, not wanting to hear them argue, quickly interjected, "Daechir, how did you escape?"
"Of course, I was the one who rescued her," Yurina cut in.
Daechir said apologetically, "I'm sorry, De Silva. Your invisibility cloak was stolen by Nine Stars United. I'll find a way to get it back, don't worry."
"No need. I've already recovered the invisibility cloak!"
Daechir was shocked to hear this and quickly asked, "How did you get it back?"
Flashback to half a month earlier: Nandi was ordered to infiltrate Zi City to gather intelligence. She came ashore quietly from a submarine, then donned the cloak and furtively made her way to the station in the southwest district, the city-state's main entry and exit point. She blended in by following a city guard. As she passed through the security gate, everything seemed normal. Just as she thought she was in the clear, the ground beneath her gave way, an alarm blared, and a large net descended from the sky, trapping her. A moment later, De Silva arrived, laughing. "Haha, finally caught you!"
The city guards surrounded the area. Someone sprayed a red liquid into the net, revealing Nandi. She asked resentfully, "How did you know I was coming?"
"We didn't know for sure. We just guessed you would probably use the invisibility cloak to cause trouble," De Silva explained.
"Who are you?"
"I am the original owner of the cloak. Invisibility technology is no longer a secret. Using this method is just foolish." De Silva retrieved the cloak and had Nandi imprisoned. The little girl, hearing her aunt was captured, pleaded, "Can you let me see her?"
"Who is this little girl?" De Silva asked.
"She's Ethan's daughter," Daechir answered, then added, "Are you thinking of capturing her too?"
"No, the city-state never harms the innocent."
"Good, this is the city-state my father envisioned." That evening, the little girl visited Nandi. "Auntie, how can I get you out?"
"I'm fine here. In these past dozen days, the city-state has shown me what justice is and who I should be fighting for. I want to join them when I get out."
"Don't you want to go home?"
"Elsa, go back and tell your brother to give up attacking the city-state. Let's all live in peace."
"Dad won't listen to me. I don't want to go back right now anyway."
The next day, Daechir, Yurina, and Alice left Zi City. The island was still under blockade, but thanks to Elsa, their entry and exit were much easier. "Bringing this little girl along is quite useful; it saves us a lot of trouble!" Yurina said.
Daechir still wanted to find Vega and bring her back to Eagle's Nest. Vega was now a regional director in Africa with the rank of general, making her a difficult target to capture. As Alice and the others appeared on the street, they drew stares. Daechir, wearing her newly bought clothes, walked confidently at the front. "Why do I think that girl's chest looks so fake?" a young man in his twenties said to his companion. "What do you know? That's called perky!"
"Could they be fake? They don't look very bouncy. The girl behind her, who looks similar, seems much more natural."
"The one behind is definitely prettier." Their conversation was overheard by the sharp-eared Daechir. She immediately turned and glared at them. "Wow! She's beautiful when she's angry," the first young man praised.
"She is beautiful, I have to admit." Hearing them call her beautiful, Daechir cheered up again. The four continued walking. As they passed a fruit stand, a tall man blocked their path. He had a fierce look, a crew cut, and wore a black sports T-shirt, revealing a red-eyed skull tattoo on his left arm. The little girl, frightened, moved closer to Yurina. "Hey, tall guy, what do you want?" Daechir asked angrily, her path blocked. "Our general wants to see you," he replied. "Who's your general?"
"You'll know when you get there." Yurina stepped out from behind. "And what if we don't go?" The tall man looked at her coldly. "Who are you?"
Daechir took a step forward, addressing Yurina, "I'll handle this. You just watch."
"Why? Do you think you're more capable than me? Don't forget I was the one who saved you." Daechir shook her head. "Fine! Then you explain it to this guy!"
"What's there to explain? Just take him out."
The tall man overheard their conversation. He hadn't expected Yurina to be even more aggressive than him, ready to fight at a moment's notice. He took a step back and waved his left hand upward. Instantly, a dozen armed soldiers appeared, surrounding them. Elsa, recognizing their uniforms, ran out and pointed at them. "Whose subordinates are you? Tell him to come out and see me." A soldier replied, "We are the 14th Squad of the 3rd Column, African Sector. That officer is our captain." He pointed to the tall man.
The Nine Stars United military ranks still followed the old Illuminati system: General, Major General, Colonel, Major, Captain, down to the lowest rank of Squad Leader. The tall man's rank was too low for Elsa to recognize him. She shouted at him, "Hey! I'm Elsa, Ethan is my father. Tell your men to back down!"
"I'm under orders to invite Daechir. I'm not concerned with anything else," the tall man replied, unmoved. Elsa had used this trick to scare off many people these past few days, but this time it didn't work. She couldn't help but sigh softly. "Hmph!"
As the men slowly closed in, and Daechir and Yurina were about to make a move, Alice stepped in to stop them. "Let's go with them! These men are probably Vega's subordinates. They won't harm us!"
"Good! I was just looking for her," Daechir said.
The four of them got into two separate cars. Alice and Daechir sat together, with a female driver at the wheel. After driving for over three hours, they reached a narrow mountain road flanked by jagged rocks. After another twenty minutes, they came to a stone bridge with a checkpoint guarded by six sentinels. The lead car stopped, and the tall man got out to talk to the guards. A moment later, the cars continued forward. Past the stone bridge lay a lush forest, a sea of green stretching as far as the eye could see.