Skyler stared wide-eyed at Kevin Wang, who sat cross-legged against the corner of the wall, watching him back.

  The air grew eerily silent; no one moved.

  "You..." Skyler finally broke the silence. "When did you wake up?"

  "Just now," Kevin grinned widely, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

  "Exactly when just now?" Jason instinctively took a step back and asked.

  "A few minutes ago, I think?"

  Skyler had a bad feeling. "You saw everything?!"

  "Yup, saw it all!" Kevin suddenly got excited and jumped up. "Damn! When I woke up, you guys were fighting like crazy—so badass... I thought I was dreaming!"

  Kevin waved his arms animatedly. "Saw Lynn get smacked flying across the room—bam, glass everywhere! Damn! Right then I knew it wasn't a dream and just froze—played dead right there!"

  Skyler pressed his forehead, feeling a massive headache coming on.

  "Hey, what was that old lady thing anyway? Damn, she fully turned into a lizard earlier! Why'd she look human again after dying?"

  "And you three—what the hell are you?! X-Men? Got superpowers or something? Bro, you're insane, flying cows levels of crazy awesome!"

  "Kevin," Skyler interrupted.

  "What?"

  "Shut up. Let me think." Skyler said, utterly exasperated.

  Jason stepped back. "Boss, sis-in-law, we can't let him live... Let's take him out."

  "I am not your sis-in-law," Lynn muttered from where she lay sprawled on the waterbed. "I'm exhausted. Do whatever you want with that idiot."

  "Idiot?" Kevin pointed to his own nose. "You talking about me?"

  "No!" Skyler shouted, pointing at the corpse pinned to the wall. "We meant that lizard freak!"

  "Whoa! It really was a lizard monster!" Kevin got even more hyped.

  Skyler took a deep breath, decision made. "Kevin, listen carefully. What I'm about to say is really important!"

  "Okay!" Kevin perked up, ready to listen intently.

  Five minutes later.

  Kevin was solemn, struggling to process it all. "So you're saying... my body was modified when I was a kid, that's why I'm so special, and now these lizard freaks want to kill me?"

  "Exactly! We're all new humans, genetically enhanced to fight the lizard people. But you, you're one in a million—you're the Chosen One. Only you can defeat the Lizard King!"

  "That's... a lot. Lemme sort this out..." Kevin leaned against the wall, deep in thought.

  Skyler stepped closer, his tone heartfelt. "Kevin, Lynn and I have been secretly protecting you all along. I distanced myself recently because my cover was blown... I didn't want to drag you down. You saw it just now—that lizard almost killed us all."

  "Really?" Kevin turned to face him.

  "Swear on my life!"

  "Bro! I knew it... you'd never leave me behind!" Kevin's eyes turned red with emotion as he grabbed Skyler's hand. "No lie, the first time I saw you on campus, you just felt... right, man!"

  "I've hated pretty much everyone since I was a kid—even my own parents! But you, man, you just clicked with me. I had no idea you were hiding something this big!"

  "This is destiny," Skyler smiled. "Looks like we were always meant to fight side by side."

  "Hell yeah!" Kevin got even more hyped. "Let's wreck those lizards! Save the world together!"

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Skyler quietly exhaled. Dumb as bricks... but at least he gets to live.

  Off to the side, Jason Han was dumbfounded. What kind of 500-IQ play was that?!

  Lynn, still lying exhausted on the bed, didn't object—or maybe she was just too drained to care.

  Jason quickly forced out a stiff smile. "Bro, keep it low-key! We humans are still super outnumbered. Lizards are everywhere. Stay undercover, grow strong quietly. Survival first!"

  "Got it." Kevin thumped his chest. "Don't worry. Once I'm strong enough, I'll have your backs!"

  ……

  Ten minutes later, Officer Huang arrived after receiving their call.

  He pushed aside the debris and walked into the room.

  "There was an accident. The mission failed," Lynn said, sitting on the bed while Jason Han tended to her wounded arm.

  "Figured, just by looking at the scene," Officer Huang said as he pulled out a cigarette, his eyes landing on Aunt He, still pinned to the wall. "Pretty brutal. Let me guess... she looked like a lizard?"

  "Yeah. What kind of Beast was she?" Skyler asked.

  "Also a Wrath Beast. As far as I know, Wrath Beasts come in three types: Executioners, Devourers, and Heralds." Officer Huang crouched down, quietly studying Aunt He's corpse.

  "You guys ran into an Executioner—strong fighters. But this one was badly degraded. If it were at full strength, I'd be scooping up your bodies right now."

  Everyone in the room gasped.

  "But honestly, among Wrath Beasts, the scariest ones are the Heralds. If you encounter one, you're dead for sure."

  "Are Heralds that strong?" Lynn asked.

  "Not really. But they can use their special vocal cords to instantly alert every Beast within a one-kilometer radius."

  "......"

  Skyler said nothing. Well, lucky in misfortune.

  Maybe maxing out his Luck stat actually worked. Some things… you just had to believe.

  "Officer Huang, hello," Jason Han stepped forward, smiling warmly as he offered his hand. "I'm your new teammate."

  "Yeah, I figured," Officer Huang said as he shook his hand. Then he turned to look at Kevin Wang, who was utterly clueless but brimming with confidence.

  "And who's this lively young man?"

  Suddenly, Officer Huang frowned, a cold murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

  "Officer Huang!" Skyler hurriedly stepped forward and shielded Kevin. "He's one of us too."

  Officer Huang stared into Skyler's eyes, falling silent for a few seconds. He more or less figured it out.

  Lost Ones didn't necessarily have to be killed. After all, they were so similar to humans. If handled carefully without "triggering" them, peaceful coexistence was theoretically possible.

  But overall, humanity still knew far too little about Beasts. It was risky, and frankly too naive.

  Still, Officer Huang wasn't in a position to lecture—he himself had never killed "Old Man Liu" either.

  He nodded slightly, lowering his voice. "Are you sure it's safe?"

  "Safe."

  "Good." Officer Huang lit his cigarette and took a deep drag. "You three, clean yourselves up and leave immediately. Go to school like usual."

  Then he turned to Jason Han. "You're the owner of this hotel, right?"

  "Yeah."

  Officer Huang nodded, scanning the carnage. "I can cover it up as a break-in robbery for you. But there's too much damage—it'll be hard to fully erase. There's a huge risk of exposure."

  "Any other options?" Jason asked.

  "Would you mind starring in the news? ‘Love Hotel Gas Explosion: One Dead, One Injured'."

  The dead one would obviously be Aunt He. The "injured" would be Jason—easy enough since he could heal himself. A small price to pay.

  "But this... this is everything I own! Blow it all up?" Jason said painfully.

  "I didn't buy insurance! No compensation, and I might even get fined…"

  "More important than your life?" Officer Huang asked coldly.

  "Officer Huang is right—nothing matters more than staying alive." Skyler added.

  Jason sighed heavily, cursed under his breath, and said, "Burn it, burn it! One building for a few companions—worth it!"

  Ten minutes later, Skyler and Lynn walked out of the hotel.

  It was early morning, and the entire city was slowly waking under the soft embrace of dawn.

  The streets were sparsely populated—just a few breakfast vendors pushing their carts, several young men who had spent the night gaming at internet cafés, and a lazy street-cleaning truck trundling past them.

  Kevin Wang trailed excitedly behind them, practically bursting with energy. "Damn, I feel like everyone I see is a lizard person now!"

  "Keep your voice down," Skyler warned. "Go home and stay put. Lynn and I are heading to school. Tonight, drive to the school gate to pick us up. I've got a mission for you."

  "Got it!" Kevin shouted as he dashed across the street and hopped into his sports car.

  Before driving off, he enthusiastically waved at Skyler. "Kill them all! Save the world!"

  "Strange... a Lost One taking this much provocation without snapping?" Lynn said coldly.

  "I thought you were going to let him live," Skyler sighed.

  "Impossible," Lynn's eyes turned icy. "If he dies tonight, it'll put too much suspicion on us. We'll wait for a better opportunity and then—"

  Before she could finish, her expression darkened sharply.

  "What's wrong?"

  Just as Skyler spoke, he noticed Lynn's gaze was fixed on something behind him.

  Skyler turned around—and his face paled in shock.

  " Sophie Gao?!"

  Skyler's little sister stood just a few meters away.

  She wore a brand-new Lolita dress and a golden wig, looking like a porcelain doll, yet her face was expressionless as she stared at Skyler.

  Normally, Skyler would have praised how beautiful she looked, but right now, he was so nervous he nearly stuttered. "Sis, why are you here? Uh, I'm just hanging out with classmates—"

  "Drop the act. I've already figured it out," Sophie said calmly.

  Skyler's heart sank.

  Lynn subtly stepped forward, her fingers flexing, ready to strike.

  Still clinging to a shred of hope, Skyler tried again. "Sis, what are you talking about? I don't understand…"

  "It's too late," she said, a chilling, age-inappropriate smirk creeping onto her face. "I've already told everyone."

  A wave of overwhelming despair and horror gripped Skyler's throat.

  —Herald!