The Twelve Stars.

Yize sat in the quiet, high-tech medical room, staring blankly at her teacher, who was deep in sleep before her.

The scene of Shi Ming pushing her away at the critical moment flashed through her mind, one frame after another. It was an image she couldn’t shake, seared into her memory like a brand. Because of that push, she had survived and returned safely to the Twelve Stars, the only member of their party to escape unscathed.

It was no exaggeration to say that Shi Ming was her savior.

’Stone...’

But unfortunately, that figure had been consumed by the sea of lightning.

And Reyno... he was gone forever, too.

She glanced at her teacher.

Her teacher had been unconscious ever since their return. Fortunately, the medical system of the Twelve Stars had inherited the pinnacle of Golden Era technology, and his condition had improved significantly after treatment.

Mr. Lei’s injuries were also severe. His frequent use of Endless Purple Thunder had pushed his body to the brink of collapse. He had used his last ounce of strength to help them retreat, and his current condition was hardly any better than her teacher’s.

After Mr. Iruka woke up, he had no serious injuries. He had already departed in his drifter ship, returning to the African Union, also known as the Black Gold Country. Before leaving, he heard about what happened afterward and couldn’t help but sigh wistfully.

"That Iwami tried to be clever and got himself killed for it. He brought it on himself. But young Stone... we really hit it off. I was planning to invite him to explore the Undersea Pyramid with me after the mission was complete. I never thought..."

"Sigh! The good die young!"

The final prize had been taken by that woman disguised as an old man.

That woman was insidious and cunning. She had played weak during the earlier stages of the fight, contributing little and conserving her strength, all so she could steal the fruits of victory at the very end.

The thought filled Yize with indignation.

’How was that fair?’

Just as her heart was filling with unshareable thoughts, the door to the medical room was pushed open.

"Miss Yize, Mr. Marshall requests your presence in the conference hall. He has some questions for you."

’Mr. Marshall?’

’The secretary to the top leader of the Twelve-Star Alliance?’

Yize froze for a moment, then realized this was something she had to face. Whether it was Wright’s family or the upper echelons of the Twelve Stars, they were all closely following the incident and wanted to know the full story.

’It’s time to tell them who the real culprit is.’

’That S-rank Awakened who uses a charm ability.’

...

...

Laden with spoils, Shi Ming returned to his loyal ship, the Dayun.

After settling matters on board, he finally had a chance to get some proper rest. But he had only slept for five hours when the communicator he’d placed back on his belt began to beep incessantly.

’Ugh, so annoying!’

He sat up, feeling a familiar grumpiness from being woken up.

Between awakening to S-rank and the numerous battles, every cell in his body was crying out for a thorough rest.

Judging by the frequency of the messages, it was from the "There Must Be Light" group.

’Alright, time for some drama.’

Shi Ming picked up the communicator.

The first thing that greeted him was the "Commander’s" fury.

Hollow letters on a screen could hardly convey true emotion.

But between the lines, Shi Ming could still feel the rage.

[Lighthouse: DAMN IT!!! What happened? What the hell happened? An S-rank Awakened has fallen! In the thirty years I’ve commanded the drifter ships of America, with our Three Generals and Nine Golds, when has anything like this ever happened! Shenqu, what did you do? Do you still want to be a captain or not?!!]

The death of an S-rank Awakened was an extremely rare event among all the drifter ship factions.

How many S-rank Awakened did a major power like Lighthouse even have? For one to die so inexplicably was like losing a quarter of the faction’s core strength. Who could accept such a thing?

Casualties on a mission were unavoidable, but someone had to be held responsible!

The captain of the Shenqu had seen the message long ago but didn’t dare to reply, nor did he know how.

Under the circumstances, the other drifter ship captains in the group chat were even more afraid to speak.

Among them were more than a few who were secretly gloating.

Captains like Jinshan and Michael, for instance. Because of the death of their navigator, Edward, the two of them had been unable to find a specific party to blame and could only drag the matter out. Now that someone had gotten into even bigger trouble, wouldn’t the attention be diverted away from them?

’Good. This is great!’

No matter how much potential Edward had, on paper, he was only an A-rank. The incident could be downplayed; there was room for negotiation.

But Miss Yan was a true elite, a genuine S-rank. And it was rumored that she had close, secret relationships with many high-ranking officials.

Now, this was a truly massive incident.

In any era, within most organizations, the relationships between "colleagues" have always been remarkably subtle and complex. Though they might share the same superior, they could never truly share a common enemy or each other’s joys and sorrows.

Often, one’s own failure was hateful, but a colleague’s success was even harder to accept.

Likewise, one’s own accomplishments brought pleasure, but a colleague’s failure was even more exhilarating.

The logic behind it was difficult to truly explain.

Seeing that Shenqu was still not responding, the Lighthouse commander grew even more furious.

[Lighthouse: How did Miss Yan die? Where is her body? Did Wright’s party return safely? What’s the status of that S-rank sea beast? Shenqu! Do you know nothing about any of this?]

After a long pause,

Shi Ming saw Shenqu finally reply.

[Shenqu: Reporting, Commander. Miss Yan’s cause of death is unknown. Her body is missing. Wright’s party has returned to the Twelve Stars. Other details are pending investigation.]

[Lighthouse: You have one day. Find out what happened and give me a clear explanation.]

[Lighthouse: Someone must be held responsible for the death of an S-rank Awakened in the line of duty. I hope it’s not you.]

[Shenqu: Yes, Commander.]

The once-mighty captain of a General-class drifter ship now leaned weakly against his captain’s chair, his heart filled with unspeakable bitterness.

Casualties on a mission were unavoidable, but as the commander had said, within the organization, someone had to be held responsible.

Whether it was the Twelve Stars or the Black Society, he needed a scapegoat. If he couldn’t get to the bottom of the matter and find a person or faction to blame, the responsibility would inevitably fall on his head as the captain. The outcome, without a doubt, would be death.

He was starting to understand how Captain Michael and Captain Jinshan must have felt.

Captains were replaceable, but the death of an S-rank Awakened demanded an explanation.

"Plot a course immediately for Mount Olympus."

"Yes, Captain. But... the waters around Mount Olympus are under the jurisdiction of the Twelve Stars. A General-class drifter ship must give them prior notice before entering."

"Contact them! The Twelve Stars! That Wright from the Twelve Stars is also highly suspicious. How did he return safely while Miss Yan died? Contact them and get the whole story. But who knows, maybe they were the ones who orchestrated it..."

The more the Shenqu’s captain thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

He then turned to another communications officer who was on standby.

"How is the body recovery operation by the Daiyu going? Have they found Miss Yan’s remains?"

"Captain, there’s nothing yet. You know how it is—finding and recovering Miss Yan’s body from the deep sea is next to impossible. According to reports, the seabed in the relevant area is a complete wreck, covered in traces of a massive battle. We’ve only been able to find some remains of unknown creatures."

"Keep searching."

...

...

...

Above Fujing Mountain, the sky was overcast and filled with dark clouds. The spectacular sight of the Hai Sheng Ying was gone.

The Black Society.

Yan Dao Lin sat on his chair with a deathly still expression, unable to make a sound for a long time.

Of the three A-rank Awakened on his ship, another had died. Now only one remained. And the Taunt Stone was lost to the world once more.

Only two words echoed in his mind.

I’m screwed.

...

...

...