Few minutes Later...


    "Is it done?" Wang Xiao inqured, upon the notice Freya''s rxed posture.


    "Done!" Freya announced, hitting the enter key with a beaming smile.


    Beep!


    The sudden, sharp sound abruptly echoed, catching Wang Xiao off-guard.


    His phone, a silentpanion till now, buzzed with an urgency that was both unexpected and rming.


    Curiosity piqued, he snatched it up, his eyes narrowing as they darted across the screen.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    A message blinked back at him, a digital cry for help that included their precise location, a candid snapshot, and a frantic plea: [Help me someone! Some child molestor disguising as a magician has trapped me!]


    "You?" Disbelief tinged his voice as he swiveled towards Freya, whose smile was a concoction of triumph and mischief.


    "Broadcasted to the entire nation, no less. My saviors should be en route as we speak," she dered, her grin stretching wider.


    The room hummed with the soft flicker of screens, as if mimicking her satisfaction.


    _____


    Meanwhile, nestled in the shadowy depths of the Antic, Sakura found herself roused from a serene slumber by a barrage of insistent alerts.


    Blinking away the remnants of sleep, she was greeted by the image of Wang Xiao, a figure loomed ominously behind a bound girl, apanied by the same message that had invaded the tranquility of Norhaven''s inhabitants.


    "How peculiar... Who is this adept soul?" Sakura mused aloud, a hint of admirationcing her words as she stifled a yawn andzily began to navigate through her ownbyrinth ofmands and scripts.


    Her mission was crystal clear—protect the anonymity at all costs.


    With the efficiency of a shadow erasing its own silhouette, she obliterated every trace of the message, leaving no stone unturned.


    As the digital footprints vanished into the ether, Sakura surrendered once more to the embrace of sleep, the ocean''s depths reiming its tranquil dominion.


    _______


    "Huh?"


    Freya, previously exuding a smug smile, was suddenly taken aback as theptop screen behind her froze.


    "What? Did it crash?" She turned around, puzzled, and Wang Xiao couldn''t help but share in her bewilderment.


    Pop!


    Out of nowhere, a ''Gekko'' figure appeared on her screen, giving her a mini heart attack.


    Boom!


    Freya mmed her fist onto the keyboard. "This bitch!"


    While she seethed in frustration, Wang Xiao''s eyes blinked, reassessing the threat level of this girl. "You really didn''t take my warning seriously, did you?" he said.


    "What do you mean...?" Freya, still preupied with the ''Gekko'', didn''t give much thought to his words until a few momentster—


    "Ah!?"


    "What are you doing, you beast!"


    "Put me down!"


    With a swift motion, Wang Xiao lifted Freya upside down and stripped away her clothes, shocking even Freya herself.


    !!


    As Freya dangled helplessly, her mind raced with confusion and panic. "What the hell are you doing?!" she demanded, her voice tinged with a mixture of fear and anger, as she hugged her body with her hands.


    Wang Xiao''s expression remained impassive as he gazed at her. "I warned you, now if you still have time to scream, might as well put that energy to use in proper ces," he replied, his tone grave.


    As for the message being recalled, well as long as his name in under the list of ghosts, thest thing he should be worried about was his identity getting exposed.


    As Wang Xiao continued to hold her suspended in the air, Freya''s anger grew. "Let me go, you creep!" she shouted, her face flushing with humiliation.


    "This time, you have fifteen minutes, but one more slip-up and you''ll find yourself flying out that window," Wang Xiao dered, a calm smile ying on his lips, instantly soothing the wiggling Freya.


    With deliberate care, Wang Xiao slowly lowered her back into the chair, and this time, the loliplied without a single grumble.


    Ten minutester.


    "Finished," Freya dered, presenting the unlocked devices to Wang Xiao with a mix of pride and relief.


    Taking them, Wang Xiao dove into the sea of information, his fingers swiping with a fervor. Yet, the deeper he delved, the thicker the fog of confusion grew around him.


    "Why does it all lead back to Gabriel?" he pondered, his brow furrowing in perplexity.


    The phones he had intercepted were a direct line to Gabriel, a revtion that twisted the narrative in unexpected ways.


    Gabriel, it seemed, was the puppeteer who had fooled the monks.


    More shockingly, he was intertwined with Anran''s life in ways Wang Xiao hadn''t anticipated, aware not only of her pregnancy but also of his paternity.


    But the puzzle remained - if Gabriel had previously pursued Anran, why shift his focus to him now?


    ________


    As Wang Xiao was maneuvering his situation with Freya to his benefit, her mother, Ericka, found herself locked in a heated exchange with Seraphine.


    The scene yed out in the hidden depths of Ericka''s personalboratory, a space secluded beneath the pce''s grandeur, where the quest for knowledge was sanctified amidst beakers and burners.


    Seraphine paced theb, her frustration echoing through the quick tap of her heels against the cool, tiled floor.


    In contrast, Ericka, a striking figure in her pristineb coat, moved through theb with an air of serene focus. Her rich auburn hair, a vibrant cascade of curls, tumbled past her shoulders, defying the sterility of theb with its fiery hue. Red-rimmed sses perched on her nose, framing eyes that were a clear, prating blue—a stark contrast to the warmth of her tresses.


    "Ericka! Are you even listening to me?" Seraphine''s voice, strained and cracking with emotion, struck against the hum of equipment and the clinking of ss.


    "Yes, go on," Ericka replied, her gaze fixed intently on the swirling contents of the test tube she expertly manipted, her tone even but distant.


    "..."


    Met with Ericka''s brief acknowledgment, Seraphine fell momentarily silent, her grievances hanging in the air between them.


    Ericka''s mouth tipped into a sly smile, her demeanorposed. "I understand what you''re seeking, Sera, but that girl has long since slipped from my sphere of influence. If there''s someone you need to confront, it''s Freya herself, not me."


    Seraphine exhaled a weary sigh, the weight of her concerns pressing down. "How do I even begin to exin this to her?"


    "There''s no need for grand narratives. Magnus and I have alreadyid bare the truth to her, as well as to her sister, who''s currently abroad in country M for her university studies. These girls have grown; they''re more than capable of navigating their own storms," Ericka responded, her voice a mix of dismissal and assurance.