Nan Muran followed Guo Fei’s gaze and turned around, just in time to see Si Ye and Lao Ying wandering outside the villa’s yard below.

Both men carried bulging military backpacks, though neither wore their epaulets.

Her lips curled into a radiant smile. She set down her coffee, slipped on her slippers, and ran straight out of the villa.

She didn’t forget to call back to Guo Fei, “I’ll tell you about the comparison results in a bit.”

Guo Fei was clearly stunned by her reaction. It had been a long time since he’d seen Nan Muran this happy.

Nan Muran dashed down the stairs and opened the front door of the villa.

Outside, Si Ye and Lao Ying had just confirmed they were at the right place and were wondering how to enter the yard, when they saw the villa’s door swing open.

Nan Muran stepped out and ran straight up to Si Ye. “You’ve made up your mind?”

“Mm.” Si Ye looked at Nan Muran in the sunset, just like when they first met, and nodded solemnly.

“The sunset’s beautiful. I’m in a good mood today,” Nan Muran said, her voice laced with a smile.

Beside them, Lao Ying watched the atmosphere between the two and was reluctant to interrupt, but still had to speak up. “Miss Nan, I’m here too, you know.”

Nan Muran looked at him, then glanced around. “Why is it just you?”

“Chen Dong and Qiangzi’s situations are a bit complicated. So, it’s just the two of us,” Si Ye explained.

Nan Muran replied simply, “As long as you’re here, that’s enough.”

“So what, I’m the extra one now? Still time to leave?” Lao Ying said with a wry smile, glancing between Nan Muran and Si Ye.

Si Ye looked at him, helpless. “Shut up already.”

“You guys just brought backpacks?” Nan Muran looked at their extremely minimal luggage, a little surprised.

“Yeah. Two broke guys looking for refuge—hope Miss Nan will look after us,” Lao Ying said with a cupped-fist gesture, like a wanderer from a martial arts drama.

Nan Muran stared at him, surprised. “Are you really the Lao Ying I know? You seem like a whole different person.”

Among the four of them—excluding Si Ye—the most active had always been Chen Dong, the most silent was Wang Qiang, and the one with the deepest thoughts had always been Lao Ying. This shift in personality was unexpected.

“Don’t mind him. He was just hiding it well before.”

Nan Muran couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Come on in.”

Upstairs, Guo Fei was watching Nan Muran talking with Si Ye and Lao Ying. His brows furrowed involuntarily. Why did the one in front, who looked like a celebrity, just rub him the wrong way?

Once the three of them entered the villa, Lin Jiajia, who was busy in the kitchen, came out immediately. “Muran, who are these two?”

“This is Si Ye, and this is Lao Ying. They’re my friends.”

“I’ll go prepare rooms for them then,” Lin Jiajia said, noticing the luggage and realizing they were staying.

Guo Fei came downstairs just as she was heading up. He looked at Si Ye with evident hostility. “What kind of friend? How come I’ve never seen them before?”

Nan Muran was taken aback, surprised by Guo Fei’s tone.

The first time she’d brought Wu-ge to the villa, Fei-ge hadn’t acted like this at all. “Fei-ge, what’s wrong? Bad mood?”

“What’s with you?” Lin Jiajia, closest to Guo Fei, quickly smacked her husband.

Guo Fei didn’t respond. He turned and walked toward the door. “I’m going out for a walk.”

“It’s almost dark, where are you going?”

“To find Chen Jianguo.”

At that name, both Si Ye and Lao Ying stiffened noticeably. Not many people casually referred to Commander Chen by name at the military base.

Lin Jiajia glanced at Guo Fei’s awkward demeanor, then turned to Si Ye. “Hold on, I prepared something for their family. You can take it with you.”

Once Guo Fei left the house…

Si Ye and Lao Ying stood in the living room, a little awkward. What was going on here? The host clearly didn’t seem very welcoming.

“Jiajia-jie, what’s wrong with Fei-ge?” Nan Muran asked, confused as she watched Guo Fei’s retreating figure.

Lin Jiajia looked at Si Ye, then back at Nan Muran, her gaze carrying a trace of helplessness. “He’s sulking. Feels like his precious girl is about to get stolen.”

Nan Muran froze.

Lao Ying immediately caught on—and was relieved it wasn’t about him.

Si Ye’s ears, on the other hand, began to flush uncontrollably red.

“Alright, you two go settle in. I’ll prepare dinner—come down later to eat.”

There were three rooms on the second floor. Jiawu and Nan Muran had each taken one, so Si Ye and Lao Ying shared the remaining room.

Once they finished unpacking, Si Ye knocked on Nan Muran’s door.

“You’re quick. I thought you wouldn’t show up until at least tomorrow.” Nan Muran gestured for him to sit down.

Actually, ever since Jiawu told her that Si Ye and the others had killed over thirty WJ Special Forces members the previous night, she had already guessed his decision.

Si Ye looked at Nan Muran—she always seemed to see through everything. “After explaining everything that happened between the four of us to Commander Chen, getting discharged wasn’t too difficult.

Besides, the identities of the ones who attacked us last night were… complicated.”

Si Ye couldn’t help thinking about what Commander Chen had said—about Nan Muran being his “future partner.”

“You killed that many from the WJ team… of course they’ll want an explanation.”

As a soldier, even if it was self-defense, the ones they killed would still be seen by outsiders as their own comrades. Though Lin Weicheng couldn’t publicly say anything, he definitely wouldn’t let it slide in private.

Si Ye and Lao Ying’s voluntary discharge was truly the best choice under the base’s current tense atmosphere.

Si Ye looked at Nan Muran’s calm reaction, surprised. “Jiawu told you.”

“Wu-ge would never hide anything from me.”

“That also means… the underground lab is far more complicated than we thought.” Si Ye’s voice carried a hint of unease.

Nan Muran looked at him and said firmly, “Si Ye, I’m one of those lucky devils who crawled back from hell. Between shrinking away and clinging to safety, or charging ahead without fear—I choose the latter.”

Her words made Si Ye’s chest tighten. “From now on, we’ll always be with you.”

“We got a lot of crystal cores saving those people last time. Also, I’ve got fifteen mutated fruits. Before going into that underground lab, we need to get stronger—fast,” Nan Muran said, her gaze unwavering.

Meanwhile, inside the westernmost villa of the same row, Ouyang Feng, Ouyang Ying, Ouyang Yun, and Lin Weicheng sat in a smoke-filled living room, all with grim expressions.

“You’re saying the entire Wolfhead Squad awakened abilities?” Ouyang Feng was clearly furious.

Lin Weicheng’s eyes turned colder. “Because your side had no idea what was going on, I lost an entire platoon last night.”

The WJ Special Forces didn’t belong to him—there was a general commander above. Even the political authority in West City wasn’t entirely unified.

All he had at his disposal was a company-level unit. Losing over thirty people at once—he’d have to answer to higher-ups.

“Dr. Jin said that Nan girl will find a way to enter the underground lab herself. For now, we shouldn’t make a move,” Ouyang Feng said, clearly displeased.

“Wolfhead killed that many WJ soldiers. You didn’t go to Chen Jianguo?”

Lin Weicheng’s smile grew even colder. “We were the ones who sent them in the first place.

And I just got word—Chen Jianguo personally disbanded the Wolfhead Squad. Two of them retired, one is practically family, and the other one’s one of their own. You think we can touch them?

We’ll just have to swallow this quietly.”

“If we can’t attack them directly… then causing a few little ‘problems’ shouldn’t be an issue, right?” Ouyang Yun finally spoke from the side, her voice laced with venom.