Shrouded Seascape

After several seconds, Anna nodded at Li Lu.

"Thank you," Anna said. "That information is quite helpful. I'll take it into consideration. However, I must admit that I'm rather surprised that you'd voluntarily offer intel without any interrogation. It seems like you've finally realized that we're on the same side."

Anna's words seemed to have struck a raw nerve. Li Lu's jaw tightened, and her molars grinding against each other as memories of past torture in the hands of Anna flooded her mind. Her scars also began to throb with phantom pain.

If it were just her, she would put her life on the line and risk everything she could for even the slimmest chance to bring this woman down. However, her circumstances were different now—she now had a son.

Once a woman became a mother, her child's life would become more precious than her own. A mother's primal instinct was to protect her offspring. At least, as of now, Li Lu couldn't resist Anna at all.

Li Lu took in a deep breath and turned, ready to leave.

"Aren't you curious about your child?" Anna called out. "Why he could speak as soon as he was born? Or why he could communicate with me in a language no ordinary human could understand?"

Anna's words hung in the air like a spell that paralyzed Li Lu in her tracks.

"Don't you want to ask me anything?" Anna's lips curled into a faint smile. She rose from her seat and took a step toward Li Lu, but the latter took a step in retreat.

"I've been waiting for you to ask," Anna said, taking yet another step forward. "Are you scared? What are you afraid of? Sometimes, there's no use being afraid of something; you just have to face it."

Every step Anna took forward made Li Lu instinctively retreat.

Just as Anna's lips parted to say her next words, Li Lu could take no more. She turned on her heel and fled down the hallway in panic.

Leaning heavily against her own room door, Li Lu clutched her chest as she struggled to breathe. Even in the face of death, she had never flinched. But just earlier, she felt fear coursing through her for the very first time.

She was afraid that that madwoman would tell her truths more terrifying than death itself—truths that would risk her child being taken away from her.

After taking a few moments to calm her emotions, Li Lu drew in a deep breath before she slowly twisted the door handle.

The sight that greeted her was her son, Tobba, standing on the table with a chessboard held high above his head. His tiny face was scrunched in fury as he wobbly walked back and forth on the table.

"AHHHHH!" Tobba roared as he slammed the chessboard before the clown. "You must've cheated! How can you possibly win every single game!"

The clown leaned back against its chair. Crossing one leg over the other, it shrugged nonchalantly.

"How dare you deny it! You dishonest fellow! I'm never playing with you again!" Tobba cried out.

Li Lu hurried forward and reached out with both hands to scoop up her son. Carefully sliding her hands under his armpits, she pulled him close to her chest.

"Baby, be a good boy and listen to Mommy. Your body has yet to develop enough for you to start walking. Let's wait until you grow a little more, okay?"

Tobba squirmed in defiance as his face puffed with frustration. "Don't hold me! I'm going to check his clothes! He definitely cheated!"

"Baby!" Li Lu cried out, and her voice cracked due to the sharp increase in pitch. Tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks. In an almost pleading tone, she whispered, "Please, Mommy's begging you. Can you just do things that babies are supposed to do?"

The moment Li Lu's tears landed on Tobba's cheeks, he gradually stilled in her arms. After a while, he looked up at her and muttered, "I'm hungry."

Li Lu turned her back to the clown and adjusted her clothes.

Her heart melted as she watched Tobba nestling against her and how his tiny mouth moved rhythmically as he nursed. She lowered her head and pressed her forehead against his velvety scalp.

"My child, don't worry. Mommy will give her all to protect you. As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you," Li Lu whispered.

Hearing her words, Tobba's forehead slightly creased. He then burrowed deeper into her arms.

The days flew by, and Anna settled down temporarily in this coastal city.

From her observations, Wang Jianshe was indeed searching for leads on Charles and his family. As of now, he showed no other signs of hostility.

With the IMF still hot on her heels, Anna couldn't afford to recruit new followers openly. Her options were maddeningly limited.

She also attempted to look for organizations that were against the IMF. However, without access to special channels, her search yielded no results—at least, nothing available on the internet.

One morning, at 7 A.M., Anna walked silently down the streets with Tobba in her arms. Wearing a mask paired with sunglasses, she was mentally mapping out the city's layout.

Once the IMF agents had tracked them down, her early preparation would increase her chances of escaping. If she were to wait till then to identify her escape routes, it'd be too late.

Tobba let out a yawn and grumbled groggily, "It's so early in the morning. Why are we running around on the streets this early?"

Tobba rubbed his eyes with his tiny fists, and his dissatisfaction was evident in his pouting expression.

"I'm afraid you'd be too bored being cooped up in the room all day. Even babies need to get some fresh air and sun. It's good for your health."

Of course, that was just Anna's convenient excuse. She only had one primary reason for bringing Tobba out—he was her early warning system.

Since he could predict the future, Anna reasoned that keeping him by her side could prove useful in case of any impending danger.

Just then, Anna felt Tobba's tiny body stiffen in her arms. A frail little finger poked out from under his blanket and pointed to the right.

"Hey! Look over there!"

Anna's senses heightened; she immediately turned to where Tobba was pointing, and her sharp gaze locked onto… a baby supply store. Behind the transparent glass windows stood rows of neatly stacked infant formula tins in a variety of colorful packaging.

"See that red can over there? I saw its ad on TV, and they said it's delicious! Go buy me two cans!"

The corners of Anna's eyes twitched with evident annoyance. Without saying a word, she turned around to leave.

"Quickly get it for me! I'm telling you, my stomach's been a little off lately. And I'm not wearing a diaper right now! If you don't get me that formula, I'll make sure you'll get a handful of poop."

For a split second, Anna seriously considered just dropping Tobba on the pavement and returning home by herself.

She wondered whether it was due to Tobba's physical form, but when it came to non-serious times, his personality often reverted to that of a spoiled brat, always spur-of-the-moment and demanding.

In order to avoid a full, blown-out tantrum, Anna eventually gave in and stepped into the store. Moments later, she emerged with a bag containing a tin of high-end formula.

Formula tins weren't cheap, but fortunately, Anna had robbed the plane passengers of all their cash before alighting and had enough to cover such expenses.

"Ehehehehe!" Tobba chuckled gleefully as he clung to the tin with all four of his tiny limbs.

Anna was just about to continue her way forward when she spotted a vehicle pulling up along the left-hand side of the road. Her muscles tensed up as thoughts raced through her mind.

What's going on? Members of the IMF? Or some vendetta from those I've taken down before? Didn't Wang Jianshe say he had taken care of everything? Besides, I shouldn't have any enemies left in this country.

The sleek black sedan slowed to a stop. The door swung open, and an unexpected figure stepped out.

It was Zhou Tao, the young police officer who had interrogated her on her very first day after arriving on the surface. He was dressed casually in plain clothes and was driving a commercial car. Clearly, he wasn't on duty.