Theodore slipped around the corner.
The hall fell silent.
Casper shrugged and put hands behind his head. “You guys keep chatting. I’ll go bring something to eat.”
Arval glanced at Fiona. This was Tanzar they were talking about. They were still trapped here, unable to even reach the sky, let alone retrieve their national treasure and extract its crown jewel.
Fiona’s expression gave nothing away. She glanced at the other Grantz, a rare smile tugging at her lips. “Did you hear that?”
Ethan cracked his neck, looking somewhat excited. “Tanzar…that name sounds familiar.”
Salem appeared far gentler than his big sister and little brother. “If that child likes it, then so be it.”
Rika leaned against the wall and remained silent. He and Casper rarely meddled in these matters. They would do whatever their elders decided.
Elias unfolded a map and laid it on the table. “Before that, we must first breach the aerial defenses.”
He settled into his chair. “It seems we can commit to another attempt soon. Our failure last time–”
He paused. Ethan immediately chimed in, “Meant nothing. So what if we’re back to square one.”
Brian peered over his shoulder. “Exactly. Those junk starships were outdated and headed for the scrapheap anyway. With Ethan and the other Grantz leading us, we’ll be able to secure better models in no time.”
Elias sighed deeply as his heart settled. A smile touched his lips. “You’re right. There’s nothing wrong with starting over.”
Ambrose had always been the leader of the Grantz. Losing him following this setback to their plan would’ve been a devastating blow.
Elias had been worried that the Grantz would remain despondent for a long time after losing Ambrose.
They became visibly agitated once Ambrose started showing signs of losing control, which rubbed off on those around them. Brian, who wore his heart on his sleeve, was the most obvious example.
Ambrose had noticed this too. He tried to lessen his influence to mixed success. Elias was even more powerless.
Elias thought, rising to his feet and smoothing out the edges of the map. The Grantz had already gathered around. Brian peered over Salem’s shoulder. Alanson and Arval approached Elias’ side. Nearby, Ye Wang inclined his head in their direction and pricked up his ears.
Elias pointed to a spot on the map, where the Grantz had previously fallen into an ambush. “We were doing just fine until we reached this point…”
Brian clicked his tongue derisively, “We were doing just fine the whole–”
Fiona shot him a glance before reaching over to tug his ear. She didn’t use much force, but he immediately shut up and let her pull him completely under the table. Only then did she leisurely pat his head. “Behave, okay?”
Ethan shuddered slightly. He was all too familiar with that technique of hers.
“Please, continue.”
Elias shook his head with a smile. Sure enough, he was more a strategist than a leader. Sometimes, he was unable to rein Brian and the others in and could only watch helplessly on the sidelines.
He continued, “I suspect our movements had already been compromised by the time we reached this point. Our understanding of their equipment remains insufficient.”
As he spoke, he marked a spot on the map, noting it would require attention later.
“I suspect they had two objectives: first, to destroy the starships in our possession, and second, possibly to capture Ambrose. Ambrose hasn’t been as active recently, so they probably assumed his injuries hadn’t fully healed. However, his strength likely exceed their expectations…”
Elias focused, straining each neuron to consider every possible detail.
Even if his strength was meager, he would exhaust every ounce of it to do his part. He wanted to see the outside world in his lifetime, and he wanted Ambrose to be there too.
Ambrose shouldn’t die here, at least not yet. He, who once had the opportunity to leave, came back without hesitation after seeing his fill to try and make a difference. He didn’t deserve this fate.
……
Theodore transformed back into a cat. He silently opened the door a crack and squeezed through, hopping onto the bed. He settled quietly beside Ye Muo’s arm under Ambrose’s watchful gaze.
Ye Muo shifted in a daze. “Theodore?”
Theodore responded softly, licking the hair on Ye Muo’s cheek back into place before nuzzling close to him. “It’s me. Everything’s fine, Xavier. I’ll handle anything you’re worried about.”
Ye Muo’s furrowed brow gradually smoothed out.
……
The Grantz grew busy. They needed to squeeze in one final attempt to reclaim the skies before the Rift reopened.
Naturally, this place became their new base.
Theodore began leaving early and returning late, thriving within the technical division.
He changed his mind, abandoning the calculations about how many changes in the timeline shifts their arrival had triggered. Things had already begun to change from the moment they arrived. If the outcome was uncertain from the start to a degree that even he couldn’t calculate, then he would save the computational power for better use.
Now, Theodore was solely focused on obtaining Yinghui as quickly as possible. That sword was undoubtedly the key.
The only ones who weren’t busy 24/7 were probably Ye Muo and Ambrose. Strictly speaking, Ye Muo was also tasked with finding Yinghui, but now that he’d met all the Grantz and realized none of them had the sword, all he could do was wait.
Ambrose, as before, voluntarily isolated himself from the crowd. There was sometimes a Grantz stationed at his door in case he lost control again.
Such was the routine for a time. One morning, Ambrose came out of his room and appeared in the main hall.
He descended the stairs under the astonished gazes of Ethan and the others, only to stop beside Ye Muo, who was eating breakfast and gently ruffle his hair.
He turned to the others. “What’s wrong? Surprised to see me?”
“A bit.” Alanson replied honestly, “Welcome back, Ambrose.”
The man wouldn’t have left his room if he still felt unstable.
The Grantz on duty in the hall right now was Rika. He rose and told Elias, “I’ll leave tonight.”
According to the plan, Rika was supposed to wait until Ethan returned in two days before setting off. Elias turned to Ambrose, who nodded. “Go ahead.”
Ye Muo breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He was a bit afraid of Rika, who gave off a rather intimidating aura.
Rika paused just before stepping through the door. He lingered by the entranceway before walking back to Ye Muo’s side and ruffling the boy’s hair under everyone’s watchful eyes.
On the third day, before Ethan’s return, Ambrose’s psychic power enveloped the entire base once more, as potent as when they had been at his peak.
Ye Muo sat on his stool, watching people come and go in the hall. He wondered if he should go see Theodore.
Ambrose, who had been discussing matters nearby, finished his conversation and glanced down at him. “Bored?”
“A little.”
Ye Muo replied, glancing outside. Theodore should be with the technicians now.
Then something darted across the sky in his peripheral vision.
Ye Muo’s eyes locked onto it instantly.
Ambrose followed his line of sight and looked up too.
Before Ye Muo could identify what it was, the sky was filled with a dense cloud of descending objects in seconds.
After watching for a moment longer, his keen eyesight provided the answer. “Supply crates.”
There were two types. Some had small parachutes to break the fall while others did not.
Ambrose hummed in acknowledgment. He ruffled Ye Muo’s hair with a smile and praised, “Sharp eyes you have.”
Elias stood up and looked over too. He couldn’t make out what exactly was in the air. “It’s about that time, isn’t it? When they drop supplies for the things in the Rift Valley.”
“And our time to restock.” Ambrose smiled warmly.
Ethan’s expression sobered. “We need to get out of here before the Rift opens again.”
Ambrose only smiled and looked down at Ye Muo. “There might be something tasty tonight, maybe even candy. What would you like to eat? Or is there anything you want? Just say the word. If not today, we’ll get it soon, whatever it is.”
Elias turned, understanding Ambrose’s meaning. He too smiled. “Just listen to Ambrose.”
Ye Muo paused. Even though history wasn’t his strongest subject, he knew that the first time the Grantz left the Old Land coincided with the start of an insect tide. Leading the people of the Old Land, they declared their sovereignty as the insect tide wreaked havoc on all other nations.
Ambrose feigned annoyance. “So you don’t want anything? It seems having an overly obedient child can be demoralizing in its own way.”
Ethan scoffed as he stepped inside, having just arrived. “Rika and Casper would be happy to oblige if they caught wind of that.”
“Then I’ll pass. How about this? We’ll have a feast tonight of whatever delicacies we find.”
Ambrose began idly braiding a section of Ye Muo’s hair.
Ye Muo snapped back to reality and followed his train of thought. “But can we even finish it all?”
“If we can’t, Ethan can have the rest.”
Ethan was removing his boots by the door. He had injured his ankle slightly on the way here, and sand had gotten into his boots. He shot Ambrose a furious glare upon hearing this, only to fall silent when Ye Muo instinctively glanced at him. He snorted, “Fine, I guess.”
Ye Muo’s eyes lit up with anticipation. “It’s fine, Theodore can eat a lot too. I wonder if there’ll be hot cocoa? I haven’t had chocolate in so longer…even chocolate cake will do.”
Ethan’s expression grew serious. He had never seen hot cocoa or tasted chocolate before.
He cleared his throat awkwardly, “Maybe don’t get your hopes up. The people out there are stingy. They won’t send down much of anything worthwhile…”
As he spoke, Ethan glanced at Ye Muo again. What if the kid ended up crying when he didn’t get what he wanted? Raising a child like him here was too difficult. They really needed to get out of here ASAP. Surely the outside world had everything they needed.
Ye Muo didn’t cry, he actually cheered up as he spoke, “It’s okay. I can just imagine it.”
Ethan turned away and slammed his boot hard against the rocks several times in frustration. They really had to get out of here soon.
