"What is it?" the man asked.
"I want you to leave Illuminati. We should find a peaceful place to live."
"Why? Why do you suddenly want me to leave Illuminati?"
"Every time you go out, I'm terrified. I'm afraid you'll never return. I've had enough of living this way."
"Baby, I'll be careful. Nothing will happen to me." Basali broke free from the man's embrace and said angrily, "Noel, to be honest, General Ethan sent another assassin to our home today. Fortunately, the killer was a woman who was reasonable, otherwise you wouldn't be seeing me now."
"Are you serious?"
"Of course I'm serious. Why would I lie to you? She even promised that if you leave Illuminati, she won't bother us again."
"You actually believe an assassin's word?" the fat man laughed.
"Of course I do. She's my good friend now."
Hearing this, the man burst into laughter. "You women are so strange. Even this kind of situation can make you friends."
"Will you listen to me or not?"
"I'll think about it," the man said as he walked toward the nursery.
Basali followed him and asked, "What exactly do you mean?"
"Baby, if you've become friends with her, would she still kill you? So there's nothing to worry about."
"But I already promised her."
"Then explain it to her next time. If she's unhappy working for the General, she can come work for me."
Just as he finished speaking, there was a loud "bang," and the fat man fell backward. The baby, startled from sleep by the gunshot, began wailing. Basali stared in shock at her husband on the floor, unable to understand where the bullet had come from. There was clearly no one around. She shouted, "Madam, is that you?"
Half a minute later, the front door opened and closed by itself. Uwa had finally completed her mission. As she left, she muttered to herself, "I'm sorry, Basali. I gave him a chance, but he didn't take it. This isn't my fault."
With the fat man dead, Basali had nowhere to live. Carrying her baby, she decided to return to "Flame Farm." When De Silva saw her, he exclaimed joyfully, "You're back!" Then, noticing the infant in Basali's arms, he asked, "Whose child is this?"
Basali stammered, "I don't know." Of course she knew, but couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Then let's do a DNA test," De Silva suggested.
"No need. It's not your child," Basali told the truth.
Ever since Alena learned that Basali had used her beauty and reputation to gather intelligence, she had greatly admired her—this was the true spirit of sacrifice for the city-state. When she heard Basali had returned, she immediately ran out to welcome her. "Welcome back, brave warrior!" Others also applauded, praising her for sacrificing herself for the greater good. Only De Silva remained gloomy, still troubled by the baby situation.
Basali blushed with embarrassment, feeling unworthy of the applause. Alena took the baby from her arms and smiled, "How adorable! Boy or girl?"
"A girl."
"What's her name?" Basali glanced at De Silva and said softly, "Her name is Reisla."
"What a beautiful name." After a pause, Alena continued, "You'll stay with me tonight."
Hearing this, De Silva walked away disappointed.
In the Eagle's Nest, Afastin's son, little Ronnie, was now five years old. He was incredibly intelligent with a photographic memory, having completely inherited Ronnie's genius genes. However, his appearance was extremely ugly, resembling a chimpanzee. The potato robot remarked contentedly, "The Watson family finally has an heir."
Daechir wasn't too pleased. She thought the child was too ugly and would embarrass the Watson family if seen in public, so she made a mask for little Ronnie to wear whenever they went out. For the past three years, they had been going out once a week through Exit Number One. Today, Afastin, Eve, and Daechir were taking little Ronnie out again.
The potato robot pleaded from behind, "Can't you take me out just once?"
"You look too strange. You'd arouse suspicion. Better stay home and guard our home," Daechir said.
"What if I wear a mask too?"
"What about your legs? You move on wheels," Daechir laughed.
The potato robot gave up completely, resigned to staying home.
After exiting through Gate One and walking about five hundred meters, they reached a bustling street. Afastin walked in front, holding little Ronnie's hand. Eve, now able to communicate normally with them, was too overweight to walk quickly. Daechir walked alongside her and asked, "Do you need new clothes?"
"My clothes are hard to find. The ones I bought last time were too small," Eve replied.
Daechir had asked because Eve's clothes were clearly ill-fitting—so tight that two buttons on her blouse were undone, with half her chest spilling out.
The group entered a clothing store where a clerk greeted them with a smile. Daechir asked, "Do you offer custom tailoring here?"
The clerk shook his head. "Miss, I'm very sorry, but we don't provide that service."
She then pointed at Eve and asked, "Do you have larger sizes that would fit this lady?"
The clerk looked Eve up and down. "I'm sorry, we don't."
Disappointed, they left and walked for another ten minutes before coming upon a crowd of people. Curious, Afastin squeezed through to see what was happening. A street performer was doing magic tricks. After watching for a while, he found it uninteresting and squeezed back out. When he was about to call for Daechir, he saw her chatting with a man.
He approached and asked, "Who are you?"
The man looked at him and smiled. "I'm a TV director. I'd like to invite your sister to act in a film."
"My sister?" Afastin looked confused. Earlier, when the director had approached, Daechir had said she was out with her brother, hence the question.
"Your sister said she needed your permission. Would you agree?" the director continued.
"Of course not. What would I do if she left?" Afastin replied.
The director urged, "Sir, our compensation is very generous. Please reconsider."
"I don't need money," Afastin said, standing tall.
After the director left, Daechir asked, "Why won't you let me go?"
"Aren't you afraid of revealing your identity?"
Daechir smiled and asked, "Do you think I don't look human?"
Afastin shook his head without replying.
Little Ronnie chimed in, "Dad's just scared. He needs your protection." If a stranger had been present, they would have found it very strange that little Ronnie spoke with a mechanical voice.
They continued visiting several more clothing stores, watched a movie, and enjoyed a lavish dinner, playing until nightfall before remembering to head home. As they approached the entrance to the tunnel, Daechir suddenly cried out, "This is bad! Someone has broken into the Eagle's Nest!"