"Uh—Me? Why me?" Shawn Young blurted out, genuinely surprised.
"Yeah, why Shawn?" Jade Swann chimed in, curiosity written all over her face.
Sherry Shawn jumped in, "Shawn Young really is our best pick, for two reasons. First, ever since he saved Samuel Morin's son, Charles Morin, he's earned their trust. Only he got invited to the secret meeting the Three Great Houses are holding. Second, back when we dealt with the Thirteen Enforcers, Shawn accidentally helped their current boss, Luna Xiao, take down the scheming Andrew Qi. Luna Xiao owes him a favor, so sending him to Hong Kong to talk with her isn't as risky!"
"Oh—so that's how Luna Xiao and her crew slipped away! Shawn, you were helping them behind the scenes, weren't you?" Jade Swann shot Shawn Young a strange look.
Shawn Young shrank under Jade Swann's stare, feeling a bit guilty. He hurried to explain, "I—I didn't mean to! Andrew Qi was chasing us down, and if I hadn't teamed up with those girls, I wouldn't even be here today!"
Jade Swann grinned, "Maybe that's true. You weren't much of a hotshot back then, but hey, at least now you've got a solid excuse to go to Hong Kong and get close to that famous beauty, Luna Xiao!" Her words dripped with jealousy.
"Uh—Go to Hong Kong?! I—I never thought about that!" Shawn protested out loud, but inside, he was pretty hyped about the trip. Those gorgeous faces kept flashing through his mind.
Howard Tiger caught Shawn Young's awkward vibe, flashed him a knowing smile, and announced, "I think Shawn's the perfect man for the job. If nobody objects, he's our guy!"
After Howard Tiger spoke, no one objected. Jade Swann just pouted, but didn't say anything. Dragon King glanced at his watch and waved, "Alright, since everyone's cool with it, Shawn Young gets the job!"
"So, Dragon King, what's my actual mission?" Shawn Young asked.
Dragon King turned to Sherry Shawn, "Sherry, fill Shawn in on what he's supposed to do next."
Sherry Shawn explained, "Okay—here's the deal. Our enemies now include the Japanese crew, Andrew Qi, the rogue Master Wuxiang from the Heavenly Master Order, and a bunch of other troublemakers. These guys are working together, they're strong and super sneaky. We don't know much about their people, gear, or plans, but we do know they're targeting the Three Great Houses and Luna Xiao. It'll take them a while to pull off whatever they're plotting!"
She continued, "What we're missing most is solid intel—we can't make smart moves without it. So, Shawn, your mission is to get close to the Three Great Houses, figure out what their secret meeting is about, then head to Hong Kong and get close to Luna Xiao. Try to dig up whatever earth-shaking secret they're hiding!"
"Sounds good!" Shawn Young agreed, though honestly, he was way more excited about the Hong Kong trip. Just picturing those beautiful ladies made the idea even more tempting.
Dragon King checked his watch again and waved, "Alright, since Shawn's taking the mission, let's wrap up tonight's emergency meeting! Shawn, be careful—this one's tough, and our enemies aren't pushovers. But go for it! To avoid tipping them off, our people won't act directly, but if you need backup, we'll be there for you."
"Got it!" Shawn Young said, feeling a lot more confident. With the government backing him up, no matter how tough the bad guys were, he wasn't fighting alone!
After that, Dragon King and Sherry Shawn grilled Mai Kanda about the Iga Shinobi Clan. When the meeting ended, everyone filed out of the mobile tent that had served as their makeshift conference room.
Stepping outside, they found it was already dawn. The sky was lightening, with the sun peeking through the clouds. A crisp morning breeze hit Shawn Young, waking him right up.
Dragon King arranged for Lean Tiger and Fat Dragon to fly to Hong Kong as backup, then he and Howard Tiger hopped in the military convoy and left the training range. The soldiers on perimeter duty finished up, reorganized, and kicked off a new day of drills.
But to everyone's surprise, the adorable intel expert Sherry Shawn didn't leave with them. She stayed behind with Shawn Young, Jade Swann, and Mai Kanda, piling into the Hongqi sedan that Jade Swann had driven over.
"Shawn, I'll drop you off with that gorgeous Wang Family heiress, Wendy Wang. Even though last night went off-script, I was basically fighting her for you. If she finds out, she might not be too happy!" Jade Swann teased, shooting Shawn a look.
"Shawn, I'll take you back to that beautiful Wang Family heiress, Wendy Wang. Even though things changed unexpectedly last night, I was basically competing with her for you—if she finds out, she probably won't be happy!" Jade Swann teased Shawn Young on purpose.
"Uh—who knows how late their charity gala ran last night. She must be wiped out, and it's so early, Minnie Wang probably isn't even up yet! So I think I'll leave her be for now," Shawn Young decided after a moment.
"Wow, you really care about her! Hehe—so if you're not going to her, where are you headed?" Jade Swann pressed.
Shawn Young was about to head to Raina Tang's place, but caught Sherry Shawn's sparkling eyes on him. That made him pause. "Summer break just started—I haven't figured out where I'm going yet! What about you, Jade, Sherry?"
"Oh, me? I'm flying to Beijing today!" Jade Swann replied.
"Huh? Beijing? Is it for a mission?" Shawn Young asked, sounding surprised.
"No mission, just that Fiona Tang's bored out of her mind over there, so she asked me to come hang out for a bit," Jade Swann said.
Sherry Shawn giggled, "Hehe—actually, Jade was supposed to leave for Beijing yesterday, but she wanted a secret rendezvous with someone, so she delayed till today. Looks like she got what she wanted!"
"Hey! Sherry, you little brat, teasing me? You're just as bad—always using your satellite tracking to spy on Shawn, totally crushing on him! Anyway, I'm off today, so you and Shawn finally have your chance. Want me to book you a hotel room so you can discuss life and dreams?" Jade Swann shot back, then burst out laughing.
"Jade, you're so bad! Stop talking nonsense—I never thought about that!" Sherry Shawn's cheeks turned crimson as she protested, but she couldn't help sneaking a peek at Shawn Young.
Hearing Jade Swann's words, Shawn Young almost wanted to shout his agreement. He glanced at Sherry Shawn, and when their eyes met, it was like sparks flew. Both blushed, and the air filled with a sweet, flirty vibe.
Jade Swann caught sight of it in the rearview mirror and burst out laughing, "Hehe—look at you two, making eyes at each other! I totally called it. Sherry, I never knew you were so secretly spicy. Honestly, a pretty girl like you could have Shawn wrapped around your finger in no time! Want to sneak off and have some fun together?"
Sherry Shawn blushed even harder, grabbed Jade Swann's neck and shrieked playfully, "Jade, stop it! I'll strangle you—"
"Hehe—someone's got a major crush!" Jade Swann cackled, playfully wrestling with Sherry Shawn.
Just then, Shawn Young's phone rang. He pulled it out and saw Lilian Grace calling. Shawn froze—how did the campus queen get this number? This phone was a gift from Joanna Gong, and besides her, Raina Tang, Rainie Cheng, and his family, hardly anyone knew about it. He'd kept it from Lilian Grace, worried she'd get jealous.