Looks like they just took the elevator and left.
Lily Bai asked again, "What about the Eternal Wishfish painting?"
"They took that too."
"How did you escape?"
"The next day, the energy just faded away on its own, so I walked right out."
Lily Bai nodded. "Hand me a Little Sandy."
Sandy handed one over.
Hugging her child, Lily Bai said, "I have to run some errands now. I'll let you know where to meet up."
"Where are you going?" Uncle Ernie called after her.
"You'll find out soon enough." Once Lily Bai stepped outside, she vanished from sight.
......
Standing alone on a deserted rooftop, Lily Bai called General Lan.
"Grandpa, has there been any unusual movement in Dragon City?"
"Lily, I finally got ahold of you!" General Lan exclaimed. "What happened this time? Is Samson Zhang stirring up trouble for you again?"
"What did I do?" Lily Bai was confused.
"Haven't you seen the tabloid news?"
"Nope, I haven't been online these past few days."
"Check for yourself! It's all gossip about you and Samson Zhang."
"What?" Lily Bai shrieked. "Me and Samson Zhang?"
"Exactly! It's absolutely ridiculous!"
Lily Bai: "...Is there anything else besides that?"
"What else?"
"For example, His Majesty the Supreme Emperor?"
"His Majesty hasn't been feeling well these past few days and hasn't appeared in public. Why?"
"Not feeling well..." Lily Bai gave a little laugh. "He's already dead."
General Lan fell silent for a moment. "Lily, that's not something to joke about."
"He's gone. And Evan Lan is probably gone too," Lily Bai said. "All this gossip about me is just laying the groundwork to deny the baby's royal bloodline. With Evan Lan and the President both gone, there's no way to do a DNA test."
General Lan said nothing.
But between them, the air was heavy—like a storm about to break.
"Also, Ryan Liu from the West has defected. I’m afraid a military coup is coming. Grandpa, you all need to be extremely careful!"
"Are you sure about all this?"
"Absolutely. Couldn't be truer," Lily Bai replied.
"I understand," General Lan said, his voice heavy with grief.
"Grandpa, I need people. Send me a hundred or so elite special forces."
"Alright. I'll have your eldest cousin lead them."
"Also, watch out for the Third Prince’s household."
"Mm."
"But you don't need to worry so much." Lily Bai's tone lightened. "I'll be back soon. With me around, they won't get away with anything."
"Just take care of yourself! I'm a full general—do I really need you to hold the line for me?"
Lily Bai: "Alright, fine..."
After hanging up, Lily Bai dialed River Li and gave him some instructions.
Then, she vanished again.
Less than a hundred miles from Dragon City, she tracked down Shaun Fane.
She'd planned to ask him about the whereabouts of Eric Lan and Xavier Xiao's bodies.
But as it turned out, she didn't even need to ask.
They were using frozen spirit-vehicles to haul the bodies back to Dragon City.
Lily overheard two special forces soldiers whispering: "...If you ask me, they should've just cremated the bodies on the spot—best way to destroy the evidence. Why haul them all the way back? It's like they want everyone to know it was us!"
"What do you know?" the other one shot back. "If you cremate the bodies, they're just 'missing.' It could take a year or more before a new emperor is crowned. But if you bring them back...well, the country can't go a day without a monarch!"
"Oh...right! You're way smarter than me. But what's the point of hauling Eric Lan back?"
"Him? He died a hero protecting the Supreme Emperor from the Godslayer Syndicate! Escorting his remains back—won't the Lan family owe the Western Military District big time?"
"Ha! True that."
Lily grinned, then suddenly appeared right in front of their convoy, flashing a smile at Shaun Fane.
"Ah!" The driver yelped, slamming on the brakes.
Shaun Fane and Ryan Liu were up front in the leading military vehicle.
The abrupt stop made them ask, "What's going on?"