"Heh, now that's the volume for a proper conversation." Jill Young could hear just fine—she could pick out the sound of raindrops if she wanted, but she was just messing with the kid. Swerving to ram a would-be ambusher, Jill answered, "Look at these guys, swarming us like this. Obviously, this was planned. They must've loaded up every gun they have between here and my hideout. If we poke our heads out, they'll throw every heavy weapon they've got our way. So, we're running for it!"
Boom—a missile exploded right by the car. It skimmed past the news van, the situation so tense you could cut it with a knife. Elsie Nightwater was so pale her lips lost all color, and she shrieked, "If that's not heavy weaponry, what is?"
"Just a regular missile, nothing special." Jill's ears twitched, dodging another one. Amid the shower of sparks, she yanked Elsie into the driver's seat, flipping herself into the back of the van. "You drive. I’ll handle those annoying punks."
"Me? I—I’ve never driven before!" Elsie stammered, hands flailing, clueless where to put them—her first time driving, and at over a hundred kilometers per hour, in the middle of a high-speed shootout. "How do you even drive this thing?"
"Just wing it!" The news van was long, like a mini Iveco. Jill sprinted to the back, kicked open the rear doors, and eyed the pursuers. With a flick of her wrist, she whipped out a rapid-fire rocket launcher. "Now THIS is heavy firepower."
One rocket after another arced toward the pursuers, who clearly hadn’t expected Jill to be packing that kind of heat. Carnage followed, but Jill noticed the force used in this hit on Lady of the Night was serious—six rockets might've caused a blast-fest, but their chase didn't slow down.
Just then, Elsie’s voice rang out from behind: "Oh no!" The van crashed into something, jolting violently and flipping forward. In that split second, like a scene out of a death-defying movie, Jill stashed the rocket launcher, spun around, grabbed Elsie, and together they leapt out through the shattered windshield. The van tumbled roadside, then got blasted to bits by a pursuing missile.
Midair, Jill instantly sized up the situation—a car had suddenly swerved sideways to block them. Behind it, more roadblocks, guns all aimed their way, fingers on triggers. Lose the ride, and they’d be caught in a crossfire. But Jill’s leap blew away the killers’ expectations—she grabbed Elsie by her collar, and with the kid flailing, soared right over the blockade, booted through the glass of the last intercepting car, and landed in the driver’s seat like a movie stunt.
There was a killer in the driver’s seat, but Jill kicked him straight out the other side of the car.
Vroom—the car roared off. Elsie, dumped in the passenger seat, struggled to sit up, panting like a terrified rabbit, her face red as an apple. Her expression was barely holding it together—she looked nothing like her usual deadpan self.
"Heh, now that's the volume for a proper conversation." Jill Young could hear just fine—she could pick out the sound of raindrops if she wanted, but she was just messing with the kid. Swerving to ram a would-be ambusher, Jill answered, "Look at these guys, swarming us like this. Obviously, this was planned. They must've loaded up every gun they have between here and my hideout. If we poke our heads out, they'll throw every heavy weapon they've got our way. So, we're running for it!"
Boom—a missile exploded right by the car. It skimmed past the news van, the situation so tense you could cut it with a knife. Elsie Nightwater was so pale her lips lost all color, and she shrieked, "If that's not heavy weaponry, what is?"
"Just a regular missile, nothing special." Jill's ears twitched, dodging another one. Amid the shower of sparks, she yanked Elsie into the driver's seat, flipping herself into the back of the van. "You drive. I’ll handle those annoying punks."
"Me? I—I’ve never driven before!" Elsie stammered, hands flailing, clueless where to put them—her first time driving, and at over a hundred kilometers per hour, in the middle of a high-speed shootout. "How do you even drive this thing?"
"Just wing it!" The news van was long, like a mini Iveco. Jill sprinted to the back, kicked open the rear doors, and eyed the pursuers. With a flick of her wrist, she whipped out a rapid-fire rocket launcher. "Now THIS is heavy firepower."
One rocket after another arced toward the pursuers, who clearly hadn’t expected Jill to be packing that kind of heat. Carnage followed, but Jill noticed the force used in this hit on Lady of the Night was serious—six rockets might've caused a blast-fest, but their chase didn't slow down.
Just then, Elsie’s voice rang out from behind: "Oh no!" The van crashed into something, jolting violently and flipping forward. In that split second, like a scene out of a death-defying movie, Jill stashed the rocket launcher, spun around, grabbed Elsie, and together they leapt out through the shattered windshield. The van tumbled roadside, then got blasted to bits by a pursuing missile.
Midair, Jill instantly sized up the situation—a car had suddenly swerved sideways to block them. Behind it, more roadblocks, guns all aimed their way, fingers on triggers. Lose the ride, and they’d be caught in a crossfire. But Jill’s leap blew away the killers’ expectations—she grabbed Elsie by her collar, and with the kid flailing, soared right over the blockade, booted through the glass of the last intercepting car, and landed in the driver’s seat like a movie stunt.
There was a killer in the driver’s seat, but Jill kicked him straight out the other side of the car.
Vroom—the car roared off. Elsie, dumped in the passenger seat, struggled to sit up, panting like a terrified rabbit, her face red as an apple. Her expression was barely holding it together—she looked nothing like her usual deadpan self.
From the surrounding vehicles, a bunch of people spilled out—guns, rocket launchers, all pointed their way. They obviously knew Jill Young could move like lightning, so they kept their distance. No one cared about taking prisoners—just total wipeout. At a unified signal, they all hit the launch button.
Seven or eight missiles fired at once, all streaking toward Jill’s car.
Whatever Jill had planned, at that moment, Elsie's eyes went wide at the fiery streaks—she could barely breathe. Jill kicked open the car door, grabbed the kid, and bolted. Just before the blast, Jill leapt off the edge of the overpass with Elsie in her arms. The enemy had watched all her stunt videos, but they never imagined she’d jump from twenty meters up!
Boom! The car took a direct hit—multiple missiles exploding at once sent fire and shockwaves everywhere, even nearby cars went up in flames. But Jill was already far away, the fire chasing her but not even singing her hair. In the night wind, the two—one in white, one in black—fell toward the ground, and in the rush of freefall, the usually blank-faced Elsie finally screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Aaaaahhhhh—!"
The girl's scream cut off as she dropped. Killers rushed to the edge—logic said they'd splat, but pros want a body. Looking down, they saw a railroad below, with a train passing right under the bridge. Jill stood on the roof, Elsie passed out under one arm, and with the other, Jill made a finger-gun gesture up at the killers.
Next second, the thump of rotors filled the air. The killers looked up—three helicopters had them surrounded. Not just any choppers, but military ones. The door of one banged open, and Pierce leaned out, rocket launcher on his shoulder.
"Wipe them out!" Pierce yelled, face twisted in a wild grin, firing first. Then came the air cannons and swarms of missiles, sweeping through all the killers. When Elsie groggily opened her eyes, all she saw was a burning bridge.
Not long after, the train pulled into the station. The whole place was locked down by No One Under Heaven. On the platform, Xiao Di waited quietly. Jill hopped down from the train roof, Elsie in her arms, waved off the crew, and whispered to Xiao Di, "Go buy a new one—" She gave Elsie a playful smack, finally cracking up, "A new pair of panties~"
"It's all your fault!" Elsie’s face was beet red, her little fists pounding Jill, too flustered to tell if she was angry or embarrassed.
Xiao Di dodged away, stunned and twitchy. Getting Lady of the Night's underwear soaked—no matter how it happened, if word got out, Jill Young’s reputation would be legendary.
Behind them, Jill and Elsie sounded like a sleazy uncle arguing with an angry little girl.
"Well, look at you—all fired up! I figured getting a chill down there might keep you quiet."
"You dare say that?!"
"So, how was today? Satisfy your curiosity yet?"
"Terrible! Awful!" Clearly, today left a mark on little Elsie. But after her angry scream, she huffed and turned away, "Still, since you protected me today, I'll share a secret. Steelbull City..."
"Save your secrets for later—look, your panties are here!" Jill snatched the box from Xiao Di, waving it in front of Elsie like a cat toy, grinning wickedly. "Come and get it! Come and get it!"
"Unbelievable! You're the worst—!" Elsie's voice echoed through the whole station.
At six in the morning, Lady of the Night’s convoy started heading home. In the middle car, the old butler sat in the front passenger seat, neat as ever, not a scratch on him. He never mentioned the ashtray incident, but kept glancing in the rearview at the girls—his eyes full of shock, suspicion, and doubt.
Elsie rested her chin in her hands, staring out the window. At first glance, she was her usual blank self, but look closer and you'd see she was spacing out. She remembered her ancestor’s notes: in these chaotic times, the scariest people are those who hide all their feelings inside. Only then can you protect yourself—never let anyone see your patterns or weaknesses. Elsie worshipped her ancestor, treating those words like gospel, and always followed them.
But at the end of the notes, Night Wuji had written one more thing: there’s a type of person even scarier—those who don’t hide anything. They show everything, love and hate out in the open, and no matter how much you study them, their enemies only get more terrified.
"Are you one of those people?" Lady of the Night whispered. Just then—ding! A text message. She checked her phone: a message from "Big Dumb Idiot." She opened it—a photo of the smirking White Princess and the teased Black Loli at the Morning Star Society. Seeing it, Elsie puffed up her cheeks and huffed, then smiled a little. "Forget it—she’s just a mean, big dumb idiot."
That little smile—soft, subtle, but so sweet. In the east, the sun rose, and the Night family’s convoy drove into the dazzling dawn.