The people who had not yet escaped the barbecue restaurant had obviously recognized that face as well.
Once the terror of surviving by the skin of their teeth began to fade, a commotion stirred through the crowd. Whispers swept in from every direction.
“My God, thank goodness he was here! Otherwise, we’d all be dead by now!” someone beside them exclaimed, eyes red-rimmed as they stared at the tall figure’s back as though he were a savior.
“Not necessarily,” someone else muttered. “Aren’t that man and woman over there pretty impressive too? Their teamwork was flawless. If they hadn’t held the line, that monster would have eaten us all.”
A shrill voice cut in. “What do you mean, ‘thank goodness he was here’? How does he still have the nerve to show his face in public? The anomalous energy outside has surged, and now even the city center is unsafe. Wasn’t all of this caused by the Lighthouse Squad sealing the anomalous energy?”
“You can’t put it that way,” another voice argued. “I heard their squad has been trying to put an end to the anomalous energy once and for all. They’re the most powerful ability users around. Maybe they’ll actually succeed this time…”
Controversy, worship, resentment, hope…
All kinds of tangled emotions, along with gazes ranging from awe to contempt, were directed at the man in the middle of the scene.
Lu Zhaoming paid them no attention at all.
“Which investigation squad are you with?” His gaze settled on the two people before him, and he asked in a mild tone, “I’ve reviewed the files of the several squads established recently, but there’s no outstanding pair like you two in them.”
That face.
It looked far too much like him.
Jiang Nuan’s fingertips tingled.
She could even imagine it: replace the calmness wrought by the years between his brows with a cold edge, add scrutiny and a desire for control to those gentle eyes, then lower his voice just a little—
And he would be Lu Shiyan.
Jiang Ce’s breathing hitched for an instant as well. But in the next second, he steadied himself, still standing half a step in front of Jiang Nuan.
“My name is Jiang Ce. This is Jiang Nuan.” Jiang Ce remained neither servile nor overbearing. “We’re affiliated with the Whale Harbor City Command.”
“I see.” Lu Zhaoming nodded. “That explains it…”
“As for that,” he continued, as though he had just remembered something, “I heard command of Whale Harbor City was recently transferred. A new governor has taken office—a man reputed to be extremely decisive and ruthless in his methods.”
Jiang Nuan’s heart skipped a beat.
She instinctively glanced at Jiang Ce and saw that his shoulders had tensed slightly as well.
Without speaking, they both thought of the same thing: What would the gentle, composed man before them think if he knew that the governor reputed to be “extremely decisive and ruthless” was his son—the son he had never met?
Of course, he didn’t know. It was impossible for him to know.
Lu Zhaoming looked no older than thirty. Even if Lu Shiyan already existed in this timeline, he could only be a tiny child.
Completely unaware, Lu Zhaoming simply continued reasoning from the information he had.
“Looks like the rumors are true.” His gaze remained warm as he looked at the two of them. “If someone like that is capable of cultivating ability users as outstanding as you, then it’s hardly surprising.”
He was praising Lu Shiyan—a man who had never received much paternal love and had grown up on his own.
Yet in that instant, the emotion that rose in Jiang Nuan’s heart was not sadness, but a strange, bittersweet pride.
Yes. He really was that exceptional.
Exceptional enough that even his father, twenty years in the past, could glimpse the brilliance he possessed today through mere rumors.
She would accept this praise on his behalf.
Jiang Ce’s smile held unconcealed pride. “He deserves it.”
Lu Zhaoming smiled as well, then turned his attention back to Jiang Nuan. Noticing how unnaturally pale she looked, he took a small box from his equipment bag and held it out to her.
“Take this. They’re highly concentrated energy candies. They’ll replenish your strength quickly and help with recovery after overexerting your abilities.”
Jiang Nuan lowered her gaze to the hand suspended before her.
That hand was nearly identical to Lu Shiyan’s.
But in Jiang Nuan’s memories, those hands were always covered in black leather gloves—symbols of power and control, used to restrain and take.
The owner of this hand, however, carried no scrutiny or sense of oppression. He was offering kindness without asking for anything in return.
Jiang Nuan accepted the box. “Thank you.”
“No need.” Lu Zhaoming withdrew his hand and glanced at the terminal on his wrist. “I have another assignment. I need to find my teammates.”
He gave the two of them one last look.
“You’re both impressive.”
The damaged neon lights outside the shopping mall cast a glow over the side of his face, making his features appear especially gentle.
“I hope that when we meet again, there will be a thousand homes lit up behind us—not a field of ruins.”
He said no more. Ripples spread across the space beneath his feet.
With a single step, his tall figure vanished into thin air.
Jiang Nuan and Jiang Ce stood there for several seconds before recovering from the intense sense of temporal dislocation.
“That man… he’s the captain’s…” Jiang Ce began quietly.
Jiang Nuan nodded.
She took an energy candy from the box and tossed it into her mouth. It was unexpectedly delicious—sweet without being cloying.
As it dissolved, a warm current spread through her body, easing the throbbing pain at her temples.
“Let’s go,” Jiang Nuan said.
Uniformed personnel had already begun pouring in through the mall’s front entrance. They put up warning tape and started handling the aftermath.
The wheels of medical stretchers screeched over the shattered glass.
The two of them avoided the crowd and walked out of the damaged mall.
By now, darkness had fallen. The streets outside remained bustling, neon lights flickering as traffic streamed past.
If not for the battered, ruined mall behind them, the scene looked little different from the peaceful world they had known before crossing through time.
The two fell silent again.
What would Lu Shiyan do if he found out they had met Lu Zhaoming?
What expression would that man, who always kept everything under perfect control, wear upon hearing his father praise him?
A flurry of hurried footsteps approached from nearby.
A loud, exuberant voice shattered the silence between them.
“Sis! Big bro! Are you guys okay?”
Su Yang came barreling out of the barbecue restaurant’s ruins, practically crawling and rolling his way free. His trendy jacket was completely covered in dust.
Yet somehow, he was holding two perfectly intact cups of milk tea in his arms.
He jogged over to them and first looked them up and down. Only then did he let out an exaggerated sigh of relief.
“You scared me to death! I thought I was going to have to collect your bodies!”
With great solemnity, Su Yang handed over the two cups of milk tea he had protected in his arms the entire time.
“Sis, Big Bro, I can never repay you for saving my life!” he declared, bowing deeply. Then he broke into a huge grin. “The two of you were practically gods descending to earth back there!”
He was so excited that he waved his arms around wildly, barely stopping himself from breaking into a street dance on the spot.
“Sis, that thing you used—those crescent-moon boomerangs—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! So fast, so accurate, and so cool!”
“And Big Bro! The moment you put up that shield, I felt like even the apocalypse would have to go around you! I’ve never felt so safe!”
He promptly handed over the milk tea.
“You two must be exhausted! Here, wet your throats!”
Jiang Ce felt a bit uncomfortable being flattered like this. He gave a light cough and said, "Well... it's not as exaggerated as you described. You've got quite a pair of guts, protecting the milk tea in such a situation."
Amid Su Yang's chattering, Jiang Nuan finally managed to relax her tense nerves a bit.
"Thank you, Su Yang," she said, reaching out to take the two well - protected cups of milk tea that Su Yang had offered. She inserted a straw into one of the cups and handed it to Jiang Ce.
There were still cold water droplets hanging on the wall of the milk tea cup, sliding down Jiang Nuan's fair fingertips.
Jiang Ce's big hands that had just been holding the heavy shield were now holding that pink cup of milk tea, presenting a strangely cute picture.
Jiang Nuan picked the peach oolong milk tea for herself.
The cold liquid slid down her throat through the straw. The sweet fragrance of peaches mixed with the oolong tea was fresh and delicious.
It was the taste of being alive.
Jiang Nuan really wanted to post on her WeChat Moments, "Life saved successfully."
After handing over the milk tea, Su Yang looked in the direction of the barbecue restaurant.
The playful smile on his face faded away, and his eyes were filled with infinite admiration and longing for the strong. His tone also became respectful.
"Was that just now... the legendary captain of the Lighthouse Squad, Lu Zhaoming? I've only heard about him on the news before," he sighed.
"Although the Lighthouse Squad had the wrong plan direction before, which led to the spread of abnormal energy and made the situation deteriorate to what it is today..."
"But!" Su Yang emphasized, "He's so powerful that even if the previous path was wrong, it seems like he could still turn the outcome around by force!"
"With him and the Lighthouse Squad around, maybe this time they can really solve the problem of abnormal energy once and for all! We'll soon be able to return to the days when we don't have to live in fear!"
There was a lot of optimism and hope in Su Yang's voice.
It was an unreserved trust in the former hero.
However, as Jiang Nuan listened to these words, the relaxed mood she had just regained vanished in an instant.
The peach oolong milk tea in her mouth suddenly lost all its sweetness, leaving only bitterness spreading on the tip of her tongue.
She looked at Su Yang.
She looked at this boy in the old shadow of this era, who was both scared and full of yearning.
She felt as if she was standing at the end of the story, looking back against the long river of time.
She saw Su Yang's face, shining brightly with hope at this moment.
She saw the promise Lu Zhaoming made when he left, "There are thousands of families' lights behind me."
They were all the characters in this tragic story, at the peak of their glory and approaching the climax.
But.
She knew the ending.
She knew that the lighthouse would go out.
She knew that the hero would eventually fall.
She knew that this expedition of hope, initiated by Lu Zhaoming, would finally end in the most tragic way.
It was not an epic of turning the tide, but an apocalyptic disaster that buried nine - tenths of humanity and completely destroyed the whole world.
And she, a bystander from the future.
In this old shadow of an era with a pre - determined ending.
Could neither intervene nor change.
She could only stand in this false prosperity, watching them step by step towards the ending that had already been written.
