Ye Que glanced at the sketch beside him.
Jiang Nuan had drawn it on a whim: a crooked, lopsided three-tiered structure.
One section on the bottom tier had been circled and labeled “sleeping nook.”
The top tier featured a sun with several rays drawn around it and the words “sunbathing.”
As for the dimensions, load-bearing requirements, and means of securing it, there was nothing at all.
The most meticulous part of the entire drawing was probably the orange cat sprawled on the top tier, basking in the sun.
Ye Que studied the sketch for a while. “At this size, the base is too light.”
Jiang Nuan was unconvinced. “Then just nail the boards together more tightly.”
“That’ll keep it from falling apart, but it won’t stop it from tipping over.”
Ye Que picked up a tape measure and measured the boards again.
“Add another layer at the bottom and make it a little wider.”
He looked again at the top tier where the cat was supposed to sunbathe.
“Shorten the third tier. Don’t put the center of gravity too high.”
Jiang Nuan hummed in acknowledgment.
She didn’t really want to admit it, but his idea did sound much more reliable than her own solution of “just hammer in a few more nails.”
Jiangjiang was crouched nearby, batting at a washer with one paw. The washer rolled away across the floor. Jiangjiang chased after it for two steps, plopped down, then turned around to look for another one.
Jiang Nuan quickly snatched the washer back and covered the box of parts.
“Meow.”
“You can’t play with this.”
“Meow.”
“It won’t help to argue with me.”
“Meow.”
The wind blew in over the wall, carrying the wood shavings beside the tape measure two rolls across the ground.
Ye Que half-crouched among the scattered boards, lowering his head to mark new measurements along the edge of the sketch.
His fingers, long and strong from years of handling a sniper rifle, were now holding a stub of a pencil as he calculated how to build a cat tree for Jiangjiang that wouldn’t tip over.
Jiang Nuan had originally been watching him mark the measurements.
But as she watched, she failed to remember a single number on the sketch. Instead, she stared at the hand holding the pencil for a long while.
Then her gaze moved from his hand to the side of his face.
Ye Que didn’t look up. “What are you spacing out for?”
Jiang Nuan answered instinctively, “Because you’re really good-looking.”
Jiangjiang, who had been pawing at some nails nearby, stopped and looked up.
“Meow.”
Only then did Jiang Nuan realize what she had said. Her ears instantly grew hot.
She hurriedly lowered her head and grabbed the tape measure. “That’s not what I meant. I mean…”
“What did you mean?” A corner of the sketch was lifted by the wind, and Ye Que raised a hand to hold it down.
She steeled herself and finished, “I mean, you look pretty good when you’re focused on something like this…”
Ye Que looked at her for several seconds.
Jiang Nuan tightened her grip on the tape measure, as if that could make her look busy.
After a moment, Ye Que lowered his eyes and smoothed out the sketch. “Got it.”
Jiang Nuan secretly let out a breath of relief.
He had been working diligently on a cat tree for Jiangjiang, and she had been sitting beside him, staring at him until she lost track of what she was doing.
It was, admittedly, a little unproductive.
She was just about to pick up a board and pretend she was helping when Ye Que added, “Then keep looking for a while.”
Jiang Nuan’s hand froze on the board.
Ye Que had already lowered his head and continued measuring.
Only his ears, lit by the sunlight, had turned faintly red.
Jiang Nuan stared at them for two seconds, then silently turned away.
Fine.
Neither of them had any room to criticize the other.
The three-tiered cat tree was finished and moved into the corner by the window in Jiang Nuan’s room.
The highest tier faced the afternoon sunlight, while the lower two were left for climbing and resting. To prevent the cat tree from tipping when Jiangjiang jumped around, Ye Que had also secured the base to the wall.
Jiang Nuan walked around the finished product once.
She had to admit that it and the thing in her sketch were not merely different—they had absolutely nothing in common.
Jiang Ce arrived soon afterward.
He was carrying a brand-new cushion, thick and soft, with fastening straps sewn into the corners. It was perfect for securing to the third tier.
“Found it in the warehouse.”
Jiang Ce spread the cushion out and fastened the straps tightly around all four corners.
“Jiangjiang likes sunbathing, so this is the perfect spot.”
Jiang Nuan pressed a hand against it.
The cushion was so plush that her fingers nearly sank into it.
“This is way too comfortable.”
“It’s for Jiangjiang, so of course it has to be nice.”
Jiang Ce grinned and gave the last knot one final tug.
Leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed, Qi Nian clicked his tongue. “It’s just a cat.”
Jiang Nuan turned to look at him. “Did you come all the way here just to make that observation?”
“Who came here specifically for this?”
Qi Nian straightened and pulled a palm-sized toy from his pocket.
It was a small fish sewn from durable fabric, resembling the kind of backpack charm people had used before the apocalypse.
He bent down and tied the fish to the second tier of the cat tree.
Once secured, it swayed twice in midair.
Jiangjiang had originally been crouched at Jiang Nuan’s feet, but its attention was immediately captured. Its head followed the fish from side to side.
Qi Nian raised an eyebrow and flicked the fish again.
Jiangjiang pounced at once.
The corners of Qi Nian’s mouth lifted. “Not a shred of vigilance. No wonder you’re so fat.”
What a guy… He was being downright cruel to a cat.
Fortunately, Jiangjiang wrapped its paws around the fish and kicked at it twice with its hind legs, completely ignoring him.
Qi Sui stood nearby, carefully running his fingers along the edge of each wooden board. He then bent down to check whether any nails were sticking out.
Only after confirming that everything was safe did he smile faintly. “No splinters, and none of the nails are loose.”
His tone was gentle. “Otherwise, if it got too excited and scratched its paws, Nuannuan would have to come wake me up in the middle of the night to bandage them.”
Jiang Nuan: “…”
Waking him up in the middle of the night to bandage its paws? Was Qi Sui’s medical contingency plan a little too far ahead of schedule?
She stood by the wall and looked over the transformed cat tree.
A sturdy wooden frame, a soft cushion, and a small fish swaying in the air.
The sunlight fell perfectly across the highest tier.
The more Jiang Nuan looked at it, the more satisfied she became.
“Perfect.”
Jiangjiang, which had wandered back to her feet, circled the cat tree once.
Then it stepped across all three tiers before finally leaping onto the top.
It slowly settled down. Before long, a soft, contented purr rose from its throat.
Jiang Nuan’s eyes lit up. “It likes it!”
Qi Nian gave a soft snort. “At least it has good taste.”
Jiang Ce smiled. “Looks like all that work paid off.”
Qi Sui’s lips curved upward as well. “Now that it has a place of its own, it’ll sleep more peacefully.”
Ye Que stood by the window and glanced up at Jiangjiang.
But his gaze quickly fell on Jiang Nuan instead.
She stood beside the cat tree, looking up at Jiangjiang, her eyes sparkling in the sunlight.
Ye Que said nothing. The corner of his mouth twitched.
“Mm.”
“As long as it likes it.”
The next morning, Jiang Nuan was brushing her teeth while reading the news updates on her terminal.
Nearly every headline concerned the restricted zone in Area E of Whale Harbor City.
[The SS-rank restricted zone has been successfully cleared by Team Zero.]
[Casualty list released for personnel involved in the transfer of White Whale supplies.]
Jiang Nuan spat out the toothpaste foam and opened the second article.
A confirmed-dead list immediately appeared.
The outbreak of the SS-rank restricted zone had resulted in the confirmed deaths of every core member of the Bai family and the Li family who had been handling White Whale’s supplies at the port in Area E of Whale Harbor City.
A chill ran down her back.
When she had been at the Bai family’s home, the materials Shen Wu had obtained from the study were enough to prove that Bai Siyuan could not escape responsibility for what had happened.
Although the people from the Apocalypse Society had entered the port and made their move, Bai Siyuan was the one who had arranged for the Bai family’s core members to be there in the first place.
From the very beginning, he had been using outside forces to wipe out the Bai family’s power.
She had not even spared her own family.
Jiang Nuan turned off the faucet and looked up at the mirror.
The face reflected back at her still bore the weariness of someone freshly woken, her hair slightly tousled.
And yet, for some reason, she found herself thinking of Bai Siyuan standing inside the glass greenhouse, handing her that red rose.
He had looked so gentle, as though she were the only person he truly cherished.
Jiang Nuan tightened her grip on the terminal.
She had originally planned to visit the Bai family in the next few days. She had to find a way to retrieve her sealed memories.
But if Bai Siyuan could be so ruthless toward his own family, would she really be able to get what she wanted?
Jiang Nuan fell silent for a moment before closing the news page completely.
She would have to rethink this.
She glanced at the squad’s encrypted channel.
Shen Wu and Lu Shiyan were reviewing the old case in which the Lighthouse Squad had been framed.
The footage of Lin Zhou’s public execution in the Restricted Zone could at most point them in the right direction. It could not be considered concrete evidence.
They could hardly confront the Federation with nothing but an old image they had witnessed inside the Restricted Zone.
There was one other matter that had finally reached the point where Lu Shiyan needed to know.
While they had been in the Restricted Zone, Jiang Nuan had worked with Shen Wu to repeatedly test her purification ability.
The results were better than expected.
Even without relying on deep contact, she could bring an aberration level back below the safety threshold.
The strain, however, was considerable.
After each purification, she needed several days before she could use the ability again, and its efficiency was far lower than that of deep contact.
But at least this meant she would not have to be pushed to that point every time.
Jiang Nuan let out a soft breath and decided not to think about it for now.
After washing up quickly and changing her clothes, she headed for the infirmary.
After returning from an SSS-level Restricted Zone, every member of Zero Squad had to undergo a complete medical examination.
Qi Sui was swamped, so Jiang Nuan’s examination was assigned to Meng Lan.
The medical room was quiet.
Meng Lan was looking down at Jiang Nuan’s examination records, her long hair tied back to reveal a clean stretch of neck.
“Sit,” she said, lifting her chin. “We’ll draw some blood first, then check your ability fluctuations.”
Jiang Nuan obediently sat down and held out her wrist.
When the needle pierced her skin, she instinctively flinched backward.
Meng Lan’s movements were steady. As she drew the blood, she asked casually, “How are you feeling after returning from the Restricted Zone?”
Jiang Nuan thought for a moment before answering honestly. “Pretty tired, but at least I’m still alive.”
“Good. Sounds like your mental state is fine.” After finishing the blood draw, Meng Lan pressed a cotton ball to the puncture site and brought up the data on the instrument.
“Your ability reserves have recovered well. There’s no obvious damage to your mental domain, and the fatigue from the mission is fading.” She paused. “But you’d better avoid high-intensity purification for a while.”
Jiang Nuan’s face flushed instantly. “Mm.”
Meng Lan closed the examination record and looked at her.
“Don’t be nervous. I’m not trying to pry.”
“It’s just that, as your doctor, I need to teach you how to protect yourself first.”
