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Then, her eyes lifted. She gazed at the small picture frame on the nightstand — the family photo taken at Disneyland. Who would have thought? By some twist of fate, this was a real family portrait. Just like the photo on the doctor’s desk from her memories, this was truly a picture of a family of three.

“The thing I’ve wanted most…” she murmured, smiling slightly. “Turns out, I already had it.”

She reached out and took the picture frame, pulling out the photo inside and holding it close. Though the room was dim, with only the faint orange glow of the nightlight, her vision had improved dramatically since that strange blue line appeared in her eyes. She could see everything clearly, even in such darkness.

In the photo, she wore a princess dress with a delicate silver tiara on her head. Behind her, Zhao Ying Jun and Lin Xian were dressed as a queen and king, leaning close to her. It was true—they looked so much alike. Lin Yu Xi traced her fingers over Zhao Ying Jun in the photo. That was her mom. Their facial features were almost identical; she looked like a miniature version of her.

As for the rest—though it wasn’t as obvious, if she looked closely, she could see it. Her forehead, chin, and ears were exactly like Lin Xian’s. She moved her fingers from Zhao Ying Jun to Lin Xian. Even without seeing Lin Xian’s paternity report, it didn’t matter anymore. The truth was clear.

She suddenly remembered what the doctor at the military base had told her: “A name may seem simple, but it carries deep meaning. Your surname represents your origin, inherited from your father, something set at birth. Your given name carries your parents’ emotions, hopes, and blessings.”

Yes. Only now did she truly understand the meaning of her own name. The “Lin Xian” in Lin Yu Xi was Lin Xian’s Lin Xian. The “Yu Xi” in Lin Yu Xi was given by Zhao Ying Jun. It was the name her parents had given her—a name that was unique.

She turned the family photo over and looked at the scribbled handwriting on the back. It read “Yan Qiao Qiao.” This was the name given to her by her grandparents.

She looked up, gazing westward.

[Time-Space Sensing]

She could sense it—the powerful aura of a time-space traveler had already boarded a vehicle, heading swiftly toward Lin Xian’s neighborhood.

It seemed her guess was correct. It must be Number 17! Number 17 had crossed through using tangled time-space particles, and though bound by time-space laws like other travelers, she had much greater flexibility. The only one who could stop Number 17 was herself—from the future.

Even though she was weak right now… But—“It’s time to go.”

Lin Yu Xi put her most cherished family photo into the inner pocket of her tracksuit. Step by step, she walked across the soft carpet. From the nightstand to the bedroom door—those few meters felt like an entire lifetime.

The training as a time-space agent had taught her to always follow orders, to put the mission first. But now, as a failed recruit, she had no mission. And even if she did… she couldn’t do it.

Stopping at the bedroom door, Lin Yu Xi took one last look back at the warmth and happiness inside: “Goodnight, Mom.” She lowered her head and looked at the Pomeranian, VV, asleep in its dog bed: “Goodnight, VV.”

She gently closed the bedroom door, walked into the living room, and picked up her trusty carbon steel kitchen knife, hiding it inside her sleeve. She stepped out of the living room and closed the door.

Bang.

To avoid making noise, she didn’t use the elevator; instead, she took the stairs. The sound of her footsteps quickly faded as she went down.

“V?” VV twitched its ears, seeming to hear something. It raised its head and looked around: “Woof.” It barked softly but suddenly became alert. Sniffing the air—there was a scent of blood! A dangerous smell!

“Woof! Woof! Woof!” VV barked fiercely.

On the bed, Zhao Ying Jun rubbed her eyes: “What’s wrong…VV, another nightmare?” She took a deep breath and looked at the Pomeranian barking beside the bed. Then she glanced at the empty bed next to her. “Qiao Qiao?”

She got up and saw the light on in the bathroom: “Did she go to the bathroom?” She stepped out of the bathroom but found that the lights in the study and kitchen were on too.

She blinked. What… was happening? Did Qiao Qiao get hungry in the middle of the night and go to the kitchen to make food? Not likely.

“Qiao Qiao?” She called out again but got no answer. Zhao Ying Jun realized something was wrong. Yan Qiao Qiao had excellent hearing, especially in the dead of night. If she called her, there was no way Qiao Qiao wouldn’t hear.

She quickly walked to the bathroom and pushed open the glass door—Zhao Ying Jun gasped! The floor… it was covered in muddy bloodstains! Blood-soaked tissues were scattered everywhere!

She went to the closet. Sure enough—there was a bloodstained nightgown. She entered the kitchen and saw the cabinet was open, and a knife was missing. Something had happened!

Zhao Ying Jun immediately realized that Yan Qiao Qiao was in danger! She searched the house for Qiao Qiao but found no trace. She immediately called Lin Xian. No answer… She couldn’t wait any longer.

Still dialing Lin Xian, she quickly changed clothes, grabbed the Ferrari keys from the box, and rushed out to look for Qiao Qiao.

“Hello?” Finally, Lin Xian picked up. Zhao Ying Jun quickly explained what had happened. Lin Xian said he’d handle it, then hung up.

“What does that mean?” She frowned. Thinking back, the noise on Lin Xian’s side of the call was loud too, like he was running or jumping—thud, thud, thud. Clearly, at this hour, Lin Xian was also not asleep. And… he wasn’t surprised at all about Qiao Qiao’s disappearance, or the fact that she had gone missing with a knife.

Could it be… this had something to do with Lin Xian’s secret mission? She looked at her phone’s date.

July 1st, 2024. Lin Xian had said he planned to tell Qiao Qiao the truth in July, and let her know everything he’d been doing.

July. Was it really such a special time?

Zhao Ying Jun shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to think about that. She needed to find Lin Xian and Qiao Qiao, and fast!

“But where could they be?” She closed her eyes, trying to remember the details—clues, information. Thinking… Thinking…

Suddenly, she opened her eyes. “The Little Genius smartwatch!” She remembered! The Children’s Day gift from Lin Xian to Qiao Qiao—the Little Genius smartwatch—had both her and Lin Xian set as the emergency contacts. It was listed under “parents” in the watch.

If she was considered a “parent” in the system, that meant… she had access to the watch’s location!

She pressed the button for the elevator and headed to the underground garage. Then she downloaded the Little Genius app from her phone’s app store and registered, logging in with her phone number.

Sure enough. Her phone number was already bound to the watch. On the screen, the watch’s name appeared—Qiao Qiao.

Vroom—She quickly got into the bright red Ferrari, started the engine with one button, and listened as it roared to life. Zhao Ying Jun put her phone on the mount, clicked on the watch icon, and checked its location.

After a moment’s delay, the screen displayed Qiao Qiao’s position—moving quickly toward Lin Xian’s neighborhood, with constant “exceeding geofence” alerts blaring loudly.

“Lin Xian’s phone must be on silent,” she guessed. “Otherwise, the moment Qiao Qiao crossed the boundary, the alarm would’ve sounded, and he’d know she left the house before I did.”

She floored the accelerator. Already skilled at racing, she shot out of the underground garage, merging onto the empty night road, heading in the direction of the coordinates on her phone!

…

Clang!

Another clash of blades rang out.

Lin Yu Xi found herself struggling against the tall, blue-eyed time-space assassin. Under the immense pressure of her opponent’s strength, she was forced to take several steps back, barely holding her ground.

The assassin frowned as she eyed Lin Yu Xi.

“Lin Yu Xi?” she said, blinking in confusion. “How can this be? You… How are you here?!”

This wasn’t possible.

Number 17 knew for certain that she had defeated Lin Yu Xi during the final selection round. She had been promoted to a level-three agent and had earned the right to use the entangled time-space particles, which had brought her here to 2024.

There had only been one entangled time-space particle—and she, the victor, was the only one entitled to use it, the only one sent to complete this mission. Lin Yu Xi was supposed to be her defeated rival, a failure.

How could she possibly be here?

And more than that… something was wrong—very wrong—with Lin Yu Xi.

First of all, her eyes were black.

The female scientist at the military base had explained how the time-space particles worked. When a traveler crossed into a different time-space, their eyes always turned blue as a rejection effect. Just like Number 17’s—her own bright blue eyes were proof of this phenomenon.

But Lin Yu Xi’s eyes were still black. There was a faint blue glimmer, but it was so faint it could hardly be real.

Time-space rejection was absolute!

Second, Lin Yu Xi’s appearance hadn’t changed at all.

This was what confused Number 17 the most. Crossing time-space altered one’s appearance. Her own face, her features, even the texture of her skin—everything about her had changed. No one, not even the instructors at the base, would recognize her now.

But Lin Yu Xi looked the same. The same ponytail, the same tracksuit, and she was holding a kitchen knife of all things.

Even though Lin Yu Xi had kept her hair short during training, Number 17 knew her face well. After all those years of training together, she could never forget it.

So how was this possible?

If Lin Yu Xi had crossed over using the same machine, why hadn’t her appearance changed?

And if she truly belonged to this era, then who was the girl she had trained with in the future?

Finally—perhaps most puzzling of all—Lin Yu Xi had lost all her muscle definition!

She looked weak, frail, with none of the trained physique Number 17 remembered.

If it weren’t for the familiarity of Lin Yu Xi’s face and the way she held her knife, Number 17 might have thought she was a completely different person.

But it didn’t take long for her to confirm it.

The girl, standing there in a defensive stance, glaring at her, said her code name aloud:

“Number 17…”

With that one word, their identities were clear.

Lin Yu Xi knew that the real Number 17 didn’t look like this. Their heights, their body shapes, their hair—all similar, but the faces were completely different. But the scientists at the base had explained the effects of time-space rejection long ago.

Number 17 had crossed over from a future time-space, so of course, her appearance had changed.

Besides, after years of training and countless fights with Number 17, Lin Yu Xi knew her moves by heart.

One moment of contact was all she needed to be sure.

“Number 17,” Lin Yu Xi said sternly, “you’re breaking the rules.”

“The instructor said that execution is only allowed in extreme circumstances—if you can’t complete the mission or if you’re interrupted. How could you attack right away?”

Hearing this, Number 17 sneered.

“Oh, Lin Yu Xi, you’re a failure. What right do you have to speak to me?” she spat. “Now—this is an extreme circumstance!”

With those words, she lunged, swift as the wind, toward Lin Yu Xi.

The gap in strength was obvious.

Lin Yu Xi could only defend herself, but it wasn’t enough.

Slash!

A sharp, cold light flashed as Number 17’s blade deflected Lin Yu Xi’s guard, slicing toward her chest.

Though Lin Yu Xi wasn’t as strong as before, her reflexes were still sharp. She bent backward quickly, trying to dodge.

Rip—

The sound of fabric tearing.

Faced with overwhelming strength and speed, Lin Yu Xi managed to avoid the worst of it, but her tracksuit was left with a long, jagged tear. Her pocket was also ripped, and a cherished family photo slipped out, fluttering gently in the wind.

Number 17 glanced down.

It was a photograph.

She didn’t care about it, but as the photo spun in the air, she caught sight of something—a name written on the back.

She picked it up, not even bothering to look at the front, and turned it over to read the scrawled handwriting:

“Yan Qiao Qiao.”

She blinked, recalling the name Lin Xian had shouted earlier when Lin Yu Xi had blocked the attack.

Another name!

Lin Yu Xi had two names!

In that instant, Number 17 ground her teeth in frustration.

“Oh, Lin Yu Xi. I wanted to ask you how you crossed over, how you got here,” she said, her voice dripping with disdain. “But now, it doesn’t matter. None of it matters anymore.”

She laughed—an eerie, satisfied smile.

“This isn’t the training base. There are no rules stopping me from killing you here. So… I’ll kill you both.”

She slipped the family photo into her pocket with a grin.

“Does one person need two names? Isn’t that a bit greedy? Still, I appreciate the gift…”

“When I kill you both, Yan Qiao Qiao’s name will belong to me!”

Whoosh!

Fast as lightning!

Number 17 reveled in this lopsided fight. Back at the base, she’d always hated Lin Yu Xi. They had fought many times, each of them winning half the battles.

But now…

Everything was different.

The rival she’d once struggled against was now just a lamb to the slaughter.

“To the left!” Number 17 shouted with a smile, announcing her next move as she swung down hard.

She was taunting Lin Yu Xi—telling her exactly what she was going to do, daring her to stop it.

Lin Yu Xi raised her knife with both hands to block.

But Number 17, using only one hand and barely a third of her strength, easily sent her flying.

“Hahaha!” Number 17 laughed in satisfaction.

“Lin Yu Xi, I’ve wanted to kill you since our days at the base! I never imagined I’d get this perfect opportunity.”

“I wonder… if I kill the most wanted criminal and return to our base, will I see you again? Will I get to show you my medal? Will I get to… kill you again?”

Vroom!!

Number 17 was just about to strike again when suddenly, two bright lights shone from afar, accompanied by the roar of an engine.

With her heightened senses, Number 17 knew immediately.

A car was speeding toward her.

She jumped to the side, just in time—

Vroom!!

A bright red Ferrari roared past, barely missing her. It was clearly aiming to hit her, speeding at over 100 mph!

Screech!

The Ferrari spun into a drift, tires screeching, filling the air with smoke and the acrid smell of burning rubber. It stopped at an angle by the roadside.

The window rolled down.

Zhao Ying Jun shouted out:

“Lin Xian! Qiao Qiao! Run!”

Then she floored the gas pedal again, sending the Ferrari hurtling toward Number 17—toward the attacker, toward the person hurting her daughter!

But this time, Number 17 was ready.

With her strong coordination and reflexes, she dodged again.

She got a good look at the driver—the woman from the photo, the one standing with Lin Xian and Lin Yu Xi.

“Interesting,” she murmured, smiling as she gripped her knife, her blue eyes glowing menacingly as she walked towards Lin Yu Xi.

“A family of three?”

“You all have to die!”