I Trust You, Night King

Aboard Black Bear No. 1.

"We'll reach the Central Floating City before long," Amy said.

Lu Yuan and Amy sat in the passenger cabin, watching the exterior feed projected across the display. The Central Floating City grew steadily larger as they closed the distance.

Amy's brow knit. "There are already more Lord Grade vessels out here than before — and they're stronger too. I wonder how many Lord Grade craft are concentrated around the Central Floating City itself."

Lu Yuan's expression remained calm.

Then, without warning, a faint flicker of puzzlement crossed his face.

He drew out his Communication Crystal. White light was pulsing across its surface.

"Someone's contacting me."

Amy tilted her head. "Oh? Inside the Aier Mechanical Ruins, only people already in the ruins can reach you, right? Is it a friend?"

Lu Yuan turned it over in his mind. Logically, Yang Ping and the others from the Talent Camp wouldn't be reaching out right now. That left one likely candidate.

*Yeye?*

He accepted the connection.

Sure enough — Yeye's flawless face appeared in the crystal, her black cat ears neat and graceful, dark eyes utterly composed.

Amy's purple irises flew wide open. *Lei Feng's friends look like this?!*

Yeye's flat voice came through without preamble: "Lu Yuan. Has that diamond-shaped craft been yours lately?"

"Yeah, that's us," Lu Yuan said with a smile.

Beside him, Amy went still. *...Lu Yuan? Who's Lu Yuan?*

Lu Yuan caught her look and felt his mouth twitch. *Right — as far as Amy knows, my name is Lei Feng.*

He cleared his throat before she could press the question. "That topic is a bit complicated — Amy, we'll come back to it. Yeye, the craft you're asking about is ours. Is that why you called?"

Yeye glanced upward briefly, then back at the crystal. "Mm. You should know the central tower of the Central Floating City hasn't opened yet, which means you're the only ones capable of hunting Lord Grade vessels right now. Everyone has their eyes on you — King Grade talents included. And you cleared two of Bai Lin's Chief Grade subordinates. That's why he's coming for you."

Lu Yuan's face grew heavier. "Coming for me?"

"I don't know Bai Lin personally," Yeye said in her unhurried way. "But he's on his way to find you now."

Beside Lu Yuan, Amy's expression had shifted from awe to genuine concern.

Yeye continued: "It's not just Bai Lin. Another King Grade talent — Barton — is also moving against you."

Lu Yuan's mouth twitched. "Two King Grade talents, both after us?" He paused. "We're quite in demand."

*A weight settled in his chest.* He furrowed his brow. The logic was simple enough: Black Bear No. 1 was massive and flew in plain sight — anyone could spot them. But pinning down Bai Lin and Barton's exact positions was an entirely different problem, and both of those two almost certainly had extensive networks of informants spread through the core zone.

Yeye thought a moment, then added: "The core zone is large, but given their speed, once they locate you, setting an ambush along your route wouldn't be hard. You're the only ones bringing down Lord Grade vessels. Everyone is watching."

Amy's earlier eagerness dimmed. Her brow creased. "If there are that many Lord Grade vessels packed around the Central Floating City, just getting through to it at all could be a real problem."

"We have Black Bear No. 1," Lu Yuan said, thinking it through aloud. "We can stay airborne — Bai Lin and Barton can't reach us up there. The real risk is after we down a Lord Grade vessel. If they're camped at the drop zone when we move in to collect, we lose the loot. But Black Bear No. 1 is fast. If we keep shifting direction — never giving them a stable fix on our position — we hit a Lord Grade craft, grab the drops immediately, and clear out before they can react. They shouldn't be able to stop us."

"But how do we even know where those two are?" Amy asked.

Just then, Lu Yuan's gaze drifted sideways — and landed on Yeye.

His eyes brightened.

"Yeye, My Lord," he said. "What do you think about working together?"

Yeye's dark eyes glinted. An eyebrow arched. "How?"

"You already know the movements of two King Grade talents, which means you have people covering the core zone. Keep tracking them, and we'll dodge them while we hunt Lord Grade vessels. With you along, if something unexpected happens, you'd be able to hold Bai Lin and Barton off, right?"

Yeye considered this. Then she nodded. "Yes."

Amy's face broke into a wide, relieved grin. "Yes! With a King Grade talent on our side, no one can push us around!"

Yeye shook her head.

"It's not just Bai Lin. Barton — the other King Grade talent — is also coming for you."

The grin on Amy's face froze in place.

"They're not as strong as me," Yeye added, in the same even tone.

Amy stared at her. *She just...*

*She named two King Grade rivals and called them weaker than herself. In passing. Like it was obvious.*

Slowly, some of the tension bled out of Amy's expression.

This was, Lu Yuan realized, the longest he had ever heard Yeye speak in one go. Nearly four months in the Mist Forest together — he knew her well. Cold on the surface, principled underneath. She had her own lines she wouldn't cross. He didn't believe for a moment she would betray him for whatever scraps the Aier Mechanical Ruins had to offer.

Just as he trusted Amy. The same quiet certainty, a different shape. He and Amy had spent time together in the Mist Forest, and stayed in contact through Tianrao City afterward. He knew her: direct, simple-hearted, exactly what she appeared to be.

He smiled. "Whatever we collect, we split three ways. What does Yeye, My Lord, think?"

Yeye's dark eyes flickered. Her head tilted just slightly, and she spoke without hesitation:

"I'm stronger than both of you. At close range, you can't escape my assassination. Aren't you afraid that once I'm aboard, I'll take everything for myself?"

Lu Yuan blinked. He hadn't expected quite such directness.

He looked at her steadily.

"I trust you."

A beat of silence.

Something shifted — barely perceptible — in the still mask of Yeye's expression. The cool calm gave way to the faintest trace of a smile.

"All right."

Amy had been taking all of this in from the side. She could scarcely believe it.

*She literally just said she could assassinate us at close range — and he just says 'I trust you'?!*

Using Spirit Power to transmit privately, she jabbed Lu Yuan hard in the ribs and fixed him with a furious, wide-eyed stare: *You big liar! You just agreed, just like that?! She's King Grade! What if she boards and turns against us?!*

Lu Yuan's expression strained at the edges. He cleared his throat.

Yeye's gaze had drifted to Amy. She blinked, unhurried. "Is this your companion? She doesn't know your name?"

Lu Yuan felt his mouth twitch again.

*She doesn't, no — I've been 'Lei Feng' to Amy this entire time.*

"The name situation is complicated," he said, with admirable composure. "Amy, I'll explain later. Yeye — Bai Lin. Is Bai Lin the White Frost King? Do you know him?"

"I don't know him," Yeye said simply. "But he's coming for you."

Amy, still processing, managed to gather herself enough to ask: "By the way, Yeye, My Lord — you're a King Grade talent too, right?"

"Mm. They're not as strong as me."

Amy looked at Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan looked at Amy. The same thought passed between them, unspoken.

*She said it again.*

Shortly after, Yeye sent her position.

"I'll mark my coordinates. You come to me."

"Got it," Lu Yuan said.

He tracked the marker as it appeared on the projection, directed Black Bear No. 1 toward it, and settled back in his seat.

Amy puffed out her cheeks. "Lei... you big liar," she muttered darkly, reverting to her go-to insult. "What exactly are we supposed to do?"

Lu Yuan hid a smile and said nothing.

**[Core Zone — Street Level]**

A group of Gene Warriors nearby had already noticed Black Bear No. 1 when it began closing in toward the tower.

"Huh? Is that craft descending toward the buildings?"

The sharpest-eyed Elf youth among them snapped to attention. "That's the diamond-shaped craft!"

"Wait — look at the rooftop of that tower!"

One by one, their gazes climbed upward — and every one of them went rigid.

"That's... that's *her* —"

"It's the Night King! The Night King is *here*?! And the craft is approaching the Night King!"

A Gnoll murmured to himself, face slack with confusion. "Doesn't this craft only ever land after taking down a Lord Grade vessel? What is going on right now? Something's not right."

A Green Demon hissed. "Hmm... didn't expect this to actually be a human's craft. Think we could take it from them?"

"Take it from them?" A human youth turned to look at the Green Demon with flat disbelief. "Are you dreaming? Those two humans are Lord Grade-level fighters. They just turned the tables on two Lord Grade units that were lying in wait for them in the outer zone — the Lord Grade units ended up dead."

"*Lord Grade?!* That powerful? And they've got a flying craft *and* they control mechanical lifeforms — that's basically untouchable!"

"Not quite untouchable," another voice cut in. "Those Lord Grade units they cleared belonged to the White Frost King's alliance. By now the White Frost King's probably locked onto them."

A Gnoll nodded with authority. "Of course it's true. My friend is the third son of the Tianling Tribe chief — he's already Second-rank Lord Grade. This information has spread through the top-tier circles. Every talent above Lord Grade already knows about it."

The group fell silent. Eyes widened all around.

"But if the Night King really does have control of that craft..." someone said slowly, "the White Frost King and the Green Demon King won't just stand aside and watch the Night King hold an asset like that. The Three Kings might come to open conflict any day now."

"Who knows." A quiet voice. "A clash at that level is already far beyond anything we can be involved in."

**[Rooftop of the Thousand-Meter Tower]**

Yeye stood at the edge of the rooftop, gaze tilted upward toward the approaching craft. She glanced at her Communication Crystal once more.

Beside her, Small White — the white-haired Cat-kin girl — was staring upward as well, her head a tangled mess of conflicted thoughts.

*Our princess definitely keeps everything simple unless it involves food. So why is she going to all this trouble? She even noticed that the human's companion doesn't know his real name — our princess would never pay attention to something so trivial. She would never ask something like that.*

*Good lord — could our princess actually have taken that human boy as a genuine friend?*

*...Is this even still our princess?*

*Hmm.*

*Calm down. Calm down. I need to finish what Her Highness asked me to do.*

Small White drew out her own Communication Crystal, quiet authority settling across her features.

"Keep your eyes on Bai Lin and Barton — both of them. Do not let either one disappear from your sight for even a *second*."

A response came back promptly: "Understood, My Lord. Little White will have people watching Bai Lin and Barton at all times. They won't be allowed to disturb Her Highness or her friends."

Yeye turned to Small White, as composed as ever. "We've made our deal. You know what to do."

"I understand, Your Highness."

"I'm going. Handle the rest yourself."

Yeye moved — and in an instant, her form blurred into an afterimage and vanished from the rooftop entirely.

Small White stared at the empty air where her princess had been standing. That haunted, seen-a-ghost expression drifted back across her face.

*...She really did make a friend, didn't she.*

*...Incredible.*

**[Black Bear No. 1]**

Black Bear No. 1 streaked toward the coordinates like a falling star.

The marker on the projection closed in steadily. Lu Yuan's eyes brightened.

"Arrived."

The craft touched down on the rooftop. Yeye was already there, looking up calmly as the shuttle came to rest — composed, unhurried, exactly as Lu Yuan had expected her to be.

Amy's breath caught the moment she saw Yeye in person. The Communication Crystal had not done her justice.

*That face... it's almost as beautiful as mine. Almost.*

She gave herself a rapid series of brisk slaps on both cheeks.

*Calm. Be calm.*

Yeye glanced briefly at Small White, who was still lingering on the rooftop with that bewildered expression. "We've made the deal, Little White. You know what to do."

Small White pulled herself together. "Yes, Your Highness!"

As Black Bear No. 1 lifted off, Amy mustered her composure. Her voice came out more or less steady:

"Yeye, My Lord — we're teammates now, right? Whatever happens, we face it together."

"We're teammates," Lu Yuan confirmed. "Of course we share everything."

Amy nodded vigorously, squaring her shoulders. "That's right! Teammates share it all!" Her declaration rang with perhaps a little more conviction than was warranted from someone who had been furiously jabbing him in the ribs over Spirit Power transmission five minutes ago.

A flicker passed through Yeye's dark eyes. That faint trace of a smile returned.

She nodded once.

*So it's the three of us,* Lu Yuan thought, feeling the quiet solidity of it settle into place. *Just like the Mist Forest — except now she's following me.*

Back then, Yeye had guided him through the forest, shortening his path to Tianrao City. A debt repaid in kind. Now it was his craft, his Mechanical Control ability, that made hunting Lord Grade vessels possible — and now she was the one coming along for the ride.

Fair, all of it.

He settled back and pointed Black Bear No. 1 forward.

"To the Central Floating City."

The craft surged ahead, and the vast, continent-spanning silhouette of the Central Floating City swallowed the entire horizon before them.