After Morris left, the Zhou estate entered full lockdown. The security system was upgraded to military-grade protocols—heat sensors lined the garden perimeter, drones patrolled the sky, and even baby Xinglan's stroller had a built-in GPS tracker. Zhou Yuchen briefly considered relocating to the family's safe house in Switzerland, but I firmly refused.
"Running won't solve anything," I
Th
"What did you see this time?" Zhou Yuchen appeared behind me, holding two mugs of hot cocoa.
"I'm not sure," I replied, inhaling the faint scent of cinnamon rising with the steam. "It might've been one of Polaris's facilities."
Over the past 72 hours, Professor Lin and her team had conducted a full analysis of the blue gravel Morris brought. The results were alarming—the fragments matched the Stone of Destiny in composition, but their energy signatures were far more erratic, as though they'd been deliberately corrupted.
"Here's the latest," Zhou Yuchen said, pulling up a satellite map on his tablet. "Morris sent this. Red dots are locations with high child disappearance rates over the past two years. Blue dots mark places where blue gravel fragments were recovered."
They almost entirely overlapped.
My hand drifted to my belly, where a faint pulse of energy stirred. The baby was responding to our shared unease.
"There's more."
"Myanmar…" I instantly thought of the Lu family's mines—and the imprisoned designers. "You think they're searching for…"
"The remaining Destiny Stone fragments? Highly likely," he replied, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb against my knuckle—a habit of his when deep in thought. "Morris suggests we send a team to investigate."
I was about to answer when a piercing alarm shattered the silence. Infrared sensors in the garden had been triggered. Zhou Yuchen instantly switched into combat mode, pulling me behind him and pressing the emergency alert on his watch.
The security team mobilized swiftly. Drones buzzed overhead as Xiaoyu rushed in carrying a startled Xinglan. Under the moonlight, the lotus-shaped birthmark behind the baby's ear glowed faintly.
"Northeast perimeter," the security chief's voice crackled over the comms. "Two heat signatures detected—wait... they're children!"
Zhou Yuchen and I exchanged a stunned glance.
Five minutes later, the guards returned with two filthy boys, no older than ten. What struck us most wasn't their ragged appearance—but the unmistakable blue lotus marks behind their ears.
"Stone children..." I whispered.
The older boy looked around warily, then spoke rapidly in Portuguese. Xiaoyu responded in surprise. After a quick exchange, she turned to us.
"They're brothers—Rafael and Lucas—from Brazil. They say bad people were chasing them."
Suddenly, Lucas broke free from his brother's hand and stumbled toward Xinglan's stroller. Before anyone could react, his small palm landed on Xinglan's forehead.
Instead of crying, Xinglan giggled—and gently grasped Lucas's fingers.
A burst of blue light exploded from where they touched. Rafael cried out and lunged to pull his brother back but was thrown back by the same glowing energy.
Within the shimmering field, Xinglan and Lucas were frozen, eyes rolled back, murmuring in languages no one could recognize.
"Separate them!" Zhou Yuchen ordered, rushing forward—but the energy knocked him back two steps.
At that moment, my mother appeared with a pot of crystal orchids. As the petals brushed against the light, the violent energy field softened, then dissolved entirely.
Xinglan and Lucas collapsed—caught just in time by Zhou Yuchen and Xiaoyu.
"They were sharing memories," my mother said after examining them. "Just like you and Yuchen once did through the Stone of Destiny."
Rafael knelt beside Lucas, tears streaming down his face as he explained something in Portuguese. Xiaoyu translated:
"Lucas has had this ability since birth—he can access others' memories through touch. He says Polaris took all the other marked children from their village…"
Before she could finish, the deep rumble of helicopters echoed through the sky. The intercom blared again: "Unidentified aerial vehicles inbound! Everyone on alert!"
"Take the kids to the basement!" Zhou Yuchen ordered. "Sophia, you too!"
"No." I grabbed the orchid pot. "They're after the stone children. I can manipulate the stone's energy."
My mother hesitated, seeing the determination in my eyes. Then she silently handed me a small box.
Inside was a hairpin—a sapphire-tipped ornament she used to wear often. I recognized the stone instantly: a fragment of the Destiny Stone she had once taken to hide.
The helicopter blades grew louder. Zhou Yuchen coordinated the evacuation and led me into a shadowed corner of the garden. Under the moonlight, the petals of the crystal orchid tilted toward the southeast.
"They're coming from that direction," I whispered. The baby kicked violently, as if issuing a warning.
Three black helicopters descended onto the lawn. Armed men in tactical suits disembarked. The leader removed his goggles—young, sharply handsome, with a long scar beneath his left eye.
"I know you're watching," he said through a loudspeaker, his voice echoing through the garden. "We only want the two Brazilian children. Surrender them, and no one else will be harmed."
Zhou Yuchen tightened his grip on my hand. Then a child's voice broke the silence.
"Ele é o chefe deles! Ele matou as outras crianças!"("He's their leader! He killed the other kids!")
Lucas had somehow slipped past the safehouse and now pointed a trembling finger at the scarred man. Rafael tried to pull him back—but a drone's spotlight locked onto them.
"Target located," the man snarled. "Apprehend the marked child—alive."
The gunfire started an instant later. Zhou Yuchen tackled the children out of the way. I shielded my belly on instinct. The orchid pot in my hand erupted in blue light, forming a glowing barrier. Bullets dissolved mid-air as if hitting a plasma wall.
The scarred man froze in disbelief. "An energy field? That's impossible!"
I didn't wait. Gripping the sapphire hairpin, I rushed to the children. As the gemstone neared Lucas's lotus mark, a thin beam of light connected them.
"Don't, Sophia!" Zhou Yuchen shouted. "It's too dangerous!"
Too late.
My mind was pulled into a vortex of alien memories:
—A lab where children lay strapped beneath floating stones…—The scarred man injecting a girl's spine with glowing liquid…—A facility with dozens of children sealed in glass pods, energy siphoned into pipes…
A searing headache jolted me back. The sapphire cracked, and Lucas's mark began to bleed.
"Capture the pregnant one!" the scarred man roared. "The fetus is a prime carrier!"
Five soldiers lunged toward me. Zhou Yuchen swung a metal chair, knocking one unconscious. The security team engaged from the flanks.
As I retreated with the children, I tripped on the stair. The scarred man lunged—his metal-gloved hand aimed straight for my belly.
A shadow dropped from the rooftop and kicked him hard in the shoulder.
"Morris!" I gasped.
"Long time no see, Scorpion," he said, leveling a pistol at the man's face. "Interpol has this place surrounded. You're done."
The scarred man—Scorpion—grinned and pressed a button on his wrist. A high-frequency screech erupted, dropping everyone to their knees. My ears felt like they'd burst; pain tore through my abdomen.
Morris, half-kneeling, fired a shot—but missed.
Scorpion dashed toward a helicopter—only to be struck in the back by a bolt of blue light.
He screamed and fell. I looked up.
My mother stood at the third-floor window beside Professor Lin's lab, holding a modified device smoking with green fumes.
The attackers fled or surrendered. The helicopters were secured. But when we examined "Scorpion's" body—it wasn't human. It was a bionic clone.
"A remote-controlled proxy," Morris muttered, kicking the wreckage. "The real Scorpion's still out there."
The medical team examined everyone. Rafael and Lucas were placed under our protection. Xinglan slept from energy exhaustion, and the fetus—confirmed to be a boy—was miraculously unharmed.
That night, in the underground conference room, we reviewed the crisis. Morris showed us satellite photos.
"Polaris isn't just a criminal syndicate," he explained. "We've identified seven suspected labs across the globe—each linked to mind-control research. Scorpion is just a pawn. The true leader has yet to show his face."
One of the lab interiors froze me—the same glass capsule room I'd seen in Lucas's vision.
"They have to be destroyed," Zhou Yuchen said coldly. "Those kids—"
"We need a plan," Morris warned. "We still don't know how they identify these so-called 'stone children.'"
Xiaoyu suddenly spoke: "It's the water." We turned to her.
"Lucas said the children only developed the mark after contact with a blue liquid."
Professor Lin stood abruptly. "A genetic marker solution! Lu Zhentian used something similar in his earliest tests!"
We talked until dawn.
When I finally returned to the bedroom, Xinglan was asleep, the orchid blooming quietly under moonlight. I leaned against Zhou Yuchen's shoulder, exhausted. The baby inside me kicked—soft, reassuring.
"Have you thought of a name?" he asked, placing his hand on my belly.
"Xingche," I said, gazing at the stars. "Like a star racing across the night sky."
He kissed my forehead. "Perfect."
Outside the window, a meteor streaked past. All the orchid petals turned toward it, glowing faint blue—as if foreshadowing something yet to come.