Reno's hand trembled on the gun, muzzle pressed against the table, propping himself up so he wouldn't nod off.
Originally, he had planned to wait until Jane and those three freaks were done, then get some rest.
But as he waited, he noticed the tent beside Jane's was also shaking violently—more than Jane's tent even.
What unsettled him more was that the tent rocked so hard without making a sound, its inside brightly lit yet casting no human shadows at all...
For a while, he thought it was some supernatural incident, Ted's vengeful ghost coming back to haunt him, scaring away every bit of his drowsiness.
Even now, with Jane's tent finally quiet, his sleepiness returned—yet that eerie tent still hadn't stopped, only shaking harder...
'Forget it… I'll just sleep a little. It's not like anything else strange is happening with that tent…'
Reno really couldn't hold out; comforting himself in his heart, he slowly lowered his head onto the table.
…..
"So, it's stopped already...? Princess, your clansmen really aren't much… three against one and that's the best they could do. Seems the mighty Inhumans aren't so mighty after all."
Hearing the silence next door, Ye Li knew Karnak and his two had collapsed. Hugging the princess's slender snowy thighs, he chuckled smugly, "Now the Inhuman men have already lost to us Earthlings. You, as an Inhuman woman, had better hold out longer—don't you want to win some honor for your clan?"
"You're talking nonsense..."
Crystalia retorted stubbornly, "Sister told me… our Inhuman bodies… are naturally… naturally better than you Earthlings'..."
"Oh? Really? Then let's do the math."
Ye Li teased with a grin, "Look, they were three against one. We're just one against one. So doesn't that mean you need to last at least three times as long as us Earthlings?"
"That's… how it works?"
The little princess, dizzy from his words, seemed to be tricked into agreement. Biting her lip, she swore, "Fine… I won't lose… I won't be like Karnak and the others, shaming the Inhumans…"
"Then let's see how you perform… hmm?"
Just as Ye Li spoke, he sensed someone approaching outside. A female form.
'Could it be Jane again, unsatisfied because those three losers couldn't handle her, sneaking over here for more...?'
"Please no…" Just the thought made him shudder with distaste.
But when he probed more carefully, Ye Li realized—
It was Alita!
He'd left her to run wild on Oahu, catching crabs and chasing geese. Who'd have thought she'd come back in the middle of the night looking for him?
…..
"Papa!"
As a system reward, Alita shared a resonance with Ye Li. She knew he was inside. The cyborg girl gently patted the tent wall, whispering, "Papa, let me in, I want to sleep."
"Uh..."
Ye Li looked at Crystalia, who was shaking her head furiously. Leaning close to the tent wall, he whispered back, "Alita, why not just stay outside tonight?"
"Dad, that's too much. Even though I'm cybernetically modified and not your biological daughter, I'm still a cute girl—how can you throw me outside?" Alita pressed her little forehead against the tent fabric, trying to squeeze in.
"Don't… don't… don't! …Fine, fine, I'll let you in..."
Faced with the princess's pitiful gaze, Ye Li finally tugged the zipper down and let Alita in.
…..
"Wah~!"
The moment Alita stepped inside, her bright, watery eyes grew even wider. She pointed straight at Crystalia, exclaiming, "Papa, you're at it again—mmph!"
Ye Li quickly covered her mouth, scolding, "It's already good enough I let you in, don't talk nonsense. Either go to sleep quietly, or sit and watch silently."
"How could I possibly sleep like this…"
Alita pulled his hand away, looking at Crystalia with a mischievous grin.
"Don't worry, Mama, I'll be good—I won't disturb you two while you're making me a little sister~"
Crystalia: "....."