Zhou Tianming was torn between choices.
From a safety perspective, waiting for Zhou Hanxiang's results was the obvious choice.
But the downside was being stuck in passive waiting - if things went wrong, there'd be no escape route.
Their current safety was merely the calm before the storm.
On the other hand, confronting an unknown number of professional soldiers was undoubtedly highly dangerous.
Yet the advantage lay in establishing contact with Siegel Clyne. Though not yet PLANT's chairman at this point, as founder of the Zodiac Alliance, his influence was considerable.
After brief consideration, Zhou Tianming made his decision.
"Prosperity comes from taking risks during perilous times" - rescuing Lacus's mother promised greater long-term benefits than passive waiting.
Original plotlines showed Siegel Clyne to be reasonably humane - the potential rewards would be substantial.
Thus, Zhou Tianming immediately began tailing them stealthily.
En route, he contacted Zhou Hanxiang.
"Mom, quick question - have you seen a pink-haired researcher at the institute? Very beautiful, with wavy long hair."
"You mean Ogsha?"
"Full name?"
"Ogsha-Moore."
Zhou Tianming paused mid-step, puzzled.
Could this not be Lacus's mother?
Then he realized Siegel's sensitive status - his name was probably plastered on wanted posters across the Council nations. His wife likely didn't use the Clyne surname publicly.
Zhou Hanxiang continued, "She has a daughter too, also pink-haired. In her free time, she writes songs to sing to the child."
She hummed a melody softly. "Lovely, isn't it?"
A singer with a pink-haired daughter.
The pieces were falling into place.
"Do you know the child's name?"
"Hmm... I think it was Lacus. Adorable little thing - I even worked as their part-time nanny for a while."
90% match.
For absolute certainty, Zhou Tianming pressed further: "Is her husband blond with short hair and a square jaw?"
"Yes! Saw him recently actually. Caught them having a marital spat too."
100% confirmation - this was Lacus's mother.
"Got it. Stay safe."
As he was about to hang up, Zhou Hanxiang suddenly said, "Tianming."
"Yes?"
"If... if Ogsha's in trouble, help her if you can. Her child's so young... But don't risk yourself if it's dangerous. Your safety comes first."
Warmth flooded his heart. "Understood. I'll assess the situation."
After hanging up, Zhou Tianming sprang into action.
Facing professional soldiers, he knew better than to challenge their expertise directly.
He didn't dare follow too closely for fear of being discovered.
However, he had a special tracking method. By studying maps, he mentally deduced Ogsha's escape route, then adjusted his path in reality based on traces like dust on the ground.
His first step was to determine how many people were following Ogsha.
The opportunity soon arrived as Ogsha and her pursuers left the alley and emerged outside.
With a clearer field of vision, Zhou Tianming could observe from a safer distance.
Spotting Ogsha's conspicuous pink hair in the distance, he noticed the soldiers previously tailing her had vanished—clearly replaced by plainclothes agents.
Standing still, Zhou Tianming pulled out his phone to research military reconnaissance and tracking techniques.
He finished reading the material in under a minute, instantly becoming a theoretical expert.
Scanning the crowd, he filtered and compared, first eliminating those not looking at Ogsha, then dismissing those behaving normally—until a few conspicuous individuals stood out.
One.
Two.
He identified two plainclothes agents trailing Ogsha, their behavior blatantly obvious.
Ogsha clearly noticed them too, fleeing in the opposite direction.
But as a third-party observer, Zhou Tianming discerned more—these two seemed to be herding Ogsha toward a specific location.
After some thought, he concluded their numbers must be limited; otherwise, they wouldn't need to drive her into a trap.
Earlier, there had been three armed pursuers. Now, only two plainclothes agents—and after watching for a while, he found no others.
Opening a map, Zhou Tianming applied his newly acquired military tracking knowledge for real-time deduction.
The brain of an Ultimate Coordinator was practically a high-performance biological computer, and his prior use of Mental [Sense] had given him another advantage.
Instantly, his mind generated a 3D map of the area. He then placed himself in the pursuers' shoes to simulate their strategy.
The simulated figures in the mental map began moving, branching into dozens of routes before gradually converging—a chase unfolding until he deduced several likely trap locations and movement paths.
Quickening his pace, he matched the pursuers' real-world movements to eliminate incorrect possibilities.
As he followed, Zhou Tianming also pondered how to rescue Ogsha.
Then, while trailing her, he passed a convenience store with a red-and-white loudspeaker blaring promotional announcements.
The noise was deafening, but it sparked an idea. Glancing around, he spotted a supermarket nearby.
Spending two or three minutes inside, he emerged carrying a white plastic bag.
Following his deduced route and adjusting based on ground traces, Zhou Tianming's tracking skills grew sharper.
Once the pursuers' movements ruled out all wrong options, he hurried ahead with his bag of supplies to prepare at the predicted trap site.
...
Ogsha panted heavily as she ran, her expression calm despite the urgency.
Unconsciously, she veered back into the alleyways, twisting and turning to shake her pursuers.
Suddenly, rounding a corner, she found herself trapped—a dead end enclosed by three buildings forming a small, walled space about 20 square meters.
Footsteps echoed behind her. Ogsha dashed to the far end before spinning around, her back pressed against the wall.
Five pursuers filed in, lining up shoulder-to-shoulder—three in tactical gear raising their guns to aim.
A plainclothes officer spoke up: "Ms. Ogsha-Clyne, it seems you've run out of options. We'll give you one chance—tell us Siegel Clyne's whereabouts."
Ogsha remained silent, her gaze steady as she stared them down.
Clap clap clap—
The officer applauded, stepping closer: "How brave. Truly worthy of being Siegel Clyne's wife. I wonder if Siegel could remain coldly hidden behind the scenes after seeing footage of his wife being humiliated."
A flicker of panic crossed Ogsha's eyes as she bit her lower lip, her right hand gripping a pen inside her pocket.
Noticing Ogsha's defiant stance, the officer frowned in displeasure: "It seems Ms. Ogsha thinks we wouldn't dare go that far."
He advanced step by step toward her.
Ogsha used her thumb to push open the pen cap inside her pocket, gripping it tightly.
Just then, a melody echoed through the quiet alleyway.
The music seemed to descend from the sky, the acoustics of the terrain amplifying its resonance.
The five soldiers tensed, scanning their surroundings warily.
But Ogsha froze—the melody was achingly familiar. It was a song she had sung to Lacus.
Suddenly, accompanying the music, a young boy's clear voice began singing:
"I will raise my voice so it reaches your mind."
"Let the rain from the sky enter your eyes and make you weep."
"Can you hear it—the message I want to convey?"
Hearing it was just a boy's voice, the soldiers relaxed.
The plainclothes officer cursed: "What lunatic sings in a place like this?"
Ogsha kept her head lowered, her pink bangs obscuring her face so the soldiers wouldn't notice anything amiss.
As the melody shifted, the boy's voice softened into a hum.
Ogsha, accustomed to composing and singing, sensed the cue and subtly raised her hands, ready.
The humming abruptly stopped.
The officer waved to the others, signaling them to move against Ogsha.
At that moment—Ogsha clapped her hands over her ears.
The soldiers blinked, confused—until—
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
An ear-splitting shriek, amplified several times over by speakers and the alley's acoustics, erupted around them.
It felt like steel needles stabbing into their eardrums.
Weapons clattered to the ground as the soldiers doubled over in agony, clutching their ears.