Sparkle's face showed a hint of displeasure at the brown-haired boy's words. She furrowed her brows and stared straight at the brown-haired boy before enunciating each word slowly, "Get. Back. To. Work!"

The brown-haired boy and his bicycle-riding friends were taken aback by Sparkle's words. They were about to laugh, but their expressions suddenly froze as if they had seen something terrifying. Then, they turned around and began pedaling frantically, racing at top speed back toward a distant factory.

"I'm gradually gaining some of Mommy's powers as I grow. I'm still clumsy, but I can use them at least," Sparkle explained to Nene.

"That's amazing! You've become even more amazing, Sparkle!" Nene exclaimed and clapped to celebrate her good friend's achievement.

Sparkle smiled. She was about to say something when the sunlight pouring down on Hope Island abruptly went out. It returned three seconds later, but Sparkle and Nene, who were supposed to be standing in the middle of the street, were gone.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

When Nene came to her senses, she found herself in a wrecked room made out of metal. A bizarre-looking colossal black starfish was sprawled out on the ground, and dark green blood was seeping out of it.

Nene looked around and was terrified to find that she was surrounded by broken corpses along with intermittent sparks flying from the metal walls around her. Nene had no idea where she was or why Sparkle had brought her here.

"Mommy!" Sparkle cried out, rushing to the massive, deformed starfish. Green tentacles riddled with eyeballs that emitted the same green light burst out of Sparkle. They pierced Anna's figure, filling in her missing flesh.

"Who did this?!" Sparkle roared. Anger appeared on her face for the first time in her life. Her slender figure melted, and her massive tentacles flickered to life.

"Char...les."

As soon as Anna's words entered Sparkle's ears, her eyes flashed in disbelief as she muttered, "Daddy did this to you? Isn't he on the surface world?"

Sparkle's words had just fallen when Anna completed her sentence, saying, "Charles, that bastard! What the hell did he get mixed up with this time?! How come is it so vile?!"

Anna's bloated form contracted, and she returned to her gorgeous figure.

Upon seeing the worry on Sparkle's face, Anna patted the latter's tentacles and said, "It's okay; this is just a scratch. It's just..."

Anna sighed helplessly before continuing, "One of my guests has taken advantage of my bewilderment to escape. It would have been fine if he had escaped by himself, but he had taken a prisoner of mine with him."

"Who?"

"Pope Lylejay and Governor Swann of the Albion Isles. I really couldn't imagine that those two sworn enemies would work together to escape."

"Which way did they run? I'll help you catch them," Sparkle said, sounding angry with a stern expression.

"Forget it," Anna said, shaking her head. "I've already gotten pretty much everything I needed from them, anyway. Don't bother. I gave him a pretty good hit just now, so he's probably not feeling great."

"We should focus on your daddy rather than on those two. The entity that bewildered me was incredibly strange. It actually took me a day to snap out of it. I hope your daddy has come to his senses by now."

Sparkle nodded. She gave Anna a light tap, and the latter disappeared into thin air.

Looking around at the chaotic surroundings, Sparkle turned to Nene behind her and said, "Let me take you home first."

"Sparkle, where are we? Why is it so hot here?"

"We're in Newbound City, which is right above Hope Island. This is Mommy's new laboratory," Sparkle said, and the two disappeared into thin air as soon as Sparkle's words fell.

Meanwhile, Charles explained everything that had happened to Anna, and it took him half an hour to do so on the still-descending Narwhale. Despite the lengthy explanation, Anna was not bothered at all. Instead, she was thrilled at the idea that they'd start working with the Foundation from now on.

"A map is not enough; we need their technology as well. We also need to know just what happened to Earth. We also have to be wary of them, even though we're taking advantage of them. We can't say for sure whether they're true allies or not, and I'm also worried that they have their own agenda to advance."

"Except for our own people, we must be extremely wary of any handouts, especially those that have appeared out of nowhere. Moreover, they—"

Anna's non-stop talking was interrupted by Charles's sudden embrace.

Charles closed his eyes and took a whiff of Anna's neck. Anna looked down and saw the exhausted Charles staring at her.

"Let me rest for a while. I'm a bit tired," Charles said.

Seeing Charles' bloody bandages, Anna held back the deluge of questions she had in mind. Charles truly needed rest; he had just overcome a life-or-death situation, after all.

Anna had told Charles that she was still angry at him for what the latter had done not too long ago, but her heart still softened to see Charles in such a vulnerable state.

In the end, she couldn't bring herself to push him away.

"Does it hurt?" Anna asked, gently stroking Charles' wounds. A dozen writhing black tentacles burst out of her back, weaving into a recliner that enveloped them both before rocking gently.

"I've long gotten used to it. Anyway, I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I've always known you as an expert when it comes to altering memories, so I didn't expect that you'd fall victim to it, too."

"Why are you being so polite? Is that really necessary, considering our relationship? I'm glad that you're okay. Anyway, do you have any idea what we've encountered? I don't think its special ability is manipulating one's consciousness or memories."

Anna talked for a while, but she received no response.

Charles had already fallen asleep, and he was fast asleep. When he opened his eyes again, he found Anna's tentacles covering him as if they were a blanket.

"Handsome, you're already awake? How was your sleep?" Anna asked casually as she lay on her side while staring at the Foundation's communicator in her hand.

"How long have I been asleep?" Charles asked, opening his mouth in a big yawn. He then lifted Anna's tentacles to put on his coat, but her tentacles pulled him back.

"Sixteen hours," Anna said. She then propped herself up and looked down at Charles with a smile. "Up for some exercise?"

Before Charles could reply, Anna's gorgeous figure was already slipping down, but Charles held her shoulders and said, "Now is not the time for that. I need to know where we are right now and how far we are from the base down below.

"We've profited a lot on this expedition, and I have to start the next Subterranean Sea Council meeting to tell everyone what happened. We also have to discuss our next move."

Charles reached out for the communicator in Anna's hand, but she easily dodged the former's hand.

"Don't rush. I have something important to announce, too."

The tentacles covering Charles retracted slowly and transformed into Anna's two slender, beautiful legs. Anna bent her knees and leaned forward to pick up two breakfast plates from the nearby table.

"I have no time to eat breakfast," Charles said. He lifted the window to look outside, and he saw nothing but darkness. Clearly, the Narwhale was still descending to the base down below.

"Have you noticed anything different about this breakfast?" Anna asked, placing the two breakfast plates in front of Charles.

Baked beans, bread, and a steaming cup of milk made from powdered milk—it was a simple breakfast plate.

"Wait, two portions?!"