The door opened, but instead of the expected greeting, Zhou Tianming found himself facing an unfamiliar middle-aged woman with a young girl beside her, sucking her thumb while blinking up at him.
"Hello, may I help you?"
"My apologies." Zhou Tianming showed a regretful expression. "Has this family moved away? I'm their friend."
"What's this about?" A burly middle-aged man emerged from inside.
After the woman explained briefly, the man stepped closer to Zhou Tianming. "They moved out long ago—about half a year back."
"Thank you."
Zhou Tianming left after expressing his gratitude.
Over half a year ago...
Calculating carefully...
They moved shortly after I took Via's notebook. Were they guarding against me?
Do I really look that untrustworthy?
He chuckled wryly as he pressed the elevator button to wait.
It seems the changes I've brought are growing more significant. I'll need to think more carefully from now on instead of blindly trusting the original plot.
I should build my own intelligence network—being completely in the dark will affect my judgment.
Ding—
The elevator doors opened, and Zhou Tianming stepped inside, lost in thought.
Just as the doors were closing, a sudden realization struck him.
Wait!
He thrust his hand between the doors to stop them, his gaze fixed on Lenore's tightly shut apartment door.
After a moment's hesitation, he stepped out of the elevator.
Taking out his phone, he tried calling Lenore again.
No answer.
Could this situation have changed too?
If she was taken away, there's no reason she wouldn't have notified me—after all, she was the one who asked me to come.
Leaving without a word is somewhat impolite.
Narrowing his eyes, Zhou Tianming sensed something amiss.
After studying the building's layout, he turned and left.
Ten minutes later, at Lenore's balcony.
A figure descended from above, hands gripping the balcony's outer edge precisely.
With a pull of his arms, he hoisted himself up and swung a leg over to land on the balcony.
Peering through the glass balcony door, the interior was spotless—no signs of struggle or resistance.
Testing the door, it slid open with a faint scrape along its track.
After searching the apartment thoroughly and confirming no traces of an attack, he concluded:
"So Lenore left willingly with them."
He laughed at himself. "Seems I overthought it."
Scanning the room, his eyes landed on a door bearing a nameplate—Athrun.
The door was slightly ajar.
Curious, he approached and peeked inside to find half-packed luggage and mechanical parts strewn across an open suitcase. "So the legendary electronic pet king is gearing up? Athrun, I've got high hopes for you."
Chuckling, Zhou Tianming was about to turn away when he noticed the mechanical parts and suitcase corners formed an arrow shape on the floor.
Frowning.
Coincidence?
Or was he being overly suspicious?
Following the arrow's direction, it pointed toward the living room sofa.
Zhou Tianming examined the area, pulling open the coffee table drawer to rummage through its contents.
Nothing unusual.
But as he closed the drawer, his gaze sharpened.
Beneath the coffee table, the carpet bore a distinct scuff mark—its fibers flattened toward the table's underside.
Reaching underneath, his fingers closed around a white booklet.
An electronic doorbell manual.
Could it be...?
Rising, he went to the doorbell and accessed its playback—only to find the recordings wiped clean.
Clever. However they handled it, they left traces.
Not erasing the footage would've captured their faces; erasing it revealed their suspicious intent.
Zhou Tianming hurried to Athrun's room and booted up the computer, fingers flying across the keyboard to breach the system.
Within moments, he'd hacked into all nearby networked surveillance feeds.
The targets stood out immediately—ZAFT's crimson uniforms were far too conspicuous.
Yes, too conspicuous—as if deliberately proclaiming "We're ZAFT."
Could they actually be from the Earth Alliance?
After cycling through multiple camera angles, Zhou Tianming finally got clear views of all three.
The man and woman were unfamiliar, but the tall man triggered instant recognition.
Searching his memories for a match.
Seconds later, Zhou Tianming's lips curled into a chilling smile. "So it's you!"
He'd identified the man—one of the Holy Order assassins who'd ambushed him years ago in PLANT's forests.
Yet confusion lingered.
Why would the Holy Order take Lenore?
A possibility struck him.
In the original storyline, Patrick's later subordinates were all fanatics, bearing striking resemblance to current Holy Order members.
Perhaps they were sent by Patrick himself—the Holy Order might be currying favor with PLANT's defense chairman.
During the return trip to the Black Tortoise, Zhou Tianming wrestled with the sparse clues, unable to pinpoint the truth.
Back aboard, Lacus noticed his solitary return. "Where are Aunt Lenore and Athrun?"
"Taken away by others."
"What?" Lacus froze momentarily before frowning. "By whom? You don't seem particularly concerned."
Hearing her question, Zhou Tianming studied her closely.
Right—here's someone with exceptional intellect, political acumen, and charm.
He laid out his deductions systematically.
Lacus listened intently before lowering her head in thought.
Minutes later, she spoke: "The Holy Order and Uncle Patrick aren't allies. Actually, there were hints of Holy Order involvement in the recent attack against Father. Uncle Patrick has been targeting them recently."
Wait—wouldn't such high-level strategic movements be classified?
"How do you know this?"
Lacus smiled sweetly. "I overheard Father discussing it with Uncle Patrick when passing by his study."
Speechless.
No wonder Lacus seemed omniscient in the original story—Siegel apparently never shielded her from anything.
"Passing by"? More like deliberately eavesdropping with the door wide open.
"If that's the case..." Zhou Tianming voiced another possibility. "Using Lenore and her son as leverage against Patrick—do you think he'd betray your father?"
Startled, Lacus stiffened, her grip tightening as her voice trembled slightly, smile strained: "N-no... they've been close friends for years."
"What if the Holy Order wants to elevate Patrick to power?"
Lacus stood frozen, visibly shaken.
Zhou Tianming explained: "If Chairman Siegel dies, someone must succeed him as PLANT's leader—"
"—Uncle Patrick would..." Lacus paled.
Now genuinely alarmed, she grabbed Zhou Tianming's arm urgently. "I need to contact Father immediately."
"Easy, easy." He patted her hand reassuringly. "This is just speculation. I know how strong their bond is—the likelihood is minimal."
At this stage, their ideological rift hadn't formed yet. With the Earth Alliance threatening externally, an internal power grab seemed improbable.
But whether the Holy Order harbored such ambitions remained uncertain—kidnapping Lenore struck at Patrick's weakest point.
Given his eventual descent into genocidal madness, anything seemed possible.
Despite Zhou Tianming's attempts to soothe her, Lacus remained adamant about warning Siegel.
Before she called, Zhou Tianming cautioned: "Lacus, consider this—as an outsider, I can't be the one to raise this. It would look like I'm trying to sow discord between them."
"Everything is just my conjecture—maybe pure overthinking. But voicing it could create irreparable cracks in their trust."
Lacus' finger hovered over the call button.
"I'm sorry for putting you in this dilemma. I shouldn't have discussed this with you."
Zhou Tianming sighed, realizing his mistake—he'd overestimated present-day Lacus.
She's only thirteen—still just a child.
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