It was 3:00 AM. The "Hour of the Rat."
The Sky-Whale Airship hovered silently over the captured mines. The crew was exhausted.
In the Master Suite, Jiang Fan lay on his back, snoring softly. Curled against his side was Princess Zhao Ling. Her paralyzed legs were tangled with his, her arm thrown over his chest. She slept deeply, safe in the knowledge that her "human engine" was right there.
In the hallway, Yun Xi slept sitting up in a chair outside the door, a weapon in her lap, but even her iron stamina had limits. Her head was bowed, breathing steady.
In the charging bay, Gu Ling was in sleep-mode, her consciousness uploaded to the dream-server for defragmentation.
The ship was silent. Dark. Vulnerable.
Except for the kitchen.
Su Qing, the blind alchemist, was awake. She sat at the small table, grinding Moon-Lily petals. They only released their potency in total darkness, so she hadn't bothered to turn on the lights.
"Grind, grind, grind," she whispered to herself.
On the table, Snack (the Void-Eater kitten) was licking the inside of an empty tuna can. Scrape, scrape, scrape.
It was a peaceful domestic scene.
Until the air changed.
Su Qing stopped grinding. She tilted her head.
She didn't hear a footstep. The intruder was too good for that. He moved with a technique that silenced the air around him.
But he couldn't silence his chemistry.
Su Qing's nostrils flared.
Old leather. Cold steel. And... she sniffed deeper. ...A faint trace of the Imperial Palace's laundry detergent. Lavender and hypocrisy.
"Snack," Su Qing whispered softly. "We have a guest."
Snack looked up from the tuna can. His purple eyes dilated. He saw what Su Qing couldn't: A distortion in the air near the ventilation shaft.
THE INVISIBLE BLADE
Shadow-Guard 7 was an elite. He was the Emperor's personal eraser. He was currently invisible, wrapped in a Cloak of Silence.
His mission: Sabotage the CO2 scrubbers. Suffocate the rebels in their sleep.
He crept through the kitchen. He saw the blind girl. He saw the cat.
Inconsequential, 7 thought. She cannot see me. I will bypass her.
He took a step. He was a ghost.
"You're drifting to the left," Su Qing said pleasantly.
7 froze. Impossible. I am invisible.
"Your boots," Su Qing continued, turning her face toward him, though her eyes were covered by the white silk cloth. "They have oil on the soles. Probably from the hangar bay. It smells like... synthetic lubricant."
7's heart rate spiked. She's bluffing.
He drew his dagger. It was made of Void-Glass, invisible to the eye. He raised it to slit her throat quickly before moving to the vents.
He lunged.
"Snack," Su Qing said. "Block."
MEOW.
The kitten didn't jump. It simply opened its mouth and... yawned a hole in reality.
A mini black hole appeared in front of the assassin's dagger.
CRUNCH.
The expensive, invisible dagger was sucked into the kitten's mouth. Snack chewed it like a breadstick.
7 stared at his empty hand. "What the—"
"Now, catch," Su Qing said.
She grabbed a jar from the counter. She didn't throw it randomly. She threw it exactly where the smell of "panicked sweat" was coming from.
SMASH.
The jar broke on 7's chest.
It wasn't acid. It was "The Alchemist's Nightmare: Ultra-Adhesive Slime (Pineapple Scented)."
Thick, yellow foam exploded outward. It expanded instantly, hardening on contact with air.
"ARGH!" 7 screamed as the foam glued his arms to his chest. He tried to step back, but the foam ran down his legs, cementing his boots to the floor.
In three seconds, the deadly elite assassin was a pineapple-scented statue. Only his head was free.
"You... you witch!" 7 shouted, struggling against the hardened foam. "I am the Shadow! I am unseen!"
Su Qing picked up her cane and tapped her way over to him. She poked him in the stomach.
"Sight is easily fooled," she said gently. "But you can't hide your stink."
THE MORNING DISCOVERY
The sun rose.
Jiang Fan woke up feeling stiff. The Princess had somehow migrated during the night and was now sleeping diagonally, her head on his stomach and her dead legs draped over the edge of the bed.
He carefully extracted himself, tucking her back in. He did the morning routine—carried her to the bathroom, helped her wash, dressed her in fresh clothes—and carried her out to the kitchen for breakfast.
"I'm starving," the Princess yawned, resting her head on his shoulder as he walked. "I hope Su Qing made porridge."
They walked into the kitchen.
They stopped.
In the center of the room was a man encased in yellow foam. He looked exhausted, defeated, and smelled like a tropical fruit.
Su Qing was sitting at the table, sipping tea. Snack was asleep on the assassin's head.
"Morning," Su Qing smiled. "Breakfast is ready. And the trash is packed."
Jiang Fan looked at the assassin.
"Who is the pineapple man?"
"Imperial Assassin," Su Qing said casually. "He tried to poison the air. Snack ate his knife."
The Princess stared at the assassin. She recognized the tattoo on his neck.
"That's a Royal Shadow Guard," she whispered. "Stage 6 Elite. They are trained to be undetectable."
"He needs better deodorant," Su Qing shrugged.
Jiang Fan walked over to the trapped man. He tapped the hardened foam.
"So," Jiang Fan said. "The Emperor sends a ghost, and he gets beaten by a blind girl and a cat."
He looked at Su Qing.
"Remind me to give you a raise."
"I accept payment in rare herbs," Su Qing beamed.
THE INTERROGATION
Jiang Fan sat on a chair in front of the foam-man.
"Okay, Pineapple," Jiang Fan said. "Talk. What's the Emperor's next move? The mines are gone. The city is dark. Why send you?"
The assassin sneered. "I will tell you nothing, rebel scum! The Emperor has a plan that you cannot stop!"
"A plan?"
"He doesn't need the mines!" The assassin laughed maniacally. "The mines were a distraction! While you played in the dirt, the Emperor has activated the Ancestral Array!"
The Princess went pale in Jiang Fan's arms (he was still holding her).
"The Ancestral Array?" she gasped. "That's... that's a suicide pact."
"What is it?" Jiang Fan asked.
"It drains the life force of the citizens to power the shields," the Princess whispered, horrified. "He's going to sacrifice the population of the Capital to keep his throne."
The assassin grinned. "One million souls! Enough power to crush your little rebellion and ascend to Godhood! It begins at noon today!"
Jiang Fan looked at the clock on the wall.
It was 9:00 AM.
"Three hours," Jiang Fan said. His lazy expression vanished. His eyes turned cold.
He stood up, shifting the Princess's weight in his arms.
"Su Qing, melt him down and throw him in the brig. Yun Xi, wake up Gu Ling. We're leaving."
"Where are we going?" The Princess asked, gripping his shirt. "To the Capital?"
"Yes," Jiang Fan said. "But not to fight."
He looked out the viewport at the distant, darkened city.
"We're going to perform a hostile takeover."
He looked down at the Princess.
"Ling. Are you ready to take your father's job?"
The Princess looked at her paralyzed legs. Then she looked at the assassin who mocked her. Then she looked at Jiang Fan.
"Yes," she said. "Put me in the tank."