Edinburgh, Scotland, 20:00;

Rong Xinghe soon dozed off in her darling's arms, right there on the silent road. His eyes, his voice, his warmth; they were all just too peaceful. And so was Edinburgh's breeze tonight. Calm.

Xi Yuan smiled to himself, as the sounds of her soft snores made their way to his ears. Diverting his gaze from the puppies, he looked at the girl. Her left hand held onto his overcoat's collar, tightly, while the other hand lied effortlessly upon the fabric of her dress over her belly. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the engagement ring on her left-hand sparkle. It suited her. The ring. Classy, sophisticated, light. Just like her, he thought.

Then, after a few minutes, the man carried her to the Bugatti waiting for them at a distance. After he'd buckled her up in the passenger seat, he walked around the vehicle, and shortly later, the wheels began to turn, their pace steady, for he didn't intend to disrupt her sleep.

The man was halfway down the road to Earlston when the phone in his pocket rang up. Hastily, the man connected his Bluetooth earpiece to the phone and picked up the call. The girl hadn't woken up by it, thankfully.

"Who's this?", he said into the phone, his voice deep yet more of a whisper.

"Al.", the person on the other end replied, his tone earnest, "How is she?"

Xi Yuan furrowed his brows, as he glanced at the time in his watch. It was almost 2 a.m. in Country X now, considering the time difference. Not to mention, Zhi Al's words had a pinch of consternation in them and not just general concern for his little sister.

"She is alright, Bro Al.", the man assured the girl's brother honestly, "What's going on?"

"I've been keeping track of Xinghe and your enemies for quite a few months now, Yuan.", the man jumped straight to the point, "I mean, their social media accounts, their bank accounts, and everything else in-between.

"Do you remember Arkady Kuznetsov, by any chance? Your Russian business rival?"

"Uhh... yeah.", Xi Yuan answered after thinking for a while, "He used to be one of Xi Corporations' major shareholders. But his gambling habits and unethical methods pushed me to kick him out of the empire.

"Even so, it has been about seven years since I blacklisted him. Are you suggesting--"

"He is still after you? Yes.", Zhi Al cut-in, "In fact, I am more than sure that he was the guy behind your Mexico product-quality scam. The load of money he's paid to underworld organizations through his Assistant's account is just too shady, you know.

"What worries me the most, though is the fact that he has transferred exactly 30 Million USD to SNM_Steven1984 about half an hour ago, followed by a Weibo message. '01896. Him. Or her.' Yuan, this Steven is an A-grade assassin, let me forewarn you."

"And 01896 is the dialing code for Earlston.", the young man let out an inaudible scowl, "Fu*king bastard!"

"I am afraid you two can't be left unprotected anymore.", the man on the other side smiled, impressed by Xi Yuan's decoding skills, "Your and her securities should arrive by tomorrow noon, okay? But until then, I just thought it'd be wise to give you a heads up."

"Thank you, Bro Al.", the man nodded sincerely, "I'll protect her with my life."

"I know you will.", Zhi Al laughed out, "I wanted to ensure you protect yourself too. To tell the truth, that was the reason I called you.

"You are her love, Yuan. And most importantly, you're family. So be safe, alright?"

Taken aback, the man took a moment to digest Zhi Al's words. A lot of things had changed since the moment he'd first met her. But the Six tigers' approval was something that still seemed to be a dream to Xi Yuan. Although they weren't as expressive as the girls' Sisters-in-law, he was aware of their recognition for him. And honestly, it felt more of an honor than anything else. To be a part of the high-principled and incredibly eminent Superfamily, truly was a matter of prestige.

"Got it.", the man responded, suppressing his smile.

"Now don't smile like a dork.", Zhi Al mumbled irritatedly, already knowing the young man's reaction to his words.

"..."

____________________

City A, Country X, 02:15;

David Florence made his way across the working-class commercial corridor stealthily, skillfully concealing the revolver inside his jacket. Oblivious to the battlefield it would soon turn into, the Realeza Hotel's building stood tall, and in all its glamor tonight.

While their Alpha recuperated in Scotland, the Hybrids had been handed out the responsibility to fill in the void she had left behind. These were just standard Military protocols though. Country X's three supreme positions couldn't be, for a second, stay abandoned. Regardless of the situation, which in a way, was understandable as the entire nation couldn't just survive on its own, right?

Unfortunately, Rong Xinghe did not have a successor to her throne, or an alternate, for that matter. Military Chief training did not take place every other month in Country X, for not everyone in the Army stood out enough to undergo something as exigent, as demanding as that. To make it out of the training alive was a challenge in itself, let alone reaching the chair of the nation's highest Military Authority. So, at a time like this, none were worthy enough to replace the woman. Not even one of the Hybrids. Hence, all Ten of them had to take on the different sectors of her work.

However, the government didn't dare to reveal their identities, since the simple action could end up welcoming an innumerable amount of formidable enemies to the land. As a result, the Ten men had no choice, but to act undercover.

"Are you sure our guy is here?", David asked into his CT-36 headset.

"Positive.", Elijah Williams replied, his eyes glued to the monitor screen in front of him, "Maksoor Khan's right-hand man, Neil. That man must've contacted him right after escaping from the St. Mary Hospital that night. I believe that Neil would surely know of his whereabouts at this moment.

"So keep him alive, David, okay?"

"You lost me at the 'keep him alive' part, brother.", the man chuckled coolly.

"..."

"Xinghe will chop our heads off if we fail this mission, Florence.", Huang Ling joined in, addressing the man on the other end, "Moreover, Andrea deserves justice for her unborn child's untimely demise. We cannot delay her revenge anymore. I hope you get that."

"Right.", David answered, his tone much serious now, "I'll kill everyone, but Neil. Will that be fine?"

Elijah Williams and Huang Ling exchanged glances of corroboration among themselves before one of them finally spoke up, "On one condition."

"Make the deaths painful.", the other one added.

"Isn't that a given?", Florence laughed out as a sensation of thrill rushed through every nerve in his body. Man, he loved this job!