Volume 1, Chapter 6: One More Step and I'll Kill You, Kid

"Don't... don't talk nonsense." Meng Yuan looked up at the gentleman before her. Honestly, the system was right; he was powerful, wealthy, and handsome—stunning, even.

As she stared, her face involuntarily began to heat up.

"Are you... not feeling well?"

Lester asked suddenly, and Meng Yuan immediately became even more shy.

"I'm going to the restroom, excuse me."

"Mm."

Looking at her flushed face in the mirror, Meng Yuan splashed some cold water on it. "Ahhh, please, hurry and fade away!"

Just the thought of that moment made her face burn again. No, no, she couldn't keep thinking about it.

When she returned, she found that Lester had eaten nearly half of the dessert.

"My apologies. It was so delicious that I couldn't help but have a few extra bites." A look of embarrassment appeared on Lester's face.

"It's no problem at all. If you like it, I'll have someone send it to you every day from now on."

"There is no need for such trouble." Lester then glanced at her stomach. "How much longer until you give birth?"

"At the end of this month."

"I see. I still have some work to attend to, so I'll be going now. Rest well."

"Alright."

In the study, the adjutant looked puzzled. "Colonel, haven't you told Miss Meng yet that she isn't a prisoner? I don't think she's aware of it."

"You talk too much."

After the adjutant left, Lester picked up a file from his drawer. It was a pardon, stamped clearly with the official seal of the Federation.

Yet, even he didn't know why he had agreed to let her live in his estate. Was it simply because she was carrying Hekun's child?

Ever since Meng Yuan learned that Lanke was out of danger, she often thought of desserts, milk tea, or fruit tea to send over, and would incidentally send some to Lester as well.

She didn't know if the busy Lester actually ate them, but she sent them every day anyway. It was the thought that counted; what happened to them afterward was none of her concern.

A week later, Lanke was successfully discharged from the hospital. The first thing he did upon returning was to come see her, which moved Meng Yuan deeply, proving that he had kept her in his thoughts.

However, he also brought some bad news.

Lanke had to return to his family. He had only come during summer vacation, and now that school was about to start, his family was urging him back.

"Sister Yuan, someone is helping me pack my luggage at the moment, so I specifically took this time to come and say goodbye."

Meng Yuan patted his shoulder. "Look at you, acting like you're about to cry. It's not like we'll never see each other again. Besides, we can always keep in touch via phone!"

"Right, I almost forgot about the phone! Sister Yuan, could you see me off in a little while?"

He immediately explained, "My family has already sent a warship to pick me up, but it's waiting on the outskirts of the city. Sister Yuan, you've been so good to me, I really hate to leave you."

"Of course!" Meng Yuan then packed some long-lasting snacks for him.

Lester was unable to see Lanke off due to work, so Meng Yuan parted ways with him outside the city, watching as he boarded the warship.

She couldn't help but marvel at how nice it was to be a young master from a wealthy family, being picked up and dropped off by a warship. It also highlighted the status and power of the Volzan family in the Empire.

Meng Yuan thought that since ancient times, emperors had always feared subjects who became too powerful. If she were the emperor of this empire, she would certainly be afraid too.

What if the Volzan family harbored thoughts of rebellion and sailed their warship straight into the emperor's bedroom?

"Miss, it's windy here. Let's head back!"

The nanny urged her from behind, and Meng Yuan nodded.

However, the moment the flying car started, an alarm sounded. The radar detected another flying car rushing directly toward theirs. If they collided, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Because many residents in the city traveled by flying car, the sky was usually crowded, but they were now outside the city where the surroundings were vast and empty with no cover. The pilot's forehead was already sweating; this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

"Miss, please hold on tight. I'm going to accelerate."

This was the second bad incident this month. Meng Yuan felt immense anxiety, and she felt a sharp, dragging pain in her stomach.

"I... I don't feel well."

"Ah? Could it be that you're going into labor early?" The nanny was flustered and looked around. "Miss, let me help you to the bedroom to lie down. Standing like this might hurt you and the baby."

Inside the room, the more uneasy Meng Yuan became, the more noticeable the fetal movement was; it seemed the little one couldn't wait to come out.

"What do I do? What do I do? Right, contact the Colonel." The moment the nanny saw that the signal had been jammed, she felt like dying.

*Thump.* A sound came from outside. The nanny looked through the screen on the door.

She saw that the pilot had been decapitated, and a man was standing in the living room, a cigarette in his mouth. Seemingly sensing the gaze from the room, he turned his head to look.

The nanny was so terrified she fell to the floor; the mental energy the man was radiating was overwhelming.

She crawled toward the bed. "Miss, the man outside killed our pilot. Now the flying car can't be piloted, and there's no signal. We... we're doomed."

The nanny muttered to herself, "Colonel, I failed your trust. I didn't take good care of the Miss. I only hope to serve you again in the next life."

Lying on the bed, Meng Yuan twitched her lips. It wasn't the end yet; why had she already given up?

She immediately called out to the system in her mind. Fortunately, the system responded this time.

"Quick, find a way to teleport us both to a safe place. Otherwise, if your host dies, who will complete the mission for you?"

[Host, the father of the child is right outside! If you play the emotional card, you won't have to worry about your life.]

With that, the system went offline.

This useless, lazy system didn't want to lift a finger.

As soon as Meng Yuan thought of that man's madness that night, she felt a shiver down her spine. But for the sake of her mission and her family, she would fight.

Another loud crash, and the bedroom door was blown off its hinges.

Polished leather shoes entered Meng Yuan's vision first, followed by a pair of long, slender legs that stopped right in front of her.

He... he was even more terrifying than he had been that night.

The nanny had already been subdued by his men.

Hekun smiled. "You really are lucky. You didn't die in my bed, nor were you killed by the people I sent. But you won't have such good luck this time."

*Meng Yuan:* That's not necessarily true. I might not have luck, but I have a pregnancy.

Meng Yuan pinched herself hard behind her back, and her hands finally stopped shaking. She picked up a dagger and held it near her stomach.

"Don't... don't come any closer, or I'll kill your child."

Hekun sneered. "You stupid female, do you not know my strength? My mental energy is SSS-rank. It is impossible for me to ever have children."

Even his men, who had been stone-faced since they entered, curled their lips slightly, as if mocking her.

Meng Yuan slowly found her footing and lost her initial fear. "Well, that's a pity. I just had my fertility checked last month—SSS+ rank. That should be enough to conceive your child, right!"

"What did you say?" The smile on Hekun's face froze.