Urban Plundering: I Corrupted The System!

"Where did you go?" Maya whispered, voice soft as broken glass. "What happened to you? Who took you? Are you hurt? Are you—"

Nyxavere shook her head with a soft smile that could melt winter. "I'll tell you later. I just wanted to be home first…"

Her voice carried weight. Not the weight of power, but the weight of exhaustion. Of someone who had seen too much, traveled too far, carried burdens too heavy for shoulders that small.

Tessa leaned into her side like a puppy discovering warmth for the first time. "Oh my gods, you're so adorable. We're getting matching pajamas. No discussion. Also, you're never leaving this house again without a tracking device. And a bodyguard. And maybe a small army 'cause your daddy and mom get really paranoid."

Nyxavere laughed—clear and bright and exactly the way she'd always laughed. "Okay."

No hesitation. No emotional lag. No pause to process or consider. Her soul moved in perfect rhythm with the room, synchronized with everyone's energy like she'd never been away.

Zhang's eyes narrowed another degree.

No one was that emotionally synced—not even blood family. Not after trauma. Not after hours of separation. Not after whatever cosmic horror had taken her in the first place.

Unless they already knew what to expect. Unless they'd watched. Unless they'd prepared.

Unless this wasn't a reunion.

But a return.

Engineered. Calculated. Performed. What was more disturbing was, Nyxvare was known for her love for Chione, yet now she knew what had happened maybe that woman had planted even more nasty lies to the real story, yet Nyxvare didn't ask about it or talk about it. Like whatever she knew was enough and she didn't need other theories.

Like she had chosen what to believe.

It was like more suspicious.

Then, like fate had been waiting for the perfect moment to twist the knife deeper, like she knew what her aunt was thinking, Nyxavere turned her head just slightly. Her eyes didn't meet Zhang's—didn't acknowledge her growing suspicion or the way tension coiled around her like smoke.

But her words did.

"Hey, Daddy…" she said, soft and warm and casual, like she was mentioning the weather. "Don't freak out, but someone came and told me about Aunt Chione…"

Maya froze.

Her breath caught in her throat like ice forming in her lungs.

Parker blinked, every muscle in his body going rigid. His arm tensed instinctively around Nyxavere's shoulders, protective and possessive.

Zhang Ruoyun didn't breathe at all.

Because just like that—

Every suspicion she'd held was acknowledged.

Addressed.

Eliminated.

Before anyone even had the chance to voice them.

Before Zhang could open her mouth to ask how she'd gotten through the barriers.

Before Maya could wonder why she felt so perfectly synchronized.

Before Parker could question the timing.

Because Nyxavere knew.

Like she knew what Zhang was thinking.

And had just answered it—not directly, but precisely enough to disarm it. Smooth as silk wrapped around steel.

Someone told her.

That explained everything.

Of course she'd come back.

Of course she'd bypassed the defenses.

Of course she seemed prepared.

She'd been informed. Summoned. Guided home by whoever had taken her.

Maya's voice was soft. Careful. Fragile as spun glass. "We didn't tell you, baby… because we were afraid. Afraid you'd go after Olympus. That you'd burn it down. That you'd turn your power on them and never come back to us."

"I would've," Nyxavere said honestly, and for a moment—just a moment—something dangerous flickered in her eyes. Something that made the air taste like ozone and burnt starlight. "But it's okay now. As long as we get Aunt Chione back, everything's fine."

She leaned in, kissed both of them on the cheek with lips that felt exactly like they should—warm and soft and real—and snuggled into the comfort of the bed as if she'd never been gone at all.

Like this was just another day. Another family moment. Another memory to add to the collection. Zhang made a distance. This... this was dangerous.

Tessa leaned back against the pillows, practically glowing with happiness. "Okay, well, this is officially the best day in forever. I'm sleeping next to you, so I know you don't vanish again. Also, you're telling me everything that happened. Everything. I want details."

Nyxavere giggled—the sound like silver bells wrapped in starlight—and nestled deeper into the blankets.

Parker and Maya never let go of her hands. Couldn't. Wouldn't. Like she might evaporate if they loosened their grip for even a second.

And across the room, Zhang Ruoyun took a single step back again.

Quiet. Calm. Controlled.

But inside, her fire flared with sudden, terrible clarity.

She wasn't paranoid.

She wasn't overthinking.

She wasn't wrong.

Nyxavere was back.

But this—this wasn't just a daughter returning home.

This was a chess piece being placed on the board.

This was a move in a game that had been planned for months.

This was manipulation so subtle, so perfectly crafted, that even the targets were grateful for it.

And whoever had orchestrated this reunion—whoever had guided Nyxavere home at exactly the right moment, with exactly the right words, with exactly the right explanations—

They knew this family better than the family knew themselves.

They had studied Parker's protective instincts.

Maya's desperate love.

Tessa's loyal affection.

And they had weaponized all of it.

Zhang's flames burned colder than ice as she watched the perfect family reunion continue around her.

Because she was the only one who realized they were all dancing to someone else's music.

And the song wasn't over yet.

How happy was he that his daughter was here with him instead of some entity he didn't know—some billion-year-old thing wearing her face like a borrowed mask?

Parker was there, drinking in the sight of Nyxavere like a man dying of thirst who'd finally found water. The way she moved, the cadence of her voice, the exact tilt of her head when she was about to say something mischievous. Every detail was perfect. Every gesture exactly right.

So why couldn't he connect the dots? Why couldn't he see what Zhang Ruoyun felt like ice forming in her veins?

That something was off.

Zhang didn't know if it was his desperate need for this to be real, his relief burning so bright it blinded him to everything else, or if whatever had brought Nyxavere back was just that good at wearing the face of love.

But she would smile anyway.

She stepped closer to the bed, her movements fluid as flowing water, and knelt beside Nyxavere. Her fingers—warm with phoenix fire, gentle as morning light—reached out to caress her daughter's cheek. Because in the end, whatever doubts gnawed at the edges of her consciousness, this was still their sweet child.

The skin was soft under her touch. Real. Warm with life and laughter.

"You're really here," Zhang whispered, more to convince herself than anyone else.

Nyxavere leaned into the touch like a cat seeking warmth. "Where else would I be?"