Ten minutes later, Akira composed herself and stopped bawling and hiccupping. As she wiped her face on her sleeves, she felt embarrassed by her outburst because it was sudden and unexplained. Furthermore, she cried in such a shameful way before two strangers.

"I am sorry." She said in a halting manner. "I don't know you guys. I think there has been a mistake."

​​

Hu Lei looked at Zhong Feng, and they seemed to communicate with their eyes. There was a certain sense of closeness and intimacy in the simple look. Once again, Akira felt inexplicably envious.

"Can you tell us who you are, and what you are doing in this place?" Hu Lei asked in Japanese.

Akira's eyes lit up a little at the response. She felt a little hope that she was not in the wrong place. Despite the shady nature of Luna Adventures, the company seemed to be operating quite efficiently. They had to be right about the drop-off point.

Still, she was a little cautious about sharing information with strangers. She looked at them with increasing apprehension and hesitation.

"You have already come all this way. We are not looking to hurt you. But we cannot help you if we do not know you or your identity. Do you understand?" Hu Lei spoke again.

Akira was a little startled from her thoughts of fear and dread. She had taken a step of faith by getting into an unknown van and a life capsule that looked like a coffin. Her journey was for herself, Little Precious and Kaito.

If she had made it this far, she had to keep trusting in Kaito and his seemingly dubious plan.

"I am Yamazaki Akira. It is a long story why I am here. But I can summarise by saying that Kaito sent me." She straightened her back and looked at them with the dignity and composure of a samurai.

The faces of the two people before her became even more serious. It was almost as if the air became oppressive and gloomy. Zhong Feng and Hu Lei looked at one another with a rare sense of seriousness clouding both of them.

Hu Lei was even sterner than Zhong Feng because she knew the woman's identity.

The primary thought in both their minds was 'Kaito is in trouble'. They did not fear for his immediate safety too much because they knew he was a resourceful person. However, they could also not overlook the danger because of the matter they had discussed quite a while ago.

Kaito could be in danger, especially if he was taken by people from the covert Martial Island. After all, evidence pointed out that the person or people who had been supporting the International Health Alliance from behind were related to Martial Island.

Hu Lei looked at the young woman again before sighing in a manner reminiscent of her husband.

"Come in and have a bath and some food. Then, we can talk." She said gently.

Akira allowed herself to be led away from the gate by Hu Lei. Even though Hu Lei was a little shorter than her, and she looked a little childish in her bear onesie, she felt like the woman was a strong supporting force at that moment.

Within a few moments, Hu Lei guided Akira to the guest wing of the house. The rooms were kept clean by automated systems, and Housekeeper Li would come from the villa at Area 99 for a thorough weekly cleaning with his team of eager followers.

Unfortunately, Azure Woods did not have visitors, so the clean rooms were always left bare. The bedroom Hu Lei led Akira was a basic guest room with all the amenities, but the mattress was exposed, and there was no décor.

However, the wardrobes had linens and towels. These were placed at Housekeeper Li's insistence despite the couple's insistence that there would be no guests. Hu Lei was glad for that man's nosiness and stubbornness.

"You can take a shower or bath." Hu Lei said as she took out a towel for Akira. "I don't know how long you have been on the road, so you must be tired. But I must say, you look surprisingly clean. Although I can smell dried blood."

Hu Lei scrunched her nose a little.

Akira felt like bowing to the woman. She had forgotten about the wounds inflicted by her assailant, yet the woman could detect the smell from below her thick combat jacket. Now that the wounds were mentioned, she felt a bit of an ache.

The adrenaline in her blood must have worn off.

"It is just some minor wounds," Akira replied.

"You should be careful about wounds in your condition. You might not be popping out like me, but an infection can be highly dangerous." Hu Lei said.

She could even tell she was pregnant? Her mouth fell a little open.

Hu Lei laughed. "I come from a long line of traditional medicine experts. I have tried to reject the heritage, but I have picked a few things here and there. Anyway, use the room as you like. I will call a doctor to check up on you afterwards."

Akira felt a little touched, even though she heard the subtle warning in the woman's voice. The underlying implication was that she was allowed to use the facilities in the room, but she was not allowed to go snooping around outside.

"Thank you." Akira paused. "By the way, where is this place? You don't have to tell me if it is a secret safe house or something."

Hu Lei looked at her strangely. "How did you get here?"

Akira hesitated a little, but she realised it was too late for her to be holding back information. She had already given away too much. Plus, she was already in this couple's house. The woman was a fierce fighter, and the man was not afraid to use a gun.

"Kaito gave me a number to call in case something happened to him, and I was in danger. I was picked up by some strange transportation service called Luna Adventures. They dropped me off in the woods, so I just walked in." She explained.

Hu Lei frowned at the information. "I see. This house belongs to my husband and me. It is just outside of Supreme City."

"Impossible!" Akira was horrified. "I was in Tokyo just yesterday evening."

It was impossible to make the journey from Tokyo to Supreme City in a van. And even if it were possible, it would take a lot more time. No, even if other methods of transportation were used, it did not seem plausible for her to be in Supreme City within such a short period.

"What day do you think it is?" Hu Lei asked with another weird expression on her face.

"It is Tuesday," Akira said with certainty.

"It is Wednesday." Hu Lei replied.

A few moments later, Hu Lei left the guest bedroom and a flabbergasted Akira.