Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 422: Sheldon’s trickery.

As they tumbled into the house, trading possible motives behind Sheldon’s actions, Hades happened to recall a particular incident that he thought she would be interested in.

"Hungry?" he asked first.

She nodded. "We can get something cooked from the space. I have all types of burgers, steak and your fancy meals. What do you want?

He rubbed his stomach, "Fish burger and a beer."

She got the meals, warmed them and they sat down at the dining table.

"If Ariel catches us drinking, you are taking the fall." Sunshine told him.

He shrugged. "Just shove me under the bus. What’s the worst he can do besides glaring at us?"

They chuckled.

"You know, on Sheldon and his schemes. I just recalled an incident involving him and Hedwell town. He bought a massive property, a ranch. Two weeks later, the townspeople started hearing weird humming noises at night. Stories about the town being haunted were spread.

Others claimed aliens or a secret cult. As it turned out, it was none of those things. Sheldon’s ranch was only a ranch on the surface. Below, he had people conducting an experiment on some kind of underground power project.

Nobody knew until the whole thing caused a power outage in the entire town and the ranch caught fire. It was a dry season. The fire spread so quickly, burning down houses."

Sunshine recalled reading about the fire in Hedwell six years ago. But she never paid attention to the details.

"So, he gets sued." Hades shared after pausing to gulp down some beer. "Naturally, he has armies of lawyers, and the town has one baby faced kid fresh out of law school. And in a most unexpected twist of heavenly fate, the town wins."

Sunshine raised her brows, wondering how the inexperienced lawyer had pulled it off.

"Now here is the kicker," Hades raised his right hand that gripped half a burger, "After the verdict, the press is all over Sheldon like pigeons around bread. They want to know what he thinks of the verdict, if he plans to appeal the judgement. Or, if he is remorseful for all the damage he caused."

He smiled.

Sunshine could guess that there was no remorse. It just didn’t sound like Sheldon.

Hades chuckled before even sharing what Sheldon had said. "His lawyers say no comment. Sheldon, he steps up and says, ’I feel overwhelming sorrow for the townspeople who, through their limited understanding and opportunities will now receive compensation they couldn’t have dreamed of in their modest, simple lives."

Sunshine burst into laughter. Sheldon had basically called the townspeople foolish and poor. In his words, they had to be grateful to him because suing him had granted them the opportunity to earn more money than they would ever make in their lives. "I cannot believe he said that."

Hades shook his head. "The sad part was it took the people a while to grasp what he meant. As soon as someone said he had called them trash in a polite manner, they threw eggs, shoes and anything they could get their hands on at his convoy."

Sunshine sighed.

"You would think that Sheldon would stay away from this town." Hades continued with a generous smile. "But no. He set up a company that provided free Wi-Fi to the townsfolk as an apology. They clapped their hands and gave him a hero’s welcome."

"Oh come on!" Sunshine screamed in exasperation. "What was the catch?"

Hades sniggered. He knew Sunshine would see the holes in the fake remorse and charity. "It was a data collecting station. Hedwell has, or had a population of close to one million, in a city of eight million people. It was one of the most populous and tourist friendly towns around. Sheldon exploited it and made back all the money they won in that lawsuit."

Sunshine shrugged as well. "They brought it on themselves. They should have kicked him out after those words he said to the media. I will not let myself be exploited like them. I will do all the exploiting."

"That’s my girl." Hades raised his can of almost finished beer.

For a while, they ate in silence, finishing their meals before sitting down again. Hades was restless so he took her hand and led her to the window. It had been so long since they last saw real stars. This was the first time they were appearing.

Many residents were doing some star gazing outside.

"I can’t believe you grabbed that lady’s boa because you thought it was attacking you." She said, chuckling softly.

"It was attacking me." He replied.

"It was a feather scarf, Hades." She rolled her eyes.

"It wrapped around my neck and tried to choke me." He claimed.

She rolled her eyes again and slipped her hand into his as they laughed. He took a step back and hugged her from behind.

Hades exhaled tiredly, like a man that had found the best resting place after a long day’s work.

They were just getting comfortable when Hades suddenly frowned at the sky. Tiny glittering lights drifted above the bubble dome surrounding the distant edges of Fortress Four.

"Sunshine... what’s that?"

Sunshine followed his gaze. More lights appeared, shimmering like glowing dust caught in a gentle breeze.

"Are we under attack?" He asked her.

Sunshine shook her head. "No. They’re mutated fireflies."

Hades blinked. "Those are fireflies?" He had never seen fireflies that big.

"Mutated ones," she said. "Mostly peaceful. As long as no one sprays them or tries to keep them as glowing pets."

The fireflies descended closer, swirling and drifting in a mesmerizing formation. Their bodies were slightly larger than normal fireflies, with elongated crystal-like abdomens that refracted light into shifting golds, blues, and ember tones. Their wings shimmered like glass dust, and every movement sent gentle ripples of color through their groups. They danced together, forming spirals, waves, and floating patterns like they were painting the night.

While she was relaxed, people were fleeing into their houses. The assumption was that more Fever wasps had arrived.

Sunshine took a walkie-talkie from the space and said, "Communication tower, this is Sunshine. You can tell everyone to relax. It’s just fireflies migrating."

The operator exhaled loudly in relief. "Noted ma’am. Broadcast will be made immediately." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Tell those who want to go outside and enjoy the view to do so," she said with a smile, "they are not common. We won’t see them again for months."

Hades kept watching, his voice softening. "They’re beautiful."

Sunshine nodded. "Yeah... they are." She rushed to open the balcony door "Come on Hades."

He joined her. She waved her hand, pulling out snacks_ crackers, chocolate, dried fruit_ and a bottle of wine from the space.

"Planning a date?" he teased.

"Planning for dessert," she said. "Any romance is accidental. "she teased

"When I am with you, it is always a season for romance," he murmured.

She didn’t respond, but her smile answered for her.

The broadcast was made. People stepped out of their houses, staring upward in awe. Children pointed at the dancing lights. Adults whispered. A few climbed onto rooftops.

Sunshine and Hades sat together, sharing snacks, sipping wine, their shoulders brushing as the mutated fireflies created a glowing sky show above Fortress Four.

Hades leaned back, watching the lights flicker across Sunshine’s face. "You know... if we did not go for Jon’s party, we would have missed this."

She thought about what she would have been doing at that time. The most likely option was repairing something in her space or sleeping. "Then I am thankful for Jon and the boa you tried to kill."

He laughed.

She leaned against him.

And under the swirling colors of fireflies lighting the sky like living constellations, the night_ unexpectedly and effortlessly_ turned into a beautiful date.