Sunday

In the Hearth Family home, a group comprised of one old lady and three young men and women was staring at a projected screen that occupied an entire wall. Each one had their favorite snack on hand.

Crunch, crunch

Slap!

On the projected screen, a woman with high-end clothing and shimmering jewelry slapped a simply-dressed beautiful young woman, which was an unexpected ’twist’ because the characters had been getting along well until then.

Grandma gasped, Linlin clapped.

"WOW!"

"Damn!" Naia cursed, while Hans mocked the characters they were all looking at.

"THIS IS WHAT YOU GET FOR BEING STUPID!" Linlin cheered from the side, looking oddly accomplished. "I knew that woman was evil!"

Apparently, the kind woman (the simply dressed lady), who had been helping the female lead from the start and was explicitly shown as an ally, had been a conniving bitch all along.

All the ’help’ she gave? It turned out to be things to frame the other character for! Now the woman was acting victim, actively trying to put the female lead in prison! Ptooey!

After spending the afternoon training and doing their own thing, the family was now watching fast-paced urban drama through the projector screen, with the movie running through the laptop Naia gave to Linlin.

Even if the internet signal was strong in the provinces, the appliances of the households would not necessarily catch up. The TV that Grandma had was the older type and could not connect to the internet and could only show local channels.

Now with the laptop and the LED projector, Linlin and Grandma can finally watch their dramas on bigger screens, with Hans unwittingly pulled into the fray. He definitely disliked the plot, but ended up watching the whole thing anyway.

He wondered if he was a masochist?

But what could he do? It was better than training! His body still ached!

They had been training since yesterday, a Saturday, and had been doing so since they arrived from their photography session.

It was, apparently, a sneak preview of the future spartan training they would have. Anyway, Hans had no energy to avoid being pulled into this brain-dead drama.

Fortunately, the family watched together only occasionally. After all, everyone had their own tasks.

Naia enjoyed the simple warmth. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

There was no such thing in the archives back then. They were all documentaries and other knowledge-based movies and shows. There were a few movies, but not many, and it was mostly the collection of individuals like her parents.

Dramas like these were naturally not a priority item to collect. It really didn’t contribute much to society. However, Naia thought it was fine. There was no need to think much, just blankly enjoying some second-hand adrenaline and drama.

The important part was that she was enjoying it with family.

Even if some people would call these hours a waste of time, she’d cherish every minute of it.

...

On Monday, she left early with the twins, dropping them at Lotus Town.

She had already told grandma that she would not be returning for the next few days. She also did not forget to remind everyone in the family chat not to neglect their training.

She found a secluded spot to take the car in her space, and then she took public transportation to Amber City. If there was no need to drive, she wouldn’t.

Amber City was located somewhere at the geographical center of the country. It was the biggest metropolis next to the capital city.

The public transportation in her country was really convenient. It’d be a pity to see it go, but it’d definitely be rendered useless by the various natural disasters so she wanted to experience it more when she could.

She arrived in Amber City before lunchtime and headed straight to the courthouses.

Officer Luke, whose main base was actually in Amber City, had been calling her a few times the past few days, asking for the details she remembered. As expected, her hint really opened up a bigger investigation and even involved a few more rich families.

However, this was all low-key but they planned to use the current case to get to Houser, at least so they could legally interrogate him without as much blockage. Not to mention, he might spill more information if they offered to lighten up his sentence.

They also assigned some security to him, afraid that his backers would shut him up forever.

Naia hoped he didn’t die this way either. She wanted those bastards to experience the apocalypse at least for a few months. Dying right before it felt much too kind.

Anyway, Houser had been summoned to the court today for the bail or detention hearing. Suspects would be ’summoned’ if they were cooperative, arrested if they were not. Sadly, the sperm donor was the former.

She was not going to show up in the courtroom, of course. She was still hiding around. After Officer Luke and the others investigated, they realized that the net was deeper than they thought, so they decided to really keep her existence hidden, just in case.

At the very least, Naia wanted to see him escorted into the courtroom. So, wearing a mask and a low-key disguise, she went to see him.

In his current state, detention was more likely than bail. This was considering his crime as well as the police’s extra vested interest.

However, he appeared in a wheelchair with casts all over his body, likely hoping to get sympathy points and lighten up his sentence. Naia sneered; He was definitely not ill.

This was just a classic move to get leniency. His legs, arms, and neck were wrapped around by a cast, as if he had been in a major accident that somehow broke all his bones.

The cameras lit up as they captured various photos of him, and he made sure to act all pitiful.

Naia scoffed, subtly raising a few fingers. She had not been idle over the past days and had been practicing her skills in the forests. With a little slash, she used her ability to destroy the wheel.

BANG!

She made sure to target the front part so it would not completely fall, just letting inertia push him out of the chair.

Whoosh!

Houser was successfully kicked off the chair, about to fall right on his face. However, instinct flared up and he reflexively stood up.

His eyes widened, realizing what he had done when the various camera flashes blinded his eyes.