The sky was blue and dotted with white clouds. Sunlight pierced through, casting a warm glow.

A giant pink balloon hovered in the sky above the palace. It neither rose nor fell, seemingly fixed in place.

Flying attack craft from within the Imperial Palace immediately surrounded the huge pink balloon.

Guards also hurried over to secure the perimeter.

The Little Princess of the Empire, truly acting as if she had lost her mind, shouted at the sky, "You’re finally here! Have you come to take me away? I’ve waited for you for so, so long!"

A reconnaissance drone attempted to approach the balloon in the sky, preparing to scan it.

But then, the large pink balloon began to visibly swell, growing larger and larger.

It looked as if it was about to burst.

"Raise the defense shields!" a cold voice commanded.

At that same moment, the pink balloon abruptly expanded to a massive size and exploded violently in the sky.

Everyone assumed it was a giant bomb.

The guards around Jiang Zheyu instantly grew tense and formed a protective circle around her.

But contrary to expectations, following the massive BANG...

The anticipated shockwave never came.

After the giant pink balloon burst in the air, a flurry of pink slips of paper rained down, like the confetti at a grand opening ceremony.

A protective shield had been raised over the three residential palaces, so the slips of paper couldn’t fall inside. Instead, they drifted on the wind.

Seeing the pink slips fluttering down, Jiang Zheyu instinctively reached out to grab one.

However, an arm shot past in front of her and snatched the slip from the air.

"Honorable female, it is best to be cautious," the Male Beastman beside her said seriously.

The Male Beastman carefully unfolded the pink slip. His eyes fell upon the paper, and his gaze sharpened slightly. He quickly sniffed it and, after performing a few more checks to confirm it was safe, he turned to Jiang Zheyu. "Honorable female, do you still wish to see it?"

Jiang Zheyu was, in fact, still a little curious.

"Yes, let me see it," Jiang Zheyu said, holding out her hand.

The Male Beastman hesitated for a moment before handing the slip of paper over.

Jiang Zheyu took the slip and smelled a strong floral fragrance on the pink paper. It was a normal scent, with nothing added—otherwise, the Beastman beside her wouldn’t still be standing there unharmed.

She unfolded the pink paper and saw the words written on it.

Seeing her gaze fixated on the paper, the Male Beastman beside her spoke reassuringly, "Please rest assured, honorable female. We will protect you. We will not let those Star Thieves get anywhere near you!"

The pink slip of paper read:

Advanced Notice:

Dear Empire, we will be randomly selecting a female from this palace for a game of hide-and-seek. Are you ready? We’re so looking forward to the game starting.

Signed: The Lonely Wanderer Star Thief Group.

Jiang Zheyu stared blankly at the pink slip in her hand. A mischievous, chibi-style character sticking its tongue out had been drawn on it, making the whole thing feel absurd and like a joke.

But no one could ignore this slip of paper, because it was signed by the Lonely Wanderer Star Thief Group.

"Do you know about this Star Thief Gang?" Jiang Zheyu asked the Beastman beside her.

The Beastman nodded slightly. "The Lonely Wanderer Star Thief Group has been running rampant in the Imperial City lately. There are five members in their group, and every one of them is extremely cunning. They all have anti-social personalities. Their actions have brought panic to the interstellar community. Since they have a new target this time, we will definitely apprehend them."

The Lonely Wanderer Star Thief Group... every member of this group had a screw loose. They loved to create social panic, to be in the spotlight, to have all eyes on them, or maybe they just thought life was too boring and wanted to find some excitement. They were also extremely defiant. Before doing anything, they would always send out an advanced notice—the kind of notice that was sure to reach a wide audience. They delighted in letting everyone know, which was why they always caused such a huge stir.

Jiang Zheyu fell silent, her gaze dropping back to the pink slip in her hand. She carefully reread the words on it, confirming that it said they would "randomly" select "any female" from the palace for a game.

It really was a random selection of any female, not a demand for the female lead by name.

’What’s going on?’

Jiang Zheyu’s expression went stiff. ’In the novel, the Lonely Wanderer Star Thief Group was supposed to specifically target the female lead by name.’

’The five of them were supposed to take turns kidnapping the female lead to play a game of hide-and-seek.’

’Why doesn’t this note have the female lead’s name on it? Why does it say they’ll randomly select any female?’

’Does this mean that I, Jiang Zheyu, could be chosen too?’

’Why isn’t this Lonely Wanderer Star Thief Group following the script?!’

Jiang Zheyu began to feel a little on edge. After all, she was now one of the potential targets for their "game."

"Honorable female, you don’t need to be afraid. We will protect you," the Male Beastman beside her said, his expression serious and responsible as he looked at Jiang Zheyu.

How could Jiang Zheyu possibly feel reassured by his words?

’In the novel, the female lead was kidnapped five times, and these guards never even noticed.’

’How was Jiang Zheyu supposed to trust them?’

She gave a slight smile. ’I almost forgot. I’m a female with Level 4S Spiritual Power now. The spiritual power of those Male Beastmen with Level 3S is no match for mine.’

’I haven’t even had a chance to use my Level 4S Spiritual Power to attack or control a Level 3S Male Beastman yet.’

’I may not have tried it, but I have a feeling I could control them easily with my spiritual power.’

’So there’s nothing to be afraid of.’

Jiang Zheyu instantly felt a great sense of relief. She quickly erected her Spirit Barrier, just in case one of the Beastmen tried to attack or control her later.

"Yes, well, I’m going back to the palace to rest," Jiang Zheyu said, her mind now at ease as she turned and walked toward the palace.

The guards remained by her side, escorting her back to her residential palace.

Just as Jiang Zheyu reached the entrance of her residential palace, the Little Princess of the Empire came skipping out with light steps. She crouched down, picked up a pink slip from the ground, and read it in her palm. Then, she clutched the paper in her hand, a look of blissful anticipation spreading across her face.

Jiang Zheyu: ?

On the other side, the novel’s female lead and Hui, who was beside her, were also standing near the entrance to their residential palace. It seemed the commotion had drawn them out as well. They had picked up one of the pink slips and were now looking at it.

The expressions on both of their faces turned grim.