They kissed with abandon, oblivious to the world around them. It wasn’t until the rusty-spotted cat, unable to bear it any longer, leaped onto Hua Mu’s stomach that the two finally came to their senses.

The kitten, barely bigger than a palm, stared at them with large, round, yellow-green eyes, letting out a low purr.

I’m hungry!

Hua Mu didn’t dislike cute creatures, but having her beautiful moment interrupted made her unhappy, no matter how adorable the culprit was.

“Where did you pick this thing up? Why is it so clingy? Aren’t wild animals supposed to be wary of people?”

Hua Mu leaned against Bai Zhen’s shoulder, complaining in a delicate voice.

Bai Zhen held her, her breathing still a little unsteady. Just moments ago, she had nearly lost control. The scent of Guide-hormone was utterly delicious to her, especially after such a massive expenditure of mental energy. She wished for nothing more than to be completely enveloped by Hua Mu.

But now was not the right time, in any sense of the word. There was still too much to consider.

Lifting the rusty-spotted cat off, Bai Zhen said to Hua Mu, “Miss, are you hungry? Let’s have dinner first.”

Now that she mentioned it, Hua Mu did feel quite hungry. But she was no longer the same young lady she had been when they first became stranded. She cautiously began to inquire about their supplies.

“Are our things okay? How long will they last?”

“They should last until the tide outside recedes. You should rest and recover without worrying about food.”

Hua Mu pouted. “You’re not just going to give it all to me, are you?”

Bai Zhen said gently, “I will eat, but it’s normal not to eat as much as usual in an emergency. I eat more on normal days to prepare for times like this.”

“Hmph, you and your twisted logic.”

Hua Mu grumbled but didn’t press the issue. She knew how Sentinels were; getting her to eat even a little was already a rare concession.

The main course for dinner was a paste made from dried bread, accompanied by squid with fish sauce and lemon, salt-grilled tuna, and cured meat. The portions weren’t large, but it was a relatively lavish meal. Bai Zhen had clearly put a lot of thought into it, which impressed Hua Mu.

They had fled in a hurry and hadn’t managed to bring much cookware—just a small iron pot, a bamboo tube for water, two bowls made from coconut shells, and a few pairs of chopsticks and spoons. However, Bai Zhen seemed to have found some usable items in the cave. Hua Mu hadn’t even seen the ceramic jars placed at the cave entrance to collect water before.

Hua Mu could neither sit nor move comfortably, so Bai Zhen let her lean against her and fed her bite by bite. The Young Lady enjoyed the service with a clear conscience, issuing commands with practiced ease.

“It’s too hot. Blow on it a little more for me.”

Bai Zhen blew on each spoonful until it was the perfect temperature, her care meticulous.

Outside the cave, the wind had died down considerably, and the rain had stopped. With the cover of the forest and the vines, the turmoil outside was barely perceptible inside.

Hua Mu couldn’t help but recall the night they were trapped in a cave on the north side of the island. She felt a mix of nostalgia and disbelief—why did they always find themselves in situations like this?

And this time was even worse than the last; her leg was broken.

But from another perspective, breaking her leg had been worth it.

“I can’t eat anymore. You finish the rest.”

Bai Zhen didn’t refuse, finishing Hua Mu’s leftovers without a hint of distaste, as always.

After dinner, Bai Zhen still had to brew some medicinal tonics for Hua Mu to take orally. Even though the injury was under control, she worried about a potential fever from inflammation.

Unable to move, Hua Mu could only lie down and rest. The pain in her leg continued to torment her, and she had to find ways to distract herself.

Just then, the rusty-spotted cat returned from its hunt. Bai Zhen dried it off and tossed it to Hua Mu to play with.

Hua Mu had initially thought it was a kitten and wanted to feed it. After Bai Zhen gave her a quick lesson on the species, she had tossed the cat out of the cave to find its own food.

Neither of them had expected it to return, but there it was again after dinner. The cat looked to be only about a kilogram, yet it was already a skilled hunter. It had returned with a full, round belly, and in its mouth, it carried a reptile—either a lizard or a salamander—as emergency rations.

“I didn’t expect this little guy to be so useful.” Hua Mu rubbed its small belly, feeling instantly soothed.

“Miss, be careful. Don’t let it scratch you.”

Though small, the rusty-spotted cat’s claws and teeth were not for show. Bai Zhen’s white wolf had a deterrent effect on animals weaker than itself, which was why she dared to let it near Hua Mu.

Hua Mu poked its head nonchalantly. “Hahaha, this thing? With these little paws? Since you came back, I’ll give you a name… How about Emergency Rations?”

“Awoo…”

Emergency Rations responded with a low cry.

“Bai Zhen, look! It loves the name!”

Watching Hua Mu’s radiant smile, Bai Zhen felt a strange chill run down her spine.

“…As long as you like it.”

Whether the rusty-spotted cat liked it or not was not part of Bai Zhen’s consideration—after all, it had chosen to come back.

While Hua Mu played with the cat, Bai Zhen couldn’t afford to be idle. Not only did she have to brew medicine and cook, but with the temperature so low and Hua Mu sick, the fire absolutely could not go out. Fortunately, there were plenty of wooden planks by the rack, enough to last them for a while.

“Miss, I’m going to go get some more planks.”

“Right, aren’t there a lot of other things there? Did you find anything?” Having seen some unfamiliar items upon waking up, Hua Mu remembered the scene she had witnessed earlier and said eagerly, “Quick, let me see what we can use.”

Given her former status, her life, if not extravagant, was certainly far from frugal. But these five months had completely transformed her into a master hoarder and collector, dedicated to turning everything into a resource.

It wasn’t just about whether the items were usable; the mere fact that someone else had been on this island was enough to excite Hua Mu. Why did he—or they—come to the island? Were they stranded like them? How long did they live here, did they ever leave, and what happened to them?

Hua Mu had so many questions.

This was a good way to distract the Young Lady. Although Bai Zhen was worried about tiring her out, she nodded in agreement.

The cave was deeper than they had imagined. There was a path behind the rack, but it was too dark to see the end. Bai Zhen had no time to investigate it for now, focusing instead on finding anything useful in this storage area.

The ceramic jars she had used to collect water were all empty, and there were no food remnants anywhere else. She couldn’t tell if nothing had been stored in the first place or if it had been dragged away by other animals. She couldn’t yet determine if the previous occupant had died on the island or had left, but she hoped to find some clues among these items.

A few iron chests were relatively well-preserved, one of which was even locked. Bai Zhen brought this chest back first and smashed the lock open with a few blows.

Seeing the commotion, Hua Mu sat up excitedly, clutching the cat. The movement pulled at her injury, making her cry out in pain.

“Miss, be careful.”

“Oh, just hurry up and see what’s inside!”

But even the pain couldn’t dampen her curiosity. The Young Lady had become the very embodiment of “desire,” comparable to her state when shopping.

The iron chest was not only well-preserved on the outside but also tightly packed on the inside. The outermost layer of burlap was so loose it practically disintegrated at a touch. Beneath the burlap were two layers of oil paper, and under that, a plastic sheet.

As Bai Zhen unwrapped the layers, a faint, camphor-like smell filled the air. When she saw what was inside, she couldn’t help but freeze.

“What is it?”

Hua Mu couldn’t see the contents clearly and asked anxiously.

“It’s books… no, they look like some kind of research notes.”

“Eh? Not food or supplies?”

Before, Hua Mu might have been interested. After all, there were no forms of entertainment on the island, and it was incredibly boring. But now they were hiding from a disaster… and in the middle of a budding romance. Who had the leisure to read?

The documents were fairly well-preserved. Bai Zhen gently picked up the one on top. The cover had a format similar to a standard system document, written in both Western and Imperial languages, with the project name in the middle.

The one in her hand appeared to be one of the record books for the “RAJI” project. The date recorded below was August 2135, nearly thirty years ago.

These days, physical books were almost exclusively luxury items. It wasn’t that the raw materials were expensive or that the craftsmanship had regressed, but simply that there were too few users, driving up costs and creating a niche, high-priced culture.

In the scientific field, paper records were also rare now. Even thirty years ago, they were seldom used.

But this iron chest was clearly filled with various record files. Bai Zhen flipped through them briefly and found there were at least a hundred volumes.

“Oh, never mind, never mind. Let me see. You go get the other chests.”

Although Hua Mu had dismissed it earlier, she figured that having something to read was better than having nothing to do. She took the file from Bai Zhen’s hands.

The cover was printed, but the inside was handwritten in two different scripts, alternating between Western and Imperial languages with annotations, as if two people were in conversation.

Hua Mu’s foreign language skills were good, but the text was filled with so much technical jargon that she could only half-understand many parts. Even so, after reading just a few pages, she began to feel a chill run through her.

Just then, Bai Zhen returned with a third iron chest. Seeing Hua Mu’s grave expression as she closed the record book, she couldn’t help but worry.

“Miss, what’s wrong?”

With a heavy heart, Hua Mu handed the book back to Bai Zhen. “You should see this.”

The word “RAJI” was originally the name of a lymphoma cell line from centuries ago, back when cancer was still incurable.

Bai Zhen, not understanding, opened the record book and skimmed a few pages. Her heart leaped in shock.

The project this record book belonged to was a human modification experiment, a practice long considered taboo. As a Sentinel, Bai Zhen had participated in many operations to apprehend those involved in such experiments.

Because the quantity and quality of Sentinels and Guides largely determined a nation’s strength, research into increasing their awakening rates had long been a national priority. Gradually, however, some individuals grew dissatisfied with conventional methods and turned their sights to more dangerous approaches.

Using hormones to enhance the abilities of Sentinels and Guides was one of the more conventional research avenues, some of which had actually succeeded and, after reform and improvement, been integrated into the system.

But many more were absurd and cruel experiments, such as attempting to induce cell mutations through radiation and targeted carcinogenic injections to force ordinary people to awaken, or trying to trigger awakening by modifying the human body and implanting nanobots or chips.

Most of these experiments were extremely inhumane to the test subjects, and there was even a complete industrial chain to supply them, a problem that persisted to this day.

And thirty years ago, a genetic modification project had caused a global uproar.

The incident garnered so much attention for four main reasons.

First, the project, known as “Angel’s Hand,” was originally an international joint development involving multiple countries. Its scope was vast, encompassing countless sub-projects, the exact number of which no one knew.

Second, the project’s leader was a former fellow of the Royal Academy of Sciences and the honorary president of the International Science Association—an absolute authority in the scientific community. It was impossible for anyone to associate him with criminal activity.

Third, in addition to countless deaths, the project also brought forth life—lives that were destined from birth to be branded as “non-human.”

Fourth, and most terrifyingly, many of the projects within the plan had actually succeeded.

Although Bai Zhen hadn’t been born yet, she had conducted a detailed investigation into this matter while searching for her origins. She was almost certain that RAJI, or rather all the documents in this chest, recorded projects that were part of this genetic modification plan.

The person who had been stranded on this island was very likely one of the few who had slipped through the net back then.