Episode 4.2 Targeted

Shen Yuan looked at the younger alpha male, his gaze as sharp as daggers, "Seriously, Bai Tinfeng! You, of all people, know that my present condition makes me forget many things! Why did you not say anything? Would it take an hour to say that there is such a ridiculous law that restricts awakeners?"

Because his hand was free from handcuffs, the celestial fox spirit could use his arm and hand, perfectly expressing how furious he was.

"I did warn you when I asked you to be escorted back to our home," Bai Tingfeng responded, his eyes averting the fiery gaze of the omega.

That was forcing! The celestial fox spirit wanted to scream that out loud to prove a point.

Shen Yuan could only look at Bai Tingfeng with his mouth wide open—trying to backtrack the reels of his memories in his head. In the end, he scoffed loudly, "Ha! So that is what you mean when you said, "It is best for you and us if you don't meddle. That will save us from trouble," that is really brilliant, Bai TIngfeng! Even the quack priests and priestesses in history give oracles that are easier to understand and interpret than yours!"

Bai Tingfeng's face blushed red as the omega's clap resounded in the enclosed room. Each crispy sound of the omega's hands feels like a slap landing on his face.  The alpha's face seemed bathed in pink ink from ear to face.

Meanwhile, Mao Huanlong was just acting like the audience on the sidelines, his eyes flashing as if he were watching a high-quality comedic skit.

"I never claimed to be an effective communicator in the first place!" Bai Tingfeng raised his voice more than what he intentionally meant, flustered. "And besides, even if I told you about that law, would you sit back in the car and rest at home, waiting for us to return? You just said you are an omega that no alpha could be tamed!"

"Oh, So, it's your word against yours and my word against mine. Is that how we will play this game?"

"No! All I am trying to say is that I underestimated your love for our son. I should have known that just like me, you are also worried and capable of doing anything for Yanyan," Bai Tingfeng's high volume recedes at the near end of his sentence.

Seeing the surrendering alpha, Shen Yuan was like a balloon running out of air. He rested his back on the chair and looked at the man beside him. He heaved deep breaths to calm his blood pressure. Seriously! Bai Tingfeng is his fresh source of frustration these days!

The only redeeming feature that this guy has was his dominant looks and his seemingly innocent actions!

What a scam!

Finally, calm and level-headed, the celestial fox spirit finally saw the correctness of Bai Tingfeng's statements. Even if they turn back the time, he will end up using his powers to save Yanyan, which he will never regret; rather, he will do it no matter how many times as long as the situation calls for it.

It was the ridiculous law's fault.

Shen Yuan then directed his piercing glare at Mao Huanlong, who instantaneously raised both his hands as a sign of surrender. Shen Yuan demonstrated how scathingly spicy his tongue was, and the old chairman of the Hunter Association wanted none of it.

"Hate the lawmaker, not the enforcer," Mao Huanlong said. "Besides, your offense is negligible, being that your power harmed no one— well, except the for the concrete road you totaled them to a miserable state."

"That's Bai Tingfeng's work, not mine," Shen Yuan pointed his thumb to the alpha beside him. "But seriously, what's with the high-profile arrest when what I did was negligible in the first place?"

Shen Yuan soundlessly went with Mao Huanlong despite his desire to retaliate because of his knowledge about Mao Huanlong from the manhua. The handsome old alpha sitting in the Hunter Association seat is an unpredictable character to Bai Tingfeng. Friend or foe, no one knows where Mao Huanlong stands. He is there to help the male lead when dealing with Haichong and the terrorist group The Cardinals, but at the same time, he is the biggest backer of Shen Yuan when he is messing with Bai Tingfeng.

It's not once or twice that Shen Yuan almost busted himself into prison, but Mao Huanlong was there to help him out.

Well, now. It is pretty ironic that the man who was supposed to help him stay away from the prison in the future was the one who arrested him. But the celestial fox spirit bets that there must be something behind that.

"Publicity stunt," Mao Huanlonng answered matter of factly. "The whole ordeal happened in a very public and bustling place. Almost all that happened was caught on camera by the media and even by some casual people living through likes and shares. Because of that, some parts were taken out of context and used by your avid haters to attack you. We are using this unreasonable arrest facade to control the bad issues about you."

"Believe me, it is best for you and your career to be viewed by the public as a loving father willing to face danger and unreasonable persecution by the law than be viewed as a sadistic, potentially S-Class psycho who incinerates an incapacitated criminal," the old man showed a tablet that plays a video where Shen Yuan was setting the scaly heteromorphic dude.

"For the record, I am purifying the Maymoth larvae residing in that alpha's body," Shen Yuan rolled his eyes. "I was thinking maybe he could provide some information about their group's motive. But that was when I didn't think we would easily capture Haichong like that."

"Hài Chóng? That fellow S-Class summoner? We haven't determined that man's ID yet, but that could help identify him for now. By the way, you have an interesting way of calling names, Shen Yuan. Pest. That fits that man's power."

"I just hope you are not familiar with each other before this," the elderly alpha male jokingly said. But anyone who could hear that would have an idea that he was hinting at something.

I know him from the manhua.

That is another thing that Shen Yuan can never say: he looked at the chairman dead in the eyes, "What a very ominous joke."

"Oh, My bad," Mao Huanlong's tablet rang a notification tone multiple times, and Bai Tingfeng used it as a window to interject.

"Now that everything is achieved, can we take our son and leave?" Bai Tingfeng said.

"Yes, my son must be exhausted after everything that happened. Emotionally and physically. What happened must have been traumatizing for him. He needs a rest," Shen Yuan added.

Mao Huanlong was silent for a moment. He took time to read the contents of the messages, and after a succession of tapping the tablet's screen,  he breathed a sigh that subtly hinted relief and then spoke nonchalantly.

"Well, I just received threats from the Prime Minister and the Commissioner General of the Police Force that if I keep you here for even a day, they will be serving me lawsuits in a silver plate by tomorrow. They are afraid that you will leave the country because of my blunder."

"You are not well-liked by your fellows in high authority, huh?" Shen Yuan noted. Even in the manhua,  Mao Huanlong is notorious for his spontaneity, so he is not shocked even just a bit.

"Well, they need an old man like me, so they don't have any choice but to suck it up if I do something that only a senile elder would do," Mao Huanlong jokingly said. 

However, the smile of the elderly alpha male started to ebb away like waves in the shoreline. "Now that your new strength has been finally exposed, you need to tell the public the reason behind your reawakening."

Shen Yuan stared at the H.A. Chairman and then at Bai Tingfeng. What happened was the possession of a celestial fox spirit, not reawakening.

But that is a matter that he could never let himself say to any of these two human beings.

"Let's tell them I have Mana Overload because that is what happened to me, right?"

"Then what about the reason why you had Mana Overload? Shen Yuan, Mana Overload happens when an awakener or average person gets exposed to mana concentrations that are way beyond their body's limit. This phenomenon only occurs to those with jobs requiring them to enter the dungeon, such as hunters, dungeon miners, and agents of the Hunter Association. But your resume says you are none of the above." Chairman Mao pointed out. His eyes are glued to Shen Yuan.

The elder alpha male's gaze was so intense that the celestial fox spirit felt slightly uncomfortable. Mao Huanlong is mad. He was pretty low-key about it, but Shen Yuan was certain about that.

"My husband has no recollection of what happened, and the doctor said that he shouldn't be forced to remember anything," Bai Tingfeng interrupted. Shen Yuan doesn't know if the man was helping him, but he must say that his meddling helped diffuse some pressure. So he gave him a well meaning gaze but he was only met with the man's fine cheeks.

"He was caught up in a dungeon formation that was instigated by the emerging terrorist the Cardinals," Bai Tingfeng said.

For the first time, Shen Yuan heard the backstory of the real Shen Yuan. His eyes widened, and his heart accelerated as a realization hit him. He knew about the Cardinals because they were the main antagonist in the manhua.

And now, finding out that he may be entangled with the main villains before even the main story officially starts only means that Shen Yuan is in for this big mess from the very beginning!

Is this resolvable with divorce?

"The Country A Hunter Association was positive that is the case. And I, too, am convinced that the dungeon formation in Roseely  Park is triggered artificially. The said park was hundreds of miles away from the other dungeons, so there was no probability that a high mana concentration zone would form. Hence, no spatial rift or dungeon is spawning. The only option is the hyperreactive mana stone that the Cardinals used to terrorize." Bai Tingfeng said with a firm voice.

"There is no way that Shen Yuan was acquainted with them because even if Shen Yuan is someone who would chase someone to the pits of hell because of a grievance. He is not someone who would associate with cold-blooded mass killers."

Hearing that the man was speaking up for him, Shen Yuan felt weird. It's like his heart was feeling a little ticklish. But since it only lasted for a moment, he ultimately shake it off.

"Oh, it seems you are confident about your husband," Mao Huanlong smirked. "But what about Shen Yuan? What do you think? You might not be able to remember anything, but in your heart, do you see yourself collaborating with them?"

"No," Shen Yuan promptly responded. He calmed down his racing heartbeat,

"I am the type who enjoys torturing the sinners, so I don't really appreciate that lot who would kill innocent bystanders. And Bai Tingfeng is right. I am someone who doesn't bury his hatchets, and I would cling to it even if I die."

Chairman Mao suddenly laughed. "Now, I believe that people can forget their memories, but they can never forget their true nature."

At this time, someone suddenly knocked at the door. Chairman Mao told them to come in, and his secretary entered with a few stacks of paper in her hand. 

The elderly alpha instructed her to give them the first file, and after the secretary did as she was told, Mao Huanlong's voice once again dominated the room.

"I already knew that you wouldn't be working with them. I am just trying to ensure that you don't have an aptitude to join the likes of them."

Shen Yuan's lips twisted in distaste. Is this guy insinuating that he has an aptitude to be a villain now?

"And besides, it was already known by the public that you are caught up in a dungeon formation by accident. So this is just me, trying to mess with you."

"Go away," Shen Yuan said in a dead voice.

The elderly alpha laughed, "But seriously, we need to clear you from any suspicions. We cannot let Country A's powerful S-Class omega to have dirt on his back."

"Country A's keyhole satellite was out of their atmosphere when the Shen Yuan's incident happened, that is why they are scrambling around to find out what happened manually. But fortunately, ours is not, so we managed to snap still shots of the ordeal," Chairman Mao gestured to the papers handed to the couple.

Bai Tingfeng quickly scanned in the printed pictures on the A4 paper, and as his eyes progressed to see the shots, his face slowly darkened. Shen Yuan could clearly see this since they sat beside each other. "You are not working with them, nor did you use the hyperreactive mana stone or awakening stone as they call it. They target you, Shen Yuan." 

"And judging by the timing, it must be related to what happened to Yanyan."