Chapter 32: The Final Road Home — The Motel

Lu Nian’an drove into the motel entrance and stopped by the front desk.

She lowered the window. The mountain air carried a faint trace of moisture as it drifted inside.

“Excuse me, do you still have any rooms available?”

The receptionist glanced at the screen and nodded.

“Yes, we do. Are you checking in?”

“Yes.” Lu Nian’an replied. “About four hours.”

The receptionist gave a polite, practiced smile.

“I’m sorry, our minimum stay is six hours.”

“Do you take card?”

“Yes.”

Lu Nian’an handed over her card.

A short beep came from the terminal—approved.

The receptionist passed a key with a room number printed on it through the window.

The car soon pulled into the designated garage.

Lu Nian’an pressed the remote.

The metal shutter rolled upward.

She reversed the car in smoothly, precise and controlled. Once the car was fully inside, the shutter came back down.

The space closed off completely.

They got out.

At the side of the garage, they opened a narrow metal door and stepped inside.

A tight staircase led upward.

On the second floor was a small room.

A basic bathroom, a compact kitchen, a double bed, and a small table.

Xia Jiuwei didn’t sit down immediately.

She walked through the room once, slowly.

After a while, she stopped.

“Clear—for now.”

Her voice was quiet, but steady.

She moved to the window and drew the curtains shut completely.

The room felt completely cut off from the outside world.

Xia Jiuwei sat on the bed, her expression slightly complicated.

She looked up at Lu Nian’an.

“We’ve already been noticed by a higher level.”

“Are you still sure you want to come with me?”

Silence settled in the room for a moment.

Lu Nian’an looked at her, then smiled.

She stepped forward and took Xia Jiuwei’s hand.

“I’ll always stay with you.”

Her voice was light.

She reached out and gently brushed her hair back, the motion natural, almost absentminded.

Xia Jiuwei lowered her gaze.

For a moment, something inside her wavered.

Her fingers tightened slightly, then slowly relaxed.

It was so simple she couldn’t say no.

“…Then we finish this quickly.”

They deliberately left traces of presence in the room.

The faucet had been turned on and off. Water still lingered faintly on the sink.

The bedsheet was slightly wrinkled at the corner, but not fully disturbed.

Items on the table had been moved just slightly—enough to suggest someone had been here.

When it was done, they left quickly.

Back to the car.

The shutter rose again.

No one noticed.

A plain, unremarkable vehicle left the motel.

It never slowed.

It drove straight deeper into the mountains.

A place unknown.

A middle-aged man was lying on the sofa, half asleep.

Buzz—buzz—buzz—

He frowned and rolled over.

“Damn it… who is it…”

He reached for his phone and glanced at it.

No notifications.

Silence returned for a moment.

Then—

He was fully awake in an instant.

“…Shit.”

He sat up abruptly and pulled out a second, specialized communication device from the side.

The screen lit up.

A single designation appeared—

【Project Pale Index: Level Seven】

“…Not even half a year of rest…”

He muttered under his breath, sounding more annoyed than surprised.

“And now I’m being sent after a girl?”

While complaining, his fingers were already scrolling through the mission file.

Sparse.

Almost bare.

Only the most basic identification data.

Until the final line.

【Guardian: Ashes】

His hand stopped.

The atmosphere froze for a moment.

For a brief moment, everything went still.

Then his expression changed completely.

All laziness was gone.

He was already alert.

Without hesitation, he stood up.

Less than thirty seconds later, he was dressed and ready.

He moved cleanly, efficiently.

And left the room without a single wasted motion.

What he didn’t know was—

The moment he saw the file—

a pair of violet eyes was already watching.

“The credit card already exposed our location.”

Xia Jiuwei sat in the passenger seat, her tone calm.

“We’re running out of time.”

Just moments ago—

When someone had been going through her file, she had looked back as well.

Both of them understood one thing clearly:

Perfect disguise was never about having no flaws.

It was about having flaws that looked reasonable.

Right now, their identities were nothing special.

Two ordinary people.

No counter-surveillance skills. No awareness of tracking systems.

Their plan was simple—

A long drive that was too exhausting, stopping at a roadside motel for a few hours of rest, then continuing onward to visit Xia Jiuwei’s grandfather.

That was all.

And it had to look exactly like that.

Xia Jiuwei glanced at the time and she did the calculation quickly.

The middle-aged man—

from receiving the mission to reaching this area…

Her eyes darkened slightly.

“Barely enough time.”

Her voice was soft.

Barely enough time for a one-way trip—

from the motel to her grandfather’s residence.

Lu Nian’an said nothing.

She only pressed the accelerator.

The car sped up slightly.

About an hour later, the road ahead was blocked.

Spikes had been set up as a temporary roadblock.

Guards stood on both sides.

The car stopped.

Right within their line of sight.

And yet—

no one reacted.

No one noticed the sedan.

No one noticed the two people inside it.

They were not perceived.

Xia Jiuwei quickly stored the car into the Under-Reality.

They stepped out, crossing the blockade on foot.

No resistance. No sound.

Then—

the car was released again.

They got back inside and drove off immediately.

No alarms. No response.

Further along the route, Xia Jiuwei occasionally saw thick black threads hanging between the trees.

Along those threads—

figures were positioned throughout the forest.

Over a dozen special forces soldiers in ghillie suits.

Their presence was almost erased.

Intent, movement, breath—everything was suppressed.

And yet—

even under such tight surveillance,

their eyes still passed over the car again and again.

Without stopping.

The vehicle was treated as though it had never mattered.