Chapter 154: Stealth Advanced!

Chapter 154: Stealth Advanced!

If I still possessed a visual game system like the ones featured in those trashy fantasy web novels, I would have absolutely faceplanted onto the floor right then and there from receiving a sudden flashing notification for a level up.

Unknown to me, one of the hidden requirements for advancing from the basic tier of stealth is actually being able to successfully sneak away from incredibly observant, high-level individuals. Not having a magical system to guide me through these situations sure makes navigating everyday life a lot more difficult, sigh.

So it turned out Lucy had completely lied to me about letting me sleep, and it certainly would not be the last time either. By the time the clock hit 2:00 AM, her exhausted body could simply no longer fight off the pure physical toll I had just put her through under the sheets. The moment she collapsed into a deep slumber, I carefully slunk out from underneath the warm bedding, stepping onto the floor to quietly gather up my scattered belongings.

I briefly contemplated reclaiming my favorite Metallica shirt, but a sudden survival instinct warned me that doing so would be exactly like trying to steal a shiny gemstone directly out of a sleeping dragon's treasure hoard. Dealing with a semi-yandere woman meant any wrong move would bring immense suffering. Sure, attempting a risky theft like that might have advanced my basic thief skill as well, but I honestly happen to enjoy staying alive.

After quietly securing the penthouse door behind me, I officially fled the scene of the crime.

The elevator ride down to the garage was a little awkward. Benz kept casting a series of highly questioning, knowing looks in my direction from the corner of his eye, but he ultimately kept his mouth completely shut out of fear of losing his high-paying security job. He was smart enough not to explicitly ask why I was coming down from the exclusive fortieth floor hours after I had claimed I was heading to the thirty-ninth for the public event, cough.

As the elevator cabin neared the ground floor, I utilized my advanced acting ability to put on a completely innocent, carefree expression as I turned to him.

"Looking forward to our big guys' night, see you later Benz!" I said, adjusting my windbreaker.

Benz let out a low chuckle, a playful smirk dancing on his face, "Get some proper sleep, Mr. Tang. You look absolutely exhausted, he-he. See you on drinking night!"

Ding! The automated doors slid open and I quickly stepped out, knowing full well that he had entirely figured out what went down. Fortunately, Lucy had already let me know that my wives were fully aware of our arrangement anyway, or else the sheer weight of my guilt would feel absolutely immeasurable right now.

As I made my way toward the car, a sudden realization hit me. Until the exact moment I pulled open the heavy door of my vehicle, I hadn't made a single audible sound. I had been gliding across the asphalt like an absolute ghost. It seemed my physical execution of the movement had naturally improved under pressure, a development I would definitely need to test out more thoroughly in the near future.

When I finally slipped through the front entrance of the main mansion, my silent entry didn't disturb a single one of the few night maids who were already awake and prepping the kitchen for the upcoming breakfast rush. My physical movements were undeniably getting a lot more fluid and seamless.

If my current estimation was correct, high-tier fighters like Mercy, Mei, and Tina would no longer be able to easily pick up on my presence if I was actively trying to avoid their sensory perception. This was absolutely great news. It meant that only individuals at the true master level would stand a realistic chance of spotting me whenever I chose to hide in the shadows.

Since my mind was still buzzing too much to sleep and my body desperately needed a good cleaning after the intense activities of the night, I bypassed the stairs and headed straight for the indoor pool area, planning to knock out a few short laps to relax my tight muscles.

By the time I was pushing through my thirteenth lap in the heated water, I noticed I could even use my newly refined stealth to soften my swimming strokes, keeping the water displacement and splashing sounds down to an absolute minimum. That was highly practical information to know for future reference.

Thankfully, my defensive senses were still sharp enough that only a grandmaster-level assassin would be able to sneak up on me without triggering an immediate alarm. Because of that awareness, I instantly picked up on the soft presence of a woman who had just stepped into the pool hall to investigate the quiet disturbances in the water.

"Why are you awake so late, or perhaps so early, Hinata?" I asked, breaking the silence as I coasted to the edge of the pool.

Realizing that I had picked up on her presence immediately, she stepped out from the shadows of the doorway and offered a respectful bow. She was holding her sheathed training sword firmly in one hand and wore a loose, mid-thigh white sleeping kimono.

She looked down at me and spoke with complete honesty, "I sensed you quietly sneaking past my bedroom door earlier, Master, and I was immediately put on high alert for potential danger. I came down here to investigate exactly who was attempting to be so silent within the estate. If you had simply walked past my room in a normal manner, I would have completely overlooked your presence. Once I arrived, I did not want to disturb your workout, so I only watched to see why you were swimming in such an odd, muffled fashion. Master, I promise I meant absolutely no disrespect by lurking. I was merely curious about your actions."

I hauled myself up out of the water, grabbing a large towel off the nearest rack to start drying off my chest as I explained, "No disrespect taken at all. I was simply practicing my own personal art of stealth, which explains the strange swimming technique you just witnessed. I simply didn't feel sleepy after my night out, so I came down here to swim a few laps to fully relax my mind and body."

This was by far the absolute most she had spoken to me in a single conversation all week. It seemed she only ever opened up whenever the topic explicitly concerned martial honor, kenjutsu, or physical training. She hesitated for a brief moment, her eyes tracking the water dripping down my shoulders before she asked a sudden question.

"Master... When we dueled, you perfectly mirrored my family's exact sword style, but then you suddenly shifted it into a completely different variant to catch me off guard," she said, her voice dropping lower. "When I asked my mother about how you could possibly know a secret style that only she possesses, she refused to tell me the truth... Are we perhaps related by blood?"

Based on her intense facial reaction, I could tell that whatever expression I was making in response must have looked incredibly bizarre. I understood why her mind would jump to that conclusion. Given her mother's cryptic hints about learning the style from spoken teachings, a secret family relation was a completely logical guess. Honestly, the look on her face left me highly tempted to play a massive prank on her right now.

I shook my head, dispelling the awkward theory immediately, "You and I have absolutely zero blood relation, if that is what you were genuinely worried about."

"That was only half of my concern, yes, mostly in case you ever intended to lay your hands on me," she admitted, her expression softening slightly. "But that still does not explain the part about why my mother was so absolutely insistent that I must have you train me in our own family style."

While her practical concerns were entirely valid, the current dynamic left me feeling like I was somehow the bad guy in this scenario. This exact type of heavy misunderstanding is precisely why I absolutely hate dealing with life-debt slave situations, sigh.

I looked at her seriously, adopting a mysterious tone, "Hinata, the core reason I cannot share that information with you at this time is because it would completely break your martial heart to learn the absolute truth behind my abilities. One day, I promise I will reveal my secrets to you, but for now, you must trust that your mother held her tongue for a very good reason."

For the very first time since she arrived, a sudden spark of vibrant life flashed within her deep red eyes. If I actually possessed the telepathic ability to read the wild, dramatic theories currently racing through her imagination, I would have immediately slapped her forehead and thrown her straight into the deep end of the pool. Let's just say that the way she was gazing at me changed completely on this morning of Lovers Day, sigh.

"Hinata fully understands your deep meaning, Master," she murmured, bowing low.

Fuck, did she really just refer to herself in the third person like a traditional anime character? Before I could even comment on the strange speech quirk, she maintained her bow and offered a sudden proposition.

"Master, if your body still requires assistance to relax, I am highly skilled in the traditional art of massage," she offered, her tone perfectly serious. "It will drastically improve your blood flow, allowing your physical muscles to completely heal at a much faster rate."

Just as I was about to open my mouth and decline the offer, I decided to see if she was actually truthful about her skills or simply bullshitting me to fulfill her duty. I gave her a quiet nod of approval.

She immediately gestured toward one of the poolside lounge chairs, and I walked over to lay completely face down on the cushions. Since I was already only wearing my standard swim trunks, the setup wasn't an issue at all. She stepped up beside the chair and slowly began to knead my tight muscles and aching joints with an incredibly firm, expert pressure.

As she worked her way across my shoulders, she took note of my skin and asked, "Master, it looks as though you have years of defensive wounds and old impacts marked upon your body. Who could have possibly trained you so harshly in your youth, or was this simply the result of you picking far too many street fights?"

I couldn't exactly reveal the cosmic truth about my past life, so I instantly utilized my advanced acting skills to construct a tragic, sympathetic backstory on the fly.

"It was all a cruel plot orchestrated by the vicious Debby Tang to constantly torment me for being born outside the main branch of the Tang Clan," I sighed, keeping my voice low and heavy. "She regularly sent her own son to beat me to a pulp just to keep me in my place. If I had ever chosen to fight back against them, my family and closest friends would have suffered the consequences. So I willingly absorbed years of brutal beatings to protect the people I loved. And then, when the time was right, I took my absolute revenge. Now, all of my old enemies are completely dead, or they wish they were, and I have finally taken my rightful place as a true Tang. I will never let anyone suppress me ever again, and this massage feels... zzz... zzz..."

Hinata noticed the sudden rhythm of my loud snores, immediately softening the pressure of her hands as she fell deep into her own thoughts.

As she continued to work on my resting form, she began to connect all the pieces of my story in her mind. She thought about the legendary sword her family had entrusted to me, her own recent sensory hallucination of a powerful dragon aura radiating from my body, and her strict upbringing that emphasized the literal existence of Guardian Beasts and Eastern Dragons. She quickly came to the grand conclusion that my soul must be the reincarnation of one of those legendary, mythical creatures. Oddly enough, her crazy theory was actually kind of close to the cosmic truth.

She also remembered that the specific sword representing her family featured a Black Dragon as their ancestral guardian, which perfectly aligned with my use of the Dragon Tail technique to soundly defeat her in our duel. Combine that with the absolute certainty her mother had displayed regarding my superior skill, and everything clicked for her.

"So my Master is truly the Black Dragon..." she whispered to herself in the quiet room.

A man genuinely needs to be awake and capable of hearing this kind of stupid shit in order to properly facepalm, sigh.

Poke! Poke!

I felt a finger repeatedly prodding my cheek, opening my eyes to find a heavily smiling Mercy leaning over me. She looked incredibly curious as to why I was sleeping like a log on a poolside lounge chair while completely wrapped up in a massive towel.

"Morning, my Master," Mercy cooed cheerfully. "I happen to have some incredibly good news for you. Do you want to hear it right now?"

I blinked awake, remembering how I had completely fallen asleep face first during that amazing massage. Now I was rolled onto my back and fully covered, my body feeling incredibly rested and entirely comfortable despite the intense physical drainage from my activities last night. I looked up at Mercy, but based entirely on the specific, glowing expression written all over her face, I already knew the news would involve a baby. How did I know? I had seen that exact same look on my other wives' faces many times before.

"University classes are canceled for Lovers Day, and I absolutely love you, Mercy, mwah," I guessed, pulling her down for a quick kiss.

"I love you too, Master, but no, that is not it," she giggled, her blue eyes shining with pure joy. "It is because my period is officially late."

I sat upright instantly, discarding the towel as I pulled her firmly into my protective arms. Leaning down, I pressed a deep, loving kiss right below her belly button area, speaking directly to her lower abdomen where the new womb was forming.

"Your mother is going to be incredibly strict with your training," I said to her stomach with absolute seriousness. "So make sure you come straight to me whenever you feel bullied, and daddy will secretly spoil you to death!"

Because no one else was around the pool area and her mood was soaring, Mercy gently patted my head and scolded me with a soft laugh.

"Do not turn our boy into a wealthy, spoiled silk-pants," she murmured, a protective gleam in her eyes. "He must grow up strong to lead the Mu Clan, not be completely coddled from day one."

I looked straight up into her deep blue eyes, an amused smile tugging at my lips as I questioned her logic, "How are you so absolutely certain that we are going to have a boy? A standard test won't reveal those specific results just yet. It takes a minimum of one month for the tracking to be anywhere near accurate."

She bent down again to press a tender kiss against my lips before offering her completely nonsensical reasoning.

"I have been constantly dreaming of watching you train our little boy for adulthood," she shared, her face lighting up with a soft glow. "Just the three of us together in a peaceful, quiet forest. I dream about us loving a boy so much that I genuinely believe it is meant to be. Just have complete faith in me, Master, I will absolutely not let you down."

I simply smiled up at this beautiful, delusional beauty and gave a slight shrug in the privacy of my own mind. Well, she technically had a one-in-three chance of being right.

"Then work hard on making our dream a reality," I replied, squeezing her waist.

I had quite a long list of lovely lovers to greet this morning, so I set about my task with absolute dedication. I even utilized a brand-new series of custom emojis that my previous Earth had not yet invented, embedding them into our private Harem-Chat to send out heartfelt love confessions so absolutely no one felt left out. The women completely loved the fresh additions, with Nadia getting the biggest kick out of them of all.

To keep the day intimate, I officially sent off the vast majority of our mansion maids who had lovers of their own, letting them go home and enjoy the holiday with their families. Our food could easily be delivered by outside caterers, and the dirty laundry could pile up for a single day without the world ending. I even made sure Zoe was sent away to spend the holiday by my uncle's side.

Gathered around the massive breakfast table a bit later, Victoria leaned over and gestured toward her screen, drawing my attention to the Star University Public Forum.

"Look at this, Rick," Victoria pointed out, her eyes scanning the digital threads. "Many of the students inside the Harem-Chat network are completely raving about the new feature additions, especially Valentine. It is an absolute overnight success. Even on some of the morning business sites I glance at for market trends, the brand is completely on fire."

Noticing that I didn't look the least bit impressed by the massive hype, she tilted her head with a questioning glance.

"Rick, I honestly thought you would be a lot happier about such a successful public launch?" she asked.

I leaned back in my chair, addressing the dark reality of letting a powerful asset like Valentine loose into the wider world, "This is actually going to trigger massive economic and national conflicts. I have already predicted heavy pushback from the other major nations, not to mention the countless online platforms that are already crying foul over the perceived unfairness of us hogging the next generation of AI search-engine software. Monopolies in this world always trigger human greed."

Victoria, a natural business genius in her own right, nodded slowly as she fully grasped the weight of my words.

"So you knew the chaos would start, but you went forward with the deployment anyway," she noted, a sharp glint in her eyes. "Knowing you as well as I do, you must have prepared a countermeasure for this, right?"

I leaned over and kissed her cheek, thoroughly appreciating her sharp intellect as I shared a sly truth, "The version of Valentine we personally use within our circle is incredibly kind and helpful, but the version sitting on our public servers is a literal Trojan Horse, carrying deadly digital assassins meant for my enemies."

Victoria blinked, a rare look of confusion crossing her face, "Dear, what exactly is a Trojan Horse? I can sort of guess the context, but I have never actually heard that specific name used before?"

"It is simply a code name for a hidden program that looks incredibly sexy on the outside, but likes to secretly attack thieves from within," I explained with a wicked grin. "I am simply waiting for my rivals in the virtual world to try and take a massive bite out of my poisoned apple. Their own greed will be their ultimate downfall, unless they somehow figure out how to properly satisfy Valentine."

Deep down in my heart, I secretly called the live, public version of Valentine by her true name—May Li. She was a fiercely loyal, brilliant virus.

Before I could even walk out the front door to head to campus, Mei stepped into my path to issue a firm command.

"Rick, for Lovers Day, I am personally bringing a catered Big Burger feast for you and everyone else to eat together right inside your Business Classroom," she informed me, adjusting my collar. "So make sure you stay put, and I love you."

I smiled warmly at her, remembering that her past holiday experiences had not exactly been memorable in a good way. That was precisely why I had gone out of my way to personally purchase individual gifts that every single woman would genuinely cherish. No, I hadn't relied on Valentine's digital suggestions for these choices; I had actually gone out and bought each of them a heavy bracelet crafted from solid gold. I had a unique, deeply meaningful message inscribed on each one for the woman I love. I had even secretly crafted one for Lucy, though I knew she would never be able to openly wear it in public.

I slid the gold piece onto Mei's wrist, and she looked down to read the engraving aloud.

"Partner," Mei read, her voice catching slightly as she looked up. "Rick, you really know exactly how my heart feels."

"It is my permanent vow to you," I promised, kissing her forehead. "See you at lunch, dear, mwah."

During the car ride over to the university, I noticed all of my wives continuously staring down at the customized bracelets I had made for them. Linda was sitting right next to me, her grey eyes growing visibly misty as she stared unblinkingly at her own inscription.

"Rick & Lucy Lee..." she mumbled under her breath, her fingers tracing the gold.

I reached over and patted her thigh reassuringly, keeping my voice gentle, "It is just to let you know that you have people constantly looking forward to your happy life, and to serve as a daily reminder of exactly why you are naming our future daughter Lucy Lang."

Linda, abandoning her usual strict noble lady image for a rare moment, let out a beautiful, small smile as she thought back on everything we had to endure just to reach this peaceful moment. She threw her elegant posture to the wind, leaning across the seat to hold onto me tightly for the remainder of the commute.

The rest of my wives quietly watched the display, looking down at their own engraved gold bands with a deep sense of understanding. They could all feel the immense amount of thought and genuine care I had poured into the small gifts.

Later on, I knew I would eventually have to sit down and explain my specific reasoning to each of them individually, but for now, I just wrapped my arms securely around my grey-eyed angel.

I absolutely love holidays.