Chapter 199: Badass Sargent Mary Tang!

Chapter 199: Badass Sargent Mary Tang!

After my surreal encounter with the enigma that is Empress Ling Ling, I slipped my keys into the lock. The heavy front door of the apartment clicked open, revealing the warm light of the living room inside.

I stepped through the entryway and was immediately greeted by the familiar, comforting sight of my massive family. Nichole, Kim, Mercy, Hinata, Mei, and Lucy were all gathered together, tending to my two youngest children, John and Megan Smith.

Kim looked up, her expression instantly igniting with the most excitement out of everyone in the room. She bounded across the carpet and threw herself directly into my arms, pressing her soft lips against mine for a quick, passionate kiss.

"Megan is already fast asleep, but John has been staying up just to ask for you, dear," Kim murmured against my cheek, dragging me by the hand toward the couch. "Come over here and hold your boy, ha-ha!"

Mei was sitting nearby, gently cradling John in her arms as she noticed my arrival. She tilted the toddler forward so he could see me, offering a soft, elegant smile as she whispered to him. "Young master John, look over there, it is daddy," Mei coaxed him, her voice laced with a gentle amusement. "Go on, walk to him, fufu."

John, my first child with Kim, was just a bit over two years old but already overflowing with personality. He flashed a brilliant smile the moment our eyes met, his tiny legs scrambling across the floor until he collided with my shins.

I scooped him up into my arms, marveling at how much he looked like his mother. His wild black hair stuck out in every direction, and his bright blue eyes possessed a sharp, intelligent focus that seemed far too advanced for his young age.

He patted my shoulder with a tiny hand, his lips curling into a smug little grin. "Howdy, daddy!"

"Why are you not sleeping like your little sister, ha-ha?" I asked, digging my fingers into his ribs to tickle his tummy. He squirmed against my chest, squealing in pure joy as he tried to escape my hands.

John let out a tiny, infectious laugh, though his eyelids were already starting to grow heavy. "I am big now, and not sleepy... yawn~!"

The sudden burst of energy from seeing me walk through the door had finally depleted the last of his stamina. Within a minute, his head slumped against my shoulder, his breathing evening out into a deep sleep as the exhaustion caught up with him.

Kim stepped forward with a knowing smile, carefully lifting the sleeping boy from my chest. She carried him over to the double stroller, gently tucking him in right next to his sister.

As the rest of our large group began gathering their coats and packing up to leave, I caught Lucy’s eye. I quietly signaled for her to follow me into the kitchen, pulling my smartphone from my pocket. I quickly transferred the audio recordings of my meeting with Ling Ling over to her device. "Listen to this file carefully, and make sure to delete absolutely anything related to Ling Ling or me from the local network."

Lucy observed the intense seriousness in my expression, immediately lifting the phone to her ear to play the audio. As the recording played, her features grew incredibly pale, and her eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

"Rick, I could only understand small parts of your Chinese, but what on earth is going on here?" Lucy whispered, her fingers trembling slightly against the glass screen. "There are absolutely no public or private records of an Empress Ling Ling anywhere in our databases?!"

I reached out, gently cupping Lucy's cheek to offer some comfort. My brilliant love was normally completely all-knowing, a master of information who could solve any problem with a few keystrokes, yet she was panicking right now for the very first time.

I leaned down and pressed a firm, reassuring kiss against her lips, attempting to steady her anxious heart before I spoke. "For now, I do not believe she is operating as our enemy."

I let my hand slide down to her shoulder, my voice dropping to a low, confidential murmur. "In fact, I have this strange, instinctual feeling that neither she nor I can actually hurt each other for some reason. So just keep closer tabs on her than you have before, and erase everything she does, just like you always do for me," I instructed, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "She clearly does not want to expose herself to the public, so I am certain she will find ways to contact me again in the future, okay?"

Lucy let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Damn, she hid herself incredibly deep... no wonder she made Mei eat her dust during their Shadows training session?! She is an ancient monster as well... ah, love, I meant that in a purely complimentary way, of course."

"I know what you meant, Lucy," I replied with a soft chuckle, kissing her forehead. "Just stay calm about this entire situation, and let's just take things one single day at a time."

My smile faded slightly as I thought back to the conversation in the tea room. "Though, I do suspect she might be planning to do some serious harm to the Sun family very soon... we just need to realize she is far more dangerous than we originally estimated."

I shook my head, staring out the kitchen window into the night. "I have absolutely no idea what she is truly capable of, and I do not possess ancient memories like she does. We also have no clue what her ultimate goals are, but it is probably nothing simple."

Before Lucy could respond, Hinata slid into the kitchen entryway, bowing her head slightly to interrupt us. "Master Rick, Lady Nichole asked me to fetch you, Sensei."

"I am coming right now, Hinata," I nodded, turning back to give Lucy one last parting glance. "I will see you later tonight, Lucy. I love you."

And with that final goodbye, my eventful evening at Velvet Tower finally came to an official end. The girls and I piled back into the vehicles, heading directly across the city to pick up my officer wife, Mary.

The sleek white limousine pulled up smoothly against the curb right outside the precinct. Mei stepped out first to open my door, standing closely by my side as I stretched my legs on the pavement.

"My Master, the very last time you and I paid a visit to this building, we really made a massive mess inside, ufufu," Mei murmured, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "I actually had an immense amount of fun that day."

I looked up at the glowing blue lights of the police station sign, a cold shiver running down my spine. "Not for me, Mei... I legitimately thought I was going to lose Mary and my unborn baby that day, so I remember it as one of my darkest moments. Thankfully, everything worked out in the end."

Mei shifted closer, her warm hand reaching up to rub a comforting, circular pattern against my upper back. "Friday is your fourth wedding anniversary with Mary, so you must not dwell on those old what-ifs. Just walk inside and love her while you can, go on, my silly Master."

I nodded, taking comfort in the advice of my personal maid before turning to walk inside to retrieve my sister turned wife.

The heavy glass doors slid open, and the moment I stepped past the front desk, a sudden chaotic racket echoed from the rear corridor. Whoosh! Slam!

Crash!

I walked toward the back booking area, right where the hallway splits between the holding cells and the main detective bullpens. The wild scene unfolding before my eyes instantly brought an amused smile to my face.

Two incredibly drunk Syndicate members—one from the Crouching Tigers and the other from the Black Snakes—had started a massive brawl while being escorted to the lockup. The two men were thrashing around wildly, apparently fighting over a provocative woman who was actively shouting and instigating them from the sidelines.

The brawl had quickly spiraled out of control, drawing several uniform officers into a massive, shouting fiasco as they tried to separate the gang members.

Suddenly, Mary stormed out from her private office, her eyes flashing with absolute authority. Without hesitating for a single second, she swept her leg forward in a lightning-fast motion, catching the Tiger member squarely behind the ankles and sending him crashing headfirst against a heavy metal desk.

Before the Snake member could react, Mary grabbed his cuffed arms from behind, twisting her hips to execute a flawless hip throw that slammed his body directly on top of the first guy. The instigating woman stood completely dazed by the sudden violence, frozen in place right as Mary spun on her heel.

SLAP! Mary finished her brutal combination by delivering a fierce, open-handed strike across the woman's face. The force of the blow lifted the troublemaker completely off her feet, sending her sprawling hard onto the linoleum floor.

A collective chorus of sharp winces and "oh shit" murmurs erupted from the surrounding male officers. Mary stood tall over the slutty-looking Snake member, smoothing down her uniform shirt as she glared at the floor.

"That was for actively inciting a violent fight inside my precinct!" Mary barked, pointing a stern finger at the dazed woman. "Arrest this tramp for inciting a riot immediately, and lock her up in the back... if she wants a fight so badly, let her sit in a cell with those Fire Birds women."

While her subordinates quickly rushed forward to execute the commands, Mary finally turned around and noticed me standing by the wall. In an instant, a bright crimson blush crept up her neck, and her terrifying, hard-ass sergeant persona vanished as if she were an entirely different person.

She walked over to me with soft, timid steps, looking like a gentle, delicate housewife. Every single one of her fellow officers simultaneously rolled their eyes at the display, completely accustomed to her drastic shifts in mood whenever I was around.

Seeing her like this instantly reminded me of the old days, back when I was first arrested by her during our high-school years... yeah, those were truly good days.

"Ah, Rick, dear... um? Why did you not tell me you were coming here tonight?" Mary stammered, her voice suddenly soft and sweet.

"Ha-ha! And if I had told you, how would I have ever witnessed your spectacular training in action?" I teased, offering a warm laugh. "It is wonderful to see that your Wing Chun Kung-Fu has been coming along so beautifully."

She blushed even deeper, shifting her weight nervously because she absolutely despised letting me see her tough, aggressive side. She always preferred to show me her gentle wife persona, completely forgetting that this fierce, protective Mary was the exact woman I had fallen in love with in the first place.

"Rick, just wait right here for a moment while I grab my purse from the back," Mary muttered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I will be ready to leave with you very soon."

As she turned to walk toward her office, a young rookie detective raised his hands, making ridiculous smooching gestures to tease her about her sudden soft behavior. Without even looking back, Mary delivered a swift, painful kick backward into his shin, eliciting a loud burst of laughter from the entire detective bullpen. I smiled to myself, thinking that easily could have been me in our younger days.

The two half-drunk gang members were slowly being hauled off the floor by the uniforms, but the moment their eyes landed on me, their faces turned completely white. The instigating woman looked especially terrified, her jaw dropping open in sheer panic.

When you are a lower-level street thug and you suddenly realize the well-dressed crime boss smiling at you from across the room is married to the sergeant who just beat you up, looking pale is the only natural reaction.

Before we could officially make our exit, I found myself cornered by a few of the female officers, politely signing a couple of autographs and posing for quick pictures. Sometimes I completely forget that I actually have fans out in the city.

The only reason these women were bold enough to ask for photos was due to the excellent, close relationships they all maintained with Mary, so I didn't mind the brief delay at all.

"Let us finally go home, dear," Mary said, wrapping her arms tightly around my left bicep as we walked toward the exit. "I miss my little Sally so much... I want to hold her tight tonight like a giant hug pillow, fufu."

"Mary, just promise me you won't drool all over her head again, or she is going to start crying, ha-ha!" I joked.

Mary immediately dug her fingers into my arm, pinching me hard as she flashed a playful, menacing glare. "Do you want to fight right now, you bastard?!"

She always absolutely loathed being reminded that she drooled whenever she fell into a deep sleep. I looked down at this beautiful, twenty-six-year-old mother, and a profound wave of warmth completely filled my chest. Her vibrant smile always gave me the distinct feeling of a job well done.

She noticed me staring, tilting her head with a curious expression as we stepped out into the cool night air. "Did you have an exceptionally long day today, dear? I can always tell exactly when you do."

I simply smiled, opting to shift the topic to something far more exciting. "What exactly do you want to do for our wedding anniversary this coming Friday?"

Her tough expression softened completely, her eyes turning incredibly tender as she kept her request simple. "I just want to spend the entire night making passionate love to you inside our very first, old apartment... how does that sound?"

"As you wish~!" I replied instantly, throwing in a dramatic bow.

Mary always thoroughly enjoyed my cheesy movie memes and puns. We climbed back into the waiting car to join the rest of the girls for our group ride home, pulling into the driveway just in time for a massive family dinner...

"...And that was exactly how Shrek and Donkey successfully saved the Princess from the misunderstood Dragon. The End!"

Bella, Brenda, Tonya, and Tiffany were all lined up in the massive, king-sized bed, the silk sheets pulled all the way up to their small noses. Their bright blue eyes had been completely laser-focused on me the entire time I was reading the book aloud.

Suddenly, my first-born child, the oldest of the two sets of twins, narrowed her eyes at me in a stern pout, crossing her tiny arms over her chest to scold me. "Daddy is totally cheating, Bella!" she yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the pages. "That is absolutely not the end of the story, that is only half way through the book, bad daddy!"

Nadia, sitting gracefully on the far side of the mattress, reached over to pat the head of her highly intelligent daughter.

"Bella, dear, if you call daddy 'bad', he won't think you are being very nice to him," Nadia chided softly, a warm glint in her eyes. "Then his poor heart might start feeling completely broken, so go over and say sorry to daddy right now. He only said it was the end of the story because it is officially your bedtime, fufu."

Bella’s eyes widened, never truly intending to call me a bad father. She instantly scrambled across the mattress on her hands and knees, throwing her tiny arms around my neck to hug me as tightly as her small body could manage. "Good daddy!" Bella whimpered into my neck, squeezing hard. "Bella loves daddy the absolute most out of everyone, so please don't be sad!"

Being the competitive daughters of my brilliant evil twins, a sudden wave of intense jealousy instantly overcame the remaining three girls. They immediately dove across the sheets in a chaotic flurry, piling directly on top of us to join the massive group hug.

Tiffany, who was the very last of the quadruplets to pop out during birth, crawled up onto my chest and began playfully patting the very top of my head exactly like a puppy. Nadia watched the heartwarming pile-up with a soft smile before her expression shifted into that of a strict, no-nonsense mother.

"Alright, that is quite enough, get back under the heavy sheets right now," Nadia commanded, clapping her hands together twice. "Don't think for a second I don't know you girls are just trying to pull a fast one on me to stay up later. Daddy has to go and tuck in my sister next, so say your night-nights."

""""Night-night, daddy!"""" the four little voices chimed together in a perfect, high-pitched chorus.

I leaned down over the mattress, pressing a soft, loving kiss onto each of their five foreheads before quietly slipping out of the room to head toward the twins' master suite.

"Ah! Rick, I came~!"

I had just finished pouring myself completely inside Nichole, panting heavily as I lay flat on top of her soft body. I continued to press lingering, breathless kisses against the sensitive skin of her neck and collarbone, savoring the immediate afterglow.

Her slender fingers ran gently through my messy hair, anchoring herself before she pulled my face up to hers to kiss me with a deep, consuming passion. After a quiet moment of resting together, we reached for the container of baby wipes on the nightstand, thoroughly cleaning up our intimate mess before she pulled me back down to nestle in my arms.

Nichole held onto my torso tightly, a beautiful, satisfied smile spreading across her lips as she stared up into my eyes. "Working so closely with you lately has made me incredibly happy, dear," Nichole murmured, tracing a circle on my chest. "Between managing all of your Velvet Tower locations and the rapid expansion of the Fire Birds businesses, I simply don't have any time left for lesser clients. I think you officially own my professional time almost exclusively now, fufu."

She let out a soft chuckle, shifting her weight against me. "Nadia is actually a bit upset that her grand plans for being your exclusive criminal defense attorney are completely falling flat, you are just far too good at successfully avoiding arrests entirely. Well, at the very least, your rowdy Fire Birds street members get arrested quite enough to keep her schedule permanently busy, so she is still technically helping you."

I looked down at her, raising an eyebrow in mock offense. "My beautiful wife, did you seriously just jinx me to get arrested by the police right now?!"

"Yes, I am absolutely going to file formal charges against you tomorrow morning for aggressively stealing my heart, what do you think about that?" she teased, her eyes sparkling.

"Then I am definitely guilty as charged, and I will gladly serve my life sentence of making you happy for the rest of our days," I replied smoothly, leaning down to catch her lips again.

Nichole shifted slightly, seamlessly changing the topic as she looked at me with a more serious expression. "Are you actually going to attend this year's annual Hospital Ball? You have successfully weaseled your way out of going every single year, and we wives are completely done letting it pass. You will definitely go this time, right? Hana is officially the director now, and it would be incredibly embarrassing for her if her own husband does not show face."

Right at that exact moment, the bedroom door clicked open, and Nadia walked inside to join the conversation, having finally managed to put the four little demons down to sleep.

"Nicky, you are doing this entirely wrong, it needs to go exactly like this..." Nadia intervened, a wicked grin on her face.

Nadia casually pulled her silk robes off her shoulders, letting the fabric pool at her ankles to go completely nude before climbing onto the bed. She hovered directly over my torso, reaching down to firmly grab my jaw, forcing me to look directly into her intense blue eyes.

With a deeply serious, unyielding expression staring down into my face, she issued her command. "Ricky! You will absolutely go to the Ball with us this year! I want to dance with you in front of everyone, and if you choose not to go... I will literally cry for an entire month!"

I swallowed hard, knowing this was an absolute crisis scenario. One time in our past, I had accidentally forgotten her birthday present—well, both of the girls' presents—due to being completely stuck out of town on urgent business. When I finally returned, she was so super sad and profoundly depressed that it nearly broke me. I never wanted to see her in that state ever again... ever!

"I promise you, I will absolutely be there!" I blurted out, raising my hands in surrender.

Her terrifyingly serious face instantly morphed into a thoroughly pleased, radiant smile. Without wasting a single second, she shifted her weight forward, actively resurrecting the dormant dragon and guiding it straight back into its familiar lair.

Nadia murmured happily, settling herself down over me for the rough ride ahead. "Good boy, Ricky... now, it is time to properly reward you for being such a good boy~!"

And with that, my intense night of entangling with my beautiful evil twins officially commenced. I was finally released from my exhausting husband duties at around midnight, the three of us tightly holding each other beneath the sheets as we drifted off into a deep sleep...

Deep inside my dream, a sudden wave of memories from my previous lifetime began to surface, pulling my consciousness backward in time. I dreamed of a specific afternoon spent inside a sterile nurse's office during my old Academy days.

I vividly recalled a tall, slender Chinese woman with long, flowing black hair, wearing a pristine white lab coat over her clothes. Try as I might, I could not readily recall her exact name in the dream, nor could I clearly visualize the fine details of her face, but I knew with absolute certainty that she was amazingly beautiful.

The woman was staring down at me with a look of profound disappointment as she carefully checked my blood pressure. I remembered looking up at her from the examination table, asking a quiet question. "Doctor, is there something seriously wrong with me? You look like you are about to give me some terrible news."

Her eyes, which I could suddenly see with terrifying clarity in this past-life memory, locked onto mine with a heavy, disappointed sadness.

"No, your body, your overall health, and your mind are all operating absolutely normally... come back to see me next month. I believe it will be your eighteenth birthday, correct? And you have been attending the Academy for two full years now?"

"Yes, that is correct for both..." I answered simply.

She looked down at me with a clear expression of doubt, her lips parting once again as she spoke. This time, her entire appearance finally locked into sharp focus, marking the very first time I could clearly recall a personal identity from my past.

"The Director has explicitly told me that you have not made a single friend since coming to this city," she noted, her voice dripping with concern. "Why is that?"

"I possess some of the highest grades in the entire facility because I don't waste my valuable time hanging out with friends," I replied coldly, shrugging my shoulders. "Plus, I am generally not well-liked around here anyway, so I am perfectly fine being alone. I will just graduate and move far away from this place anyway, so there is no real need to bond."

The doctor turned her head slightly, staring into an empty corner of the room, nodding gently to herself as if acknowledging something invisible that she was actively looking at. She then turned her gaze back to me, her expression softening.

"When you officially turn eighteen next month, let me take you out for a proper meal," she offered gently. "I truly do not want to see you locked up inside your lonely apartment all by yourself anymore, it is incredibly bad for your long-term mental health... absolutely everyone needs companionship in their long lives, what do you say?"

"No, it is really fine," I declined immediately, shaking my head as I stood up. "The Academy doctor should not be seen hanging out with a regular student outside of school hours, can I please go back to class now?"

She let out a heavy, defeated sigh, stepping back. "One day, you will finally understand... I will still come by and look in on you from time to time."

I turned and walked toward the exit of the infirmary, and I remembered feeling a sudden, rare warmth in that exact moment, realizing that at least one person in the world cared enough to speak to me like a normal human being.

I looked back over my shoulder just as I pushed the door open to leave. "Goodbye... and thanks, Doctor Ling."

And then, my eyes snapped open, and I woke up.