The private base location that Angie chose was quite far from Matthew's Lakeview Villa. To put it in perspective, after transforming, Angie would need to run for an entire day to reach it.

Since it was something that would eventually be exposed, Nemo told Angie that Matthew’s new home was on the artificial island in the middle of the lake. However, the place was heavily guarded with the strictest security systems, making it impossible for her, as a new superhero, to get close. Nemo wanted her to be mentally prepared, explaining that Matthew's precautions were not specifically against his ex-girlfriend, but rather against all potential threats.

For a supermodel who had been witnessed by her ex-boyfriend in her giant lizard form and during her feeding, not only did the emotional distance grow, but she also hoped to increase the physical distance as much as possible. Her troubled past was just too terrifying. Angie didn’t mind Matthew’s precautions and even decided to draw a diagonal line to move far away from the rich man’s Lakeview Villa.

However, as someone with powers but unable to fly, and hoping that Nemo would visit her private base in the future, Angie cleverly chose a location near a remote ultralight aircraft takeoff and landing point. Though it seemed desolate, it was actually only a few mountain ranges away from a road. However, the route was not an easy climb for ordinary hikers.

With Matthew’s team of expert architects, the construction of a two-story wooden cabin was completed in just a few days using local materials. The location was easy for transport planes to deliver supplies, they brought in a water tower, water collection equipment, a wood stove, and a generator. Since Angie loved to take baths, they even installed a bathroom and bathtub, hoping to provide her with some mental healing through this addition.

Matthew Grimm really put a lot of effort into maintaining the heroes' fighting strength.

On the other hand, anyone joining Matthew's private territory in the future would be hauling their own gear and materials, while Angie’s private base was like paradise, definitely making any newcomers jealous.

After getting off the ultralight plane, Nemo and Angie agreed on the pick-up time for the next day. The pilot then flew off, leaving the two of them to carry their luggage toward the wooden cabin. The remaining luggage was left in the hangar corner, planning to be transported in batches. This also served as a little physical training for their so-called vacation.

Watching Angie react like a little girl entering a fairy tale castle, Nemo couldn’t help but admit that Matthew was quite thoughtful and smart enough to anticipate that Angie would invite him to her personal base. He had arranged everything, including even the gender privacy matters.

After putting down their backpacks, the supermodel with the neat ponytail deeply inhaled the fragrant scent of fresh wood. Though her expression was carefree and joyful, Nemo felt like she hadn’t quite left the masquerade ball yet.

Inwardly, Nemo silently repeated the phrases "Matthew Grimm must perish" and "Nemo Captain has succumbed to the idiot virus, losing all self-control" three times. Only after this did he imitate the billionaire's actions, extending his arms toward Angie.

“Matthew entrusted me with a hug. I’ve already been hugged by him, so don’t let my sacrifice be in vain.”

Angie let out a muffled laugh, leaping into Nemo’s arms with such force that he nearly lost his balance. He held her tightly as she, a supermodel 10 centimeters taller than him, curled up in his arms, silent like a fledgling bird.

After the long hug, Nemo held onto Angie’s waist, subtly lifting her. Angie understood and wrapped her arms around his neck. She was light, and despite the political correctness, it still didn’t overcome traditional beauty standards. Nemo smoothly lifted her and spun her around several times as Angie laughed joyfully.

“Wow! Did you get possessed by Matt?” Angie wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes.

“Actually, yes,” Nemo said, making an exorcism gesture. Angie looked at him and started laughing again, unable to stop.

“Matthew said he’ll give you a Grimm Group endorsement to make up for the jobs you lost. The condition is that you gain at least 2 kilograms. Your superhuman body has to be strong enough to handle the energy consumption from transformations and battles. You’re doing terribly in that department. You’ll need to make a choice: modeling or Salamander? Which identity do you want to use to build your influence? Modeling work isn’t impossible to juggle, but you’ll have to shift your focus and stop being a paper-thin model.”

“Hey! I’m already stronger than a lot of other models! I even have a six-pack! You haven’t seen a real 'skeleton model.'"

“Wait until your BMI is up to standard. Even I’ve started working out,” Nemo shook his head.

“To be honest, I’m not intentionally dieting. I just really have no appetite,” Angie replied. Both of them knew the reason behind it.

Nemo had been deeply shaken just by reviewing the Beelzebub files, while Angie had been even closer—separated from the crime scene by only a few walls.

Until Matthew had sent a vehicle to take her back, and the explosion of a gas-filled cabin had ended everything, the ambush and surveillance tragedy had unfolded right next to Angie.

“Angie, have you thought about eating normal Earth food in your lizard form?” Nemo was a chef, and the moment Matthew mentioned anorexia, the curly-haired youth’s instincts kicked in. Although Matthew talked a lot, some words always carried an underlying meaning when he said them.

“In the Grimm Tower lab, people fed me fish, beef, and eggs while I was transformed, but I didn’t particularly like it, and I couldn’t gain strength from it. Eating once I transformed back into human form is more useful. I only know that supernatural creatures related to the Meteor Shower Event are the best source of energy for me, as that’s how my transformation ability was born.”

“But every time you transform, you rush and let your instincts control you, eating things like bloodsucking mosquitoes. I’m wondering if there’s another way to slowly restore your energy. Overeating in human form definitely won’t help,” Nemo carefully avoided a sensitive topic: Angie might have suffered severe psychological trauma related to eating, yet forced herself to overcome it, creating even greater safety concerns. This was the crisis Matthew wanted to prevent in advance regarding the superheroes's existence.

“Nemo, you know? Sometimes, your eyes speak,” Angie said.

“You stole my line, beauty,” Nemo joked, finally relaxing.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“What I mean is, I can tell from your gaze that you're cursing in Chinese. It’s like I can see subtitles in my mind, so you might as well say it out loud next time. Don’t be so polite. Guessing makes me feel worse, but I understand you can't do that.” Angie said seriously.

"Honestly, I’m not a fan of cursing—it’s too draining. But when it’s necessary, I make sure it’s for the right reasons," Nemo said.

“That's why I had to clarify it with you! By the way, do you curse Matt in English in your mind? I think he can understand. He’s probably one of those cold-readers who’s really good at it. Plus, you want people to know you’re cursing, but you don’t actually say it out loud,” Angie thought Nemo’s way of expressing himself was impressive—though if he messed up, it might get him punched.

“Not always. I often curse him in Taiwanese—straight up and blunt,” Nemo said.

Nemo looked at Angie for a moment, then ruffled his hair. “Don’t give me that envious look. I’m really forced into this. This isn’t some damned display of friendship—he deserves to be cursed. Matthew Grimm is both a great man and a total bastard. Those aren’t contradictory.”

Nemo lifted the wooden plank that served as a bed board and retrieved the carpenter's toolbox left by the construction team from under the bed. It contained basic tools such as a saw, planer, and a stack of sandpaper.

"I specifically asked Matthew to have his construction team avoid using power tools to make everything too perfect when building the base, so you'd have something to do when you come here to rest and train," Nemo explained, thinking that sanding wood would also help relieve stress, even though Angie didn't know how to sharpen knives.

"Train? He didn’t say what I should do."

"Extending your transformation time while maintaining your combat strength is an obvious way to train, but not today. You need to rest and get a good sleep," Nemo said.

Currently, Angie’s superpower situation meant that the longer her transformation lasted and the more active she was, the weaker and more exhausted she became. Nemo could easily figure this out, and of course, Angie understood too. This wild forest was the perfect training ground where Angie could freely transform.

"So what are you going to do?" Angie asked, unable to resist asking while taking out her sleeping bag. It wasn’t dark yet, but since Nemo said so, Angie decided to follow his advice.

"You picked the location for this base after studying the environment, so I’m not familiar with it. I’ll walk around the area to see if I can find any herbs or edible wild plants. Also, there are many leftover branches and excess wood from building the cabin outside, so I’ll prepare firewood for the stove. I’ll saw and stack these woods to dry them out as good fuel. We can't waste it," Nemo said, raising the saw.

"Are we not doing it together?" Angie asked in confusion.

"Starting tomorrow, you’ll be responsible for this work all day. I’m going to practice fishing at Matthew’s high mountain lake. You did hear me arrange for the light aircraft pilot to pick me up in the morning, didn’t you?" Nemo attached a radio to his waist and confirmed that his phone was safely tucked in his chest pocket.

"Well, I’ll take a good rest then." Angie smartly replied.

"Tonight we can light a fire, count the stars, and chat. I heard some interesting things at the restaurant." Nemo planned every part of the evening carefully.

Angie quickly dived into her sleeping bag, leaving only her face exposed, nodding vigorously.

As night fell, Nemo indeed cleared a fire safety circle in front of the cabin and prepared the firewood. He carried a pile of small branches into the cabin, lit the stove, made a pot of corn soup, and fried a large plate of bacon. The sizzling sound of the oil and the savory smell made Angie’s stomach rumble, which hadn’t reacted to food in days.

Nemo lit the vapor lamp, and the cabin was filled with a fairytale-like light and deep shadows. There was only one wooden chair, and neither of them wanted to claim it.

In the end, Nemo found two small wooden stumps outside to serve as stools. The two sat on the floor, eating a simple dinner of fried bacon and corn soup.

"Go ahead and transform! Don’t waste the opportunity to be away from the crowd. For the next few days, even if you have some lizard features, no one will see you. I’ll start talking, and you can listen. Change back when you’re tired," Nemo suggested.

As Angie went to transform, Nemo quickly started the campfire. Gasoline trumps scout skills, any day. Nemo, with a clear conscience, sat on the mat, staring at the flames.

Soon, a large creature, blending perfectly with the night, approached with barely a sound, almost indistinguishable from the forest’s natural noises. It silently lay down beside the fire, raising its long dorsal feathers. Without even glancing at it, Nemo simply shifted back and leaned against the giant lizard’s belly.

Nemo remarked, "With you around, we don’t even need a tent."

The giant lizard couldn’t speak, but it proudly vibrated its dorsal feathers to produce a soft sound in acknowledgment.

Nemo then began talking about the Bohai Sea Kaiju incident he had heard today. Angie responded appropriately with some sounds as the conversation progressed. They had briefly discussed the major world event earlier when they were preparing to leave. Angie had been busy packing and only listened intermittently to some points made by online streamers, so she still knew a bit about the situation.

At that time, Nemo could tell that Angie wasn’t in a great mood and just wanted to get away from the online world filled with discussions about the Beelzebub files. But the Bohai Sea Kaiju incident was too explosive, so she still paid attention.

Instead of hearing it from some stranger online, Angie found Nemo’s recounting interesting. Without realizing it, the stars shifted, and the night deepened. After a while, Angie left to transform and change clothes, while Nemo extinguished the campfire and went back to the cabin, laying down on the empty second-floor wooden floor with his sleeping bag. That night, there were no extra conversations between them.

Angie was happy with Nemo's choice, whether intentional or not. By leaving the entrance open for her as the cabin’s owner, it was a form of defense, admiration, and trust.

The following day, as agreed, Nemo entrusted everything to Angie and departed via the light aircraft, heading to another landing site near the high mountain lake.

He retrieved the fishing nets from the bunker, grabbed a few packs of compressed rations to use as bait, and climbed onto the motorized small boat at the dock. He headed toward the fishing spots he had learned about from Matthew.

Nemo’s motivation for fishing wasn’t for self-cultivation; he just needed fresh ingredients to practice his cooking skills. Letting Matthew directly provide live fish would have been too lazy.

Matthew, however, thought it would be good training for Nemo to fish himself and fully supported it. The only catch was that Nemo had to wear a life jacket and be monitored by a drone the whole time, in case Nemo accidentally drowned.

As a novice fisherman, even with the advantage of infinite nets, Nemo still spent half a day catching the trout he needed and processed the catch. He packed the fish in freshness bags and stuffed them into his hiking backpack to be airlifted back for Angie’s feeding.

In fact,he could have caught more and faster if he added other types of fish into the mix, but Nemo wanted to see how Angie's appetite changed after her transformation. He decided to be extra careful with the food choices, which meant he had to spend more time and energy getting everything ready.

At first, Angie thought Nemo would bring her a bunch of dead fish, but to her surprise, the entire bag of trout was still alive, maintaining excellent freshness, though not moving at all.

"You said you wanted to practice some cooking technique and needed to kill a lot of fish. Was this what you meant?" Angie asked.

"This is a cooking technique invented by the Japanese called ' Ikejime.' It involves using tools like an awl to destroy the fish's brain and central nervous system, paralyzing it while keeping it alive. This prevents the fish from dying and decomposing due to enzymes and bacterial growth. It also stops the fish from struggling after being caught, saving ATP to maintain the sweetness of the fish meat." Nemo explained while unloading the live fish into a bathtub filled with water, then pulling another bucket of fish with his hands.

"Sounds cruel."

"The idea is to make the prey brain-dead directly, so it doesn’t have to struggle in pain until it dies. It’s not wrong to say it's cruel, but if you’re soft-hearted, it’s hard to do." Nemo made a motion as if stabbing directly.

"Mm." Angie responded quietly.

"Matthew said I can catch as many fish as I want. I can even set up a box net for fish farming. After all, it’s his lake." Nemo said.

"Won’t that disrupt the ecological balance?" Angie asked, having never encountered such a fascinating billionaire in her life. The American-style legend of “I own this fish pond (for you)”* was a bit overwhelming.

For some reason, Angie had the feeling that breaking up was the right decision.

"This trout fry at the high mountain lake was originally dropped by the city government’s plane. Matthew just needs to drop a little more this year. In Taiwan, they do this too, not just releasing economic fish species in reservoirs, but also in streams. They release trout and sweetfish for fishing enthusiasts, but of course, the cherry salmon can't be caught," Nemo explained.

"You know so much." Angie couldn’t help but admire.

"Just basic ingredient research. I prefer freshwater fish. In the early days, people in Taiwan ate more freshwater fish, because they lacked ice-making technology and rail transport, and there were no nylon nets to increase the catch. Fresh fish caught by the sea couldn’t be transported to major markets, and fish from the outer islands couldn’t be brought to the main island. It had to be dried to preserve and transport. It wasn’t until conditions improved that they shifted to catching more sea fish."

"That’s interesting, I didn’t know that. I thought once the sea fish were caught in Taiwan, there wouldn’t be any left to eat." Hearing about her homeland’s history made Angie even happier.

"Don’t worry about whether you can replenish energy. If you feel like brushing your teeth, you can treat it as a snack. I’ll catch more for you to eat." Nemo stretched and relaxed from the day’s work.

"Thank you."

"When you transform later, try the raw fish first. If you don’t like it, I’ll cook it for you. If you can’t finish it, we can make air-dried fish (一夜干)." Nemo was eager to show off his catch, something that all men probably instinctively did.

Later, when Angie transformed into the giant lizard, she immediately devoured the raw fish Nemo caught, finishing it all, and still seemed unsatisfied, looking for more to fill her teeth. And indeed, she felt the strength from the food Nemo provided.

"Maybe you and I just need to learn how to join this new world," Nemo said, his bangs fluttering in the night wind, his eyes reflecting the firelight, giving him a dangerous wildness that was completely different from Angie’s.

Angie now understood that the memories from this time spent together would become the source of courage for her countless battles in the future.

※※※

*It means giving you all my fish, implying that you are my one and only. The reference originates from a Chinese drama. It also became a kind of internet meme.