Nemo checked in with Sunny Jie to let her know he was safe while on the road. He returned to Westlake Restaurant earlier than expected, looking entirely at ease. With a few grass leaves still stuck to his pants, he appeared as though he'd thoroughly enjoyed a camping getaway. His relaxed demeanor reassured everyone, and Nemo, in turn, was pleased to have built some personal credibility for future solo outings.

Sunny Jie and boss Liu, along with Tolya, were well aware of the poor cell reception in the mountains and had warned him to be careful driving. They even advised him to stick to local traffic radio channels to avoid distractions from loud music or getting too caught up singing along, potentially missing crucial alerts. Judging by the clueless look on his face upon his return, it was clear that Nemo had missed out on some major news while he was off the grid.

"Thanks God you’re back safe, and early at that! I need some New Orleans-style wings to calm my nerves. Chop-chop!" Tolya exclaimed, gripping Nemo by the shoulders and ushering him toward the kitchen.

"I didn’t realize your separation anxiety was this severe," Nemo quipped as he began preheating the oven and washing the pre-thawed chicken wings.

"That’s not it!" Tolya raised his voice dramatically. "Do you have any idea about the massive news that just broke on the East Coast?"

"Nope." Nemo replied casually. After all, he'd just spent his day running away with America's walking headline, he accidentally caught multiple glimpses of the world's richest man's “precision-guided weapon” usually hidden under his tailored suit pants. The reason he came to the restaurant was simply to borrow some eye drops from Sunny Jie to cleanse his eyes.

"Cook more. We all need to calm down." Boss Liu called from the serving counter.

"What happened?" Nemo finally picked up on the unusual atmosphere in the restaurant.

Lone Star City was a typical southern harbor town, and it was rare for East Coast events to stir up this much excitement here.

"You focus on cooking, and I’ll fill you in—plus, there’s video footage." Tolya said, already eyeing the soon-to-be-delicious chicken wings with anticipation.

Nemo quickly sliced the wings on the cutting board to help them cook faster and absorb the seasoning better. He brushed on a marinade rich with spice powder. With no time to let the meat sit, the double-brushing method would have to suffice. Once the oven finished preheating, Nemo lined a tray with parchment paper, placed the wings neatly on it, and slid them in. Thirsty from the prep work, he poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"Leviathan showed up again," Tolya began, "teaming up with five superheroes to stop a kaiju trying to make landfall on the East Coast. It’s the first time since the Meteor Shower Event that the civilized world has seen a monster that huge—almost matching Leviathan in size."

"So it’s a real monster, not another supervillain with a non-human appearance?" Nemo asked, gulping down his juice.

"A real monster, all aggression and no communication." Tolya said gravely. "As soon as it hit the shore, it destroyed a row of buildings. From the footage, it looks like a lot of people died. A Coast Guard ship was thrown onto the roof of a Manhattan office building. Thankfully, Michael and the other superheroes arrived just in time to contain the monster and drive it back into the sea. Leviathan, in its serpent form, coiled around it, and they battled for over an hour before finally tearing it apart. The seawater turned green from its blood—glowing neon green, I swear I’m not making this up."

The oven beeped. Nemo retrieved the tray and swatted away Tolya’s hand as he tried to sneak a wing. Nemo brushed on another layer of marinade and popped the wings back in for a final ten minutes.

Tolya settled for dipping a chopstick into the leftover marinade for a taste, refraining from using his fingers out of respect for Nemo's strict kitchen rules—a lesson he’d learned the hard way in the past.

"Why is it that America always seems to catch the worst of everything?" Nemo sighed as he cleaned the cutting board and knife, then disinfected the cooking area.

"Hard to say. Over in the Bohai Sea, the joint naval exercises between Russia and China were abruptly halted today, even though there’s no news of any monsters there. While both nations have their own superheroes, they’re probably state-controlled, and I doubt they have anyone ranked in the top 50 globally. According to reports from European ham radio operators and online forums, they’re all laughing hysterically at the U.S. right now." Tolya said with a shrug.

"Still, the U.S. and Japan probably know more than they’re letting the public in on." Nemo said knowingly. As a Taiwanese native, he was well aware of how closely the U.S. and Japan monitored the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea.

"A Russian friend of mine watched the monster footage and started muttering about how useless Uzis and grenades would be. Then he downed all the pills he’d been planning to sell. If I hadn’t forced him to throw them up, he’d be meeting Satan right now." Tolya said, glaring at his hand as if it still bore traces of the vomit. "It’s why I need those wings to calm down. You wouldn’t catch Sunny Jie freaking out like that—what a useless guy."

Whoa, whoa, the conversation is getting increasingly tense. Everyone here has been through too much; being naïve and overly sweet won’t get a foreigner far in America. At this point, Nemo couldn’t be bothered to advise his roommate to watch his words. After all, there were no outsiders in the restaurant at the moment. He wasn’t a moral crusader, and Tolya had already said he’d cut ties with his homeland friends if they ever harmed a minor. Since he was still keeping in touch, it seemed the nearby Russian gang’s actions were still within certain boundaries.

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When Nemo finally brought the steaming tray of wings to the table, Sunny Jie and boss Liu each pulled out a bottle of Chinese liquor—Wuliangye and Matsu sorghum, respectively. Meanwhile, Tolya retrieved supermarket-brand vodka and bourbon from his bag. It was shaping up to be a diplomatic showcase of alcoholic traditions from China, Taiwan, Russia, and America.

"Aren’t we still open tonight?" Nemo asked. He didn’t drink hard liquor, and the owners forbade him from doing so, citing his amnesia and the risk of developing a drinking habit.

Mixing bourbon with orange juice, Nemo made himself a mild cocktail to at least participate in the gathering.

"We’re closing early. After watching that footage, who’s in the mood to work? It’s just too grim" Boss Liu muttered.

"I gave Lao Chen the evening off. He has family in New York, and there’s no way he can focus tonight. Let’s all take a break." Sunny Jie sighed, opening her laptop to show Nemo the monster footage.

A full day had passed since the East Coast kaiju incident, and more angles of the battle had emerged online. Drone footage, expertly edited for maximum impact, had gone viral, and additional recordings from bystanders began to surface as well.

A day had passed since the East Coast monster incident, and more video clips and audio recordings from various angles had surfaced. Some of these were being seen for the first time by the boss couple and Tolya as well. After a drone enthusiast's captivating edited footage of the full battle went viral on national news, more overlooked recordings from bystanders began to emerge.

"How would you rank that kaiju compared to movie monsters?" Nemo asked. He figured Pacific Rim must have seen a surge in re-watches today.

"Category Three." Tolya answered without hesitation, clearly a fan of classic Hollywood disaster flicks.

"There were a lot of tourists on the beach when it happened. Halfway through fleeing, some stopped to film as soon as they saw the superheroes arrive. No matter how hard the police tried to clear the area, they wouldn’t leave. There were even cars parked on the bridge broadcasting live radio shows. But the superheroes were fully occupied fighting the kaiju and couldn’t manage the crowd. By the time people realized how dangerous it was, just too late. The polluted seawater hit many people as the tides surged, and the bridge got smashed. Hospitals and clinics in New York are completely overwhelmed." Sunny Jie said somberly.

Many of the recordings ended abruptly amidst screams.

"The U.S. military couldn’t avoid hitting the superheroes while firing—they were too tangled up with the monster. Later, when air-to-ground missiles proved ineffective, the jets withdrew. They couldn’t switch to more destructive high-yield warheads launched from the ground or use white phosphorus rounds; there were too many civilians nearby and far too close. Besides, satellite-guided precision isn’t what it used to be," Nemo explained. Like many other viewers watching from afar, he could only helplessly witness the superheroes and the monster clash in the most primal and brutal way until one side was completely shattered.

"The military launched several Harpoon missiles at Leviathan during the fight, and now everyone across the U.S. is outraged. They’re saying that if the military has time to hinder superheroes, they might as well focus on developing Jaeger-class mechs. Honestly, though, seeing the top ten superheroes working together was terrifying. And Leviathan was the MVP once again," Tolya remarked.

"Let’s just hope those people who ended up soaked in that glowing green sea of monster blood don’t mutate into fishmen. The ‘Meteor Shower Watchers’ forum had already warned people to keep their distance," boss Liu muttered anxiously as he rubbed his nose.

"Not everyone reads superhero forums," Nemo said evenly.

After a few rounds of drinks, Nemo noticed that his companions finally began to loosen up. They stopped discussing the bloody tragedies and even started chatting about new, promising superheroes. By then, they were all pretty much drunk and sprawled in various corners of the room.

"Nemo, your prediction came true in just two days. The coastline really isn’t safe! Running to the mountains was the right call. What if the next monster comes ashore from the Gulf of Mexico?" Tolya exclaimed, mimicking the iconic Scream pose for added drama.

"You're being way too theatrical today, man."

"How about the U.S. President borrows Eva Unit-01 from Japan first?"

"A White House petition only needs 100,000 signatures to be heard. Shouldn’t take long," the Russian chimed in, completely serious.

"I was joking."

"No, you’ve got to believe in Kawasaki Heavy Industries and the Tokyo underground sanctuary."

Nemo suddenly realized that Tolya had the makings of a top-tier conspiracy theorist.

※※※

The next day, the morning and brunch shifts at Westlake Restaurant were covered by Lao Chen, who’d been given the previous evening off.

Nemo, exhausted from taking care of the three drunks who’d been drinking all night, was naturally given a half-day leave. After all, he’d handled all the cleanup himself.

However, while Nemo had earned his rest, Tolya wasn’t so lucky. Bright and early, Nemo mercilessly woke up his Russian roommate.

"At least let me sleep until 9:30! The front of house doesn’t need me there this early!" the hungover Russian groaned miserably.

Tolya couldn’t even remember how he got back to the apartment the previous night, though he was sure it was Nemo who dragged him home.

"I expect you to clean up the kitchen floor and the toilet you missed entirely when you were drunk. I plan to use the shared spaces today," Nemo said flatly.

"Oh, fine," Tolya replied, not daring to argue about housework.

Nemo had clear boundaries—so clear it sometimes felt like he could cut ties with someone at a moment’s notice. He was undoubtedly a good friend and an excellent roommate, good enough that Tolya sometimes felt nervous about upsetting him.

After all, Tolya knew from experience that when Nemo got genuinely mad, he didn’t bother trying to fix things. If Nemo ever decided to move out, it wouldn’t be surprising.

"Start with the kitchen, so I have time to make sandwiches and maybe even one for you," Nemo added.

Tolya sucked in a sharp breath, visibly moved. If Nemo were a girl… well, too bad he wasn’t.

While Tolya was scrubbing the toilet with industrial fervor, his Taiwanese roommate had already brewed a pot of tea and was about to sink his teeth into a beef sandwich when the doorbell rang.

A deliveryman’s voice called out, asking for Nemo by name.

With a sigh, Nemo set down his breakfast to answer the door. The package was a slim rectangular box, about the size of two keyboards placed side by side, tied with a gold-and-green ribbon. A quick glance at the return address—Grimm Tower—told him everything he needed to know. He casually tossed the package onto the sofa, fully aware that Tolya would notice it.

To be honest, Nemo considered saving Matthew a personal matter, not something that required him to expend extra effort to keep under wraps. He’d promised not to talk to the media or get involved in the aftermath of the billionaire’s kidnapping case, and he intended to keep that promise. But that didn’t mean he had to act overly secretive around friends. Nemo had no interest in turning his unexpected encounter with the world’s richest man into something resembling an illicit affair.

With a clear conscience, Nemo returned to his breakfast.

Meanwhile, Tolya, who’d overheard the delivery, was practically bursting with curiosity.

Nemo had a habit of paying for everything in cash, instinctively avoiding leaving behind a digital trail. When forced to make an online payment, he preferred asking the restaurant manager to use their card while he reimbursed them in cash. Even his bank account only existed because Sunny Jie needed it to legally pay him wages for tax purposes.

Nemo once explained, "The U.S. government is definitely watching you. I just don’t like being watched. It’s not illegal to use only cash, after all."

It sounded pretty convincing. Tolya had been persuaded, despite the obvious inconvenience.

Immigration officials couldn’t find any records of Nemo’s activities before his amnesia, likely because of these deeply ingrained habits of discretion. On the bright side, if Nemo hadn’t been so careful, he might have been deported long ago—left to die somewhere outside the border.

But who would send Nemo a package? An old enemy from his past?

Having cleaned the toilet to a mirror finish, Tolya raced back to the living room, only to find Nemo sipping tea leisurely.

"Why aren’t you opening the package?"

"What’s the rush? Have you considered that it could be a bomb or anthrax?" Nemo replied, deadpan.

Tolya immediately ducked behind the dining table for cover, shivering in fear.

"I’m kidding. Who’d bother targeting a Chinese chef? I’m not exactly a superhero whose secret identity got leaked. Ha!" Nemo said with a laugh, finishing the last of his tea and patting Tolya on the cheek.

If his Taiwanese roommate ever awakened superpowers, Tolya was sure he’d make an excellent villain.