Chapter 004: The Policewoman

Ethan Thubron offered no resistance as the policewoman snapped the handcuffs onto his wrists. He regarded the iron restraints with indifference. Even though he had lost his Nascent Soul cultivation, his physical body alone wasn't something the mundane world could confine. If he wished, a slight exertion would be enough to break free.
However, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he chose not to.
Thus, Ethan, the little girl who shared his bloodline, and the thugs whose limbs he had disabled were all taken to the city police station.
In a cramped interrogation room, Ethan sat cuffed to a chair. Across from him, the policewoman Quinn Zorn held a file, her face expressionless as she sat opposite him.
Ethan glanced around the room, finding the situation somewhat amusing. He, the Stellar Sovereign who had ruled a star region for a millennium, was now back on Earth as a suspect, handcuffed by a few ordinary officers. If those in the star realms knew of this, they'd laugh for a century.
"Your name is Ethan Thubron?" Quinn placed the file on the table, her beautiful eyes fixed on him as she asked.
Ethan sat silently, his gaze coldly meeting the policewoman's without replying. To him, this woman was merely wasting his time.
Sensing his indifference, a surge of irritation rose within Quinn. She had met all kinds of people but had never encountered someone so aloof and arrogant. She could tell that his demeanor wasn't an act; it seemed cultivated over long years, as if nothing and no one—including her—were worthy of his attention.
Indeed, to someone like Ethan, a Stellar Sovereign, a mere mortal like her wouldn't even warrant a glance in his past life.
"Sir, I believe you're wasting my time. If I haven't broken any laws, please let me go. I have many matters to attend to," Ethan finally spoke.
"According to our records, six years ago, you went hiking with some friends at Mount Fulcrum. You encountered danger, fell off a cliff, and disappeared. Since then, there's been no information about you. Can you tell me where you've been these past six years?" Quinn placed her hands on the table, looking directly at him, enunciating each word.
Ethan couldn't answer her questioning. In this age of advanced internet, he had no way to explain his six-year absence. So he chose silence.
Seeing him fall silent again, Quinn felt a flare of anger. She didn't know why, but ever since meeting this man, she couldn't control her emotions.
"Don't think that staying silent means I can't do anything. Just based on you crippling those thugs, I can send you to prison," she said sternly, clenching her fists.
Ethan raised his head, his eyes meeting hers, a cold light flashing within them.
Quinn felt as if she were being stared down by a fierce beast. A chilling fear surged through her—a fear she'd never experienced before.
The interrogation room fell deathly silent. After a moment, Quinn snapped out of it. She glanced at Ethan, said nothing more, picked up the file, and hurriedly left the room as if escaping.
Outside the interrogation room, she exhaled deeply, turning back to glance at the figure seated inside.
"Detective Zorn, have some coffee," a young male officer offered her a cup.
Quinn accepted it and took a sip.
"That guy sure got lucky, saving the precious daughter of Monica Lyson, the CEO of Dreamland Corporation. Monica will definitely reward him generously," the officer remarked.
Hearing Monica Lyson's name, several officers on duty perked up and gathered around.
"Monica is famously known as an icy beauty. None of the young elites in all of Southsea have caught her eye. I wonder, who could be the father of that little girl?" a middle-aged officer mused.
"Probably only Monica knows the identity of her daughter's father. Monica is the eldest daughter of the Lyson family from Yorkey. Having a child out of wedlock is a huge scandal for them. That little girl's father has probably been dealt with by the Lyson family in secret," another officer speculated.
Leaning against the doorway, Quinn set down her coffee and glared at the young officer speaking.
"Watch your words. This is the police station, and we are officers."
The young officer shrank back under her gaze, offering a sheepish smile.
"Regarding Monica Lyson, it's best you all keep quiet in the future. Whether she hears about it or the Lyson family does, they won't make things easy for you," Quinn warned coldly.
Inside the interrogation room, Ethan listened through the walls to the officers' gossip. His thoughts drifted back to six years ago.
That day, he had gone exploring Mount Fulcrum with some friends. While climbing, his rope snapped. He remembered checking the rope carefully before setting off. Thinking back now, someone must have tampered with it.
As for Monica's identity, he hadn't known before. Hearing the officers discuss it now, he realized that his talented girlfriend was actually the eldest daughter of a prominent family in Yorkey.
No wonder she had always been reluctant to talk about her family when he asked.
An icy beauty!
Ethan couldn't reconcile that description with the lively woman he knew. In his memories, she was talented but warm, never cold to others. Especially when they were together, she loved to cling to him.
He couldn't fathom what had happened to her over the years to change her so drastically.
"Detective Zorn, Miss Lyson is here."
Hearing this through the thick walls, Ethan abruptly looked up.
A ripple finally appeared in his heart that had been calm for so many years.
A thousand years of waiting, daily longing, and braving life-and-death traversals across the stars—all for the chance to see this woman again.