"Sir Wayne! Your net cafe is under attack!" a guard shouted breathlessly as he galloped toward Wayne.
Wayne nodded and replied calmly, "Yes, I know. It's already been dealt with."
He thought to himself that the battle had lasted forever, three dragons had flown away, and the sun was already up—this guard's intelligence was lagging terribly.
Seeing Wayne's relaxed demeanor, the guard grew even more anxious: "Please, go and see for yourself immediately!"
Wayne's brain stalled for a second, like a computer dropping frames. Then, a realization exploded in his mind like a bomb. He finally understood that the guard wasn't talking about the construction site he was currently standing on—he was talking about the original net cafe in the center of town, the one that had been closed for days!
Wayne leaped up and sprinted toward town. Amy called out to him from behind, and as he turned, he saw Andromath already channeling Arcane energy for a Teleportation spell.
A few seconds later, Wayne and half a dozen others were instantly transported from the construction site to the front of the net cafe.
Thirteen corpses lay scattered on the ground; the battle was clearly over. Marshal Dughan and his guards had cordoned off the area with fences. Lyria was being bandaged by a medic, with visible wounds on her upper arm and leg.
Wayne looked at her, a question stuck in his throat.
"Boss!" Little Tess came running out of the cafe. Fortunately, she was unharmed.
Dughan informed Wayne that these attackers were disguised Defias bandits, seemingly sent by someone to carry out an act of revenge in Goldshire. However, Wayne found it hard to believe that Lyria could have taken down so many by herself.
"Did you fight too?" Wayne asked Little Tess.
Tess pouted. "I didn't even get a chance. That guy in the suit handled everything."
Wayne asked in surprise, "That guy?"
Tess replied, "The grumpy uncle in the suit who doesn't like to talk."
It turned out that while she and Lyria were sleeping in the cafe, they heard someone picking the lock around 4:00 AM. Lyria woke up immediately and used Demoralizing Shout to knock the stealthed bandits out of their shadows. Although she guarded the doorway to prevent being flanked, she was outnumbered and took several wounds after cutting down two of them.
That was when the man in the suit intervened. Almost every attacker had died from a ruptured carotid artery. Blood was sprayed across the ground and walls; the scene was so gruesome that the surrounding townsfolk were too terrified to speak.
"Where is he?" Wayne asked.
Before Tess or Lyria could answer, Dughan pulled Wayne aside. "He had an SI:7 token. By the time we arrived after the alarm, he just showed me the token and left. I didn't know SI:7 had such powerful individuals."
"Oh, he left a letter for me to give to you."
Wayne broke the wax seal and pulled out a small slip of paper. It contained only a few words:
"You owe me one." "See you down there." The signature read: "Lone Wolf."
Wayne's eyes twitched as he read the note. "See you... down there?" Who abbreviates like that?
However, the signature confirmed his identity. He wasn't just an SI:7 agent; he was a high-ranking assassin from Ravenholdt Manor. Given that he could produce an SI:7 token, he must have been authorized by Mathias. The full details would have to wait until they met in person.
Three days later, an earth-shattering event occurred in Stormwind: the long-missing King was returned in a comatose state by a driverless carriage. Although Wayne knew this wasn't the end of the matter, to the public, the crisis was over. The only ones who felt something was off were Bolvar, who automatically stepped down as Regent, and Anduin, who returned to his status as Prince.
The Black Dragons were repelled, and the Defias headquarters was destroyed. With the King found, the emergency orders for Dughan and the other local garrisons were lifted. Simultaneously, with support from the Northshire forces, Rainier led a strike from the south of the Gnoll camps. The "Westfalls Four" fought bravely, heavily wounding Hogger and locking him in an iron cage.
Furthermore, word came from Stormwind Keep that the Regent requested Wayne, Andromath, and the others to stay for a while. The House of Nobles was arranging rewards for everyone. Corrine also sent an SI:7 secret message: Lady Katrana Prestor had claimed to be "gravely ill" and was confined to her manor, refusing to see anyone—including the King.
At this point, Wayne's part of the plan finally reached a conclusion. Four days later, after the sweat and toil of Barons and over a hundred workers, the new net cafe was finished.
After a thorough cleaning, the "Azeroth Net Cafe Club" held its grand opening ceremony on an afternoon in late October. Following the battle against the Black Dragon, almost every prominent figure from Stormwind's professional guilds was in attendance:
Shadowbreak representing the Paladins;
Andromath representing the Mages;
Sandar representing the Warlocks;
Marshal McBride representing the Northshire Clergy;
Members of the Argent Dawn.
Even the master stonemason Barons was there. Aside from him, all these people shared a common identity: they were members of the net cafe.
Jetharys, representing the returned King, announced a decree from the House of Nobles: Wayne and Barons were both granted the prestigious title of "Baron of Goldshire."
Every other participant received rewards as well—promotions for military personnel, and ceremonial tabards, medals, and monetary rewards for the guild members. Notably, Amy was granted the title of Archmage by the Kirin Tor at the age of 18 for her invention of "Arcane Blast," making her the second youngest human Archmage in history after Khadgar.
However, for everyone present, while the rewards were welcome, the true reason they gathered was the newly opened Net Cafe Club.