The news of Xinyuan waking up had spread fast through the Espers and Guides of the Sovereign Faction. Once the dust settled, everyone gathered in the meeting lounge, some sitting, some pacing, including Doctor Ruixin, the newest addition to their core team.

Before heading inside, Wenzhi paused in front of the high-security cell where Jingxin was being kept. He stared coldly at the monitor displaying the interior. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Despite being bound in heavy restraints and left on the floor for days without food or water, Jingxin didn’t look nearly as broken as Wenzhi would have preferred.

Now that the crisis with the red-zone rift and Xinyuan’s instability was handled, it was time to get back to business.

Xinyuan and Chenxi approached, their gazes tracking the footage over Wenzhi’s shoulder. Without looking at either of them, Wenzhi spoke first. "The red zone is spreading."

Xinyuan kept his eyes on the monitor, but Chenxi snapped his head toward Wenzhi. "Is that what this meeting is about?"

"Yes." Wenzhi said dryly, turning his cold gaze to Chenxi. "You high-rank Espers can survive inside a red zone for a while. Xinyuan can’t because he goes completely feral and turns into a walking nuclear bomb. But since we’re building a faction, we have to look at the bigger picture. If the red zones swallow the population and the workforce, we have no foundation. We need to do more than just hunt monsters."

Wenzhi had already calculated the trajectory. At the current rate of corruption, it was only a matter of time before the world was entirely consumed. In the original plot line, Xinyuan was the one who ultimately destroyed the world.

Now, Wenzhi foresaw only two conclusions. Either the mutated monsters took over completely, or the monsters took over and Xinyuan destroyed whatever was left.

He kept that second option on the table because he still didn’t know the exact limits of how his own body was mutating to accommodate and guide Xinyuan’s massive power.

One thing was certain. The rival factions and the CEA didn’t give a damn about saving the world. They didn’t want to use Xinyuan to fix the planet; they wanted to weaponize him, which meant poking the beast until he finally detonated.

That was exactly how the original story had collapsed.

Wenzhi had initially wanted to run from the whole mess, but that ship had sailed. Xinyuan had made sure of it. Now, he was too deep in the mud. He was a faction leader with powerhouse Espers calling him boss, and a walking disaster-class Esper calling him freckles and... Baby.

"What do we do with him, then?" Chenxi asked, gesturing toward Jingxin on the screen.

"I’ll interrogate him," Wenzhi said. "Zhaohe hasn’t arrived yet, so you two stay out here and watch the feed in case things go sideways."

"No way. I’m going in with you," Xinyuan interjected instantly.

Wenzhi turned his head slowly, his grey eyes locking onto him. "I can handle it."

Xinyuan’s expression hardened, clearly unsatisfied with the answer.

Given that Jingxin was his brother, any outsider would have assumed Xinyuan was secretly harboring concern for his flesh and blood. But Wenzhi could feel the reality through their bond: Xinyuan wasn’t worried about his brother at all. He was worried about Wenzhi.

"Don’t worry, Xinyuan, we’ll be right out here," Chenxi said, tapping Xinyuan’s shoulder.

Xinyuan still didn’t look convinced, but Wenzhi didn’t wait. He pressed his thumb against the scanner. The heavy security door slid open, and the moment Wenzhi stepped inside, it sealed shut behind him.

At the sound of footsteps, Jingxin lifted his head. His golden eyes flickered in the dim light, and a slow, mocking smile curled his handsome features. "It’s been a while, Lin Wenzhi. I was starting to think you all forgot about me in here."

Wenzhi ignored the bait, leaning casually against the wall. "Let’s cut the crap, Shao Jingxin. This little infiltration mission of yours wasn’t a solo venture. So why hasn’t your faction raided this place to pull you out yet?"

Jingxin’s smile twisted into a frown. "We have high-rank Espers to handle the heavy lifting, pretty boy, and we..."

Bang.

Wenzhi drew his gun in a seamless blur and shot Jingxin directly through the shoulder. Jingxin cut himself off with a sharp, ragged grunt of pain.

Outside the glass, Chenxi let out a soft chuckle. Xinyuan remained dead silent, his eyes tracking Wenzhi’s every movement with total absorption.

"You are only alive as long as you’re useful to me, Shao Jingxin. Be wise with the words that come out of your fucking mouth." Wenzhi said, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.

"And the moment I lose that usefulness, you’ll kill me anyway," Jingxin hissed, trying to grip his bleeding shoulder.

"Why isn’t your team bursting through my doors to rescue you?" Wenzhi pressed, his tone dropping dangerously as he raised the barrel, aiming it directly between Jingxin’s eyes.

Jingxin let out a strained, breathless laugh. "You only know how to hide behind a gun, don’t you?"

Wenzhi lowered his aim without a word and pulled the trigger. The bullet shattered Jingxin’s right knee. Before the Esper could even scream, Wenzhi fired again, putting a round cleanly through the left knee.

"Do I look like I’m joking with you?" Wenzhi asked coldly.

Bound by the heavy restraints, Jingxin couldn’t even reach down to clutch his ruined legs. He thrashed against the floor, crying out in agony before choking out the words. "They... they can’t."

"They can’t what?"

"I told you! Me getting caught wasn’t part of the plan!" Jingxin choked out, his face pale from shock and blood loss. "I was supposed to slip in, find out what you all were planning, and slip back out. I wasn’t supposed to get captured. There’s no rescue op coming for me. I’m expendable."

Wenzhi stared down at him, completely unmoved by the desperation. "You are. Which is exactly why you’re going to help us lure in Wu Youran so I can kill her."

Jingxin’s golden eyes widened. He stared at Wenzhi in utter disbelief before a harsh, mocking laugh forced its way past his lips, his face contorting with pain. "You want to kill Wu Youran? You?" He laughed harder, spitting blood. "Do you even know what she is? You’re just a pathetic, ordinary Guide who grew a pair because you happen to be riding Xinyuan’s coat-tails. You think you can—"

Bang.

A clean, precise shot directly to the center of the forehead. The laughter stopped instantly.

Jingxin’s body slumped to the floor, lifeless. Wenzhi lowered the weapon, his grey eyes turning completely dark and vacant as he looked directly up at the surveillance camera.

"I just killed your brother, Xinyuan," Wenzhi said into the lens. "Feel free to bury him yourself."