Obsessed with a High-Ranking Esper (BL)-Chapter 185: Volume two start

AN: So so sorry. I am traveling back home so it been difficult to write. I promise by Monday we will be back to the normal schedule. Happy reading.

The night was still, not quiet. It was never truly quiet in the underbelly of the imperial city. It was still, the kind of stillness that came before a storm. The kind that made even the rats pause in their scurry.

Yu Xi could have left this to someone else as Jian Ci needed him. Jian Rui calling meant it was urgent. Yu Xi’s chest clenched just thinking about him being sedated and vulnerable. But this mission... this mission was personal.

The dark legacy of his father’s work had been replicated in several underground labs across Orion Drift. Jian Rui had made it his mission to dismantle every last one, and Yu Xi had been his blade.

He had razed labs in the tundras of Virelia, burned bunkers buried beneath the oceans of Calyx, and shattered glass tanks filled with half-formed horrors that should never have existed.

But this time his target wasn’t a lab. It was the artery. The supply depot.

The place where every illegal shipment of neural stabilizers, synthetic cores, and black-market equipment passed through before reaching the labs.

And at the center of it all was Remy or as the streets called him, Roach.

He was a parasite, greedy and slippery. He had survived this long by hiding in plain sight, posing as a low-level drug dealer, peddling cheap highs to desperate Espers and Guides.

But a single photo had unraveled it all. It was a photo of Roach shaking hands with Dr. Vellin, the neural scientist Yu Xi had personally tortured and killed weeks ago.

That photo was all Jian Rui needed. "Let’s send them a message," he had said and Yu Xi would do exactly that.

The lights cut off. A heartbeat later, the building was plunged into darkness thick, suffocating, and absolute.

Yu Xi dropped from the sky like a shadow given form, his boots landing soundlessly on the rooftop of the supply depot. Behind him, a dozen mercenaries followed suit, each one handpicked, each one sworn to silence. They fanned out with practiced ease, disappearing into the darkness like ink in water.

Yu Xi tapped his comm. "Positions."

One by one, his team checked in. "North gate, clear."

"South alley, ready."

"Interior breach team in place."

Yu Xi’s voice was calm. "Execute."

The night exploded into motion. Silent shots, flash pulses and the hum of blades slicing through air.

Yu Xi slipped through the side entrance with his plasma rifle slung on his back, his gloved hands already reaching for the first guard.

The man barely had time to gasp before Yu Xi’s arm around his throat around, cutting off air and sound. The second guard turned but he was too slow and Yu Xi’s hand clamped over his mouth as he drove a blade into his neck.

Both bodies dropped silently silently in the night. Yu Xi signaled with two fingers to move forward.

They moved deeper into the compound, the only light the faint glow of emergency strips along the floor. The air was thick with the scent of oil and metal. Somewhere ahead, footsteps echoed.

Yu Xi raised a fist. The team split instantly, peeling off into flanking positions. Gunfire erupted in short, sharp bursts and screams followed.

Yu Xi surged forward, rifle raised, eyes glowing faintly in the dark. He pulled the trigger with lethal precision, each shot a death sentence. He moved like a wraith silent, merciless and unstoppable.

Bodies fell. Doors burst open. And then he found it. The safe room. It was a reinforced door, sealed tight, with a biometric panel glowing faintly. Yu Xi grinned, wicked and sharp.

Behind him, Bow whispered, "Should we try and lure him out?"

Yu Xi didn’t even glance back. "Why bother? I have the code." He stepped forward, fingers dancing across the panel. The lock beeped.

"Be vigilant," he said, then cracked the door open a sliver.

Gunfire exploded through the gap, slamming into the walls and floor. Yu Xi and the others pressed flat against the wall, waiting for the barrage to end. From inside, Roach’s voice rang out, shrill and furious. "Come out, you cowards!"

Another burst of gunfire. Yu Xi’s eyes narrowed. He pulled a small spherical device from his belt. It was smooth, matte, and humming faintly. He twisted the top, primed it, and rolled it through the gap. Roach blinked, confused. "What the—?" Click.

The device hissed, releasing a thick, colorless gas that spread like a living thing. Roach coughed violently, stumbling back, eyes watering. Yu Xi gave the signal.

The team surged in. Yu Xi followed last, rifle raised, eyes scanning around. Roach was on his knees, hacking, his face pale and slick with sweat. He tried to crawl away, but there was nowhere to go.

Yu Xi shot his leg and Roach cried in pain. Yu Xi’s voice was ice cold as he said, "You have been busy."

Then he threw him hard against the wall with his psychic power. Roach hit with a sickening thud and crumpled, groaning. Yu Xi stood over him, calm and merciless.

Roach spat blood and bile, his voice hoarse but defiant. "You think this is over? You are dead, you hear me? You and your whole damn squad—"

Yu Xi walked over, slow and deliberate, his boots echoing against the scorched floor. He crouched beside Roach and grabbed a fistful of his matted hair, yanking his head up until their eyes locked.

His lips curled into a smirk, sharp and cold. "I have been looking forward to meeting you."

Roach’s bloodshot eyes narrowed. "Who the hell are you?"

"Too bad I don’t have a lot of time," Yu Xi said, ignoring the question. "You will have to answer mine. Quickly.

Roach foamed at the mouth, defiant. "Do you even know who’s behind me? You’re dead. You’re already dead."

Yu Xi’s voice dropped to a whisper. "I don’t. That’s what I want to know. Are you going to tell me?"

Roach gritted his teeth, silent.

Yu Xi’s smirk deepened. "Good. It would have been less fun if you volunteered the information."

He let go, letting Roach’s head thud against the floor. Then, with surgical precision, he pulled a cloth from his pocket and began wiping his fingers. He wiped each one, slow and meticulous, as if scrubbing away the filth.

Behind him, Bow and the others had Roach restrained, arms pinned, legs bound. The man squirmed, but there was nowhere to go.

Yu Xi stood there, his eyes glowing a vivid green light. It was flickering like a storm behind glass. The air around them shifted.

A psychic hum filled the room, low and resonant. Roach’s body jerked violently as invisible threads of pressure laced through his nerves. He screamed, back arching, muscles spasming. Yu Xi didn’t blink.

The pain came in waves. It was sharp, precise and unrelenting. Not enough to kill, but just enough to make him wish it would.

"Stop! STOP!" Roach howled. "I don’t know names... I swear!"

Yu Xi’s voice was ice. "Then give me locations. Contacts. Anything."

"There’s a drop point. It’s... it’s at Sector 9, under the old refinery! They meet there! I just move the cargo... I don’t ask questions!"

Yu Xi’s gaze sharpened. "Who funds you?"

Roach sobbed. "A woman! Code name Vanta! She’s the one who pays. She’s the one who wanted the neural cores. That’s all I know, I swear!"

Yu Xi let the pressure ease. Roach collapsed, gasping, his face pale and soaked in sweat. Yu Xi turned to Bow. "Secure him. Copy the servers and destroy the rest."

Bow nodded. "With pleasure."

As the team moved to carry out the orders,

Roach lay crumpled at his feet, coughing, his body trembling from the aftershocks of psychic interrogation. His eyes, bloodshot and wild, flicked up to Yu Xi with a mix of hatred and fear.

Yu Xi didn’t spare him a second glance "Burn this place down," he said, voice low but absolute, "I want no evidence left behind."

"Yes, sir," the mercenaries replied in unison, already moving to plant charges and ignite the fuel lines.

Yu Xi turned to Roach, his expression unreadable until a sneer curled across his lips. A shimmer of green light flickered around him.

His psychic blade materialized in the air, sleek and silent, humming with lethal intent. It hovered at his side like a predator awaiting its master’s signal.

Yu Xi walked away, his coat sweeping behind him, boots crunching over debris. Behind him, the blade obeyed.

With a single, fluid motion, it sliced through the air. It was clean and precise. There was no scream, only the soft thud of something hitting the floor.

Roach’s head rolled across the concrete, his face frozen in a final expression of disbelief and rage. Yu Xi didn’t look back.

The fires were already rising, casting long shadows across the walls as the compound was consumed. And in the heart of the inferno, the last trace of Roach’s empire turned to ash.

***

The room was dark, save for the pulsing violet glow radiating from Jian Ci’s eyes. He wasn’t himself.

Chains rattled violently as he thrashed against them, muscles straining, breath ragged. The reinforced restraints groaned under the pressure, the floor beneath him scorched with the residual heat of his psychic flares. His aura crackled like a live wire, distorting the air around him.

He let out a guttural snarl, yanking at the chains again. The sound was feral and inhuman.

Behind the reinforced observation glass, Jian Rui stood with his arms crossed, jaw tight. A dark bruise bloomed across his cheek, and his usually pristine hair was a disheveled mess. The once immaculate prince now looked like he’d been dragged through a warzone.

Jian Wei stood beside him, eyes flicking between Jian Ci and his older brother. "Let me take a look."

"No," Jian Rui said, voice hoarse. "Just keep monitoring his vitals."

Jian Wei frowned. "When did Yu Xi say he’d be here?"

"Not long," Jian Rui replied, not taking his eyes off Jian Ci. "Just keep watching him."

Jian Wei nodded, but his gaze lingered on Jian Rui’s face. He looked exhausted and pale, like he hadn’t slept in days.

"You should sit down," Jian Wei said quietly. "You’re not going to help him if you collapse."

Jian Rui didn’t respond so Jian Wei reached into his coat and pulled out a small capsule, pressing it into his brother’s hand. "Here. It will l help with your energy. Just take it."

Jian Rui looked down at the pill, then back at Jian Wei. For a moment, something flickered in his eyes... gratitude, maybe or guilt. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

He took the pill and swallowed it dry. "Thanks." Jian Wei nodded, then turned back to the glass.

Inside, Jian Ci roared again, the sound echoing off the walls like a beast in a cage. His eyes blazed brighter, and the chains groaned louder.

Jian Rui’s fingers curled into fists.

’Where are you, Yu Xi,’ he thought. Before he breaks everything including himself.

The room trembled with the force of Jian Ci’s fury. His eyes blazed violet, casting eerie shadows across the padded walls. The chains binding him to the reinforced floor rattled violently as he thrashed, muscles straining, breath coming in ragged, animalistic bursts.

His roars echoed like thunder, primal and raw, shaking the reinforced glass that separated him from the observation deck.

Jian Wei flinched as another guttural scream tore through the chamber. "He is getting worse," he muttered, eyes wide with worry.

Beside him, Jian Rui stood rigid, arms crossed tightly over his chest. A dark bruise marred his cheek, and his usually immaculate hair was a tangled mess. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

Jian Ci lunged again, the chains groaning under the strain. His aura flared, a violent pulse of psychic energy that made the lights flicker. Then hiss the doors slid open.

Yu Xi stepped in, calm and composed. His eyes swept the room, taking in the chaos, the tension, the raw power radiating from the restrained Jian Ci

Jian Wei exhaled in relief. "Thank the heavens."

Yu Xi nodded once. "Sorry for the delay."

Jian Rui didn’t look away from Jian Ci. "We can’t sedate him. His system rejected the stabilizers. We have only been able to subdue him with psychic dampeners, and even those are starting to fail."

Yu Xi’s gaze sharpened. "Alright," he said, stepping forward. "I will take care of it."