Su Wan opened her eyes; outside the window, the city's night view sped past.
Neon lights dragged long streaks of light across the glass, like elongated, fraying threads.
“Drive faster,” she said, her voice cold and hard, a world away from the person she had been in the sickroom just moments ago.
Gu Huaiyu was slightly taken aback and glanced at her.
He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but the words died in his throat.
He simply stepped on the gas and increased the speed.
The black Maybach sped through the empty streets, crossing half of Jiangcheng before finally coming to a stop at the entrance of the desolate construction site in the western suburbs.
Su Wan pushed the door open and stepped out.
Gu Huaiyu followed her out and stood by the car, watching her back.
The lights on the construction site were still on. Several workers were working through the night, the dull roar of machinery echoing in the darkness.
“Wanwan,” he called out to her, a hint of cautious anticipation in his voice. “Tonight...”
Su Wan stopped and turned to look at Gu Huaiyu.
Her voice drifted through the night, flat and devoid of emotion. “About my brother's matter, I hope you can handle it as soon as possible...”
“Also, thank you.”
Gu Huaiyu’s heart skipped a beat.
She had thanked him.
It was the second time she had said thank you to him tonight.
“It’s only right,” he said, his voice tight with suppressed excitement. “Wanwan, I told you, as long as you ask, I’m willing to do anything for you.”
“Mhm,” Su Wan replied before turning and walking toward the construction site.
“Wanwan!” Gu Huaiyu called out again, taking two steps forward as if to chase after her, but he stopped himself. “When... when can we meet again?”
Su Wan didn't answer.
Her figure was soon swallowed by the site’s lights, vanishing among the mountains of building materials.
Gu Huaiyu stood there, staring in that direction for a long time.
The night breeze blew past, carrying the chill of early autumn and the distinct scent of cement dust from the site.
He suddenly chuckled, his lips curling into a smile, though a thin layer of moisture shimmered in his eyes.
“She let me kiss her, let me hold her, leaned on my shoulder, and called me Huaiyu...” he muttered to himself, his voice so low only he could hear.
“She will definitely come back.”
Gu Huaiyu got into the car and slowly drove away.
Su Wan returned to Room 102 and summoned the puppet.
“Master,” the puppet appeared, looking at her with a calm gaze.
Su Wan didn't speak; she only nodded.
“I’m leaving the matters on Blue Star to you.”
“Understood, Master,” the puppet nodded. “I will synchronize any important developments with you immediately.”
Su Wan no longer hesitated.
She walked to the center of the room, closed her eyes, and sank her consciousness into the System panel.
【Travel cooldown has reached zero. Would you like to travel immediately?】
Su Wan confirmed in her mind.
【Travel starting.】
The familiar sensation of weightlessness surged like a tide, swallowing her whole.
...
Eastern suburbs of Jiangcheng, Yuanhang Freight Transit Station.
On the third floor, in that unremarkable office, the air was thick with the heavy scent of medicine and blood.
Liu Junnan was slumped on the sofa, his face as pale as paper and his lips a sickly shade of blue-purple.
An IV needle was stuck into the back of his right hand, the clear tube connected to an inverted glass bottle. The liquid inside was dripping down, drop by drop.
His eyes were closed, and his breathing was heavy and irregular, like an overworked machine with every part groaning at its limit.
Even so, his right fingers continued to tap rhythmically on the armrest of the sofa.
One, two, three.
It was his habitual gesture when thinking.
Qin Zhong’an stood at the door, clutching a specially encrypted satellite phone.
Looking at Liu Junnan’s state, his brow was knotted in a tight frown, and his fingers rubbed repeatedly against the phone’s casing as if he were hesitating.
Fang Yingshan had already stepped out, tactfully leaving the two of them alone.
The only sounds in the office were the “drip-drip” of the IV and Liu Junnan’s heavy breathing.
Qin Zhong’an took a deep breath and finally spoke.
“Young Master Liu,” he whispered, as if weighing the gravity of every word, “tonight’s incident... I must report it.”
The tapping stopped.
Liu Junnan’s finger hung in mid-air, motionless.
“What did you say?” His voice was so hoarse it was barely audible, like sandpaper scraping against a rough stone surface.
“Tonight’s incident must be reported,” Qin Zhong’an repeated, his tone firmer than before.
“You know that mysterious person infiltrated Bai Chengye’s memories with a clear target. They are coming for that project.”
“That project holds absolute priority within the organization, overriding all other missions. Any information regarding it, no matter how small, must be reported immediately...”
“Reported immediately?” Liu Junnan opened his eyes. They were bloodshot and his sockets were sunken, but the light within them was terrifyingly bright.
He slowly turned his head, his gaze landing on Qin Zhong’an’s face.
Qin Zhong’an instinctively took half a step back before forcing himself to stand his ground.
“Young Master Liu, please calm down,” he said, gripping the phone until his knuckles turned white.
“I know you’re unwilling to let this go—anyone would be! But this matter is beyond our control—”
“I’m unwilling?”
Liu Junnan interrupted him, his voice suddenly rising, sharp like the sound of metal grinding against metal.
He pushed himself up from the sofa. His movements were slow and every muscle was trembling, but he stood up nonetheless.
The things churning in those eyes sent a chill down Qin Zhong’an’s spine.
“Qin Zhong’an, do you have any idea what price I paid tonight?” Liu Junnan walked toward him step by step, his bare feet treading on the cold tiles, each step a sickly stumble.
“The Source-Tracing Spiritual Jade for forty minutes—do you know what that means?”
“In the entire organization, who else but me could have done that?”
His voice grew louder and sharper, carrying a hint of near-uncontrollable hysteria.
“That bottle of Mental Restoration Potion, my entire three-month quota—I drank it! I drank it! I fucking coughed up blood and dragged my half-dead self to Jade Manor—”
He grabbed Qin Zhong’an by the collar and yanked him close.
Their faces were nearly touching.
Qin Zhong’an could smell the lingering scent of medicine and blood on his breath and see the bloodshot veins spreading wildly in his eyes.
“And the result?” Liu Junnan’s voice suddenly dropped to a whisper, but it was more terrifying than a roar.
“The result is that I came up empty-handed! That person is gone, without even leaving a shadow behind.”
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