Wenzhi was making a mental kill list for obvious reasons.

First was Shen Jue. Second, Director Wei Kang. Third, Shao Xinyuan.

That last one might seem unreasonable.

But... If it wasn’t for him, Wenzhi wouldn’t be trapped here, dragged through this entire mess.

More importantly, why the hell was Shao Xinyuan trying to kill Gu Luhan?

That wasn’t how it went. In the novel, they met, they clashed, and they fell in love. It wasn’t a happy ending, but it was still love.

So what changed? The fact that Wenzhi guided him?

Wenzhi clicked his tongue, the cigarette resting between his lips as his brows furrowed in irritation.

His gaze drifted toward the two doctors who were still working.

"Mr. Lin." A new voice cut through the room.

Wenzhi looked up.

A woman stood at the entrance, flanked by two armed personnel. She appeared to be in her mid-forties, looking elegant, composed, and smiling.

Mo Yiran straightened immediately. "Dr. Bai."

Song Mei followed suit, her posture tightening.

Wenzhi ’s eyes narrowed. Ah... Her.

He knew her.

Doctor Bai Qinian was a key figure at the CEA facility.

She was the one obsessed with controlling Shao Xinyuan, the researcher who had him forcibly placed into a three-year induced sleep.

She was brilliant, ambitious, and unhinged. Worst of all was that smile. It never meant anything good.

"We’ve completed his evaluation," Song Mei said, professional as ever. "His energy levels are stable but he’ll require external support."

"Of course he will," Doctor Bai replied as her sharp, assessing gaze settled directly on Wenzhi like she was looking at something... valuable.

"Shao Xinyuan is nearing instability again," she said calmly. "Mr. Lin, your timing is excellent."

Wenzhi pulled the cigarette from his lips, exhaling slowly.

"Do you people practice smiling like that in a mirror?" he said flatly. "Or does it just come naturally when you’re about to send someone to their death?"

Doctor Bai’s smile stayed exactly the same.

"I understand Director Shen Jue’s methods may have been... unpleasant," she said smoothly. "But truly, it wasn’t meant to escalate this far."

Then her voice softened, turning almost curious. "You’re quite unusual, Mr. Lin."

Wenzhi said nothing, watching her.

"Most guides would consider this an opportunity," she continued, her eyes flickering with interest. "After all, there is a lot to gain by guiding a disaster-class Esper, money, status, influence. And yet, you keep trying to run. Why is that?"

Seeing that he remained silent, Doctor Bai hummed and left the room.

Wenzhi took another drag from his cigarette, exhaled, and walked out without resistance.

The armed personnel followed in silence.

The long, sterile corridor was quiet. It didn’t feel like a facility; it felt like containment, a prison pretending to be a laboratory. With steel walls, reinforced doors, and no windows, everything was built for one purpose: holding something dangerous.

They reached the elevator, which took them down, much further down.

When the doors opened again, the air felt heavier.

Wenzhi stepped out without hesitation, his eyes noting everything. The security layers, door thickness, and exit points.

Useless. The bracelet on his ankle made sure of it.

They stopped in front of a massive reinforced door, thicker than the rest and sealed. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Wenzhi exhaled smoke slowly.

"Wait here," Doctor Bai told the armed personnel, before pressing her thumb to the panel.

The system scanned. Unlocked.

As the doors opened, she spoke. "Mr. Lin."

Her tone had changed. No smile, no softness, just control.

"I understand you’ve been put under difficult circumstances," she said, "which is why I need you to take this seriously."

Wenzhi huffed softly. "Do I look like a clown to you?"

The doors slid open and they stepped inside.

The space beyond was wider and deeper, another layer and another cage.

Wenzhi walked in fully this time, cigarette between his fingers.

"I don’t want to be here." He shot her a sharp glance. "I’m only cooperating because I don’t feel like dying. So yeah, this is me taking it seriously."

Doctor Bai exhaled slowly. "Shao Xinyuan’s wavelength is unstable."

Her voice remained calm. "It is highly aggressive. Expansive. Consuming."

Wenzhi didn’t interrupt.

"For years, we’ve maintained control using suppression drugs," she continued. "But as his strength increases, he’s developing resistance."

Of course he is.

"Which is why we began introducing guides."

"You mean you started killing them." Wenzhi’s voice cut through her sentence.

Doctor Bai Qinian didn’t deny it, and she didn’t confirm it. Which was answer enough.

And then, Wenzhi felt it. A subtle, but unmistakable shift in the room’s frequency.

His body tensed before his mind could process the change, a heavy, familiar, violent pressure bearing down on him. It was as if the air itself had solidified, crackling with the jagged static of an unstable sea.

His eyes narrowed. Shao Xinyuan.

Doctor Bai glanced ahead and exhaled slowly. "If he dies, or loses control, there will be nothing left to save."

Of course there wouldn’t be. Wenzhi already knew how this ended.

Still, he said nothing.

He placed the cigarette back between his lips. "I don’t care about this world, Dr. Bai."

His dull gaze flicked to her. "But I’ll do it."

Then he lifted his foot slightly, just enough to reveal the metal restraint around his ankle. "Because I don’t have a choice."

Doctor Bai exhaled in visible relief. She pulled a card from her pocket and handed it to him. "This will grant you access."

Wenzhi took it and walked past her without hesitation.

The deeper he went, the worse the pressure felt. It crawled under his skin like something alive.

He stopped in front of another reinforced door where there were no guards and no noise, leaving only that presence and pressed the card to the panel.

Beep.

The door slid open.

And the moment it did, a crushing wave hit him. His breath caught sharply.

For a second, he couldn’t move. Then, he stepped inside.

The room was far too small, containing only a bed and a few scattered books. It was a cage disguised as a bedroom.

At the center was Shao Xinyuan, floating with eyes closed and wrapped in a mass of dark, twisting energy that sparked like something barely contained. The air felt dangerously unstable, turning the room into a space that was far too dense and heavy to breathe.

Wenzhi’s back pressed instinctively against the door behind him.

Now he understood why Gu Luhan had failed and nearly died. He understood why no guide lasted.

Wenzhi swallowed, muttering under his breath, "You look like shit, Sleeping Beauty." Then louder, he said, "I’m here, Shao Xinyuan!"

Shao Xinyuan’s eyes opened, one crimson and one brown, locking onto him with an instant, piercing focus. A brief flicker of surprise was quickly replaced by agony as a sharp, broken grunt tore from his throat and the energy around him surged violently.

He coughed, blood spilling from his lips.

Wenzhi’s eyes widened, a quiet "ouch" slipping out as he pushed himself off the door and began to move forward. His steps were careful and measured, like someone approaching a predator that could snap at any second with no protection or barrier between them.

"This is insane," he muttered under his breath before finally closing the distance. He took a single breath and reached out, his fingers pressing against Shao Xinyuan’s forehead while he held and intertwined their hands, and then everything shattered.

The room disappeared, and the pressure vanished only to be replaced by a coldness that seeped into his bones. A vast void stretched in every direction, a dark and silent abyss where floating rocks drifted like debris in the wake of a broken world.

Wenzhi’s mind went quiet. "...What the hell."