The Rift Suppression Corps was everywhere. In every city, state, and country. It was a structured network of Espers and Guides bound by a single set of orders: Close the rifts. Kill anything that crawled out. Keep the world from collapsing faster than it already was.

There were other organizations, private ones, like Halo, but none carried the same weight. The Corps operated directly under the CEA. Government-controlled. Which meant, absolute authority.

Every branch was spearheaded by a Commander. They were always Espers, and they were always the most powerful in the room.

Xinyuan had left early. He didn’t say anything or touch the food Wenzhi had made either.

Wenzhi had noticed. And it irritated him more than it should have.

"...Tch." He clicked his tongue under his breath and pushed the thought aside.

By the time he stepped into the main building of the rift suppression corps, the place was already teeming with life. Everything was sleek, polished, and frantic with the kind of business that never seemed to stop.

Espers and Guides moved through the halls with purpose, conversations overlapping, energy signatures brushing against each other in a constant, low hum.

Wenzhi walked through it all, hands in his pockets, eyes moving, observing.

In the book, this was Gu Luhan’s moment. He became a legend by keeping Xinyuan stable. But while the hero rose, the villains were already in motion.

Wenzhi let out a quiet breath. That role was his now. He had stepped into the light, but he had no intention of meeting the same fate as Gu Luhan.

He lifted his wrist, tapping his watch against the security panel.

Access granted.

The doors slid open smoothly and just as he stepped through..

"Hey.. hey!"

Wenzhi paused, already annoyed.

He turned his head and of course.

That guide. The same one from last night.

The one who had dragged him into a rift with zero brain function.

"You’re alive," the guide rushed out, visibly relieved. "Oh thank god, I thought I was going to be in serious trouble."

Wenzhi stared at him, unimpressed. "...You still might be."

The guide laughed awkwardly, completely missing the tone. "Since you are here, you must be..."

"I’m in Team One," Wenzhi said, cutting straight to the point.

"What? Really?" The guide lit up. "I am too! I can take you, everyone’s probably already gathered. Your paperwork should be processed by now."

He turned and started walking like it was already decided.

Wenzhi didn’t move at first. His eye twitched.

Same team. Of all people.

Still... he followed.

"Team One guides the top Espers that handles high-risk zones," the guide continued as they walked. "Mostly large-scale rifts, red zones. The kind that don’t just spill monsters, they reshape entire sectors."

Wenzhi listened.

He already knew.

Small rifts were dangerous. Unpredictable. But large rifts? They didn’t just threaten. They overwhelmed.

It didn’t matter how many crawlers came out of a small tear.

A large rift meant higher-tier entities, wider corruption spread, longer stabilization time, and far greater casualties.

"...Last night’s rift?" the guide added. "That was nothing compared to what Team One usually handles."

Wenzhi’s fingers tapped against his arm.

He almost died in that "nothing." Besides, he encountered a large rift at Jia’ang City.

"By the way, I’m Han Suye, and you are...?"

Wenzhi didn’t answer. He didn’t even look at him.

Suye blinked, the words hanging awkwardly in the air before he let out a small, nervous laugh as they continued up the stairs.

"...Right. Not very talkative," he muttered. "Are you still upset about last night? I mean, you’re fine now. Our Espers got us out."

He reached out and grabbed Wenzhi’s arm. "Hey, I am really sorry."

Below them, the main doors slid open.

Shao Xinyuan walked in. He didn’t waste time scanning the room; his instincts were already dialed in. Like a predator locking onto a scent, his eyes snapped upward to the second floor. Right to Wenzhi. And right to the hand touching him.

The red in his left eye darkened, deepened, and the change in his wavelength hit the room like a pressure drop. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

People felt it immediately.

Conversations stuttered. Movements slowed.

A few Espers turned, their expressions tightening as that dangerous fluctuation spread through the air.

"What’s going on...?"

"That pressure...."

"Is he destabilizing...?"

"At this rate he’s going to kill us all!"

"Wasn’t he assigned a guide already?"

"I saw the broadcast last night, he closed the rift alone. He looked completely stable."

"Yeah, and he shielded his guide from the cameras. There’s no face reveal."

"I heard their compatibility is over a hundred percent."

"...From where?"

"...A friend."

Upstairs, Wenzhi’s gaze had already dropped.

He felt it. That suffocating, crawling pressure.

He looked down and met Xinyuan’s eyes.

That red was too dark. Too focused on him.

Wenzhi pulled his arm out of Suye’s grip. He stepped back from the railing, completely unbothered.

Xinyuan gave one final look, turned on his heel, and walked away.

Wenzhi’s lips pressed together. "I will not be intimidated by a stupid Esper."

He muttered the words under his breath and brushed past Suye without a word.

"...What just happened?" Suye asked, completely lost as he followed after him. "Did you two have a fight?"

Wenzhi didn’t slow. "Why do you care?"

"...Because it doesn’t look good," Suye replied honestly.

They stepped into the elevator.

Silence settled. The hum of movement replacing the earlier tension as the doors slid shut.

Up.

Higher.

Until... ding.

The doors opened into a quieter floor. They cleared the hallway and entered a vast, structured space. A boardroom that felt as cold as it was wide.

Three guides were already inside, mid-discussion but the moment the door opened, they stopped and every pair of eyes in the room landed on Wenzhi and Suye.

Wenzhi barely noticed them. Because his gaze had already landed elsewhere.

Duan Ze.

The moment their eyes met, Duan Ze stood up. Surprise clear on his face. "Wenzhi? You’re alive?"

The look on his face... It was like he was staring at someone who had indeed crawled back from the dead.