Wenzhi blinked slowly. "...Why wouldn’t I be?"

Even he was starting to feel like he’d missed something.

Duan Ze opened his mouth, clearly about to step forward, but..

"Duan Ze." The single word cut through the moment.

The team leader. With a clean bob and eyes like polished obsidian, she stood perfectly composed. She looked dangerous.. in a quieter way.

"I’m sure whatever reunion you’re planning can wait," she continued evenly. "We’ll all have time to talk after the meeting."

Duan Ze exhaled through his nose. "...Sure."

He sat, his gaze lingering on Wenzhi before finally pulling away.

Then the team leader’s focus snapped to the pair. "Lin Wenzhi. Han Suye. You’re late."

Wenzhi didn’t respond.

Suye, on the other hand, "Sorry, Nuo," he said quickly, dropping into his seat.

Nuo inhaled slowly and began.

"Over the past few days, our Espers have been deployed across multiple large-scale rifts," she said, her voice calm and professional. "As a result, protocol is changing."

No one interrupted.

"The higher-ups have issued a directive, Espers and Guides are now required to live together. Full-time pairing for stability."

Wenzhi’s eyes flickered.

"They will also be conducting direct investigations into rifts," Nuo continued. "Particularly large ones."

Her gaze swept across the room. "The kind that have been appearing more frequently in major cities."

Suye leaned forward, his brows pulling together.

"I heard the rifts in the red zones are still active," he said carefully. "Large enough to spit out swarm-level entities like the ones during the great fall."

"Correct. That is exactly what we’re seeing." Nuo’s expression didn’t change. "But that isn’t the main issue."

Now, she had everyone’s full attention.

"Last night, a rift opened here in Belium City. Our team was deployed elsewhere and unable to respond. But Shao Xinyuan and Wang Chenxi handled it. However," she added, her tone sharpening just a bit, "the signal readings recorded by the researchers do not match the scale of what was observed."

Wenzhi raised a brow. "How so?"

"The rift emitted the same signature as the one in Jia’ang City," Nuo finished.

No one spoke. Everyone understood enough to be unsettled.

A small rift with a large rift signature.

That wasn’t normal. That... wasn’t supposed to happen.

Wenzhi leaned back in his chair, his posture loose, almost lazy.

But his eyes were sharp and cold.

Clearly, no one felt like sticking to the script anymore. Not even the rifts.

~°~

After the meeting, Wenzhi didn’t stick around. He had a mountain of questions to climb, and Duan Ze was the steepest peak.

Why did he think I was dead?

Unfortunately, Duan Ze had beaten him to the exit. The man was already gone before the room even emptied.

And through some stroke of bad luck, Wenzhi found himself stuck with Suye.

Who talked. Way too much.

Wenzhi tuned him out halfway through, veering off toward the quiet, empty stairwell instead.

Finally.

He leaned against the wall, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, the faint burn grounding his thoughts as he exhaled slowly.

This is getting messy.

He was pushing Xinyuan away.

Now, it was backfiring. Badly.

If he leveled the planet now, everything he’d done would be worthless.

Wenzhi grimaced, his eyes lowering. "...I should stabilize him."

He hated it. The annoyance was a dull ache in his chest, but he forced it down. Being practical mattered more than being happy.

He crouched low. His fingers drummed a steady rhythm against the metal around his ankle. Tap. Tap. It was a cold, constant reminder. He was trapped. He was watched. And he was running out of time.

Wenzhi pushed away from the wall, forcing his body to straighten. He took one breath, then another, waiting for the familiar stillness to settle. Calm first. Always. Once he was steady, he turned and made for the Esper division.

He felt it before he saw it.

That hostile, heavy wavelength. It crawled through the air like something alive, pressing down on everyone in the vicinity.

People were tense. On edge. Avoiding that specific direction.

Wenzhi followed the pulse until it led him to a familiar figure. Not the person he expected, but someone he recognized from last night. Wang Chenxi was just standing there, looming near the restricted wing.

Their eyes met.

The recognition was instant. Chenxi didn’t stall; he marched over with every muscle in his body pulled taut.

"It’s you, good" he squeezed out, his being fueled with pure, jagged urgency. "You need to stabilize him now. He used too much power last night. If this keeps escalating—"

He breathed heavily. "Just.. help him."

Looking at the entrance to Xinyuan’s space, Wenzhi realized the plot was all wrong since he was in the light now.

New characters were popping in. It seemed the trouble was also going to evolve.

"...On one condition." Wenzhi finally spoke as he looked at Chenxi.

Chenxi blinked, clearly caught off guard.

"A condition?" he repeated. "You’re setting terms?"

His expression tightened. "...Isn’t he your Esper?"

Wenzhi’s eyes didn’t soften. If anything, they sharpened like he’d just heard something mildly irritating.

"He is," he said flatly. "Which means I’m the only one who can save all your lives right now. So. Do you agree to my condition or not?"

Chenxi stared at him. Actually stared. Like he was trying to figure out if Wenzhi was serious or just insane.

Then, he let out a soft, impressed chuckle. "...Alright, what is your condition?"

Wenzhi lifted his leg, dragging the fabric up just enough to expose the restraint locked around his ankle.

Chenxi’s expression shifted immediately. "...That is—"

He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing as he studied it. Then he looked up at Wenzhi. "What did you do to piss off the government this badly?"

Wenzhi let the fabric slip from his fingers. He watched Chenxi with cold, vacant eyes. "Can you break it or not?"

He didn’t need a guess; he knew Chenxi was an S-rank. He was powerful to actually make an attempt.

Chenxi exhaled slowly.

"...I’m not sure," he admitted. "But I can try."

Wenzhi’s shoulders eased, before Chenxi added, "After you stabilize Xinyuan."

"Besides," Chenxi continued, his tone more careful now, "I’m not particularly eager to make an enemy out of the government by helping you. But I said I’d help."

"I don’t trust you," Wenzhi didn’t smile. "Break it now."

Chenxi looked at him. Really looked at him this time.

And yeah, there it was.

That clear, unfiltered thought: This guy is insane.

"Isn’t he your Esper?" Chenxi said slowly. "You should be doing this willingly. You could just ask him to—"

Wenzhi walked past him. "...Coward."

Chenxi turned, watching him with a frown as Wenzhi pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Who does that guy think he is?"