Wenzhi’s eyes narrowed.

So that was it.

The CEA was preparing to erase everyone connected to Project Xinyuan in order to move onto some new project.

Wait. What exactly did Shen Jue mean when he said the Old Blood intended to use Xinyuan to stop the Red Zone expansion and evolving monsters?

What the hell was Xinyuan supposed to be?

Doctor Xie Yiheng slowly rose to his feet, shock written all over his face.

"What do you mean by that?" he demanded sharply. "Is that a threat?"

Wenzhi was already bored.

The political drama was exhausting. Especially when Shen Jue opened his mouth again like he intended to keep talking.

So Wenzhi simply adjusted his aim through the vent bars and pulled the trigger.

Bang.

The bullet tore straight through Shen Jue’s arm.

A scream ripped out of the man’s throat.

Panic exploded across the boardroom.

Several people bolted toward the exits instantly while others stumbled back in horror before running off.

Wenzhi calmly pushed the vent cover aside and dropped into the room.

The impact echoed sharply against the polished floor.

Shen Jue looked up at him in absolute shock.

"You..." His voice trembled as he collapsed to his knees clutching his bleeding arm.

Wenzhi walked toward him slowly. "What future projects?"

"What?" Shen Jue stared at him with bloodshot eyes, his face pale from blood loss.

"What future projects?" Wenzhi repeated calmly.

"You shot me!" Shen Jue shouted.

Bang.

Wenzhi shot his other arm.

Shen Jue screamed again.

Wenzhi stood over him coldly before pressing a finger against his earpiece. "Sleeping Beauty?"

"I’m here." Xinyuan’s deep voice came through the comms. "There are forty-six staff members remaining aside from the dead armed personnel. Most are researchers and board members attending the meeting."

He paused. "They’re all important."

Wenzhi’s brows lifted.

Something sounded wrong with Xinyuan.

He was too calm. Too controlled.

But he chose not to ask. Not yet.

"I wonder if those doctors are here too," Wenzhi murmured absently, suddenly recalling Song Mei and Yiran.

Bang.

He shot Shen Jue directly through the knee.

The scream that followed was much louder this time.

"Answer the damn question."

Shen Jue shook on the floor, blood spreading beneath him rapidly.

"I don’t know!" he cried out desperately. "I swear I don’t know anything! I’m just following the president’s orders!"

"Hm." Wenzhi pouted slightly in disappointment.

So Shen Jue really didn’t know anything useful.

"Don’t kill me," Shen Jue blurted out desperately, clutching his ruined arms. "I can still be useful in oth—"

Bang.

The bullet went straight through his head.

The room fell silent.

Wenzhi lowered the gun casually before turning away from the body entirely and walking toward the massive glass wall overlooking the city.

For a brief moment, he simply stared at it.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Cracks spread across the glass surface before it shattered apart beneath the pressure.

A cold wind rushed into the room.

Wenzhi pressed against his earpiece. "Blow it up, Shao Xinyuan."

A soft static crackled through the comms.

Then Xinyuan’s rough voice came through. "I’m getting a reward after this, right?"

Wenzhi blinked once, caught off guard by the tone. "Isn’t guiding you enough?"

"I want more." The answer came immediately. Lower this time. Almost like a pleased purr.

Wenzhi felt his ears grow warm.

"We’ll see," he muttered before glancing back at the collapsing room behind him. "Besides, I think we’re technically doing the CEA’s work for them by blowing this place up."

"Is that bad?" Xinyuan asked.

"No. Not really." Wenzhi shrugged. "We’re still sending the same message."

Right on cue, his stomach growled loudly again.

Wenzhi frowned. "Hurry up."

The line dissolved into heavy static. And then... it came.

A terrifying roar of pressure exploded through the building.

The entire CEA headquarters shook violently. Cracks burst across every surface at once like spiderwebs spreading through glass.

The floor beneath Wenzhi’s feet trembled hard enough to nearly throw him off balance.

The building began collapsing. Screams erupted from below.

Concrete split apart. Steel groaned.

Wenzhi smiled faintly.

Finally.

But just as he took a step forward, the floor beneath him cracked open sharply.

Before he could react, BOOM!

The boardroom doors slammed open.

Doctor Ruixin rushed inside looking visibly panicked.

Wenzhi turned toward her just in time to see her eyes dart toward Shen Jue’s corpse being swallowed by the collapsing debris.

She looked back at him and suddenly ran straight toward him.

Wenzhi barely had time to react.

One second he was standing there, the next, Doctor Ruixin had wrapped both arms around him. And together, they crashed out of the collapsing building into open air.

While Doctor Ruixin screamed, the wind roared violently in his ears as the massive CEA headquarters continued collapsing inward on itself behind them.

The entire building folded downward toward the streets below while horrified screams broke out from every direction.

Vehicles swerved across the roads beneath the falling debris as panic spread rapidly through the entire district.

Without warning, dark mist swirled around them.

Xinyuan appeared. One arm wrapped tightly around Wenzhi while Doctor Ruixin still clung to him.

The next second, the world vanished.

The three of them reappeared inside a narrow alley in a distant part of the city.

The moment they landed, Xinyuan shoved Doctor Ruixin away from Wenzhi hard enough to make her stumble backward with a startled gasp.

He took her place instantly. Both arms wrapped tightly around Wenzhi’s waist as he buried his face against him without a word.

Wenzhi froze briefly, blinking rapidly. "That wasn’t very gentlemanly, Sleeping Beauty,"

But... he didn’t pull away. Because he could already feel it.

Xinyuan was dangerously close to backlash again.

Xinyuan said nothing. Not a single word.

Before them, Doctor Ruixin stared in complete disbelief, still breathing hard from nearly dying inside a collapsing skyscraper.

"You two did this," Her voice sounded almost hollow. "How..."

She took an unconscious step forward.

But a threatening dark mist rose around Xinyuan like living tentacles.

At the same time, his hands tightened harshly in the back of Wenzhi’s jacket like he was afraid letting go would make him disappear.

Wenzhi looked past Xinyuan toward Doctor Ruixin.

"Bye, Doctor."

The mist swirled around them again. And the next second, both he and Xinyuan vanished from the alley entirely.

Leaving Doctor Ruixin standing there alone, one hand pressed tightly against her chest as she struggled to steady her breathing.