Chapter 21 – The Glove and the Mask
Deep within the underbelly of City B, a cold room hummed with the quiet rhythm of surveillance feeds and encrypted transmissions. Screens flickered with security footage from various sources — highways, labs, Bai Corp's office floors.
At the center stood Xu Yanshang, dressed immaculately, his gloved hand tapping rhythmically against the back of a sleek chair.
"Bai Xueqing thinks she's winning," he murmured.
A subordinate adjusted his headset nervously. "Sir, the mole inside Bai Corp failed to deliver the prototype specs. The false leak worked."
Yanshang smirked. "I allowed that failure. Let her believe she's setting the pace."
He turned toward a masked figure standing silently in the shadows. "How is the subject?"
"Responsive," came the mechanical reply. "But unstable."
"Push him further," Yanshang ordered. "This time, when we meet, I want Bai Xueqing to question her reality."
The masked man bowed slightly before vanishing into the dark.
---
Meanwhile, back in City A's safe house, Xueqing studied the surveillance data Lin Nuo had just sent.
"He's always one step behind—never ahead," Lin Nuo said.
"That's what makes him dangerous," Mo Chen replied from behind her. "He lets you think you're smarter."
Bai Xueqing's brows knit. "He wants me to find him. Or at least follow the trail he's laid."
Zhihao popped in with a bowl of noodles. "We doing some high-stakes treasure hunt or is this just post-rebirth flirting again?"
Xueqing threw him a glare. Mo Chen merely chuckled.
"He dropped a new digital signature," Lin Nuo interrupted, squinting at her laptop. "Encrypted under a name—'Wuxing Phantom.' Looks like a challenge."
Mo Chen's voice turned dark. "He's inviting you to play."
"I'm done playing games," Xueqing replied.
She stood and grabbed her coat. "If he wants me to follow this trail, I'll bite—but only to lead him into my own trap."
Mo Chen followed. "Where you go, I go."
She paused, lips curling faintly. "Then let's see where the phantom leads us."
Together, they stepped out into the night—two shadows chasing another, unaware that in the quiet just beyond reach, gloved fingers were already turning the next page.