Lin Yue hadn't breathed in five seconds.
Su Chen's presence—his real, physical presence—made her lungs forget how.
He stood there, framed in flickering hallway light, as if the building's circuits bowed to his return. His black coat moved with the wind. His face was the same—yet carved colder, leaner, touched by something not human anymore.
His eyes were the only thing still alive.
But what lived inside them wasn't love.
It was precision.
And revenge.
"So," he said casually, like discussing weather, "this is how you decorate your guilt."
She flinched, instinctively pulling the blanket tighter around her—childish, useless.
"Su Chen," she breathed. "I thought—"
"You thought wrong," he cut her off.
He walked into the room. She didn't stop him. What was she going to do? Scream? Beg? Fight the corpse she buried with her own orders?
He stopped in front of the screen still displaying her betrayal.
"I liked this part," he said, rewinding to the frame where she said: "He deserves at least that much."
"You had tears in your eyes. Makes it almost poetic."
Her hands clenched into fists.
"Su Chen, please…"
"Please what? Die again? Sorry, I used my one death already. No refunds."
She rose to her feet, swaying slightly. "You don't understand—Zhang said we had no choice. We thought you were infected. You were bleeding out!"
"So you shot me in the gut?" He tilted his head. "Real surgical of you."
Tears welled up. "I loved you."
"No," he said. "You loved the version of me who didn't know how to fight back."
The silence that followed was thick enough to drown in.
"I should kill you now," he said. "But I won't."
"Why?"
His answer came slow. Heavy. Deliberate.
"Because I want you to feel it all. Every second. Every dream shattered. Every laugh that turns to bile in your throat. I want to ruin your memories of me until love tastes like ash."
He took one step forward.
She didn't move.
"I want you to wake up each day wondering if I'll show up again. If today's the day I forgive you. Or destroy you."
Another step.
"You know what the System showed me?"
She shook her head, trembling.
"It showed me the moment your eyes met Zhang Wei's after the shot. You didn't look back at me. You looked at him."
"That's not true—"
"No," he interrupted, eyes narrowing. "That's not the worst part."
"The worst part was that you smiled."
Lin Yue collapsed to her knees. "No—I didn't—I never—"
He knelt in front of her.
For a second, their eyes locked. Old ghosts passed between them.
"Tell me, Yue," he said, voice like a knife in silk. "What hurts more: That I'm alive… or that I don't love you anymore?"
She didn't answer.
Didn't have to.
Her silence screamed loud enough.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
[Emotional Collapse Achieved: 98% Trauma Saturation][New Directive Unlocked: Mark of the Betrayer][Skill Gained: Emotional Echo (Active)]Inflicts illusionary guilt and memory bleeding on targets marked as betrayers. Passive aura drains morale.[Cooldown: 6 hours | Area of Effect: 10 meters]
[Congratulations. Lin Yue has been marked.]
Su Chen stood, flicking the cigarette he didn't light onto her floor.
"Zhang Wei is next."
Her head snapped up.
"You'll… kill him?"
He looked over his shoulder.
"No."
"I'm going to take everything from him."
DISTRICT IV – MILITARY SECTOR
Zhang Wei stood in his high-rise suite, shirtless, drinking synthetic whiskey and smiling at a news feed about "expanded AI-controlled peace zones."
He didn't see the blinking red dot on his private console.
Didn't notice the backdoor protocol activating.
Didn't realize that behind him, in a vent he swore was sealed—
A shadow moved.
End of Chapter 5