When Ling Feng stumbled back to his workshop like a startled bird, he wasn't greeted by a cold iron door, but by the sound of anxious, heavy breathing seeping through the crack.
The door creaked open from the inside.
"Feng!"
Shi Lei's mountain-like frame blocked the entrance, his face a canvas of raw anxiety. He yanked the nearly collapsing Ling Feng inside and slammed the door shut, ramming a steel bar through the bolt to secure it.
"You're... you're alive!" Shi Lei gripped Ling Feng's shoulders, his large, bell-like eyes scanning him up and down. His voice was a mixture of relief and disbelief. "All hell broke loose over at the Ash Market! I heard from some guys who ran back that some kid used a weird trick to take down Zhao San and the whole Iron Fist crew... I just knew it had to be you!"
The warm, strong grip of his friend's hands and the undisguised concern in his voice were like a warm current, injecting life back into Ling Feng's fear-chilled body. In this familiar, absolutely safe haven, the last of his tightly wound nerves finally gave way.
His legs buckled, and he slid down Shi Lei's arm to the floor, gasping for breath.
"Water..." he rasped.
"Right! Right!" Shi Lei fumbled to get a cup of water from the storage tank, then crouched down and carefully brought it to Ling Feng's lips.
The cool, purified water slid down his throat, extinguishing some of the fire in his chest. He leaned against the wall, looked up at his bustling friend, and the unfocused glaze of fear in his eyes finally sharpened.
"Did they... follow me?" Ling Feng asked.
"No!" Shi Lei shook his head forcefully, but his tone was grim. "But it's bad. I snuck out for a look just now. The Iron Fist Gang is out in force, like rabid dogs, locking down all the intersections and searching inch by inch. Zhao San called in the security patrol too, claiming they're hunting a 'thug who maliciously disrupted market order.' Feng, you really poked the hornet's nest this time!"
The external threat, described by his friend, became terrifyingly real and heavy. The calm that had just begun to settle in Ling Feng's heart was once again seized by an invisible hand.
He briefly recounted the events at the Ash Market, omitting the strange state of the jade pendant. He simply said that in a moment of desperation, he had detonated a self-defense device he had built.
Even so, Shi Lei listened with his heart in his throat. When he heard how Ling Feng had been framed and cornered, he smashed his fist on the ground in anger. "Those bastards!" he cursed. "They only know how to bully people like us who have no status!"
After his outburst, he looked at the pale Ling Feng, sighed, and pulled half a synthetic nutrition bar from his coat. "Here, eat something. You need strength. Even if the sky falls, you have to fill your stomach first."
Ling Feng took the bar and chewed mechanically. It tasted like wax, but he knew he had to regain his strength as quickly as possible.
Seeing Ling Feng's lost expression, Shi Lei sat down next to him. After a long silence, he said in a low voice, "Feng, I know you feel terrible. But... what you did today was amazing! Seriously! At least you didn't let those scum win. You're not like us..."
He paused, his voice dropping. "Not like us... who only know how to endure."
His friend's simple, honest words were like a key, unexpectedly unlocking the padlock of fear and humiliation that had encased Ling Feng's heart.
That's right.
I fought back.
I didn't just accept my fate like a lamb to the slaughter.
No matter how dangerous it was, no matter how great the cost, the result was—I won.
A faint, hot ember of emotion rekindled from the ashes in his heart. It wasn't pride, but a fundamental affirmation of his own existence.
"Shi Lei," Ling Feng looked up at his friend. The fear and confusion were still in his eyes, but now there was something else too. "Thank you."
Thank you for watching over this home. Thank you for waiting for me here.
Shi Lei grinned and scratched his head. "What's there to thank me for? But seriously, we can't stay here anymore. What's your plan?"
That question made the newly kindled flame flicker in the cold wind of reality.
Right, what now? Run? But where could I run to in the Rust Belt?
Ling Feng subconsciously touched the jade pendant on his chest. The warm, smooth feel of it reminded him of that strange, cold power that had given him control.
He looked at his worried friend. For the first time, a thought formed with absolute clarity in his mind.
He could no longer rely on luck. More importantly, he couldn't drag his only friend down with him.
He had to find a way, a power that could truly protect himself, and protect this "home." The answers to everything likely lay in this jade pendant left by his parents, and in the secrets of his own body.
"I need... to think," Ling Feng said to Shi Lei. "You should go back for now. A group is a bigger target. Remember, if anyone asks, you haven't seen me all day."
Shi Lei knew Ling Feng needed to be alone. He nodded firmly and left his only other nutrition bar behind.
"Be careful. I'll come back to check on things before dawn tomorrow."
With a final look at his friend, he quietly opened the door and vanished into the night like a nimble cat.
The workshop was silent once more.
But this time, Ling Feng didn't feel alone. The lingering warmth left by his friend had driven away the deepest chill of the night.
He walked to the workbench and gently placed the jade pendant on it.
His eyes were no longer filled with just fear and confusion.
A light, a mixture of awe, curiosity, and determination, slowly began to glow in the depths of his pupils.
He was going to dissect the secrets of himself and this pendant, layer by layer, just as he would with a precision instrument he had never seen before.
And the first tool required for this monumental task was "knowledge."