The elevator doors closed, sealing Stella away from Aidan Lin.
He didn't return to his desk. He just stood there, motionless, and slowly raised a hand to his temple.
The pain was gone.
The throbbing anxiety that had been his constant companion for years, a phantom limb of agony, had vanished in an instant. It was replaced by a profound sense of peace that sank deep into his soul, more effective than any drug, more calming than any meditation.
He glanced at the monitor on his wrist. Zion Chen's voice came through the encrypted comms, tinged with disbelief.
"Sir... the data from a moment ago... it's incredible. The instant the target left the elevator, we detected a faint but extremely high-frequency energy wave. The spectrum analysis shows strong properties of 'empathy' and 'soothing.' Simultaneously, your biometric data shows your cortisol levels dropped by forty percent in three seconds. Your alpha brainwave activity spiked to levels seen only in deep meditative states..."
Aidan cut him off. "The conclusion."
"The conclusion is..." Zion took a breath. "Her energy, or rather, the 'kindness' she directed at you, can directly affect your nervous system. It can effectively suppress the negative effects of the 'Light Devourer'."
The office fell into a dead silence.
Aidan walked slowly to the window, looking down at the endless flow of traffic below. His deep eyes glinted with calculation and the certainty of possession.
He needed that light. He needed this "mobile panacea" that could free him from his curse.
A panacea had to be stable, pure, and available at all times. And Stella An's current life—poor, exhausting, stressful—was filled with too many uncontrollable variables. These variables would contaminate the quality of his "medicine."
He had to eliminate all the "contaminants."
"Zion," he said, his voice cold and decisive. "Initiate the 'Canary' project."
"Sir?" Zion sounded taken aback on the other end.
"I want her with no distractions," Aidan stated, each word deliberate. "Solve all her problems: her debts, her job, her family's medical issues... I want her to have nowhere else to go but to my side."
It was late when Stella got back to her "pigeon coop."
She carefully tucked the five-hundred-dollar bill under her pillow, as if hiding a scorching secret. The meeting with Aidan Lin had left her shaken, but that money was the concrete solution for her mother's medicine tomorrow.
She barely slept. Early the next morning, she transferred the money to the hospital. Only after doing that did she feel the weight on her chest lighten. She headed downstairs, ready to start her day's work.
But an unexpected person was waiting for her.
Her landlord. The middle-aged woman who was usually scowling and sharp-tongued was now beaming, holding a bag of fruit.
"Oh, Stella! Leaving so early?"
"M-Mrs. Wang?" Stella was stunned.
"My dear child, you've met a true benefactor!" The landlord enthusiastically shoved the fruit into her arms. "A lawyer came to see me this morning! Said some anonymous philanthropist has already paid your rent for the entire next year! And he told me to take good care of you!"
Stella froze, her mind going blank. An anonymous philanthropist?
Before she could recover from the shock, her phone rang. It was her station manager, his tone complicated. "Stella, you... you need to come to the station to handle your resignation."
"Resignation? Why?!"
"I have no idea," the manager sighed. "The order came from corporate HR. They said something about a 'Youth Talent Support Program' selecting you, and you can't be a delivery driver anymore. The company is giving you thirty thousand in severance. It's already been wired to your account. That's more than you make in a year..."
Hanging up, Stella stared at the bank transfer notification on her phone. Her hands and feet turned to ice.
She felt no joy, only a bone-deep chill rising from the pit of her stomach.
This wasn't a coincidence. It was a net. A vast, invisible net woven from money and power, and it was systematically dismantling and reassembling her life.
Just then, an unknown number called. It was her mother's doctor.
"Is this Miss An? Congratulations! A charity foundation called 'Genesis' just paid for all your mother's medical expenses in full! We've also moved her to the best VIP room in the hospital and assembled a top team of specialists for her case! There's hope for your mother's illness!"
BOOM. The final straw of her freedom was crushed.
Stella stood on the bustling street. She was unemployed. She no longer had to worry about rent. Her mother was receiving the best possible care. All her problems had been solved overnight.
But she felt like she had lost everything.
She was a marionette, and someone else was holding all the strings.
A black Rolls-Royce pulled up silently in front of her. The window rolled down, revealing Zion Chen's expressionless face.
"Miss Stella An," he said with a slight bow, his tone polite but unyielding. "Mr. Lin would like to see you. He has a proposal that I believe you are now in no position to refuse."
Stella looked at the open car door, at the expensive, soft leather seats that seemed to radiate a cold invitation. She knew that getting in meant stepping into a gilded cage.
But did she have a choice?
Slowly, step by step, she got into the car.