Happy new year everyone, hope y'all had a wonderful holiday. May this year bring us all much closer to our dreams and farther from our regrets. Have a blessed year 🎊
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Two Days Later — Monday Morning, Longhai No. 1 High School
The car slowed near the school gates, blending into the steady stream of morning traffic.
Students were already pouring in—uniforms neat, voices loud, backpacks slung carelessly over shoulders. To anyone watching, it was just another weekday.
Feng stepped out first, the door closing softly behind him. Xue followed, adjusting the strap of her bag as she looked around, the familiar school grounds coming into view.
As they walked toward the entrance, Feng's attention drifted—not outward, but inward.
Shadow Guard was no longer a concept.
The first contract had already been signed.
The veteran had agreed without theatrics, without bargaining. Clear terms. Clear expectations. One week. That was all he needed before arriving in Longhai to take up his post.
For the man, it wasn't about money alone. Feng knew that much. It was about having a place to stand again—something structured, something he could commit to. And, in time, becoming someone his daughter could boast about.
The underground fighter had been even faster.
The contract had been finalized quickly. No bargaining, no back-and-forth. For someone who had grown up weighing risk with his body, the calculation had been straightforward: it was clean, it paid well, and it didn't force him to keep bleeding just to survive.
He would arrive just as soon.
The five-man unit was different.
They were cautious. Not because the offer felt false, but because their lives were no longer theirs alone.
Wives who had endured years of uncertainty.
Children who had grown up watching their fathers try—and fail—to fit back into civilian routines that never quite stuck.
An unnamed employer. No public presence. No visible structure.
It wasn't fear that slowed them—it was responsibility.
Arachne's projections still leaned in Feng's favor, but this wasn't a decision to be pressed. If they accepted, they would do so together. And if they didn't, Feng would let it go without forcing their hand.
As for the last one—
The gangster.
No commitment yet.
Only probing replies. Carefully worded questions. Delayed responses that revealed nothing while extracting information.
A survivor's pattern.
Feng wasn't surprised.
Someone like him wouldn't reach out while he still had room to maneuver.
He would wait until every option narrowed—until standing still became more dangerous than moving.
And according to Arachne's monitoring, that space was shrinking.
Not today.
But it wouldn't take long.
Feng slowed slightly as they reached the school entrance.
Xue glanced at him. "You spacing out again?"
He shook his head lightly. "Just thinking."
She didn't push. They passed through the gates together, merging into the crowd of students.
For now, Shadow Guard remained quiet.
But it had taken shape.
And that was enough to move things forward.
---
The path ahead split at the usual junction—the quiet point where their routines diverged.
Students streamed past them in ones and twos—some still half-asleep, others already animated—bags slung over shoulders, voices overlapping in the way only a school morning ever managed.
Feng and Xue slowed without saying so.
Just before they reached the split, Feng's phone vibrated once in his pocket.
He stopped walking.
Xue noticed immediately. She didn't say anything at first—just waited.
Feng took the phone out and glanced at the screen.
A message from Wen Yuning.
["Hi Li Feng. Our engineers have been familiarizing themselves with the methodology over the past two days.
When would you be available for a direct technical consultation?"]
That was all.
No formality. No framing. Just a clear signal that they were ready to move past theory.
Feng read it again, then locked the screen.
Xue tilted her head slightly. "Yuning?"
"Yeah," Feng said. "She wants to schedule a hands-on consultancy."
Xue nodded, processing it easily.
"That came quicker than I expected," she said after a moment. "But… not really surprising."
She looked ahead at the school buildings, then back at him.
"That reminds me, the announcement should be soon, right?" she said, more statement than question.
A faint smile touched Feng's lips.
"Yeah," he said. "It shouldn't be long now."
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Xue adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder.
"I'll see you later," she said.
"Mm," Feng replied, reaching out to smooth her hair once.
She turned and walked off, quickly blending into the flow of students heading toward her building.
Feng stayed where he was for a second longer.
He sent the reply and slipped his phone away, mentally updating his schedule.
There was more to do now.
---
Mid-morning — Li Group Executive Floor
The meeting had already been going on for more than thirty minutes.
Inside the Li Group's upper executive conference room, the upper echelons had been deliberating over a growing inconsistency—recent moves against Blue Horizon were no longer producing the expected results.
Supplier hesitation had slowed.
Logistics friction had stopped escalating.
And most concerning of all, Blue Horizon hadn't shown any signs of distress.
The discussion had circled the same points for over half an hour—observations without conclusions, pressure without effect—settling into a quiet stalemate.
Then—
A knock sounded.
Li Zhonghai's secretary stepped in, posture straight, tablet held close. He moved quietly to the patriarch's side and spoke in a low voice, showing him the screen.
Li Zhonghai took the tablet.
And the room fell silent.
...
Li Zhonghai read the message without expression.
Once.
Then again.
Finally, he set the tablet down slowly.
"Well played," he said.
The words were measured, almost casual—but they sliced through the room all the same.
"Blue Horizon has entered a formal research partnership," he continued evenly,
"with the Wen Research Institute."
That earned reactions.
Fingers stilled. Brows furrowed. Someone leaned forward. Another exhaled quietly through their nose.
Guifen's pen tapped once against the tabletop—soft, deliberate.
"So that's why they were quiet."
No one answered immediately.
Guowei's eyes stayed on the figures in front of him, the slowed curves, the stalled alerts that should have kept climbing.
"They weren't helplessly taking the pressure," he said at last, voice low, almost thoughtful.
"They were letting it pass."
The words settled uneasily in the room—not as a conclusion, but as a shift in how the situation had to be read.
Li Zhonghai nodded.
"Their product announcements weren't false bravado," he continued.
"They were made with certainty."
The silence that followed was heavier this time—not empty, but crowded with calculation.
Then someone down the table frowned, breaking it carefully.
"But even with that partnership…" he said, choosing his words with caution,
"we can still apply indirect pressure, can't we? It's Wen Yuning's institute—not the Wen Consortium proper."
Guotao leaned back, fingers tapping the armrest.
"If we move against Blue Horizon now," he said evenly, "we'll be seen as undermining a Wen-affiliated project."
Guifen followed without missing a beat.
"And once that narrative is public," she added, "no one will bother distinguishing between the Institute and the Wen family itself."
Li Zhonghai's fingers rested against the tabletop.
"Exactly," he said.
"Effective immediately," Li Zhonghai continued, "all attempts to put pressure on Blue Horizon ceases."
Guowei frowned.
"So we just let them go?"
"No," Li Zhonghai replied calmly.
"We stop treating them as the target."
His eyes hardened slightly.
"Blue Horizon was never the goal. It was the lever."
He looked around the table.
"And now that lever is unusable."
Silence followed—heavier this time.
Then Guotao spoke carefully.
"…Which means the Second Branch."
Li Zhonghai nodded once.
"They were the true objective from the start," he said.
"The pressure on Blue Horizon was intended as a containment measure—to sever their backing and apply pressure without us needing to provoke open conflict."
He rose to his feet.
"That approach has failed."
There was no anger in his voice. No irritation.
Only quiet acknowledgment.
"So we adjust."
His gaze swept the room—steady, unyielding.
"We stop maneuvering around the second branch," he said.
"And start acting directly."
There were no raised voices. No dramatic proclamations.
Only a silent consensus settling over the table.
Li Zhonghai concluded evenly:
"Blue Horizon will be observed, not interfered with."
"The Second Branch, however—"
He paused, letting the words settle.
"—will no longer be left to their own devices."
---
Hello, Author here!
Thanks for reading — I hope you enjoyed today's chapter.
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See you in the next chapter!