Yu Zhen did not sleep that night.
Rain pattered against the penthouse windows while distant sirens drifted through the city haze. He stood in the private medical suite assigned to him—stainless steel counters, drug caddies neatly organized, one narrow couch by the wall.
This was the Don's world.
Every room carried the scent of gun oil and power.
He could feel Lian Xuan's presence even when they weren't in the same space—like the echo of a soul too close to forget.
[SOUL THREAD: STABLE] [MEMORY FRAGMENT 4 — INTEGRATION: 31%]
The suite doors slid open.
Lian Xuan stepped inside, jacket discarded, shirt sleeves rolled higher now. Flecks of dried blood marked the cuff — none of it his own.
They regarded each other in quiet.
"You should be resting," Lian Xuan said.
"I rest when people stop bleeding."
Lian Xuan paused, studying Yu Zhen as if trying to decode the calm steadiness etched into his posture.
"You don't behave like anyone I know," he murmured.
Yu Zhen smiled faintly. "You keep dangerous company."
That earned the Don a faint huff of amusement. He leaned against the med counter.
"You could leave," he added."No contract binds you. No one forces your loyalty."
Yu Zhen met his gaze.
"Does anyone ever choose to leave you?"
Lian Xuan didn't answer.
But something shifted behind his eyes.
The Underboss Moves
Jin Wei had watched the exchange from the surveillance hall.
Ten years Lian Xuan's second-in-command.Ten years of loyalty… now snapping under the quiet realization:
The Doctor mattered more.
The fix was swift.
By morning, Jin Wei brokered a covert deal with rival syndicate leaders.
Their price:
Bring me the Moon-eyed doctor.
He wanted leverage.
What he got was blood-soaked reprisal.
Abduction
Yu Zhen left the penthouse around dusk, heading toward a safehouse clinic along the docks.
He felt the danger a breath too late—
A van screeched from a side street.
Cold arms locked around him.A needle burned into his neck.
Darkness swallowed the street.
Yu Zhen drifted in and out of consciousness bound inside a shipping container. Water rocked against metal somewhere beyond the walls.
Jin Wei paced nearby, phone pressed to his ear.
"…yes, I have him… the Don doesn't know yet."
Yu Zhen remained still, eyes half-lidded as memory fragments flickered again—stars, wings, collapsing heaven, Lian Xuan reaching—
[MEMORY FRAGMENT 4 — SHOCK RESPONSE] [DIVINE ECHO STRENGTHENING] The Don Breaks
In the penthouse—
Lian Xuan stood before a shattered monitor screen.
"Find him."
The words came low, lethal.
Every faction.Every port.Every camera grid.
Within minutes, dock signals pinpointed Jin Wei's convoy.
Lian Xuan didn't wait for backup.
He took only his gun.
And went alone.
Dockside Blood
Rain hammered the shipping yard.
Floodlights ignited as Lian Xuan stalked between stacked containers like fate wearing human skin.
Gunfire erupted.
Men fell.
Bodies sank into puddles.
Lian Xuan moved without hesitation, precision incarnate — no wasted motion, no mercy.
He reached the container.
Inside—
Yu Zhen slumped against restraints.
Jin Wei stood over him, pistol shaking.
"Boss…" Jin Wei stammered, backing away. "You don't understand—he changed everything—"
Lian Xuan didn't stop walking.
"He changed me."
The shot rang out.
Jin Wei dropped.
Reunion
Lian Xuan crossed the remaining distance and caught Yu Zhen as the restraints fell loose.
Yu Zhen's eyes fluttered open.
"…You found me."
"I always do," Lian Xuan whispered.
He held Yu Zhen tight against his chest, rain soaking them both.
"I thought I'd lost you again."
The word again hung between them.
Yu Zhen's lips curved faintly. "You remember more than you think."
[MEMORY FRAGMENT 4 — FULL AWAKENING] [SOUL THREAD: STABILIZED] [AFFINITY LEVEL: 100%]
Golden light flickered briefly beneath Lian Xuan's eyes — something divine scraping against the mask of a mortal crime boss.
He lowered his forehead to Yu Zhen's.
"Whatever we were before this… whatever we still are…"
His voice was hoarse.
"I won't let the world tear you away from me."
Yu Zhen closed his eyes, leaning into the embrace.
"It hasn't yet."
Aftermath
The docks were silent by dawn.
Jin Wei's betrayal died with him.
News reported the clash as "territorial restructuring."
Lian Xuan returned with Yu Zhen to the penthouse — not as employer and employee…
But as something else entirely.
That night, Lian Xuan remained seated at Yu Zhen's bedside while the doctor slept under sedatives.
"You've been mine in every life," he murmured.
"You just keep making me remember."
[WORLD 4 OBJECTIVE COMPLETED] [MEMORY FRAGMENTS RECOVERED: 4 / 12] [CONVERGENCE RATE INCREASING]