Yan Xiyan knew something was wrong the moment the lights flickered in the hallway.
Too many students were missing from class. Too many CCTV cameras had mysteriously gone dark. And someone had swapped her gym locker number, something only a trained eye would notice. To most, it looked like a janitor's slip-up. To her? It screamed setup.
She was being hunted.
Again.
Twenty Minutes Earlier – Gym Class
"Xiyan!" Mei bopped her on the head with a volleyball. "Earth to you. Come on. Girls vs boys. Time to avenge our last defeat!"
Yan Xiyan blinked, pulled from her spiral of paranoia. She gave a practiced laugh and joined her classmates on the court. Everyone seemed relaxed. Qiao Zeyan was watching from the bleachers, probably skipping his own class again. She could feel his eyes track her like a hawk.
"Try not to break anyone's nose this time," he called, smirking.
"You dodged my spike with military precision. Suspicious," she shot back, matching his tone with a playful bite.
"I could say the same about you, sniper girl."
She froze. Barely a second. But Qiao Zeyan caught it. Of course he did.
In The Locker Room
Her fingers brushed against metal.
Not a textbook. A trigger wire.
Xiyan yanked her hand back, exhaling hard. A pressure-activated flash grenade. Non-lethal but it would leave a message. We know who you are.
She scanned for cameras. Found none. That made it worse. Professionals were here.
The moment she stepped outside the locker room, a voice whispered in her earpiece.
"Little Raven. You've been compromised. Evacuate. Rooftop."
She recognized the voice. It was him.
The Shadow.
"Why are you helping me now?" she whispered, walking fast.
"Because I trained you to be smarter than this."
Stairwell
She darted upward. But someone was already waiting, tall, lean, and hidden beneath the hoodie of a student uniform.
Not a student.
She dropped her bag, already in a stance. He lunged.
She spun, kicked his legs out, elbowed him in the throat but he recovered fast. This wasn't a random attack. It was a message. She went for a pressure point and he blocked it.
"Not bad," he grunted.
"You're going to regret this."
"Probably. But I'm just a distraction."
Her stomach sank.
Where was the real threat?
On the Court Below
Zeyan stood up from the bleachers, gaze narrowing.
He saw the flicker of movement in the high windows above the gym. A figure. A flash of silver. His instincts screamed.
Get to her.
He ran, ignoring the shouts behind him.
At the Rooftop – Moments Later.
Xiyan burst through the door, panting. A helicopter buzzed low overhead but it wasn't theirs. No extraction. No safety.
Only the Shadow, standing there like a grim omen.
"I told you to evacuate."
"You sent me into a trap," she snapped.
"I sent you into a test."
He tossed her a dossier.
Inside: photos. Blueprints. A name circled in red.
Qiao Zeyan.
"What the hell is this?"
"Someone's been asking about you," the Shadow said. "Digging deep. Too deep."
"No," she said, backing away. "He wouldn't, he doesn't even know"
"Wouldn't he?" the Shadow's voice turned cold. "You killed his brother. How long do you think this little schoolgirl act can last?"
The rooftop door banged open.
Zeyan stood there, eyes scanning the scene, Xiyan facing a stranger. A classified file open between them.
He stepped forward.
"Xiyan?"
Her blood ran cold.
So did his voice.
"Who are you?"