Huo Jingran's heart slammed against her ribs as Teng Haoran's car barreled toward HuoTech's abandoned ruins, Shanghai's neon skyline fading into the industrial sprawl of Minhang district. The jade seal in her clutch pulsed like a live wire, its dragon carvings glowing faintly after frying Xiwen's drone in Haoran's lab. That fox emoji taunt—See you at the ruins—looped in her head, paired with Lu Mingxu's creepy signal ping. Friend, foe, or glitch? She wasn't betting on "friend."
"Xiwen's got a flair for drama," Jingran muttered, gripping the backseat armrest. "Next, she'll send a cursed PowerPoint."
Shao Lanyi, hunched over her laptop beside her, snorted without looking up. "I'd pay to see you dodge that."
Haoran's voice cut through from the driver's seat, sharp as his stupidly perfect jawline. "Focus, Miss Huo. If Xiwen's waiting, we're not walking into her trap blind."
Jingran flashed a grin, hiding nerves. "Blind? Nah, I'm rocking 20/20 chaos vision."
Her pendant flared, its voice smug as ever: Jade Whisper alert: Task—Decode Jade Protocol fragment at HuoTech ruins. Reward: Ley line access. Penalty: Seal corruption.
"Corruption?" Jingran hissed under her breath. "What, like it'll turn emo and write bad poetry?"
Focus, Host. HuoTech ruins compromised—Bei sorcery detected. Success chance: 66%.
"Sixty-six?" she muttered. "My gamer luck's crying in a corner."
Lanyi glanced over, brow raised. "You arguing with your bling again?"
"Creative process," Jingran said, waving it off. Her eyes flicked to Haoran's reflection—tense, scanning the road. His lab stunt with that proto-gun screamed "more than just a CEO," and she wasn't sure if that made him hotter or scarier. Probably both.
The ruins loomed ahead—a skeletal husk of HuoTech's glory, all cracked glass and rusted girders. Minhang's fog clung to it like a cheap horror set, streetlights flickering traitorously. Jingran's memories—her old life as HuoTech's scapegoat—stung: boardroom betrayals, Xiwen's smug interviews blaming her for the crash.
"Home sweet dumpster," Jingran said, stepping out as Haoran parked. The seal's glow lit her clutch, and her pendant hummed, uneasy. "Xiwen's here. I can feel it."
Haoran grabbed his device—part gun, part sci-fi toy—from the trunk, his face unreadable. "Stay close. No heroics."
"No promises," Jingran said, smirking. Lanyi slung her laptop bag, muttering, "This place needs more than a cleanup—it needs an exorcist."
The entrance was boarded, but Haoran pried it open, revealing a lobby choked with dust and broken monitors. Jingran's pendant pulsed, guiding them to the basement—HuoTech's old server core, where the Jade Protocol fragment waited. The air grew colder, heavy with… something. Magic? Or just her paranoia?
"Creepy vibe achieved," Jingran whispered, her flats crunching glass. "Ten bucks says Xiwen jumpscares us."
Haoran's lips twitched, but he stayed focused, device humming softly. Lanyi's flashlight swept the dark, catching graffiti—Huo Failure—and Jingran's chest tightened. She wasn't that Huo anymore.
The basement stairs creaked, leading to a massive server room—dead machines looming like tombstones. A faint green glow pulsed from the central console, mirroring her seal. The system chimed: Fragment located. Decode requires seal alignment. Warning—Hostile presence imminent.
"Imminent?" Jingran muttered, setting the seal on the console. "Xiwen's punctual for a witch."
Runes sparked, linking seal to console, but the floor trembled, and a growl—low, mechanical, wrong—echoed. Shadows twisted, forming not one but two fox constructs, smaller than the road beast but faster, their eyes blazing amber. Xiwen's voice hissed through them: "You're persistent, Huo. I hate that."
Jingran grabbed a loose pipe, grinning despite the fear. "Aw, Xiwen, flattered you're obsessed. Get a hobby!"
Lanyi dove behind a server, laptop open. "I'm hacking the grid—buy me time!"
Haoran fired his device, blue pulses staggering one fox. "Jingran, runes—now!"
She focused, pendant blazing, and threw a shield rune, blocking a claw swipe. Pain stabbed her skull—mana drain, her old nemesis—but she held firm. "Eat pixels, you budget Cerberus!"
The system coached: Offensive rune viable. Target constructs' cores. Success chance: 69%.
"Nice," Jingran snickered, flinging blade runes at the foxes' glowing chests. One flickered out, but the other dodged, slashing her leg. Blood welled, and she stumbled, cursing. "Okay, rude!"
Haoran tackled the fox, pinning it with a server rack. "Decode—fast!"
Jingran limped to the console, seal pulsing hotter. Runes swirled, unlocking data—ley line maps, Huo-Bei contracts, and a name: Jade Protocol Core. Her head spun—HuoTech wasn't just sabotaged; it was built on sorcery, tied to Shanghai's tech grid.
Lanyi whooped, lights flickering as she rebooted the grid. "Got it—constructs are glitching!"
The remaining fox faltered, and Jingran's rune finished it, sparks fading. Xiwen's laugh lingered: "Clever, Huo. But you're late."
Jingran panted, leg stinging. "Late? I'm fashionably on time, witch."
Haoran helped her up, his grip steady but eyes sharp. "You're bleeding. Again."
"Occupational hazard," she said, smirking, though her heart raced at his touch. Focus, Jingran.
Lanyi pulled the fragment's data to a USB, frowning. "This says HuoTech's servers channeled ley lines—magic tech. Xiwen's been milking it for years."
Jingran's jaw dropped. "My family built a magic router? And blamed me?"
The system chimed: Task complete. Ley line access granted—partial. New task: Locate Jade Protocol Core. Warning—Lu Mingxu's signal intensifying.
"Mingxu," Jingran muttered, remembering his text: Meet me. Alone. Her pendant hummed, and a memory flashed—not hers: Mingxu, young, in this very room, tampering with servers, muttering, They can't know.
"They?" Jingran whispered, shaking it off. Haoran caught her look, suspicious.
"Something to share?" he asked, voice low.
"Nope," she said, too quick. "Just… bad vibes."
Lanyi's phone buzzed—an X post from Meilin: Huo secrets unraveling. Who's the real villain? A photo showed Jingran's estate fight, captioned, #NotMySister.
Jingran groaned. "Meilin's got a vendetta and a selfie stick."
Haoran scanned the room, device still active. "We're not alone. Move."
They headed for the stairs, but the air shimmered, and a figure stepped from the shadows—not a construct, but human. Lu Mingxu, hoodie soaked, glasses glinting, stood with a tablet, its screen glowing with runes.
Jingran froze, pipe raised. "Mingxu. Fancy meeting you in Creep Central."
He smirked, voice soft but edged. "Jingran. You kept the seal. Good."
Haoran stepped forward, device aimed. "Explain. Now."
Mingxu raised his hands, tablet dangling. "Chill, Teng. I'm here to help—mostly."
Jingran's pendant flared, the system warning: Lu Mingxu—ally probability: 55%. Hidden agenda detected.
"Mostly?" Jingran said, grinning to hide nerves. "That's, like, C-minus for trust."
Lanyi whispered, "Boss, he's pinging Bei servers. Careful."
Mingxu's eyes flicked to her pendant, hungry. "Xiwen's after the Protocol Core—buried in Shanghai's ley lines. That seal's a key. Give it to me, and I'll keep her off you."
Jingran's grip tightened. "Pass. Last time I trusted a guy with glasses, I got stuck debugging his code for a week."
Haoran's device hummed, warningly. "Step back, Mingxu. Or test my aim."
Mingxu sighed, tapping his tablet. The room's lights died, plunging them into dark—only the seal's glow remained. His voice echoed: "Wrong choice, Jingran."
The system blared: Trap activated—Bei sorcery. Escape required.
Jingran's leg throbbed, but she threw a rune, lighting the room. Mingxu was gone, but the servers hummed, runes crawling across them like digital spiders. Xiwen's voice whispered: "Run all you want, Huo. I'm everywhere."
Lanyi yanked her toward the stairs. "Go, boss!"
Haoran covered them, firing pulses at sparking servers. Jingran limped, seal clutched tight, and her pendant burned, projecting a map—ley lines under Shanghai, pulsing toward… the Bund.
"The Core's there," Jingran gasped, reaching the lobby. "Xiwen's endgame."
Haoran's car was trashed—tires slashed, Bei's logo scratched into the hood. He cursed, scanning for Mingxu. "We walk."
Jingran grinned, wincing. "Romantic moonlight stroll with foxes? You spoil me."
Lanyi snorted, but her phone buzzed—a text, no sender: Bund, midnight. Bring the seal, or Shanghai burns. A fox emoji winked.
Jingran's blood ran cold, but her grin stayed fierce. "Alright, Xiwen. Let's crash your finale."