Bei Xiwen's scream shattered a jade goblet against her temple's stone wall, shards raining across the rune-etched floor like broken stars. The subterranean chamber, hidden beneath Pudong's glittering towers, pulsed with her fury, its fox sigils glowing red as if bleeding. Huo Jingran had survived the Bund—again—snatching a fragment of the Jade Protocol Core from under Xiwen's nose. Her constructs, her perfect trap, reduced to sparks, while Meilin's viral video trended on X, painting Jingran as a sorceress but failing to crush her. Xiwen's grip on Shanghai's ley lines—her clan's path to tech dominance—was slipping, and Jingran's cursed pendant was to blame.
"She's a plague!" Xiwen hissed, her black robe swirling as she paced before the jade altar, its cracked surface mocking her. "I had her—bleeding, trapped—and she stole my Core!"
A shadow stirred near the temple's edge, and Zhao Wenxu's voice slithered through the gloom, smooth as venom. "Temper, Xiwen. You're scaring your spirits."
She spun, eyes blazing amber, to find the Suzhou clan heir leaning against a pillar, his jade mask dangling from one hand. His suit was sharp, his smile sharper, but Xiwen trusted him as far as she could throw a construct. Zhao's alliance—forged through Meilin's greed—was a means to an end, not a bond. He wanted the Jade Protocol, same as her, and his calm grated like sand in a wound.
"Don't patronize me," Xiwen snapped, her nails sparking runes in the air. "Your precious Meilin's video didn't break her. Jingran's trending as a hero now—hero! Because you failed to leash that brat."
Zhao chuckled, stepping into the candlelight, mask glinting. "Meilin's a spark, not a blaze. She's stirring chaos, as I planned. Jingran's exposed—Shanghai's elite fear her power. Give it time."
Xiwen's laugh was brittle, cutting. "Time? Her pendant's syncing with the Core. If she finds its heart—my ley lines, my ritual—she'll unravel everything!"
The altar pulsed, mirroring her rage, and a spectral fox materialized—sleek, three-tailed, its eyes her own. It growled, linked to the ley lines, sensing Jingran's fragment. Xiwen's ritual—binding Shanghai's tech grid to Bei sorcery—needed the Core's full power, locked behind the jade seal Jingran stole. The Huo clan's betrayal, hiding that seal decades ago, had started this mess, and Jingran was their vengeance, a glitch Xiwen couldn't delete.
Zhao tilted his head, studying the fox. "Her pendant's HuoTech's prototype—unstable, but potent. You tried killing her. Maybe… persuade her."
Xiwen's glare could've melted steel. "Persuade? She's a roach, not a pawn. She'd spit in my face."
He shrugged, twirling his mask. "Then outsmart her. She's headed for HuoTech's core servers—Pudong, old data vault. My spies caught her signal. Hit her there, take the seal, Core, all of it."
Xiwen paused, her mind racing. Pudong's data vault—HuoTech's last stronghold—was a maze of dead tech, laced with ley lines. Jingran, bloodied from the Bund, would be weak, her allies stretched thin. Teng Haoran, that meddling CEO, was a problem, his proto-tech too close to her sorcery for comfort. And Lu Mingxu—her hacker dog—had slipped his leash, his Bund failure reeking of defiance.
"Mingxu," Xiwen muttered, eyes narrowing. His text to Jingran—Trap's bigger—had reached her spies. Traitor or trick, she'd gut him for it.
Zhao caught her shift, smirking. "Trouble with your pet? I warned you—Lu's play both sides."
Xiwen waved a hand, summoning the mirror. It rippled, showing Mingxu's den—trashed, fox claw marks, empty. Then Jingran, at the Bund, seal glowing, Haoran at her side. Xiwen's nails dug into the altar, cracking another rune. "They're all against me."
"Not all," Zhao said, voice low. "Meilin's ready—her next post will burn Jingran's allies. I've got… others, moving pieces. Give me the temple's wards, and I'll lock her in the vault."
Xiwen's eyes flicked to him, wary. "Wards? You think I'd hand you my sanctum?"
He spread his hands, mock innocent. "Just a door, Xiwen. You want the seal, I want results. Win-win."
Her laugh was a blade. "Win for you, Zhao. I know your clan—Suzhou snakes, hoarding power. You're no ally."
Zhao's smile didn't falter, but his eyes darkened. "Snakes bite, Xiwen. So do foxes. Trust me, or Jingran bites us both."
She turned to the altar, chanting softly. The spectral fox grew, its tails splitting—four now, stronger. She'd flood the vault with constructs, drown Jingran in claws. Zhao could play his games; she'd win the war. "Fine," she said, tossing him a rune key, its glow faint. "One ward. Screw up, and you're ash."
He caught it, bowing slightly. "Pleasure, as always."
Xiwen ignored him, focusing the mirror—Jingran's signal, moving to Pudong, weaker but alive. Her pendant's runes pulsed, syncing with the Core's fragment. Xiwen's ritual faltered, ley lines glitching, and her chest tightened—failure wasn't an option. The Bei clan's legacy, her mother's voice, demanded control: Shanghai kneels, or we fall.
She knelt, runes flaring, and summoned a new construct—massive, five-tailed, her strongest yet. "Find her," she whispered, sending it to the vault. The temple shook, candles snuffing out, and Zhao vanished, his laughter lingering.
Alone, Xiwen touched the mirror, Jingran's face frozen in defiance. "You're nothing," she hissed. "A spark I'll smother."
Her burner phone buzzed, screen blank but for text: Roots deepen, Bei. Cut them, or choke. No sender, no trace.
Xiwen's hand trembled, the mirror cracking under her grip. "Who are you?" she snarled, but the temple stayed silent, her fox's howl the only answer.
Pudong's neon faded as Huo Jingran limped through a back alley, the jade seal's glow dim in her clutch. The Bund's fight—foxes down, Core fragment hers—left her leg bleeding, back torn, and mana drain pounding her skull like a bad respawn. Teng Haoran scouted ahead, his proto-gun ready, blood staining his sleeve but his steps sure. Shao Lanyi trailed, laptop under arm, her hack of the Core's ley lines still buzzing—Pudong, HuoTech's data vault, the next step.
"Vault by dawn," Jingran muttered, wincing as she leaned against a dumpster. "Xiwen's throwing tantrums, and I'm the piñata."
Haoran glanced back, eyes sharp but soft—dangerous combo. "You're still standing, Jingran. That's enough."
She grinned, ignoring her racing pulse. "Aw, Haoran, you sweet-talker. Buy me coffee later?"
His lips twitched, almost a smile. "Survive first."
Lanyi snorted, checking her phone. "Meilin's video's spiking—X is calling you 'Shanghai's Witch.' Half want you arrested, half want selfies."
Jingran groaned, seal pulsing. "Great. I'm a meme now."
Her pendant blared: Jade Whisper alert: Task—Reach HuoTech vault, secure Core's heart. Ley line surge detected—Bei sorcery active. Success chance: 58%.
"Fifty-eight?" Jingran hissed, dodging a stray cat. "My RNG's trolling me!"
Focus, Host. Seal's runes can counter constructs. Vault is compromised.
"Compromised," she muttered, catching Haoran's look. Mingxu's text—Trap's bigger—flashed in her mind, then the anonymous one: I'm coming. Friend? Foe? Her gut screamed Mingxu, but his Bund stunt wasn't ally vibes.
Lanyi's laptop pinged, a ley line map glowing. "Vault's close—old HuoTech bunker, under Pudong's grid. But… something's spiking. Big."
Haoran's gun hummed, scanning the alley. "Xiwen's not done. Move."
They hit a rusted gate, HuoTech's logo faded but clear. Jingran's memories stung—boardroom fights, Guangli's blame, Meilin's smirks. The vault held HuoTech's secrets, maybe her family's sorcery deal with Bei. She pushed the gate, seal flaring, and it opened, revealing a stairwell—dark, cold, humming.
"Creepy dungeon acquired," Jingran quipped, limping down. "Where's my health potion?"
Lanyi whispered, "Boss, X's trending—new post. Anonymous. Says you're 'hiding the truth.'"
Jingran's grin faltered, Meilin's video echoing—HuoLegacy. "Truth? My truth's a bloody seal and zero backup."
Haoran's hand brushed her shoulder, steadying her. "You've got us," he said, voice low.
Her cheeks burned—not now, Jingran—but she nodded, seal glowing brighter. The stairwell ended at a steel door, runes pulsing in sync with her pendant. The system chimed: Vault access imminent. Warning—Greater construct approaching.
A roar shook the walls, louder than the Bund's foxes. Jingran raised the seal, runes sparking. "Xiwen's sending the deluxe model," she said, grinning fierce. "Let's unbox it."