Wenzhi stared down into the dug-out pit in one of the ruined parts of Yanjing city.

The corpse lying there bore the undeniable features of Shao Jingxin. The same sharp jawline, the same clothing, the same bullet hole in the center of his forehead.

The midnight air was cold.

Far above them, the dark silhouettes of airships cut through the low clouds, their navigation lights blinking rhythmically.

The distant, muted hum of traffic drifted from the central surviving district of Yanjing, echoing off the surrounding expanse of cracked concrete and dead earth.

"When are you going to tell me who he actually is?" Wenzhi didn’t break his stare from the ditch. The cherry lollipop shifted against his cheek.

Across the hole, Xinyuan leaned his weight against the handle of a shovel, his eyes dark under the moonlight. "If you’re worried about him slipping through our fingers, don’t be. I planted a tracking tag on him."

Wenzhi lifted his head, shooting him a glare. "How do you always figure him out? Do you have some ability that lets you see through his?"

Xinyuan smiled faintly.

"No." He dug the shovel against the dirt. "But I can tell by his eyes, his presence. He hides it well. Better than most."

Wenzhi stayed quiet.

Xinyuan looked down at the corpse. "When you shot him, I thought it was really him too. Even after staring at the body. But when we got to the Bureau..."

Wenzhi’s grey eyes narrowed. "Is it Kaiwen?"

Xinyuan let out a low, rough chuckle. "Interesting that your mind didn’t jump to Zhaohe first."

"I highly doubt anyone in the Old Blood has the theatrical range to embody Jiang Zhaohe that flawlessly," Wenzhi said, a smirk touching his lips.

Xinyuan scoffed, but he nodded in quiet agreement. "Fair point." Then, his expression flattened. "It’s your friend."

Wenzhi froze, his fingers tightening against his side. "Ru Yi?"

Xinyuan gave a single, firm nod.

Wenzhi’s gaze dropped back down to the unmoving decoy in the dirt. "Then did I shoot her? Is that her body?"

"I don’t know yet," Xinyuan admitted quietly. "We have to wait for the ability to wear off."

Wenzhi pressed the palm of his hand firmly against his forehead, pulling the lollipop from his lips with a sharp click.

The pieces fell into place. The awkward interaction outside the laboratory door earlier that evening, the sudden, desperate probing about their history, and the insistence on tagging along to the Rift Bureau.

The real Ru Yi had never shown an active, aggressive interest in the faction, regardless of her proximity to the inner circle.

"I should have caught it," The words came out low and annoyed at himself.

"We both should have caught it." Xinyuan let go of the shovel, letting it thud against the dirt as he walked around the pit to stand directly beside Wenzhi. "Someone helped him use his ability and I’m sure it isn’t Ru Yi."

He reached into his jacket, pulling out his visual tracker and handing it to Wenzhi. The screen displayed a localized grid map of the city. A pulsing red dot was glowing steadily near the eastern wing of the mansion.

Shao Jingxin was still there... sitting comfortably.

Wenzhi stared at it. "He got what he wanted. He knows exactly what our plans are with the Bureau."

He lifted his eyes to Xinyuan. "What do you think he’s still doing there?"

Xinyuan let out a slow sigh, his eyes tracking the flashing red dot on the screen before looking back down at the fake Jingxin corpse. "I don’t know. Either he’s after the dome data... or he’s waiting for Old Blood."

Wenzhi’s jaw tightened. "I feel fucking stupid. I actually thought I killed him."

Xinyuan reached out to squeeze Wenzhi’s shoulder. "Jingxin is a viper. Lying is how he survives."

"Then I’ll just kill him more thoroughly this time." Wenzhi frowned, slapping his hand away.

Right on cue, the corpse inside the ditch began to twist and warp. The facial structure dissolved, skin melting and shifting until Shao Jingxin’s face was gone completely.

What remained was an unrecognizable man.

Dead.

Wenzhi stared down at it, jaw tight.

"Whoever this mole is," he muttered, "they thought this through."

Xinyuan stared intently at the newly exposed face. Without a word, he raised a hand, and a localized ripple of gravity lifted the dead Esper out of the hole, settling the corpse onto the cracked concrete. Xinyuan squatted down, gripping the fabric of the left sleeve and ripping it open with a sharp tear.

Etched into the pale skin of the forearm was a crimson tattoo. A single drop of blood.

"Old Blood." Xinyuan stood up and casually kicked the corpse back down into the ditch.

Wenzhi frowned. "Our mole is Old Blood existing in our inner circle, but I highly doubt they possess the same mirror-copy ability like Jingxin’s,"

He gritted his teeth. "If they leak our blueprints for the underground city to the High Families before we even break ground... This is going to ruin everything."

Xinyuan glanced at him.

Wenzhi lowered his eyes to the visual tracker in his hand. The pulsing red dot was suddenly moving fast. "He’s on the move. He just left the mansion."

Glancing at the time, Wenzhi noticed it was already 2:30 AM. He flashed back to the cryptic text message he had received earlier in his room.

"What’s wrong?" Xinyuan asked, noticing the brief hesitation as Wenzhi handed the tracker back to him.

"Nothing. Let’s move," Wenzhi said sharply.

Xinyuan didn’t ask twice. He stepped in close, grabbing Wenzhi’s hand and locking their fingers together.

Instantly, a suffocating, violent swirling of dark shadow mist erupted from Xinyuan’s body, enveloping both of them. The space around them warped, teleporting them away from the ruins of Yanjing City.

A second later, the shadows snapped back into Xinyuan’s skin, dropping them directly into the neon-lit, crowded parking lot of a high-end underground club.

Across the lot, near the VIP entrance, the form of Ru Yi was standing under the lights. Jingxin, still perfectly maintaining the female Guide’s appearance, was deep in conversation with a man dressed in a sharp, tailored corporate suit.

The fake Ru Yi suddenly clicked her tongue, her face creasing into an annoyed frown before she turned and followed the suited man through the heavy security doors of the venue.

Xinyuan’s eyes narrowed. "There are multiple Espers inside."

Wenzhi tilted his head to the side. "Is Wu Youran in there?"

Xinyuan looked at him. "Maybe."