——When Power Meets Truth
Ranzi stood perfectly still, as if listening to something beyond the room—beyond the present. His eyes, half-lidded and unreadable, tracked patterns only he could see.
"I foresaw the storm," he said quietly. "Not its shape."
His eyes settled on the object in Shawn's hand—a simple, elegant hairpin, its wood worn smooth by age.
"That belonged to Elder Lee's family. How did it find its way to you?"
Shawn's expression darkened. "He handed it to me. Right before Gary's men broke in."
Ranzi's eyes narrowed. Without a word, he reached out, grasped Shawn's wrist, and pressed the hairpin's tip into his palm. Not deep—just enough to draw blood.
A soft pulse lit the air. A hologram shimmered to life.
Elder Lee's voice echoed in the quiet room:
"If you're seeing this, X-Red has fallen. Gary's betrayal runs deeper than we feared. The Dragon Seal he carries—it's a forgery. But the forces backing him are all too real. Find Chairman Da. He's the only one who—"
The message cut off abruptly.
Ranzi let go. His expression unreadable. "As expected."
Shawn inhaled sharply and looked down at his bloodied hand. "Could've just asked, you know."
Ranzi didn't smile. "We don't have time for courtesies. And pain still speaks the truth faster than questions."
He turned, robe whispering across the floor. "Come. Da is already in motion. We move at once."
The ruins of X-Red Base smoldered under the morning sun.
Shawn and Ranzi crept in from the northern ridge, using smoke as cover.
From above, the destruction was overwhelming—entire wings reduced to skeletal frames, the lotus pond now a gaping crater.
National Guard transports clogged the courtyard, their crews moving like men who had just realized they'd wandered into a trap.
Then the sky tore open.
A helicopter bearing the Dragon Seal descended, rotors whipping ash into a cyclone. Soldiers scrambled to form ranks as the doors slid open—
And Chairman Da stepped out.
Even from a distance, his presence hit like a silent command.
No armor.
No rank insignia. Just a crisp gray Zhongshan suit, buttoned high. His hair—dyed jet-black, swept neatly back—remained perfectly in place despite the rotor wash.
Clean-shaven, calm-eyed, he moved with quiet precision, like a man who saw everything but revealed nothing.
He surveyed the wreckage with a long, unreadable gaze.
Then he spoke.
"Gary Voss."
His voice was firm, resonant—like the first rumble before an earthquake.
"Step forward."
A ripple ran through the soldiers. Near the crater's edge, Gary Voss adjusted his uniform and stepped out, posture rigid.
"He's going to lie," Shawn murmured.
Ranzi's smile was blade-thin. "Watch."
Gary saluted. "Chairman. The operation was executed under—"
Chairman Da backhanded him.
The crack echoed across the courtyard. Gary staggered, blood slipping from the corner of his mouth.
Da turned to the nearest officer. "Colonel Lindsay. Secure Commander Voss's sidearm."
The colonel moved without hesitation. The pistol was in Da's hand before Gary could respond.
Da raised the weapon. "This isn't Guard issue," he said, voice cutting through the silence. "And the assault on X-Red Base was never authorized by my command."
A murmur swept the troops.
Gary steadied himself. "With all due respect, the Dragon Seal—"
"Was forged."
Da pulled a tablet from his jacket and tapped the screen.
Footage flickered to life: Gary, exchanging a data chip for the counterfeit seal in a dimly lit university lab.
The soldiers froze.
"You took orders from Order Conclave," Da said, his tone turning glacial. "You turned my Guard into their weapon."
He dropped the pistol into the dust.
"Who else is compromised?"
Shawn's heart lurched.
Order Conclave.
The name had haunted footnotes and encrypted whispers—rumors dismissed as myth, conspiracy, disinformation.
Now Da had spoken it aloud. As fact.
A chill gripped him. If it was real—truly real—then everything was worse than he'd imagined.
This wasn't just betrayal. It was infiltration.
His eyes found Ranzi's.
The old master showed no surprise, no answers—only a faint nod, as if to say: Now you understand.
Gary didn't respond. He lunged for the gun.
Da moved first.
A single strike to the throat dropped Gary instantly.
Without a glance back, Da turned and walked toward the crater's edge, where Elder Lee stood flanked by Kent and the last surviving CP-Hub agents.
Shawn tensed. "If Da finds out who Elder Lee really is—"
Ranzi's hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Quiet."
Chairman Da stopped a pace from Elder Lee. The air between them seemed to tense—two powers, one cast in daylight, the other in shadow.
"You're unharmed," Da said.
Elder Lee gave a respectful nod. "Thanks to your timely arrival."
Da's eyes drifted to Kent, then to the Heaven Core gleaming at Lee's throat. "Your team fought bravely. For scholars."
Lee allowed a faint smile. "Philosophy students in Capital are... passionate."
Then Da turned to his men. "X-Red Base now falls under CP-Hub jurisdiction. Any further action requires my direct authorization."
His gaze lifted to the surveillance drones overhead.
"And tell your masters at Capital University: the next machine they send into my territory will be returned in pieces."
The drones backed off, like insects warned.
"He's shielding them," Shawn murmured.
"Because he knows exactly who Lee is," Ranzi replied. "And he's not ready to light that fire. "
Nightfall.
A safehouse overlooking the spires of Capital University.
Ranzi had vanished, leaving only a note:
July First looms. The broken clock ticks. Find the others.
A knock at the door.
Shawn's hand darted to the Thunder Core—
"Open up, kid," came Kent's voice, ragged and hoarse. "Unless you want me bleeding out on Da's doorstep."
Shawn yanked the door open. Kent leaned heavily against the frame, the Mountain Core pulsing beneath a blood-soaked bandage. Elder Lee stood behind him—impeccable as ever, though his knuckles were bruised.
Shawn pulled Kent inside. "You're supposed to be dead."
Lee shut the door. "Gary's report will certainly say so."
"You planned this," Shawn said. "All of it. The ambush. The escape."
Lee didn't flinch. "Gary's betrayal merely accelerated our timetable. The result stands: Chairman Da knows the Order Conclave have made their move. And now, he'll need allies."
He touched the Heaven Core lightly.
"Even the unlikely ones."
Outside, rain began to fall.
And on Shawn's screen, a blood-red number flashed:
> 2031.07.01 | 27D | 03:15:23
The countdown was still running.