The next morning dawned heavy with clouds. A slow drizzle painted the windows of Li Manor with streaks of silver, mirroring the tension building beneath its elegant walls.
In the master study, the air buzzed faintly with static. The large wall screen displayed a paused digital trace map—lines of code frozen mid-sequence, the origin marked by an IP node somewhere in Geneva. Zeyan's fingers hovered over the keyboard as he reviewed the intrusion again.
Encrypted. Masked. Precision work.
But what disturbed him most wasn't the sophistication of the hack—it was the style.
Deliberately visible. Like an invitation.
Whoever had broken in wanted to be seen.
He'd tracked hackers before—corporate thieves, rivals trying to siphon internal data—but this… this had been personal.
The breach had ignored company files, financial documents, and confidential acquisitions.
Instead, it had opened his private files—the biometric vault, the DNA profiles.
His eyes narrowed on the log: Accessed: Subject F01-Redacted.
F01: Feng Yuxi.
And then: Biometric Match—Pending Lineage Comparison.
He stood, paced to the glass window overlooking the misty garden, and exhaled slowly.
"Who are you, Feng Yuxi?" he murmured. "And who else came back with you?"
Downstairs, Feng Yuxi was in the greenhouse, pruning a rare orchid when her encrypted phone buzzed softly in her coat pocket. She checked the screen and stilled.
New message received. No ID.
She tapped it open.
Phoenixes always rise—but do you remember who clipped your wings?Come alone to the Tianyou Bridge at 8 p.m.Or your secrets won't stay buried.
Her fingers tightened around the phone. Her heart remained calm, but her mind raced.
Another player joins the board.
Was it someone from the Jiang family? A mole from Feng Corp? Or worse… someone from her past outside the country? The one she'd fought so hard to leave behind?
Before she could analyze further, her phone buzzed again.
Unknown sender has deleted their account.
Clean. Professional.
She pocketed the device and calmly continued pruning.
Later that afternoon, in the Li Group's underground security center, Zeyan met with his top analyst.
"Have you matched the hacker's digital signature?" he asked without looking up from his tablet.
"Yes, sir. But… there's something strange."
"Go on."
"The coding patterns aren't adult. I mean… structurally, it's brilliant, but it's playful. Nonlinear. Uses emojis in command lines."
Zeyan finally looked up. "You're saying a child hacked into my personal files?"
The analyst winced. "If I had to guess? Genius-level, maybe twelve? Maximum fourteen. Could be younger. And sir… he's already into your CCTV feeds."
"What?"
"We caught a split-second override on one of the guest-room cameras. Only one. But he masked it as a routine update."
Zeyan's mind sharpened like a blade. "Which room?"
"North wing. The one Miss Feng uses during the day."
Silence.
Then Zeyan stood. "Leave. Delete your notes. This is a personal matter now."
The analyst hesitated. "Should I be concerned?"
"No. But someone else should be."
By evening, the rain had stopped. The city was veiled in fog, neon lights bleeding through like veins under skin. Feng Yuxi arrived at Tianyou Bridge precisely at 8:00 p.m.
She wore black—fitted pants, a high-collared coat, and ankle boots. Her hair was tied back, minimal makeup.
No glamour. No pretense.
Just war.
The bridge arched elegantly over a quiet river. Empty. Silent.
Then a shadow stepped from the far end.
A man in a gray coat, wide-brimmed hat tilted low. His voice echoed in the mist.
"You came alone. Good."
"I was told to."
He chuckled. "Still obedient. You haven't changed, Yuxi."
She stiffened. "I don't remember giving you the right to use my name."
"I remember a time you begged me to."
She stayed still. "Tell me what you want."
The man pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a slow drag. Smoke curled around him like a ghost.
"I want you to remember what you owe."
"I owe nothing."
He exhaled. "You left a job half-finished overseas. That job cost me ten million and my clean record."
Her eyes narrowed. "You're with them."
"I was with them. Until you made a mess and disappeared."
"You're blaming me for your corruption?"
He laughed coldly. "I'm not blaming you, Phoenix. I'm warning you. Keep playing high society with Li Zeyan, and you'll find your past splashed all over Imperial City."
She took a step forward. "Then maybe I should silence you the way you silenced those girls in Bangkok."
His smile vanished.
She continued, voice like steel. "I buried that life for a reason. You want to resurrect it? Fine. But remember this — I don't run anymore."
The man flinched slightly, then flicked his cigarette into the river.
"You've gotten bolder."
"No," she replied. "I've just remembered who I am."
She turned and walked away without another word.
The man didn't follow.
Back at the manor, Li Zeyan sat in the courtyard with a chessboard before him, pieces mid-game. He looked up as she returned, drenched slightly from the damp air.
"You were gone," he said.
"I needed air."
"You also got a message today."
She paused. "You're monitoring my encrypted phone?"
"I monitor anything inside my house."
She raised a brow but didn't challenge it. "Then you know someone threatened me."
"I know someone mentioned your secrets."
He stood, walked over to her, and stared down.
"You told me everything. Or so I thought."
"There are parts of my life that can't be rewritten, only buried."
"Then unbury them. I don't work with ghosts."
She hesitated. Then:
"There was a syndicate in Bangkok. I infiltrated it under an alias to rescue three girls. It went wrong. I left bodies behind."
Zeyan's eyes didn't flicker.
"I was eighteen," she said. "And I survived by becoming something they couldn't kill."
"You're not the only one with blood on their hands."
She looked up at him. "So what now?"
Zeyan moved closer, his voice low.
"Now I tighten your security. And if anyone threatens you again, I won't just retaliate—I'll erase their entire legacy."
Their eyes met—two blades forged in fire.
Neither of them trusted easily.
But trust wasn't needed to begin an alliance.
Only mutual threat.
Far away, in a dark surveillance room, Fenghao leaned forward, watching the feed through a private satellite relay.
He'd tapped Tianyou Bridge's traffic cam feed and traced the man's face. The data was compiling.
His voice was calm.
"Threat level: elevated. New objective initiated."
Then he turned to the second screen.
Li Zeyan.
"Time to see if you're worthy of being near Mommy."