Chapter 30 – The Ashes Speak
Smoke curled from the screens as Vault C-13 burned, its contents reduced to ashes and molten slag. In the surveillance room, Zhihao coughed through the recirculated air. "That's... a lot of money up in flames."
Xueqing's gaze didn't waver. "That vault held ghosts. Nothing we couldn't rebuild. But he can't."
Mo Chen nodded in approval. "Now he knows you're not afraid to kill your past."
A technician called from the side. "Boss, we have something—brief signal burst right before the flames hit. Data packet. Tiny. Compressed."
"Location?" Xueqing asked, already leaning in.
The screen flickered, displaying a trace. "It bounced off an old satellite before going dark. But it went somewhere."
"To someone," Mo Chen corrected grimly.
---
Later that night, the remains of Vault C-13 sizzled with residual heat. Hazmat teams combed through the wreckage, but found no bodies.
"He escaped," Lin Nuo confirmed over the comms. "No signs of scorched flesh. Not even melted gear."
Xueqing stood on the rooftop again, her eyes fixed on the burning lights below. "He wanted us to see him. He wanted me to know he's back."
Mo Chen handed her a sealed envelope, untouched by fire. "He left this behind. Planted it in the vault."
She opened it carefully. Inside was a single card.
A phoenix, drawn in crimson ink, slashed with a jagged X.
On the back, a message in elegant script:
> "Ashes are not the end. Only a beginning."
Mo Chen studied her expression. "What does that mean to you?"
She closed the envelope, eyes glinting. "In our last life, he called me his Phoenix. Said I'd rise even after he burned everything I loved."
Mo Chen's voice dropped. "He plans to burn you again."
She looked at him, calm and dangerous. "Then let him try."
---
The next morning, Xueqing entered the boardroom dressed in black and steel. The directors of Bai Corp rose to greet her, visibly tense.
She placed the envelope on the table.
"From today," she announced, "Bai Corp initiates Project Ember. We'll hunt down every trace of Yan Huilong's network—corporate, digital, or human."
One director raised a shaky hand. "Miss Bai… you're declaring war?"
Xueqing's eyes were cold fire.
"No," she said. "He did."