The tapping of keys echoed in the stillness of Li Xinyue's private study.
Han Jiayan sat before her rarely used glass desk, three monitors lit up with lines of scrolling code, live data streams, and a schematic that looked more like a spider's web than anything business-related. The glow cast his face in a pale hue, sharpening the calm intensity in his eyes.
Xinyue, perched on the armrest of a chaise nearby, watched him silently.
He hadn't spoken much in the last forty minutes. Just typed. Analyzed. Adjusted firewalls and ran simulations. All she knew was that after the anonymous threat from the so-called Network, Jiayan hadn't wanted rest—he wanted access.
And when she granted him full clearance to her cyber surveillance tier?
He didn't hesitate.
"I've located three shadow data tunnels within your internal routing grid," he said suddenly, his voice low and focused.
Xinyue arched an eyebrow. "You're telling me we've been hacked?"
"No. I'm telling you they're trying to get in." He spun one of the screens toward her. "These are probes—testing the strength of your system. Subtle. Periodic. Probably automated."
She leaned in. "When?"
Jiayan zoomed into the logs. "First one hit thirty-seven minutes after I confronted their runner. They're watching me now."
He said it like someone commenting on the weather.
Xinyue folded her arms. "And yet here you are. Wearing my bathrobe and building firewalls in my house."
Jiayan gave her a side glance. "You said I could shower."
"I didn't say you could turn my network into your pet project."
He finally smiled. "You didn't have to. The threat gave me permission."
She didn't return the smile, but her gaze lingered on him a beat too long.
"Jiayan," she said quietly, "are you angry?"
His fingers paused over the keyboard.
"No," he said. "I'm calculating."
She blinked. "Calculating?"
"I let them see the threat didn't scare me. Now I need to let them know it should've."
---
📍Meanwhile — A Rooftop Bar in the East District
The city's smoggy lights spread below like a dirty crown as the Network's field liaison took a drag from his cigarette, eyes trained on the screen of his burner phone.
"Still no counteraction," he murmured. "Either the bait didn't work or the mutt's dumber than we thought."
"You forget," a voice behind him said, "dogs bite harder when cornered."
He turned sharply.
Han Jiayan stood there, calm, dressed in all black and completely alone. No backup. No weapon.
Just a USB drive between his fingers like a piece of candy.
"You know, for a group called Network, your systems are really outdated," Jiayan said, letting the device swing.
The man narrowed his eyes. "You've got guts showing up here."
"I prefer direct confrontation." Jiayan stepped closer. "You sent a message. I'm replying."
The Network agent scoffed. "And what exactly is your reply?"
Jiayan handed him the drive.
"Run this. If it opens, you win. If it doesn't…" His smile was thin. "You'll find out what it's like when a system devours itself."
There was a moment's pause. The man took the USB, weighed it, then sneered.
"You bluff well for a pretty face."
"I don't bluff," Jiayan replied. "I build."
And with that, he turned and walked away, every step echoing against the rooftop.
---
📍Li Estate — Later That Night
Xinyue found him in the kitchen, stirring tea like he hadn't just threatened a shadow organization.
"You really went," she said.
"Of course."
"Without telling me."
"You would've said no."
She narrowed her eyes. "You could've been killed."
He finally looked at her. "You could be killed every day. And yet, here you are."
That silenced her.
He poured her tea and set it gently in front of her.
"You forget something, Xinyue. I didn't survive this long by being lucky. I'm not just smart—I'm strategic."
"And reckless."
"Only when it matters."
She hesitated, then asked, "What was on that USB?"
He took a sip of his tea, then smirked.
"A tracking virus that pings me whenever it's inserted into a system. It won't hurt them. Not yet. But it'll tell me exactly where their servers are."
"And then?"
Jiayan's gaze grew steely. "Then I'll show them what it means to threaten someone I care about."
---
📍Back at the Network's Operations Hub
The USB blinked once. Then twice. Then the screens on their mainframe dimmed.
"What the—?"
Before they could react, a message appeared:
> "Dogs bark. But wolves wait."
Then it disappeared.
In a hidden control room, a masked figure leaned forward, intrigued.
"So," they murmured, "he's not just a pawn after all."
They tapped a screen. "Monitor all Xu Corporation interactions. And someone recheck that boy's academic records. I want everything."
---
📍Closing Moments — Feng Shanshan's Penthouse
Feng Shanshan laughed as she flicked through her social feed. "Your boy's trending again."
Tang Weilan, reading through a legal draft, didn't even glance up. "My boy?"
"Xinyue's boy," Shanshan said. "But I'm reconsidering."
Weilan looked up now. "What did he do this time?"
Shanshan turned the tablet.
A new rumor thread was gaining traction online, sparked by anonymous insiders:
> Who is Han Jiayan, and why is Xu Corporation's newest assistant capable of outwitting underground cyber threats?
Weilan read the comments. Her lips twitched.
"I told you," she murmured. "The world's starting to notice."
Shanshan lifted her glass.
"To wolves in sheep's cardigans."
---
Inside his small study, Jiayan pulled out a drawer and retrieved a dusty, sealed envelope. One he hadn't opened in years.
On the back was a symbol—one no one at Xu Corporation would recognize.
But someone from the Network just might.
He traced it with his finger.
"Time to finish what they started."