Jian Ci turned, his pace slow and imposing as he approached the restrained man. He crouched, muzzle of his plasma gun pressed gently against the man's temple. "I think you know what I want," he said, voice low and smooth. "Either you tell me, or you die here. Simple."
The man trembled violently, eyes wide with terror. He stammered, pointing a shaky finger toward the far end of the corridor.
Jian Ci sighed. "Well, that wasn't fun," he muttered as one of the mercenaries stepped forward, grabbing the man by the collar and dragging him in the indicated direction.
Jian Ci followed, five operatives flanking him, while three remained behind to guard the prisoners.
They stopped at a blank wall. "I-It's there," the man whispered.
Jian Ci leaned casually against the cold surface, his smile returning unhurried and cruelly charming. "Open it."
The man hesitated. He feared Gander, but the devil smiling before him was closer, more immediate. With trembling fingers, he pressed his palm to the wall. A soft hum followed.
The panel scanned, then slid open with a hiss. Jian Ci's eyes gleamed. "Let's see what secrets you've been hiding."
"Wow," he muttered, eyes sweeping the dim corridor. "You guys are running a major operation here."
The restrained man was dragged away, his protests muffled by fear and the grip of the mercenary escort. Jian Ci didn't enter immediately. He paused at the threshold of the newly revealed passage, letting his mind stretch outward.
His psychic aura unfurled like a net of silver threads, delicate yet deliberate. It brushed against the damp stone, the cracked floor, the stale air thick with mildew and secrets. It was a gentle probe, a whisper of presence, subtle enough not to provoke, but sharp enough to detect.
Then he felt it. A pressure... a presence. It was like standing beneath a thundercloud that hadn't yet decided to strike. It was charged, waiting and vast. It was neither close nor far. It was everywhere. And then... it moved.
A flicker in the dark. A ripple in the psychic field, so immense and tightly coiled it made Jian Ci's breath catch. This wasn't raw power. It was refined. A presence honed like a blade in silence and madness.
And then... it was gone.
It retreated, vanishing into the damp stone and shadow like it had never existed.
Jian Ci blinked, his aura snapping back into him like a startled animal. He stood still for a moment, heart pounding. His curiosity had been piqued.
He drew his weapon with deliberate calm, the sleek barrel catching the dim light as he descended the stairs. His expression had shifted. It was no longer playful or relaxed. It was carved in stone, serious and sharp.
Behind him, one of the mercenaries whispered, "Boss, what's wrong?"
"I sensed something strong," Jian Ci murmured, voice low. "Stay alert."
The passage narrowed as they moved deeper. The walls were slick with condensation, sweating like the building itself was alive. The air reeked of rust and rot, thick enough to taste. The floor sloped downward, subtly but insistently, as if the structure were trying to pull them into its belly.
On either side, cell doors loomed, iron slabs etched with faded serial numbers and fresh, jagged glyphs scorched into the metal. The symbols pulsed faintly, remnants of psychic containment.
Jian Ci moved like a shadow, plasma gun raised, breath steady. His aura was wound tight, a silent storm beneath his skin.
Then there was movement. A man lunged from the dark, plasma gun raised, eyes wide with desperation. Jian Ci didn't flinch. His shot was clean, precise. The bolt struck the attacker's forehead, dropping him instantly. Smoke curled from the wound. Another figure bolted down the corridor, footsteps frantic.
A second shot rang out, this time from the mercenary behind him.
The runner collapsed mid-stride, limbs twitching, then still.
Jian Ci didn't pause. He pressed forward, deeper into the dark. His voice firm and unflinching, he said, "Break them down."
The mercenaries moved instantly, pulling compact breachers from their belts. Sparks flew as the first cell door groaned open, hinges shrieking in protest like wounded metal. Then came the sound of screams, frightened and raw, echoing through the corridor like ghosts clawing their way out of silence.
He turned and stepped into the first cell. Women and children huddled in corners, their eyes wide and hollow. Their clothes hung in tatters, skin mottled with bruises, auras dimmed to flickers barely perceptible. Some flinched at the sudden light. Others simply stared, vacant, as if rescue was a myth they had long stopped believing in.
Jian Ci's jaw tightened. "That bastard Gander…"
He knelt, lowering his weapon, hands open and empty. "You are safe now," he said gently. "We are not here to hurt you." A child whimpered. A woman pulled her close, trembling.
Jian Ci reached into his jacket and pulled out a small beacon. He activated its warmth field, and the air shimmered. The temperature rose just enough to chase the chill from their bones.
"We aren't the bad guys," he said. "We are here to help." The screams faded replaced by sniffles and silent tears.
He stood and turned to his team. "Record everyone. Names, faces, injuries. No one gets left behind."
The mercenaries nodded, already moving with practiced care, their steps quiet, their touch gentle.
Jian Ci walked out into the corridor, his steps slow, deliberate. The cells continued on either side, each one a silent monument to suffering. But something gnawed at him.
The presence he had felt earlier, the one that had vanished like smoke, it hadn't come from here. This level was wrong. It was too quiet and the air was still. He reached the end of the passage but there was only a blank wall.
There were no doors or stairs. There was no obvious path forward. Yet the air felt thick, like it was holding its breath.
"Where's the other level?" he whispered, eyes narrowing. He gestured sharply, and one of the mercenaries dragged the guard from earlier down the corridor, dropping him at Jian Ci's feet.
Jian Ci crouched, voice low and sharp. "Where is the entrance?"
The man stammered saying, "Th-this…" Unlike the other guards, he was afraid of Yu Xi.
He had been there when Gander ordered Yu Xi to use his psychic power in the testing room below. Yu Xi was meant to fight two of the specimens. At the time Gander had underestimated him.
Yu Xi turned, his eyes burning, toward the reinforced glass where Gander watched from above. The man couldn't fathom what Gander had been thinking at the time.
Yu Xi reacted exactly as expected. He attacked the glass.
It was built to withstand high-ranking Espers. But Yu Xi was relentless. They shot him with tranquilizers but he didn't stop. He was like a beast on a rampage. The glass soon began to crack. Just as it shattered, Yu Xi suddenly collapsed. But he had been this close. This close to reaching Gander.