Shao Jingxin stood there gripping his bleeding arm, jaw clenched tightly as he endured the pain. His glowing golden eyes were fixed on Xinyuan like he wanted to crack open his skull and see exactly what was going on inside his head.
But Xinyuan simply stood there with his hands tucked into his pockets.
He looked calm. Completely still. But his warm brown eyes had darkened so much they almost looked black beneath the lights.
Jingxin rolled his eyes.
"Are you just going to stare at , baby brother?" he asked. "You can’t even help after your guide fucking shot ."
A smile spread across Xinyuan’s face. It wasn’t pleasant.
His left eye flashed red. Then he took a single step forward.
Jingxin’s casual attitude disappeared.
Without lifting a finger, Xinyuan yanked him off the ground.
The invisible force wrapped around Jingxin effortlessly, leaving him dangling several feet above the floor.
"Why are you here?" Xinyuan’s voice was calm. Dangerously calm.
Jingxin didn’t struggle.
He rely hung there, still gripping his wounded shoulder as though he knew better than to fight back.
"The sa reason I’m always here," Jingxin replied. "The sa reason I decided to show myself after nine years."
His grin widened. "To see my baby..."
A sickening crack echoed through the room.
Jingxin scread.
The arm that had already been shot twisted before dislocating completely from its socket.
Xinyuan smiled and calmly returned to his seat.
"You didn’t expect to get caught so quickly," he said. "You said it yourself."
His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest. "And now you’re stuck with ."
His smile never faded. "You should know I wouldn’t hesitate to break your neck next, big brother."
His eyes narrowed. "So why don’t you start talking?"
Jingxin was breathing hard now. Sweat gathered along his brow.
Still, he glared. "Put down first."
Xinyuan’s expression flattened instantly. "Do not make repeat myself."
The pressure in the room grew heavier.
Jingxin sighed. "Our people noticed the pattern."
The invisible hold loosened slightly. "A trail of high class Espers and guides gathering together."
He grimaced. "Most of them forr CEA personnel."
His gaze sharpened. "That isn’t sothing people ignore."
Slowly, he was lowered back to the floor. "So I infiltrated the eting to find out what exactly you were planning."
The mont his feet touched the ground, he cursed under his breath and grabbed his ruined shoulder.
Xinyuan watched as Jingxin braced himself and shoved the shoulder back into place.
A deep grunt escaped him. His face flushed from the pain.
Esper regeneration would handle the rest eventually.
The bullet, however, would have to co out first.
Silence settled between them.
Then Jingxin sat down.
For the first ti since entering the room, his expression softened slightly.
He looked at Xinyuan carefully. "You’ve grown well."
A smile tugged at his lips. "You’re even taller than now."
His eyes lingered on him and much quieter, "Did it hurt?"
Xinyuan chuckled softly.
Leaning back against the chair, he watched his brother put on that familiar face.
That farce. That irritating mask.
Jingxin’s face was still flushed from the pain, his arm bleeding steadily from the bullet Wenzhi had put through it. Yet sohow he was still smiling.
Xinyuan wasn’t chuckling because he found him funny.
The mont Jingxin had asked, Did it hurt?
mories had flashed through his mind.
His own screams. The needles. The restraints. Hands trying to pin him down while he fought and fought until his body gave out.
Jingxin chuckled. "It did hurt."
He released his injured arm. A sar of blood stained his fingers.
"I’m glad." His smile widened.
"I promise, baby brother. It’s going to hurt even more when we finally get you."
Dark mist began slipping from Xinyuan’s body like gentle, quiet thin strands.
It looked far more terrifying than an explosion.
"So you’re doing their dirty work." His voice remained calm. "You prance around pretending you have power."
His eyes lifted. "But you’re only an S-rank."
Jingxin’s smile shook.
"You’ve always been weaker than and you’re still insecure about your baby brother."
The smile vanished completely. That alone amused Xinyuan more than it should have.
"Now let’s talk about why I wanted everyone else gone." Xinyuan rose to his feet.
Jingxin looked up at him. "You’re not going to kill ."
"No." Xinyuan smiled. "Not yet."
The smile never reached his eyes. "But I will torture you."
Jingxin looked genuinely irritated now.
"I find it fascinating," Xinyuan continued. "How all of you keep hurting my guide and sohow keep walking away."
The shadows around him thickened.
"Do you know how angry that makes ?"
Jingxin rose to his feet. "Don’t do sothing you’ll regret, baby brother."
Xinyuan ignored him. "Does Old Blood really intend to use to clear the rifts?"
That question seed to surprise Jingxin. A little. "Yes."
There was no hesitation. No lie. Just a simple answer.
"Then why did they sell to the CEA?"
Jingxin narrowed his eyes and laughed. "Because you’re a waste."
The shadows exploded. Cracks spread across the walls and the floor groaned beneath the pressure.
A dark tendril shot forward.
Jingxin instantly split into two identical copies.
Both laughed.
Xinyuan tilted his head and a sickening crack echoed through the room.
The shoulder Jingxin had just fixed dislocated again.
The two copies imdiately rged back into one.
Jingxin yelled.
"Answer the question." Xinyuan started walking toward him slowly and relentlessly.
"They did it because you’re a waste of space!" Jingxin shouted back.
Xinyuan grabbed him by the throat.
Jingxin twisted free and a fight exploded instantly with Jingxin kicking Xinyuan’s leg.
But Xinyuan grabbed the ruined shoulder. Hard.
Jingxin scread.
Xinyuan punched him across the face.
Crack
Blood poured from Jingxin’s nose.
Xinyuan punched him again.
Jingxin’s head snapped back.
"Why?"
Another punch.
"Why?"
Jingxin looked dazed now. Blood running down his chin.
Xinyuan held him upright by the collar.
This ti his voice was quiet. "Answer ."
Jingxin stopped smiling and finally, he answered. "Because your awakening opened sixty-four rifts across the world."
Xinyuan’s eyes widened. "What?"
Jingxin was breathing hard. Blood dripping from his nose.
"Those rifts expanded." His voice shook with rage. "They beca the places we now call Red Zones."
Xinyuan stared at him, motionless.
"We wanted you controlled." Jingxin laughed bitterly. "We wanted you contained."
His golden eyes burned. "Because of you! More people died that day than during the first rift of the Great Fall, and it’s all on your hands, you bastard!"
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