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***
That memory haunted the guard more than any threat Jian Ci could make. He had seen Yu Xi in the testing chamber. He had seen the way his power surged, wild and uncontainable, when pushed too far. It wasn't just strength. It was fury, honed by years of torment.
The man believed, with bone-deep certainty, that Yu Xi should never be let loose into the world. Not after what this place had done to him. Not with that kind of power. He would burn everything.
Compared to Gander's other children, Yu Xi had suffered the worst. The man had witnessed it. The isolation, the experiments and the silence, all moulded him into what he was now, a monster.
Jian Ci wasn't in the mood for his dawdling. His finger curled on the trigger, eyes cold.
The man dropped to his knees, hands raised. "H-he's a monster," he stammered.
Jian Ci sneered. "Did I ask you that?"
The man flinched, then pointed toward the corner of the passageway, trembling. "There. Beneath the floor."
"Open it," Jian Ci ordered.
The man crawled forward, hands shaking as he reached for the hidden panel.
One of the mercenaries turned slightly, shielding his mouth. "If it's true," he whispered, "shouldn't we call Jian Rui?"
Jian Ci's lips curled into a dangerous smile, sharp, cold, and unmistakably lethal. The mercenary who had questioned him backed down instantly, eyes dropping, breath held.
The guard, trembling, activated the hidden panel. The floor groaned open, revealing a narrow staircase descending into deeper shadow.
Jian Ci took point. The first room they entered was vast, sterile, and eerily silent. It looked less like a lab and more like a training arena. There were scorch marks on the walls, reinforced flooring, and psychic dampeners embedded in the ceiling. A place built for violence. Five more cells lined the far wall.
Jian Ci moved with growing impatience, kicking each door open. Inside, he found more children. They were much older and their eyes were hollow with fear. They flinched at the light and movement afraid that Gander was coming to tormemt them again.
None of them were who he was looking for. His irritation simmered. Then he reached the last door. It was heavier than the rest, reinforced with layered alloy and etched with containment glyphs. He paused, staring at it.
Based on what the man said, he was expecting a creature, a hybrid or a monster born of psychic beast DNA. He expected something grotesque and inhuma, thus he braced himself and broke the door down.
Inside, the room was dim. And there, sitting quietly, was a young man almost his age. His long hair hung like a curtain over his face, unmoving. There were no claws like those of a creature or a mutated beast but a calm young man sitting there silently.
***
Yu Xi emerged from the dungeon, his steps unsteady, his weight pressed against the young man beside him. He had tried to refuse the help, unwilling to dirty him, but Jian Ci had insisted firmly, without room for argument.
His arm remained steady around Yu Xi's waist as they climbed the narrow staircase, each step a quiet defiance of the place that had tried to break him.
At the upper level, the corridor buzzed with movement. Mercenaries moved with purpose, children were being tended to, names recorded, wounds cleaned. But when the children saw Yu Xi, the air shifted.
Conversations died. Even the smallest ones fell silent as they stared. They weren't staring at Jian Ci, though his presence was enough to command a room. They were staring at Yu Xi who was a legend to them. A ghost in the walls.
Their half-brother whom their father tormented the most. The one who had once escaped. The one who had taken someone out of this hell. Jian Ci noticed the way their eyes changed thus he led Yu Xi away, up to the lab. "Are you okay with sitting here?" he asked.
Yu Xi looked around. The room was clean, clinical and lined with instruments and screens. It was Gander's favorite workspace. The man would spend most of his time in here working.
"I am Jian Ci," he said with a warm smile, the kind that softened the edges of the room. "You can call me Ci if you like."
Yu Xi blinked, caught in a daze. He couldn't look away from those fox-like eyes. They were sharp, golden, and dazzling with a kind of mischief that felt too alive for this place. Jian Ci tilted his head, noticing the silence.
"What's your name?" he asked.
Yu Xi didn't respond. His gaze lingered, unfocused. Jian Ci waved a hand in front of his face, crouching to meet his eye level. "Are you okay?"
Yu Xi startled, letting out a soft "uh."
Then, unexpectedly, Jian Ci chuckled. "Too cute." Yu Xi's eyes widened at the words. He looked down at himself; disheveled, long hair tangled, hands stained with blood. Cute was the last thing he should be. Only someone like Jian Ci could see him and still say it with sincerity.
"What's your name?" Jian Ci asked again, gently.
Yu Xi cleared his throat. "I am Yu Xi."
"Okay," Jian Ci said, nodding. "What should I call you?"
"Yu Xi."
"Nice to meet you, Yu Xi."
Then Jian Ci reached out, taking his hand with surprising tenderness. "Are you hurt?"
Yu Xi flinched, pulling his hand back. A sense of crisis bloomed in his chest. If Jian Ci realised the blood wasn't his, would he retreat? Would he look at him with disgust?
"It's not my blood," Yu Xi said, bracing for rejection. It was for the best anyway.
But Jian Ci only sighed in relief. "That's good," he said, his voice lightening. "You must be hungry. Here."
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a packet of sweet cake and a bottle of electrolyte water. Jian Wei had asked for his snacks but he had refused adamantly. Yet now, with Yu Xi sitting quietly, he offered it without hesitation.
Yu Xi took the items with a soft "thanks," fingers brushing the edge of the packet like it might vanish.
Jian Ci leaned in conspiratorially. "If my brother comes here, hide the snack. He will know I am hoarding more. He is about this tall and he looks smart, too smart."
Yu Xi gently pinched the packet, nodding. "Yes."
But inside, something shifted. Jian Ci's eyes had lit up at the mention of his brother, and that brightness stirred something murky in Yu Xi's chest. A shadow, a flicker of envy. Jian Ci belonged to someone. Someone he spoke of with warmth.
Suddenly, Jian Ci stood, pressing a finger to his earpiece. "Yeah, what's up?"
Jian Rui's voice came through, clipped. "Come over here. We have a situation."
Jian Ci glanced at Yu Xi and said, "I will be right back." Yu Xi nodded, watching him turn away.
But Jian Ci spun back around, eyes narrowing playfully. "You're not going to run away, right?"
Yu Xi shook his head no and Jian Ci grinned.