The sky was still dark when Lin Wei opened his eyes.
Not because he couldn't sleep—but because the Core inside him never truly slept anymore.
He rose from the cot quietly, leaving Liu Fang still curled under the blanket Zhao had thrown over her the night before. She hadn't let go of his hand for hours after the revelation about his mother. Even now, her fingers twitched faintly, seeking him.
Lin Wei brushed a stray hair from her forehead.
Stay safe, he thought.
He stepped outside into the cold mountain dawn.
Mist pooled along the ground, curling around the facility like ghostly fingers. The collapsed structures groaned as the wind shifted.
Zhao approached from the shadows, a metal thermos in hand.
"You're up early."
"So are you," Lin Wei replied.
Zhao shrugged.
"I don't sleep much when the world is ending."
Lin Wei let out a soft breath.
"The world isn't ending."
"No," Zhao muttered. "But it's rearranging itself in very unpleasant ways."
They stood in silence for a moment as the first hint of sunrise brightened the horizon.
Zhao finally spoke.
"That recording yesterday… your mother sounded terrified."
Lin Wei nodded slowly.
"She said they were coming for the Core. That the Chairman wasn't who he seemed."
Zhao took a sip from his thermos, eyes narrowed.
"That man is practically untouchable. No one sees him alone. No one questions his decisions. If he's involved, then this goes way deeper than sabotage."
Lin Wei looked at the ruined facility behind them.
"They'll send people."
Zhao didn't even pretend to disagree.
"They'll send everyone. They can't let the world know the Core Mind survived. And they won't tolerate the idea of someone walking around with its power."
Lin Wei's voice softened.
"Even if that someone is me?"
"Especially if it's you."
A long silence followed.
Finally Lin Wei spoke again.
"Zhao… if things get worse, if they come after you too—"
Zhao slapped the back of his head lightly.
"Don't finish that sentence. I didn't survive three decades in this program just to run from my most promising idiot."
Lin Wei blinked.
"…I'm your most promising idiot?"
"Easily top three."
Lin Wei smiled despite himself.
Zhao sighed, breath misting in the cold air.
"You know what scares me most?"
"What?"
"That you haven't realized how powerful you are now."
Lin Wei shook his head.
"I'm not invincible."
"Maybe not," Zhao conceded. "But you don't understand yet what a full Core merger means. Your mother designed that thing to reshape infrastructure, rewrite data structures, adjust EM fields, manipulate energy grids—"
"That's not what I want," Lin Wei cut in.
"I know," Zhao said. "And that's exactly why you're dangerous."
Lin Wei frowned.
"Explain."
Zhao looked at him strangely.
"You think power corrupts the wicked. But sometimes? It terrifies the ones who already have power."
Lin Wei's expression darkened.
"That includes the Chairman."
Zhao nodded.
"Oh yes. Especially him."
Inside the Facility — Liu Fang Wakes
Liu Fang sat up, hair wild, blanket tangled around her legs.
Her heart skipped.
Lin Wei wasn't there.
She quickly grabbed her boots, wincing as her injured arm protested. She staggered out into the hall—
And saw him standing on the cliff with Zhao.
Relief flooded her so powerfully she had to lean against the wall.
"…Idiot," she whispered to herself."Don't scare me like that."
She walked out to join them, wrapping her jacket tighter.
Lin Wei turned as she approached.
"You should rest—"
She poked his chest sharply.
"No. You should stop disappearing at dawn and making me think you walked off to die for the greater good."
Lin Wei blinked.
"…I didn't walk far."
"That's not the point."
Zhao snorted.
"Here it comes."
Liu Fang jabbed a finger at Lin Wei again.
"If we're doing this—if we're going after your mother, the Chairman, the sabotage, all of it—then you don't get to run off alone. Not anymore. You don't get to choose danger by yourself."
She stepped closer.
"You don't get to die alone either."
Lin Wei looked away, throat tightening.
"…I don't intend to die."
"Good," she said. "Because I'm not letting you."
She grabbed his hand.
"I made my choice. Don't you dare take it away."
Lin Wei swallowed.
Then nodded.
"Alright."
The Core Speaks
The morning air vibrated.
Softly.Faintly.A whisper only Lin Wei could hear.
"Signal detected."
Lin Wei stiffened.
Zhao noticed.
"What is it?"
Lin Wei's eyes turned slightly luminous.
"Something is coming."
Liu Fang grabbed his arm.
"Coming here?"
Lin Wei nodded slowly.
"Yes. A transport—descending from orbit. Military-grade."
Zhao swore violently.
"They sent a retrieval squad this fast?!"
Lin Wei shook his head.
"No. Not a squad."He listened to the Core hum inside his bones."Something else. Something smaller."
Zhao grabbed his rifle.
"Whatever it is, it's not friendly."
The sky shimmered.
A streak of metallic blue tore through the clouds, descending toward the valley at impossible speed.
Lin Wei's breath stopped.
Because the Core whispered something else.
Not to warn him.
But almost… gently.
"Signature match: 76%… 82%… 94%."
Lin Wei's pulse hammered.
"No…"
Liu Fang grabbed his sleeve.
"What? What is it?!"
The Core finished its scan:
"Identity confirmed.Dr. Lin Qiang — biological relation: mother."
Lin Wei staggered.
His voice broke.
"She's here."
The aircraft hit the ground in a burst of dust—
And the hatch began to open.