Mei Ruo didn't waste time. Ten minutes after the System's warning, Luo Tian was out of the apartment, wearing a hoodie and baseball cap while she locked the door behind them.
"You're sure we should just… go outside?" he muttered. "What if coat-guy is still around?"
"That's the point," she said, stepping into the hall. "If he's here, we need to find him before he finds you again. And if he's gone, we test how good you are at using that shiny new Energy Sense."
Her heels clicked against the tile as they reached the elevator. Luo Tian followed reluctantly, still trying to sort through the strange awareness humming in his head. The further they got from her apartment, the more qi signatures he could pick up — faint little sparks representing the people in nearby rooms. Most were weak, ordinary. But there were a few… stronger.
When they stepped onto the street, the noise of the city hit him — car horns, vendors shouting, the smell of street food mingling with exhaust fumes. But beneath it all, like a second layer to reality, there were currents of qi.
Mei Ruo stopped at the corner. "Close your eyes. Tell me who's around us without looking."
He sighed but did as told. The world dimmed… and then lit up again in another way.
"Three people across the street," he murmured. "Two weak, one… medium. Could be a martial artist."
"Good. Keep going."
"Guy on our left, about ten meters away, heading toward us. Weak signature. Probably a normal."
"And behind us?" she asked.
Luo Tian focused… and his breath caught. "There's someone strong — not as strong as the guy from earlier, but definitely above average. Two o'clock, moving fast."
Her eyes narrowed. "Then we follow."
They crossed the street, blending into the flow of pedestrians. Luo Tian kept his senses locked on the moving signature, feeling its pulse like a heartbeat in the distance. It wove through the crowd, never slowing.
"Try masking your qi," Mei Ruo whispered.
"How?"
"Pull it inward. Imagine sealing every pore. Don't let anything leak out."
He tried — and it was like holding his breath underwater. His whole body tensed, and the warmth he'd gotten used to suddenly compressed inside him.
"Better," Mei Ruo said. "You're still sloppy, but it'll fool anyone weaker than you."
The signature they were following turned down a narrow alley. Mei Ruo gave him a quick glance before they slipped in after it.
The city noise faded, replaced by the distant hum of air conditioners and the drip of water from a rusted pipe. The target was just ahead, moving at a steady pace — a man in a gray windbreaker with a messenger bag slung across his back.
Mei Ruo's voice was barely audible. "Close the gap. Don't let him see your face."
They followed for another block before the man stopped at a dead end, pretending to check his phone. Luo Tian's senses flared — his qi was climbing.
"He knows we're here," Luo Tian muttered.
"Of course he does," Mei Ruo replied calmly.
The man turned, and Luo Tian got his first good look at him. Mid-twenties, sharp features, eyes just a bit too focused for a normal passerby.
"You two have been following me for ten minutes," the man said casually. "Why?"
Mei Ruo stepped forward. "You're not from here. And your qi's higher than most of the locals. We're curious."
He smiled faintly. "Curiosity gets people killed."
Luo Tian's stomach tightened.
The man's eyes flicked to him. "Especially you. New spark, still unstable. Someone's going to smell that from a mile away."
Before Luo Tian could speak, his System chimed:
> [Warning: Target's intent shifting — 43% likelihood of hostility.]
Mei Ruo's stance changed — subtle, but ready. "We're not here to fight. Just to talk."
"Then talk fast," the man said.
Luo Tian opened his mouth — and froze.
His Energy Sense spiked again, but this time it wasn't coming from the man in front of them. It was behind them. Stronger. Closer.
"Uh… Mei Ruo?" he said quietly.
She didn't turn. "I feel it."
The man in the windbreaker frowned, glancing past them. "Well… looks like you've got bigger problems than me."
A shadow fell across the alley. Footsteps approached — slow, deliberate, each one sending a pulse through Luo Tian's senses like a bass drum.
When the figure finally stepped into view, Luo Tian's chest went tight.
It wasn't coat-guy from earlier. It was someone else entirely — a tall woman with long black hair, dressed in a dark, sleeveless robe embroidered with silver patterns. Her eyes locked on him, and he felt as if she'd peeled him open with a glance.
"Found you," she said softly.
The System's voice was immediate:
> [Threat Level: High]
[New Quest Update: Unknown third party has entered the field. Survival priority increased.]
The man in the windbreaker raised an eyebrow. "She yours?" he asked Mei Ruo.
Mei Ruo didn't answer. Her weight shifted subtly onto the balls of her feet.
Luo Tian swallowed hard. "I'm guessing… no?"
The woman stepped closer, the air around her humming with suppressed power. "You have something that doesn't belong to you. Hand it over, and maybe I let you keep breathing."
Luo Tian's mouth went dry. He didn't know what scared him more — the words, or the fact that part of him could feel she wasn't bluffing.