The night air in Shanghai was sharp and cold. Bai Xueyi moved through it like a shadow, her phone screen glowing faint blue against her palm. A map of the Mo Financial Tower blinked with red security nodes. She had spent the last three hours inside an underground network, cracking through Mo Corporation's encrypted firewall.
"Come on…" she whispered as the last lock broke.
A list of employee profiles unfolded. Under Security Division—there it was: Han Ze (Code Name: Echo).
Her throat tightened. Echo. The same name whispered in her dying moments.
Inside the Mo Tower, Mo Liuxian sat alone in his office. The city's neon gleam drew harsh reflections across his desk. He stared at the photo again—the woman with eyes like the storm he'd just escaped.
He couldn't admit it aloud, but something in her presence had unsettled him—like standing before a grave that refused to stay closed.
The phone on his desk rang once. "President Mo," said his assistant, "Han Ze hasn't checked in since last night. His tracker was disabled near the docks."
"Find him," Liuxian said quietly.
He hung up before the assistant could answer.
Then the intercom crackled. "Sir, a visitor. She claims to be from the media—wants to discuss Aurora Consortium."
Liuxian frowned. "At this hour?"
"She said you'd regret not hearing her story."
He hesitated, then said, "Send her up."
The elevator doors opened with a soft chime. Bai Xueyi stepped out dressed in a tailored black suit, hair tied neatly, posture calm. The only giveaway was her eyes—still fire under ice.
"President Mo," she greeted. "I'm Lin Xue, investigative journalist. Thank you for agreeing to meet."
Her pseudonym slid easily off her tongue.
He gestured for her to sit. "You're not the first reporter to come digging. What makes you think I'll talk?"
"Because," she said, opening a folder, "I know your company's security division has ties to Aurora Consortium. And I have proof."
His expression didn't change—but his hand stilled.
She slid a photo across the desk. It showed the warehouse, the drums, and a label stamped Aurora Internal.
"These came from your own supply chains," she said. "Someone in your company bought those materials under a fake department name."
"You expect me to believe you hacked into a corporate archive?"
"I expect you to believe your own signature is forged," she said.
The air thickened between them. He looked at her properly then—her composure, her clipped tones, her choice of words.
Something in her reminded him too much of someone he had once loved.
"Have we met before, Miss Lin?"
Her smile was brief. "No. But maybe you met someone like me… in a fire."
He leaned back slowly, eyes narrowing. "You really should be careful what memories you play with."
"And you should be careful which secrets you bury," she countered.
The storm outside flashed white through the windows, and for a second their reflections overlapped—like two ghosts caught between past and present.
Downstairs, in the security control room, a red warning icon blinked to life. Someone was watching the live feed from Liuxian's office. A gloved hand reached forward and muted the audio.
Han Ze smiled into the screen.
"So you came back, Bai Xueyi," he murmured. "Let's see how long your second life lasts."
He pulled a phone from his pocket and dialed a number labeled W.Q.
"Phase Two begins," he said. "Time to burn the truth."