Tuesday broke over Ninghai like pale water. Tang Coco and Meng Xiaoxiao headed to class, the campus humming like a beehive. Ever since Meng moved into Ye Yiyi’s place, and Coco kept her company for two nights, the little sprite seemed to let that day’s shadows float off like mist. One ripple hit Coco as she stepped into school—Ouyang Lingxue was absent, a sudden blank in the roster like a missing brushstroke. Coco pictured last night’s scene, wondering if that tigress of a sister had “devoured” Lingxue whole.

“Xiaoxiao, do you miss your sister?” Coco leaned in, voice light as a cat’s paw.

“Why, trying to send me back?” Xiaoxiao’s eyes flashed like small lanterns. “No way. Sleeping with Sis Coco is comfy as a warm quilt. I’m not going.”

Emotion tightened first, then words followed. “How come? She just came back a few days, and you already don’t miss her?”

“It’s not that…” Xiaoxiao frowned, a crease like a mountain ridge. “Of course I miss her. But I keep feeling there’s an invisible wall between us, thin as glass but cold. I know she tries to play with me, to make me laugh, yet something’s off, like a song slightly out of tune.”

Silence hung for a beat like a slow bell. Coco felt a knot form, tightening like wet rope.

“You’re overthinking. She’s your sister—she’s still your harbor. Don’t let your mind tangle itself.”

“Mm… either way, I’m not going back. I’ll stay with you a few days.”

“Alright,” Coco breathed, a soft surrender like a feather falling.

Bzz—her phone trembled, a trapped bee in her pocket. Coco eased it out, eyes wary as a deer.

“Mm?” Her brows fluttered.

“What’s up, Xin?” Her voice dropped like a pebble in a pond.

“Coco, are you in class?” Gu Xin’s tone was low, cool as shaded water.

“Yeah.” Coco’s gaze flicked to the podium, where Avril lectured, her presence sharp as chalk on slate.

“Something happened. It’s about Hawkeye. Come by at noon after class.”

Gu Xin’s voice carried weight, heavy as a storm-front.

“Hawkeye… Got it. I’ll come at noon.” The name hit Coco like a flint spark—urgent, hot.

“Tang Coco, no phone calls during class,” Avril cut in from the platform, hands on hips like a stern statue.

“Oh! Sorry.” Coco’s apology fluttered like a startled bird. “I’m hanging up now.”

She tapped end, the line snapping like a thread.

“Coco, come to my office after class.” Avril’s face was strict, the air around her tight as a drum, and the students felt the storm roll in.

Coco’s expression went flat, a clean swipe of ink. This Avril again, looking for any excuse to corner her.

“Not a chance,” she muttered, tongue out like a teasing child.

“Xiaoxiao, after school let Yiyi take you home. I’ve got something to deal with.”

“Mm… okay. Sis Coco’s been so busy since finding your mom,” Xiaoxiao said, a little clouded, like rain caught in the eyes.

“Heh, I’ll be back tonight to keep you company.” Coco pinched her ear lightly, a playful flick like a breeze.

“You’re skipping the afternoon classes?”

“Maybe. I’ll need you to help me ask for leave.”

“Ew…” Xiaoxiao looked at her like a cat batting away a leaf.

After school, Coco drove to Meng Xiaoxiao’s apartment, the city’s traffic flowing like steel rivers. Gu Xin opened the door, her gaze steady as a gate stone.

“Come in.”

“What’s going on?” Coco stepped into the living room. Meng Yuting sat on the sofa, eyes fixed on a laptop screen, blue light washing over her like moonlight.

“Hawkeye sent me an email. It hit my secret account.” Meng Yuting’s voice was even, a taut wire.

Coco leaned closer. The words on-screen were cold as metal:

“Rebel sent word. He found the Captain’s intel at HQ and wants me to regroup. I’m on the way to the base now. What about you? —Hawkeye.”

Coco went still, silence pooling like deep water. “He found my intel at headquarters?”

“Coco, besides us and your mother, who else knows your current identity?” Gu Xin asked, words measured, like stones laid in a path.

“Someone does—but no one inside the base could know,” Coco said, shaking her head, the motion weary as a loose branch.

Gu Xin’s brows pinched, a dark ripple. “Then this…”

“After I ‘died,’ did Rebel reach out to you?” Coco’s question came first as unease, then as sound.

“No,” Gu Xin answered, simple as a blade.

“What about Hawkeye?”

“He contacted us a few times. Even the U.S. incident had his help,” Meng Yuting said, memory flickering like old film.

“Hawkeye’s good at vanishing. Even I can hardly pin him down. The only way to deal with him is bait—make him surface on his own.” Coco’s analysis was clean, like snow on stone.

“You mean…” Gu Xin’s eyes lifted, a possibility dawning like pale fire.

“If someone knew my intel, why wouldn’t Rebel tell you? As my brother, he knows how much you mean to me.” Coco’s doubt darkened, clouds gathering over a harbor.

Gu Xin and Meng Yuting exchanged looks; Coco’s words rang true like a bell.

“Could Rebel have… betrayed us?” Meng Yuting asked, the thought sharp as a thorn.

“I can’t be sure,” Coco said, brows drawn, a mountain line. “We were brothers who bled together. I believe in him, deep as roots. But… you saw the Lynx incident. I’m afraid of an accident slipping in like black rain.”

She paused, weighing trust against storm. “Right now… at least I believe Hawkeye. You?”

“Me too. Hawkeye feels clean,” Gu Xin said, quiet as a clear stream.

“I agree,” Meng Yuting nodded, resolve settling like a stone.

“Okay. I’ll talk to him.” Coco pulled out her phone and dialed a strange number, one that fit no country’s pattern—like a key to a hidden door.

Beeep… beeep… The call clicked open, the line breathing like a cave.

“Who are you?” The voice was low, shadowed like dusk in a canyon.

Coco held back, then let the truth rise like smoke. “Hawkeye… only I know this number of yours.”

“Captain? Why… do you sound like that?” Hawkeye’s disbelief cracked like thin ice.

“Stay calm. Not the time. Where are you?”

Hawkeye hesitated; trust rustled like dry leaves. That number—only Asura knew it. He spoke, each word placed like a stone. “My private jet’s about to land at the base.”

“Listen. It could be a full setup.”

“What did you say?”

“I’m not at the base. No one at HQ knows anything about me.”

“But Rebel told me—”

“Rebel doesn’t know my intel! I’m starting to suspect—”

The line cut with a flat tone, busy signal droning like a cold wind.

“No signal…” Coco lowered the phone, voice dim as embers.

“There’s a jammer near the base,” Gu Xin said, thoughts ticking like gears.

“No. Our special channel doesn’t get blocked by base jammers.” Coco’s mind raced, threads knotting. “To disrupt us… that’s got to be a higher-tier energy field.”

Her face changed, the sky inside turning iron. “Could it be… Dark Anomalous Energy?” Meng Yuting rose, the room tightening like a net.

“I’m going to the base,” Coco said, standing, a blade unsheathed.

“No. Too dangerous,” Gu Xin stepped in, firm as a wall.

“Same. I don’t agree. We don’t know what’s waiting there.” Meng Yuting’s voice held a chill, like frost on glass.

“No. Hawkeye… is my brother. I won’t lose another brother.” Lynx’s memory flickered, pain like a buried ember that wouldn’t cool.

“But—”

“Don’t worry. I’m going to pull him out, not pick a fight.” Coco’s resolve sat like iron.

“I can’t relax,” Gu Xin shook her head, stubborn as a rooted tree.

Coco fell silent, the room holding its breath. Then her gaze slid to Marilyn, who’d stood quiet at the side, calm as night water.

“Alright. I’ll take Li Muyan and Marilyn. Her strength’s grown fierce. With them, can you breathe easier?”

Gu Xin hesitated, the scale tipping. Tang Coco, Marilyn, and Li Muyan—three blades gleaming.

“I’ll go with you,” Meng Yuting said, heat rising like a spark.

“No. You two stay here—and head to Yiyi’s. Someone slipped into Ninghai City. I felt a tail on me last night. I suspect the enemy’s eyes are on Yiyi and the others. If you protect them, I can move without fear.”

Gu Xin and Meng Yuting wavered, their worry hanging like fog.

“Trust me?” Coco’s voice softened, steady as a lantern. “I scared you once. Not this time. I’ll come back safe.”

“…Alright,” they agreed, reluctantly, like letting go of a wet rope.

“Also, tell my mom. She’ll make preparations.” Coco’s tone gained weight, a signal drum.

“Got it.”

“If you don’t come back safe this time,” Meng Yuting stepped close, breath sharp as winter air, “I’ll make you pay.”

“I will.” Coco nodded, promise bright as a seal. She took Marilyn’s hand and headed out. On the way, she said, “Lulu, contact Muyan—urgent mission. We’ll rendezvous over the western sea off Ninghai.”

Far out on the Pacific, a lone island sat like a dark pearl. Shadow Division’s base—concrete and steel coiled like a crouching beast. A private jet slid down, its wheels kissing the runway with a hiss.

“What’s going on…” Hawkeye stared out the window, the old base rising like a ghost from deep water. The call had tangled his mind, a thicket of doubt—was that really Asura?

He disembarked, boots tapping rhythm like a heartbeat. A familiar silhouette strode forward, smile wide as noon sun.

“Brother, long time no see!” Rebel, in casual wear, buzz-cut neat as fresh grass, opened his arms and closed in like a wave.

“Long time,” Hawkeye answered, a small smile, thin as a crescent.

“You’ve lost weight,” Rebel clapped his shoulder, friendly force like a steady oar.

“Yeah. People who live in the dark don’t eat well,” Hawkeye said, laugh dry as sand.

Rebel’s laugh burst out—bright, rolling like pebbles in a stream. “Let’s talk about the Captain’s intel.”

“Inside,” Rebel said, slinging an arm around him. The two walked in, steps echoing. Not far away, at a second-floor window, a middle-aged man with glasses watched them, gaze cold as glass.

“Is Old Hong inside?” Hawkeye asked, a cautious note like a bird testing the wind.

Rebel’s face dimmed at the name Hong Wei, a cloud crossing the sun. “He…”

“What happened?” Hawkeye felt a wrong note, sharp as a splinter.

“Go see,” Rebel sighed, leading him toward the medical wing. At a door, he paused. “Inside.”

Hawkeye pushed in. Monitors blinked like distant stars. Hong Wei lay on the bed, tubes threading from him like winter vines.

“How did this happen?” Hawkeye’s shock cracked the air, clean as thunder on stone.

“Hong Wei’s anomalous energy went chaotic,” Rebel said, grim as rain. “It wrecked his organs. I came back last week, and he was already like this.”

Hawkeye stood silent, thoughts sinking like an anchor. Something here felt off, a note too cold in the chord, a pattern wrong beneath the surface.