After Yekase gave Jiang Bailu Roze’s location and boot password, dinner ended like steam fading off rice, and she ferried her home on a tiny e-scooter.

She watched Jiang’s silhouette slip into the stairwell, a shadow swallowed by concrete, then twisted the handlebars and slid out of the complex. The night stretched like a river of ink; there was still a mountain of work ahead.

Years of crafting and selling gadgets had woven a web of “connections,” a net glinting like spider silk—use it too much and the double-edged blade drags you deeper.

A favor owed is a tide; it always rolls back to claim its shore.

Those contacts built under the mask of Dr Ika felt like thin ice now; reusing them would be walking over a frozen lake that creaks.

What now… The thought hung like mist, and her mood drifted. Then, right on cue, her phone chimed like a match struck in the dark.

“Excavate—the firelight of my flesh and blood—”

After she linked up with Professor F, her contacts had shrunk to two lines, clean as chalk. To tell calls apart in a heartbeat, she set Professor F’s ringtone to Quarry, and Ling Yi’s to The Far Shore of Forgetting.

“Professor?”

“Dr Yekase, inspired by our alliance, I want a nonprofit where heroes can help one another. What do you think?”

“Uh? Why so sudden…?” Her doubt fluttered like a sparrow; her voice followed a beat later.

“It’s not a whim. Heroes fight in cracks like weeds through asphalt because we’re too scattered. Nationwide, many heroes are aces in their niche, yet they lack matching resources and hands. Aren’t you the perfect example?”

“Uh, but if we unite…” Her mind sketched tentacles crawling through the city, wondering how Shadow Curtain International and other giants would react.

You barely need to think to know.

“Heroes” don’t survive because good magically crushes evil—maybe one percent is that clear sky.

The other ninety-nine percent is because Sinister Organizations don’t even bother to see them as storms, just drizzle.

“Professor F… have you considered what we do if several organizations declare war at once?”

“Then we go underground.”

You already thought it through, didn’t you! Her exasperation flared like a spark; her words came after the heat.

“…So why not start underground right away?”

“Isn’t that giving up before we try?”

“It’s not surrender; it’s storing power,” she said, shelving fire for coals.

Seeing her stance soften, Yekase soothed, voice like warm tea: “Clean your own house before you clean the world. Start with Twin Towers City and…”

“Liudong City.”

“Twin Towers City and Liudong City. Gather every force we can gather, set our feet like roots, then plan our route. It’s steadier, and it treats your followers like humans, not sparks.”

“…As expected of Dr Yekase. Thorough. We’ll do it your way.”

Thank the stars. Relief drifted through her chest like cool wind.

Strike while the iron is warm—she’d nudge her toward a simple, safe dark-web bulletin board. Whisper rumors into alleys, gate the entry page with riddles only the underworld recognizes, then ask a few values questions to sift the ones who want to belong from the ones who want to hunt.

To keep the latter from sniffing too much, she’d funnel them straight into a black market registration page, like water diverted from a dam—

“Let’s open a bar.”

“…Huh?”

“Liudong City is covered straight from the quarry, so we open on your end. I’ll hold the front with Dragon God Tiger for a bit; once we recruit other heroes, they run it themselves. Doctor, you can come too.”

“I’m seventeen.”

“Exactly. Next year you’re good.”

“Uh.” Next year I’m still seventeen… The thought flickered like a firefly; she let it fade.

“I’m off to prep. We’ll do details next time we meet! Dragon God Eden’s draft will be ready this week—come see! Hanging up.”

“Oh. Okay…”

What do I do? She’s serious. Her stomach and head throbbed together, twin drums under a storm.

She’d thought Ling Yi would be the handful—turns out she’s quiet water. The real river to ford is you.

She listens to half the advice and free-climbs the other half; you never know which cliff she’ll choose or how she’ll climb it.

Being a hero is a maze. Maybe the only perk is you can forge monstrous weapons and feel no weight in your chest.

To vent steam, Yekase opened Weibo, hunting for thirst-traps and dumb headlines like fireworks and confetti.

@Qiller Kueen: Tonight I touched it, roaming.

@Penguin Dog Leftover Rice: forwarded: (image broken) (image broken) (image broken) (image broken) (image broken) (image broken) (image broken) (image broken) (image broken)

@White-Feather Chicken: Don’t you Atari folks have your own console?

@Twin Towers Watch: Fresh from Drum Tower District! The group “Ye Ao Nai Wo He” erupted in infighting, boiling into a street brawl—uneven profit splits, or something else?

…Uh.

Big data!! The algorithm’s net hauled her where it wanted.

A street brawl—second only to theft and robbery, common as pigeons. It sounded low on technique, low on appetite.

Still, Yekase dialed Ling Yi.

“Hey, Ling Yi?”

“What’s up, Doctor? I just finished dinner, was about to shower.”

“Drum Tower District’s got a group brawl. Wanna crash the scene? I’ll take you on the bike.”

“Eh? Oh, you want me to stop them!”

She took a beat, then her excitement popped like corn.

“A motorcycle? Doctor, you finally agree to let me ride a motorcycle!”

“I’m riding. You’re riding behind me.”

“Good enough! I’m coming!”

Yekase threw on a coat and went downstairs to wheel the bike. She slapped the key onto the dash; outside, quick footfalls pat-pat-patted like rain on concrete.

“Doctor!”

Ling Yi’s head peeked around the wall like a curious cat.

Then she saw it: a black-bodied motorcycle splashed with jagged red blocks, mirrors and windscreen cut like facets, and a yellow breathing light pulsing on the exhaust, a beast exhaling.

“Wow…”

“It’s called the Stalker.”

“So cool! It’s… heavenly sound!”

“Huh?” Since when was a motorcycle described by the heavens?

“Doctor, let’s be heroes together. I want to be a hero with you!”

The words landed like a firecracker—Yekase almost dropped the bike, then lunged and clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Shh, shh! Don’t shout that on the street!”

Ten minutes ago, what had she said?

Thought she’d be quiet?

Ha.

“First, aren’t you already a hero? Second, don’t toss around ‘hero’ even as a joke. Third, outside, don’t call me Doctor.”

“Ehh—”

The third was pure caution. Ling Yi had been “Doctor, Doctor” for days; correcting it now felt late, but better a locked door than a blown-open one.

Especially with someone who can catch a fever of impulse without warning.

“On. We roll. Hopefully they’re still swinging when we arrive.”

“Stop the fight, then treat the wounded, right? I’ll do my best.”

Honestly, Yekase just wanted her to see street brawls, to build tolerance to blood and chaos—but saving people is a good ripple too.

“Stealth mode—engage. Hold me tight, don’t get flung!”

[Awning! Showing! Rolling! Going!]

“It even has lyrics!”

“If you like lyrics, I’ll put a couple lines on the axe-gun. By the way—can you use a gun?”

“I’m good at FPS.”

“That helps how…”

Drum Tower District sat about ten kilometers from their Tianxin District, a straight black ribbon. Yekase used the ride to coax Ling Yi toward learning magic, but Ling Yi’s interest died like a spark on wet stone.

“In my high school entrance physical, the doctors tested our aptitude for Mind Energy and magic. My magic score was bottom tier. I can’t even learn the first spell.”

“There’s a test for that?” Wonder rose in her like smoke—she’d never been tested. She didn’t even know Infinite Power came with aptitude, or that it was measurable, or that it got folded into a physical.

“Should I go get tested too…”

“Go. I’ll go with you.”

“Why so eager?”

Ling Yi didn’t answer at once. Yekase thought she’d let the topic fall, but the arms around her waist tightened like a warm belt, and a shy voice brushed her ear.

“Because you said we should start by understanding you.”