16:47 – Convergence
Three thermal signatures broke formation. Qin Yu's augmented left arm crushed Lin Hao's ribs before neural inhibitors activated. "You bastard!" The cyborg's voice modulator glitched between laughter and static. "Two years eating cave mushrooms and you still smell like burnt capacitors!"
Lei Meng's tremor hands traced Lin Hao's beard. "Scanners showed no life signs... we dug through three collapsed tombs..." His ocular implants leaked lubricant fluid mimicking tears.
Gu Yunle remained silent, his gene-spliced vocal cords still regenerating from last month's assassination attempt. The data spike embedded in his palm extruded cables, interfacing directly with Lin Hao's neural port for verification.
16:49 – Authentication
Memories flooded the connection—four teenagers stealing military-grade nutrient paste from Academy stores, their first synchronized kill against a rogue mech wolf, the night Lei Meng's nervous system nearly fried during illegal wetware upgrades. Lin Hao reciprocated with encrypted tomb data: stone golems moving like tectonic poetry, the electric tang of spirit embryos dissolving on his tongue.
Gu Yunle retracted cables, nostrils flaring at lingering ozone. "Valid." The single word carried fourteen layers of combat cant meaning.
16:51 – Revelation
Headmaster Ying Yuanzi's cane cracked permafrost. His augmented reality monocle overlay diagnostic streams—Lin Hao's bone density exceeded human limits, retinal patterns matching pre-mission biometrics with 0.0003% deviation. "Your survival probability was calculated at 0.7%." The old man's voice carried tungsten-core disappointment. "Explain."
Lin Hao's cycle eyes dimmed to civilian-grade opacity. "Wolves chased me into radioactive ravines. Survived on cave lichen and static discharges." He shrugged, the motion calibrated to suggest 23% shoulder joint augmentation. "Got lucky."
16:53 – Dispersion
The crowd unraveled like faulty code—alchemy track students sniffing for tomb residue, combat specialists measuring Lin Hao's gait patterns, gossip drones capturing Fourprestige's prismatic molting process. Only Zhao Ling'er remained statue-still near the eastern gate, her thermal signature spiking then plunging as emotion regulators engaged.
16:55 – Epiphany
Qin Yu's hydraulic arm servo-whined as he gripped Lin Hao's shoulder. "The capital's gone septic. Emperor's on life support, fourth prince building private mech legions..." His whisper carried subsonic data bursts—market collapse statistics, blacksite coordinates, Zhao Ling'er's recent marriage contract to a weapons magnate.
Lin Hao inhaled snowflakes tinged with lithium from distant fusion reactors. "We'll reboot the system." Fourprestige shrieked agreement, its talons scoring deep grooves in centuries-old stone.
16:57 – Observation
Zhao Ling'er's augmented heels click-clacked retreat. Her perfume—synthetic gardenias layered over nano-repair serums—lingered in Lin Hao's enhanced olfactories. The scent matrix triggered unexpected memory fragments: their wedding day's malfunctioning holographic doves, the acidic taste of divorce contract nutrient pills, her surprised gasp when he'd first demonstrated cycle eye capabilities.
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16:59 – Preparation
Deep beneath the academy's geothermal vents, four stone golems stirred in cryo-stasis. Lin Hao's retinal HUD flickered with their activation codes—a birthday gift from the tomb's previous occupant. Market predictions scrolled through his neural feed: military tech stocks rising 300% since his "death," mech component futures plateauing at dangerous levels.
Qin Yu ejected a plasma blade from his forearm. "Where do we start?"
Lin Hao's smile exposed canine teeth filed to monomolecular edges. "With a haircut."
The storm laughed through shattered ice formations as they walked.
Shadow Protocol
Midnight oil lamps cast honeyed light across the capital’s snow-draped rooftops. Lin Hao’s thermal vision tracked the assassin’s infrared silhouette—a humanoid void against geothermal chimney stacks. Fourprestige’s talons flexed on the dormitory eaves, discharging static that made snowflakes orbit counterclockwise.
23:07 – Observation
“Trouble?” Lei Meng’s tremor hands palmed twin vibro-daggers. His augmented eyes caught the faintest pressure distortion in falling snow—active camouflage systems at work.
Lin Hao feigned sleep, breath cycling through combat meditative patterns. The mattress’s memory foam recorded his biometrics: 57% muscle tension, cortisol levels spiking. “House lizard on the windowsill.” His whisper carried subsonic harmonics only Fourprestige could parse.
23:09 – Infiltration
The assassin’s boots left no indentation in fresh powder. Qin Yu’s liquor-laced snores provided acoustic cover as the intruder’s laser mic scanned the room. Lin Hao’s cycle eyes detected the scanning beam—a hair-thin 1550nm wavelength tracing his carotid artery.
23:11 – Revelation
Fourprestige’s neural feed flooded Lin Hao’s visual cortex:
_Target biometrics: 92% match with Imperial Guard registry #7746
Weapon signature: Ceramic needle gun loaded with tetrodotoxin-9
Sponsor probability matrix:
- Fourth Prince Yan Peng: 68%
- Black Lotus Syndicate: 22%
- Personal grudge: 10%_
23:13 – Interception
Lei Meng’s left dagger spun across the room, embedding in the windowsill with millimeter precision. The ceramic blade’s ultrasonic vibration shattered the assassin’s laser sight.
“Wrong neighborhood.” Gu Yunle’s gene-spliced vocal cords produced a subharmonic growl that triggered primal fear responses. The assassin’s camo flickered—a half-second glitch revealing polished black body armor.
23:15 – Retreat
Fourprestige dive-bombed, electrified feathers shearing through snowflakes. The assassin’s retreat path lit up in Lin Hao’s tactical overlay—escape vectors calculating probabilities through drainage pipes and ice-coated alleys.
23:17 – Analysis
Qin Yu sat up, soberness protocols overriding alcohol inhibitors. “Imperial Guard issue kneepads.” He sniffed the vibro-dagger’s hilt. “Scent markers match Palace Armory cleaning solvents.”
Lei Meng reactivated neural dampeners. “Fourth Prince’s pet viper strikes fast.”
23:19 – Preparation
Lin Hao’s retinal HUD scrolled through Yan Peng’s known associates:
Marshal Wang: Last seen procuring S-class combat androids
Sun Mu: 73% probability of controlling tomb golems
Zhao Ling’er: Financial ties to black market mech dealers
“Upgrade security protocols.” Lin Hao tossed Fourprestige a tungsten-core treat. The thunderbird’s plumage crackled as it assimilated the metal.
23:21 – Revelation
Gu Yunle extruded data spikes from his palms. “National庆典 is trap. Fourth Prince plans coup during fireworks display.”
Qin Yu’s hydraulic arm whined. “Father’s troops ready to counter. But…” His gaze locked on Lin Hao. “They need chaos catalyst.”
23:23 – Decision
Fourprestige’s thermal scan showed the assassin three blocks northeast—limping, left femur fractured from Gu Yunle’s sonic attack. Lin Hao’s finger traced kill authorization runes in condensation on the window.
“Let him report failure.” His breath fogged the glass. “Better frightened rats than silent snakes.”
23:25 – Epiphany
Lei Meng reactivated the liquor dispenser. “To chaos catalysts.”
The toast hung unspoken as snow intensified outside. Somewhere beneath the capital, tomb golems’ activation codes synchronized with Lin Hao’s neural rhythms. Market indices flickered—mech component futures plummeting as investors sensed impending storm.
23:27 – Watch
Fourprestige’s cry split the night—a challenge to all listening surveillance drones. Lin Hao’s cycle eyes tracked energy signatures across the city:
Imperial Palace: 47% lights active
Black market docks: Unregistered submarine loading arms
Tianyan Academy: Zhao Ling’er’s thermal signature pacing near abandoned greenhouse
The game board lit up.