Shadow Twins

The bedroom's heavy curtains shut out the last trace of daylight. Only the desk lamp cast a dim yellow circle of light. Xiang Yi bent over an open math workbook, his pencil tip hovering above the page without falling.

His young yet grave face reflected in the window glass, his brows tightly furrowed, wholly at odds with his twelve years.

The desk drawer was slightly ajar, revealing a corner of a screen glowing faint blue. Cold data coiled deep within his mind like poisonous snakes:

[Mental Power: 82/150 (recovering at a snail's pace)]

[Energy Points: 175 (deficit flashing!)]

[Hero Status: Lanling King (penetrating wound in right shoulder not healed, movement restricted, combat assessment -30%); Guiguzi (Xuan Weizi activity suppressed by the port's powerful magnetic field)]

Cold streams of data flowed silently through his mind, sketching a three-dimensional image of Pier Seven in the East Sea Port District. Two rust-streaked ten-thousand-ton cargo ships crouched in the night like steel behemoths. Even through the mental link, the stale smell of rust and rotten seaweed wafting from their hulls was suffocating.

Berth Three. The target: the Eastern Pearl. Four figures in dark work clothes patrolled the deck, their footsteps sluggish. When the port searchlights swept over them, the bulging outlines at their waists were exposed.

More solidified darkness lurked in the shadows beneath the railing. Killing intent pricked at the edge of Lanling King's senses like icy needles.

"My lord," Guiguzi's aged yet calm voice sounded directly in his mind, like a breeze brushing a deep pool. "Target confirmed. The entrance to Hold Seven is beneath the external iron ladder on the port side of the main deck's middle section. The gap between guard rotations... seven minutes."

Almost as soon as Guiguzi finished speaking, Lanling King's low, icy voice followed. It carried a hoarse tightness caused by searing pain. "The hatch has a mechanical combination lock and three hidden bolts. The internal layout is complex. The target item... cannot be precisely located. The interference source is powerful."

He paused for half a second, his voice growing even raspier, like sandpaper scraping. "The guards carry the stench of the Beast."

The Hand.

The pencil between Xiang Yi's fingers snapped soundlessly. A sharp wooden splinter pierced his fingertip, and the tiny pain made his eyes turn cold.

He slowly raised his hand and watched a small bead of blood rapidly spread. His gaze sank into frigid depths. The enemy was The Hand—brutal and mysterious. Lanling King was severely wounded, while Guiguzi was restrained. This was a desperate gamble.

"The plan remains unchanged." Xiang Yi's voice rang through the mental link, calm and steady but utterly decisive. "Mr. Guiguzi, create a disturbance according to Plan A and draw the deck guards' attention away. Lanling King, infiltrate during the chaos. The target comes first."

He paused, each word tempered in ice. "Once you get it, withdraw immediately. Do not get drawn into a fight."

"Understood!"

Two entirely different voices, equally resolute.

Xiang Yi closed his eyes and immersed his entire consciousness into the invisible battlefield formed by the mental link.

East Sea Port District, Pier Seven. The salty, freezing sea wind carried the smell of oil and rust as it wailed through the forest of steel. The huge beams of the searchlights moved mechanically back and forth, slicing between thick darkness and murky light like the eyes of ancient gods.

When the beam swept past it, the Eastern Pearl's enormous black hull reflected a cold gleam. Beneath the iron ladder at the entrance to Hold Seven on the port side of the main deck's middle section, a hunched figure in greasy coveralls and a battered cap dragged a heavy canvas tool bag closer, step by dragging step.

His gait was slow, and his body swayed faintly.

"Hey! Who are you?"

A guard shouted sharply from higher up on the deck. A flashlight beam shot over at once, its blinding white light precisely enveloping the figure.

The old worker seemed badly startled. He jerked violently, and the tool bag in his hand crashed onto the cold deck with a clang. Several rusted heavy wrenches and hammers rolled out.

He bent down in panic to pick them up, clumsy and slow, mumbling indistinctly, "Fix... fixing the pipes..."

At the instant he bent over, beneath the ghastly white flashlight beam, his neck twisted a horrifying one hundred and eighty degrees—far beyond the limits of the human body! His blurred face silently split into a huge, grotesque smile aimed at the guard above!

"G-Ghost?!" The guard's shout abruptly cracked, trembling uncontrollably.

The other guard saw the surreal scene as well. He staggered back two steps in horror, his finger frozen on the trigger.

At the very instant their minds were completely seized by the terrifying illusion—

A shadow deeper than the darkest night slid silently down the cold steel plating along the outside of the hull.

Lanling King!

Like a drop of water melting into the sea, he landed precisely on the edge of the narrow metal platform at the entrance to Hold Seven, his body pressed against the freezing bulkhead.

The guards' flashlight beams still shook over the old worker below with his twisted neck, while startled gasps drifted through the night wind. Lanling King's gaze was like an ice pick piercing the darkness, fixed on the metal knob in the center of the hatch.

His injured right arm hung at his side. Every minute muscle movement tugged at the red-hot branding iron buried deep in his shoulder blade. Agonizing pain pierced his heart, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his inner clothing.

He clenched his teeth and silently placed the fingertips of his left hand on the icy metal knob, steady as stone.

"Creak... click..."

Barely audible springs shifted under the precise movement of his fingers. The first bolt released. The second bolt released. The suspicious eyes of the guards above remained fixed on the bizarre worker below.

The third bolt released.

"Click."

With a soft sound, the hatch slid inward, opening a crack. A dense odor rushed out—a mixture of rust, dust, engine oil, and some indescribably ancient decay.

The instant the hatch opened, Lanling King's figure was swallowed by the darkness behind it.

Almost in the same second Lanling King vanished, the old worker on the deck below suddenly froze.

Then he snapped his head up and screamed at the two terrified guards above, his voice tearing through the night. "Snake! Such a huge snake! Over... over there!"

His bony finger pointed wildly toward the pitch-black sea beyond the railing.

The shriek was like a funeral bell! The two guards and hidden sentries instinctively whipped their heads toward where he pointed.

At that instant, the old worker's figure peeled away piece by piece before their horrified eyes, like a pencil sketch erased by an invisible eraser. He scattered into the salty sea wind, leaving behind only the wrenches and hammers on the deck.

The hatch closed silently behind him, completely cutting off the last faint light and the sea wind's wailing. Absolute darkness wrapped around Lanling King like thick ink. The air seemed frozen, pressing heavily against his chest.

Without pausing, he pressed close to the cold bulkhead and glided forward like a weightless shadow. Through the mental link, Xiang Yi's consciousness imprinted the steel maze of the cargo hold into his senses.

Massive containers were stacked layer upon layer like steel tombs, forming narrow, oppressive passages. Every time his toes touched the metal floor coated in dust and oil, the tearing pain in his right shoulder made his calf muscles spasm uncontrollably.

The target was deeper inside.

Container TS-07.

"Turn left. Thirty steps. Turn right at the end." Xiang Yi's voice sounded directly in his mind. "There's an infrared sensor grid in the passage ahead. Fifteen centimeters above the floor. Three crossing beams."

Lanling King's eyes locked onto the ground ahead in the absolute darkness. He suddenly lowered himself, his entire body sliding flush against the floor and passing silently through the impossibly narrow gap beneath the three infrared beams.

The freezing metal floor crushed his right shoulder wound. Pain surged straight to his head, and cold sweat soaked the bandage at his temple. His teeth clenched tightly, the muscles in his jaw standing out sharply.

He turned right at the end of the passage, and the space ahead opened abruptly. In the center of the unloading area stood the dark-green container—TS-07!

Its enormous doors were tightly shut, and a heavy brass padlock glimmered faintly and coldly in the darkness.

The target was inside!

A fierce gleam flashed through Lanling King's eyes. The dagger held in reverse in his left hand slid silently from his sleeve. He moved like lightning, instantly closing in on the container door.

The dagger's tip stabbed precisely toward the weakest point of the lock cylinder—

"Bzzzz—!!!"

A violent electromagnetic pulse erupted without warning from inside the dark-green container, like an invisible tsunami! Faint blue arcs instantly crawled across the container's surface! The air ionized, releasing the acrid smell of burning ozone!

Pfft!

Lanling King was struck as if by thunder! Fine lines of blood seeped from all seven orifices at once! Before his eyes were not flashes of white, but countless twisted, screaming faces of vengeful spirits and a wildly spinning kaleidoscope!

His skull felt as if it would explode! The mental link was like a cable violently torn apart, bursting with blinding sparks of thought and shrill, unrecognizable electrical screams! Pain detonated at his temples and ripped through his entire skull!

His shoulder wound felt as if it had been plunged into boiling oil!

In the bedroom, Xiang Yi's body suddenly curled up like a shrimp! Veins throbbed violently at his temples. Blood surged into his throat, but he swallowed it back with all his strength, its metallic sweetness filling his mouth.

[Mental Power: plummeting to 45/150!]

The scarlet warning flashed madly.

"Urgh—!" Lanling King staggered, and the tip of his dagger scraped against the keyhole, throwing off a harsh spark as it missed the target.

"Lanling King!" Xiang Yi's anxious thought roared through the chaotic link.

"Xuan Weizi... has nearly half collapsed..." Guiguzi's voice was like a candle guttering in the wind, weak with exhaustion. "The illusion... is about to fall apart..."

At that moment, heavy, hurried footsteps thundered from the narrow passage entrance like the drums of death! Flashlight beams swept wildly through the darkness, accompanied by furious Japanese shouts.

"Damn it! What was that sound?!"

"There's an intruder! In the unloading area!"

The guards had been alerted! The electromagnetic pulse had completely exposed his position!

The situation had taken a disastrous turn. Bloodshot veins burst in Lanling King's eyes as intense dizziness and pain battered his nerves. He viciously bit the tip of his tongue, and the strong taste of blood exploded in his mouth, forcibly suppressing the chaos and ringing in his head!

His vision focused again, locking onto the brass padlock swaying beneath the confused lights.

There was no time left!

"Roar!" A suppressed growl erupted from his throat. Lanling King no longer sought finesse. His injured right arm unleashed every last shred of strength and swung fiercely!

The dagger tore a savage streak through the darkness!

"Clang—crack!"

Metal shrieked against metal! Sparks scattered! The brass lock cylinder and clasp were severed by brute force! The heavy padlock clattered to the ground.

Lanling King grabbed the icy container handle with his left hand and yanked outward with all his strength!

"Creeeak—!"

The ear-piercing screech of metal friction echoed through the space. The container door slid open, and a cold, pure aura mixed with stale dust rushed toward him.

At the same time, a faint but soul-stirring energy ripple clearly spread out!

The container was filled with straw-wrapped artifacts. Inside a waist-high bronze cauldron near the door, two soft pale-blue glows shone quietly through gaps in the straw!

Two Energy Crystals!

[Warning: High-purity Energy Crystal ×2 detected!]

[Warning: Unknown high-intensity energy field interference detected. Mental link stability reduced to 41%!]

[Special energy field has triggered hero bond resonance... evaluating conditions...]

[Bond activated! Lanling King and Guiguzi have formed the Covenant of Concealment!]

[Combination Skill unlocked: Shadow Mist (Lv1)! Effect: Hero and allied unit invisibility range increased by 30%, movement speed +5%, duration 30 seconds. Cooldown: 12 hours.]

The cold system prompts flooded into Xiang Yi's mind! At the same time came the vision shared by Lanling King—the two ghostly blue lights!

And at the passage entrance, three vicious guards had already rushed into the unloading area! Their blinding flashlight beams instantly locked onto Lanling King, fully exposed at the open container door!

"There! Kill him!" The lead guard's face twisted as he raised his pistol!

At that critical moment—

"Mr. Guiguzi!" Lanling King's mental roar exploded through the link.

"Understood!" Guiguzi's reply carried the resolve of a man breaking his boats.

Lanling King lunged into the container! At the same time, his left hand clenched violently in empty air!

The fuse!

The instant he made a fist, the faint blue mark on his chest representing Shadow Power and the Xuan Weizi Core floating around Guiguzi in the Xiang residence both erupted with dazzling radiance—one as deep as an abyss, the other pale gold like dawn!

The two lights crossed space and met in an instant!

Outside the container, the three guards' guns and blades were already trained on their target. At the very instant they were about to pull the triggers—

Pfft!

A muffled sound, like the low hum of the universe's birth.

Centered on Lanling King's body, a swirling cosmic nebula that devoured light appeared from thin air! The thick mist was no longer pure black. Countless pale-gold Xuan Weizi particles flickered in and out of existence inside it like stars!

It expanded in an instant, swallowing more than half the unloading area and the container entrance!

"Nani?!"

"Ahh—! Demon! Stay away!" The guards' screams instantly became terrified wails! The moment the mist enveloped them, all five senses fell into chaos!

One guard frantically fired at an empty corner, bullets striking the containers and scattering sparks! Another clutched his head and fell to his knees, screaming miserably as if he had seen a vision of hell!

The flashlight beams vanished into the nebula mist like oxen entering the sea!

[Guiguzi · Lanling King Bond Skill: Shadow Mist]—its first cry shook the world!

Inside the mist, Lanling King's figure seemed to become part of it. Enduring the dizziness and tearing agony in his head, he thrust his left hand recklessly into the freezing bronze cauldron and grabbed the two diamond-shaped crystals glowing with gentle blue light!

"Sizzle—!"

The moment the icy blue light touched his skin, his right shoulder wound erupted with freezing pain, while his left arm felt as though it had gripped ten-thousand-year-old ice and instantly went numb!

Bone-piercing cold rushed up his arm and stabbed toward his heart!

Frostbite!

He had them! He did not hesitate for even half a second!

Lanling King shot from a narrow breach on the container's far side, one that Xuan Weizi had corroded in advance. Like an arrow released from a bow, he vanished into the deeper shadows behind the container.

After several leaps, he disappeared into the depths of the maze of stacked cargo containers, leaving behind only the rolling, light-devouring nebula mist, the guards' crazed screams, and the thunder of wild gunfire.

In the bedroom, deathly silence reigned. The lamp's halo seemed frozen. Xiang Yi abruptly rose from his chair, knocking it over behind him with a loud crash!

He did not notice at all. His body was stretched taut like a fully drawn bow, both hands braced against the desk edge, his knuckles turning bluish white from the force. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

Through the mental link, the sensation of torn muscle, the whine of bullets cutting through the air, and the drained emptiness of rapidly depleted mental power all felt as though he had endured them himself!

"Creak—"

The bedroom door opened slightly. His mother's gentle, sleepy voice came through. "Xiao Yi? What happened? That was such a loud noise... Hm? What's that smell in here?"

A cold scent of blood and sea brine filled the air!

Xiang Yi's heart stopped! Every drop of blood in his body rushed to his head! Almost instinctively, he pulled his hand from the desk edge like lightning, yanked open the drawer, and roughly shoved the "tablet" with its faint blue screen into the very bottom.

He pressed textbooks down over it with all his strength!

At the same time, he grabbed the half cup of cold water at the corner of his desk with his other hand. Pretending to drink, he "accidentally" splashed it all over his face and chest!

The cup slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor. He moved to pick it up in "panic," deliberately knocking over a stack of books and a pen holder beside it.

Crash! Clatter!

An even bigger mess was created in an instant!

"I-I'm fine, Mom!" He turned around, forcibly squeezing the panic and confusion of a twelve-year-old boy onto his face. His voice rose, thick with a nasal tone. "I accidentally knocked the chair over! Then I spilled the water too! And... and I knocked over that seafood sauce bottle you left on my desk... Sorry!"

He pointed at the overturned chair, the shattered cup, his wet clothes stained with "sauce," and the empty sauce bottle rolling across the floor. His face showed just the right amount of annoyance and sleepiness.

"Did I wake you up?"

His mother stood in the doorway, bleary-eyed. By the hallway light, she looked at the mess on the floor and her bedraggled son. The strange smell in the air seemed covered by the stronger scent of "seafood sauce."

She sighed helplessly, though her eyes were full of concern. "You child, always so clumsy... Go change out of those wet clothes. You're filthy. Don't catch a cold. Get to bed early and stop reading."

After reminding him a few more times and seeing Xiang Yi obediently nod, she closed the door again, still heavy with sleep.

The soft click of the closing door was like an alarm being lifted. The confusion Xiang Yi had forced onto his face vanished at once, leaving only the pallor of survival and bottomless exhaustion.

His legs gave out. Unable to hold himself up any longer, he collapsed directly onto the floor as though every bone had been removed. Only the cold wall against his back kept him from passing out.

He gasped desperately like a fish out of water, his chest heaving violently. His sweat-soaked back pressed against the wall, icy cold.

Then came an almost imperceptible tap from the window.

A figure blending into the night slipped into the room like a phantom, landing soundlessly before Xiang Yi. The overwhelming stench of blood mixed with piercing sea brine and the cold scent of rust instantly filled the small room.

Lanling King dropped to one knee, but his body swayed violently, nearly collapsing. His dark combat uniform at the right shoulder had been soaked through completely. Near-black poisoned blood mixed with fresh blood poured from the wound, dripping from his clothes and quickly forming a small pool of sticky blood on the cold floor.

His face was ash-gray, like a corpse freshly dug from a grave. His lips were purple-black and cracked. Every breath came with the harsh wheeze of a broken bellows, as though his next breath might be his last.

Sweat and blood slid down from the corners of his tightly pressed lips.

Only the left arm extended before Xiang Yi remained steady as a rock, utterly motionless.

His palm opened, revealing two blue diamond-shaped crystals the size of pigeon eggs resting quietly in his bloodstained palm lines. They emitted a soft, pure glow, like two small pieces of frozen deep sea.

The energy within them pulsed faintly as though breathing. Their ghostly blue light cast an unreal sheen over Lanling King's dying face and Xiang Yi's horrified expression.

[Pure Energy Crystal ×2 acquired!]

[System reward settlement: Energy Points +200! Mental Power limit permanently +20!]

The cold prompts surfaced in Xiang Yi's mind, yet they stirred not the slightest ripple.

Xiang Yi's gaze remained nailed to the expanding dark patch on Lanling King's shoulder, radiating a thick, sweet stench of death! The blood smell was so real that it was like a red-hot knife thrust into his nostrils and straight into his heart, turning his stomach.

He extended a hand trembling like a dead leaf in the wind. His fingertips spasmed uncontrollably as they reached for the two crystals containing such immense power.

The movement was agonizingly difficult, as though he was not taking hold of a source of power, but cradling the burning life of a comrade slipping away before his eyes.

At last, his fingertips trembled as he carefully picked up one of the crystals. Its icy touch spread along his finger bones.

The instant the crystal left Lanling King's palm, a tiny protrusion on its underside pressed against Xiang Yi's fingertip. He instinctively turned the freezing crystal over.

The moment the ghostly blue light illuminated its base—

Xiang Yi's fingers jerked back as though stung by a venomous scorpion's tail!

A cold shudder born from the depths of his soul—hundreds of times stronger than when he had faced the Beast totem—coursed through his entire body like a hundred thousand volts of electricity!

Ten cold, precise, perfectly interlocking metal rings were clearly branded into the crystal's underside!

Every ring was etched with unnatural precision and an ancient curse that seemed to transcend time and space!

"Ten... Rings...?"

A hoarse, broken breath of sound, warped beyond recognition and filled with unimaginable horror, squeezed through Xiang Yi's clenched teeth.

The bloodstained crystal glowed faintly in Lanling King's palm. The stark Ten Rings mark on its underside gleamed like a demon's eye.

Xiang Yi stood frozen like a stone statue struck by lightning, his pupils contracting violently as they reflected that ominous symbol and Lanling King's dying body swaying in a pool of blood.

Outside the window, the night was ink-black and bottomless.

And a vaster, more terrifying shadow had already descended in silence.