Storm of Evidence

The gray-white morning light struggled through a hole in the hospital wall, falling across Xiang Yi's paper-pale face. He lay curled up on the cold bed, his body trembling uncontrollably. Every breath felt as though his chest were filled with shattered glass, the pain piercing deep into his heart. Inside his skull, the silent storm intensified, like countless red-hot steel needles stabbing and churning his fragile nerves. Every heartbeat brought dizziness and crushing, dull pain.

[Mental Power (Lv.0): 54/110 (Draining: -1 point/minute)]

The number continued to fall. Every tiny change brought deeper exhaustion to his soul and sharper pain to his skull. The lifeline sustaining Shadow Blade's existence was rapidly draining away. The night outside had not fully faded, pressing down on his heart like the invisible shadow of the Ten Rings Syndicate. As the number neared the critical threshold of 50, the steel needles in his head seemed to freeze over instantly, each twist bringing soul-freezing agony and suffocation.

Xiang Haishan was curled up on the cold floor in the corner like a stone statue weathered by despair. His graying hair stuck to his sweat-soaked temples, and dark circles surrounded his sunken eyes. His breathing was weak, his complexion ashen, his lips bluish-purple. The breath of life seemed to be quietly slipping away. The overpowering stench of tobacco, alcohol, and despair emanating from him filled the room, making it hard to breathe.

Just as Xiang Yi felt as though pain and exhaustion were about to tear him apart completely, just as his Mental Power was about to fall into the danger zone—

The dense shadow in the corner of the room, untouched by the morning light, suddenly stirred without warning.

Like ink dripping into clear water, a tall, lean figure silently "separated" from the shadows. Dark purple combat clothes clung tightly to his body, while a cold dark-gold mask covered most of his face, revealing only pale, tightly pressed lips. It was Lanling King.

Yet the instant Xiang Yi saw his condition clearly, his heart sank.

Lanling King was in terrible shape.

Near his left collarbone, the dark purple fabric had been torn open in a savage gash. Its edges were soaked in thick, nearly black dried blood. The flesh around the wound had curled outward, taking on an ominous gray hue. Even more alarming were the several torn marks along his waist and hem, their edges charred black! They did not look like blade wounds, but rather as though scorching high-speed energy had grazed him! Ten Rings Syndicate weapons?!

His movements had lost their usual fluid, ghostlike grace and were stiff with forced restraint. Every step caused a faint spasm in the muscles around his shoulder wound. Ignoring his own miserable state, he stepped out of the shadows, and the air seemed to freeze. He walked straight to Xiang Yi's bedside and dropped to one knee—the moment his knee touched the cold floor, Xiang Yi caught an almost imperceptible sway. He lowered his head slightly and solemnly presented a battered kraft-paper document bag stained with large patches of dark brown dried blood. His outstretched fingertips trembled uncontrollably. Beneath the edge of his mask, a faint trace of dried blood could be seen.

"My lord," the voice behind the mask was hoarser and deeper than it had been last night, like grit scraping against rusted iron, suppressing weakness and a barely detectable tremor. "The evidence on the target is here. The Ten Rings stronghold has been marked, and its lackeys... have been temporarily shaken off by this subordinate. This subordinate... was incompetent. I failed to eliminate the pursuers and instead caused my lord concern." As the final word fell, his kneeling figure swayed ever so slightly before he forcibly steadied himself through sheer willpower.

Xiang Yi's gaze remained nailed to the bloodstained document bag, saturated with the smell of gunpowder, before shifting to Lanling King's savage shoulder wound and scorched waist. It felt as though an icy iron hand had seized and ripped apart his heart! The Ten Rings Syndicate! Mere outer lackeys had wounded the sharpest Shadow Blade beneath his command to such a state! Every word in this evidence was soaked in Lanling King's blood!

"It is nothing." Xiang Yi's voice was dry and hoarse, each word squeezed painfully from his throat, carrying a weight and resolve no twelve-year-old should possess. Enduring the agony and rising nausea, he reached out with an equally trembling hand and accepted the heavy document bag. "You did... very well. Go... rest." He did not dare say another word. Under the violent emotional fluctuation and constant drain, his Mental Power suddenly dropped: [49/110]! Darkness washed over his vision in waves, and Lanling King's kneeling form began to blur.

"Yes." Lanling King spoke no unnecessary words. He bowed slightly once more, his movements carrying an almost tragic obedience. Then, like smoke scattered by the wind, his figure silently merged into the dense shadow in the corner and vanished completely. Only a faint lingering scent of blood and cold killing intent in the air proved he had ever been there.

[Mental Power: 48/110 (-1 point/minute)]

Xiang Yi clenched the bloodstained kraft-paper bag tightly, his knuckles turning pale blue from the force. Its cold, sticky texture felt like ice in his grip. Enormous exhaustion and the dull ache of a torn soul swept over him once more like an icy tide, nearly drowning him. He needed rest! Immediately! The consequences of his Mental Power falling below the threshold were unthinkable!

But he could not! Liu Jinbiao and the Ten Rings Syndicate hung over him like maggots clinging to bone! His father's figure, curled up in the corner with his back crushed by despair, burned into his soul like a red-hot brand! The evidence was in hand. He had to act immediately! Before the Ten Rings Syndicate could react! Before his father collapsed completely!

"System..." Xiang Yi's thoughts flickered like a candle in the wind, fragmented and weak. Every thought brought an explosion inside his skull. "...highest alert level... all mainstream media... anonymous... overseas IP... leave no trace... send... everything!" He drained the last trace of his clarity, pouring every security measure he could think of into the command.

[Command received. Executing anonymous information delivery procedure. Energy Points consumed: 5.]

His Energy Points dropped from 100 to 95.

The instant the command was issued, a more powerful wave of dizziness crashed into the back of Xiang Yi's head like a sledgehammer! His vision was completely swallowed by spinning darkness! [Mental Power: 47/110]—the final thread holding him conscious finally snapped. His body went limp on the cold hospital bed, and his awareness instantly sank into a bottomless abyss of darkness.

He did not know how much time had passed before suppressed sobbing, trembling violently, pierced the sinking darkness like tiny ice awls and forcibly dragged Xiang Yi back from the edge of unconsciousness.

"...Hai Shan! Hai Shan, wake up! Don't scare me! Doctor! Doctor—!"

It was his mother, Lin Wanqing, her voice filled with absolute terror and despair.

Xiang Yi struggled to lift his heavy eyelids. The blinding fluorescent lights made him squint. Through his blurred vision, Lin Wanqing was kneeling in the corner, clutching Xiang Haishan's shoulders and shaking him frantically as tears poured down her face. Xiang Haishan's face was deathly pale, his eyes shut tight, his lips dark purple. His body swayed limply under her shaking, and his chest rose so faintly it was nearly imperceptible!

Xiang Yi's heart shot into his throat! Terror seized him. "Mom... what's wrong with Dad?!" His voice was hoarse and weak as he struggled to sit up, but his entire body felt limp and sore.

"Xiao Yi! You're awake! Hurry! Press the call button and get a doctor!" Lin Wanqing cried as though she had grasped a lifeline. "Your dad... he suddenly... he just collapsed! He won't respond no matter how I call him... sob..."

Using all his strength, Xiang Yi raised his leaden arm and slammed it onto the emergency call button at the bedside! A piercing alarm instantly rang throughout the room!

Almost at the same moment the alarm sounded—

The wall-mounted television in the corner was hurriedly switched on by the nurse on duty. The theme music for the noon news began to play, only to be interrupted by the clear, urgent, and shocked voice of the female anchor:

"—Emergency bulletin! Our station has received explosive news! Liu Jinbiao, chairman of the well-known local enterprise Hongyuan Trading Group, was taken from his office by police early this morning! According to sources at the scene, police discovered a large amount of original key evidence in his safe, suspected of being forged to frame Xiang Group!"

The television report exploded like thunder! In the corner, Xiang Haishan's lifeless body seemed to twitch ever so slightly!

"Cough... cough, cough...!" A string of violent, gut-wrenching coughs suddenly burst from his throat! His tightly shut eyes flew open! At first, those bloodshot eyes were filled with confusion and haze...

"Meanwhile, several mainstream media outlets have received anonymous tips accusing Liu Jinbiao of long-term commercial fraud, tax evasion, and other serious crimes! The chain of evidence is complete and shocking! Liu Jinbiao has been formally placed under criminal detention! Hongyuan Trading Group's stock price plunged at opening and has now triggered the circuit breaker!" The anchor's voice continued. On-screen, Liu Jinbiao was being escorted out of Hongyuan Building by two police officers, his head hanging low as camera flashes battered his desperate, terrified face like rain!

Liu Jinbiao's despair-filled face burned itself into Xiang Haishan's newly focused pupils like a red-hot brand!

"Uh... hhk..." Xiang Haishan let out a hoarse cry. The blankness in his eyes instantly erupted with disbelief, wild joy, and the overwhelming shock of surviving disaster! He sucked in a sharp breath, his chest heaving violently, and the foul air trapped in his chest, which had nearly suffocated him, seemed to be forcibly expelled! "Wan... Wanqing... Xiao Yi..." He struggled to speak, his voice hoarse like a broken gong, but filled with the immense excitement of a drowning man clutching driftwood! Trembling, he reached out and seized his wife's arm, his knuckles turning white.

The hospital room door was shoved open, and doctors and nurses rushed inside, quickly surrounding Xiang Haishan.

"Mr. Xiang! Relax! Take deep breaths! You lost consciousness because you got too agitated and held your breath!" The doctor checked him rapidly. "Quick! Oxygen mask! Put him on monitoring!"

Amid the chaos, Xiang Yi lay quietly on the bed, his gaze passing through the busy medical staff to rest on Liu Jinbiao's frozen, desperate face on the television screen. The room was filled with his father's gasps, his mother's sobs, the doctor's instructions, and the hum of medical equipment.

Deep within his sea of consciousness, the dim blue system interface refreshed silently:

[Novice Guidance Mission (2): Clear the Clouds and See the Sun, Resolve the Family Crisis! Mission Complete!]

[Mission Reward Issued: Energy Points +100! Basic Body Technique (Beginner) unlocked!]

A faint yet pure warm current of energy flowed into his body, slightly easing the soreness and agony. His Mental Power rose back to [55/110]. Yet Xiang Yi showed no joy. He looked at his father's trembling face beneath the oxygen mask, at his mother's tearful eyes filled with both elation and lingering fear, and finally lowered his gaze to his own pale, slender hand marked with needle holes.

Power... he had used forbidden power to temporarily drive back a hyena. But deep within the shadows, the beast-head emblem ringed by ten cold circles was branded into his consciousness like a silent, savage grin.

Was the crisis over? No. The Ten Rings Syndicate's retaliation had only been temporarily interrupted. Liu Jinbiao's downfall had merely torn open one corner of a larger conspiracy. And could he, Xiang Yi—a twelve-year-old whose Mental Power barely remained above fifty and who had only one severely wounded assassin at his disposal—truly protect this teetering family in the Marvel Universe, where monstrous waves were about to rise?

An atmosphere of surviving catastrophe began to spread through the hospital room. Lin Wanqing suddenly pointed at the television, her voice warped by excitement and tears. "Hai Shan... Hai Shan! Look! Look at the TV! That Liu... that Liu bastard was arrested! Retribution! It really is retribution! Sob... It's over... our family's hardship... it's over..." She wiped away her tears, and for the first time in days, a genuine smile, glistening with tears, appeared on her face.

Xiang Haishan nodded hard beneath the oxygen mask, and a faint light rekindled in his eyes.

Xiang Yi also slowly, almost imperceptibly, tugged at the corner of his mouth, putting on the weary, "bewildered" expression of relief expected from a twelve-year-old child.

"Mm... it's over..." he softly echoed, his voice faint.

Yet beneath his lowered lashes, in eyes veiled by their shadows, lay a coldness and gravity darker than the heavy night outside the hospital room. The sensation of the bloodstained document bag still seemed to linger at his fingertips.

The storm had only just begun. And how long could the bloodstained Shadow Blade in his hand continue to hold?