Chapter 19 – The Phoenix's Shadow
The night air in District C was thick with mist and the scent of rusted metal. The trio parked the sedan under a broken streetlamp near the edge of the industrial zone. Beyond it loomed the abandoned power grid facility, fenced and forgotten—or so it appeared.
Bai Xueqing stepped out first, her silhouette sleek against the cold glow of the moon. She wore all black, her hair tied in a high, efficient ponytail. Mo Chen followed close behind, armed and alert, while Meng Zhihao adjusted the oversized backpack slung over one shoulder.
"Why do I always carry the heavy tech?" he muttered, adjusting the straps. "You two are supposed to be the muscle."
"You talk the most," Xueqing said without turning. "Compensation."
Mo Chen chuckled under his breath. "She's not wrong."
Zhihao sighed. "So much workplace bullying."
They approached the outer fence. Mo Chen clipped the rusted lock with bolt cutters and motioned them through. Inside, the facility was eerily silent—steel towers and abandoned ducts creating a maze of shadows.
Xueqing halted near a loading bay door. She pointed.
"There."
Faint light glowed from a gap in the far wall. A soft hum—electric, unnatural—buzzed through the ground. Meng Zhihao unpacked a small drone and sent it up, eyes narrowing as the feed came through his tablet.
"There's a secondary chamber beneath the warehouse," he murmured. "Power's running to a sealed room underground. Thermal sensors pick up at least six figures. All armed. And—" He paused. "Something in the center. Huge. Covered."
Mo Chen's jaw clenched. "Weapons cache?"
"No. Too cold. It's not running hot like metal. Could be… biological?"
Xueqing's eyes narrowed. "He's making more."
Meng looked up. "More what?"
"Clones," she said flatly. "Or vessels."
Zhihao nearly dropped the tablet. "You're saying this Xu Yanshang guy is printing bodies?"
"Not just bodies," Mo Chen said darkly. "Potential hosts for consciousness transfer. The same method used in the ancient sect to cheat death."
"He's trying to extend his life again," Xueqing added. "Or worse—find a perfect vessel. One strong enough to carry his full soul."
Zhihao grimaced. "How very horror movie of him."
A shout rang out from inside the warehouse.
The three ducked into the shadows as guards poured out of the far door, shouting into earpieces.
"They know we're here," Mo Chen muttered.
"No, not us," Xueqing said, her eyes sharp. "They're chasing someone else."
Just then, a figure darted across the open ground toward them, limping slightly.
A woman. Short hair. Blood on her temple.
Xueqing tensed. "That's Qiao Lan!"
Mo Chen swore and rushed forward with her.
Zhihao grabbed his gear and sprinted after.
The guards opened fire—silent darts laced with paralytic. One whizzed past Mo Chen's shoulder as he tackled Qiao Lan into cover.
"They found out I lied!" she gasped. "They were going to use my brother as a host!"
Xueqing helped her up. "Where is he?"
"In the basement—he's drugged. I saw the tattoo on the man guarding him. The phoenix."
Mo Chen's gaze turned stormy.
"Then we get him out."
---
The plan formed quickly.
Zhihao hacked into the power grid's control panel, dimming the lower lights and rerouting heat signatures to confuse infrared. Mo Chen and Xueqing, dressed in black and moving like smoke, descended into the underground corridor through a forgotten maintenance tunnel.
Qiao Lan stayed with Zhihao, relaying guard patterns and watching the exit.
Inside the facility's heart, they found it—a lab.
Vats lined the walls, filled with opaque fluid and indistinct shapes. Rows of monitors blinked with biometric data. In the center, a boy no older than fifteen lay unconscious on a slab, wires feeding into his neck and spine.
Mo Chen reached for the restraints.
A voice echoed behind them.
"You came."
They turned as one.
Xu Yanshang stood in the corridor's entrance, calm and composed. His mask was gone. Only gloves remained, and the mark of the chained phoenix curled around his exposed wrist like a brand.
Bai Xueqing's breath caught.
It was him.
But his eyes were different—unhinged, too still. And yet hauntingly familiar.
"Didn't think you'd show yourself so soon," Mo Chen said coldly.
Xu Yanshang smiled faintly. "I've waited lives to face you again. The irony is exquisite. You, the righteous protector… and her, always choosing the wrong man."
Xueqing stepped forward. "You're insane."
"No," he said. "I'm eternal."
He lifted a remote and pressed a button.
The lights in the chamber flickered red. Sirens began to pulse.
"You won't make it out this time," he said. "Not all of you."
And with that, he vanished into the shadows.
---
Alarms blaring, Mo Chen ripped the boy's restraints free and lifted him over his shoulder.
"Time's up!"
They ran.
Guards swarmed the tunnels behind them. Xueqing fought like lightning, precise and brutal, her hidden blade slicing through the dark. Mo Chen cleared the path with gunfire and fists. Zhihao, watching from above, rerouted door locks and opened exit panels.
They burst into the night just as fire exploded behind them—the lab set to self-destruct.
Mo Chen dove, shielding the boy. Xueqing rolled beside them, her breath ragged.
Zhihao ran forward, wild-eyed. "You got him?!"
"We did," Xueqing said, pulling the boy to safety.
But she looked back—at the flames, the smoke, the shadow that escaped.
Xu Yanshang was still out there.
Still playing his game.
---
Later, in the quiet of the safe house, Xueqing sat beside the boy's bedside. He stirred faintly, mumbling his sister's name.
Qiao Lan wept softly in the corner.
Mo Chen approached her, his voice low. "You okay?"
She nodded. "It's not over."
"No," he agreed. "But it's one step forward."
Xueqing stood, eyes meeting his. "He's not done. He'll strike again."
Mo Chen stepped closer, brushing a stray hair from her cheek. "Let him come."
She held his gaze. "He's never faced me with a lifetime of memory before."
He smiled. "And he's never faced us."
They stood in silence, a storm building again on the horizon—but together, for once, the thunder didn't frighten them.
It promised war.
And they were ready.