Action Sang Ye didn't know where she was. She seemed to have walked a long distance, but the surroundings remained dark and misty. Her head throbbed, and a persistent clamor echoed in her ears.
Until a flicker of light appeared ahead.
Sang Ye ran toward it. She found herself in a wasteland, only slightly brighter than the void behind her, shrouded in the gloom of approaching night. A man and a woman were placing something under a tree before hurrying away, seemingly oblivious to Sang Ye’s presence.
She stood still, watching the tree. It was a Mulberry tree, surviving miraculously on parched land. Beneath it lay a thin bundle. Soon, a weak cry emerged.
Sang Ye knew what this was. After a moment of hesitation, she approached. A frail female infant, driven by the will to survive, let out a hoarse cry like a kitten. Sang Ye didn't know if she had truly looked like this as a baby, but she knew this wasn't the real world—it was her imagination.
A scrawny wild wolf wobbled over, circling the infant. It bared its teeth but ultimately did not bite. Instead, it lay down, warming the girl with its belly. Both fell into a deep sleep.
Sang Ye, the outsider, watched. She could neither be heard nor touch anything. The heavy black fog began to thin. When the world changed colors again, a younger Du Yuan approached.
"Poor things," Du Yuan whispered, feeding the wolf scraps of meat. She discovered the baby curled under the wolf's belly. "Another abandoned girl. Come with me, both of you. I'll make sure you're well-fed."
"Mom," Sang Ye whispered, not expecting a reply.
"Hm?" Du Yuan paused, looking around as if she had heard something. "I must be tired. Let's go, back to Shifang Sect. Master is waiting."
The fog dissipated entirely in the brilliant light.
"Sangsang—"
"Sangsang!!"
"Sang Ye!!"
…
Sang Ye snapped her eyes open. Before her, the Parasol Tree was frantically lashing out with its branches at a ball of pitch-black fog.
"Finally, you’re awake!" the tree huffed. "You scared me! What did you bring into the dimension?"
Sang Ye reached out and caught the fog in her hand. It was icy, filled with a sickening malice that her mental energy instinctively repelled. It was "kindred" energy—it belonged to another Guide. One who could invade mental landscapes and manufacture nightmares.
"Who are you?"
A cold male voice drifted from the black mist. Song Yu had been feeling uneasy ever since the auditors arrived. He had been monitoring the nightmare toxin he planted, but one thread had gone stagnant, its energy being rejected.
"Who are you?" Sang Ye countered, feigning ignorance.
"Stop playing games! I'll find you by tomorrow morning!" Song Yu snapped, realizing too late that his frustration had exposed a weakness.
"How strange," Sang Ye said calmly. "You invaded my mental landscape, yet you threaten me? I recall that unauthorized mental intrusion is a felony in the Empire."
Song Yu sneered. "Do you have evidence? Can you find me? Who can even enter your landscape to prove this mist belongs to me?"
Sang Ye smirked. Normal Sentinels and Guides couldn't, but she could—because anything that entered her dimension could be taken out via her storage ring. She stuffed the black mist into a piece of jade essence, threw it into her ring, and severed the mental link.
…
Inside the Executive Palace, a panicked Song Yu smashed everything in his room—porcelain, antiques, even the bedposts. He was acting like a rioting Sentinel.
Across the palace, Jima’s terminal lit up. It was a high-level, untraceable communication from the internal military network. Lin Changli: "Major General Jima, hand over the passcode and biometric authorization for Executive Officer Eugenia’s ward." It wasn't a request; it was an order. Jima hesitated for only a second before Song Yu’s screams echoed from down the hall. Lin Changli: "We have a way to wake Madame Eugenia. You must keep Song Yu distracted so he doesn't notice anything at the hospital." Jima made her choice. She sent the codes and unlocked the biometric lock remotely. Once the message was read, the record vanished. Jima stepped out of her room and confronted a manic Song Yu. "What are you doing? Don't cause trouble while the auditors are here. Do you want to be caught?"
Song Yu forced a grotesque smile. "Of course not. After all, my dear sister is still in the hospital. It would be a shame if she were sent to Black Tower."
…
At the hospital, the Sentinels on duty were slumped over, their faces twisted in terror. They had been suppressed by a crushing SSS-rank mental pressure that left them unable to even trigger an alarm.
Lin Changli and Sang Ye entered the restricted rooftop zone. Using the codes, the doors slid open silently. Eugenia Letona lay in the furthest room. Her mental landscape was choked with black fog.
"Shall we take her back to Black Tower?" Lin Changli asked.
"Yes," Sang Ye replied. "The medical conditions are better there. Besides, I think she’s hiding evidence. If my guess is right, she wouldn't trust anyone but Eve. Eve never betrays."
Sang Ye mused, "If I were her, I’d put the evidence—a disk or a crystal—somewhere safe inside Eve’s server room. Eve wouldn't report it as long as there's no virus and it's presented as a personal request for safekeeping."
Lin Changli nodded. "To talk to Eve directly, we have to go to the server room 'in person'."
Sang Ye whispered, "Then let's go to the server room."
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