[Location: Jiudong District – Derelict Hospital, 3rd Sublevel]
The rain fell in sheets, soaking through Lin Feng's coat as he stepped past the broken gates. The coordinates Mouse had decrypted pointed here—one of the city's oldest mental health facilities, abandoned after the riots twelve years ago.
Inside, the lights worked.
That was the first warning.
The second came in the form of a voice, clear and calm over the intercom:
"Lin Feng. You were the first. But not the last."
He descended into the dark.
Sublevel 3 – Observation Chamber
She waited for him. No older than twenty, maybe less. Eyes sharp, still. Dressed in a plain grey coat.
Her name had once been Subject L-3K.
She called herself Lan Ke now.
"I've read your files," she said, as if discussing literature.
"I never wrote them," Lin replied.
"You didn't need to," she said with a ghost of a smile. "She wrote enough for all of us."
They circled each other like reflections on ice—similar, but never touching.
"You're the control," she said. "I'm one of the experiments. How does it feel? Knowing you were the bar they measured us against?"
"I never asked to be."
"And I never got to say no."
The smile vanished.
Then she moved.
Fast.
Crimson Circle HQ – Emergency Alert
Xu Shanyue's tablet lit up.
[GHOSTLANTERN SIGNAL – TYPE L-3K: ACTIVE]
[COMBAT INITIATED – SUBLEVEL 3, JIUDONG]
[PRIMARY SUBJECT: LIN FENG]
Guo Yuwei cursed. "She's testing them on him."
Xu stood. "No. She's showing him he's not unique anymore."
Sublevel 3 – Final Round
Their battle wasn't loud—there were no dramatic clashes. Just breath, footwork, analysis. She mimicked his patterns with eerie accuracy.
Until he shifted.
Until he stopped fighting like a weapon—and started thinking like a survivor.
That's when he feinted with emotion. A flicker of hesitation. Pain.
She paused.
And Lin whispered, "That's how you break a perfect machine. Show it a flaw it never knew it could have."
He didn't strike her.
He held out his hand.
"Come with me."
But Lan Ke only smiled—sadly.
"I can't. She still speaks in my head."
And then she pressed her palm to her chest—and collapsed.
A failsafe.
Triggered remotely.
Lin caught her before she hit the floor.
She was still breathing.
But barely.
And all she said was:
"She's not hiding, Lin. She's inviting you."