The night air was crisp, carrying the scent of pine and expensive fertilizer from the Lanyue estate’s manicured gardens. Zhenkai walked down the long, winding driveway, his shadow stretching out before him under the amber glow of the streetlights. In his hand, he carried a single, tattered duffel bag—the sum total of three years of "service" to a family that had never seen him as more than a piece of furniture.As he reached the ornate iron gates, the silence of the suburbs was broken by the low, predatory growl of engines. Three black SUVs decelerated in unison, their headlights cutting through the darkness to pin Zhenkai like a moth against a board.Zhenkai didn't stop. He didn't even blink."The trash usually gets picked up in the morning, doesn't it?"A tall man with a buzz cut and a jagged scar running through his left eyebrow stepped out of the lead vehicle. He leaned against the hood, lighting a cigarette with a flick of a silver Zippo."You Zhenkai?" the man asked, exhaling a

The ethereal dragon shadow slowly dissolved into the dim light of the lounge, leaving only the scent of ozone and the heavy weight of Zhenkai’s presence. He turned toward the French doors leading to a secluded, high-altitude balcony."The conversation is over, Xueira," Zhenkai said, his voice flat.He stepped out into the night air, but the clicking of heels followed him instantly. Before he could reach the railing, Xueira grabbed his arm and swung him around. She didn't let go. Instead, she pushed him back until his waist hit the stone balustrade, effectively trapping him between the city skyline and her desperate gaze."It is not over! You don't get to do... whatever that was, and then just walk away," Xueira snapped, her chest heaving. "Where did you get it, Zhenkai? The money, the power, that... that thing I just saw? You’ve been living under my roof for three years. I know your routine. I know what you eat, I know when you sleep. You were a nobody. You were my nobody!"Zhenkai lo

The "bigger broom" Zhenkai had mentioned was currently leaning against the peeling wallpaper of a studio apartment in the city’s industrial district. It was a far cry from the Lanyue estate’s marble halls, but it was one of the few places not tied to his name, his face, or his past.Zhenkai hissed as he peeled the shredded silk of his tuxedo away from his shoulder. A piece of crystal from the chandelier had sliced deep into his deltoid, and the golden essence was sluggishly trying to knit the skin back together.[Ding!][System Note: Host’s current vitals are... disappointing. Would you like a list of local funeral directors, or shall we actually try to survive the night?]"Shut up," Zhenkai grunted, reaching for a bottle of cheap antiseptic. "I just took out a squad of Void Executioners and dropped a three-ton light fixture on my head. Give me a break."[System Warning: Pain tolerance detected at ‘Toddler Level.’ You have the blood of a Dragon and the backbone of a jellyfish. It was

"Open fire!" the tactical squad leader roared, his voice laced with absolute panic as Zhenkai continued his slow, deliberate advance toward the towering obsidian gates of the Lanyue estate.Before the command could even fully leave the commander's lips, a blinding barrage of supercharged blue beams erupted from the dozen pulse-rifles, cutting through the freezing mountain air with a blistering, ionizing hiss. The concussive blasts were designed to vaporize spiritual entities and liquefy mortal bones, turning the narrow snow-swept bridge into a localized thunderdome of lethal kinetic force.Zhenkai didn't break his stride, nor did he draw a legendary ancestral weapon or summon an arcane barrier of pure light. Instead, he casually sidestepped three consecutive energy bolts with the exaggerated, floppy-limbed laziness of a man sleepwalking through a crowded train station."Honestly, boys, your lead-up is worse than a bad pop song," Zhenkai muttered, ducking underneath a fourth pulse-beam

"Efficient?" Xueira snapped, her voice sharp enough to cut glass as she bypassed him, marching straight toward the sprawling, cavernous lower courtyards of the Lanyue estate. "I had to hack through three municipal firewalls, bribe a regional magistrate, and drive a sports car through an active construction zone just to keep up with your lunatic rampage! What is this place?""Ancestral home," Zhenkai replied, his tone conversational as he strolled after her, easily dodging a hidden pressure plate in the cobblestones that suddenly erupted with a cluster of venom-tipped darts. "Though I see Uncle Lanyue has added some modern security. Very flashy. Very expensive.""Flashy? Those darts are laced with a synthesized neurotoxin that liquifies internal organs in forty seconds!" Xueira grabbed the sleeve of his coat, yanking him back just as a laser grid hummed to life, slicing the frosty air inches from his nose with a high-pitched, ozone-heavy whine. Her fingers were trembling slightly, thou