I ran.
I ran.
I left him behind… and ran.
Breathing ragged, steps stumbling, Lu Mingfei sprinted down the gravel path.
What was that monster?
How could monsters exist?
Yu Jin… what happened to Yu Jin?
He told me to run… so he must have a way to deal with it, right?
No.
How could he?
He got pierced through because of me.
That monster killed Yu Jin.
What do I do? What do I do?!
Go back?
But what can I do by going back?
Throw my life away?
If Yu Jin hadn't shoved me aside, I'd be dead.
Call the police—yes, call the police! Let them handle it…
No, too slow. It'd be too late.
Lu Mingfei's mind was a hurricane. He stumbled like a drunk, chest aching.
Then his ankle clipped something hard. The world spun.
He crashed onto icy cobblestones, pain detonating through him.
He lay there, unable to get up.
"…It hurts."
His body hurt, but his heart hurt worse—so badly he couldn't breathe.
Yu Jin… a guy he'd only just met.
He appeared out of nowhere. Helped him out of nowhere. Said nonsense out of nowhere.
Then threw himself in front of him out of nowhere.
That ridiculous guy…
was dead.
"Don't die…"
His voice came out cracked.
Lu Mingfei rolled onto his back and covered his eyes with his arm.
Don't die… please… don't die…
Don't… die for me.
I'm not worth it.
Confusion swallowed him whole.
The ordinary world he knew shattered.
But he was just a normal kid.
No power. No way to save Yu Jin.
What could he do?!
Then a memory stabbed into his head—
"Would you trade?"
"I think I would."
Lu Mingfei's breath went sharp. Fire lit up inside his chest.
He sprang to his feet.
To hell with it. To hell with all of it.
What was the point of fear? The world had never been safe.
He could run today—but what about tomorrow? The day after?
And besides…
his only friend was still back there.
His dropped backpack didn't even register.
His body moved before his brain, charging back the way he came.
Don't die. Don't die.
But when he reached the nightmare spot again—
there was only emptiness.
Lu Mingfei's legs buckled. He dropped to the ground.
He had no friends now.
The friend's body was gone.
The monster was gone.
He thought he'd scream. Thought he'd sob.
But his throat made no sound.
Only the moment of running away replayed on loop inside his skull—
If… if I hadn't run…
He didn't know how he left.
He drifted home like a hollow shell.
His aunt's shrill scolding. His uncle's worried questions. His cousin's nosy peeking—
all of it hit an invisible wall and faded away.
He curled into the corner of his bed, eyes empty, staring at the floor.
His aunt's shouting grew harsher—
then, strangely, it started to sound anxious, worried.
The family crowded around him, pressing him for answers.
Lu Mingfei… was already dead at that moment.
Yu Jin… died.
Because of me.
"Everything's gone to hell." Yu Jin was curled in a dark corner, eyes shut tight, listening to the chaos outside.
Footsteps. Mutters.
"He ran this way. He can't be far."
"Careful. That guy's extremely dangerous. Bloodline rating might be high."
"Stay on channel."
A group of men in the night ransacked every possible hiding spot, finding nothing.
They didn't give up. Their footsteps moved on, searching farther out.
When silence finally returned, Yu Jin slid down from the top of a narrow alley.
"Damn it—don't pull a feint. I'm out!" he hissed, then bolted opposite the search.
"Whoever's working behind the scenes… don't let me catch you, or I'll Rhine you into ash." He ground his teeth.
He was 100% sure that Dead Servant was a custom delivery for him.
No ordinary person could dodge Cassell College surveillance and drop something that high-grade right beside Lu Mingfei.
You think those pros eat air?
He heard dense footsteps ahead. Yu Jin's pupils shrank. He snapped back into the shadow of a wall.
Sure enough, another unit in black suits swept past fast.
Yu Jin held his breath.
When they vanished, he opened his eyes.
In those eyes, fire burned—molten gold.
Golden eyes.
A hybrid's mark, a dragon's brand, normally something he could show or hide at will.
But now—
it was out of control.
Worse still, the people hunting him were Cassell College's.
Maybe… more than that. He couldn't tell who all these black-clad men truly were.
"Best day ever," he muttered bitterly.
First he'd snuck into school and got chased around by the discipline director.
Then a Dead Servant went straight for his heart.
Now Cassell's people were treating him like a walking target.
Going home was impossible. This was his mess; he'd handle it alone.
His three chat buddies had nothing to do with this.
"No reason to drag them into my hole." With that decided, he sprinted deeper into the night.
But not long after—
he came rocketing back even faster, in pure, breath-ragged panic.
Behind him, more than a dozen black-suited bruisers were on his heels!
"Holy crap, how many people are you sending?!" Yu Jin's scalp went numb.
Tonight's dragnet felt like dozens of men.
He knew he'd caused trouble. He'd expected to be hunted.
But did it really take a small army for one guy?
If he knew the real number, he'd probably choke harder—
the operation had mobilized over 130 people.
All for one target:
Yu Jin.
The intruder who had tried to approach their secret weapon.
If he could help it, Yu Jin didn't want to fight them.
But he might not get a choice.
Midnight.
Kevin lay on an unfamiliar bed, wide awake.
He stared at an unfamiliar ceiling, inhaled, and opened the group chat.
The last messages were frozen there:
Bonfire Keeper: "Going out to have fun for a few days. Not coming back for dinner tonight."
Bonfire Keeper: "Don't you three get into trouble. Chu Tianjiao said the city's tense lately—don't get yourselves caught as three dragons."
Bonfire Keeper: "That's it. Later."
Kevin sighed again.
"That guy… definitely got himself in trouble and won't come back because he's afraid of dragging us in."
They hadn't known each other long, but Kevin was sure: that was Yu Jin to the bone.
As the group's immortal, Yu Jin was the strongest, the least afraid.
But…
it was hard not to worry.
Even knowing he was probably fine, imagining him alone against something unknown still gnawed at Kevin.
"I'll grab some water." He got up and opened the door.
The living room wasn't totally dark.
Cold moonlight streamed through the window, painting the blackness silver.
On the sofa sat a blurry silhouette.
Doctor.
He nodded when he saw Kevin. "Can't sleep either?"
"Yeah." Kevin went to the fridge, grabbed a can of cola, then turned. "Want one?"
"Sure."
Kevin pulled another and set it on the coffee table. He sat down too.
"Pssht—" Both cans opened almost in sync. Cold fizz slid down their throats.
"So," Kevin looked at Doctor, moonlight outlining his profile, "why can't you sleep either?"
Doctor took a sip. "Probably… same as you."
Kevin smiled faintly, staring at the can in his hands.
"Feels… kind of incredible."
Doctor looked up.
"We come from different worlds, with different lives, different jobs, different paths…" Kevin's voice carried a quiet awe. "Yet because of one chat group, we crossed. That…" He looked at the other two. "Isn't that a miracle?"
"A miracle indeed." A clear voice cut in, amused.
They looked up. Xing leaned against the second-floor railing, smiling.
"You're not sleeping either?" the two on the sofa said at once.
"I wasn't planning to." Xing walked down. "One idiot isn't back. Who could sleep?"
She sat naturally. "What're you talking about?"
"Fate being strange." Kevin set his can down. "In one world, going from strangers to friends is already rare. But us? We crossed endless worlds and endless people and somehow ended up in one group…" He looked at them. "Doesn't that count as a kind of miracle?"
"What are you getting at?" Doctor asked evenly.
Kevin rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "It's kinda weird for me to ask, but… what do you think Yu Jin is like?"
Xing didn't hesitate. "A dumbass with a hero complex."
Doctor was blunt. "Seems like he's been through a lot. Acts… erratic."
"And you?" Doctor asked. "What do you think he's like?"
Kevin went silent for a moment. When he spoke again, he was serious.
"A friend worth trusting."
He took a slow breath. "Maybe we don't see him the same way, but… I want to cherish this miracle. This cross-world friendship."
He remembered that figure standing in front of them, taking the danger alone.
A friend being strong wasn't a reason for them to stay behind.
Pain was equal.
How many deaths had Yu Jin already endured?
If Rhine-fire could crack a god's armor, what did repeated death do to flesh?
Kevin didn't want to imagine.
He had one thought:
Go bring that troublemaker back.
Or go with him—wherever the hell he was running.
Xing's smile bloomed bright. "Looks like we're thinking the same thing."
She turned to Doctor. "You in?"
Kevin looked too.
Doctor replied flatly, "Do you think I'd be sitting in the living room for no reason?"
"I'm not that free."
"I was waiting for you two."
"Hmph." Xing stood up. "I just took a bit to pack stuff."
She shot them a look. "Don't tell me you two brought nothing."
Doctor raised a hand. "Found a location function in the group chat."
All pressure landed on Kevin. He laughed awkwardly—yeah, he'd brought nothing.
Xing ran upstairs, came back with gear in her hands.
"Kevin, take this." She shoved a metal bat into his arms.
"Doctor, this is yours." She handed him a heavy black pistol.
Kevin's eye twitched. "Where the hell did you get a gun?!"
"Probably Chu Tianjiao's. Found it in the house." Xing shrugged. "Not many bullets left. Use sparingly."
"I've never used one of these," Doctor said, but he still took it.
He could figure it out on the way.
"Let's go!" Xing swung the door open, voice eager. "We're finding that idiot and dragging him back!"
"Quiet, it's midnight! Don't wake the neighbors." Kevin groaned as he followed.
Doctor pulled up the group-location panel, locking onto the glowing dot labeled Yu Jin.
The three disappeared into the night.
Half an hour later a car screeched to a stop outside the house.
Chu Tianjiao practically jumped out, keys already in hand, and burst through the door.
The living room greeted him with open bedroom doors and an empty sofa.
"…We're screwed." His heart sank. "This is big trouble."
He'd just gotten intel tonight: someone had broken through layers of surveillance and approached the key target—Lu Mingfei.
His first thought had been Yu Jin's group.
The report said only one person, but instinct drove him here anyway.
If it wasn't them, great—he'd just be dropping off living expenses.
If it was…
they were in deep.
They'd gone after Lu Mingfei?
That was charging straight into a dragon's den.
Lu Mingfei had been under the secret society's surveillance since birth, a "secret weapon" so guarded that his humanity itself was questionable.
"Please…" Chu Tianjiao stared at the empty house, whispering a prayer. "Don't die on me."
-------
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