Huo Jingran's scream caught in her throat as the lounge window rattled, the shadow with fox eyes gone faster than a glitch in a beta build. Her phone burned in her hand, that creepy text—Look behind you—looping in her mind like a bad pop-up ad. Shanghai's skyline blinked beyond the glass, all neon and innocence, but Jingran wasn't buying it. Something was out there, and it wasn't just paparazzi chasing her latest scandal.
"Alright, Xiwen," she muttered, clutching the glowing jade pendant. "You wanna play horror game? I've got 500 hours in Dead Space. Bring it."
The pendant's voice—cool, smug, and still annoyingly cryptic—chimed in her head: Jade Whisper system alert: Hostile entity retreated. Task update—Access HuoTech server logs within 24 hours. Reward: Sorcery decryption key. Penalty: System lockdown.
Jingran snorted, pacing the now-empty VIP lounge. "Lockdown? What, you gonna brick yourself like my old phone during a software update?"
Focus, Host. Threat level elevated. Bei Xiwen's influence detected.
"Yeah, no kidding," Jingran said, glancing at her phone. Another text popped up: Stop running, Huo. You're already dead. Her stomach twisted, but she shoved it in her clutch. "Real original, stalker. Try a jump scare next time."
The lounge door creaked, and Jingran spun, half-expecting a fox-faced assassin. Instead, a woman in a tailored gray coat stepped in, her bobbed hair sharp as her glare. "Miss Huo. You're harder to find than a sober influencer at Fashion Week."
Jingran blinked, Jingran's memories pinging: Shao Lanyi, her assistant at HuoTech, loyal but perpetually done with her boss's chaos. "Lanyi? What're you doing here?"
Shao Lanyi crossed her arms, eyeing Jingran's bare feet and mango-mousse-stained dress. "Saving your ass, apparently. The Bei family's security is circling the building. You want out, we move now."
Jingran's gamer brain kicked into gear—Lanyi was an NPC ally, maybe even a party member if she played this right. "Lead the way, then. Unless you're secretly Team Xiwen, in which case, hard pass."
Lanyi snorted, tossing her a pair of flats from her bag. "If I were Team Xiwen, I'd have quit when you tanked HuoTech. Put these on—you look like a runaway prom queen."
Jingran grinned, slipping on the shoes. "Ouch. Fair, though."
They slipped out a back exit, Lanyi moving like she'd memorized every security camera's blind spot. The night air hit Jingran like a slap, thick with Shanghai's mix of smog and jasmine. A black SUV idled nearby—Lanyi's doing, no doubt. Jingran dove into the backseat, Lanyi sliding in beside her as the driver peeled out.
"Where to?" Jingran asked, catching her breath. "Unless this is a kidnapping, in which case, I'm worth like, negative dollars right now."
Lanyi rolled her eyes, tapping her phone. "HuoTech's old office. You wanted to dig into the server logs, right?"
Jingran froze. "How do you—"
"You were muttering about it on the phone earlier," Lanyi said, not looking up. "Before you hung up to, I assume, throw wine at Xiwen."
Jingran winced—Jingran's memories confirmed a frantic call to Lanyi pre-gala, begging for access to HuoTech's archives. "Okay, fine. But why help me? Everyone else thinks I'm a walking PR nightmare."
Lanyi's lips quirked. "You're my nightmare. Plus, I never bought Xiwen's saint act. Too many smiles, not enough soul."
Jingran laughed, liking Lanyi more by the second. "You're hired. Again. Whatever."
The SUV wove through Pudong's glittering maze—skyscrapers flashing ads for VR headsets and bubble tea NFTs. Jingran's pendant hummed, and the system whispered: Shao Lanyi's loyalty: 78%. Caution—HuoTech's servers may be compromised.
"Compromised?" Jingran muttered, keeping her voice low. "What, like a virus, or full-on evil magic?"
Lanyi shot her a look. "You okay, boss? You're talking to your jewelry now."
"It's… a vibe," Jingran said, flashing a grin. "Don't judge."
The SUV stopped at a sleek, abandoned building—HuoTech's former HQ, now a ghost of its startup glory. Graffiti tagged the glass doors, and a busted drone lay in the entryway like a tech graveyard. Jingran's chest tightened—Jingran's memories flooded in: boardroom fights, investors bailing, and Xiwen's smug face at a press conference, calling HuoTech's collapse "inevitable."
"Home sweet home," Jingran said dryly, stepping out. "Bet the coffee machine's still broken."
Lanyi led her through a side entrance, using a keycard that somehow still worked. The lobby was dark, save for the glow of emergency lights. Dust coated the reception desk, where a faded HuoTech logo mocked her. The system pinged: Server room on B2. Security disabled, but unknown entities detected.
"Unknown entities?" Jingran hissed. "You mean rats, right? Please say rats."
Lanyi raised a brow but said nothing, guiding her to a freight elevator. The ride down was silent, save for the elevator's ominous creak. Jingran's pendant glowed brighter, casting jade-green shadows. When the doors opened, the server room loomed—rows of dead machines, their fans long silent, and a chill that wasn't just bad AC.
"Okay, creepy," Jingran said, hugging herself. "This is giving Resident Evil vibes."
Lanyi pulled a laptop from her bag, plugging it into a dusty terminal. "Focus. The logs are encrypted, but I kept a backdoor from when we were still operational. You're welcome."
Jingran leaned over, her old coding skills itching. "Lemme see."
Lanyi slid the laptop over, and Jingran's fingers flew—lines of code, timestamps, access records. HuoTech's breach had been pinned on her, but the logs told a different story: unauthorized access from an external IP, routed through… Bei Innovations.
"Xiwen," Jingran growled, her suspicions confirmed. "She tanked us."
Lanyi's eyes widened. "You've got proof?"
"Enough to start," Jingran said, downloading the logs to a USB. The pendant pulsed, and the system chimed: Task progress: 50%. Warning—Hostile entity approaching.
The room's lights flickered. A low hum—like static mixed with a growl—echoed from the shadows. Jingran's neck prickled. "Lanyi, tell me that's the AC."
Lanyi's face paled. "Not the AC."
A figure stepped from behind a server rack—not human, not quite. It was humanoid, but its edges shimmered, like a hologram glitching. Its eyes glowed amber, fox-like, and its smile was all teeth. "Huo Jingran," it rasped, voice layered with Xiwen's cadence. "You shouldn't be here."
Jingran stumbled back, grabbing a random wrench from a tool cart. "Oh, cool, a fox ghost! Totally on my Monday bingo card!"
Lanyi yanked her behind a rack, whispering, "What the hell is that?"
"Your guess is as good as mine!" Jingran said, heart racing. The pendant burned, and the system blared: Entity: Lesser spirit construct. Linked to Bei clan sorcery. Neutralize to proceed.
"Neutralize?" Jingran hissed. "With what, my sparkling wit?"
The construct lunged, claws slashing through a server, sparks flying. Jingran dove, dragging Lanyi with her. The wrench was useless, but the pendant flared, projecting runes into the air. The system's voice was calm: Channel intent through Jade Whisper. Success chance: 64%.
"Intent? I'm intending to not die!" Jingran snapped, gripping the pendant. She focused—hard—picturing a shield, like in her favorite RPGs. The runes pulsed, forming a faint green barrier. The construct's claws hit it and recoiled, hissing.
Lanyi gaped. "Since when do you do magic?"
"New hobby," Jingran said, grinning despite the terror. "Looks good on me, right?"
The construct circled, its form flickering. "Give us the pendant," it said, Xiwen's voice clearer now. "Or we take it."
Jingran's grin faded. We? The system pinged: Additional constructs detected. Retreat advised.
"Retreat?" Jingran muttered. "Where, Narnia?"
Lanyi tugged her toward the elevator, but the doors wouldn't open—locked, or jammed by whatever Xiwen was pulling. The first construct lunged again, and Jingran threw up another shield, her head throbbing from the effort. The pendant was draining her, like a game with a mana bar she didn't know she had.
"Lanyi, any bright ideas?" Jingran asked, ducking a swipe.
Lanyi grabbed a fire extinguisher, spraying foam at the construct. It staggered, confused. "Run!" she yelled.
They bolted for a maintenance hatch, crawling through a dusty tunnel that smelled like regret. The construct's growls faded, but Jingran's pendant kept glowing, the system whispering: Entity disengaged. Task incomplete. HuoTech logs secured, but Bei sorcery confirmed.
They emerged in an alley behind the building, gasping. Lanyi rounded on her. "Explain. Now. Magic? Monsters? What are you into?"
Jingran leaned against a dumpster, catching her breath. "Long story. Short version: Xiwen's not just a bitch—she's a witch. And this pendant's… complicated."
Lanyi stared, then laughed, sharp and disbelieving. "You're insane. I'm in."
Jingran grinned. "Knew I liked you."
Her phone buzzed—a new text, no number: Nice try, Huo. Next time, you burn. Attached was a photo: Jingran and Lanyi crawling from the hatch, taken minutes ago.
Jingran's blood ran cold. "She's watching."
Before she could process, headlights flared. A sleek black car screeched to a stop, and the window rolled down. Teng Haoran leaned out, his face unreadable. "Miss Huo. Trouble follows you like a bad debt."
Jingran's jaw dropped. "You again? What, you got a tracker on me?"
He smirked, barely. "Get in. Unless you prefer Xiwen's welcoming committee."
The system chimed: New task: Accept Teng Haoran's aid. Hidden objective detected.
Jingran glanced at Lanyi, who shrugged, then at the alley's shadows, where fox eyes glinted again. "Fine," she said, opening the car door. "But if this is a trap, I'm haunting you first."
Haoran's laugh was low, dangerous. "I'd like to see you try."
As the car sped off, Jingran's pendant pulsed, and a new memory hit: Xiwen's face, not in Shanghai, but in a misty temple, chanting over a jade altar. The system whispered: Bei clan's spell anchors at their estate. Destroy it, or lose everything.
Jingran gripped the USB of logs, her resolve hardening. "Game's just getting started, Xiwen."