Rain stabbed the dock's cracked concrete like silver needles, pooling into streams that soaked Su Li's tactical vest. She crouched behind a rusted shipping container, wiping water from her face. The briny sting of sea wind mixed with the acrid bite of rust, clawing at her nostrils. Her grip tightened on her pistol, the handle slick with sweat despite the icy night air.
"Captain Su, target's got a metal case, heading into Sector B," Chen Ming's voice crackled through her earpiece, low and urgent. "Thermal shows five heat signatures. Could be packing heavy firepower."
Su Li adjusted her earpiece silently, her breathing steady even as adrenaline surged through her veins. Her fingers tapped the trigger guard twice—a nervous tic from years of high-stakes ops. The memory of a botched drug bust three months ago still haunted her: a stray bullet grazing her ear, taking half her rookie partner's with it. That failure clung to her like damp cloth, heavy and cold.
Through a gap in the container, she spotted five figures in black clustered around an open metal case. Rain blurred her vision, but the contents glowed—an eerie green light pulsing from three bronze artifacts, their intricate patterns writhing like veins. Su Li frowned. A low hum vibrated through her, not the storm's rumble but something deeper, like static crawling through her bones.
The scarred leader froze, his gaze snapping toward her hiding spot. He raised his gun and fired.
"Police! Drop your weapons!" Su Li's shout sliced through the rain.
Her command drowned in gunfire. A bullet grazed her right shoulder, pain searing like a branding iron. She dove for cover, tactical boots skidding on the slick ground. Blood seeped through her sleeve. She clenched her jaw, forcing her vision to stay sharp. "Team C, suppressive fire!" she barked. Her team's response buzzed through the earpiece, mingling with the thunder of her pulse.
That familiar chill—the stare of death—crawled up her spine again. It wasn't her first dance with fear.
BOOM!
Not thunder. A golden rift tore open the sky, its light blinding as a blade. Gunfire stopped. Everyone looked up.
A figure in teal robes plummeted from the rift, crashing onto the dock. The shockwave sent Scarface flying, his body slamming into a container like a ragdoll, crumpling the steel. The remaining thugs froze, guns half-raised, as if the world hit pause.
Su Li seized the moment. "Team A, move!" Her squad erupted from the shadows, tackling three stunned goons. Weapons skidded across the ground, handcuffs clicking shut. The fight ended in seconds.
Her eyes locked on the figure rising slowly from the crater. Rain plastered his long robes to his frame, black hair clinging to a pale face. Golden patterns glowed like molten lava on the back of his hand. He stood with an eerie calm, unbothered by the chaos around him.
"You lot…" His voice was clear, tinged with confusion as he scanned the scene. "What realm is this?"
Su Li raised her gun, her shoulder screaming with pain. Blood dripped down her wrist, pooling at her sleeve. "Hands on your head! Turn around!"
The man blinked, raindrops clinging to his long lashes. "A demonic tool?" He flicked his hand, and her gun barrel suddenly burned red-hot. She yelped, the pistol splashing into a puddle with a hiss. Her team swarmed, pinning him to the wet ground.
"Don't move!" Chen Ming growled, cuffing his wrists.
The rain eased as they hauled him into the police van. Su Li slumped into a seat, her shoulder throbbing with every heartbeat. She pressed a gauze pad to the wound, blood soaking through instantly. She hissed through gritted teeth as dizziness crept in. The stranger sat across from her, curiously tapping the bulletproof glass with cuffed hands.
"This crystal… can it stop siege arrows?" he asked, eyes wide with childlike wonder.
"Shut up." Su Li tossed him a towel, her voice sharp despite the creeping haze in her head. "Name."
"Ji Mo, courtesy name Mingyuan." He caught the towel but didn't wipe his face, instead running his fingers over its texture like it was some ancient relic. "Chief Talisman Master of the Great Liang Talisman Academy. I was testing a Void Traversal Talisman when… I ended up here." He tilted his head, studying her. "Lady, your wound's bad. There's a trace of dark energy in it."
When he leaned closer, his breath brushed her ear, warm with a faint scent of snow-dusted bamboo and ink. Reflexively, she elbowed his ribs. "Back off."
Ji Mo grunted, rubbing his side with a wry smile. "I mean no harm. Your wound's bleeding too fast. It needs treatment."
She glanced down. Her sleeve was soaked dark red, the gauze useless. Dizziness hit harder. She gritted her teeth, clinging to her training to stay conscious. "Chen Ming, how far to the station?"
"Ten minutes," he called from the driver's seat, eyeing Ji Mo in the rearview mirror. "This guy a streamer or something? What's with the stunt?"
"Streamer?" Ji Mo's face blanked, clearly lost. He leaned closer again, ignoring her earlier warning. "Lady, your spirit's strong, but that wound… If you permit, I can apply a talisman to stop the bleeding—"
"Shut. Up." Su Li glared, her patience fraying. This guy in ancient robes, spouting nonsense, was giving her a headache on top of everything else.
"Captain, hang in there. Medics are on standby," Chen Ming said.
The van jostled, each bump sending fresh pain through her shoulder. She swallowed a curse.
"Chen Ming," she muttered, "call the station. Prep an interrogation room."
"Got it, Captain." He grinned. "Gotta say, this guy's something else. Cosplay vigilante?"
Ji Mo frowned, clearly clueless. Deep inside, unease stirred—an unfamiliar world, and he knew nothing about it.