Chapter 26: 26 Chapter 25 (Three-in-One) Part 3

Xu Jinyao thought back. She felt these changes had only started since coming to Lan City, affecting not just Shadow, but herself as well.

Then Shadow continued, “She has been using you all along.”

Xu Jinyao was starting to lose her. “What exactly are you trying to say?”

If that remark was pointing to the fact that she had been led to investigate the casino, then sorry, she already knew that part.

But clearly, Shadow meant something else.

“Have you never wondered why the Syndicate suspected she was the mole?”

“Because she pretended to be a victim to infiltrate the casino, trying to uncover the truth behind the scenes,” Xu Jinyao said.

Shadow refuted this. “You’re wrong. The reason the Syndicate identified her as the mole isn’t because she disguised herself to break into the casino, and it’s not because of the recent serial cases. It’s because for all these years, she has been relentlessly investigating the Syndicate’s existence.”

“Her?” Xu Jinyao’s heart stirred. “Investigating the Syndicate’s existence?”

“That’s right. You remember the Great Purge from a few years ago, don’t you?”

Xu Jinyao certainly remembered. Many members had died back then.

After that, the members had been constantly suspecting each other. Nobody wanted to be branded a mole, so they scrambled to spy on and report one another. Even if they were going to die, they’d drag someone down with them.

The birth of Shadow had quelled this frenzied internal witch-hunt.

It had to be said, that operation, which had turned the ground red with blood, had ultimately achieved the effect those people wanted. Even now, she couldn’t be sure if the person behind a codename was the same one as before.

“Are you saying Xia Xun was also on the purge list back then?”

“No, what I’m trying to say is, that entire Great Purge happened because of Xia Xun,” Shadow said.

“Because of Xia Xun?” Xu Jinyao’s patience had run out. “Can you just spit it all out clearly for once?”

Shadow spoke with emphasis. “She’s known about our existence for a long time.”

“She’s been investigating cases connected to the Syndicate all along. The purge was because the Higher-Ups discovered she had once infiltrated the Syndicate’s inner circle and nearly stolen classified documents. Did you think they genuinely wanted to just root out moles?”

“They simply wanted an excuse to purge those members who harbored dissent. Xia Xun gave them that excuse.”

A flicker of surprise passed through Xu Jinyao’s eyes.

But the surprise wasn’t because of the newly revealed truth. It was because Shadow knew insider information that even she, Xu Jinyao, didn’t know.

She was even more surprised that Shadow had once again acted behind her back, making decisions that went against her wishes.

She felt that this person, who constantly reminded her of the member regulations, was actually the one who followed the rules the least.

Shadow only looked obedient.

Perhaps even Shadow herself hadn’t realized that the pride deep in her bones refused to let her be a true, qualified shadow.

Maybe this was the real reason Xu Jinyao found it so hard to trust her.

“You didn’t know any of this, did you?” Shadow said. “If you had known, she would never have been able to get close to you.”

“How many more things are you hiding from me?” Xu Jinyao asked.

Shadow shook her head. “I’ve told you, I am your shadow. If you die, I cannot live. I will absolutely not be like other shadows, who seize everything you have after your death. I will die with you. Hiding things from you was based on my own judgment. Telling you now is also based on my judgment.”

“To some extent, you and she are indeed kindred spirits. But don’t forget, even if she’s a private investigator, she’s cleaner than you. You are destined not to walk side by side. That’s why I stopped you, told you not to go find her. Even more so, I don’t want to watch helplessly as she uses you.”

Listening to her words, one after another, seemingly full of concern for her, Xu Jinyao couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.

Her lips were smiling, but her voice was icy. “I seem to recall also saying: be a shadow and do your duty as a shadow. Since when is it your place to lecture me on what I should do?”

“You keep saying you’ll die with me—did I ever agree to that? Or do you plan to unilaterally martyr yourself for me?”

Xu Jinyao sneered. “You truly disgust me.”

Shadow lowered her head. The pinpoint of light reflected in her eyes dimmed.

The darkness grew thicker.

Silence spread rapidly.

“Let me tell you,” Xu Jinyao said, speaking very slowly, “even if Xia Xun knows my identity and wants to use me… I’m going into this casino today, no matter what.”

Just as she turned away, Shadow spoke again. “What if I told you Xia Xun did it on purpose? Would you believe me?”

She immediately continued, “I participated in that operation. I saw Xia Xun back then.”

Xu Jinyao stopped dead in her tracks.

“At that time, she managed to escape the encirclement of so many members. Do you really think a small casino can trap her now?”

Even though their surroundings were pitch black, Xu Jinyao couldn’t hide her shock. “What do you mean? How could you…”

“Before becoming a shadow, I too was a secret member who crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.”

–

The room was packed with people. The faint scent of blood lingered in the air.

The sound of the jammer and phone being crushed into fragments reached Xia Xun’s ears. The smooth white gloves continued their relentless search over her body.

Just as the woman prepared to push back Xia Xun’s sleeve to check what was there, a sudden jet of water shot out from within the cuff, hitting her eyeball directly. A point of coolness followed.

Years of long-term training had taught the woman endurance. She had learned to tolerate physical pain. Showing weakness in combat was a major taboo. But this time, she couldn’t help but cry out.

The scream made everyone whip their heads around. They saw the woman pressing both hands hard against her eyes. Vivid red blood seeped through her fingers, instantly staining the white gloves crimson.

Xia Xun rose from the ground, her tone utterly exasperated. “I warned you, don’t move unless you want to go blind. See? Happy now?”

She turned her head toward the door, a smile curving her lips. “Since everyone’s here now, let’s not waste time. Come at me all at once.”

The man’s brow furrowed deeply. He suddenly kicked the chair aside, stepped onto the table, and leaped into the air, hurtling his fist toward Xia Xun.

Xia Xun judged the timing perfectly. She sidestepped and dodged. The man’s punch met empty air. He spun and threw another punch, which Xia Xun evaded with ease.

The entire process took less than ten seconds. The man’s expression was contorted with exertion, but Xia Xun’s face was utterly calm. Even when dodging attacks, she only moved sideways or tilted her head, dealing with everything effortlessly.

A flicker of astonishment crossed the man’s eyes. An eerie feeling suddenly rose in his heart.

For some reason, he felt this woman seemed to anticipate his every move ahead of time. Neither too much nor too little, each dodge came at the very last second.

This air of effortless mastery made it hard not to suspect that her ability was superior to his, allowing her to reach this level.

No matter how fast his punches were, they were all dodged. It was as if his opponent possessed the power to read minds. Because his stamina drained so quickly, he soon found himself at a disadvantage. A quick decisive victory was impossible now. He needed to disrupt this person’s impenetrable shell and find a weakness within.

“All you know how to do is dodge?” the man said coldly.

As his words fell, Xia Xun, after dodging another punch, retaliated with a punch along the exact same trajectory.

The man was caught completely off guard. The punch was exquisitely placed, aimed right at the bridge of his nose. The force wasn’t heavy, but it made his vision swim with dizziness. Immediately after, a cold sensation filled his nasal cavity—something was flowing out. He wiped the back of his hand across it. Blood.

Drawing blood in a fight was perfectly normal. But the one who bleeds first, no matter how good their mentality, will inevitably be affected to some degree.

Like now, after wiping it away forcefully, a visible surge of anger appeared on the man’s face. The speed of his punches didn’t decrease; instead, they came faster.

Unwilling to accept this, the man deliberately forced his opponent toward the corner during his assault.

People tend to panic easily in extremely confined spaces. He wanted to leave her with no way out.

But his plan quickly fell apart.

Xia Xun saw through his intention. After her final evasion, she jumped onto the gambling table and used a sweeping kick to send a cascade of colorful chips flying toward the man.

The man instinctively blocked them, giving Xia Xun the opening to leap down to the floor.

“Stop her!” the man barked.

The White Coats rushed forward in unison. Xia Xun raised her sleeve, aiming at the person in the front. She extended her thumb and forefinger into a “gun” gesture. Accompanied by her verbal sound effects—”Bang! Bang! Bang!”—jets of water shot from her sleeve, hitting each person’s eyes in succession.

Having just witnessed their female colleague scream with blood streaming through her fingers, and now feeling the same searing burn and piercing pain spreading intensely in their own eyes, the crowd immediately covered their eyes in panic and stumbled backward.

They cleared a path for Xia Xun involuntarily.

Xia Xun smiled faintly. Sensing movement rushing up from behind, she spun around sharply, her index finger aimed at the man attempting the sneak attack. “Bang, bang.”

The water jet hit his eyes. Vision vanished in an instant. The man lost his balance and crashed heavily to the floor, sending chairs clattering.

The intense burning sensation had already surpassed the stabbing pain. The man felt as if both his eyeballs were about to explode. All his past training achievements failed him in this moment. Suppressed screams clawed their way out of his throat, his breathing rapidly becoming ragged.

He didn’t know what this substance was, but the primal fear of losing his vision took hold of his brain uncontrollably.