Chapter 45 – Flames from the Past
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The soft tap of raindrops on the windshield couldn't muffle the storm brewing inside Bai Xueqing's chest. As Mo Chen drove them through the gray haze back to City A, her thoughts replayed Yan Rui's warning over and over.
Hua Lian.
A name that hadn't echoed in her soul since her former life.
A name soaked in blood and betrayal.
"She was the emperor's secret weapon," Xueqing said quietly, eyes fixed on the blurred buildings passing by. "No one knew her true identity, only that she appeared like smoke and disappeared like a shadow. She infiltrated courts, seduced kings, whispered lies."
Mo Chen's jaw tightened. "I remember. She was the one who planted false evidence against you."
"And the one who set the fire that killed my second brother," she added bitterly. "All in the name of loyalty. She called it justice. I called it cowardice."
Silence fell again.
Then Mo Chen asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Xueqing glanced at him, surprised. "Tell you what?"
"That she was the one you feared the most. Not the emperor. Not the generals. Her."
She inhaled deeply. "Because if she's back… it means the game's no longer just corporate espionage. She wouldn't waste her time unless someone's funding something massive. Political. Revolutionary, even."
Mo Chen pulled the car to a stop in the underground parking of Mo International. "Then we don't wait. We dig. We expose."
"And we hit first," Xueqing added.
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Later that evening, Lin Nuo entered the Phoenix Court's underground room—now a digital war room. Giant monitors displayed maps, stock movements, digital chatter, and flagged profiles.
"She's already connected with an arms broker in City C," Lin Nuo reported, dragging a blinking red dot onto the screen. "Alias: Red Kite. Supplies modified drones and untraceable tech."
Meng Zhihao frowned. "And she's not subtle. Her last payment was traced through six shell companies in less than three hours."
Xueqing leaned forward. "What's she planning?"
Mo Chen glanced at a secondary screen. "It's not just arms. It's surveillance tech, too. Voice mimicking, AI-driven deepfakes… blackmail-grade material."
"She's building a ghost army," Xueqing muttered. "One that doesn't bleed but destroys all the same."
Lin Nuo turned. "What do we do now?"
Xueqing stood, eyes burning like coals. "We bait the flame."
Mo Chen grinned. "And burn it out before it spreads."