CHAPTER 28
The room had gone quiet again, the kind of silence that pressed against the walls like fresh snow—thick, suffocating, absolute.
Helix returned moments later, his boots barely making a sound on the crooked floor. In his arms was a neatly folded bundle: black tactical fabric, reinforced seams, clean and new, still carrying the faint scent of sterile packaging. He set it on the small side table beside Li Xuefang without a word, his movements deliberate, practiced.
Helix: Fresh clothes. Non-traceable.
Li Xuefang pushed herself upright, ignoring the sharp ache that clawed beneath her bandaged ribs. Pain was an old companion; she welcomed it as proof she was still operational. She swung her legs off the bed with military efficiency, spine straight, chin level.
General Li: Good.
She stood, steady despite the lingering weakness in her limbs.
Ren flinched instinctively from where he still knelt, rising halfway as if to help her.
Jiang Ren: Li Xuefang, wait—let me—
She didn't look at him. Not yet.
Instead, she turned to Helix, her voice calm, clipped, final.
General Li: You will take him out of this country. America, Europe—anywhere clean. Anywhere safe. New identity. No contact.
Ren's breath caught in his throat like a hook.
Jiang Ren: What? No.
Both of them turned to him now—Helix with quiet assessment, Li with something colder.
Jiang Ren: I'm not leaving you. I followed you this far—I won't run now. Not after everything.
Li Xuefang finally faced him fully.
Her eyes were flat. Empty. Dangerous voids that had stared down artillery and betrayal alike.
General Li: You will leave.
Jiang Ren: I can't. If I go, and something happens to you—
He swallowed hard, voice cracking.
Jiang Ren: I won't survive it… [I've fallen too deep for you.]
For the first time in years, something sharp flickered behind her eyes.
Not pain.
Not terror.
Pure, refined anger.
She stepped forward.
Fast.
The slap landed across Ren's face with brutal precision—open palm, full force, the crack echoing like a gunshot in the confined space.
Ren staggered back, stunned—not just by the physical burn, but by the raw intent behind it. His ears rang. The world tilted.
He stared at her, wide-eyed, betrayed.
Jiang Ren: …Xuefang?
Her voice dropped—cold, lethal, unwavering, each syllable forged in ice.
General Li: Do you know why people died?
Ren's throat tightened, words failing.
General Li: Do you know why Ghost almost annihilated me again? Why Colonel Mei lies dead in a morgue drawer?
She stepped closer, towering despite her injuries.
Each word struck harder than the slap, precise as scalpels.
General Li: Because of you.
Ren's knees weakened, color draining from his face.
General Li: You followed me. You were seen. You became leverage. A soft target against me.
His breath broke into shallow gasps.
General Li: People died covering your trail. People who had families. Orders. Futures. Lives worth more than sentiment.
She leaned down until their faces were inches apart, her eyes merciless storms.
General Li: Even your parents. Their deaths weren't random. They were collateral in a war you stumbled into because you couldn't stay away.
Ren's world collapsed inward.
He dropped fully to his knees again, hands trembling violently, breath coming in broken, ragged sobs. Tears blurred his vision, hot against the cold sting of his cheek.
Jiang Ren: N-no… you don't mean… I didn't—
Helix moved instantly, stepping forward with quiet authority.
Helix: Enough, Li.
He positioned himself squarely between them, not threatening, but immovable—a wall of old loyalty.
Helix: You're destabilizing.
Her jaw tightened, fists clenching at her sides.
Helix: He's not your enemy. And you know blame doesn't work like that.
For a moment—just one heartbeat—Li Xuefang looked like she might strike Helix too, her composure fracturing at the edges.
Then she turned away sharply, shoulders rigid.
General Li: Get him out.
She picked up the folded clothes and strode toward the adjoining compartment, back straight as steel.
Her voice carried back without turning, final as a verdict.
General Li: If he stays near me… more people will die.
The door slid shut behind her with a soft hiss.
Ren remained on his knees, shaking uncontrollably, face pale as ash, breath ragged and wet. The slap mark bloomed red across his cheek like an accusation.
Helix walked past him without touching, pausing only briefly.
Helix: You should have listened.
Ren swallowed hard, a single tear hitting the floor with a faint splash.
Jiang Ren: [ …I just didn't want to lose her.]
Beyond the closed door, fabric rustled
faintly as Li Xuefang changed—methodical, efficient.
Cold.
Composed.
Unstoppable.
Ready to walk back into any fire alone.
---