CHAPTER 298: CHAPTER 299 - CATCHING HER IN ACT

Yunfeng didn’t say anything to Yuki that afternoon.

When she came in to sit beside Hana, clutching her little monkey with sleepy eyes and a soft smile, he only nodded at her. Just like always. Her tiny legs swung off the edge of the low sofa, and she giggled at something Hana whispered in her ear. There was nothing off. No stiffness, no coldness. Just the same child—sweet, soft-spoken, too shy to meet most eyes unless it was Hana’s.

But Yunfeng noticed the way her glance lingered on the water pitcher before anyone else touched it.

He noticed the slight wrinkle in her brow when Kailun’s cup was accidentally knocked over by Zei. And how, after dinner, she casually moved toward the sink again, asking to "help with the dishes" like always. Muchen gave her a tired smile and ruffled her head, but Yunfeng silently gestured for Muchen to step away.

"I’ll finish these tonight," Yunfeng said with a soft grin. "You’ve been cooking all day."

Muchen blinked, then shrugged. "Fine by me."

Yuki glanced up, hesitating. Her hand hovered at the edge of the counter for a second before she nodded quickly and scampered off after Hana.

Yunfeng dried the dishes with a cloth, watching the wet bowls carefully. There was no trace of anything now. Nothing that gave her away. The dishwasher had finished cycling hours ago, and anything she might’ve touched had already been mixed in with the rest.

He waited until night fell.

When the house finally grew quiet, Yunfeng was already by the hallway, seated cross-legged against the wall. He had dimmed the lights, just enough so that he wouldn’t be noticed from the bedrooms, and sat in complete stillness.

Footsteps.

Tiny, padded, careful ones.

He rose with no sound and followed.

She was small, but not fast. Her monkey clung to her shoulders, making tiny clicking sounds. Yuki tiptoed past the side table, past the hallway leading to Hana’s room. She carried nothing but her keychain in hand.

She paused, glancing back once.

Yunfeng immediately slipped into the bathroom doorway behind her.

After a moment, she relaxed and moved again.

Yunfeng stepped out and followed silently, his eyes narrowed.

She stopped in the farthest corner of the hallway, near the old storage room, and crouched by the window. She gripped the small charm with both hands, lips barely parting as she pressed down a hidden switch under the keyring.

Her voice was a faint whisper.

"Can anyone hear me...?"

She clutched the monkey tighter.

"i need further backup..."

There was no answer, but she stayed still, waiting.

Yunfeng didn’t move.

He didn’t even breathe too hard.

Watching her from the shadows, part of him hoped she’d stop. That she’d break down and come clean. But she didn’t. She waited patiently. This wasn’t her first time.

Suddenly, a voice crackled from the charm.

"Agent Four. Do not lose contact. Injection protocols must continue. Reinforcements will arrive soon."

Yuki jerked slightly. "They’re suspicious. I think someone might have noticed—"

"Then don’t slip up."

"I..." Her voice trembled. "I’ll try."

The keychain clicked again and fell silent.

Yuki stayed frozen, then slowly slumped. She rubbed her eyes on her sleeve and stood, walking back down the hall. Her steps were slower this time. Her head bowed.

Yunfeng watched until she was gone.

Then he moved—just a flicker of shadow—and quietly made his way back to Kailun’s room.

Once inside, he shut the door and leaned back against it.

"She’s in contact," he whispered. "They’re still feeding her instructions. She thinks we don’t know."

Kailun looked up from his notepad. "Did you see who she was contacting?"

"No visual or name. Just a voice. Male. Cold. Called her Agent Four. Told her to continue injecting the drug. Reinforcements are coming."

Kailun frowned deeply. "That confirms it."

Yunfeng nodded, rubbing his forehead. "We wait. We play along. The moment they arrive... we end this."

"But what about the girl?" Kailun asked.

There was a pause.

"...We don’t hurt her," Yunfeng said quietly. "She’s still just a kid, Kailun. One who thinks she has no choice."

"And if she tries to protect them when they come?"

"Then I’ll be the one who stops her," Yunfeng said, voice strained. "But not before I give her a reason to stay on our side."

The next morning was strangely ordinary.

Yunfeng sat at the breakfast table sipping on a cooling mug of tea, eyes half-lidded as he watched Muchen hum and plate scrambled eggs. The scent of garlic and oil floated in the air. Hana sleepily shuffled in, dragging Yuki by the hand, both of them yawning. Yuki’s monkey toy dangled from her other arm, its threadbare limb trailing the floor.

"Smells good..." Hana murmured, slumping into the chair next to Yunfeng.

Yuki sat down more cautiously. She didn’t look toward Yunfeng at all, but he noticed the way her shoulders subtly tensed when he passed her a napkin. She smiled when Hana tousled her hair but didn’t say much, only nodded along quietly and ate every bite.

It was just like before. Almost.

But Yunfeng wasn’t looking at her hands anymore. He was watching the pauses. The brief flickers in her expression when the conversation turned to "how well everyone’s healing" or when Muchen joked about the water filter tasting funny. He noted how she was the first to offer to "help tidy the table," how her fingers brushed the rims of the cups just a bit too deliberately.

This time, she didn’t head to the dishwasher. She said she was tired. "I’ll go lie down for a bit," she mumbled, clutching her monkey. Hana waved at her absently, halfway through buttering a biscuit.

Once she was gone, Kailun’s voice cut across the table. "She’s changed the approach. She’s adapting."

Yunfeng nodded. "She’s either moving the method to water again or another entry point. I’ll keep tracing."

"Should we stop her?" Zei asked, brows furrowed as he leaned against the wall. "Even if we wait to catch the higher-ups, the longer we keep getting drugged, the worse we’re gonna be if they show up."

"It’s not affecting me anymore," Yunfeng said. "Whatever that stuff was, it’s only strong against dormant powers. I think the others are slowly metabolizing it, too. But I’ll prepare a counteragent just in case."

"Should we separate the food?" Muchen offered, glancing toward the kitchen. "Keep things in sealed jars?"

Yunfeng shook his head. "Too soon. She’s careful. If she thinks we’ve caught on, she’ll disappear or send for backup early."

He stood, placing his mug in the sink with a clink. "I’m going to test the residue from yesterday’s dishes."

While the rest of the house settled back into routine, Yunfeng slipped into the back room and set up a makeshift lab with salvaged equipment and a few old spectrometers Kailun had recovered. He ran samples quietly, scanning for traces of unfamiliar chemicals.

Hours passed. Noon came and went.

Yuki remained quiet most of the day, lingering close to Hana and only rarely speaking unless spoken to. She pretended to doze off during the afternoon, but Yunfeng knew she was awake. The way her hand still clutched the monkey—fingers wrapped too tightly, too deliberately—gave her away.

By the time night fell again, Yunfeng had everything he needed.

The substance in the food was a type of molecular suppressor—weak on its own, but when accumulated over time, it would gently dampen brain activity tied to supernatural perception. Its effect wasn’t immediate, which explained why everyone only started feeling the drag after a few days.

It was clever. Harmless-seeming. And slow.

That night, Yuki didn’t sneak out.

She sat curled up beside Hana as the others gathered for a few minutes of quiet. Muchen and Zei were trading stories, Lu Zhi was nodding off on the floor, and even Kailun pretended to be half asleep in the recliner. Yunfeng pretended to read, but he was watching Yuki’s eyes. She scanned the room like a soldier. Calculating. Waiting for the right moment.

She didn’t find it tonight.

By the time the lights went out and the doors were shut, Yunfeng stayed by the window, unmoving. Not because he feared what the girl might do. But because he wanted to be the first to see what she’d become once the facade cracked.

And soon, it would.

Tomorrow, he planned to tamper with the keychain.

Not to disable it.

But to trace the signal back to whoever was issuing her commands. If they wanted to use her as a pawn, he’d use their own piece to corner them. This wasn’t about the girl anymore. It was about the war behind her.

And Yunfeng had no intention of letting it drag on much longer.

Late that night, the house was quiet. Only the soft hum of the broken fridge and the low creaks of settling wood filled the silence. Everyone was asleep—or so it seemed.

Yuki lay curled next to Hana, her small hand gripping the monkey’s leg, body motionless under the blanket. Her breathing was soft, steady... but her eyes were open.

She waited.

Ten minutes passed.

Fifteen.

Then, slowly, with practiced care, she slipped out from under the blanket. The monkey came with her, still attached to her arm by a worn string around its neck. She padded across the room silently, not even a creak from the floorboards. Her small hand hovered over the door latch. Click.

Yuki stepped into the hallway.

It was dark, shadows shifting from the moonlight pouring through the cracked window panes. She didn’t pause. Her grip tightened around the monkey as she stepped further down the corridor, turning right—toward the back entrance. Her other hand curled around the small keychain clipped to her oversized shirt.

She pressed the hidden button.

A low light flickered from the embedded lens. She raised it close to her mouth and whispered, "Can you hear me? It’s safe now. They’re asleep."

The device crackled faintly, and then came the voice—cold, impersonal, synthetic.

"Report. Status of the targets."

Yuki’s lips trembled. Her voice was barely audible. "They’re... fine. It’s just Hana is..."

"Now listen carefully."

There was a pause.

Then, the voice continued, slow and deliberate.

"You are to eliminate all non-targets within the safehouse. Targets to be spared: Yunfeng. Muchen. Jai. All others... neutralize by dawn."

Yuki froze. Her eyes widened.

"W-What?"

"This order is not optional."

The device clicked again, then fell silent.

Her hand trembled around the keychain. The monkey’s head bobbed as she squeezed it tighter. "But... but they... they’re good people," she whispered to herself. "They feed me, they hug me, Hana—she..."

"Eliminate them as you are ordered to," the contact went static.

Behind her, a floorboard creaked.

Yuki whipped around.

Yunfeng stood in the shadows near the kitchen, arms crossed loosely. Muchen was a few steps behind him, while Kailun leaned against the far wall, watching silently.

She dropped the keychain.

There was a beat of complete stillness.

Her lips parted, but no words came out.

Yunfeng stepped forward, eyes calm. "How long were you going to keep pretending?"

"I—" her throat felt dry. "I didn’t... I didn’t want to."

Muchen knelt slowly in front of her. "You’re not just a scared kid, are you?"

Yuki clutched the monkey tighter, as if its presence would shield her from whatever judgment was coming. Her knees shook.

"I didn’t want to hurt anyone!" she blurted. "I just... I had to give the updates. I didn’t use my powers. I didn’t hurt anyone! I only smeared the stuff on the dishes and—"

Yunfeng raised a hand. "We know."

Yuki’s mouth snapped shut. Her whole body tensed.

"You didn’t kill anyone. Yet," Yunfeng said, walking around her slowly. "And you didn’t pass on the order right now. So tell me. Why not?"

She looked down at her monkey, face twisting. "Because they don’t deserve to die."

"Then prove it," Kailun’s voice was harder than the others. "Tell us everything."