CHAPTER 260: CHAPTER 260: SOMETHING FISHY’S GOING ON

A pause.

"And then — oh, then we’ll see what else I can take."

His voice dipped lower.

"I haven’t even started showing her the things I plan to do."

He straightened again, composed and clean as he turned off the bulb. The room fell into shadow.

Only the faintest glint of teeth showed in the dark as Boran whispered one last thing:

"Let the games begin."

The search had taken them through every hallway, every fractured room, and every shadowed corridor the bunker allowed.

But there was nothing.

No footprint.

No trail.

Not even the faintest trace someone had passed through.

Qingran stood at the far end of one corridor, her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her shoulders ached with tension, her thoughts already grinding toward the worst.

Everyone else looked just as drained, some leaning against the wall, others crouched with heads down, sweat streaking their brows.

Yu Song returned first, wiping dust from his face. "Nothing in the mess hall or the storage units. If he hid there, he’s gone now."

Fang Yuxi came next, her boots scuffed and her gloves dirtied. "Checked the side vents and shafts. No prints, no movement. If someone passed through, it wasn’t recent. Why the heck are we wasting our time.."

Qingran let out a long, measured breath.

They had searched every accessible section of the bunker. All they found were locked doors, cracked walls, and silence.

That left only one possibility.

"...Outside, we have to check there.." she murmured, more to herself than anyone else.

The others stiffened.

Outside meant exposure. But if there was even the smallest chance the man had wandered out there.

"We’ll sweep the perimeter.." she said firmly. "After that, we’ll stop. If he’s not out there, he’s gone, we shouldn’t keep wasting our time."

No one disagreed.

The heavy entrance hatch creaked open, sunlight pouring through like sand through a sieve.

Dry heat hit them immediately, followed by wind that felt like razors scraping across their skin.

Beyond the threshold laid a dead world.

The city that once stood here was now rubble and twisted steel.

The landscape was a wasteland of cracked ground, broken concrete, scorched buildings, and silence.

Only the wind spoke, howling low and distant.

They spread out cautiously. Qingran took the lead down the center while the others veered left and right, combing through broken fences, overturned signs, and the shells of crumbling cars.

Ten minutes passed.

Then fifteen.

Still nothing.

Even the air seemed to reject sound. Their boots crunched over shattered glass and sun-bleached bone.

Not a bird. Not a rat. Not a single fly. Not a single animal on sight.

"I hate this.." Fang Yuxi muttered, drawing her coat tighter. "It’s like walking through the throat of a corpse."

Just when Qingran was about to call them back, Ruihuang raised his hand from the far right.

"Hold up.." he called, voice low but sharp. "There’s something up ahead."

They ran forward.

Past jagged pillars, over scorched pavement, kicking up dust as they went.

And then they saw it too.

A body, half-buried in the sand, lying face down.

Qingran slowed, her eyes narrowing. From this distance, she could make out dark smears around the shoulders, across the sleeves, and pooling beneath the ribs.

But the way it clung to him didn’t look right. It wasn’t seeping. It had dried, clotted, layered too cleanly, you could say it was even rubbed on him.

Ruihuang was already crouching beside him, fingers pressed to the man’s neck.

"He’s alive.." he said after a moment. "But barely. His breathing’s shallow, but it’s there."

"Lingquan.." Qingran said, her voice taut. "Scan him. Is this the one Rong’s missing?"

[Running scan now...]

The man didn’t move. His arms lay awkwardly beneath him.

His face was turned slightly into the sand.

A moment passed.

[Confirmed. Identity match: Wei Sheng. Same biometric profile. He’s the one.]

Qingran crouched beside the body, eyes scanning the dried blood again.

"Then what the hell happened to him?"

"He doesn’t look wounded.." Ruihuang noted. "But he’s covered in blood."

Fang Yuxi bent down and peeled back the corner of his collar.

"No lacerations. Not even bruising. Not a single scratch on him."

They carefully turned him over.

His face was pale, eyes closed, jaw slack. His chest rose and fell slowly, faint but steady.

And then, without warning, he stirred.

Just a twitch at first. Then a breath. His eyelids fluttered. He opened them.

Brown eyes blinked back at the sun. No panic. No fear. Just confusion, soft, slow, and eerily calm.

"...Where..." he rasped, voice hoarse. "...Where am I?"

Qingran leaned forward, expression guarded. "Wei Sheng. Do you remember what happened to you?"

His gaze remained unfocused for a moment, then slowly settled on her.

"I... I don’t know. I was walking behind Mr. Rong. Then I heard something. A sound. Then... darkness."

He didn’t sound shaken. He didn’t sound like someone who had just survived an ordeal.

There were no tremors in his voice, no wildness in his eyes.

It was just this unsettling calmness.

Qingran glanced at Ruihuang, who was already frowning slightly.

"Should we bring him back?" Fang Yuxi asked.

Qingran gave a single nod. "Yes. But keep your eyes on him the entire time. All of you..."

They hoisted him gently, Ruihuang and Yu Song each taking an arm.

The blood smeared across their gloves, but the man didn’t flinch. He didn’t complain of pain. He just walked with them in silence, one step at a time.

Qingran lingered at the rear, watching him.

He never looked back.

Not even once.

But when she squinted, just for the briefest of moments, she thought she saw it...

The corner of his mouth twitching upward.

The ghost of a smile.

She blinked.

It was gone.

She didn’t want to place a finger on it but there was something different about this man and she didn’t like it.

Covered in blood that wasn’t his own, an eerily calmness when he should be confused.

There was something fishy going on.