CHAPTER 338: CHAPTER 338; MYSTERIOUS FIGURINE

She exhaled slowly, the tremor in her body softening under the steady pressure of his hands. He remained close, his forehead almost resting against hers, his breathing quiet and rhythmic, matching her own until the storm inside her began to ebb.

No words passed between them, only the soft press of skin against skin, the quiet sound of steadying breaths, and the unspoken promise that she was safe here.

After a long moment, he shifted slightly, letting her lean back against him, his arms settling around her shoulders, encompassing her in a protective embrace. Tang Fei allowed herself to close her eyes fully now, surrendering to the security of his presence, her body finally starting to release some of the tension it had held so rigidly.

Outside, Twilight remained by the door, vigilant yet giving them this fragile space, understanding that sometimes protection didn’t need orders or instructions, only silence, warmth, and the certainty of being guarded.

Huo Ting Cheng’s chin rested lightly atop her head, his hand rubbing soothing circles along her arm. The quiet between them stretched, heavy with reassurance, unbroken, unforced. And in that silence, Tang Fei felt a little of the weight lift, the edges of fear softening, replaced by the comforting knowledge that he was there, and he would not let go.

— — — — — —

EXT. ROOFTOP

With Huo Ting Cheng’s instructions, Huo Qi moved swiftly, silently climbing the stairs to the east wing rooftop with his team. The wind tugged at his coat as he reached the top, eyes scanning the edge of the building.

He found the students immediately. They were standing in a line, the harnesses strapped across their chests blinking ominously red. Panic and fear etched into every face.

"I don’t want to die...."

"Please, I don’t want to die...."

"Everyone, stay calm," Huo Qi said firmly, his tone controlled but urgent. "We’ll get you out of here safely. Don’t move."

With precision, his team disabled the detonators, cutting wires, disarming each device with steady hands. The red lights faded to dark, leaving the students shaking but alive.

But when Huo Qi’s eyes swept across the rooftop, the small child he had glimpsed from the balcony, looking just like Minghao, was gone. No trace, no footprints, no shadow. Just the empty wind brushing across the tiles.

He cursed softly under his breath, scanning the perimeter again, but the child had vanished as mysteriously as she had appeared.

"I will ask you a few questions.... Do you know or see who brought you up here? Who tied the bombs to you? What did they look like?"

Huo Qi crouched in front of the trembling children, his voice calm but steady as he asked again, "Tell me everything you remember. Who brought you here?"

For a moment, there was only silence, broken by the faint wind sweeping across the rooftop. Then one boy, barely twelve, lifted his head. His lips quivered as he spoke. "It was... some students, sir. Older ones. They said it was a surprise... that the principal wanted to see us for something special."

Another child nodded quickly beside him. "They told us to close our eyes and not peek, or the surprise would be ruined. They covered our eyes with something, like a cloth that smelled weird. And then... we just woke up here."

Huo Qi’s eyes darkened, "How many were they?"

"Four," the boy said after a moment’s thought, "they were two boys, and two girls, but they didn’t talk much. They just kept saying we had to be quiet."

" And when you woke up?"

The little girl’s voice broke down on sobs as she answered, "We couldn’t move. The belts were already around us, and... those red lights were blinking. We tried to scream, but one of the girls said if we made a sound, everyone in the school would blow up."

Huo Qi’s jaw flexed. "Did you see their faces?"

The children exchanged uncertain glances. "No," one of them whispered, "They wore masks. Animal ones, like a fox, a rabbit... I think one was a dragon. We thought it was part of the game."

For a second, no one spoke. The only sound was the hum of the wind and the faint clink of metal as one of Huo Qi’s men finished disabling the last of the explosives.

Even though they were explosives, they weren’t of superior quality and couldn’t cause much damage, probably injure the children.

They could have been made in school, as there was no way these explosives could have gone through the security, and those men must have used some student IDs to access the school premises, as this entire thing can’t be orchestrated by students.

Huo Qi straightened slowly, glancing toward the edge of the roof where the child who looked like Minghao had been spotted earlier. The tiles were empty, untouched, the dust unbroken.

He turned back to the children, his tone softening. "You did well... You’re safe now... We’ll find out who did this."

He signaled his team, "Get them down carefully. Double-check their vitals and bring them to the med wing for a check-up, they can even be left to go home..."

As the agents guided the children toward the stairwell, Huo Qi remained where he was, the echo of their words settling like a weight in his chest.

Students bringing students. Masks. False trust.

It wasn’t chaos, it was choreography.

He looked out over the city below, the fading sun glinting off the rooftops. Somewhere, someone was watching all this unfold.

He tapped his earpiece, his voice low. "Rooftop clear. The bombs have been handled. Four suspects, of unknown identities. The children were drugged and blindfolded."

A pause, then Huo Ting Cheng’s measured voice came through. "Bring them back. Secure the school. Find out how those students got in."

Huo Qi’s gaze lingered once more on the edge of the roof where that small figure had vanished.

"Yes, Master," he replied steadily, though his voice carried a weight that the wind nearly swallowed.