Chapter 39 — Special Operative Taskforce

Xu Fang stared at the gagged man in the closet and his heart sank low. He reached into his pocket and kept his finger on the power button, ready to click it enough times to dial emergency services in case things went wrong.

Guo Mingzhe noticed this shift and simply put a hand in Xu Fang’s shoulder, which communicated a ‘let’s see how this plays out first’ to him.

Lin Che moved his arms in the direction of Chen Wei and took a deep breath in, ready for his announcement. “I’m going to sound crazy for a second here,” he began. “But I have to disclose some information to you all. There’s a parallel society operating within and alongside the ordinary world, where practitioners have developed internal energy, known as Qi, to varying degrees. Are you all with me?”

Mingzhe nodded.

“You mean cultivation? Like in novels? You’re right, you do sound crazy,” blurted out Xu Fang, voice slightly higher than usual, breathing slightly uneven.

“Exactly like in novels!” applauded Lin Che. “I knew you’d catch on quick. Most people don’t know about it, and the major clans have a significant interest in keeping it that way.”

He paused to let that land.

“The Shen Clan,” he said, “is one such powerful clan. About three months ago, I was quietly approached by a senior figure within their organisation. They told me that the clan has identified a strategic need — they need a special operations unit built from external talent.” He opened his notebook but didn’t look down at it.” The idea is that they wish to create a unit that moves differently, without political allegiances or faction loyalties. Just four people who are good at what they do and can be trusted to operate independently when the situation calls for it.”

Xu Fang was staring at him. “You’re saying you’ve been recruited by a—”

“And as part of that process, I was asked to identify and assess suitable candidates whom I could personally vouch for. The assessment phase is, well, you’ve both been through parts of it already, though I appreciate you didn’t know it at the time.”

Guo Mingzhe, who had been very still for the past thirty seconds, interjected: “The spar we had.”

“Amongst other things, yes.”

A pause.

“What about him?” asked Xu Fang, pointing at Chen Wei. “What’s this got to do with a man being gagged in your closet?”

“Chen Wei is an existing clan operative,” said Lin Che. “He was sent to locate me, which tells me that the communication about this particular operation hasn’t spread, thankfully. He didn’t have the full picture about why he’s here.” He looked at Chen Wei with an expression of sympathy. “He tried to attack me last night under clan orders, but only because the clan orders he’d received were in fact false ones sent to lead him here. To join us.”

Chen Wei, still gagged, nodded as vigorously as he could in a way that suggested he found this explanation very plausible.

“This is insane,” said Xu Fang. “You’re both insane. Cultivation isn’t—”

“I’ve met a cultivator before,” said Guo Mingzhe. “He was powerful and taught me a couple of things that made me stronger. I believe you.”

Xu Fang looked between them. “That doesn’t prove anything. That just means Lin Che is—”

Lin Che held up one hand, palm open.

He let his awareness expand outward and drew a thin band of external Qi into the air just above his open palm. He shaped it slowly into a flat ring, which held its form as it moved to position itself above his head as a halo.

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Guo Mingzhe went very still. “Wow, it’s beautiful,” he said, in awe.

“What? I don’t see anything.”

“There’s a ring above his head.”

“I don’t see a ring; I don’t see anything.”