Lan Jia's eyes flickered with a strange light of kindness. Then her lips curled upward, revealing a smile that made every hair on Ren's body stand on end. It was not human—too wide, too sharp, like a mask stretched over hunger itself.
"I love you, Ren," she whispered, voice dripping with a sickly sweetness. "But don't worry… once Meiling is gone, I will become Meiling."
"What?!" Ren shouted.
Before anyone could react, Lan Jia's golden aura pulsed. The dagger lodged in Meiling's abdomen twisted on its own, grinding deeper. Blood spilled over Meiling's uniform as she let out a strangled cry, eyes wide with shock and pain.
"Meiling!" Ren lunged forward.
Amanda barked, "Shoot!"
The storage room erupted in thunder. Muzzle flashes lit the shelves as the SWAT team opened fire. Bullets hissed through the air toward the golden-haired woman.
