The rain had thinned to a damp mist, clinging to Li Wei's skin as he stumbled out of the alley. The neon glow from the streetlamps seemed harsher than before, every sound amplified — the slap of his shoes on wet pavement, the distant honk of a taxi, the quiet hum of the bracelet against his wrist.
He couldn't stop glancing at it.
The golden band was seamless, like it had been forged from a single drop of sunlight. Every so often, a faint ripple of light passed through it, pulsing in time with his heartbeat.
Keep moving, the voice in his head said.
Li Wei nearly tripped over his own feet. "You're still here?" he whispered.
You bound yourself to me, mortal. Until you're dead… or I am free, I will remain.
Li Wei grimaced. "Great. I'm officially hearing voices. My parents were right — college stress is going to kill me."
The dragon chuckled — or maybe the sound was just his imagination. Stress is the least of your concerns now.
He didn't get a chance to reply.
A black van screeched to a stop in front of him, splashing water across his legs. The side door slid open with a metallic groan, revealing darkness inside — and two figures.
The first to step out was a boy, maybe sixteen, wearing a black hoodie that hung off his narrow frame like a shroud. His head was lowered, bangs hiding most of his face, but Li Wei caught the glint of sharp, watchful eyes beneath the shadow.
The boy didn't say a word.
The air around him felt… wrong. Heavy.
Then a deeper voice came from inside the van.
"Li Wei?"
Li Wei froze mid-step. "…Who's asking?"
"You are," the man said flatly.
That made zero sense. Li Wei blinked. "What—"
"Get in."
"No, thanks," Li Wei said immediately, turning to walk away.
The hooded boy moved. He didn't walk, didn't run — one moment he was five steps away, the next his fingers were gripping Li Wei's collar with an iron strength that didn't match his size. His hand was ice cold.
Li Wei yelped as he was yanked forward. In that brief, shocking contact, he felt it — something shifting under the boy's sleeve. A ripple. Too many joints bending where there shouldn't be any.
The next thing he knew, he was in the van, the door slammed shut behind him.
Inside smelled faintly of oil and damp leather. The man across from him was tall and broad-shouldered, his dark coat draped loosely over a body that looked like it had seen both war and worse. His left leg was stretched out awkwardly, a cane resting beside it. His eyes were sharp but tired, scanning Li Wei as though weighing his worth in grams.
"Name's Huang Zhihao," the man said. "You have something on your wrist that doesn't belong in the open world."
Li Wei instinctively covered the bracelet with his sleeve. "This? Some… street vendor sold it to me."
The hooded boy made a quick, sharp gesture with one hand. Huang's gaze flicked toward him, then back to Li Wei.
"Chen Mu says you're lying. He's rarely wrong."
Li Wei's mouth went dry. "I didn't ask for any of this—"
"Doesn't matter," Huang interrupted. "You're alive after making contact with a Class-S entity. That means you're either incredibly lucky… or useful. My people need both."
Li Wei blinked. "Class-S what?"
Huang ignored the question. The van began to move, the hum of the engine vibrating through the floor. Rain-streaked buildings slid past the narrow windows, their lights smeared into abstract colors.
Chen Mu sat opposite Li Wei, hood still shadowing his face. He hadn't spoken a single word since appearing, but his eyes never left Li Wei's. They weren't cold exactly — more… studying. Calculating.
Li Wei tried to look away, but his gaze drifted down to the boy's sleeves. Something moved under them again — a subtle shift, as though muscles and bones were rearranging. He could've sworn he saw the outline of extra limbs pressing against the fabric before vanishing.
The dragon's voice rumbled inside his mind, tinged with dark amusement:
Ah… the boy with six arms. A curious one. I've heard whispers of him even in my slumber.
Li Wei almost said something out loud but caught himself. He didn't need these strangers thinking he was insane on top of everything else.
"So," Li Wei finally said, trying to sound braver than he felt, "where exactly are we going?"
Huang's answer was simple.
"To meet the only people who might keep you alive."
"And if I don't want to go?"
Huang's gaze didn't waver. "Then you'll be dead before sunrise. Maybe not by my hand, maybe not by his…" He nodded toward Chen Mu. "…but by something worse. That bracelet is a beacon now. Demons can smell it."
Li Wei's stomach dropped. "Demons? That's— that's not—"
"It's real," Huang said. "And the sooner you accept that, the longer you'll last."
The van turned sharply, heading into a darker part of the city. Streetlights grew sparse, replaced by the faint glow of red paper lanterns hanging outside shuttered shops. The smell of wet stone and old incense seeped through the thin walls.
Li Wei's mind spun. A few hours ago, he'd been worrying about exams and late rent. Now he was being kidnapped — or "rescued," depending on perspective — by a crippled man and a silent boy who might or might not have extra arms. Oh, and apparently, there were demons.
Welcome to your new life, Longyuan's voice purred in his head. Or your last few days, depending on how foolish you are.
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