Chapter 48 – Shadows in the Smoke
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The smoke clung to their lungs like fog soaked in poison.
"Eyes up!" Mo Chen shouted, pulling Xueqing behind a rusted steel beam.
Lin Nuo cursed as his thermal scanner flickered and died. "She jammed the signal! I can't track her!"
Xueqing's heartbeat thundered in her ears. Lu Yiran—Mistress K—had not only survived but remembered. From their previous life.
She wasn't just a threat now. She was a ghost from the grave, back for vengeance.
"Split and corner her," Xueqing ordered. "She's buying time to escape."
Mo Chen nodded, voice low and steady. "Don't engage alone."
"Worried?" she teased, even now.
He leaned close. "Terrified."
Then they moved—silent, sharp, deadly.
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Somewhere in the smoke, Lu Yiran crouched behind a collapsed wall, her breath calm, measured.
"You came back," she whispered to herself, brushing soot off her cheek. "So did I."
A faint chirp from her comm. "Extraction in two minutes," the voice on the other end reported.
She smiled. "I'll be ready."
But as she turned, a boot connected with her wrist, sending her weapon skittering away.
Xueqing stood over her, eyes blazing.
"You're not going anywhere."
Lu Yiran laughed, even as blood seeped from her lip. "Still so self-righteous. Tell me, Xueqing—did your precious Mo Chen ever tell you the truth of what happened last time?"
Xueqing didn't flinch. "I lived through it. I buried you. I saw the ashes."
Lu Yiran's smile turned cruel. "Ashes don't lie. But men do."
Before Xueqing could answer, a flashbang detonated near them. Mo Chen's voice rang out. "Xueqing!"
By the time the smoke cleared, Lu Yiran was gone.
Again.
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Outside, police swarmed the scene too late.
Meng Zhihao kicked the ground in frustration. "She slipped us like a damn soap bubble."
Mo Chen placed a hand on Xueqing's shoulder. "We'll find her."
But Xueqing's gaze was distant now. Lu Yiran's words clung to her like dust.
"What truth could she possibly mean?" she murmured.
Mo Chen didn't answer.
And that silence… spoke volumes.
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Back at Mo Chen's penthouse, the air felt colder than usual.
"You're hiding something," Xueqing said finally, her voice too quiet.
Mo Chen met her eyes, jaw tight.
"I'll tell you everything," he said. "But not tonight. I need to confirm something first."
"You don't trust me?"
"I do," he replied instantly. "I don't trust my past self."