Lâm Khả Vũ sat alone in his dimly lit room.
The glow of the yellow lamp cast long shadows across his bandaged hand.
He uncapped a small bottle of iodine, letting a few drops fall onto a fresh wound. The sting was sharp, but his expression didn't change.
"Well done, An Thư,"
he murmured.
"Still the only one who can draw blood from me."
The old phone on the table buzzed.
An anonymous message popped up:
🕵 "If you still care about map number 4, come to Mộc Vân Hotel.
Room 901. 9 PM sharp."
8:57 PM.
He walked down the quiet corridor of the 9th floor.
Room 901 stood with its door slightly ajar.
"Come in. We don't have much time."
The voice belonged to Triệu Lăng.
This time, she appeared without weapons—only a crisp white shirt, high ponytail, and an intensity in her eyes that demanded respect.
"I thought you wanted to catch me."
"I used to."
Her voice was flat, serious.
"Now I need you. And you need me."
She turned her laptop around.
On the screen: a digital map—a hidden underground maze beneath the city.
Each passage glowed in different colors. A red dot blinked in the lower left.
"You recognize this place?"
"A mobile lab run by Karma. They're moving the bioweapon out of the city."
"I need inside intel. You need a clean exit.
We can trade."
Khả Vũ leaned back in the chair, one leg crossed over the other.
"You know who betrayed me, Lăng?"
"Someone I once called… comrade."
"I don't need your trust,"
she replied calmly.
"Just your memory.
Behind me is a system. If I die, these files leak. If I'm betrayed, you go down too."
"Seductive logic."
He chuckled, then stood up and offered his hand.
"Alright. Let's shake on it."
Their handshake wasn't warm—but it was firm.
The screen filled with lines of incoming data.
Outside, rain began to fall again.
Inside, two minds, once opposed, now aligned in a fragile truce—ready to burn their pasts to ashes for a common future.
🥀 To win a war, you must learn to shake hands with the one who might stab you from behind.