Sil's apartment was silent.
No music.
No wind.
Just the distant hum of traffic outside the thick glass window and the faint smell of clean linen on the couch where Mei had dozed off.
Mei woke, her blind eyes scanning the surrounding as if she can see. "What's going on?" she murmured. She tried desperately to stay calm, but her trembling hands betrayed her pretense. Still, she fought the rising panic, her mind racing.
'What would Sil do at a time like this? Think, Li Mei! THINK!' A small measure of calm settled over her after the self-talk.
"It's an awakening," she told herself, taking a deep, ragged breath. "Like Sil's. This must be what happened to him." She sat up slowly, gritting her teeth, letting her back press against the cool cabinet.
"Sil would ask questions," her voice came out hoarse and low, but she continued.
"What caused this Awakening? Stress? Grief? Environment?" "What is the nature of the ability? Physical? Mental? Energy-based?" "How do I even use the ability? What's the risk?" "What's the trade-off? What's the price?"
And then a flash of new, desperate hope flickered. "Can I be with Sil now if I tell the military my situation?" The thought was quickly followed by a cold dose of reality. "Can I trust them in the first place? What if it's all a lie, and Sil never comes back? What if the military captured him? If so, and I tell them I've awakened too, I'll also be captured, and there would be no hope for us to be together anymore."
Her mind reeled. "What should I do? Sil... I need you." Mei sighed. "I don't think I'm in the right mind to make a decision. I should calm myself down first."
In the end, Mei decided to cool down her mind and take a shower. Afterward, she lay on the bed. As she thought about her next steps, a wave of sleepiness overcame her, and she drifted off.
Next day.....
The apartment felt colder without Sil.
Mei sat on the couch, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, listening to the gentle hum of the refrigerator and the distant voices of pedestrians down on the street. She used to enjoy the quiet. Now, it felt hollow.
Her fingers ran over the surface of the coffee table — a habit she picked up to center herself when she lost her vision. Even though she still couldn't see, everything in the apartment felt familiar. Intimately so. She could picture it perfectly.
Sil had cleaned before he left. She knew that because the table edge wasn't dusty. He always wiped it down the morning of something important. Just like how he folded the kitchen towel three times and set it near the sink. She smiled faintly, fingers brushing the fabric.
She stood slowly, still a little unsteady from the pain a day ago.
Awakened.
She hadn't told anyone. She wouldn't. Not yet.
Not until she got a reply from Sil. It had only been sixteen hours since she last saw him, but she missed him terribly already. She waited for his phone call. True, she couldn't directly tell him she'd also awakened, as she doubted the military would provide him with a phone that wasn't monitored. But she had her own way of communicating with Sil – a language only they knew, a signal only they understood. She wanted to know his situation before deciding her next move. In case Sil was in a dire situation, she wouldn't reveal her power. Because those powers might very well become her only hope to bring him back to her embrace.
In the meantime, she played her role.
She made tea — jasmine, the way Sil liked it. She didn't drink it herself. Just let the steam rise, warming the room a little. She imagined him sitting across from her, sipping, muttering about the market being chaotic again. A ghost conversation with a person she loved.
Then she sat down at the old piano in the corner. Sil had moved it here from her apartment months ago, even though it took him nearly a whole day.
She let her fingers drift across the keys.
She didn't play.Just touched.Listened.Let the vibrations speak.
Then… the hair on the back of her neck stood up.
She felt it again — the same presence from yesterday.
It wasn't outside.
It was inside her. Something awake. Watching. Breathing with her.
It didn't speak.It didn't move.But she knew its there.
She pressed one key — a low note.
The sound came out strange. Warped. Slightly off. As if another layer echoed beneath it, like two pianos playing the same note, but one hidden under water.
Her hand froze.
She tried again. Another note.
This time it sounded fine.
Mei sat back, breathing slowly.
Was it real? Or just in her head?
Either way, she knew she had to be careful.
Until she knew what this power was, she couldn't afford mistakes. Not with people watching her. Not with Sil gone.
She spent the rest of the day doing small things. Washing dishes. Reorganizing the spice rack — even though she didn't cook much. Reading the braille copy of her favorite book by touch. Not because she needed the story. Because she needed the routine.
She needed to hold on to who she was, otherwise she might go insane
When night came, she curled into Sil's side of the bed. Hugged his shirt. Held it like a shield.
She whispered into the dark:
"Sil... I thought I was strong enough to face the miserable fate I had before, but I realize now that was only because you were always with me. Without you, I'm scared."
Then silence.
Only the distant sound of traffic outside, and a low, almost inaudible hum coming from somewhere she couldn't place.
It pulse gently — like a heartbeat that didn't belong to her.
Location: Strategic Intelligence Command Bureau, Beijing (Secure Level-5 Room)Date: Four Days After the Rift Opened
The room was dimly lit — deliberately so. Only a few desks were active, each occupied by an officer with triple-clearance access. LED status panels glowed faint green, casting sharp lines across the matte black table.
At the head of the room sat Minister Xu Lian, chairwoman of the National Stability Council.
She stared silently at the data stream floating in the holographic display:
Subject: Sil Lan
Status: Civilian
Ability Classification: Unknown-Support
Energy Purity: 99.8%
Energy Reserve: Exceeds Maximum Threshold
Awakened Rank: S
No previous entry in the global registry had reached S. Not a single one.
"Where is he now?" she asked.
"Inner Mongolia Awakening Research Base, ma'am," replied Colonel Jiang, seated to her left. "Just completed his energy scan this morning. Voluntary cooperation. Unarmed. Emotionally stable."
Xu Lian didn't blink. "Have you verified his family and attachments?"
"Yes. He's an orphan. But he lives with a blind girl named Mei. Also an orphan. She was with him during the awakening. We believe they're romantically involved."
Xu Lian tapped her nail once against the table. Click.
"Blind?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am. Victim of a chemical accident. He's been trying to fund her surgery. It was part of the agreement for his cooperation."
Xu Lian leaned back in her chair, silent.
Then she said, almost absently, "Do we have full control over the medical end?"
"We do. The surgery is scheduled in three days. We've already complete the preparation to transferred her to the state-funded hospital with the top ophthalmic team."
"Good," she said. Then her voice cooled. "After finishing her surgery, bring her here."
Jiang hesitated. "Ma'am?"
Xu Lian's eyes turned sharp
"Blind girl is our only anchor. If Sil Lan turns his back on us, we need leverage. If he walks away, we need a leash. If he disobeys orders, we need a knife to the throat of his loyalty. So, we need that blind girl."
"You mean… bring her in for protection?"
"Almost the same," Xu Lian said
She turned to her assistant. "Prepare an isolated holding site — no visitors, no comms. Feed her, monitor her, and don't let her escape. Meanwhile, assign me a mimic."
"A mimic?"
"I want a trained infiltrator — female, age-matched, skilled in prosthetic facial alteration and behavioral mirroring. Find me an actress with clearance or a former field agent. One who can become Mei. One who can fool him."
Silence stretched across the room.
Finally, Colonel Jiang said, "Understood. I'll give the order immediately."
But before he stood, Xu Lian added quietly, "And Jiang?"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"If Sil Lan ever finds out we took her… if there's even the hint of a leak… I want the replacement to be terminated instantly. Full deletion. No hesitation."
Jiang swallowed, then nodded.
"Of course, Minister." Jiang said, though he was genuinely confused. What's the point of this mimicry? Why isolate the blind girl? If the goal was simply to monitor her, there were countless other ways to do it without holding her captive like a prisoner, especially an ordinary civilian. The only conclusion Jiang could draw was that the Director was trying to build her own private thugs.
If so, it made perfect sense. By placing a "Mimic," she could indirectly control Sil Lan's thoughts and influence him to rely solely on her. As for whether Sil Lan would ever find out? Jiang scoffed internally. Don't be kidding. Didn't you hear the last words? It was a literal death sentence for the Mimic once her purpose was served. Perhaps they'd stage a "accident" for her, or pin the blame on an opposing faction of the Director's enemies. Either way, the only S-rank Awakened would be fully under their control.
Jiang sighed, thinking, 'What a pain in the ass to work for these power-hungry bastards.'
Xu Lian, though a woman, wielded power second only to the president and military commander. Intelligence personnel, spies, and agents, along with control over secret missions and strategic weapons intelligence—all were in her hands. The new era had dawned, and she knew she needed to secure the loyalty of the coming generation of powerhouses if she wished to remain in power. And she had already start her plan in motion.
Red File: Project Orchid Veil (CLASSIFIED)
Director: Xu LianObjective:To identify, monitor, and control all high-tier Awakened using individually tailored strategies:
Psychological manipulation
Familial leverage
Medical dependency
Economic incentive
False companionship
Surveillance-based behavioral conditioning
Current Status: Operational. 37 Awakened under indirect or direct control.