Chapter 13: The Midnight Heist

The morning air in Baicheng was crisp as Lin Yuxi and Lin Xuan arrived at the gates of Baicheng's most prestigious school.

Xuan stood beside his sister, his expression somewhere between boredom and deep contemplation. His sharp eyes scanned the building with a detached curiosity, his hands tucked into the pockets of his neatly tailored uniform.

"This is supposed to be the best school in Baicheng?" he muttered, the lollipop in his mouth shifting lazily. "I don't see anything special."

Yuxi sighed. "Try lowering your expectations."

Xuan scoffed. "Doesn't change the fact that I'll probably be surrounded by idiots."

Yuxi crouched slightly to meet his gaze, her voice softer. "Just give it a chance, Xuan. You're smart, but you still need to experience things outside of computers and numbers. Make some friends. Have some fun."

Lin Xuan stared at her, unimpressed. "Fun is successfully bypassing a security system without getting detected."

She flicked his forehead. "Brat."

Rubbing his forehead dramatically, he let out a sigh. "Fine. But if one more teacher tells me I'm 'gifted' like it's some profound revelation, I'm messing with the school's grading system."

Yuxi chuckled. "Just don't get caught."

He grinned. "Please, jiejie. Have some faith."

She watched as he reluctantly walked toward the school building, where a teacher was waiting to escort him inside.

As he disappeared into the crowd of students, Yuxi exhaled, her protective instincts still on high alert.

She watched him take his first steps into a so-called 'normal' life, she felt something she rarely allowed herself to feel—hope.

At Royal Crest University, Qin Lei leaned against the library balcony, the crisp autumn breeze ruffling his silver-black hair.

Jiang Cheng and Lu Bei stood beside him, their expressions relaxed as they went through the files they had compiled.

"Here's everything we found on Lin Yuxi," Jiang Cheng said, tossing the thin folder onto the table.

Lu Bei smirked. "Spoiler alert—there's nothing remotely interesting."

Qin Lei picked up the file, his silver eyes scanning the neatly typed reports.

Lin Yuxi:

Orphaned at a young age.Raised by her distant cousin, Kai.No notable connections.Excellent academic record.Special admission to Royal Crest.

It all seemed… ordinary.

Too ordinary.

"You're telling me you found nothing unusual?" Qin Lei asked, his voice calm yet skeptical.

Jiang Cheng shrugged. "No hidden backgrounds, no classified connections. If she's someone dangerous, then she's got the best damn cover we've ever seen."

Lu Bei leaned in. "Or maybe you're just looking too hard, Lei. Sometimes, a girl is just a girl."

Qin Lei remained silent.

His instincts told him otherwise.

But for the first time, he was forced to question himself.

Had he misread her?

And if so… why did he feel like she wasn't someone he could ignore? The more he tried to push the thought aside, the more it lingered, gnawing at the edges of his mind.

Meanwhile, across campus, Lin Yuxi sat quietly in Professor Liu Jian's lecture, her eyes fixed on the man standing at the front of the class.

She had spent the past few weeks subtly maneuvering her way into his academic orbit, ensuring that their paths would inevitably cross.

Liu Jian was a charismatic old man—his lectures engaging, his mannerisms precise. He carried himself like a man with nothing to hide.

But Yuxi had spent her entire life studying people who wore masks.

She barely listened to the content of the lecture itself. Instead, she focused on the details—the way his fingers tapped against the podium when discussing something sensitive, the slight pause before answering a particularly sharp question, the calculated ease in his tone.

By the time the lecture ended, she had made her decision.

That night, the naive, innocent Lin Yuxi that everyone knew disappeared.

Dressed in black, her silver mask reflecting the dim light, she moved like a whisper through the shadows of Royal Crest.

Kai's voice crackled in her earpiece. "Security rotations are unchanged. You have a five-minute window."

Lin Xuan's voice followed, more amused than concerned. "I looped the cameras, but don't get cocky, jiejie. You're not the only one interested in that office these days."

"I'll be quick," she murmured, slipping into Liu Jian's study.

The room smelled of polished wood and aged books, the kind of place built to exude authority.

Her fingers moved deftly, bypassing the biometric lock on his safe.

The moment it clicked open, she inhaled sharply.

Inside, among the documents and encrypted files, was a single photograph.

Liu Jian.

And… Yeye.

Her breath hitched.

In the picture, they were younger—perhaps in their late forties.

Yeye's expression was warm, his laughter frozen in time.

A rare sight.

Something inside her chest clenched painfully.

She traced the edges of the photograph, feeling an ache she hadn't let herself acknowledge in years.

For a moment, she wasn't the girl who plotted in the shadows.

She was just a granddaughter who missed her family.

But she didn't have time for emotions.

Shoving the photo into her pocket, she turned her attention to the classified document beneath it.

Her eyes skimmed the words:

Top-Secret Government Document

Date: 24th July, 2015

It's a 9-year-old document.

Classified by: Emperion Intelligence Division

She read further.

"Large-scale smuggling of advanced weaponry…"

"Unauthorized research on experimental tech…"

Then—

"Transfer of Subject X—codename: Azure Veil"

Her fingers tightened around the paper.

Azure Veil?

The document mentioned it was transported from Moss Island to Emperion.

What the hell was Azure Veil?

Before she could read more, a sharp pain struck her head.

She stumbled slightly, gripping her temple.

"Jiejie," Lin Xuan's voice came through, urgent. "Someone's in the corridor. You need to move. Now."

Yuxi clenched her jaw, forcing herself to focus.

She carefully placed the documents back in the safe, wiping any trace of her presence.

Footsteps neared the study door.

She had seconds.

She moved quickly, slipping out through the window just as the study door opened.

Kai's voice was sharp. "Who's inside?"

"Not sure," Xuan muttered. "But whoever it is, they're not supposed to be there."

Yuxi landed smoothly on the ground, her breath steady.

She glanced back once—just in time to see a shadow step into the room.

She didn't wait to see who it was.

Blending into the night, she disappeared.

But her mind was spinning.

A smiling photograph.

A government-sealed file.

A project called Azure Veil.

The deeper she dug, the more dangerous it became.

And for the first time—she realized Yeye's past was far more complicated than she had ever imagined.