Chapter 82 – Chasing Shadows
The wind howled as Yanshang clung to the side of the stealth pod, his knuckles white around the exterior latch. The pod zoomed across the underground rail system, a blur in the dark. Sparks flew from the contact rails, the pod veering dangerously with each curve.
Inside, Zhou Wei noticed the weight imbalance. "Persistent little rat," he muttered, pulling out a shock pulse weapon.
Yanshang heard the whine of the charge. "I don't think so," he growled and yanked open the emergency override hatch on the side of the pod.
The airlock hissed. Zhou turned—just as Yanshang launched himself inside.
They collided mid-air. The pod rocked.
"You're a ghost that refuses to die!" Zhou snarled, swinging wildly. Yanshang ducked, landed a punch to Zhou's ribs, then slammed him into the control console.
"Funny. That's exactly how Xueqing described you," Yanshang snapped.
Zhou activated the auto-eject, but Yanshang overrode it with a voice command.
"No more running."
Outside, emergency lights flickered along the tunnel. The pod neared the final checkpoint. If it breached the wall, it would escape into the river network—and Zhou would vanish again.
"I'm not letting you go," Yanshang hissed.
With a final twist, he locked the pod's trajectory and knocked Zhou unconscious with the hilt of his blade.
"Target secured," he whispered into his comm. "Returning."
---
Back at Mo Chen's secure flat…
Xueqing paced, arms folded, as Mo Chen downloaded the recovered data into a quarantined system.
"That pod—did it make it out?"
Mo Chen shook his head. "Yanshang overrode the control system in time. He's en route with Zhou Wei."
Xueqing stopped. "And the files?"
"Everything." He tapped the screen. "The full list of Zhou Wei's financial trails, offshore laundering networks, and a client list that includes some very interesting names."
"Names?"
"Someone in your extended family," he said darkly. "An investor in Bai Corp."
Her face hardened.
"Who?"
Mo Chen didn't flinch. "Su Weilan."
Xueqing's blood ran cold.
"That's my... mother's cousin."
Mo Chen nodded. "And he's not the only one. The rabbit hole's deeper than we thought."
She turned toward the window, heart pounding. "Then it's time we dig them out. All of them."