Chapter 131: Crossed Wires
"Lord Xie," Xu Mochen greeted, voice smooth as honey yet with steel lurking beneath. "This lady is... an acquaintance of mine. It is only natural that I invite her to stay in more comfortable quarters."
Ling Yu caught the hidden meaning instantly. He was staking a claim, one sharp enough that others around them began whispering enviously.
"Acquaintance?" Xie Lingzhou tilted his head, amusement flickering in his sharp dark eyes as if he’d just been told the punchline to a joke. His gaze slid to Ling Yu, taking in her calm, frost-tinged expression, then back to Xu Mochen. "If it’s not funny enough. Because from where I stand, it looked more like abduction. I must have misinterpreted."
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Nobody spoke to the town lord like that.
Ling Yu’s lips curved, just slightly.
Xu Mochen’s face darkened, though he held on to his genteel mask. He turned back toward Ling Yu, ignoring the murmurs around them. "Miss Ling, you honor me by allowing me to extend the hospitality. Please, don’t let idle interruptions change your mind."
Ling Yu allowed herself a moment of silence. Xu Mochen’s insistence had a sour undertone, desperate, almost, though he cloaked it in civility. The fact that Xie Lingzhou’s mere appearance could ruffle him so much was a detail she tucked away like a dagger in her sleeve.
And speaking of daggers... her system pinged softly in her mind.
[Observation Unlocked: "The Fallen King of the Screen"]
[Would you like to view Xie Lingzhou’s current status window?]
She mentally confirmed, and the transparent panel unfolded in her mind’s eye.
[Status Window: Xie Lingzhou]
Class: Awakened Hunter (Illusionist / Blademaster Hybrid)
Level: 32
Title: The Silver Mirage
HP: 7,200 / 7,200
SP: 5,100 / 5,100
Attributes:
Strength: 210
Agility: 340
Endurance: 220
Intelligence: 280
Charisma: 370]
[Skills:
Phantom Step (A). Blade of Refraction (B), Mirage Veil (B), Silver Tongue (S)
[Hidden Trait: Stage Presence. Whenever Xie Lingzhou is the center of attention, his overall combat stats increase by 15%.]
Ling Yu’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly. That last trait fit him perfectly. Even the end of the world couldn’t rob him of his infuriating knack for pulling the spotlight toward himself. No wonder Xu Mochen looked so unsettled; anyone with sense would realize how dangerous such charisma paired with raw power could become in a confined fortress-city.
"Miss Ling." Xu Mochen extended his hand again, the gesture almost courtly. "I insist."
Her eyes lowered to his hand, pale and elegant but hiding venom behind the gesture. She let the silence stretch, aware of the crowd’s greedy anticipation; they wanted her to accept, wanted to see her either lifted into privilege or trampled beneath scorn.
And then, softly, she smiled.
"I said before," she murmured, voice carrying just enough to be heard by those nearest, "I need to tell my companions where I’m going."
Xu Mochen’s smile strained. "That won’t be—"
"—And if Lord Xu has nothing to hide," Xie Lingzhou interrupted silkily, stepping closer so that the two men now stood within arm’s length of each other, "surely a few hours won’t hurt."
The weight in the air shifted. Ling Yu could feel the battle lines being drawn, though not with swords or claws. Xu Mochen radiated the smug authority of a lord who believed himself untouchable; Xie Lingzhou radiated the easy arrogance of a star who had never needed to bow.
But she was the storm quietly gathering in the background, watching, calculating, and deciding how best to turn this tension into an advantage.
Her system pulsed again.
[Hidden Objective Unlocked: "Crossed Wires"]
Condition: Allow Xie Lingzhou and Xu Mochen’s rivalry to escalate without exposing yourself.
Reward: +200 System Points, +1 Insight Shard.]
Ling Yu’s smirk deepened by the faintest fraction.
Xu Mochen’s patience snapped just enough to bleed through. His gaze sharpened, and though his smile remained, it was a razor’s edge now. "Xie Lingzhou, your influence here exists only because I allow it. Perhaps you would do well to remember who commands this fortress."
The movie king only laughed. Not loudly, but low, rich, and taunting. "Ah, yes. The benevolent lord who graciously allows everyone else to breathe his air. Tell me, Xu Mochen... if I recall correctly, didn’t your last patrol lose half its men to a pack of third-tier beasts? Some might say authority unbacked by competence is... fragile."
The crowd inhaled sharply.
Xu Mochen’s eyes turned to ice.
Ling Yu stood between them like a statue, her expression cool and unreadable, but inside her mind was a whirlwind of calculation. The more they clashed, the easier it would be for her to uncover Xu Mochen’s schemes. And perhaps, she could use Xie Lingzhou as an unknowing shield.
For now, she tilted her head, her voice calm as falling snow.
"Gentlemen," she said, her tone deceptively mild. "If you’re both so intent on my company, then why don’t I decide after I’ve seen to my companions? Surely neither of you would deny me that much."
The silence that followed was thick, stretching taut as a bowstring.
Xu Mochen forced his hand down, smoothing his robes. "Of course. I will await your answer, Miss Ling."
Xie Lingzhou’s smirk widened. "As will I."
And as the crowd murmured and gossiped in a frenzy, Ling Yu stepped back, bowing her head ever so slightly, a gesture of politeness that masked the glint of predatory amusement in her eyes.
Two men, two forces, colliding in a dance neither of them truly controlled.
***
The fortress city was not unlike a breathing organism. Every hour of the day, she could hear the pulse of it: boots marching in rhythm on the paved roads, merchants hawking scavenged goods, the occasional clang of weapons from the training yards. It wasn’t chaos, but it wasn’t harmony either. Ling Yu, after several days of quiet observation, had started to piece together the skeleton beneath the flesh, the political scaffolding that allowed this place to stand tall amidst a crumbling world.