n

n

nWe followed Ghosteye into the narrow corridor that seemed to take a left at the end. There was a door with an electronic lock guarding it, but Ghosteye had already disabled those beforehand.

nAs expected, we took a left, and soon stopped at another door on the left-hand side of the hallway. This one was locked as well, but not with an electronic look. It was instead secured with a magic array, similar to the ones used on the school dorm rooms (except for mine).

nGhosteye, who was probably the owner of this lock, unlocked it with ease and the five of us entered the room.

nI widened my eyes as I realized what it was.

"This is...

"

nGhosteye, seeing my reaction, nodded.

"Indeed. The restaurant kitchen.

"

n

"Why have you brought us here?

" Feng Mian asked, skeptical. The back kitchen of a restaurant...not really the place for a private conversation. Employees were all around, since it was working hours still.

n

"This is what you have been searching for all this time,

" he cackled. The man then spread his arms out wide, and made a welcoming gesture as the four of us made puzzled expressions.

n

"Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to the Shenzhen head lair of the Midnight Syndicate.

"

n*****

n(Yu An Xue's Perspective)

nThis was it. The head lair of the Midnight Syndicate here in Shenzhen. And this man - Ghosteye - was the culprit who took my precious sister away from me 8 years ago.

nThe lair really was hidden in plain sight. Not really, since it was impossible to see the back kitchen from the outside, but still. I hate to admit it, but it was impressive they managed to avoid being found out all this time. Had The Midnight Lily always been their base, or did they just recently take over? Either way, it was a brilliant feat. I shouldn't underestimate the Midnight Syndicate.

nAnger was boiling inside of me, but when I saw Xuan Kai not fazed one bit by this shocking revelation, I secretly admired his ability to remain calm, and decided to try and learn from him.

n

"...I see,

" Xuan Kai replied indifferently.

"But this kitchen clearly isn't the true appearance of the lair. So why don't you get rid of this farce already?

"

nI blinked. True appearance? Farce? What did he mean...?

nGhosteye then laughed out loud, and called upon one of the workers there.

"You heard him, Cobra. Get rid of the illusion. Oh, and don't forget to disable any traps.

"

nIllusion? Traps...? This conversation was moving so quick I couldn't even keep up.

nGhosteye then turned to Xuan Kai and smiled warmly.

"You certainly are a clever one, perhaps even more so than I had thought. My judgement has not failed me. Tell me, boy, how did you find out?

"

nI wanted to know this as well. How was he always one step ahead...?

nXuan Kai gave a shrug in response.

"It was fairly obvious. For one, this kitchen looks too spotless. A real back kitchen, no matter how much cleaning one does, could never be this immaculate.

"

n

"Hm...I'll keep that in mind,

" Ghosteye murmured to himself, genuinely taking this as feedback.

n

"If you want any more advice, you'll have to pay me,

" Xuan Kai continued nonchalantly.

n

"Hahaha! You are not just witty, but quite the jokester as well!

" Ghosteye laughed heartily. Then, in a serious tone, he added,

"In fact, I do have an offer for you in mind...

"

nXuan Kai arched an eyebrow and prompted him to go on.

nThe man smiled devilishly and complied.

"As you wish.

"

n*****

n(Xuan Kai's Perspective)

n

"My proposal for you is simple and straight-forward: Join us.

"

n

"Come again?

" I replied, not sure what I heard was right.

n

"Join the Midnight Syndicate. I promise you a life of fortune and glory. With your abilities, you can easily make it to a position of my level if not higher,

" Ghosteye explained.

nIt took all I had not to burst out laughing. Who the hell did he think he was, to recruit me into that bull** organization of theirs?

n

"Was this the reason you showed me your 'sincerity' yesterday?

" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

n

"Indeed. I have been watching you for a while now, and your strength and intelligence are both nothing short of remarkable.

"

nI smirked. I wasn't planning on joining them whatsoever...but this may be a good opportunity to get some valuable information.

n

"Hm...let's discuss this deeper in, in your actual domain,

" I said, pointing at a door that had appeared in the wall after the employee named Cobra had removed the illusion cast over it.

nThe three girls stared at me with different expressions as I said this. Two with shock, one with confusion. The one with a puzzled expression was Qing Yue. She probably understood my intentions, but not completely, hence the confusion. Feng Mian and Yu An Xue were just pure shocked, seeing me actually considering their offer (not that I was).

nHowever, that was soon resolved as I noticed the two girls' expressions soften, while Qing Yue appeared concentrated. My guess was that she had used Telepathy, a Level One Psychic Element spell. It allowed for the user to transmit messages directly into specific targets' heads, but the consumption of mana was greater the more recipients there were and the longer the transmission was.

nAt Level One, you could only send one message. At Level Two, you would be able to have a brief back and forth conversation. The recipients are not required to have Psychic Element magic to do so - all they have to do is think of a reply in their heads and the original sender would receive it.

nI didn't know when Qing Yue had learnt this skill, but it was certainly useful. I would have to ask her later. She had two elements (prior to awakening Light) - Blessing and Psychic - but had always been better with the former. She never really paid attention to her Psychic Element affinity, so I wondered what caused her to suddenly learn such a spell.

nBut now was not the time for that. The four of us followed Ghosteye once more into the door, and what awaited us at the end of the path was a dark and large room, illuminated only by 8 ghostly lanterns. There were 4 on each side, between them a black carpet leading up to a similarly colored throne, engraved with skulls.

n

"This is more like it...

" I muttered to myself. This fit in a lot more with the rest of the lairs we visited.

nAs soon as we entered the room, however, Yu An Xue stopped. I glanced back at her in confusion, and she met my gaze.

n

"This...I can smell my sister's scent in here,

" she said, voice quivering.

nI narrowed my eyes and moved closer to her, leaning in to her right ear.

n

"Don't let it show,

" I whispered quietly. She nodded frantically and I moved away as if nothing had happened. It would be problematic if Ghosteye found out that we already knew his-

n

"Since we're already in here...why don't we drop the act?

" Ghosteye twisted around suddenly and I realized that his entire appearance had CHANGED.

nHe now wore a black mask, similar to the one I had broken before during the fight for Feng Mian's parents' freedom. His originally fancy tuxedo had been replaced by a dark cloak.

n

"Your assumptions were correct. Yu An Xue, I am the one who captured your sister 8 years ago, and used Curse Magic on her. And...I am also the one who holds the key to her memories.

" Ghosteye sneered as the loud clank of a door slamming shut rang out behind us.

n

"You have two options here, Xuan Kai,

" Ghosteye directed his gaze at me, completely neglecting the other three.

"One - you join the Midnight Syndicate and I'll free Yu An Xue's sister from the curse, or two you become my puppet, just like Amethyst. What will it be?

"

nI smirked deviously. He was strong, sure. But not strong enough that I couldn't defeat him.

n

"Kukuku...I choose option three,

" I responded with a cackle.

nGhosteye furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Huh? You only have two optio-

"

n

"Perhaps I wasn't clear enough,

" I interrupted, and cleared my throat.

"I choose option three - erasing you from this world.

"

n