Su Chen didn't believe in mercy anymore.
Not after what they did to him. Not after the bullets, the lies, the fake tears. Not after watching Lin Yue's face as she told Wei to finish the job.
He believed in control now.
And control started with fear.
She had broken people with her silence once. Now he'd use it against her.
DISTRICT V | MED-TECH TOWER | 3 DAYS LATER
Lin Yue hadn't been to work.
Her colleagues whispered.
Sick leave, they said. Psychological burnout. A virus infection. One even suggested ghost sickness — an urban myth spreading through survivors like fungal spores.
She didn't care what they said.
Because in her dreams, she heard Su Chen whisper her name.
In her dreams, she was bleeding beside him.
And he was smiling.
She'd locked her room. Blocked all messages. Covered the cameras. But the world outside didn't stop turning just because she did.
Then came the voice again.
Not from a screen this time.
From her mirror.
From the reflection behind her.
"You used to say mirrors never lie."
Her breath froze. Her body did not move.
"Turn around, Yue," the voice said — warm, soft, like it used to be. "Let's see if you still lie better than I do."
She turned.
But there was no one there.
Just the mirror.
Just her reflection.
Except it wasn't her reflection.
It was Su Chen.
Bleeding. Shot. Eyes glowing red. Smiling.
Then the glass shattered — not physically, but in her mind.
SYSTEM INTERVENTION: MEMORY ECHO (EXTENDED MODE)
Trigger: Trauma Threshold Breach DetectedPlaying Memory Fragment: Last Kiss – Night of Betrayal
She was back there again.
The rain. The shelter. The sterile hallway where she stood with Wei, Su Chen on the ground, bleeding and laughing.
"I trusted you."
His voice echoed across the tile.
"And you left me in the dark."
She screamed and the memory ended.
REALITY – 23RD FLOOR – LIN YUE'S APARTMENT
She collapsed to her knees.
Blood dripped from her nose. Her heartbeat erratic.
"Stop this!" she shouted. "What do you want from me!?"
And from the ceiling vent, almost a whisper:
"Everything you took."
Then a metallic click.
On the table — a USB drive she didn't own.
Where did it come from?
She picked it up with trembling fingers.
Plugged it in.
A video began.
Surveillance footage.
From the day she betrayed him.
Multiple angles. Voice feed. Full color.
Everything.
Including her words:
"Make it quick. He deserves at least that much."
She vomited on the floor.
And above, on the rooftop, Su Chen watched.
WALLED CITY 09 | ROOFTOP ACROSS THE STREET
[Target Lin Yue - Trauma Score: 92%][Projected Collapse: 36 Hours][New Skill Unlocked: Psychological Loop (Active)][Effect: Trap a target in recurring traumatic memory cycles for up to 10 minutes. Cooldown: 12 hours.]
"System," Su Chen said, "we're getting close."
[Yes. Prepare for Phase Two: Proximity Engagement.]
He cracked his neck.
His hands were still stained with dried blood from the last scavenger nest. He didn't even know their names. They were in his way.
That was enough.
He pulled the hood lower, activated Shadow Walk, and walked right through the security grid of the tower.
MED-TECH TOWER – 23RD FLOOR – 2:14 A.M.
The room was dark.
The window open.
The air cold.
Lin Yue sat curled up on the couch, knees to her chest, the USB still plugged in, the screen frozen on Su Chen's dying body.
Then her comm buzzed.
One new message.
Unknown Sender:
"Hello, Yue."
She didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Because the air in the room shifted.
And she felt it — not saw, not heard — felt him behind her.
Alive.
Watching.
Waiting.
"You thought guilt was the worst punishment?" his voice asked.
She turned.
He stood in the doorway like a shadow that remembered how to bleed.
Hair messy. Eyes glowing. Half-dead. Fully changed.
"Su Chen…"
Her voice cracked.
"Why—why didn't you kill me yet?"
His smile wasn't kind.
"Because the dead don't suffer."
He took a step forward.
She didn't run.
She couldn't.
She was already dying inside.
End of Chapter 4