Shawn stepped into Chule’s office and sat down in a comfy leather chair. Like many rooms in the Scorpion's Den, it was hidden within a mass of hidden passageways. Though, this one was more hidden than most of the other rooms he had discovered. He hadn’t even known the room had existed before today.

There was a good reason he hadn’t heard of the room before, it was hidden in a hole in the floor of the laundry room. Literally. When he entered the cramped room filled with washing machines, a dark hole appeared on the floor, forcing him to jump in. He fell ten feet and landed in the center of Chule’s office.

Chule ignored Shawn as he dropped into the well-lit room. He did not know why he had been called here, but he was nervous. Chule’s silence added to the feeling. The experience reminded him of getting called into the principal's office. He hoped he wasn’t in trouble.

Chule sped through stacks of paperwork, his pen scratching against the paper the only sound in the otherwise silent room. He was so focused on his work that he hadn’t even glanced up when Shawn fell into the room.

He briefly considered speaking up to gain his attention but decided against it. At the pace Chule’s hand was moving, it wouldn’t take long for him to finish with the stack of paperwork.

Shawn busied himself by looking around the room. Large posters were stuck to almost every inch of open wall space. His personal favorite was a circular picture of what looked like an actual phoenix. The office had a rustic and homely look, the only thing breaking that image was a large slab of metal with glowing engravings.

After seeing how easily Chule had been able to manipulate metal when the Crimson Lotus bomber had attacked them, he had no doubt that the slab had not been placed there for aesthetic reasons. In Chule’s hands, it was a deadly weapon. Attacking him in his office was a death sentence.

Aside from the stacks of paper, the only other thing on his desk was a small picture frame. Shawn craned his head to get a better look.

Chule smiled at the camera while holding a short woman in his muscular arms. Shawn blinked. His arms were made out of flesh and blood. In the picture, he hadn’t lost his arm yet. He looked around the same age in the picture as he was now, making it impossible to determine how long ago the picture had been taken. Cultivation made it too difficult to determine someone's real age.

The only clue he had as to the pictures' origin was the sky. The sun shined down brightly through a bright blue sky; illuminating their hair. The sun's presence and the bright blue sky indicated that the picture wasn’t taken in Najian. The layer of smog that hovered over the city was too thick for sunlight to penetrate. He had missed looking up to a clear blue sky.

Shawn stopped looking at the picture, he felt it was disrespectful to dig into the man's past without his consent. He counted sheep as he patiently waited for Chule to finish.

Shawn’s face fell as Chule reached below his desk and pulled out another large stack of paperwork. At this rate, he was going to be waiting here forever. Deciding to not waste time, Shawn closed his eyes and began cultivating. Shawn rapidly drew the world's natural energy in but was distracted.

To his Qi senses, Chule was a massive beacon of power. The world's natural energy moved faster around him. Even though he kept his Qi on a tight leash, letting none of it leak out, its sheer gravity passively affected the environment.

Not only did he have a massive amount of Qi, but his Qi was also very potent. The Dao of Metal had seeped into his Qi, making it more powerful than it had any right to be.

After 30 minutes, Chule coughed gaining his attention. “Old man Lao hadn’t been joking, you’ve grown a lot. In a few short weeks, you’ve managed to completely transform your power,” Chule said, his full attention on Shawn.

“Thank you.” Shawn tried not to wilt under the pressure of his gaze, he was notoriously bad at receiving compliments.

“Now that you have your feet under you, I would like to propose a new job for you. How would you feel about a more active role in the organization?”

“I’ll do more if I’m paid more.” Shawn had answered quickly, but internally he wasn’t so sure. Taking a more active role sounded dangerous. He didn't exactly enjoy getting hurt.

Though, even when he tried to avoid danger, he ran into it face first, so he doubted it would make that big of a difference.

Chule laughed. “I like that attitude of yours, it’ll bring you far in life. I’m constructing a team that will be able to more effectively deal with the Crimson Lotus. The team will primarily be focused on sabotaging their moon leaf production. Just from taking out one building, their business has taken a considerable hit. I normally wouldn't choose you for the job, but the other two members of the team recommended you for the last spot.”

Shawn’s eyebrows rose. “Who are the other two members?”

“Lin is the team leader and Tian is the other member. So, is this something you’d be interested in? You’d be compensated fairly for your efforts.”

The deal sounded good to him, he would be able to hang out with his friends while destroying an organization he hated. He couldn’t think of a better job. Hell, he would have considered doing it for free. He hated the Crimson Lotus that much. After almost getting killed by their members on five separate occasions, he had lost all sympathy for them, they were dangerous animals that harmed the community just by existing.

His only concern would be the high amount of danger the job would put him in. The last time they had sabotaged a Crimson Lotus building, they had almost died. However, he was quickly growing in strength and he would have Lin and Tian, two powerhouses backing him up, so he felt relatively confident that joining the team wouldn’t be exceedingly dangerous.

Besides, their attack on the Crimson Lotus had only been dangerous because Lubo unexpectedly showed up, but now that he was dead, there was no one exceedingly powerful to oppose them.

“I’m in, I’ll do it.” They shook hands.

“Good, I have a joining present for you.” Chule handed him a small piece of jade that he immediately recognized. “The hacker isn’t willing to come down to the Scorpion’s Den because of how dangerous the war has made it around here, but I was able to set up a meeting. Bring Tian and Lin with you to the cloud district and find Heiki. He will remove the protections blocking us from accessing the information.”

Shawn pocketed the jade. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t think of Dorian; of how much he wanted to kill the man. At first, Shawn feared the man, being so afraid that he was unable to sleep. However, as the world pushed him further, his feelings of fear transformed into anger.

He had been willing to forgive the first time the red-eyed man had attacked him, but he had constantly hounded him, even going so far as to haunt his dreams.

Desecrating the memory of his mother by hurting her in the dream world was the straw that had broken the camel's back. He was no longer willing to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. He had quickly learned that in this world, the easiest way to solve a problem was with violence. The truth of the world tasted bitter in his mouth, he had tried to solve his problems through talking, but it never worked.

The only way he would be able to be safe is if he eliminated the man in the robe. Without knowing what was on the information jade, his plans for revenge had hit a dead end. He could only do so much.

He had asked around the Scorpions Den, seeing if anyone knew the man's location, but they claimed that he recently dropped off the face of the earth and was unable to be found by anyone. Reluctantly, he had been forced to shelve his thoughts of revenge, but now that he had a way of opening the information jade, he would finally be able to fill in the missing puzzle piece and figure out why Dorian was willing to go to such lengths to recover it.

Armed with that knowledge, he would hopefully be able to better protect himself from Dorian's future attacks, and maybe if he was lucky, he could throw a wrench in the man’s plans as well.

“Thank you,” Shawn said sincerely.

“One last thing, take this to the cloud district, Lin will know who to deliver it to.” Chule handed him a small white box.

*****

Shawn idly looked out the window as Tian drove the flying car high over the tops of the brick buildings of the outer district. Lin fiddled with the radio, searching for a good song. According to her, all the mainstream songs that were played on the radio were overproduced trash, so she had to spend an inordinate amount of time searching for a song she wouldn’t mind listening to. Personally, he didn’t mind the mainstream music that was played on the radio in Najian. It wasn’t similar to anything he had listened to on Earth, most of the songs were a weird mash-up of flute solos and techno music.

He slumped in the back seat, ignoring the music. He mentally repeated a mantra of facts about his life to ground his sense of self. He had gotten into the habit recently, and he felt that it helped him fight off the subtle influences of Green and Etar.

Even with this measure, his emotions had been much more extreme lately; especially negative ones like hate. Before, he was slow to violence, always trying to talk his way out of situations. Now, it felt like his mind naturally fixated on vengeance, not letting the wrongs of the past rest.

His mother had always said that violence was wrong. He shook his head. Were she here she would see that some problems couldn't be resolved peacefully. Maybe it wasn’t the animals influencing him that made him more violent, maybe he was like this all along and he simply lacked the power to express this part of himself.

“Don’t look so glum, it’s not every day that you get to go to the sky district,” Tian said, snapping him out of his negative thought process.

“How am I supposed to be excited if I don’t even know what that is? You threw me into the car before I had any chance to ask questions.” The gold wall of the sect came into view as they flew through increasingly affluent parts of town.

“It’s where all the rich people live. If you don’t have a flying car you can’t get through the gates. All the business executives live up there. I heard the cheapest house costs,” Lin said, her explanation suddenly interrupted.

Tian pulled hard on the steering wheel, suddenly changing directions, interrupting her explanation. Flying cars honked and swerved out of the way, as they tried to escape Tian’s reckless driving. He was pushed into the back of his seat as the car climbed straight up into the air, headed straight for the thick layer of smog that covered the city.

“Are you sure this is safe?” Shawn asked, he gripped the seatbelt so hard his knuckles turned white.

“It’s fine, as long as we avoid the demons in the smog layer we should be okay.” Warning lights flashed on the dashboard, but Tian ignored them. As they got closer to the rolling clouds of darkness, the lights flashed more intensely.

“Restricted zone ahead; autopilot commencing,” a robotic voice said coming out from the car's speakers.

“No, you don’t.” Tian flipped a switch, causing the flashing lights to turn off. “I hacked the override chip. It has some handy benefits.” They burst into the layer of darkness, their visibility reduced to only a couple of feet in front of them.

"Are there actual demons up here?” Shawn, asked, squinting his eyes, rapidly searching for any hint of danger?

“They’re not actual demons, but monsters do roam the smog layer. Mass producing cultivation pills has its consequences.” She coughed. “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted. The residents of the sky district mostly make their fortunes by selling cultivation supplies."

Tian silently apologized.

“Most of them aren’t fighters, instead they choose to spend most of their time closing business deals. Even though they aren’t very talented cultivation-wise, they are still extremely powerful for their level due to the sheer amount of pills they have used to enhance their body.”

The car shook as a giant tentacle brushed across its side.

“Holy fuck, drive faster. We’re going to die,” Shawn screamed.

Tian glanced out the window and let out a scream of fright. Immediately, he slammed on the accelerator sending them catapulting through the air at top speed.

"Get it away! I don't want to die by tentacle monster," Lin screamed in terror.

They burst out of the layer of smog into the clear night sky. The tentacle poked its way out of the darkness, flailing wildly in its search for them. Before it could get lucky and smash them to pieces, they were long gone, cruising through the air, moving at a speed of more than 500 miles per hour.

Tian laughed. “That was fun. Should we go the same way on the way back?” Shawn's eye twitched, almost dying wasn’t fun. A small part of him protested, enjoying the rush of adrenaline.

Just as Shawn was about to retort, a giant floating city came into view, stealing his breath away. The buildings arced in weird ways, curving through the air, competing to show which one had the largest architectural budget.

More important than the beautifully designed city, the full moon hung in the clear night sky. With his increased perception, he was able to see thousands of bright stars dotting the night sky even with the intense light pollution. His body lightened, his connection to the Dao of the Wind deepening slightly. He had missed being able to see the stars.

Tian parked the car next to a giant water fountain, bypassing the official entrance to the sky district. Shawn’s hair stood up as the crisp night air entered his lungs. He had missed breathing clean air. “Can we stay here forever,” Shawn said as hundred-foot tall geysers of water danced through the air behind him

“Come on, it gets better.” Tian led them through the pristine streets of the cloud district, occasionally stopping to watch a street performance. The whole environment reminded him of Las Vegas, but a lot cleaner. He wished he could live in one of the glimmering towers that dotted the streets. However, he doubted he would ever be able to afford to live here. The cheapest houses in the district sold for millions of Yi Coins.

They walked for some time before stepping through a large marble archway, entering a casino. Immediately, a waiter wearing a pristine white suit approached them.

“Sir, Madam, would you care for a drink?” the waiter said, balancing a large tray of champagne glasses on his shoulder.

“No thank you. We’re here on official business matters,” Tian said in an unnaturally deep voice. The private security officers that manned the entrance eyed them suspiciously but did not accost them.

Tian put on a hat and kept his head down as he led them through the casino. Their worn-down clothing caused them to stand out, it felt like every other person in the building wore an expensive suit or dress. “What’s with all the stealth,” Shawn asked?

“I may be banned from ever entering a casino in the sky district ever again,” Tian said quietly. Lin laughed at his misfortune. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small group of men in black suits following them.

“How did that happen?”

“What can I say, I’m a lucky guy and the casino really doesn’t like people who win.” A woman playing on a slot machine shrieked as she hit the jackpot. Thousands of coins rushed out of the machine as its lights flashed dramatically. Their pursuers left to observe the woman who had won the jackpot.

They took cheating seriously, if they had even the slightest suspicion that her win wasn’t legitimate, they would take away her winnings. The old Vegas saying was true: the house always wins in the end.

While the security was distracted, Tian pulled them into an inconspicuous door hidden behind a wall of out-of-use machines in the corner of the room. Loud music washed over them as they entered what felt like an entirely new world.

Neon strobe lights illuminated the dimly lit room, hiding the faces of the patrons from view. In the center of the room, a beautiful half-naked woman spun around on a pole. Tian and Shawn's mouths hung open; their expressions vacant.

“Grow up! We’re here for business,” Lin said, screaming to be heard over the loud music as she dragged them to a corner of the room where they couldn’t see the dancer. Shawn wasn’t sure why, but Heiki the hacker had said he wanted to meet here. Well, after seeing the dancer, maybe he understood why.

They had avoided the giant tentacle monster in the sky and slipped past security, now all they had to do was wait.

A tan bald man approached their table. “Do you have the jade?” Shawn nodded. “Good, follow me to my office.” The trio followed Heiki through a backdoor in the kitchen and then climbed a ladder. Finally, they reached his office, a small room with a mess of wires running along the floor. He sat down on his desk and switched on a lamp.

“May I examine the engravings?” Shawn nodded and handed him the small piece of jade. “It is truly a complex work, I have never seen anything like this before.” He hummed and pulled out a book filled with engravings. “This may take a while. Feel free to take a seat.” He pointed at the singular chair leaning against the wall.

Tian laughed. “I’m gonna go gamble a little, I’ll meet you two back at the car in an hour.”

Lin pulled out the white box Chule had given her to deliver. “I have to go as well, don’t get in any trouble while I’m gone. I won’t be long.” Lin and Tian left the room, leaving Shawn to sit in silence. The suspense caused his heart to race as the hacker cross-referenced engravings from different books. He would finally learn the truth as to why the man had attacked him. Things would finally make sense.

After twenty minutes, the hacker sighed. “It pains me to admit this, but this engraving is beyond me. I’m not skilled enough to make a counter-engraving to undo the lock. I’ve only ever seen an information jade this complex once before.” Shawn clenched his fist, fighting the desire to punch a wall. To come so close to learning the truth only to have the possibility ripped away at the last moment was beyond frustrating.

“The engravings on this information jade are as complex as some of the arrays that are smuggled out of the Golden Fire Sect. Even if you gave me a full year to work on this project, I don’t think I could decode this engraving's matrix.

“So, it’s hopeless, there’s nothing we can do?”

“No we can still get in, but it will be dangerous. I normally wouldn’t do this for a client, but this engraving has piqued my interest.” He pulled out a complex contraption made out of a shocking amalgamation of jade, wires, and gold. “I’ll need your help.” He handed Shawn a helmet with a thick black visor that was connected to the contraption by a flood of wires.

Shawn put on the helmet. A faint film of Qi ran over his body, he was unaware of its purpose, but he wasn’t overly concerned. Chule had recommended the man to him, he was most likely trustworthy. “What do I have to do.”

“You’ll be helping me break the engraving with brute force.” The man put on an identical helmet then placed the information jade in the contraption, causing it to send out dangerous sparks of electricity. “We will have to enter the engraving and defuse it from the inside.”

An overwhelming array of green numbers sprawled in front of his vision, moving too fast for him to decipher. His senses faded, and his consciousness was no longer in the casino. He had entered the engraving.