Shawn sat in the middle of a vortex of energy, absorbing spirit particles at a dangerous pace. His dantian felt like it was about to burst, but he ignored the sensation and pumped more energy into it. Even though the pain in his body was immense, the pain in his heart was more severe. He would be willing to do anything to be rid of it.

He knew he was acting recklessly, but the events of last night had shaken him to his core. It was the first time anyone he had cared about had died. In his twenty short years of life, he had never experienced a pain like this. He supposed he had been lucky, all his loved ones on Earth were in good health. But that same luck left him woefully unprepared to deal with the feelings stirring in his stomach. No matter how much physical punishment he put himself through, they would not disappear.

He had thought he could trust Heiki, he had been wrong. He didn’t know who he could trust anymore. Fearing the same type of betrayal, he hadn’t mentioned the contents of the information jade to anyone. It had made for an awkward car ride back, but for once his [Deception] skill had worked and they brushed off Heiki's sudden disappearance. Though he had them fooled, for now, he knew it couldn’t last. Eventually, someone would notice that Heiki had gone missing.

He didn’t know a lot of things right now and it frustrated him to no end. He didn’t know what the numbers on the spirit jade meant. He didn’t know why Heiki had attacked him, if there was something truly valuable on the jade he would have been willing to share. He didn’t understand why Dorian had given him the coin in the first place. If it was so valuable, why didn’t he hold on to it?

He grit his teeth as the energy built to a dangerous level, making his dantian feel as if it had been lit aflame. It was like he was walking through a dark tunnel without a flashlight. All he could do was stumble around like an idiot till he found the way out.

He exhaled, letting the world's natural energy flow out of his dantian. The pain did not subside, instead, the fire flowed into his veins with increased intensity. The edges of his vision blurred as he gained a single-minded focus on surviving, his emotional problems fading to the background.

Immediately, he knew the problem, he had drawn in too much energy. In his attempt to escape his turbulent emotions, he had long passed his limits. He sighed as he let a small amount of the energy leak out of him into the atmosphere. Cool relief flowed through his body as the pressure subsided.

Strands of Qi danced under his touch, moving gracefully to control the power surging through him. In this focused state of cultivation, all his abilities were improved. In this state things that he would have struggled to pull off were now easy. One such improvement was in his Qi sense. It had come a long way since he first started. He could now see in a hundred-foot radius around him with his eyes closed.

The Qi sense wasn’t limited to perceiving physical locations, flashes of emotion and intent would also broadcast themselves to him. While his abilities were enhanced, everyone was an open book to him. Even though his Qi senses were weakened while moving, his skill in the subject had increased to the point where he was able to easily judge the Qi levels of those close to him.

It may not be a very useful skill for tracking people down from range, but it let him know when his enemies were preparing a powerful attack, giving him an extra second to respond. That amount of time may not sound like a lot, but even the smallest advantage could change the course of a fight.

As he finished his cycle of cultivation and the world’s natural energy became acclimated to his body, turning into usable Qi, a chime rang out. Shawn kept his eyes closed, instead choosing to bask in the temporary mental relief the ordeal had given him. This time with a clear mind, Shawn plotted out his future actions.

Finding out what the numbers mean on the information jade was of the utmost importance. Everything else could wait until he solved that mystery. He sighed, it was hard to admit, but he wasn’t equipped to solve the riddle on his own. Heiki had figured out the meaning of the numbers in a couple minutes whereas he was still stumped a day later. If he wanted to have the mystery solved in a timely fashion he would have to bring in outside help.

He would have to do it in a smart manner and wait for the right moment, but he thought he could trust Lin to help him with the task. He smiled, Tian probably was willing to help him as well. He had good friends watching his back. They wouldn’t betray him, he was sure of it. They had never once let him down in the time he had known them. Without fear plaguing his mind, everything seemed so simple. Once daunting questions were reduced to simple formalities.

Sadly, he knew this state of tranquility wouldn’t last, as soon as he moved the spell would be broken and he would slowly turn back to his panicked self.

A familiar Qi signature that reminded him of a sea of poison entered his range. Beneath the toxic exterior laid a kind and caring apple tree. Shawn tilted his head, confused at how weird some people's souls could be. The energy signature came closer and the fidelity with which he viewed it increased.

From far away he had been unsure, but now that it had approached his door he knew for a fact the Qi signature belonged to Lin. Her Qi pooled and bundled in odd patterns that Shawn struggled to understand. The image of a fruity martini and a golden retriever playing in a field shot through his mind. What the fuck is that supposed to mean?

He sighed, interpreting the information his Qi senses gave him was difficult, it was like learning a new language. Actually, it was even harder than that. It was an entirely new form of communication, one he had no experience with. Lin’s Qi tightly followed her movements as she knocked on the door.

He took several calming breaths then opened his eyes, fear, and anxiety slowly creeping back into his heart. His fears were temporarily allayed by the blue box floating in front of him.

Name: Shawn Jones Cultivation: Qi Gathering 9 12/300 Hp: 43/43 Qi: 109/109 Strength: 10 Dexterity: 17 Perception: 20 Endurance: 10 Resilience: 13 Agility: 20 Intelligence: 10

Dopamine rushed through his system as he read it. Progress, especially when represented numerically was always satisfying to see. He was so close to reaching the next realm of cultivation he could taste it, he would only need one more night of effort. His heart beat faster, the next realm was when things really picked up. He couldn’t wait.

Additionally, he only had to absorb one more wisp of the many-eyed fly to complete the counter. The loss of a wisp in the digital world had set him back a little bit, but it wasn't enough to keep him down for long. He was at the precipice of a major power boost.

He opened the door revealing Lin’s waiting form. She paused for a moment, surprised by his sudden entrance. “Get ready. We have a job to do.” Shawn followed her to the garage where they met with Tian.

“So what’s the job, I thought I’d get the rest of the night off?”

“Your guess is as good as mine buddy. Lin burst down my door and yelled at me to get the car ready. I didn’t even have time to change out of my pajamas,” Tian said wearing an oversized shirt embroidered with pictures of dogs. He made some final adjustments to the flying car's engine before hopping into the driver's seat.

“We managed to intercept a message from the Crimson Lotus, The Alliance is meeting tonight,” Lin said. The ground blurred beneath them as the car launched itself into the air. “Our job is to sneak in from the inside and sabotage the meeting.”

“How are we going to do that?” Shawn asked.

“The gang’s alliance is a loose one, they are only cooperating because it serves their best interests. If we manage to frame one of the gangs, they will begin to distrust each other and the alliance will fall apart.” She tossed a red pill to Shawn and Tian. “Even if we only manage to delay the meeting some of the more cautious gangs will drop out of The Alliance.”

Shawn rolled the small ball between his fingers feeling the tightly contained Qi within it. He had wanted to tell them about the information jade, but he feared that it would only be a distraction to them if he mentioned it before the important meeting. He resolved to broach the topic another day.

“I thought you said you weren’t made out of money,” Shawn said as he held the ball of tightly packed Qi and herbs up to his eye. “This thing couldn’t have been cheap. It has a crazy amount of Qi in it.”

“I’m not rich, I got Chule to buy them for us. They are minor transformation pills. They’ll let us sneak in unnoticed.” She swallowed the pill causing a slight mist to appear blocking her from view. When the mist disappeared her appearance had changed. Her hair was now blond and her face proportions had changed slightly as well.

The pill didn’t drastically change her appearance, but it was enough to make it so someone would not be able to instantly recognize her. However, the pill did nothing for her Qi signature. To his Qi senses, he could tell as clear as day that it was Lin.

“Do I have to take one? I don't want to ruin my perfect face,” Tian whined.

Lin laughed. “You’re attached to that raggedy look of yours? I think you’d look better if you changed it up a bit,” Lin said jokingly. Tian glared at her, taking his attention off the road.

Honestly, why that man was allowed to drive was a mystery to Shawn. Tian had terrible driving habits. One of these days they would crash.

“You’re in luck. You won’t be attending the meeting directly, so you don’t have to eat one.” Tian took his hands off the wheel for a moment and fist-pumped in excitement. His moment of inattention caused the car to swerve widely. Luckily, they didn’t hit anything. Though they did come close to smashing into the side of a skyscraper.

“Your job is to oversee the meeting and to prepare our escape route if something goes wrong.” Lin tossed him a bag field with explosive devices. “If they don’t fall for our fabricated story, I want you to blow the place up, to give us a chance to escape.” Tian nodded.

“And you,” she said as she turned to Shawn. “Your job is to pretend to be my bodyguard during the meeting. Keep an eye out for anyone who might recognize us and steer us away from them.”

Shawn nodded and popped the minor transformation pill into his mouth. A white cloud of mist popped up around him and he felt his bones shift. The process was strangely painless, he would have thought having his bones forcefully rearranged would have hurt.

“How do I look,” Shawn said as the mist disappeared.

“Good, you look like a famous celebrity,” Tian said.

“Like a moldy piece of toast,” Lin said at the same time with a smirk.

Shawn pulled a strand of his hair down into his vision and flinched. I have green hair? I look like an anime character.

“The hair is a bit exotic, but it is a good disguise. No one will recognize you from far away, however, be sure to keep your Qi under control during the meeting. If you let it leak out someone could recognize you,” Lin said.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shawn spotted a familiar building made out of purple and yellow glass. He turned to get a better look but was too slow. By the time he had turned, they had already flown past it, hiding it in a sea of similar buildings.

Lin opened her mouth to say something, but Shawn interrupted her. “What is this place called?” He pointed out the window at the rapidly fading collection of buildings.

She glanced out the window. “That’s the shopping center in the inner district. It’s a nice place to get hats, but they are a bit expensive.” Shawn memorized the location, vowing to come back. He had seen the building once before, Heiki had pulled it up on his computer screen right before he betrayed him. The unique color scheme was undeniable proof, it was definitely the same building.

For the rest of the ride, Lin filled him in on the details of the roles they would have to play. She would be posing as the leader of the Purple Wolf, a gang that had recently undergone a sudden change in leadership. Due to the recent nature of the events, no one knew anything about the new leader except for their name.

Somehow, in the short time that they had known the meeting would occur, The Scorpion's Den had managed to make the new leader of the Purple Wolf Gang disappear without anyone noticing. Hidden within an oversized purple cloak, Lin tucked away bundles of paper containing fabricated proof of sabotage and betrayal.

A lot of forethought had gone into this, Shawn was impressed. He didn’t know if the plan would work, but it would at least sow the seeds of distrust. Worst case scenario, Tian would just cut the lights and blow up the place while they escaped.

Tian landed the car outside of a large abandoned warehouse. Other expensive flying cars marked the otherwise poverty-ridden streets. “We’re here, the neutral zone." Shawn and Lin hopped out of the car and approached the warehouse.

“Why do they call it that?” Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted troops from multiple different forces hiding in depleted buildings. Long years of conflict made the gangs distrust each other. It would just take a small push to make everything come crashing down.

“It’s called the neutral zone because there is no one left here. A couple years ago a large gang war broke out in the area and destroyed most of it. The majority of the residents left, leaving the area mostly abandoned. A lot of gangs choose to hold meetings in the neutral zone because no one has a home-field advantage here."

Shawn nodded as he stepped over the cracked road. The fighting must have been intense.

He took a calming breath to slow his racing heart. "You ready?" Shawn asked. She nodded. Steeling his nerves he opened the door to the abandoned warehouse.

A familiar set of blood-red eyes met his own. Dorian was here.