Suo Ran and Lin Yichen stepped deeper into the abandoned tea house hidden between rows of aging buildings.The place looked like it had been closed for years ago. Dust covered the wooden floorboards beneath their feet, faded paper lanterns hung crooked from the ceiling, and only a single weak light flickered overhead near the center of the room, casting unstable shadows against cracked walls stained by time and moisture. The air smelled faintly of old wood, mildew, and cold rain drifting in through broken windows.
Lin Yichen pushed the door closed behind them carefully before scanning the room again out of habit. His expression had already become serious the moment they entered the alley earlier. "You're sure this is the place?" suo ran asked quietly.Lin yichen stood near one of the windows, gaze fixed outside toward the rain-soaked street beyond the narrow alley. "That's what he said."Lin Yichen checked the time again before exhaling slowly. "He's late."
Suo ran's eyes remained lowered slightly, thoughts heavy beneath the calm expression he forced onto his face. Ever since the call earlier that morning, something restless had been building quietly inside him. The informant had sounded terrified over the phone. The voice was nervous and rushed like every second spent speaking was dangerous.Lin Yichen glanced toward the entrance instinctively. "Why are you digging into past? I don't like this!" "You never like anything." Suo Ran replied quietly."That's because most things trying to involve us lately end with someone bleeding."Suo Ran almost smiled faintly at that.
Somewhere outside, distant traffic echoed through the city beyond the alleyways, muted and far away compared to the suffocating stillness inside the tea house.Then footsteps both turned immediately. The side door opened suddenly before quickly shutting again.
A middle-aged man stepped inside wearing a dark hooded jacket soaked from rainwater. His breathing sounded uneven already, eyes moving frantically around the room before finally landing on Suo ran."You came alone?" the man asked.Lin Yichen frowned. "There are literally two of us."The man ignored him completely and walked further inside with visible unease. Even beneath the dim lighting, his hands were shaking badly enough to notice.Suo ran studied him silently. "You said you knew something about my father."
The man swallowed hard before glancing back toward the windows again first.Like he expected someone to appear there then did he answer quietly."Your father wasn't killed because of an accident."Suo Ran's fingers curled slightly tighter around the tea cup sitting untouched in front of him.The informant continued in a lower voice now. "He was investigating people before he died."
Suo ran's gaze sharpened he asked "Who?"
"I don't know names." The man shook his head quickly. "Your father was careful but he found something connected to illegal operations moving through several companies."
Lin Yichen stepped closer slightly. "What kind of operations?"The man hesitated and fear visibly crossed his face." There were so many like surveillance, Money laundering and transport routes."Suo ran spoke again, quieter this time. "Where are the records now?" The informant laughed bitterly under his breath. "Gone." Suo Ran's expression darkened slightly."What do you mean gone?"
"I mean erased." The man looked at him directly now, eyes filled with genuine fear. "After your father died, everything disappeared almost overnight."Lin Yichen frowned harder. "That's impossible." "No!" The informant shook his head immediately. "Not if powerful people are involved."
The ceiling light flickered violently once before stabilizing again.Outside, thunder rolled faintly through the rain.The man lowered himself shakily into a chair across from them before continuing in a near whisper. "Police reports changed, witness statements vanished and files went missing from archives." His eyes looked haunted now. "People connected to the investigation started disappearing too."Suo Ran's breathing slowed unevenly.
The informant looked toward Suo ran carefully now. "Your father knew someone was watching him."Suo ran froze slightly.The tea cup in Suo ran's hand trembled faintly against the table before stilling again almost instantly.Lin Yichen saw it his expression softened slightly with concern. "Suo Ran…"
Suo Ran didn't answer.His eyes had lowered toward the table now, jaw tightening faintly while memories dragged themselves unwillingly back into his mind.
His father kneeling beside him fixing a toy car. He was watching his father with smile. There was warm laughter filling the house.
His mother smiling from the kitchen doorway.
Then Police lights outside the house and adults whispering. suo ran came back to reality silence everywhere.The informant kept speaking quietly, unaware of the storm building beneath Suo Ran's calm exterior.
"Your father started hiding things near the end. He trusted almost nobody anymore." The man swallowed hard. "He thought someone inside the investigation was leaking information."
Lin Yichen's eyes narrowed immediately. "A mole?"The man nodded once."And after your father died," he continued shakily, "the people connected to the case suddenly acted like none of it ever existed."Suo Ran lifted his gaze again slowly.His eyes looked colder now."You said he hid evidence." he said quietly. "Where?" The informant hesitated.Fear crossed his face again as his eyes darted toward the windows then toward the entrance."I don't know exactly," he admitted finally. "But I heard he left something connected to an old company account." His voice dropped lower. "Your father believed if anything happened to him… someone would eventually find it." Lin Yichen leaned forward immediately. "Who told you that?"
Before the man could answer a loud metallic sound echoed somewhere outside the tea house.All three froze instantly.The informant 's face charged into fear. His breathingturned sharp immediately. "No!" he whispered under his breath.Lin Yichen stood at once. "What?"
The man looked toward the door with visible panic now."They found me."Suo Ran's eyes sharpened immediately. "Who?" The informant stood so abruptly his chair nearly crashed backward. "We don't have much time." Lin Yichen stepped forward quickly. "What are you talking about?" The informant looked directly at Suo Ran now, terror practically shaking through every word."The person behind your father's death…" His voice broke slightly. "They're connected to..."
The tea house windows exploded inward instantly deafening gunshot exploded through the tea house without warning.The front window shattered violently beside them.
Glass burst across the floor in glittering fragments as terrified screams instantly erupted throughout the building. The flickering ceiling light swung hard overhead from the impact, casting unstable shadows across the room while chairs overturned and customers scrambled blindly toward the exits.
For half a second nobody moved then Lin Yichen reacted first."Down!" he shouted sharply.He grabbed Suo Ran by the arm and yanked him sideways just as another gunshot tore through the wall behind where they had been sitting seconds earlier.Wood splintered apart violently.Someone near the entrance fell while trying to run.The lights flickered once then twice then died.Darkness slammed into the room.Only the red emergency lights remained now, bathing the entire tea house in a dim blood-colored glow while alarms suddenly began blaring overhead.
Smoke started pouring from somewhere near the kitchen."Move!" Lin Yichen snapped.
But Suo Ran's eyes had already locked onto the informant.The older man had fallen hard beside the table, clutching his shoulder while blood seeped heavily between trembling fingers. His terrified breathing came out broken and uneven now as he desperately tried crawling backward across the floor. "No!" Suo Ran immediately pushed forward.
Lin Yichen grabbed him harder. "Are you insane?!"suo ran watching at informant and replied "He's hurt!" Lin yichen grabbed suo ran's hand and said "And you'll be dead in ten seconds if you go out there!"
Another crash echoed somewhere nearby.
Then footsteps sound came.Suo Ran's expression sharpened instantly.Masked men burst through the rear entrance of the tea house.Masked men burst through the rear entrance of the tea house. He wore black his head was covered with hat and his weapons visible.Their faces completely hidden.The moment Suo Ran saw them, something cold settled violently in his chest.
They came prepared. (....)
They came for the informant. (...)
What should I do? (...)
One of the masked men immediately pointed toward their side of the room."There!" Everything happened at once after that.
Lin yichen swore under his breath and shoved Suo ran behind an overturned table just as another gunshot exploded through the darkness.The bullet slammed into wood inches from Suo Ran's head. Junks of splintered wood scattered across his shoulder. The informant cried out weakly somewhere nearby.
Suo Ran's pulse slammed violently in his ears now. "Damn it!" Lin Yichen looked around rapidly, trying to find another exit while keeping himself between Suo Ran and the attackers. "There's too many!"But Suo Ran wasn't listening anymore because through the smoke and flashing emergency lights he saw two masked men reaching the informant."No!" Suo Ran shoved himself upright immediately.Lin Yichen grabbed him again harder this time. "Suo Ran!" Suo ran eyes never left that informant he said "They're taking him!" Lin yichen replied "And if you go there, they'll take you too!"
Suo Ran tore free anyway."Suo Ran!"Suo ran pushed through overturned chairs and screaming civilians toward the fallen informant while gunfire echoed violently around the collapsing tea house.Smoke burned his lungs immediately, making breathing harder with every second.The informant looked up the moment he reached him.And the terror in the man's eyes was almost unbearable now.Blood covered one side of his clothes.His hands shook violently.
"They found us…" he rasped weakly.
Suo Ran grabbed his shoulder carefully. "Who?! Who found us?!"The informant tried to speak then suddenly froze his eyes widened toward something behind Suo ran.
Suo Ran turned instinctively.A masked man was already raising his weapon.Lin Yichen slammed into Suo ran from the side before the shot fired.The gunshot exploded past them.A nearby shelf shattered instantly.
"Move!" Lin Yichen snarled.He dragged Suo Ran behind another table while civilians continued stampeding blindly toward the exits around them.
The fire alarm screamed endlessly overhead now.Somewhere deeper inside the building something exploded.Heat surged through the tea house immediately afterward as smoke thickened rapidly across the ceiling.
The attackers were losing patience.One of them shouted, "Take him now!"Two masked men grabbed the informant violently before Suo Ran could reach him again. "No!" Suo Ran surged forward immediately.Lin Yichen caught him around the arm again with visible force. "Stop fighting me!" Suo ran trying to reach out informant "They're taking him!"
"You can't save him if you're dead!"
Suo Ran's breathing had become uneven now.
this wasn't just an attack anymore. (....)
Someone knew they were here. (....)
Someone knew about the meeting. (....)
Someone leaked it. (...)
That realization hit him.The informant struggled weakly against the masked men dragging him backward through the smoke. Blood streaked across the floor beneath him while his terrified eyes searched frantically through the chaos until they landed on Suo ran again.Then suddenly he reached toward him desperately."Suo Ran!" Suo Ran froze.
The informant coughed violently, blood staining his mouth before forcing the words out anyway."The person behind your father's death…"His voice cracked badly. "…is connected to..."
A gunshot exploded.The informant's eyes widened then he collaplsed.Everything else disappeared.The alarms voice went silent.
The screaming, fire all gone. Suo ran stood still there. He was watching them.Then he thought came to his mind.Connected to who? WHO?!
"Suo Ran!" Lin Yichen grabbed his face sharply, forcing him back to reality. "Look at me!"Suo Ran's eyes focused again.Lin Yichen looked genuinely alarmed now. "We have to leave NOW!"Another masked man suddenly spotted them through the smoke.
"There!"Gunfire erupted again instantly.
Lin Yichen shoved Suo Ran down behind cover as bullets tore through the tea house walls around them.Smoke filled the room rapidly now. The ceiling above them creaked dangerously.
Smoke poured violently through the collapsing tea house corridors as Suo Ran and Lin Yichen forced their way toward the back exit. The fire alarms continued screaming overhead loud enough to rattle through bone while terrified civilians shoved past them blindly in desperate attempts to escape. Somewhere deeper inside the building, another crash echoed heavily followed by distant shouting and more gunfire that sent panic surging through the remaining crowd again.
The entire place felt like it was falling apart.
Lin Yichen grabbed Suo Ran's wrist tightly as they pushed through the smoke-filled hallway. "Move faster!" Suo Ran coughed harshly, his lungs burning from smoke inhalation while his eyes searched frantically behind them again.The informant's expression still wouldn't leave his mind.
"Suo Ran!" Lin Yichen snapped sharply after noticing him slowing again. "Focus!"Another explosion-like sound echoed somewhere nearby.Dust shook loose from the ceiling instantly.The emergency lights overhead flickered violently red across their faces as the hallway descended further into chaos around them.But even now suo ran's mind wasn't focused on escaping.
Someone knew. (...)
That realization had rooted itself deep inside his chest now like poison spreading slowly through his bloodstream.
The meeting location had been changed last minute. (...)
Only a handful of people knew.
And yet attackers arrived prepared that wasn't coincidence. (....)
Someone leaked information but who? (...)
Lin Yichen shoved open the rear exit door hard and dragged him into the narrow alley outside. Cold rain hit them instantly, mixing with the smoke and sweat clinging to their clothes while distant sirens wailed somewhere through the city streets.Behind them, black smoke curled heavily from the tea house rooftop into the night sky.People spilled into the alley in panic.Some were crying and some were injured but Suo Ran barely noticed any of it.His breathing remained uneven while he stared back toward the burning building, jaw tightening harder with every passing second.
Lin Yichen bent slightly, catching his breath while glancing around cautiously. "We need to leave before police arrive."Suo Ran didn't respond.His expression had changed completely now.Lin Yichen noticed him."Suo Ran…" "They knew." Suo Ran said quietly.
Rain slid slowly down his face, but he didn't seem aware of it.Lin Yichen's chest tightened slightly. "I know." "No." Suo ran's eyes remained locked on the burning tea house. "They knew exactly where we were." Another siren echoed closer this time. Blue and red emergency lights flashed faintly at the far end of the street now.
Lin Yichen lowered his voice carefully. "We should talk somewhere else."But Suo Ran had already started walking back toward the alley entrance beside the tea house.Lin Yichen's expression changed immediately. "Where are you going?!" Suo ran walking toward tea house And replied "There's still something inside." Lin yichen hold suo ran hand and said "Are you crazy?" Suo Ran ignored him completely.
The alley near the back entrance had partially collapsed from the explosion earlier. Broken wood, shattered glass, and scattered debris covered the wet ground while smoke continued pouring through the damaged doorway. Lin Yichen caught up quickly and grabbed his arm again. "Suo Ran, listen to me carefully. Whoever attacked us could still be here." Lin yichen watched suo ran few seconds then said "I know." he continued "Then stop walking toward danger like you have a death wish."
That made Suo Ran pause for half a second, something dark flickered visibly across his face.Then quietly "If I walk away now," he said without looking at him, "my father dies for nothing."Rainwater dripped steadily from Suo ran's dark hair while smoke curled around him in restless waves beneath the flashing emergency lights nearby.Lin Yichen slowly released his arm."…Two minutes." he muttered finally. "Then we leave."
Suo Ran stepped back inside.The rear storage hallway was nearly impossible to see through now. Smoke choked the air heavily while broken ceiling panels hung dangerously overhead. The floor was scattered with overturned boxes and shattered dishes from the earlier chaos.
Suo ran moved quickly through the destruction, eyes sharp despite the haze surrounding them.Then something caught his eye near the overturned storage shelves.
A torn piece of paper half-burned beneath fallen debris.Suo ran immediately crouched down and pulled it free carefully.Part of the page had already blackened from heat damage, but several lines remained visible beneath smoke stains.There were financial records,names,dates and near the bottom corner there was a symbol.Suo Ran froze instantly. That symbol was familiar to him.
An old company emblem.It was faded but recognizable. His fingers tightened around the page immediately because he had seen that symbol years ago In his father's office.
Lin Yichen noticed the change in his expression immediately. "What is it?"Suo ran didn't answer at first.His heartbeat had started pounding fast now.Then his eyes lowered slightly further down the damaged page.And stopped again.A partial surname remained barely visible through the burn marks. "Gu." Lin Yichen frowned slightly. "What?" Suo Ran's expression darkened slowly.
Lin Yichen stepped closer. "Suo Ran." But Suo Ran's attention shifted again suddenly.
Something metallic glinted faintly beneath the broken shelf nearby.He reached down immediately and pulled out a damaged USB drive covered partially in ash and dust.It was creaked but maybe not destroyed.Lin Yichen stared at it. "You think that's connected?"suo ran replied calmly "It was hidden." Lin yichen replied "That doesn't prove anything."
Suo Ran looked at him then.And Lin Yichen felt unease crawl slowly through his chest at the expression staring back at him because Suo Ran looked colder now."They didn't come here just to kill him." Suo Ran said softly.
Rain and sirens echoed faintly outside the ruined building."They came to erase whatever he knew."Lin Yichen stayed silent.
Because deep down he knew Suo Ran was probably right.Then suddenly Suo ran's gaze lowered toward the torn document again.
His voice became even quieter." Only three people knew about this meeting." Lin yichen's expression shifted immediately.
Suo Ran slowly closed his fingers around the damaged USB drive. "Someone leaked the location." Lin yichen expression changed he asked "do you have any suspicious? " Suo ran didn't answer him. He continued "Someone close enough to know."
"Someone watching us from nearby all along."