“Still nothing?” she asked finally.

  Kai shook his head.

  “LSK?”

  “Has to be.”

  Lian wiped her hands on a rag, then leaned back in her chair. “We’re not ready to move on it yet. Not without knowing what’s inside.”

  “I know.” He paused, then added, “But the names we pulled before this one—three of them are dead. Not by us.”

  That got her attention. She looked up, eyes sharp. “How?”

  “Accidents. Car crash, overdose, one fell from a balcony. But the timing’s too close. All of it happened last month.”

  Lian’s voice dropped lower. “Someone’s cleaning the network.”

  Kai nodded. “And we’re next on their list if we’re not careful.”

  Lian stood and crossed the room, pacing. She always did that when she was thinking. “We finish decrypting the shard,” she said.

  “I’ll need time,” Kai said. “And better hardware. This laptop’s about to melt.”

  “Where?”

  “There’s a guy in Sham Shui Po. Used to build rigs for crypto-miners before the government cracked down. He owes me a favor.”

  “Take the bike.”

  Kai hesitated. “You’re not coming?”

  “I’ll check our perimeter. I think we were followed last night.”

  He frowned. “You’re sure?”

  She met his eyes. “I’m not sure of anything anymore.”

  By afternoon, the rain had turned to mist. Kai rode through the narrow streets, weaving between old minibuses and umbrella carrying pedestrians. Sham Shui Po smelled like fried tofu and rust, the kind that didn’t change no matter how much the skyline glittered.

  The shop was tucked behind a row of shuttered stalls. He knocked twice.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  A man in a worn tank top opened the door, cigarette hanging from his mouth. “Kai? Thought you were dead.”

  “Not yet, Lok.”

  Lok grinned, showing his rows of gold teeth. “Then come in before the ghosts catch you.”

  The shop was a mess of circuit boards, soldering fumes, and instant noodles. Kai handed him a small drive. “I need this decrypted without touching the net.”

  Lok raised an eyebrow. “This some dark web stuff again?”

  “Something like that.”

  The man sighed but took it anyway. “You know, one day this habit of yours is going to get you—”

  He didn’t finish the sentence. The front door creaked.

  Both men froze.

  Kai’s hand instinctively went for the pistol under his jacket.

  A woman stepped in, soaked from the rain. She was maybe in her thirties, wearing a grey coat and carrying a folded umbrella. Her eyes moved over the cluttered room.

  “Sorry,” she said softly. “I must have the wrong address.”

  Lok waved her off. “Closed, lady.”

  But Kai felt it—the shift in air. Then it dawned on him the look on her face was not lost.

  Their eyes met for a second too long.

  Then she smiled, almost friendly, and stepped back out into the rain.

  Lok muttered something under his breath. “That was a weird one.”

  Kai waited a beat, then moved to the door. Outside, the street was empty.

  When he got back to the flat, Lian was at the window again, her gun laid out beside her. She didn’t look surprised to see him early.

  “Someone was following me,” he said.

  She turned slightly. “Describe.”

  “A woman in her mid-thirties and wore a grey coat.”

  Lian’s jaw tightened. “You’re sure she wasn’t just—”

  “She looked at me like she already knew my name.”

  Lian went silent. Then she said, “Pack your gear. We’re changing safehouses tonight.”

  Kai rubbed his face. “Again? We just—”

  “Now, Kai.”

  Her tone left no room for argument.

  They packed fast. Years of habit made it mechanical—guns cleaned, drives secured, nothing left behind. By the time the rain stopped, the flat looked like no one had ever lived there.

  Before they left, Kai noticed Lian standing by the table, staring at the towel wrapped shard.

  “You think it’s worth it?” he asked quietly.

  She didn’t answer for a long moment. Then she said, “If it tells us who killed them, yes.”

  “Our parents?”

  She nodded. “Or anyone who helped.”

  Kai studied her face. There were tiny lines near her eyes he hadn’t seen before, the kind that came from too many nights without rest. She wasn’t made of steel the way people thought. She was just very good at pretending.

  They rode through the sleeping city. Somewhere above, the clouds were starting to break, a sliver of moonlight finding its way through.

  Kai glanced at his sister, the way she sat on the bike, back straight, eyes fixed forward. Whatever the shard held, whoever that woman was, one thing was clear. The city is teeming with spies at this point, the siblings will have to take careful precautions.