Help! I Do Not Want to Guide a Disaster

"The news of President Song’s death has plunged the entire Capital into a state of shock, leaving the CEA in an unprecedented period of mourning. High-level security channels are officially classifying the incident as a calculated assassination."

The news anchor’s voice droned from the boardroom screen, cutting to a grainy CCTV clip. It showed President Song stepping out of his armored vehicle, only for his head to snap backward as a high-caliber round shattered his skull. He dropped dead onto the concrete instantly.

The feed cut back to the anchor’s grim face. "This follows a string of high-profile fatalities currently sweeping the elite areas. Mistress An of the prestigious An Family was found dead in her private quarters late last night. Before that, six other patriarchs and matriarchs of the High Families were reported silently executed. Speculations are mounting that the high families are being systematically targeted by a coordinated organisation. Authorities insist that those responsible will be brought to swift justice."

Chenxi snapped the monitor off, tossing the remote onto the glass table. He turned to face the room. "We have four targets left. Luckily, Kaiwen and Su Zheng are already tracking them down. It won’t be easy since they are completely losing their minds. They’re firing their regular military details and hiring high-ranking mercenary Espers as personal bodyguards."

He smiled. "Paranoia is high, they’re all pointing fingers at each other."

Yuzhen let out a loud amused laugh. He was sitting boldly across Zhiyao’s lap, leaning back flush against him while his Guide held him securely, arms wrapped tightly around his waist. "This is so refreshing."

"It really is. I can’t wait until we march in and take the entire Capital," Fu Muhan added, satisfaction in his tone.

The mood in the room was victorious. The assaination plan was working flawlessly. The President of the CEA was a corpse, and out of the four remaining High Family heads left on the docket, the biggest name was Shao Guying.

Oddly enough, Xinyuan hadn’t uttered a single word about him. Wenzhi kept glancing at him, his curiosity piqued. The Esper didn’t even seem present for the briefing. His physical body was sitting in the chair, but his mind and soul were clearly miles away, completely consumed by that same suffocating nervousness.

Suddenly, a loud, deafening siren tore through the underground city, the red emergency lights instantly pulsing against the sleek walls.

A Rift had opened.

Chenxi’s fingers flew across his console, throwing the live energy signatures back onto the main screen. His eyes widened in genuine shock.

"Yanjing City," Chenxi barked. "There’s a Rift opening directly inside Yanjing."

Fu Muhan was on his feet in a second, sprinting out the door with Yuzhen and Zhiyao hot on his heels. Xinyuan rose slowly, his eyes fixing on the erratic energy spikes on the monitor. "Do you think it might be a Red Zone rift?"

"I don’t know yet. I’ll get the research team on it immediately," Chenxi said, tapping his com-watch frantically as he made a move toward the exit. But he abruptly froze, his eyes landing on Gu Luhan.

The man was still sitting completely still in his chair, staring blankly ahead with zero intention of moving.

Chenxi let out a sharp, deeply frustrated sigh.

At the same time, Xinyuan stepped closer to Wenzhi, his lips parting but he was cut off when Chenxi’s voice cracked through the tension.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

The irritation in Chenxi’s voice dragged both Xinyuan and Wenzhi’s attention over, their eyes landing on Gu Luhan, who hadn’t even blinked.

"Nothing," he snapped, giving him an annoyed look.

Chenxi’s expression crumbled into something deeply painful. "You are supposed to come with me."

"I do not want to come with you. You can come back to me once you are done dealing with the Rift," Gu Luhan said, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. He was firmly standing his ground.

Wenzhi and Xinyuan exchanged a glance, a mutual wave of awkwardness washing over them. They distinctly felt like they were intruding on something incredibly private. Wenzhi subtly tapped the back of Xinyuan’s hand, whispering under his breath, "Take us out of here."

"No, no, you two stay right there," Chenxi snapped, his voice cracking through the room. It was a sharp, commanding tone he almost never used, and it made both Wenzhi and Xinyuan freeze and stare at him in surprise.

"What? Why?" Wenzhi asked, pulling an eyebrow up.

"Because I help keep your love life in one piece, so now you two are going to help with mine," Chenxi stated with deadpan certainty.

"Love life? We do not have a love life," Gu Luhan hissed, abruptly rising to his feet, his chair scraping loudly against the floor.

"Then why the hell are you so mad at me?" Chenxi burst out, looking completely exasperated. "You haven’t spoken a single real word to me in weeks, Luhan! We haven’t even had a conversation that’s lasted longer than two minutes."

Chenxi’s desperate plea earned him nothing but a cold glare from the Guide.

"But I have been guiding you, have I not?" Gu Luhan countered. "I am fulfilling my duty as your Guide. There is no need for casual conversation."

A flash of pure heartbreak crossed Chenxi’s face. Watching the exchange, Wenzhi and Xinyuan’s initial desire to escape instantly morphed into creeping interest. A curious spark lit up their eyes.

But Xinyuan cleared his throat quickly. "uh, we are supposed to go deal with a Rift right now. You two can just stay here and..."

"This is entirely your fault!" Gu Luhan swung around and pointed a finger dead at his face.

Xinyuan blinked, pointing a finger back at his own chest. "My fault?"

Gu Luhan’s frustration peaked. He flashed Chenxi a deeply mortified, burning look before spinning on his heel to storm past him toward the boardroom doors. But Chenxi was faster; his hand shot out, grabbing Luhan’s forearm.

"Luhan, wait. Is this because of what I said to you...?"

"Let go of me," Gu Luhan ordered, dropping his voice into a dangerous tone as he shot a look at Chenxi’s hand. "Right now."

The intensity of the command made Chenxi immediately release his grip. The moment he was freed, Gu Luhan didn’t waste a single second; he practically swept out of the room, leaving the heavy doors to slide shut automatically behind him.

Chenxi let out a long, defeated sigh, running a hand through his hair. He slowly turned back to face Wenzhi and Xinyuan, who were both just blinking at him in stunned silence, entirely unsure of how to process the emotional grenade that had just detonated in front of them.

"Let’s just go," Chenxi muttered, his shoulders slumped as he headed for the exit.

Xinyuan cleared his throat, his eyes darting to Wenzhi before looking back at Chenxi. "I can teleport you straight to the city if you want. You look like you need the shortcut."

Chenxi stopped, letting out another heavy sigh, and turned back toward them looking completely exhausted before the battle had even begun. "Yeah. Please."

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