Obsessed with a High-Ranking Esper (BL) Chapter 14: Cubs fighting

Jian Wei leaned back in his seat, eyes narrowing. "You got any more of those snacks?"

Jian Ci blinked, mouth full, then swallowed. "Nope," he said, far too quickly. The lie hung in the air like cheap perfu. Obvious, cloying, and entirely ineffective.

Jian Wei scoffed. "Why are you being so stingy? I know you’ve got a stash in there."

"You just scolded a minutes ago," Jian Ci retorted, clutching his vest jacket protectively. "Now you want to share? Ah-uh, no sir."

Jian Wei’s voice dropped into his dic tone. "Those snacks ss with your sugar levels, which sses with the regulators I injected you with. You shouldn’t be eating them at all. So hand them over."

"No." Jian Wei stood up, and chaos followed.

The two brothers began to tussle, Jian Wei lunging for Jian Ci’s pockets while Jian Ci twisted and flailed, yelping dramatically. "Aaahhhh... Big brother! He’s bullying !"

They crashed to the floor, limbs tangled, voices rising. The rcenaries in the cabin stared, dumbfounded. What sort of princes where these, wrestling like feral cubs?

"Get off , you rascal!" Jian Wei barked.

"You’re pinching !" Jian Ci squealed.

Jian Rui, eyes closed in long-suffering silence, finally snapped. He kicked Jian Ci’s foot. "Knock it off."

Instant obedience. The brothers scrambled back to their seats, sheepish.

Jian Rui exhaled. "Ah-Ci, do you rember the plan?"

Jian Ci adjusted his tousled hair, the mischief draining from his face. "Yes."

"Repeat it."

Jian Ci straightened, voice clear, deanor sharpened. He recited the plan with precision, every word crisp. The playfulness in his voice completely gone.

***

The stealth spacecraft hovered silently above the low-tier city, its matte hull absorbing the ambient light like a predator cloaked in shadow. Below, the city sprawled in uneven darkness with only a few buildings flickering with life, their neon signs sputtering against the gloom. At the edge of this forgotten sprawl stood a rundown structure, its silhouette jagged and weary. Hollowgate Asylum.

Jian Rui stepped out first, his presence commanding, his aura majestic and immovable. The wind caught his coat, billowing it like a banner of war. Jian Wei followed, his expression sharp, eyes already scanning the rooftop. Jian Ci trailed behind, unusually quiet, his usual exuberance tempered by the weight of the mission. Two rcenaries flanked them, silent and alert.

The wind howled around the rooftop, tugging at Jian Wei’s coat as he hunched over the floating screen. His fingers moved with practiced grace, glyphs flickering and spinning like constellations in motion. Security layers peeled away, each one a whisper of Gander’s paranoia, each bypass a testant to Jian Wei’s brilliance.

Below, Hollowgate Asylum lood. Its walls were cracked, its windows blind with gri. It looked abandoned, but they knew better.

"Done," Jian Wei said, voice clipped.

Jian Rui nodded once. "Go."

From the shadows, they erged, operatives in suits woven with Echofoil threads, designed to suppress psychic interference and cloak emotional resonance. They slipped across the rooftop, vanishing into the night like ghosts with purpose.

Across the street, the asylum’s outer defenses flickered and died. The veil was lifted and the hunt began.

Jian Ci turned to Jian Wei, a grin tugging at his lips. "See you soon, brother."

Without hesitation, he stepped off the edge of the rooftop.

His descent was effortless his boots absorbing the impact with a soft hiss. His landing was as quiet as breath on glass. He didn’t waste anyti. With a flick of his wrist, his team responded instantly, peeling off toward the north wing, their silhouettes swallowed by overgrowth and broken stone.

Jian Rui watched his younger brother vanish into the dark, then turned to Jian Wei. "Join us when I give the signal."

Jian Wei nodded, eyes locked on the floating screen, glyphs still spinning. "Be careful," he said and Jian Rui nodded before disappearing.

He remained behind with two Espers silent, statuesque, their psychic auras coiled tight like sleeping serpents. Below, the operation began.

One of the Espers flicked a small device through a shattered window. It made no sound. Monts later, it blood. Clear gas unfurled like a sigh, invisible and scentless, engineered to scramble psychic senses and lull hostile minds into confusion.

Jian Rui raised his hand.

Five fingers.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

He and Jian Ci, now in separate wings, drew their plasma guns. They were sleek, silent and set to stun. The no-kill order was absolute, but resistance would be t with precision.

Jian Rui’s team swept downward from the top floor, boots whispering against cracked tile, eyes sharp, senses flared.

As for Jian Ci’s team, they surged upward from the basent, boots thudding softly against rusted tal and uneven flooring. The corridors were narrow, lined with flickering lights that buzzed like dying insects. The air was thick with mildew and the faint tang of blood. They moved with precision, sweeping each room, clearing corners, checking for traps. The gas had subdued most of the guards, but a few had resisted. Those were dealt with swiftly, their bodies now lying lifeless in the shadows.

At the far end of the lowest floor, they found a high-end lab. There were sterile counters, neatly packed equipnt, and carefully arranged files. Jian Ci stood in the center, speaking into his earpiece. "We checked all the floors down here. There is no sign of his so-called specins."

Jian Wei’s voice crackled through. "The building’s plan says there were six floors."

"Yeah," Jian Ci replied, scanning the room. "But I still didn’t see the specins the intel ntioned."

"Wait," Jian Wei muttered, fingers flying across his screen.

Jian Ci nudged a swivel chair with his boot. It rolled across the floor and struck the wall with a sharp bang, jolting the restrained man nearby awake. The man’s eyes flew open, wide and trembling.

Jian Ci tilted his head, a smirk curling at his lips. "I can just interrogate one of them."

Jian Wei’s voice returned, urgent. "Assessnt shows two additional floors beneath you. Find a way in."

Jian Ci’s eyes narrowed.

"Yes sir," he said said, his voice laced with teasing tone, the smile on his lips playful yet edged with nace. It was the kind of grin that made blood run cold.

Jian Wei tsked through the comm, unimpressed, and cut the line.