Embers of the Holy War

Predator and Prey

Their main objectives of this investigation is to retrieve the stolen ruby, get some information out of the Black Lotus and hopefully apprehend some of them. All three objectives required Guang and Jin to find the Black Lotus, so to start off their investigation, they focused on Sol Invictus that was recently infiltrated. Jin believed that if they could find something the Black Lotus left behind, it may give them an idea of where they may be hiding.

With the authority granted to them by Valerie, all Guang had to do was flash the Long family emblem and they were able to gain access to anything and everything. They interrogated the power plant security guards, checked the power plant's footage and floor plans and scoured the entire power plant. By the end of their investigation, they noticed that the Black Lotus didn't damage anything, harm anybody or steal anything else except for the ruby. Quite a bummer, since it meant they didn't leave much evidence behind.

After compiling the security guards' testimonies and footage, Guang and Jin were able to somewhat understand what unfolded the night of the incident. Simultaneously, five members of the Black Lotus had emerged from the toilets from different areas of the power plant. The Black Lotus were easily identifiable with their black hooded crops with a white lotus printed on the back. Not to mention, their uniform lining glowed forest green in the dark, as if they weren't afraid of being caught.

They were able to avoid violence by effectively knocking out every security guard that they came across before the security guards noticed them. The method they used wasn't anything flashy either - some used physical methods, while some released some gas that made them lose consciousness within a couple of seconds.

Just like that, it was like a walk in the park for the Black Lotus, leaving them to collect the ruby without any trouble. Hero knows what happened after that, since that was where the footage got cut off.

"So, what do you think?" Jin questioned.

"I wonder if they stink since they came out of the toilet?" Guang pondered thoughtfully.

Exasperatedly, Jin groaned, "Guang!"

"What?"

"Stay focused on the topic!"

Guang sighed exaggeratedly as he fell back onto his bed. "We've been pouring over the information for days - I want to go kick the Black Lotus' butt!"

"To kick the Black Lotus' butt, we have to figure out where they are," Jin sighed. He must have repeated this five times already.

"You're the smart one here, Jin. Have you figured out anything yet?"

Honestly, Jin had already expected for Guang to not excel in the information collecting phase. His brother, whose brain was nothing but muscles, who skipped nearly all of his lectures and who has the attention span of a goldfish, was certainly not the best person to do this task.

That's where Jin comes in the picture. He made sure to excel in everything, especially the areas where his brother was weak in so that whenever Guang needed help, Jin would be able to assist.

"Do you remember the head of security mentioning that the floor plans were confidential? That no one else, except for the power plant staff, knew of the building's layout?"

Rolling around in his bed, Guang slowly said, "Yeah..."

Jin snapped his fingers. "Don't you find it odd how the Black Lotus never took a wrong turn? They headed straight to the core room where the ruby is located without a single double-take."

It took a couple of seconds for Guang to understand what Jin was implying. When he did, he sat back up at an astounding speed. Jin was reminded of a roly-poly toy.

"That's weird!" Guang shouted out the obvious. "Why is that?"

Pushing up his glasses, Jin theorised, "There are two possibilities that I can think of. One, there exists a mole amongst the staff. Two, there was a digital security breach. I have an idea to lure out the mole if there exists one. If no mole appears, we'll have to contact President Valerie to get access to Sol Invictus' security system."

Guang whistled, clapping. In such a short span of time, Jin had already come up with a course of action. "As expected of my smart little brother! Question, though."

"Yes?"

"What does a tiny animal have to do with this?"

Ladies and gentlemen: a prime example of why you should not skip your lectures.

"I mean a spy, Guang. A spy."

"Oh...so that's what you mean," Guang laughed boisterously. Jin doesn't understand how his brother can live like this yet be so carefree. "How do you plan to lure the uh, mole out? Do I get to punch the bad guys in your plan?"

"Depends."

"Depends?!"

Jin pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll leave out the specifics, but basically I'll confront them and force them out of hiding. After that, I'll lure them to a location where you will be stationed at, and we'll ambush whoever they are together and get information out of them. Sounds good?"

Punching his palm, Guang beamed. This is certainly getting exciting. "Leave beating the people up to your older brother!"

The very next day, their plan was set into motion. As Jin went to Sol Invictus, Guang went to the town's plaza to wait for the mice to set off the trap. Jin mentioned it would probably take at least an hour for him and the mole to reach the plaza, so for the time being, Guang was free to do anything he wanted.

An hour has never felt longer. Guang was already itching to act. His heart raced in anticipation as he thought about meeting the mole later on, so much that he could barely sit still.

As Guang aimlessly roamed around the plaza, he can't help but notice that there are not many people here. Most have holed up in the shops, and even then, customers were few to none. Perhaps because this was a small town, but there was a heavy silence hanging in the air. Was it always like this here?

To pass the time, Guang found a nice shaded bench to sit near a fountain, humming languidly and tapping his feet. He sort of wished he had gone with Jin now; things might be more interesting on that end. Gosh, he was so bored. If only the Black Lotus would present themselves on a silver platter, things would be so much easier.

"Master Sui and the Black Lotus will always be looking after you, Master Guang."

Guang gasped. He remembered now! The shopkeeper of the clothing shop had mentioned about the Black Lotus the other day! Now that Guang knew what the Black Lotus was, he understood that message better. It was another valuable clue! He had to tell Jin about it immediately, before-

Master Sui and the Black Lotus...

...will always be looking after you, Master Guang.

His joy was snuffed out when the meaning sunk in. Doesn't that mean that the Black Lotus had been watching Guang, aware of their every move? Including their plan to lure out the mole?

Oh, nonono. Jin might be in danger! Guang stood up, about to leave, when he suddenly felt something pulling his hand.

Startled, he glanced back. There was a young lady sitting on the bench he was previously sitting on. A lady he was certain wasn't there a moment ago.

The lady emanated a dark, elegant, yet mystical aura. Long, shiny, jet black hair cascaded down her back. It was pinned with an exquisite hairpin, the ends of which stars twinkled. Her knee-length dress was graceful - purple dress with dapples of blue that rippled like the galaxy.

But the thing that intrigued him most was the sun necklace that rested between her collarbones. It was simply an accessory, but something about that golden, ruby-studded necklace was pulling him in that he was unable to pry his eyes away from it.

The lady smiled, dark eyes glittering like the starry night sky. "Do you have some time to talk, sir?"