'Hung, I never said thank you for showing Yutai and me Anju's spear. I … I realise now I might have gone my entire life never seeing it, had it not been for you.'
'Truthfully, it wasn't even for Yutai. I saw how much you knew about our culture, respect it. Most foreigners learn our history only to mock it further, but from the start of this tour, I sensed you were different.'
'If it helps, I don't deny the possibility of Dong's last trilogy. I know many Southerners believe it as truth, and I don't discount that reality.'
Hung frowned. 'But … you're a Kingmaker …'
'I am a child of the Light first and foremost. And I am on a personal mission to uncover the true covenant of our prophet. I know a lot of accepted history is not as clear-cut as we believe. Some of it is even blatant falsehood. In this journey for truth, I am prepared to discover that our most foundational truths are lies, and our most controversial taboos may, in fact, be the real truth.'
Hung's brows were raised while Tao continued. 'My family's patriarchal line traces back to one of Dong's earliest disciples in Ho Man Ting, an early convert named Kwang Yew. He was tasked with spreading the word of the Light, so Dong sent him and his family to Central Kowloon to pioneer and proselytise. A few generations ago, when we proved our direct relationship to Kwang Yew, we were invited to replace the acting clergy, who had a weaker connection to Dong.'
'Hold on …' Hung's head tilted to the side as a smile crept onto his face. 'Your family are the sages of your district? Which one?'
'Tsin Wai.'
Hung sucked in a breath. 'Southern blood courses through you, brother. Your forefather was a companion of Dong. I … I'm speechless … Had I known earlier, I'd have —'
Tao hesitated, debating whether to reveal the next part of his story - the part where he'd decided to become a Kingmaker instead of inheriting his father's role as district Tsin Wai's next sage.
'Nonsense, Hung. Yes, I've got some southern blood, but we've lived amongst Central Kowloonis for hundreds of annui-cycles. Because of that, I will always be a guest here. I know what I am - a Kingmaker. But equally, I can't ignore the Yaozhi dynasty's transgressions and the atrocities they've committed against the South. Let alone all the violence we wrought during the rebellions. But there's much more autonomy in the tower than most think. We're given a lot of power to do much on our own.'
Hung stared at Tao, disbelief in his eyes. 'You're a rare one, Tao. Few outsiders really understand, let alone acknowledge, the Southern plight. Had we been born under different circumstances, I'd have wanted to be friends with you.'
Tao raised a brow. 'Who says you still can't?'
Hung's eyes stilled, as if his mind was flooded with a thousand thoughts. Then, with a slight dilation of his pupils, he stared through Tao. 'You should call Yutai. It's been more than ten minutes.'
With a nod, Tao raised his wrist and initiated a call.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
After the third, it ceased.
'What does that mean?' Hung asked, his voice tense. 'Did he decline it, or did it just ring out?'
Tao called again. It rang out. Why would Yutai let it ring out?
It rang three times and went silent again.
'Tao …? Where's Yutai?' Hung's question hung in the air, yet Tao hesitated.
'He must be on his way back,' he replied, though his voice lacked conviction.
Hung's trained expression morphed into a scowl that hinted at deeper concerns than Yutai being merely lost. Then, out of no where, his scowl exploded into anger.
'You bloody Kingmakers!' His words reverberated against the walls and ceilings, causing to Tao step back. 'Just wandering around the fort like you own the place!'
'I'll try calling him again, there's no need to panic.'
'Don't bother calling him. Stay here. I'll find out where he is.'
Hung stormed off down the corridor and around the bend. In his absence, the still air crackled with uncertainty, as if the very walls held their breath, awaiting the next act.
Tao's fingers jumped into action, dancing over the holoprojector strapped to his wrist. The device hummed to life with it's projected interface glowing below his determined face. Tao sent Yutai three consecutive buzzes, a signal to warn him to return immediately.
He attempted to reassure himself, reminding his racing mind that as long as no one caught his partner installing the wiretaps, a simple thirty-second process, he'd be fine.
A Rioter could never do anything to a Kingmaker.
Minutes crawled by as Tao tortuously waited Yutai to return. Nothing. Where the hell is he? The scenarios he was imagining were worsening by the second. Five minutes passed. Then ten.
Yutai, please come back. Light, guide my brother back to me.
Footsteps approached and Tao shot his head to the other end of the hallway, expecting to see Yutai running back.
But it wasn't Yutai who emerged from the shadows of the corridor. It was Hung storming back, his shoulders rigid with anger.
Tension radiated between them as Hung stood before him. 'Your tour has reached its conclusion. Regrettably, time has betrayed us, and I cannot show you around the dojo.' He strode past Tao to secure the dorm doors.
'What? Where's Yutai? Did you find him?'
As the door hissed shut, Hung turned. 'The tour has concluded. It's likely he headed home.'
Tao's brows knitted together. 'What? Excuse me?'
Hung's expression was granite. 'Please follow me while I escort you to the gates.'
'I'm not going anywhere without my partner!' Tao growled.
Hung's patience slipped. 'As a senior Rioter, I'm demanding you to follow me outside. You are nothing but a guest in our fort. You have no authority here. Now, follow me.'
I have authority over the Warlord of Ho Man Ting himself! 'No. I won't go anywhere until I know my partner is safe.'
But the Rioter's response was chillingly direct. A motion, a gesture, that spoke volumes. He shifted his uniform coat aside, his hand settling on the grip of his hand cannon, an RX-15 Sibiv blaster - lethal, merciless, truly the weapon of a senior Rioter.
Tao's pulse raced, and his senses heightened. His gaze remained fixed on the weapon, analysing the situation, calculating potential outcomes.
He'd dare shoot a King?!
The instinct to react, to defend himself, twitched his very muscles. His breathing amplified, each breath and each blink a conscious act as he restrained himself from flipping Hung on his head in a hundred different ways. The situation was spiralling.
Tao pried his eyes off the blaster and willed himself to calm down, meeting the Rioter's eyes. If I go guns blazing, I'm not sure how far I'd make it. I need to cooperate for now. Violence won't show me the way out.
'Very well. I'll follow.' Tao cautiously turned towards the other end of the hall. 'I don't mean to look for trouble.'
Hung let go of his coat and moved behind Tao. 'Start walking, Kingmaker!'
The two navigated the corridor, one after another. Anytime there was an intersection in the hallways, Hung would tell him to go either straight, left or right. Nothing more. If Tao slowed down, Hung placed his palm on Tao's back to nudge him to walk faster.
What in the name of the Light is happening? Yutai, you fool. What have you gotten us into?
With each step, his ears throbbed redder, like a drumbeat of dread.
As the two made their way through the fort, Tao noticed Rioters hurrying in the opposite direction.
It was clear - something was amiss. The fort buzzed with a new urgency that was impossible to ignore. Tao's senses were on high alert as they traversed the fort's familiar passageways towards the entrance.
When they reached the grand gates, Tao made a final plea. 'Hung, what's going on? Please, I need to know. Don't do anything you Rioters will regret!' he jabbed his finger at the tall Rioter.
Hung's response was cold and swift. 'Return to your Tower, Tao. The Kingmakers have no place in Ho Man Ting.'
As the steel barriers descended, separating himself from Hung, a sense of isolation enveloped Tao. Alone now, his composure began to unravel. He fumbled with his holocommunicator, fingers trembling, as he called Yutai once more.
But the line remained ominously silent.
A surge of realisation hit him - his partner was in danger. He teetered on the edge of desperation, torn between seeking help and plunging into a darkness of his own making; he had failed to protect his partner during an unauthorised mission.
Need to call Lieutenant Keung …
No. Tribune Cheng will know what to do, Tao decided.
'Brother? Is everything okay?' Cheng asked, picking up the call.
****
A gnawing feeling told Cheng that something was terribly wrong.
'Tao, talk to me!'
Simultaneously, one of the Rioters picked up a call and walked down the all, talking in a thick, Southern Yue accent. Cheng shot a scathing glare at the remaining Rioter, who was in a staring match with the Tai Li duo.
Tao's voice came through in hurried whispers. 'Something's gone very wrong. The Rioters have taken Yutai captive —'
'What?!'
'I'm heading back to the Tower.'
'Tower? Tao, where the hell are you? Where's Yutai?'
'I'm at the Fort.'
'What fort?!'
The Rioter who stood by shot a sharp glance at Cheng, then over his shoulder to his comrade, who was still speaking quietly down the hallway.
'Fort Ho Man Ting!' Tao exclaimed. 'These damned Rioters have turned the coat! I have to get to the King Rail!'
Tao hung up. The Rioter who had stepped away returned and leaned in to his comrade's ear, whispering something urgent. Cheng stood frozen, thoughts spinning.
'What happened?' Keung whispered, concern contracting his brows.
'Yutai was …' Cheng's words faltered, his eyes narrowing onto the Rioters. They stared back, cold and unblinking.
'Who was that call from?' Cheng demanded.
'Mr Enji. There's an emergency at the fort. We need to return immediately, but you're free to continue on your own.'
'Excuse me?' Cheng tilted his head and snapped. 'You're not going anywhere. We're in the middle of a Kingmaker operation, you don't just bail halfway! And what's going on at the fort?'
'This operation hasn't even begun, Kingmaker,' the other Rioter responded.
Han and Jin slowly flanked the Rioters, closing in, tightening the circle.
'He asked you a question,' Jin pressed, his voice low and firm. 'What's happening at your fort? Why you in such a hurry to leave?'
The Rioters shifted, inching closer to each other, muscles taut. Their only way out was going back through the dark base. Then, suddenly, their wrist screens pinged blue with a new message. All eyes flicked downward:
"Return to Fort Now — Urgent!"
In an instant, the tension exploded and the Rioters struck first. A fist flew towards Jin; his head slipped right. Han and Cheng retaliated at the same time with violent strikes, but the Rioters wove through them, shields crashing into knuckles, blocks turning into counters. The air thickened with the sound of grunts and shuffling armour.
They shoved Jin and Han back with a sudden surge of force, then kicked Cheng back, sending him stumbling into Keung against the back wall.
The two Rioters bolted down the apartment hallway, disappearing down a flight of stairs.
'Tribune Cheng?! What do we do?!' Han shouted, swiftly springing back to his feet. Jin leaned against the wall, panting with his fists ready.
Cheng's eyes burned with determination as he pointed down the hall. 'Arrest those Rioters!' he ordered at the top of his lungs. 'They've taken Yutai!'
****
How did they take Yutai? Damn, they move fast in their armour, Keung thought as Cheng hauled him to his feet.
Han and Jin had already bolted after the Rioters.
'Are you all right, sir?' Cheng helped dust down Keung's trench coat.
'Don't worry about me, we can't let them get away!' Keung shouted, surging past Cheng, nearly stumbling before catching his stride. The tribune followed close behind, while the echoes of the Tai Li's pursuit bounced through the corridors ahead.
At the hall's end, a staircase led to the main street, where at the bottom, a poor man lay sprawled, struggling to rise.
They went into the streets! Keung realised.
With no time to help the man, he leapt from the top of the stairs, landing in front of an open scissor gate. Beyond it, the chaotic post-dimming streets of Ho Man Ting roared in full force. Keung emerged into the haze, the chase seemingly lost.
His gaze flitted across the masses, searching for any sign of a break in the flow of movement. Cheng slid up beside him, both scanning the crowds.
And then, to his left, Keung spotted a cluster of disgruntled pedestrians, their angry shouts piercing the dull hum of their surroundings. They pointed fingers with annoyed scowls.
'There!' Keung shouted.
'They're heading to their fort,' Cheng snapped. 'I'll try to cut them off, but don't lose them!' He ran off into the crowd with his holocommunicator map showing a quick route to Fort Ho Man Ting.
Adrenaline surging, Keung dove headlong into the frustrated pedestrians. With every step, he chased the echo of the pursuit, the invisible breadcrumbs of the Tai Li rippling through the crowd as the angered people looked more recent.
The narrow streets twisted into a sharp bend, leading to a group of red-faced construction workers in battered helmets, sweat-stained singlets, and heavy cargo trousers. They shouted furiously as two fleeing Rioters raced past them, with Tai Li in pursuit. The chase carried them over a precarious, half-finished bridge suspended between two colossal groundscrapers.
They jumped that gap!
Keung weaved through the crowd of angry workers, shoving aside anyone in his path as his mind barely caught up to his body. Shoving the workers, he reached the jagged edge of the bridge and jumped —!
The world slowed as he sailed over a vertiginous drop of sixty-two levels … and then his boots slammed on the far side, rolling through the landing before snapping back into a sprint. His muscles burned, but the wild thrill of the chase gripped him, surging through his veins like fire.
A new scene of chaos unfolded before Keung - food stalls lined the narrow pathways, vibrant colours blending into a whirl of movement, with vendors haggling over the freshest produce of the cycle. Undeterred, Keung's focus zeroed in on Jin halfway through the market, just behind Han, vaulting over a table with sizzling shengwus. Cutting through the busy walkway, Keung chased after them through stalls piled high with fruits, meats, and vegetables. He wasn't far behind Jin, who's movements he attempted to shadow.
Jin vaulted over a table, and so did Keung, weaving between hanging shengwus, the scent of frying oil filling his senses.
Ahead, a vendor's table brimming with wild fungi blocked their path. Jin, nimble as a dusk-cat, sidestepped off the wall and vaulted over the table in one smooth motion. But Keung's split-second hesitation forced him on a different path and he dropped low, sliding under the table instead. His uniform scraped against the rough floor as he passed the wooden legs. A sudden jolt of pain shot through his head as he clipped the underside of the table, but he held onto his cap and sprang back to his feet and ran, trying not think about the impending swelling of his forehead. He continued chasing after Jin.
Vendors erupted in shouts, but as the chase interrupted their business, they glanced back at their tables - everything intact, nothing out of place.
Keung caught a glimpse of Jin veering sharply left, cutting through the dense street and disappearing up a narrow and empty staircase. Keung followed in pursuit, his body adjusting to the confined space of the stairwell. The passage was a tight squeeze, his shoulders grazing against the cold, brick walls, yet he didn't slow.
Han's shouts echoed loudly down the stairwell in the heat of the chase. 'STOP! WE WILL SHOOT! BY ORDER OF THE EMPEROR, STOP, YOU WILD DOGS!'
As Keung ascended three steps a time, the echoes of the shouts faded, telling him the hunt had moved beyond the stairwell. He clambered up the last few flights and came to an abrupt halt at a shattered window, shards of glass still clinging to the frame. He popped his head outside and looked up.
Above him, the Rioters were scaling the sheer face of the groundscraper, moving with reckless speed. The Tai Li, undeterred, followed below them. The hunt was still on. Keung's eyes locked onto a narrow ledge just beyond the window. With a swift motion, he wedged his body through the frame, feeling the rough edges of the remaining glass graze his leather coat.
There he stood, teetering on the edge of a deadly drop, the sprawling cityscape below him a blur of neon and LED lights and pedestrian activity. The sheer scale of South Kowloon unfolded beneath him, the tangled crisscross of bridges and mega-highways weaving through the vibrant city of Ho Man Ting.
An unexpected drizzle added a layer of danger to the chase. The ledge beneath Keung's feet turned slick, a single misstep threatening a deadly plunge into the city below. Fear crept into Keung. His head started spinning as he gripped the window's edge with his left hand. I can't do this!
Suddenly, tiny pebbles rained down on his cap, drawing his gaze upwards. The sight of Jin's boots scrambling against the wall sparked his spirit back to life. He remembered why he was chasing after them: Yutai is in danger!
Keung started to climb. His hands found grip on a protruding brick, then a pipe, then a small ledge jutting from a window. Anything he could hold. One hand after another, foot by foot, he climbed - higher, faster, sure to not allow the wet surface betray him.
He glanced up again, spotting Jin moving horizontally, inching his way to the adjacent side of the groundscraper. Without hesitation, Keung followed, shimmying along a narrow ledge. As he rounded the corner, another groundscraper loomed just three metres ahead - a yawning gap of open air separating him from it. I've never climbed heights like these! One wrong move and it's game over for me!
Out of the top corner of his eye, Keung saw Han leap off the wall above him and landing on a balcony on the groundscraper across. Jin climbed up and followed, but his leap fell short. He clung desperately to the railing, dangling for a split second before pulling himself up.
Keung wasted no time. He hauled himself up onto the same ledge and launched his body through the air, his boots hitting the balcony with a jarring thud. He stumbled but kept his balance, rushing through the door and into the chaos of someone's home.
The scene was pandemonium. A young woman stood on a couch, clutching two children and shrieking at the top of her lungs, waving a wooden spoon like a sword. Jin vaulted over the dining table and charged toward the front door, slamming it open. Keung sprinted after him, but his foot caught the edge of the table, sending him crashing hard to the floor. He rolled with the fall, springing back up and sprinting after Jin, the woman's screams fading behind him.
Outside was Jin, hunched over, heaving and panting as if he had run a marathon. Keung allowed his pace to slacken to a jog as he approached the winded Tai Li. Giving him an encouraging pat on the back, Keung also sucked in great lungfuls of air, his gaze scanning the surroundings.
'I … hnnnnn, lost them …' Jin wheezed, finally standing up straight. Keung scanned the crowded street moving slowly in both directions. No signs of the chase.
'Call Han,' Keung instructed. 'Hopefully, we can still catch up …' His words slowly faded as he realised something very wrong was happening around them.
Random members of the crowd around them were stepping out to surround the pair, donning black robes and brandishing single daggers in their hands. Some had large bats. At first there were two, then it was four, and now there were eight.
Fuck.
Crowds of civilians noticed the brewing situation and closed them in, the scene resembling an area, with recording devices whipped out. Within moments, the Kowlooni Network was flooded with livestreams of this inevitable showdown; A Kingmaker against Yang militants, a fight never captured before.
Leaning towards Jin, Keung whispered, 'Don't kill them. Incapacitate. We need to bring them in alive. You take four.'
Jin nodded. Keung had trained to fight in sync with other Kingmakers, but right now, all he had was a Tai Li, someone trained with different tactics, different rhythms. I hope this works.
One of the Yangs rushed Keung, his dagger glinting in his hand. Another dashed to Jin, a heavy zuche bat in hand. The Tai Li wasted no time, ducking under a wild swing and unleashing a rapid series of kicks to the man's head.
Jin's wild kickboxing attacks drew Keung's attention for a split second - a mistake. Thick hands loop under Keung's arms, clasping the back of his head in a tight grip. He struggled, eyes wide, as the gruff voice behind him shouted to another Yang, 'Brother! I've got him! Go for the neck!'
Keung's heart pounded as he saw a knife-wielding Yang close in, a twisted grin on his face. Jin was locked in a fight with three other Yangs.
Keung was on his own.
Just as the blade arced towards him, Keung snapped his legs up, delivering a hard kick to the advancing assailant's wrist. The knife veered off course, missing his throat.
But the Yang wasn't done. He slashed again, coming from the opposite side. Keung fired another kick that struck the man's wrist, deflecting the blade once more. This time, the kick sent the knife flying from the Yang's grip.
'What the fuck are you doing?!' the man holding Keung roared at his comrade.
'Hold him still!' the knife-wielder snarled as he snatched the blade from the ground. He lunged again, slashing across Keung's chest, but the blade scraped uselessly against the armour beneath Keung's trench coat.
'Y'can't slash armour, you fucking imbecile!' the man shouted from behind. 'Stab the prick!'
'Why won't you just die?!' the knife-wielder bellowed, charging again. This time, he aimed a vicious thrust at Keung's belly, who reacted by driving his knee up to knock the man's wrist upward. The attacker recovered quickly, switching the knife to his other hand and plunging it down toward base of Keung's neck.
Keung inhaled sharply, summoning every ounce of strength he had left. In one swift motion, he yanked himself down, pulling the man behind him forward and over him. The subduer's shoulder swung over Keung's head - not enough to unbalance him completely, but enough to drag him into the path of the incoming blade.
As the knife plunged deep into the man's shoulder, he howled in agony, his grip on Keung faltering. 'FUCK ME, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU IDIOT?!' His enormous weight sagged against Keung, nearly pinning him down.
The knife-wielder released his grasp on the handle, leaving the blade embedded in his companion's shoulder. Just as the grip around his arms slacked, Keung drove a back-kick into the man's gut and rolled free, springing to his feet and scanning for the next threat.
Hearing a sharp grunt, Keung looked over his shoulder and saw Jin eat a punch from one of the Yangs. Just as Keung turned to help him, a heavy bat slammed into his gut. Keung doubled over, just in time to take an uppercut to the jaw, followed by another Yang suplexing him over the shoulder.
He barely broke the fall with his arms, scrambling back to his feet. Another Yang's dagger swiped twice across his chest, and he stepped back twice, narrowly missing its tip. He ducked and weaved between strikes, but another misstep sent him reeling again. Despite his rigorous training, Keung felt his defences crumbling. A sharp kick cracked into his ribs, driving the air from his lungs. His blocks and dodges faltered, daggers swiped against his armour more frequently. A bat swung into his stomach, forcing a metallic taste into his mouth. He was no longer in control - this fight was turning into a brutal beat down, one wrong dagger thrust away from death.
Keung began to disassociate, having full conversations with himself in his mind as he failed to react to the strikes landing on his body.
Have I always been this bad at fighting? Heck, Jin has been doing better than me this entire mission …
His now blurry vision flickered blue, his Eye was trying to activate. But Keung's exhaustion left him vulnerable, and every blink only seemed to invite more blows. His consciousness ebbed as he fought to stay upright, struggling to control his faulty Eye. Keung almost let the reigns of his body go, hoping the onslaught would stop.
Goddammit, this piece of shit Eye just turns on when it wants to … maybe Jin will finish up and help me —
A dagger violently thrust deep into Keung's side, the handle touching his body.
Then, like a switch flipping, his Eye blazed to life. A riot of colours burst into his vision, electric blue and searing red outlining his attackers. His body moved on instinct, driven by the Eye's precision. It took over, guiding Keung's strikes with terrifying efficiency.
A Yang swung a bat towards Keung's head. He caught it with open palms, kicked the arms holding it, and then returned the swing to the Yang. He crumpled to the floor, and Keung smashed the side of his head with five brutal pounds until it was a soup of skull, brain, and teeth.
His limbs became weapons, cutting down the Yangs one by one.
The next tried to seize Keung from behind, but he swivelled in an instant, slipping behind his attacker. Locking his arms around the Yang's waist, Keung heaved him off the ground and slammed him back down with a neck-shattering force.
Keung left each one lifeless. With each gut-wrenching execution, he wrestled against the Eye's control, desperate to reclaim his body.
Another Yang lunged at Keung, thrusting a blade with such momentum that when Keung sidestepped, the attacker stumbled forward, and he shot him clean through the neck with a single shot. The last Yang stood motionless in fear - all his comrades were dead. Keung's Eye aimed the handcannon and fired between the eyes.
When the last Yang on Keung's side fell, he managed a hard blink and finally deactivated the Eye. He could finally feel the adrenaline and move his own body.
Jin, bloodied but standing, dropped the second-last Yang on his side. Keung slowly rejoined him with raised fists. The Tai Li looked at him, eyes widening at the state of Keung's face. It was beaten beyond recognition, while a dagger was fully embedded where his right kidney was.
The Tai Li turned back to the final Yang. 'Consider your odds carefully, scum,' he snarled as blood tricked from his lip. 'Surrender now, and I might just let the Kings take you. Lok and Ying have no mercy for you Yangs anymore.'
Panting, the remaining Yang looked briefly at something in the crowds.
'Fuck you all! Long live the Yang!' he snarled.
A canister rolled out from the crowd, spewing thick, red smoke. Then, the canister exploded with a blinding flash, and the entire scene was shrouded in crimson dust. Jin made a desperate dash towards the device, flinging it far away into the crowds, but it was too late; it had already ejected most of its smoke, leaving anyone inside blind.
Sir!' Jin shouted from somewhere near him. 'I've lost visual!'
The smoke stung Keung's eyes as he blinked hard. 'They're trying to escape!' He barked, 'capture them, they have a Kingmaker captive!'