𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎'𝒔 𝑨𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒓 𓆩✧𓆪
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The morning at the Shanghai International Medical Center is eerily quiet. The hospital has been partially cleared for the filming of The Storm's Anchor, but the sterile smell of antiseptic and the pale, flickering lights of the hallway feel too real for a movie set.
Huang Xing (Eliot) 🦋 sits in a wheelchair, dressed in a thin hospital gown. His skin looks paler than usual, almost translucent, making the mole under his eye stand out like a drop of ink on snow.
Around him, the chaos of a film production unfolds. Nong Zai and Jian Zai 🎞️ shout orders at the lighting crew, trying to capture the perfect 'lonely' aesthetic.
But Eliot isn't looking at the cameras. His Butterfly antennae twitch beneath his dark wig, picking up a high-frequency vibration that shouldn't exist in a hospital.
Someone is jamming the local security signals. 🕸️🦋
Qiuqiu 🐕stands near the vending machine, his eyes never leaving Eliot. He holds two cups of warm milk—one for himself and one for the 'weak' star.
In his shadow, a small boy with messy golden hair sits on the floor, invisible to the staff and the bustling crew. It is Peanut in his human form.
"Mama, there's a bad smell," Peanut whispers,
Tugging at Qiuqiu's jeans. His seven-year-old senses are sharp.
"Not like medicine. Like smoke and old metal."
Qiuqiu's heart hammers against his ribs. He knows that smell. It is the same scent from the docks—the scent of the tactical suits worn by the masked men. 👤
At the other end of the corridor, Ocean 🐺 and Li Peien 🐇 prepare for their scene.
Li Peien's long Rabbit ears are flat against his head, hidden by a nurse's cap. Next to him,
Lele 🍼, the eight-year-old silver-haired boy, holds Li's hand tightly. Lele looks up at Ocean, his grey eyes cold and calculating.
"The Silver Wolf needs to wake up, Papa Ocean. The traps are already set under the floor tiles." 🐺⚔️
Suddenly, the glass doors at the main entrance shatter. But it isn't the scripted explosion.
This is real. A group of Sasaeng fans,led by a notorious 'Master', burst through the barricades.🚩
They aren't just carrying cameras; they carry vials of an unknown liquid.
"Eliot! If we can't have you, no one can!"
The lead fan screams, her eyes bloodshot. Behind her, among the crowd of "normal" fans who are crying in terror, a figure in a black hoodie stands perfectly still.
It is Maymuna 🕵️♀️. She simply opens her notebook and begins to write, her pen moving with rhythmic, chilling precision. ✍️
Eliot looks at Maymuna from his wheelchair. For a split second, their eyes lock.
Muna 🕵️♀️ points her pen toward the ceiling. Eliot follows her gaze and sees it—a red laser dot dancing on the 'fake savior's' chest.
The love rival is so busy trying to look heroic, has no idea he is being targeted by a sniper from across the street. 🎯🛑
"Qiuqiu! Ocean! Get the children down!"
Eliot's voice drops its fragile act, sounding like a commander on a battlefield. 🦋🔥
Qiuqiu doesn't hesitate. He grabs Peanut and dives behind a heavy gurney, while across the hall, Ocean shifts his body to shield Li Peien and Lele.
The hospital is no longer a movie set; it is a hunting ground. And as the first vial of liquid is thrown into the air,
Maymuna whispers to the wind: "The Butterfly cannot fly if its wings are wet with blood. Let's see who survives the first cut."
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The purple gas expands rapidly, swallowing the sterile white light. Qiuqiu 𓋜 feels his Shadow resonance being 'muted'—this is Suppression Gas.
His agility vanishes, his strength dropping to a mere 3%. He feels empty and weak. He tightens his grip on the heavy gurney, his long black coat fluttering as he positions himself in front of the two children.
Through the thick mist, Ocean realizes the danger. Acting with their chaotic 'brain-twin' intuition,
Ocean roars, "Qiuqiu! Take Lele too! Go!"
Shunting the silver-haired boy through the fog toward the relative safety of the gurney. 🔥
Qiuqiu coughs, his lungs burning from the sweet, toxic scent. His messy black hair falls over his eyes, and his long-distance vision fails him again at the worst possible moment.
"Peanut, Lele, stay under the coat! Don't breathe the mist!" Qiuqiu hisses.
Peanut clutches the hem of Qiuqiu's shirt. Lele, with his handsome features set in a grim expression, holds Peanut's hand firmly.
Suddenly, three men in grey tactical gear burst through the mist. Qiuqiu's Shadow energy wants to explode, but the suppression keeps him locked. As a protector, he knows he must be their shield first.
He swings a heavy metal medical tray with a resounding CLANG. The man stumbles back, but the other two are already circling.
"This way!" Qiuqiu shouts, grabbing the children's hands.
He reaches a T-junction. He stops, his heart racing. Left or right? His lack of direction takes hold. "Wait... I think... this way!" 🧭❓
"No, Mama! It's left! You're going toward the boiler room!" Peanut cries out,
His instincts sharper than his 'papa's' sense of direction. Qiuqiu pivots on his heel just as a baton whistles past his ear. 🏃♂️💨
Meanwhile, A staff member pulls on Eliot's arm.
"Sir, we have to go!"
But Eliot remains frozen. His dark eyes are fixed on the Fake Savior standing just a few feet away, pretending to shield him with a look of scripted bravery. 🕸️
As the subordinates close in,
The "fake savior" intentionally trips and falls away, leaving Eliot completely exposed.
The attackers raise their weapons. It is then that Eliot's aura changes. Since the gas targets Shadows,
Eliot, as an Anchor, pushes his power to the limit. His black hair begins to shimmer, transforming into a brilliant, ethereal Golden hue—a light so blinding it burns away the purple mist. 🦋🌟
Across the hall, Li Peien 🐇 and Jiang Heng (Ocean) 🐺 are locked in a fierce battle. Ocean is a force of nature, his silver wolf strength throwing men aside,
While Li Peien uses his agility to disarm anyone who gets too close.
"Qiuqiu! Get to the elevator!" Ocean roars. 🌊
From the safety of a dark alcove, Maymuna 🕵️♀️ watches the golden radiance.
She slowly turns a page in her notebook, her eyes reflecting the golden light.
She sees the "love rival" watching Eliot with a strange, satisfied smile.🕵️♀️
"The golden light is beautiful, isn't it?" Muna whispers to herself.
"But gold can be a cage. And the person you trust most is the one holding the key." 🌬️🕵️♀️
Qiuqiu finally reaches the elevator, his vision still blurry. He wants to run back to Eliot, to tell him that the person he loves is a lie. But Peanut's small hand reminds him of his duty.
The elevator doors begin to close just as a subordinate's hand reaches through. Qiuqiu kicks the door shut with a growl. The silence inside is deafening. Peanut looks up at Qiuqiu.
"Mama, why did A'xing's hair turn yellow?" 🍼❓
Qiuqiu doesn't answer. He just adjusts his long coat and looks at his blurry reflection in the metal door.
🌬️The mystery is deepening, and the shadows are only getting darker.