Chapter 4 - The Girl Who Could See the System
The girl followed Eli into the library.
He took one aisle.
She took the same aisle.
He went upstairs.
She went upstairs.
He hid behind a shelf labeled Advanced Taxation.
Nobody sane followed him there.
She appeared anyway.
“Eli Carter?”
“No.”
She looked at his student badge.
“Creative.”
She was maybe twenty-one, Chinese American, sharp-eyed, and carrying three textbooks like they weighed nothing.
“My name is Maya Chen.”
“Cool. I’m still not Eli.”
“You awakened this morning.”
Eli stopped joking.
Maya glanced around, then lowered her voice.
“I felt the qi pulse when you dodged Cross.”
“Qi.”
“Yes.”
“As in... magic kung fu air?”
She stared at him.
“Please never call it that again.”
His phone buzzed.
[NEW ENTITY DETECTED]
[MAYA CHEN — QI GATHERING III]
[THREAT LEVEL: COULD FOLD HOST INTO LAUNDRY.]
Eli put his phone away.
“So what do you want?”
“To know who your teacher is.”
“I don’t have one.”
“Then who opened your meridians?”
“My phone.”
Maya blinked.
Eli waited for the laugh.
It never came.
Instead she said, “Show me.”
“No.”
“Good answer.”
“What?”
“If you had shown me, I would’ve assumed you were stupid.”
“I got thirty-eight percent on my midterm.”
“That question remains open.”
Before he could reply, every light in the library flickered.
Maya’s expression changed.
“Don’t move.”
Something scratched inside the wall.
Then the system flashed red.
[HOSTILE SPIRIT DETECTED.]
May you like
[NEW QUEST: DO NOT SCREAM IN FRONT OF MAYA.]
