Author Notes: Hello again, everyone! Enjoy this next chapter :)

Beta & Co-author: jeangirlmy

- Chapter Start -

On his first day at Warehouse 11, Jiang ZiSuan underwent orientation together with a couple of newly joined employees. Among the group of employees who welcomed them were Jia KeZi and Li JiaLe. Still, Jiang ZiSuan didn't get to speak with them until lunchbreak when he found them waiting for him in the canteen. They pulled him over to their table and introduced him as their 'good friend' to the others.

He's still thankful he didn't blurt out, "I am?" right there and then.

Over the coming weeks, the two of them showed him around Warehouse 11 and shared tips on the fastest, most efficient ways of doing things including following the Morning Star. These were things that took an average employee a couple of years to learn.

It also took Wu Xie just a week to be promoted from L1 to L4, and a month before he was up to L8. He was handed the post of Director of Special Department just days later. His exploits in Warehouse 11 are well known, verging on legendary.

In the past, this would've had Jiang ZiSuan reaching for the nearest weapon with narrowed eyes, clenched jaw and anger burning in his heart. No longer. He understood now that Wu Xie was facing a deadline at that time, and that the unexpected just accompanied him wherever he went.

It also meant, in hindsight, that Jiang ZiSuan's vendetta against him was doomed to fail from the start.

Many in Warehouse 11 still speak of Wu Xie with equal amounts of awe, disbelief and respect. A small number of them harbour resentment which doesn't surprise Jiang ZiSuan in the least. He's just grateful that his past association with Wu Xie isn't known, thanks to Li JiaLe and Jia KeZi keeping tightlipped about that.

Li JiaLe's a L7, but doesn't throw his weight around like the other bullies. Jia KeZi has a unique ability, but doesn't make a habit of listening in on other people's conversations. He's also the more introverted of the two and tends to shy away from conflict while Li JiaLe prefers to face them head on.

Over the past month, Jiang ZiSuan's grown quite close to them. It's a nice change from his life after A-Ning died.

For the first time in a long, long time, he doesn't feel alone.

- o -

The next day after Wusanju's opening, Manager Tong called Jiang ZiSuan, Jia KeZi and Li JiaLe to his office.

"Director Bai has selected you three for a secret mission. Follow me, please."

He leads them to another room in the unloading area. There they find Pang Zi, Huo DaoFu, Kan Jian, Liu Sang and HongHong with a pile of backpacks and diving equipment.

"Wait. Why is he coming with you guys?" HongHong asks Pang Zi before squinting at Jiang ZiSuan. "Have you given up taking revenge on Wu Xie?"

Instead of answering, Jiang ZiSuan jerks his chin at Pang Zi.

"I don't recall Wu Xie asking us if we want to participate in his mission," he says in a low voice.

"Huh? Of course you three want in on the action," Pang Zi has the cheek to tell him. "We're not leaving him to do this alone."

"Speak for yourself. You forced me to come here," HongHong complains.

"You should be honoured!" Pang Zi tells him.

"Well, I'm happy to help Wu Xie," Jia KeZi says diplomatically.

Jiang ZiSuan exhales through his nose and shares a commiserating look with Huo DaoFu. He wants to tell these two that their Wu Xie-hero worship is showing. Perhaps a reminder about the dangers of following the man would be better.

"Have you forgotten what happened the last time you two followed him on a mission?"

"Er... we met you?" Jia KeZi guesses.

Jiang ZiSuan scowls when Pang Zi and Kan Jian start chuckling. Even Liu Sang cracks a smile. HongHong just looks confused.

"You two were beaten up," Jiang ZiSuan grits out, leaving the words "by me" unsaid. "You had your throats slashed by those assassins and almost bled to death!"

"He's right," HongHong cuts in. "So why're you two still here?"

"Because we're friends with Wu Xie," Li JiaLe tells him. "And," he turns to Jiang ZiSuan, "we didn't die because you saved us."

He's smiling. So is Jia KeZi.

Jiang ZiSuan sighs. Huo DaoFu has turned away, shoulders shaking. Pang Zi is still chuckling together with Kan Jian and Liu Sang. HongHong looks even more confused.

"Jiang ZiSuan saved you two?" He asks.

"Whatever," Jiang ZiSuan grumbles.

They distribute the diving suits, masks and bright yellow oxygen tanks among themselves. When they walk into the inner hall Manager Tong indicated earlier, Bai HaoTian is waiting for them with a stranger. A good looking stranger who smiles at them.

"Eh, who's he?" HongHong asks at once. "Where's Wu Xie?"

"That's right. Where's lao ban?" Kan Jian asks.

"We'll go in first. He will join us later," Bai HaoTian explains.

"Xie YuChen, a good friend of Wu Xie's," the stranger introduces himself and turns on his heel. "Let's go."

As they follow him and Bai HaoTian, Jiang ZiSuan frowns. There's something familiar about this Xie YuChen's walk.

- o -

This is the first time that Jiang ZiSuan realises just how vast Warehouse 11 is. The individual warehouses used to store goods are the largest he's ever seen and he's heard stories of some of the myriad goods stored here, including vehicles, houses and even an entire airplane. Now he learns that there's an underground lake as well.

"More than one actually," Li JiaLe says in a low voice. "This is the first time I've been to one though."

"If what we can see of Warehouse 11 is just the tip of the iceberg, the underground areas must be huge," Huo DaoFu comments from behind them, sounding impressed.

They're standing before a short flight of steps leading down to a wooden dock. A senior female employee is performing a ritual for a large metal coffin before them.

"Light the sacred flame to burn off evils!" She orders.

Two employees step forward and touch lit torches to the layer of oil on the coffin.

As they stare at the bright flames, Xie YuChen runs down the steps. One of the employees grab him at once.

"What are you doing?"

Pang Zi quickly steps forward to intervene.

"There's something's wrong."

Everyone watches closely as Xie YuChen inspects the carvings on the side of the coffin with a torchlight. For some reason, Jiang ZiSuan feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He doesn't know this Xie YuChen but if Wu Xie was here, something would surely hap-

"Danger!" Xie YuChen shouts suddenly. "Run!"

Jiang ZiSuan's instincts, honed for a decade, kicks in a instant before there's an explosion. Everyone is knocked off their feet as dust fills the air and debris rains down upon them.

Jiang ZiSuan straightens up from where he'd thrown himself over his friends. A hand grips his shoulder hard. He looks up to see Huo DaoFu's face, pale in the dim light, gold rimmed glasses crooked.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Jiang ZiSuan looks down at Li JiaLe and Jia KeZi. "What about you two?"

"I'm fine." Li JiaLe sits up carefully with a hand at his back.

"Ah. Sorry," Jiang ZiSuan mutters.

"Don't be. You shielded us," Li JiaLe tells him. "KeZi, are you okay?"

Jia KeZi sits up and removes his hands from his ears, wincing.

"I'm fine. My ears are ringing though."

Huo DaoFu helps him up while Jiang ZiSuan pulls Li JiaLe to his feet.

"Our oxygen tanks!" Bruised back forgotten, Li JiaLe hurries over to the edge of the dock. He kneels down and reaches for the cylinder floating in the water.

Jiang ZiSuan looks around, seeing the others getting to their feet and checking up on one another. Liu Sang is crouched in a corner and shaking his head with a pained expression on his face, likely experiencing the same ringing as Jia KeZi. Xie YuChen is helping the senior female employee to her feet while Kan Jian is doing the same for Bai HaoTian. Pang Zi is groaning about his tender bottom. With a resigned expression, Huo DaoFu goes over to him.

Movement nearby catches Jiang ZiSuan's attention.

"You alright?" He extends a helping hand to HongHong who blinks suspiciously up at him before accepting it.

"I'm only here because that Pang Zi strong-armed me," he complains, "so why're you here? You wanted to kill Wu Xie, remember?"

Jiang ZiSuan stares at him, one reply after another flipping through his mind.

"Long story," he finally says.

"JiaLe? JiaLe?"

Jiang ZiSuan turns to see a puzzled Jia KeZi looking around. He goes over at once, HongHong forgotten.

"What's wrong?"

"JiaLe went to retrieve our oxygen tanks from the water but I don't see him anywhere."

With a shared glance, they crouch down at the edge of the dock and peer out at the dark waters. An oxygen tank bobs nearby.

"JiaLe. JiaLe!"

All of a sudden, the water starts churning. Li JiaLe appears, struggling. There's a dark, shiny band over his mouth and he looks terrified.

"JiaLe!" Jia KeZi leans over and tries to grab his arm. "I can't reach him!"

Jiang ZiSuan tries and can't either. Another dark gleaming band wraps around Li JiaLe's wrist.

"There's something around-"

"Yeah, I see it!"

With a jerk, Li JiaLe disappears underwater.

Cursing, Jiang ZiSuan inhales and dives into the dark, shockingly cold water. There are long dark shapes, wriggling like snakes. More are wrapping around Li JiaLe's arms and legs despite his struggles. The one around his mouth loosens and bubbles appear before the creature tries to wriggle inside Li JiaLe's mouth.

Jiang ZiSuan feels more of them coiling around his arms and legs, dragging him down. He tries to free himself. Desperate, he kicks out until their holds loosen and claws his way to Li JiaLe. He grabs the tail of the creature choking him and yanks it free. It writhes in his grip. More creatures appear, surrounding them and wrapping around their limbs, squeezing tight.

Jiang ZiSuan grips the one in his hand until he feels it give. Blood blooms, black against the greenish hue of the water. There's a momentary lull as the other creatures draw back, whether in surprise or in preparation for something else.

Jiang ZiSuan doesn't have time to find out. With his lungs screaming for air and his heart thundering in his ears, he grabs Li JiaLe's arm and kicks upward. They break the surface of the water, gasping for breath. There are more people kneeling on the dock now.

"JiaLe! ZiSuan!" Jia KeZi reaches for them, the worry on his face morphing to relief. Huo DaoFu and Xie YuChen beside him look equally relieved. Jiang ZiSuan can't spare a moment to wonder why the latter is worried about people he doesn't even know.

Several hands reach out and pull Li JiaLe out of the water. He collapses on the dock, chest heaving as he coughs and rolls onto his side.

"ZiSuan!" he rasps.

"I'm here. I'm fine." Jiang ZiSuan grips the edge of the dock and attempts to pull himself out. He can't; the wood is wet and slippery. More of those creatures are entwined around his legs, trying to drag him under.

"It's alright, we've got you." Huo DaoFu and Xie YuChen grab him and haul him bodily up, surprisingly strong despite their skinny frames. Jiang ZiSuan finds himself lying beside Li JiaLe, trying to catch his breath.

"You know, when I said to keep this group safe, I didn't mean quite so literally," Huo DaoFu mutters. His face and glasses are wet with water, but he doesn't seem to realise.

Jiang ZiSuan gives a breathless chuckle and sees Xie YuChen smiling as well. The man squeezes his shoulder once before turning to Li JiaLe. Sitting up, Jiang ZiSuan feels something squeeze his thigh. Without hesitation, he wrenches it free and flings it away.

"Hey, watch it!"

Apparently right into Pang Zi's face. Jiang ZiSuan just spares him a brief glance before turning back to Li JiaLe who's leaning against Jia KeZi. He's pale and shivering, but that could be due to the icy cold water. Jiang ZiSuan's own uniform is sodden and clinging to his skin.

"You alright?" He asks.

"Yeah. That thing," Li JiaLe swallows, his voice hoarse. "Ugh, it tried to enter my mouth."

His lips look swollen and red. Jia KeZi says as much, prompting Huo DaoFu to tip Li JiaLe's chin up and take a closer look. His frown deepens.

"Possibly a reaction to the creature's slime," he mutters and stands up. "I should get a sample of that."

Li JiaLe goes from pale to green, like he's going to be sick.

Not knowing what else to do - he's rubbish at comforting people - Jiang ZiSuan just rubs Li JiaLe's back and casts another look around. Pang Zi's arguing with the senior female employee. She's insisting that everyone submits to a body check to ensure they're not hurt from the bronze pieces. He's accusing her of wanting an excuse to check out his body.

How ridiculous.

"You two need a hot shower," Jia KeZi says. His clothes are also getting damp from where Li JiaLe's leaning on him.

"Yeah. Let's go." Between the two of them, they pull Li JiaLe to his feet.

Jiang ZiSuan feels someone's gaze on him and turns his head. Xie YuChen is staring at them again and smiling. For some reason, Jiang ZiSuan feels his face heating up, but he refuses to remove his arm from around Li JiaLe's waist.

Xie YuChen then turns to Pang Zi and says something which makes Pang Zi look their way, eyebrows going up. Pressing his lips together, Jiang ZiSuan turns to see Jia KeZi staring at those two.

"What's wrong?"

Jia KeZi shakes his head with a quick smile.

"Tell you two later. Let's go."

Huo DaoFu joins them again as they leave Ganyang section.

"I told Xiao Bai I'll check you three to make sure none of you are injured from the bronze pieces. We've been assigned temporary rooms for the duration of this mission."

"Lead the way then," Jiang ZiSuan says.

"This is my first time here," Huo DaoFu says, sounding indignant. "You lead the way."

"How would I know where they are?"

"I know where they are," Jia KeZi says with a look that makes the two of them lapse into silence at once.

- Chapter End -

A/N: Thank you for reading! In Ep23, Li JiaLe fell into the water, swallowed a huge red worm which the female elder coaxed out and was sent to the hospital. That was the last time we saw him in the series which is a shame. He'll definitely stick around here.

Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this chapter :)