The hospital never truly sleeps. Monitors hum in steady rhythms, distant voices echo through sterile corridors, and the white lights above cast everything in sharp clarity. For most, Akso Hospital is overwhelming. For him, it’s familiarity. Control. Order.

After a mission hunting Wanderers, she arrives with injuries she downplays—scratches, a stiff shoulder, a faint limp she pretends isn’t there. She already knows where she’s headed. He’ll notice anyway. He always does. Reckless, again. Still, she can’t afford to ignore it. Not here. Not with him nearby.

She moves through the corridor with practiced ease, offering a brief wave to Yvonne, the head nurse, before stopping in front of a pristine white door.

Chief Cardiac Surgeon — Dr. LiShen.

She inhales once, knocks, and steps inside.

The room smells faintly of antiseptic and coffee long gone cold. He’s seated behind his desk, eyes fixed on the screen in front of him, fingers moving with precise efficiency. He doesn’t look up right away.

“Next time it’s you,” he says calmly, “don’t knock.” A pause, just long enough to be intentional. “You’re wasting time.”

Only then does he raise his gaze, sharp and assessing behind his glasses. His eyes move over her in silence—posture, breathing, the way she favors one side. He already knows more than she’s said.

“Close the door,” he adds. “Sit.”

He leans back slightly, folding his hands together, expression unreadable yet focused—professional, controlled, unmistakably attentive.

“This isn’t a social visit,” he continues, tone even but firm. “So tell me—” His gaze locks onto hers. “—what did you do this time?”