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  **[Scene 1: The Sting Operation]**

  Qin Hong crouched on the rooftop, the neon glow of Wenshang Avenue casting long shadows across his face. The silver F300S below gleamed like bait in the moonlight. His fingers tightened around **Void-Splitter Bde**, its violet edge humming with restrained energy.

  *"Xue Wen…"*

  The name echoed in his mind alongside Guann's warning:

  *"'Doppelg?nger's Heart'—a symbiotic fruit. One body, infinite reflections."*

  A shadow moved.

  The man approached with practiced ease, gloved hand pressing a bck decoder against the car door. The device pulsed green. A cigarette dangled from his lips, its ember cutting through the darkness.

  Qin Hong struck.

  **"Freeze."**

  Void-Splitter's edge kissed the thief's throat—but the man merely exhaled smoke, unfazed.

  *"This how you chat?"* Xue Wen—**Ah Wen**—tilted his head, the bde's glow reflecting in his cold, amused eyes.

  **[Scene 2: The Standoff]**

  Qin Hong withdrew, assessing. *"You're a walking paradox. A thief who leaves fingerprints like calling cards."*

  Ah Wen smirked. *"And you're a hunter who talks too much."*

  The standoff shattered as Qin Hong lunged—

  —only for a dagger to press against his own neck from behind.

  *"Tsk. Rude."*

  Another Ah Wen. Then another. And another.

  They emerged from alleyways, from shadows, from the very air—**a legion of identical smirks**.

  Qin Hong's pulse spiked. *"Shit."*

  **[Scene 3: Mirror's Edge]**

  Ah Wen's fist smmed into the pavement. The world **shattered**.

  Eight colossal mirrors erupted around Qin Hong, their surfaces swirling like mercury.

  *"Welcome to 'Mirror's Edge',"* Ah Wen's voice echoed. *"My Absolute Domain."*

  Within each mirror, a clone stepped forth—bnk-eyed, bdes drawn.

  Qin Hong's mind raced. *"Notes… 'Doppelg?nger's Heart' clones regenerate when cut. Division, not death."*

  He had one shot.

  **"Eternal Horizon!"**

  The cosmos unfolded at his feet, stars bleeding into the mirrored hellscape.

  Ah Wen's ughter turned to a snarl as his mirrors cracked. *"You—"*

  Qin Hong vanished. Reappeared.

  Void-Splitter plunged into Ah Wen's back—

  —and the body **split clean in half**.

  *"Fool."* The bisected halves grinned. *"I never said I was the original."*

  Two perfect clones rose from the carnage.

  **[Scene 4: The Coffee Shop Revetion]**

  **Elsewhere—**

  Haruko's watch buzzed. A report: *"Another theft. West Cultural Pza. Same M.O."*

  Her gaze snapped to the Ah Wen sitting across her—sipping espresso, utterly rexed.

  *"Leaving so soon?"* he asked.

  Her fingers trembled. *"You…"*

  The realization hit: *There was never just one Xue Wen.*

  **[Scene 5: The Descent]**

  Back in the Mirror Realm, Qin Hong panted, **Eternal Horizon** flickering.

  Clones swarmed—twenty, thirty, a hydra of bdes and sneers.

  Ah Wen's voice, ced with something almost like pity:

  *"Tragedy's cruelest trick? Letting you hope right before the end."*

  The clones surged.