Mei Lin (梅琳 Méi-Lín)

Mei Lin was born in Shanghai during the height of the one-child policy. Her father worked as a mid-level government official, her mother on the floor of a textile factory. Expectations in the household were rigid, affection scarce. She learned early to navigate around rules, people, and tight spaces.   At fifteen, her father was arrested in a corruption sting that made headlines for a week. With her family name disgraced and no future left in Shanghai, she boarded a cargo ship headed for Yokohama. After weeks living in alleys and hostels, she caught the attention of a White Tiger Triad enforcer who saw potential in her defiance and silence. Under his wing, she trained in infiltration, hand-to-hand combat, and poisons. They called her “The Viper.”   By twenty, Mei Lin led the Triad’s assassination branch as its Sin Fung, answering only to the inner circle. She followed orders, but quietly rejected the rot she saw growing inside the organization. When her mentor was murdered in a power shift, she didn’t retaliate. She bit down on her nails waiting out the inveitable seeing as Gou Jing was slowly gaining in power.   Years later, during the War going on between the White Tiger and Hidora Clan, the White Tiger’s hideout was stormed. Mei Lin, the last surviving head, was captured by the Hidora Clan. She fought until it became clear surrender was the only way to spare the few Triad members left. During interrogation, she made a vow, if she walked out alive, she’d leave Okubo for good.   She kept her word. Relocating to Tokyo Port, she opened a shipping business, legitimate on paper, functional as a safe haven for her people. She kept her hands clean, but never stopped experimenting with poisons. After years of exposure, her body began to fail. An autoimmune condition rooted in toxin damage left her bones brittle, her strength fading.   Still, she worked. While overseeing shipments, she uncovered plans by the Wada Corporation to consolidate foreign syndicates under one banner. Her investigation made her a target. When the police came, it was the Hidora Clan who helped her disappear.   Now she moves between safe houses, hidden in the cracks of the city. She knows her time is limited. But if she goes down, she’ll take Wada with her.