Ling Qingyu's residence, somewhere underground.
Tang Ziyi stood waiting in the dim corridor, arms folded as the sound of footsteps echoed faintly through the reinforced halls. The female mercenary—recently captured by Spirit Fox—was on her way, escorted by two operators under Athena's remote guidance.
She arrived with little fuss—quiet, composed, obedient to orders, but not to be mistaken for submissive. Despite the hood veiling her eyes, Tang Ziyi didn't miss the subtle tension in the woman's body: the slight tilt of her head, the calculated placement of each footstep, the measured breaths. She was trying to map the route.
Athena had already anticipated this and adjusted the environmental layout slightly to throw off orientation. Still, the mercenary persisted.
'Smart,' Tang Ziyi mused, observing her. 'Too smart to be underestimated.'
